Adrian Hunter

Nothing on the hull to report - I am on holiday, But... to feel like I was doing something whilst I am away I thought that I would start some of the rigging. I decided to use an Amati Loom-a-line. I know that I could have achieved the same thing with a bit of plywood and a few nails, but as it was fairly cheap (about $10) I went for it anyway. As you can see my first attempt on the left is somewhat wayward and will be discarded, although I am happy enough with try two for the mizzen. And the frame - I think worth the money. The pins are a bit tight in some places and fall out of others, but now I am getting used to it it is helpful, and also very adaptable for exact requirements and scale.

Johnny, Thanks for your thoughts, the stern is certainly different so i may have a play... Happy Modelling!

So,,, Model number 2 I chose the Thermopylae as who doesnt love clippers and I got on quite well with this brand in my first build. From the forum I see that others have tried this model, and to be honest if I had read their posts before I bought I may have thought again, but here we are... Luckily I am fairly pragmatic in my building and not being too anal about absolute authenticity will within reason 'adjust' the instructions to suit my ability and a pleasing result. Initial thoughts - I agree with others. If you want a kit where you folow the instructions and get what is on the front of the box this is probably not the kit for you. I am already finding that fettling is required and see that at least some parts will need to be scratch built. The instructions basically come in plan form. Luckily I am an officer in the Merchant Navy so I can read a general arrangement with some confidence, but without this I think that I would be lost. Written instructions are in Italian, although quite a good English translation is available to download here. So far I have spent a couple of weeks on this project off and on, so lets have a look... The basic framing and sub deck seemed to go in quite easily. Forward and aft frames were chamfered as suggested. The main deck was then glued in place and then the focsle and poop decks. So far so fairly good. On to the planking. This is a double plank model, which I have not tried before, but I enjoy a challenge! The runs seem quite reasonable except up onto the stern without too much bending required as yet. Progress to date is below, you will see that I have also started on some of the deck structures. The deck house that positions just aft of the Foremast is meant to have a convex roof, but I decided that this was more trouble than it was worth and sanded it flat. I think this looks quite acceptable and saved me a lot of stress! The Lifeboats are as suggested by Popeye in his write up being Amati 50mm. I think they are a bit big for the model looking more like a longboat than a lifeboat, but they do look good. I will probably finish painting them and then decide if I will use them. And that is about it for now. I will add more as I work, but due to work it may be some time before anything is forthcoming...

Welcome aboard!

Good looking hull! Welcome aboard!

Welcome aboard!

A nice looking first project. Welcome aboard!

My condolences, and welcome to the forum

Welcome aboard!

Hello all, Just a quick intro to myself. I am very new to wooden ship modelling. In the (dim and distant) past I made many plastic models, and re-found this during the Pandemic lockdowns, also making one wooden plane. Given that I have served as a Master Mariner and Ships Pilot in the British Merchant Navy for many years this is a thing that I will most probably enjoy and given that my Batchelors degree is in History it should be a match made in heaven... I plan to work my way through a few kits of increasing complexity, and I have now finished the first. One day I would like to scratch build, perhaps a ship that I have served on... We will see!

Popeye, I would just like to thank you for this thread. I am just starting this kit, and you have me considering problems that I did not even know that I had! I will post my progress as it goes along

I would just like to wholeheartedly endorse the central tenet of this post. I have just finished my First Project HMS Bounty. For this I deliberately chose an entry level kit, and while it stretched me at times the problems that I found were not insurmountable. I now feel that I can move on to something a bit more complicated. Time will tell if this is a good idea... As they say you have to walk before you can run... Happy modelling!

All, I recently had my first attempt at modelling in wood. I selected Mantua's HMS Bounty (Le Piccole) kit. This was due to a number of factors. It was advertised as an entry level kit. It was reasonably priced (important as I didn't know if this medium was for me, or indeed if I would make a complete hash of it...) and it was easily available from multiple sources. Previously I had built many plastic kits, and one wooden RC airplane (I must see if that will actually fly one day...) So, planking and so on was a new world to me! In total the build probably took me around six weeks, working conscientiously but not excessively... The main issue that I had was that at times I found it hard to discern exactly what the picture book instructions were telling me. There were a few mistakes made which took a bit of fettling to rectify. Please note that on this project the emphasis was on acquiring a base skillset and whilst I certainly nodded towards authenticity this took a back seat compared to what I thought that I could achieve with the tools and capability I had to hand! Overall, I am quite pleased with how it came out and I enjoyed the project. If you are looking for a first kit this (or perhaps the others in the Le Piccole series) might be a good start. Now on to Mantua's Thermopylae which I suspect may present a few more challenges!