Bon Retour By Philthy - Artesania Latina

[Philthy]

Hello Fellow Builders, 

 

This build log is for the Bon Retour by Artesania Latina (AL). This kit is designated as an entry level / beginner kit and is reasonably priced at around $60. I have had the kit for about 2 years now while working on her a little here and there. Now that I am finally settled in after moving I can make some decent progress. Im motivated to finish the Bon Retour since I have two new kits waiting for me! For my birthday the girl friend got me the U.S. Independence from AL and I treated myself with the Armed Virginia Sloop from Model Shipways. 

 

I would gauge my experience a humble beginner being new to building wooden ships. I have read dozens of build logs since picking up wooden ship building and these logs have proved very informational as well as inspiring. My aim is to share and contribute my builds and explain the steps from the view point of a beginner in hopes of helping out fellow builders who are just starting out. 

 

This is my second wooden ship model and my confidence level has considerably increased from my first build the Jolly Boat by AL. As you can see I had to use a bit of wood putty to even out the hull after planking, Since this is a singe plank hull and I plan on painting her, I figured why fuss about how pretty she looks now just as long as her hull is even and smooth. 

 

A number of modifications and repairs were needed on the hull from when i first started 2 years ago. Like a dummy i was filing down the bulkheads with the keel in a vice. Well too much pressure and I snapped the keel at the stern section. This required some profanity and some modifications to reattach the stern section. I feel it looks fine now, however she does not match up with the plans exactly now. She's a little longer and narrower than intended by the original kit. 

 

Im going to end this post now, however please leave your comments or advice as far as what you see. I see this build a being an opportunity to cut my teeth on a basic kit while preparing for more detailed builds in the future. 

 

Cheers!

Phil

 

Current Build: Bon Retour (AL)

 

On Deck: U.S. Independence (AL)

                Armed Virginia Sloop (Modle Shipways)

 

Completed: Jolly Boat (AL)

 

[Philthy]

I started working on some of the deck features such as the cargo hold covers last night. I have decided to improvise a little and change the construction of the covers to fit my liking. I think the lighter decking color looks better than the darker walnut wood provided by the kit. A total of 3 covers are called for and should be pretty simple to knock out. I have some basswood stock that I cut to size for the hatchway covers then glued the planking, then added the walnut trim pieces to the edges. I still need to do some sanding to true up the trim pieces however, I am happy with how they turned out.

[Philthy]

Some progress today after a visit to a hobby shop in town. Its not much for model ships however, they do stock wood for scratch building pieces. This turned out great for me! The top rails provided with the kit simply would not work and still look to my liking. This may be a mistake with the kit or how my framing and planking affected the ending shape of the hull. 

 

To fix this problem I am going to take a total of (4) 2x2 basswood strips and bend them to the shaped needed. For this my unique technique involves soaking the strips in hot water for 5 minutes then bending them to the shape of the top rail with the help of some clothes pins. In order to ensure the strips are completely submerged when soaking I put them in an old wine bottle filled up with hot water and then cork the top.

 

I also got the rudder mounting hardware installed. The nails provided are too long and push out the nail secured from the other side. No one to sweat the small stuff I secured the nail from one side then snipped off the protruding excess. A few taps on the cut side of the nail and it mushrooms down for a snug fit. 

 

After I get the (4) top rails bent to shape its time to prime / paint the hull and top rails. Not too much further now!

[Philthy]

Here are some updates. I scratch made the top rails since the kit ones did not fit properly (probably my fault). I simply used some stock balsa strips and bent them to match the curve. A little filler in between the strips and a some sanding and she's looking good in my opinion. After that I move on to working on the hull some. So far i have 2 coats of red on and it looks like the sanding on the planks have paid off. Im not sure why the two photos are upside down. Too late for me to care. 

[7 Provinces]

Well Phil, either your gauge is off or you made so much progress that you need to do a quick re-gauging, because from what I can see from the pictures that is some great work you are doing. So maybe your experience with ships is not so much (like mine) but you seem to be able to do very neat and exact work, which goes a long way 

Except for the upside-down pictures maybe 

[Philthy]

Hello All!

 

It has been about a week since my last log update and it has been a busy time. I am very happy I decided to create a build log for this ship and plan to do so for future builds since it provides a visible transition from lifeless wood to a project to be proud of. 

 

This week has been focused primarily on painting. I have a decent airbrush / compressor set up but decided not to use it for this build. Part of it due to being too lazy to hook everything up since moving and second I figured some old salt more than likely slapped paint on his fishing boat so why can't I. This makes me wonder, how many do you use an airbrush for painting your models? I haven't came across any build logs that goes into painting very much. 

 

I used model expo paints for the primer, black, and red portions and velejo for the blue. For some reason it seemed like I was having a hard time getting the paint to stick despite having a primer coat. Granted the paint is over 2 years old and has been in storage the whole time... Past experience with plastic ships has taught me to paint the red for the hull first, then the darker colors since the darker paints cover up easier than the lighter colors. Sadly the painters tape I used did only a OK job at masking off areas. I had to go back at do some touch up on the water line do to not getting a nice crisp edge from my blue tape. I will not be using this tape for future builds so lesson learned. 

 

So that is what I have been doing this week. Paint a section and wait for it to dry, then paint another part and subsequent touch up. I am very happy how she is shaping up but I am going nuts trying to overlook little mistakes along the way. I have to remind myself that the average joe doesn't have the eye for spotting subtle mistakes like us attention to detail crazed model builders do lol

 

Up next:

Nail on the ruddy rudder, then shape and paint the mast. I have to taper the top of the mast down to about 1/2 its original diameter. Any tips how to do this? I figured it will come down to gipping a piece of sandpaper and twisting away. 

Edited September 29, 2015 by Philthy

[GuntherMT]

You are experiencing the wonders of Model-Expo paint (Hint: It's hot garbage).

 

It works, but it makes you work for it, and the paint is extremely inconsistent from one jar to the next.

[Philthy]

Thanks for the heads up Brian! I mean I have been working with model paints for 20 years and had to ask myself a few times "what the hell am I doing wrong with this paint" lol. In person I think the paint looks fine but like you said it makes you work for it. If you don't mind, Im going to follow your Armed Virginia Sloop build. I am waiting for her on backorder an plan to build her soon. I can use all the help I can get lol!

 

Cheers!

Phil

[7 Provinces]

Phil, some thoughts on your questions:

I currently do not use an airbrush for I have none 

I was going to get one and I want to get back into plastic modeling as well (yes it has been 20+ years as well) because I loved to do that and especially the painting, weathering, etc. which in the old days I did with a brush. This kind of got frustrating when trying to paint a bigger surface 

Anyway, to get back to the point: I thought of the way ships were painted in the old days and I figured it would be better to use the old 2" brush. I mean, just look at what Bob Ross could do with it  . No seriously I think I will paint with a couple of good brushes rather than with an airbrush or spray can. Even though at the scale we are working at you would probably not see the uneven surface the deck help left after painting the mast hoops..

Edit: BTW I currently use home acrylics for my Bluenose. Up to now this has worked ok (but I did not have to paint much yet). However I read somewhere that model acrylics tend to flow better than home acrylics which, of course, made me curious. 

As to tapering the masts: I think there are some tips and tricks in the woodworking part of the forum (or you can post a question there) and in some build logs (I think of Bhermann's Bluenose). Most will involve a lathe however I fear. If you do not have access to a lathe and the masts are not too long why not try to use a drill? Secure the mast in the drill and let it rotate at a moderate speed. Wear a glove on your other hand and put sandpaper in the palm of the glove and run it along the rotating mast. Make sure you run even strokes to have an even tapering or slow down near the tip for a convex form. Do not forget to keep moving, otherwise you will have dents. It is like paintig or filing: long even strokesand not too much pressure. Rather repeat it a lot than trying to get it in one go. Depending on the drill you use you might be able to secure it in a vise and have two hands free to do the sanding...

 

Good luck!

Edited September 30, 2015 by 7 Provinces

[Philthy]

I was going to attach the rudder but I got distracted (easy for me to do). I was sitting back looking at the boat and was thinking about the logical next steps to take. I then realized I have some deckfeatures I forgot about. Since I will be man handling the boat some for this I wanted to hold off on the rudder as long as possible. As you can tell by he photos I need to get some sort of cradle or mount for her.

 

The aft trim pieces were made from some 1.5 X 1.5 stock balsa I picked up. The wood in the kit seemed a bit "chunky" in comparison to the rest of the boat.

 

The corner pieces for the top rail had to be tweaked a little bit to fit properly. I'm wanting to use some filler to fix the gaps that are pretty prominent.

 

{mast question & amswer}

Thanks a bunch for you tip about using a power drill to spin the mast for tapering the thickness at the top. I'm going to give this a shot on my lunch break later on today

Edited September 30, 2015 by Philthy

[7 Provinces]

Good luck and please share the results! 

[Philthy]

I have been slacking on updating the build log as often as I would like. When I get some free time it usually gets spent on the boat versus writing about her. It really feels like I am in the home stretch now.

 

The rudder went on only so-so in my opinion. I really do not like working with brass very much since I have a hard time painting and working with the material. I guess its just one of those things I have to get better at with future builds. I sometimes cheat with brass work by substituting it for household aluminum foil. I fold the foil 4 or 5 times to the desired thickness then cut to size with and exact blade. Its just as difficult to paint but much much easier to work with.

 

On to the bow sprit. This was pretty straight forward construction wise. The timber that is lashed to the bow sprit was being a little booger wanting to stay in place since I keep bumping into the bow sprit. If it breaks off again (given my luck its a certainty) I am going to drill a hole in the timber and deck then use a wooden dowel to help keep it in place and add some strength.  

 

OOOOH and the mast update. Sadly the power drill at work was not available so I had to taper the top of the mast by hand. No worries though since this worked out just fine, if not a little more time consuming. 

Edited October 6, 2015 by Philthy

[Philthy]

I wanted to show a wide shot of the current state of the build. The mast isn't secured yet since there are some additional items I still need to add such as eye bolts (not sure if thats the right name or not). I wasn't happy at how "clunky" the eye bolts appeared that are provided by the kit. They simply looked too big for the scale of the ship so I made some smaller ones. I got the idea from the forum and made them by twisting small diameter wire around the thickness of a paper clip. This significantly reduced their size and I feel blends better with the boat as a whole. I hope they turn out well when it comes time to work on the rigging. 

 

I also attached a photo of the timber used to secure the bow sprit. The instructions didn't provide much info how to construct this item, let alone how it mounts to the bow sprit. I used some aluminum foil painted black to mimic metal bands at the top and bottom. I have no historical or photo reference for this addition but I wanted to add some detail to her. 

Edited October 6, 2015 by Philthy

[7 Provinces]

Looking very good! 

An idea about the brass or aluminum foil you use to substitute the brass: have a look at the build log of mrcc (the bluenose log). He uses cardboard instead and it seems to me that paint sticks better to cardboard than to any metal really. Anyway it looks good.

[Philthy]

Looking very good! 

An idea about the brass or aluminum foil you use to substitute the brass: have a look at the build log of mrcc (the bluenose log). He uses cardboard instead and it seems to me that paint sticks better to cardboard than to any metal really. Anyway it looks good.

 

Thanks for the tip about using cardboard instead of brass. I will have to take a look at that build log you mentioned. Updates on the build should be posted soon. 

[Philthy]

Well rigging is in full swing now. Today I got the main mast rigged up to my liking and quickly realized I need more practice / studying when it comes to rigging dead eyes and securing lines. One of my problems is I gauge my build to other expert ship builders who simply produce master pieces. Again I have to remind myself that this is only my second attempt at wooden ship building and things will improve over time and with practice. So with that being said I am going to check out the forum and study up on how to secure these lines. I am thinking about displaying the boat without sails. I know this isn't the most "accurate" way of displaying the ship but I think it looks better. Tomorrows plan is to build the "boom rigging" things (not sure on the terminology) and rigging my first blocks. Only a few more hours and she should be ready for the display shelf. 

[GuntherMT]

 I need more practice / studying when it comes to rigging dead eyes and securing lines.  

 

I posted a mini-tutorial on how I rig blocks, but the 'seizing' part of that will work for every part of the rigging.  For example, your shrouds can be seized using the exact same method I use on the blocks, but you just leave a loop where the tutorial shows a block, and drop the loop over the mast and into place.  You can move the seizing up and down before you pull the ends tight and secure it.

 

See this post - http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/8085-armed-virginia-sloop-by-gunthermt-model-shipways-scale-148/?p=328294

 

Just start around step 5 since you don't need to secure a hook to the block.

 

Happy to answer any questions you might have.

[Jolley Roger]

She's looking great!

 

Looks like a real fun build.

 

Good luck with the rigging, i'm sure you'll make a success of it.

[Philthy]

Thanks GuntherMT for the link! I actually looked at your build log for the AVS and took screen shoots of the jig you used for wrapping up loose lines. I have incorporated this into this current build. I wanted to secure all the loose lines from the mast before moving on to the other rigging. I feel this will help me keep everything in order along the way as well as helping in preventing damage along the way due to my clumsy Mongo hands.

 

The Bon Retour has a relatively basic rigging set up as far as amount and complexity in comparison to other larger ships. Like I mentioned during the course of this build log, I have had the mindset that this build is a warm up pre-course in preparation for bigger and better things in terms of skill level. Using a jig seems like a must in wrapping up these lines and adding a sense of realism. This tip will certainly be used on future builds . 

[GuntherMT]

Your rope coils are nicely done, so I sort of hate to tell you this, but the lanyard coming out of the dead-eye is not secured to a belaying point or coiled, it wraps up and around the shroud and is seized.

 

Here is a drawing that hopefully will help - the red arrow is the end of the lanyard.  After it comes out of that last hole in the bottom deadeye, it comes up to the upper deadeye (behind it) and through to the front under the rope (sometimes this isn't done due to not enough gap on a model.  Mine doesn't go through like this as I didn't leave a large enough gap there).  Then it wraps around and under itself in the back to tighten it, then wraps around the shroud 5 or 6 wraps, before the end is pulled up and seized.

 

 

The coils are for taking care of the loose ends of ropes that are tied off to belaying pins, cleats, or bitts.

[Philthy]

Thanks for the heads up and awesome photo that explains it Brian! I will correct this boo boo and show you the results soon. I hope I left myself enough slack to accomplish this. Just comes down to not knowing but learning is occurring lol

 

UPDATE: 

 

Well unfortunately I did not leave myself enough slack on the dead eye rope to fix this mistake. I tried to CA glue a fresh line and match the photo but the results were not so good. Im going to leave the rest as is and press on with the build. I could have tore down the existing rigging and started from scratch but laziness took over. Im going to chalk this one up to as a learning experience and improve upon on the next ship. 

Edited October 8, 2015 by Philthy

[GuntherMT]

It's certainly up to you, as it's your ship, and if you are happy with it, then great, but this is probably one of the simpler fixes that you'll ever have, as all you really need to do in order to fix it is remove the lanyards and re-rig them with longer ropes.  Since they only run from dead-eye to dead-eye, and those are both secured to the ship or the shrouds, the replacement of the lanyards should be pretty straightforward and not cause any issues with the other parts at all.   I'd guess it would take you less than an hour to re-rig all 4 lanyards.

 

I suppose it's all about the person building it.  I know that for me, I'd be forever bugged by knowing they were wrong, but I'm more than a little bit OCD about that sort of stuff (I'm a QA tester by profession, so I guess it comes with the trade).  If you are happy with it, then power on, and build the rest and keep on learning!

[Philthy]

Well thanks to Gunther and my OCD I ended up fixing the dead eyes lol. Im sure this is something that will get better with more practice so I wanted to get it done right. I knew that eventually after hanging her on the shelf I would redo them out of frustration so I might as well fix it now.

 

So with the help of a few photos from the forum, Gunther's example and a picture I found in the Jackstay book I took another crack at it. The dead eye to the right is the corrected one and I went ahead and attached the photo from the Jackstay book in case someone else runs into this problem in the future. I really don't like how the CA glue darkens the string when seizing the lines so Im going to try to minimize its use in effort to preserve the desired look of the string being used. 

 

 

[lionfish]

looks good, the rigging is what concerns me the most about tall ships, but we have a great group here to help us.

[GuntherMT]

If you are like me, you'd be really unhappy with yourself later if you'd left it, so I think you'll be happy about your decision.

 

 I really don't like how the CA glue darkens the string when seizing the lines so Im going to try to minimize its use in effort to preserve the desired look of the string being used. 

 

What I do when I do use CA to hold a seizing, is I make sure to use CA over the entire seizing on all sides, so that it's all the same color.  At the end of the build I'll go over all the rigging with a bright light, and any that CA were used on should be slightly shiny, so I'll use clear matte varnish on them to get rid of the shine.

 

Mostly I just try to use 50/50 PVA/Water mix on the rigging, but on seizing CA is definitely something I use when I need to, just need to know up front that you'll want to do something about the shine at the end.

[Philthy]

Well big big news at Philthy's Shipways! The Bon Retour has been renamed the "Breezy Weezy" in honor of my stepmom lol! All construction is complete at this time and all that is left is a little touch up here and there from when I was a little rough on the boat. I took up Gunther's tip and used a 50/50 mix of PVA (white elemers glue) and water and applied this mix to my rigging lines. This gave all the lines a more uniform color appearance after some spots were eye sores from using CA glue to secure blocks etc. 

 

I was burning the midnight oil last night when I got the idea to rename the boat and add it to the stern area. I am really glad I did and took a shot at making her a little more "Me" in both name and home port of Hollywood FL. 

I really do not like the pedestals and stand that is included in the kit. Its having a nice looking truck but then you lower it and put spinning rims on it. NO BUENO... So I am going to buy some stock basswood and build a mock slip way for her to rest upon. 

 

This is my second wooden ship model and I could not have been more excited to tackle my next project. During the course of this build that has spanned 2+ years I am more confident when it comes to planking a hull. I cut my teeth on decking (still need to try treenails) and the basics like painting wood with a brush versus a plastic kit with an air brush. Another key learning point during this build came from this forum in accurately rigging dead eyes and shrouds. I will be sure to take some classier photos when the slip way is complete and will add her to the completed builds section. Hope to see you all on my next build I will start later today hopefully later today.

[GuntherMT]

Congratulations!  Quite a nice little boat you have there to display.

[lionfish]

looks great man, looks kinda like the boats my high school used for the sailing team, though i rowed cornish pilot gigs

[7 Provinces]

Nice work!

[donrobinson]

Fine looking boat, congratulations