ancre Bonhomme Richard by BlockPlane - Scale 1/48 - ANCRE

[BlockPlane]

 I started this built sometime ago. Given the scope and difficulty, I decided to focus on deciphering the plans and determining a comfortable plan of attack before starting a build log. 
  I’m presently building and installing frames.  At first I didn’t trust the lines and found myself leaving things proud to give myself a little room to work with. A good idea initially, but means substantial amount of sanding later on. Patience......

Some pictures to bring things up to date. 

[Kikatinalong]

Looks like your off to a nice start. 

Would be nice to know a little more about the model .

[mtaylor]

Chris,

Off to a great start.  If you haven't done so, use the search feature for Bonhomme Richard.  There's been at least one other build of her by Jeronimo.  Plus discussions on the wreck being found,    My bad... there's another one by Jerry Greening.    These might help you.

 

I do have the monograph also and it's on my bucket list.  

[BlockPlane]

  My apologies for leaving out some, if all of the finer points. I made that post late in the evening and by that time of day, my verbal and written word functions are in shut down mode. 

  When I was initially trying to determine which Ancre monograph I was going to build next, I was drawn to the history of the Bonhomme Richard. Doing some research also revealed that there were very few actual builds of her. This being my second build, I still have a sense of being a Greenhorn and really don't feel like I know what I'm doing. Reminds me of when I was a Midshipmen. On occasion, while sailing into a stiff headwind, we would stand on the bow and throw a football hallmary pass into the wind and pray that it would find its way back to us. Praying that this stupid idea was going to work. My point being, that with every piece I glue on to this model, I find myself saying, "oh boy, I hope this is going to work." With that said, to give credit where credit is due, if it were not for Jeronimos exquisite, next level build and the depth and quality of his pictures, I would not have attempted this model!

  After all of that, I'm using Cherry for this model. It's abundant, harvested locally, easy to work with and developes a wonderful patina. As of now, I'm planning on not planking her. I like the idea of having the framing exposed and looking in to see the finished interior. I do not plan on setting the masts either. At roughly 52" long +/- she is going to be big enough. I have a very long journey ahead of me and things can and will change. 

Happy Modeling. 

P.S. The life expectancy of a football on a ship, is about 5 minutes. 

  

[dvm27]

Great start on your model Chris. As a Midshipmen I'm sure you were inspired by the incredible Robert Cook model in the Naval Academy Museum. A nice history of the ship and photos of both models may be viewed in an article by naval historian Grant Walker at https://www.usna.edu/Users/oceano/pguth/website/shipwrecks/sailing_ships/Construction_lecture.htm.

[MEDDO]

Love this.  One of the members in my club is building this from the same monograph and it seems to be coaming along great.  Thanks Greg for the link very interesting.

[Kikatinalong]

1 hour ago, dvm27 said:

Great start on your model Chris. As a Midshipmen I'm sure you were inspired by the incredible Robert Cook model in the Naval Academy Museum. A nice history of the ship and photos of both models may be viewed in an article by naval historian Grant Walker at https://www.usna.edu/Users/oceano/pguth/website/shipwrecks/sailing_ships/Construction_lecture.htm.

Thank you Greg. The link was well worth the read.

[mtaylor]

Chris,

I think we all have gone through what you're feeling about "is this right?".   Every scratch builder had to start someplace. 

[Mike Y]

Very nice start!

[BlockPlane]

  Work continues. The amount of time and material associated with one frame is incredible. Since my last post, I’ve installed 5 frames and have glued up and rough cut another 9.

On another note, I noticed that the Keelson had developed a nice bow. To help relieve some on the stress, I made 2 cuts with a thin kerf handsaw then glued in small pieces to fill the void. After the initial two cuts were made the bend was pretty much gone. When fitting the pieces to be glued, I made sure not to have too tight a fit so as to not create additional stress in the opposite direction. One of my biggest challenges is to not create additional force when gluing pieces together. Meaning, if it doesn’t quite fit, don’t force it into place. 

 

 

[druxey]

Please use your building board with retaining strips each side to keep your keel straight. You'll need that  board for erecting the framing anyway. Once some longitudinal timbers are on, the keel will remain straight.

[BlockPlane]

12 hours ago, druxey said:

Please use your building board with retaining strips each side to keep your keel straight. You'll need that  board for erecting the framing anyway. Once some longitudinal timbers are on, the keel will remain straight.

Druxey,

 Sorry for the confusion. I do have a build board and the keel is secure. I developed a problem with the keelson, which sits on top of the keel. Perhaps I’m premature in working on the keelson, but fitting it to each frame as I go seems easier then trying to fit it to all the frames at once. 

 

[druxey]

Got it, Chris. However, still keep your keel straight with longitudinal battens. You won't regret it.

[popash42]

Dear Chris 

you are doing wonderful work👍

, it's looks promising beginning, I will keep following 😊

[BlockPlane]

I’ve been MIA, but still making progress.  

[French Mr Bean]

Hello,

Good work and the wood is beautiful But Link key ranks are only 2.

Michel

[Prowler901]

Absolutely outstanding work, Shipmate!

 

Todd

[allanyed]

Thank you for your update.  Your log is a joy to follow!

Allan

[BlockPlane]

[BlockPlane]

While a sizable amount of time has past since my last post. Work on the model has progressed at what I would consider a snails pace. As we can all relate, each step presents its own set of challenges. The stern section was something I was really looking forward to. Time will tell if I deciphered the plans correctly. I'm finding the process of cutting in the cannon port rather tedious. As a result, I only do it when the mood strikes. Enjoy the pictures. 

 

 

[ChrisLBren]

Nice work Chris - I know what you mean Ancre plans.  They are so accurate - I made the same mistake leaving too much fat on the stern part assemblies on my Le Gros Ventre build and after a half dozen failed attempts I learned - the more accurate your parts are to the plans including the bevels/bias - the better the results.  And less sanding !!!

Chris

[BlockPlane]

Chris, that’s good advice. I definitely need to trust the plans a little more. 
 

Chris

[No Idea]

Fantastic build Chris I'm going to follow along