Andyrew

Looking good Andrew, your planking is very neat and tidy.

The plank edge patterns needed pre-bevelling and once that was done I glued them to the Keel, the first use of glue in this build so far. Bulkheads 4 and 7 need some extra pieces fitting to them to help clamp the lower Deck in place. A central part is held in place by a clamp glued either side and 2 locating pins. This all fitted together really well like everything else so far. 2 longitudinal Braces were next to be fitted, these dropped into place easily and were left dry fitted, these strengthen the whole structure. I was really careful cutting out the 6 Stern Frames, these look fragile and I didn't want to break any of them, they were dry fitted and again they slotted into place easily. Finally for this update I fitted the false Deck, this clicks into place on each Bulkhead, it feels like it is too big to fit, but a little bit of pressure and it's locked in place. I then painted diluted wood glue onto all the joints and left it overnight to dry. Cheers Andy

Thanks Chris, I was born and grew up near Chatham in Kent where HMS Victory was built. My wife is from here and Irish women won't leave their Mothers so I have been here about 25 years. I know Ballymena well but it's probably changed a fair bit since your family members left. The first step is to construct the stand that is used to support the Hull whilst Nisha is being built. It was cut from the 2mm MDF sheet and the edges were smoothed down. The 4 pieces slotted together nicely and no glue was needed to hold them due to a tight fit on all the joins. The Bulkheads were then removed from the 3mm MDF sheet and I filed the bevels on the Bulkheads using a small half round Perma Grit file. The bevel lines are marked on the Bulkheads and I find it easier to use a file rather than a rotary tool. Once this was done the Bulkheads were fitted to the Keel, again they were a tight fit in fact a couple of Bulkheads needed a little bit of filing to get them to fit. One thing I noticed is that the whole assembly is quite flexable at the moment so I needed to be careful with it. The lower "Deck" was then dropped into place and this helped to remove some of the flexing of the Keel. Everything is still only dry fitted so far. Cheers Andy

I ordered this when it was released and it arrived a few days later. The box and it's contents are all top quality and I decided to start building straight away. I was in Kent in the south of England at my Parents for Christmas and took this with me so I am further ahead with the build so it will be catch up. I'll do a "what's in the box" because I like to see what you get rather than having to search through other build threads to see the contents. There are also numerous turned Brass, 3D printer and Resin parts as well.

Looking good, I had a few problems fitting the Bulwarks as well but once all the other bits and pieces are fitted it will all look fine. Photographs seem to highlight things that most people never notice when looking at the actual model.

It's looking really good, I enjoyed building this Boat during the Summer, in fact I enjoyed it that much I'm about to start Chris' latest Fishing Boat, Nisha. If you need any help or advice just shout, there are a few of us that have built Lady Eleanor. Cheers Andy

You are flying through this Andrew. It's a shame the Stern piece split but at least it's covered up later on. It will be something to watch out for when I start my build I start my build in the next week or so.

My Nisha has now arrived so I'll be following your build, you've made a good start.

You've made a good start Steve. I built the Lady Eleanor recently and really enjoyed it, in fact I have money put aside for Chris Watton's Mumble Bee kit when it's released. If you have any problems or need any advice there are plenty of us that will help you.

I decided to look on the Fountain of all Knowledge (Google) to see if there was anything I could do about the Main Sail. There were several suggestions that I decided to try. I first tried some Isopropyl on some Kitchen Paper which removed some of the red dye but took ages so i then moved onto Spirit Vinegar, this worked better than the Iso but it was still slow progress. I had a look through the Kitchen Cupboard that has all the household cleaning products and found a tub of Vanish Stain Remover. I diluted the powder in hot water and soaked the Sail in the liquid, left it for a while and then rubbed the dye with a cloth. This worked a treat, there is still a feint red line but once I put the cross in the correct place and colour it in it will look ok. I just need to wash the Sail and iron out all the creases. The second layer of planks are 3mm wide Walnut, nicely cut with no rough edges. The Stern has to be planked first and I put the first plank on full width along the bottom of the Tiller opening to ensure that it was straight. I then worked my way up the Stern to the upper Deck, using wood glue to stick the planks on. Once that was done I trimmed the edges flush with the Hull sides and then started on the diagonal planking on the lower part of the Stern. I did this at 45 degrees and using the squares on my cutting mat, I placed a plank across several corners of the squares to get the correct angle. I'll trim the edges of these planks and then make a start on the second Hull planking, Cheers Andy

I have now finally finished the first layer of planking, it's taken a while but there again what's the rush. The planks are 4mm by 1mm Lime, the top 3 or 4 needed soaking at the Bow, these were clamped in place and left to dry before being glued in place. As I fitted planks further down the Hull I had to use pins to hold the planks and I found I had to drill pilot holes in the Bulkheads to get the pins to fit. I decided to invest in an Amati Pin Pusher but using it for the first time the Hull slipped and I broke off the top of the Stem. I managed to glue it back on and used some filler to tidy up the join, I must be more careful in future. I have got used to the Pin Pusher now and the rest of the first planking was completed. It needed some filler here and there and then it was smoothed down using various files and sand paper. Whilst waiting for the glue on the planks to dry I thought I would colour in the red cross on the main sail. I got a red permanent red marker but then discovered the cross on the sail is not in the middle of the sail. I'm not sure what to do about this does anyone have any ideas? Cheers Andy

I can't believe it's taken me so long to fair the Hull ready for planking. I've been really busy at work, I'm a Copier Service Technician and the Schools and Colleges where I do most of my work are all opening again plus we still have a couple of Technicians off on Furlough. There is a pre-shaped piece that had to be fitted to the Stern which supports the rear of the upper Deck. It was longer than the width of the Deck and needed cutting to the correct size, I left it a few millimetres over size and then having spent a while trying to work out which way round it fitted, one edge is longer than the other, it was glued in place. I didn't glue the Deck rear support in the correct place which meant when I fitted the Deck there was a gap at the rear so I used a few pieces of scrap wood to fill the gap which will be hidden by the planking. After spending ages shaping the Bulkheads and Deck sides I then laid the upper Deck planks, once this was all done I trimmed the edges of the planks and sanded them down to get a nice even finish. Cheers Andy

Thanks Ryland. The first thing that I noticed about this kit is you get 3 sets of "instructions," an A5 sized photographic booklet, an A4 double sided sheet of written instructions and a large sheet with various stages of the build, this could prove to be interesting as I try to remember to cross reference all 3. I started by removing the false Keel and Bulkheads from the wooden "fret," this Plywood and pretty much straight with a very slight curve on the Keel. I dry fitted the Bulkheads and they are a little bit of a loose fit so I drew some parallel lines up from the Bulkhead slots to help me to get them straight. I don't have any Lego anymore having sold it years ago so I used Bulldog clips to make sure the Bulkheads were straight when they were glued, the 2 Decks don't have any slots cut in them so I couldn't use the Decks. After the Bulkheads were glued in place I then fitted the 2 Plank Termination pieces at the Bow. I'll leave this for a couple of days to let the glue harden before I fair the Bulkheads. Cheers Andy

Many years ago I built the Revell ships Pinta, Nina and Santa Maria, they had small plastic rigging Blocks, it was the first time I had rigged a plastic ship with Blocks and it led me onto building wooden ship kits. I have always liked the shape of the Pinta, a Caravel with a Square Main Sail, and this Amati version arrived here a few weeks ago. I will be building this following the Amati instructions but I do have access to the AOTS Ships of Columbus which I will use to help with the rigging. Whenever I read someone else's build I like to see what's in the box rather than having to look through other builds so here's what you get for your ....... (insert here your currency of choice, in my case £'s) Cheers Andy

That's a great looking little ship Alan.

Your new Mast looks a lot better than the plastic one. I built one of these a few years ago and it's a nice little kit, although the Oerlikons were very difficult to make. Cheers Andy

You've made a good start, I built this boat a few years ago and really enjoyed it. If I remember rightly I glued one side of the Deck, pinned it and then after the glue had dried I glued the other side of the Deck and pinned it. Cheers Andy

A great looking Fifie Richard, I'll be "borrowing" some of your ideas during my Fifie build, and the question about the Yard Cleats has been answered for me.

The instructions advise you to plank all the Decks and Bulkheads first but I find it's easy to break the edges of these planks so I decided to fit the Gunport patterns and Bulwarks first. These are all plywood and the Gunport patterns were fairly straight, after removing the small square Gunport Lids from both patterns, I glued and pinned the patterns into place. The Bulwark patterns had to be soaked in warm water for about 30 minutes and they were then pinned to the Bulkheads and allowed to dry. These were then glued, clamped and pinned in place. I then decided to fit the Bow Deck which I had already planked and then the Bulwarks (?) that fit round this small Deck. Whilst I was in the mood for glueing things I fitted the Stern piece as well. Cheers Andy

Hi Tomasz, for a first build you are doing really well. I would say that any of you family or friends that see this ship will not know if it's historically accurate or not, all they will see is what I can see, a good looking ship model. 👍

Hi Tomasz, I meant to reply to you earlier but I have been busy at work lately and forgot. I have just looked at them and they are cast metal the same as the Anchors and Hawse Plates. I have been reading through your build to get some ideas, it is looking good. I drew a line down the centre of the main Deck and then having used a pencil along one side of a planking strip to simulate the Caulking I glued the first plank on one side of the centre line. I then continued across that side of the Deck. Once this side of the Deck was done I opened up the Mast hole and then planked the other side. One of the things that I don't like about this model is the way the Photo Etched Doors and Windows are just glued onto the planking, it doesn't look realistic to me, so I've decided to make frames for the Doors and Windows. I used the P.E. Door as a template and drew the outline onto the Bulkhead. On the replica this Bulkhead is at an angle whereas on the model it's vertical. I fitted the Forecastle Deck to get the correct position of the top of the Bulkhead. On the replica the Bulkhead is at the same angle as the Bulwark so I dry fitted the kit Bulwark to get the correct angle. This meant that the Bulkhead was a little bit short so I made a couple of supporting blocks from some Balsawood sheet and then fitted the Bulkhead. On the model the middle Deck is stepped in 2 pieces but the replica is one Deck, the problem is if I leave the stepped Deck off the Bulkhead will be too high. I decided to fit the stepped Deck and then extend it with Balsawood which I then sanded down until I got the right slope. Andy

I noticed that, but it's something I'll worry about when I get to that stage. The replica is having work done to it at the moment so hopefully they'll fit round Deadeyes to it and make my life easier 😉

The instructions tell you to plank the Decks before fitting them but I decided to plank them after they are fitted that way I can pin the Decks down whilst the glue dries. I have been searching for pictures of the Golden Hind's Decks to try to see how the Deck Planks are laid but I haven't been able to find any good photos. I emailed the replica ship's website asking for information and got a nice reply back. The ship has been closed due to the Covid virus so they have been doing some work to her, to make her look more like a 16th Century ship following research on Elizabethian ships. They are going to release some Youtube videos that shows all the work being done including the Decks, Bulwarks and Rigging. It's an interesting website with information about lots of things to do with the ship. https://www.goldenhinde.co.uk/ Cheers Andy

I decided to start with the kit supplied stand, it won't be needed for a while but by building it it would give me the chance to see how good the fit of parts were, result very loose fit. I dry fitted the Bulkheads to the false Keel and again the fit was a bit loose, the Keel has a slight curve but it's less than 1mm towards the front. I glued the 3 Mast Support pieces on first using a piece of dowel to ensure they were fitted correctly and then fitted the Bulkheads starting at the Stern. I decided to glue the 3 Stern extension pieces together off the ship, it was easier to get them lined up off the ship and then the whole thing was fitted.

The Hull wasn't too bad, planking is a very thin, almost like paper, wood veneer, 5 minutes soaking and it bent really easily. Thanks for the advice on starting a build log. I'm looking forward to building the Golden Hind, I've only built small single masted boats up 'til now. Cheers Andy