Bounty Launch by Dollburger - OcCre - 1:24

[Dollburger]

I've had this kit sitting in my shop for almost a year with minimal work done. I'm finally motivated to jump into it and I'll try to post updates to this log as I go. All of my modeling experience is with plastic or resin - mostly Warhammer 40k stuff; I'm excited to work with wood but I'm out of my element a bit. I've already encountered a few instructions I'm unsure about, and I'm hoping to receive some guidance. 

 

Test fitting the first pieces.

 

Glued and stained.

 

Decking is cut, stained and glued in place. The parts list is tough to follow because the parts listed aren't actually what's included in the box. I had just enough wood for the decking when I was originally thinking I was short. Makes it harder for a newbie to inventory parts and figure out what's what.

 

Seats are test fitted but not attached yet; thwarts are added for mainmast and foremast.

 

My first questions are already happening in steps 1 and 2 unfortunately. I'm in the US (Menards and Home Depot nearby) and I'm not sure what products to get for "pore-filling lacquer" and varnish. Does anyone have product recommendations? In the first step - do I really coat the frames, false keel, and decking with pore filling lacquer? What's the purpose of this? Second - for varnish I'm just varnishing the seats but it doesn't appear that I'm supposed to stain them a more realistic color. Does that sound right? I'm wondering if maybe I should stain them the same "maple" color as the false keel and frames instead, and then apply varnish. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

 

That's all I have so far. I'm at a bit of a pause until I figure out the lacquer/varnish questions and then I'll keep going. These steps have been quite simple and I'm glad now I took people's recommendations and started on an easier kit. I know the real problems will start once I get started on planking.

 

I'm not sure why most of my pics are showing up in portrait orientation. They're all landscape on my PC.

 

[Cathead]

I've built the Model Shipways version of this craft, so don't have direct experience with the OcCre version. I don't understand the pore-filling lacquer either.  While I don't claim to be an expert, I've built a variety of wooden kits and scratchbuilds and never used anything more than basic wood oil or stain as a finish. Personally I don't like the shiny look of lacquer/varnish on a model but that's builder's choice.

 

One thing I will say is that it's often easier/better to stain pieces before using any glue on them, as glue doesn't take up stain the same as raw wood, so any seeps or spills will show up if you stain something after assembly. On the other hand, prestaining means that if you need to sand or alter something later, you can get an uneven finish.

 

I was surprised they have you glue the decking straight to those frames, since the frames are clearly plywood and wildly out of scale, but I guess that's their shortcut to make the model easier to build. 

 

Not having built this kit makes it hard to be more helpful, but I'll try if you have further questions!

[Dollburger]

Thank you! I'm opting not to find any pore filling lacquer, but I did use matte varnish on the seats. Next step is to start sanding; hopefully I'll get some time today.

[Cathead]

Any progress to report?