HMS Bounty by LyleK1 - Artesania Latina - 1:48 scale

[LyleK1]

Another long week of work on the Bounty!
The shroud mount rails were a lot tougher than I anticipated and there was some cussing and getting up and walking away a few times! The problem is the area to mount them is minimal and really no good way to clamp in place to allow for drying. I tried these and they worked on the open side of the hull:

But on the other side, I finally figured out that the best way to accomplish a good fit was to glue on the braces, allow them to dry overnight and then install them:

Worked well on both sides... just took me a while to figure that out!

Made up the steps for boarding the ship. The plans called for 8 of them... But looking at the installation, about half would have been below the waterline! I installed 4 steps, down to the wales:

 

Next, I built the Binnacle and installed it:

A simple build, nothing to add.

The plans call for several double blocks to be mounted to the deck around each mast. Using the rope I made, I attached a piece to each block and lashed a loop for the hook to attach:

Its been a while since I've done rigging work but I got rolling after tying a few. The hooks were cut down and this first batch were installed around the mizzen mast:

I am not looking forward to threading those when the time comes!

I built the first cannon/carriage using my usual methods for aging the brass:

The flash on the camera makes it look brighter than it really is.

After all of that I did some painting and aging to catch up with all the installations over the last few weeks. Here is an overview of the Bounty after this weeks work:

 

More cannons to assemble and the launch and jolly boats are on the horizon too.

 

 

 

 

[allanyed]

Your  channels show holes for the deadeye strops to pass through.   I know this was the style used early on, but do you or does anyone know when this was changed to having notches that were then covered with a molding strip once the deadeyes were secured.   I think the change was around 1770,  about 15 years before Bounty was launched so she would have had the slots and cover molding piece, but I may be off on the year.  Sketch of what I mean is below.  The slot design was made for ease of putting on and removing the deadeyes as needed and it is easier on the model as well.

Thanks

Allan

 

 

[LyleK1]

6 hours ago, allanyed said:

Your  channels show holes for the deadeye strops to pass through.   I know this was the style used early on, but do you or does anyone know when this was changed to having notches that were then covered with a molding strip once the deadeyes were secured.   I think the change was around 1770,  about 15 years before Bounty was launched so she would have had the slots and cover molding piece, but I may be off on the year.  Sketch of what I mean is below.  The slot design was made for ease of putting on and removing the deadeyes as needed and it is easier on the model as well.

Thanks

Allan

 

 

After reading your post and a message from another Bounty builder (Tim M.), I decided to rip through some of the plans, the Anatomy book and the kit plans. I also researched your stated dates and found it to be accurate enough (actually, I found the change to have occurred in 1771 but that's splitting hairs!)

It is widely thought that Bethia's keel was laid in 1783, well after the above stated date. Obviously, I followed the kits plans without researching this particular part as I was not aware of this change. In the Anatomy book there are several drawings of the channels. Although there is no breakdown of the channel itself, there is clearly some differences:

The "slots" appear to be very close to the outer edge of the channel and as you can see, there is no mention of a trim piece or whatever it may be called. I have to think there were slots and a covering piece.

I am going to look over the chains and deadeye linkage to see what needs to be done for a proper fit. I really hate to redo these pieces but I might find a way to modify them while still attached to the model.

The holes a bit too far back to file into slots... what I am considering is cutting the slots into the outer edge of the existing channels and cover it when the deadeye work is done. That leaves me with the holes...! I may consider a cover of some sort, I have some veneer that I might be able to fashion into a cover that will be virtually unnoticeable or I may just redo the pieces. They were a pain in the butt...

I'll post my solution once I figure it out.

Thanks for the info.

[allanyed]

Hi Lyle,

Thanks for the response.  Since posting I too found the date of 1771 in Goodwin's The Construction and Fitting of the English Man of War.   Regarding research, good for you taking the time to do so!!!!!   Based on the build logs here at MSW I would research every piece in an AL kit before using it as they, like many others,  appear to not have done more than a modicum of research on their own for any of their kits.  

Allan

[LyleK1]

43 minutes ago, allanyed said:

Hi Lyle,

Thanks for the response.  Since posting I too found the date of 1771 in Goodwin's The Construction and Fitting of the English Man of War.   Regarding research, good for you taking the time to do so!!!!!   Based on the build logs here at MSW I would research every piece in an AL kit before using it as they, like many others,  appear to not have done more than a modicum of research on their own for any of their kits.  

Allan

Agreed… disappointing but not surprising.

Of course, my own lack of knowledge on period changes and the accepted norms (like the gratings you pointed out earlier) is not helping but I enjoy learning… not necessarily fixing though!!

Here is the direction I’m going in:

 

Still working on the slot but it’s close. The veneer will be fine once glued down and stained.

Lots of extra work but I think it will work.

Thoughts?

[Trond]

5 minutes ago, LyleK1 said:

Agreed… disappointing but not surprising.

Of course, my own lack of knowledge on period changes and the accepted norms (like the gratings you pointed out earlier) is not helping but I enjoy learning… not necessarily fixing though!!

Here is the direction I’m going in:

 

Still working on the slot but it’s close. The veneer will be fine once glued down and stained.

Lots of extra work but I think it will work.

Thoughts?

Did you make the hinches or was it part of the ship model kit? I need to make two of my own

[LyleK1]

3 minutes ago, Trond said:

Did you make the hinches or was it part of the ship model kit? I need to make two of my own

I kinda sorta made them…

I have some really small hinges from another project.

I cut them down and used them.

[LyleK1]

Following up:

[LyleK1]

One channel done:

 

Thoughts?

[Joe100]

I know the feeling there. You think you’ve done it right and someone comes along and informs that you’ve made an error. We’re only as good as our research materials in the end I guess. I’ll be the first to admit that the period before 1890 isn’t my strong point. My Bounty will certainly contain errors. In a previous life i consulted on and helped write several books on the Kriegsmarine, and that knowledge has stuck over the years. I often see models of say Bismarck or Tirpitz with pop culture research errors, and I just let them go, unless the specifically ask for my opinion. In those cases the research has been dodgy form the start, repeated over and over until it’s considered fact, even when it isn’t.
 

Bounty falls in that weird problem area of research, where she’s been written about to death, but the facts about the actual ship are contained in a few contemporary sheets of paper, literally.  How could anyone have known that this throw-away mission was going to become one of the most famous stories ever told? If they had, someone might have written down a few details and saved us all this trouble!

 

Of course I’m loving how this model is turning out. She looks so much more official in that paint scheme too, and I’m glad I’m doing something similar with mine. I may have  missed it, but have you settled on a color for the figurehead?

[LyleK1]

48 minutes ago, Joe100 said:

I know the feeling there. You think you’ve done it right and someone comes along and informs that you’ve made an error. We’re only as good as our research materials in the end I guess. I’ll be the first to admit that the period before 1890 isn’t my strong point. My Bounty will certainly contain errors. In a previous life i consulted on and helped write several books on the Kriegsmarine, and that knowledge has stuck over the years. I often see models of say Bismarck or Tirpitz with pop culture research errors, and I just let them go, unless the specifically ask for my opinion. In those cases the research has been dodgy form the start, repeated over and over until it’s considered fact, even when it isn’t.
 

Bounty falls in that weird problem area of research, where she’s been written about to death, but the facts about the actual ship are contained in a few contemporary sheets of paper, literally.  How could anyone have known that this throw-away mission was going to become one of the most famous stories ever told? If they had, someone might have written down a few details and saved us all this trouble!

 

Of course I’m loving how this model is turning out. She looks so much more official in that paint scheme too, and I’m glad I’m doing something similar with mine. I may have  missed it, but have you settled on a color for the figurehead?

Hi Joe,

Very true... what you've typed.

I don't mind having someone point out an error. After all, I did state that I am looking to do this model as historically accurate as possible!

Somethings can be redone or changed... some can't!

I certainly will be checking things a bit more closely and I am learning quite a lot!

 

I have not considered colors for the figurehead. Leaning toward a red riding habit similar to the Anatomy book cover... no reason except Bligh stated that the islanders were pleased with the new colors. I think the Tahitians like red! (I have no clue!!)

[Joe100]

Isn’t that vexing? We’re tantalizing close to an answer there and he glosses over it. He could have inserted just a couple words, and bang, we would have known her paint scheme. So close, yet so far. 

[fifthace]

9 hours ago, LyleK1 said:

Hi Joe,

Very true... what you've typed.

I don't mind having someone point out an error. After all, I did state that I am looking to do this model as historically accurate as possible!

Somethings can be redone or changed... some can't!

I certainly will be checking things a bit more closely and I am learning quite a lot!

 

I have not considered colors for the figurehead. Leaning toward a red riding habit similar to the Anatomy book cover... no reason except Bligh stated that the islanders were pleased with the new colors. I think the Tahitians like red! (I have no clue!!)

I am not sure where I got this excerpt from, but it is something I came across years ago in my previous build of the Bounty when trying to determine whether or not the Navy Board's copper hull upgrade reached the Bounty before she set sail. I believe the figure head was Blue?

Edited March 2, 2022 by fifthace

[allanyed]

Dominic

Your post above might  come from the following article -->   https://www.boatbuilding.xyz/hms-bounty/decoration.html  This is not contemporary information so may or may not be accurate.   

Allan

 

 

[LyleK1]

7 hours ago, fifthace said:

I am not sure where I got this excerpt from, but it is something I came across years ago in my previous build of the Bounty when trying to determine whether or not the Navy Board's copper hull upgrade reached the Bounty before she set sail. I believe the figure head was Blue?

It came from the Anatomy book.

 I own a copy of it.

As noted in the text, no colors are mentioned.

So, it’s left open to interpretation… as is the stern decoration.

[LyleK1]

4 hours ago, allanyed said:

Dominic

Your post above might  come from the following article -->   https://www.boatbuilding.xyz/hms-bounty/decoration.html  This is not contemporary information so may or may not be accurate.   

Allan

 

 

Direct quote from the Anatomy book.

[Joe100]

Yeah the Anatomy book gets you close, but there are some details that are incorrect based on some of the more knowledgeable folks here. It’s fine for my purposes, but I will be checking my rigging against a couple other books I have in the library. 
 

Sadly nothing contemporary exists concerning the paint scheme of the ship. Blue has always remained a possibility, but I’ve always had a hunch they just used black. Bounty was so unremarkable in her appearance, that, well, no one remarked on it. She retained her civilian colors almost certainly, as Bligh would have been responsible for the cost if he’d wanted her repainted, and seeing as he was on this voyage to promote himself professionally, I don’t see him being in the position to do it anyway. We do know that the RN had her in hand for the removal of the iron fittings, coppering of the hull, stepping masts, and installation of bronze hardware, and at that time her paint would have been touched up. I’m sure folks here will be much more knowledgeable but I’m not sure blue was even in use by the RN at the time. Since Bethia was almost new anyway, and being a collier, I think black really is the most likely. I’d be absolutely grateful to be shown otherwise though. 
 

I saw a model of Bounty recently, and the builder chose to paint the entire hull black, it was extremely fetching! 
 

Bligh takes us tantalizingly close in his journal, but like so many Bounty details we get just enough for us to want more. 

[LyleK1]

Today's work:

 

200 feet down... a lot to go!

[LyleK1]

Spring is arriving and I find myself outdoors or on the boat a bit more!

A good thing!

Managed to do some work... tear it apart and do it again only to discover that it's still not right! Or at least, it doesn't look right to me.

Assembly of the cannons looked to be straightforward until I started researching the guns from that time period:

 

Blackened all the parts:

 

In the Anatomy book, the carriage is close in design but the front wheels are larger. I decided to modify the carriage a bit at the front that lifts the carriage off the deck, slightly. The addition to the underside of the carriage and the lift is not noticeable once installed.

 

Final assembly (I thought):

Not too bad looking... I HATE THE LOOPS!

They look huge on the carriages and to add insult to injury...:

The blocks look worse!

So, after all the work, I decided to remove the loops and make my own. Additionally, I am using a smaller block on the next version.

I've also started building a jig to hold the cannons and the rigging. Hoping to completely rig each one before installing. The Bounty only has 4 cannons... thank God!

 

I'm off on a boat trip tomorrow and won't be in the shop for a week or so!

Next up date when I get these cannons sorted out!

[TOM G]

What you did is right....... I read this somewhere, that even so you are building to scale something won't look right. and you have to go off scale to make it look right to the human eye.  A good gauge to use for this is a scale figure, in your case a 1:48 can be found on ebay  ( o scale figure ) in model railroad trains in toys and hobbies.

[LyleK1]

On 3/14/2022 at 9:18 AM, TOM G said:

What you did is right....... I read this somewhere, that even so you are building to scale something won't look right. and you have to go off scale to make it look right to the human eye.  A good gauge to use for this is a scale figure, in your case a 1:48 can be found on ebay  ( o scale figure ) in model railroad trains in toys and hobbies.

I have a scale gauge that I use frequently but a scaled sailor is good idea!

[LyleK1]

After a bit of a hiatus, I'm back at at it!

I reworked the first cannon... slightly smaller loops that are countersunk into the carriage. They look better!

Additionally, I used smaller blocks. Overall, I like the look much better.

The cannon is shown in a jig I built to hold the cannon while rigging it... needs some work but a good start:

 

Doing a bunch of these must be an exercise in patience! Glad I'm only doing four on this model!

More to come in a few days. 
 

[LyleK1]

Quick update... lots of pictures.

I laid down a coat of boiled linseed oil from the deck down and over the wales. Most of the deck work is done and I am ready to add cannons, long boats, etc.

Here are a few before pictures:

 

And after:

 

Lastly, the first cannon in place:

[Joe100]

More inspiration for my build!

[LyleK1]

46 minutes ago, Joe100 said:

More inspiration for my build!

Thanks Joe!

More updates this weekend! And pics!

Cannons are done and working on the steering system and anchors...

[Trond]

2 hours ago, LyleK1 said:

Thanks Joe!

More updates this weekend! And pics!

Cannons are done and working on the steering system and anchors...

Totaly agree with Joe here, inspiration.

For a first timer like me, it is very inspiering and learing when looking at what experienced  builder like you Lyle are doing. 

[Dave_E]

REALLY NICE Lyle. Truly building excellence for new builders to strive for (me 😁).

[LyleK1]

Thanks for the kind words and sticking with me through the build Dave, Joe and Trond (amongst many other followers!).

You guys have inspired me with your comments AND your builds!

 

So, off we go with another installment.

I finally finished the cannons to my satisfaction! Third time was the charm... still some room for improvement but it was my first time doing cannons and the associated rigging. I learned a lot. Considering my next build will more than likely include more cannons, it was a good teaching aid.

Next up are the steering mechanisms and the anchors... a ton of intricate work to be done to prepare these for installation.

First off, the kit pieces for the steering were not accurate. Using the Anatomy book, I fashioned the pedestal pieces from some scrap wood I have in my shop:

The piece on the left is from the kit and now resides in the garbage!

 

Some sanding and weathering along with the steering wheel (which I also replaced) and the final assembly:

 

Installed on the deck... and a good view of the cannons installed and rigged:

 

You may have also noticed that I added the smoke stack to the binnacle... again, not part of the kit but is part of the original plans.

 

The anchors were not difficult to assemble but took a lot of time and some head scratching because I didn't like the kit plans for them either! It started with a simple gluing of the stock pieces with the anchor sandwiched between. The anchors were blackened first:

 

The stocks were weathered and for the banding, I cut card stock into thin strips and painted them black. I used them to simulate the steel bands around the anchor stocks... so much easier than trying to get brass strips to bend to all the different angles!

I also, weathered the anchors and added some rust to them. Lastly, I wrapped the rings that attach to the anchor with rope. The finished anchors:

 

The hardware to raise and lower the anchors from the cat heads is all made by hand, no kit pieces:

And then soldered the piece closed.

I also needed to make an anchor line as the kit stuff is not to my liking:

The rope on the left will be the anchor rode while the rope on the right was a bit too small.

For the record, I made both ropes using Guttermann polyester thread MARA 30.

The left side was 3 strands with 4 threads used for each strand.

The right side was the same number of strands but with 3 threads on each.

Much more work to come on the anchors and the steering mechanism rigging.

May have another update tomorrow or Monday before leaving town for a week or so!

[LyleK1]

Anchor retrieval hook soldered and blackened, super close-up.

Ready to be attached to the cat head:

 

Shows all the flaws! Thank God, nobody has that good of eyes.

 

Anchor rigging is mostly done, just rope coils to be added.

I don't like the unnatural way the ropes lay:

I need to do some research on how to shape them.

 

 

Lastly, the steering rigging was straight forward but I managed to screw it up by missing one of the pulley blocks... Doh!

Practice makes perfect!

 

Off for a week in the sunshine!

Next update will be the start of the Jolly boat and the long boat that will be mounted on deck.

Other than that, the deck is essentially done!

[Tim Moore]

Great work on those anchors Lyle, love the rusty patina, and the cannon are terrific.