Hannah by gjdale (Grant) - FINISHED - Amati - 1:300 - BOTTLE

[gjdale]

 

A Ship-in-a-bottle has been on my “bucket list” for some time now. A little while ago, I was re-enthused about such a project when I saw Glen McGuire's excellent rendition of this kit. A heavy hint was dropped to my wife, who duly produced the kit for my birthday in November last year. Completion of another modelling project, the holiday season, and work on a new furniture project has kept me out of the shipyard until now.

 

I will forgo the “unboxing” photos as there are several of these already on the forum. Suffice to say that the only item that immediately jumps out at me for replacement are the sails. These have heavy black lines drawn on them and they look nothing like the box art. I have asked the Admiral (an avid sewer) for some assistance in sourcing an appropriate replacement material.

The Hull

 Building commences with the hull, which is assembled from a series of lifts. I have read in other build logs where some have found that these did not accurately match the 1:1 templates provided in the instructions, however I was pleased to find that in my kit at least, they were a very close match. These templates each have a couple of crosses on them, that I can only assume to be alignment marks. The instructions are silent on this point, and I do not recall reading in anyone else’s log where they have been put to use. The instructions simply invite you to assemble the lifts in numerical order, with no further guidance on alignment.

 

I decided to make use of these marks to help align the lifts correctly. I scanned the 1:1 scale drawing, printed it and cut out the individual patterns. I then pasted these temporarily onto the lifts with a UHU glue stick and drilled a 0.8mm diameter hole through each of the reference marks.

 

 

 

 The paper templates were then peeled off, leaving the lifts ready to be assembled.

 

 

I used two pieces of 0.8mm diameter brass rod to dry fit the lifts together. There are several more lifts to be added under the stern, but these will be fitted in two pieces to accommodate the keel.

 

 

This seems to have been a reasonably successful process, so I will now go ahead and glue them up.

 

It feels good to be back at the bench!

 

[Glen McGuire]

WOOHOO!!!  I've been anxiously waiting on this build for months!  Can't wait to follow along and see how you how you put this thing together. 

 

Looks like you are off to a great start.  I like the way you used the brass pins for alignment.

[Keith Black]

I keep following you SIB builders I'm gonna do something I'll probably regret. 

[mtaylor]

Great to see you back at the bench, Grant.  Count me in to follow along,

[Glen McGuire]

1 hour ago, Keith Black said:

I keep following you SIB builders I'm gonna do something I'll probably regret. 

I'm thinking a smaller version of your Tennessee in a Tennessee whiskey bottle!  That should be next on your list, Keith!  

[gjdale]

Thanks Glen, Keith and Mark - glad to have you all onboard for the ride. Glen - you know that yours is my "go to" reference log for this build!

 

Moving right along....

 

I proceeded to glue up the lifts, adding the additional stern pieces. These were fitted leaving a gap between them for the keel. The photoetch brass sheet containing the keel was used as a spacer for this purpose. At the bow, there are two additional shorter pieces added. These are then sanded to create a continuous slope before attaching the final piece, called the under deck, that runs the full length of the hull. Here are a couple of photos prior to commencement of final shaping. Not much to see, but they give an idea of the process.

 

 

 

The Quarterdeck is made up separately from four more lifts, which are then shaped to a “wedge” shaped profile shown in the instructions/plans. Interestingly, two of these pieces are duplicated and shown as “optional” – presumably to give some latitude in achieving the correct final thickness. I found that I did not need to use the optional pieces. Here is the result – again, not very exciting.

 

 

This piece is then set aside and attached somewhat later in the build.

 

I must have read through the instructions from cover to cover at least a dozen times now, and they seem to be lacking in some areas (no surprise there!). Although they are quite specific about painting some bits and pieces, at no stage do they indicate to paint the hull itself. I’ll make a judgement call about that in due course. They also give quite explicit instruction about NOT fitting two of the support columns on the base, but never get around to saying when the right time is to do this, or even to attach the base to the hull. Another conundrum to solve. Rest assured, I’ll be checking through all the other build logs I can find to see how others have approached these issues.

 

Now waiting for the glue to cure fully before starting to shape the hull.

[gjdale]

I shaped the hull today. Initial sanding to get the shape roughly right, then applied a coat of Durham’s Rock Hard Water Putty to even out the various imperfections, followed by a final sanding at 240, then 400 grit. Here is the hull as it stands today.

 

[gjdale]

After a couple of months of no progress, I finally got back to this over the last couple of days. The usual excuses of life getting in the way, coupled with a focus on a new furniture project (building a display cabinet for some of my models). That project is ongoing, but hopefully I’ll be able to progress this little one at the same time now.

 

The stand is comprised of a timber base with a brass top plate and four ‘columns’ that will support the ship. After painting the timber base, the top plate was glued down and the two lateral columns added. The longitudinal columns get added a little later.

 

 

The decks are photo-etched brass. These are painted a dark brown and once dry they are sanded with a very fine sandpaper (1200 grit) to remove most of the paint, leaving only the caulking joints with paint. This is a quite effective method. (Note the metric ruler for scale).

 

 

The main deck is attached to a photo-etched sub-deck that has two sets of ‘ears’ that will become the mast steps/pivots. 

 

 

These two components are then held in place while the position of the quarterdeck is checked. 

 

 

The bulwarks are a single piece of photo-etched brass that is first prepared by painting in a similar fashion to the decks. Here you see the outside face of the bulwarks after sanding off the excess paint. The inner face is painted in a solid coat of dark brown.

 

 

The bulwarks are then bent to shape, initially forming around a piece of dowel of roughly the right diameter, and then on the actual hull. Slots in the bulwarks go over the channels. This is temporarily held in place (with fingers) while checking for clearance at the quarterdeck. There are three holes on each side that rigging will later pass through and these need to be clear of the quarterdeck. More by good luck than skill, my quarterdeck needed no adjustment. 

 

The quarterdeck and quarterdeck planking are then permanently attached, and then the fun begins. The bulwarks are then once again held temporarily in place while the keel/bowsprit (a single photo-etched piece) are test fit. The keel/bowsprit hooks over the forward end of the bulwarks and then should sit in a slot in the bottom of the hull (carved by you) all the way along and up the transom. Let me just say this was a lot trickier than the instructions would have you believe. It took me a couple of days of head scratching to figure out how to make mine fit. In fact, I walked away from the model for two days while I thought about it. Eventually, I decided that the only solution was to deepen the slot on the bulwark where the keel/bowsprit hooked over it. The only tool I had that would fit this narrow slot was a cutting disc for my rotary tool. Some very careful and delicate touches were required, but eventually I was able to get a reasonable fit.

 

 

Here is another overview shot. You can see in this and the previous shot that the deck hatches and gratings have also been added.

 

 

I still need to touch-up / re-do some of the paintwork – particularly the white paint on the lower hull – before moving on to the deck furniture.

 

Hopefully, it won't be another two months before the next update!

 

[Glen McGuire]

I've been pacing the floor for weeks waiting for an update!  😃   It looks fantastic so far, Grant!  Very clean and crisp. 

 

I also remember having a war with that slot in the bottom of the hull to get the keel to fit properly.  Looks like you got it to fit very nicely.  Well done!

Edited July 1, 2022 by Glen McGuire

[gjdale]

Thanks Glen. I tip my hat to you once again for your outstanding work on your miniature Chinese fleet.

[Keith Black]

Grant and Glen, you SIB guys do amazing work. 

[gjdale]

Thanks for the kind comments and the likes.

 

Some more progress over the last couple of days. The hull is now complete, barring some additional touch-up painting. Not much to say about adding the deck furniture, other than it is tiny! I needed to file the bottoms of the gun carriages slightly to enable a good fit of the gun barrels through the ports. The anchors appear to be grossly over-size for the scale, but they are still tiny.

 

Here are some overview photos of the current state of play.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And here’s a close-up of the transom. The macro lens is brutal, but notice that one of the “N”s is backwards. I have no idea if that is how it was done on the real ship.

 

 

I also painted the coat of arms for the bottle top today. The photo is not particularly flattering, but it looks fine from normal viewing distance.

 

 

Onto the rigging next. The first job will be to re-make the sails. I’ll be following the excellent example of Glen McGuire when I tackle this. I’ve already sourced some replacement material form the Admiral’s sewing stash, so am ready to go.

 

 

[Blue Ensign]

That is tiny work Grant, does it have the system whereby the  mast and rigging are inserted flat into the bottle and pulled upright with a string, or does it fit fully erected thro' the base?

 

B.E.

[gjdale]

Flat through the neck of the bottle, and then raised B.E.

[Blue Ensign]

That should prove an interesting exercise in self torture, I look forward to  seeing the event.

I hope you photo the process Grant, or is that a secret of ship bottlers, a bit like magicians  not revealing  their tricks.😉

 

B.E.

[Glen McGuire]

Fantastic job painting that coat of arms!  Not sure how you managed to do that so well as the picture does not do justice to how very small the details are.

 

How interesting that you have a backward N on the transom!!  Mine was correctly oriented. 

 

So you have a true, visual palindrome!  That adds a bit of intrigue and mystery to your model!!

[gjdale]

Now that is curious Glen. Even the photo in my instructions shows the backwards ‘N’. I wonder how/when that changed in the production process?

 

B.E. - I’ll try to remember to take some photos during the bottling process, but I’m a bit slack with the photos sometimes when I get absorbed in what I’m doing. It’s the one part of this build that scares me more than any other.

[mtaylor]

I'm guessing on the reversed "N" that one of you two have an early first version of the kit... I suspect it's your's Grant.  Whoever did the photo etch must have been confused or perhaps emptying a bottle for a test build?   LOL.

[Keith Black]

56 minutes ago, mtaylor said:

Whoever did the photo etch must have been confused or perhaps emptying a bottle for a test build? 

 Or some wisenheimer with a "watch this" move. 

[Glen McGuire]

I poked thru the Amati Hannah build logs on MSW and found 3 other builds where you could see the transom.  Two were correctly oriented and one (by DelmerModels) was like Grant's.  Interestingly, DelmerModels has a couple of crystal clear pictures of the transom with the backwards N and nobody in the comments (myself included) mentioned it!

 

And BTW - all the pictures in my instructions have the proper N.  

[Landlubber Mike]

I think mine had the proper N orientation too.  I think I would have noticed and been annoyed if it was backwards.

 

Excellent work Grant.  Like Glen, I had a really rough time getting my PE keel to fit.  I think I eventually cut it into two pieces to make it fit better.

 

Be careful with the PE bowsprit and masts.  If they get bent, I’d wait until the very end to fix them.  It only takes a few bends and the PE will split.  
 

I put mine in the bottle with sea instead of on the wood pedestal base.  I think the way I did it, the overall height was shorter than had I used the pedestals, but I still had issues with the main mast being too tall.  You might want to measure the inside of the bottle to make sure you can safely raise the main mast fully.

[BikerMart]

Interesting. And like a palindrome. The name with the backwards 'N' appears the same whether read left to right or right to left.

[mtaylor]

Ah.. a rear model sort of the the old US postage stamp with the airplane upside down.

[gjdale]

15 hours ago, Landlubber Mike said:

Be careful with the PE bowsprit and masts.  If they get bent, I’d wait until the very end to fix them.  It only takes a few bends and the PE will split.

 

15 hours ago, Landlubber Mike said:

You might want to measure the inside of the bottle to make sure you can safely raise the main mast fully.

 

Thanks for the heads-up on both counts Mike. 

[gjdale]

I wasn’t happy with the replacement sail material from the Admiral’s stash, so I’ve decided to have a go at using silk span. I have the “tutorial” addendum from David Antshcerl’s TFFM series and have ordered some silk span. So, there will be a brief hiatus while I await the material and do some testing. Stay tuned….

[Keith Black]

Grant, I look forward to seeing your work with silk span.  

[Glen McGuire]

Same here.  I have not tried that material either.  Interested to see how it works and looks!  

[gjdale]

After deciding that the cloth from the Admiral’s stash would not do the job, I decided to have a go at making the sails from silkspan, following the tutorial by David Antscherl in his Sail Making Supplement to Vol IV of TFFM. It took a while to obtain the various supplies needed, but in the end proved to be a lot easier to do than I had anticipated.

 

It all starts with making a frame with a removable centre or “plug”. I knocked one up from some scraps of melamine I had lying around. Nothing fancy here, just held together with pocket screws.

 

 

Here’s the back, showing the construction method:

 

 

A piece of Silkspan is then cut a little wider than the opening. The Silkspan is then soaked in water for a couple of minutes and then laid over the frame (with plug inserted for suppot). Gummed brown tape (as used by artists) is then applied to secure the edges of the Silkspan. The frame is then lifted clear of the plug and the Silkspan allowed to dry. As it does so, it tightens like a drum skin.

 

 

A wash is then applied using very dilute unbleached titanium white acrylic paint. I found that three applications were required to give the desired colour.

 

 

 

The photos don’t show the colour very well, but here is a side-by-side of with some untreated Silkspan for comparison.

 

 

The next step is to draw some parallel lines to represent the cloths of the sail and their seams. Antscherl recommends using a Bow Pen (known as a Ruling Pen here in Australia) with a mix of unbleached titanium white and yellow oxide paint. Instead, I tried using some Sepia ink. Unfortunately, while the Bow Pen may work well at 1:48 scale, it is not so useful at 1:300 scale. The width of the sail cloths is 21” full size, which translates to a little under 2mm at 1:300 scale, while the seam width of 1 ½” full size translates to less than 0.2mm at 1:300 scale. Using the Bow Pen at its narrowest setting I doubled the sail cloth width to leave more space between seams, but the Bow Pen line still looked too large to my eye. Having looked for alternatives, I managed to find a Copic liner pen at 0.03mm. The only catch was that the only colour this comes in is black. I drew these lines on my sail cloth, at the correct 2mm spacing and decided that these looked okay. I then made some carboard templates using the kit-provided sails as pre-templates, and drew the sail outlines onto my prepared cloth.

 

In the picture below, you can see how I’ve tested these against the Bow Pen/Sepia Ink, the Copic Liner, and no lines. For reference, I’ve placed the kit-provided sails on the right in the picture. 

 

 

 

 

The next stage was to add reinforcing seams around the edges of the sails. For this I cut 1/16” wide strips from a previously prepared piece of sail cloth and added them around the edges of all sails and then also across the reef bands, attaching them with diluted acrylic matt medium. I used my “non-preferred” areas as practice for this part, as shown in this photo.

 

 

Grommets for the reefing points were then added by placing a small dot using the 0.03mm Copic liner pen. And finally, the sails were cut free from the frame using a scalpel with a fresh blade.

 

Here is a shot of the completed sail set, with the kit-provided sails above them for reference.

 

 

And here is a slightly closer shot of just my made sails.

 

 

 

I’m quite happy with the way they turned out. I thought they might be very stiff, but they appear to be quite flexible, yet strong. It remains to be seen what happens when they get mashed up to squeeze into the bottle neck!

 

[Keith Black]

 Grant, thank you for the tutorial on making sails from silkspan. I think your sails turned out great, very realistic at 1:300 scale. 

[Glen McGuire]

Those sails look very sharp, Grant!  I particularly like the way you did the reef bands.  Well done!

 

I am anxious to see how they survive the smash and un-smash when you put the ship in the bottle.  If they come out looking good, I am definitely going to try that material and your method.  Fingers crossed!!