HMS Bounty by modeller_masa - Mantua Sergal - 1/60

[modeller_masa]

Hello, 

This kit is my last project of the year. 
 

This is one of the under $100 kits I purchased on Ebay a few years ago. According to the plans, the kit was designed in 1973, and parts weren't cut by laser.

 

It led me to sawing hell, and made me buy a scroll saw ASAP. I really respect senior wooden ship modelers who didn't use any machines in the 1970s. The experience was so horrible that I won't buy any classic kits again...

 

Not all the problems are solved yet. every part is incorrect due to inaccurate CNC cutting. The center line and mast holes of the decks aren't exceptions.

 

Some sections are difficult to assemble, and most parts, including the frames, don't have specific guidelines, such as distance from the lower keel.

 

They would be enough reason for a member who was a new builder to give up the recent laser cut version of this kit. I didn't stop becaused I knew how to deal with it. I fixed every frame using part plans.

 

I set some guidelines, which weren't in the plan or instructions of the kit. By the way, I guess the proper height of the lower deck may be 85.7mm (or 3.375 inches).

 

I purchased the Amati Bounty 1/60 plan a year ago for scratch build. The Amati's plan is much better than Mantua's in every respects, and gives all the hints for planking that weren't in this kit. In addition, Amati's plan is more similar to the AOTS reference book. If you are newcomer who wants to build a Bounty, I highly recommend Amati kits. 

 

 

There have been some more improvements since the last project. I expanded my workshop to measure and check every aspect of the ship. When I measured planks on the old workbench, I had to carry the ship and measure it by hand.

I added a broad table. Now I can measure every height and position of each plank.

 

Finally, I attached walnut blocks to every frame. The frames are not glued until I set them in the proper position, and the walnut blocks forced the frames to the last position I set when I checked and assembled the frames hundreds times.

 

This is it. All the frames are almost perfectly fitted and symmetical. Each frame has an error of less than 0.50mm. This is my best result ever.

 

The keel was bent before I started, but it was stretched as I set each frame properly. At least the paper plans didn't lie.

 

The error of the keel is also less than 0.50mm, which can be easily removed by sanding.

 

With satisfying results, I glued the frames. I'm ready for hull fairing. 😎

 

[modeller_masa]

While I was checking, checking, and measuring every centimeter, I focused on the size of the gratings. The kit's 3mm gratings are bigger than those in the McKay's AOTS book. I opened a box of laser cutters and tested the machine.

 

After several trials, I got a remarkable result. I used 0.75mm (1/3 inches) walnut sheets and passed them 4 times with the 3.5W output laser. Yes. it is so weak to cut wood sheets and was time-consuming inefficient work. 🤨 But, the result gave me confidence. The realistic 0.75mm walnut grating is much better than the kit's 3.0mm grating. I'll order 12W laser cutter for intensive use.

 

The hull fairing work will need more time... 

Edited November 3, 2022 by modeller_masa

[modeller_masa]

The imbalanced hull and twisted deck has been my biggest issue ever. It irritated me and put me in a slump. To overcome the old foe, I made a DIY berth to measure every corner.

 

Ver.1 - The wooden bars were ripped off next day. It wasn't durable.

 

Ver.2 - I switched to the aluminium profile bars, but the MDF stand couldn't hold the bar tightly enough.

 

Ver.3 - Quite better and useful. I added more functionality to it.

 

 

Ver.4 Final - OK. Stop to play with Mechanix. It's time to return home.

 

With the new tool, I sanded frames to flatten the deck layer. I took this picture in the middle of sanding work. I finished half of the hull (green area). As you can see, the aft side is twisted again. 😂

 

This is a final result. It's the first flat deck floor I've ever made! The error is less than 1.00mm.

 

It's time to decide on the planking sections. I'm in the eye of the hull fairing storm.  

 

Edited November 11, 2022 by modeller_masa

[modeller_masa]

I figured out that I need to decorate the lower deck before I attach the upper deck. There are only small grating windows and staircases, so I didn't want to pay many hours for lower deck planking.

 

After some brain storming, I used my laser cutting machine to engrave 4 butt shift pattern on 0.40mm (1/64 inch) thick walnut sheets.  

 

I also engraved the walls surrounding a staircase. 

 

I tried to imitate the wooden frames on the AOTS Bounty book.

However, the 2mm frames are 5 inches frames in reality, so I gave up using them. I may need to make DIY 0.50mm scrappers...

 

Today's work is done. I used black calligraphy ink from Winsor & Newton. The calligraphy ink is made of a water-based pigment ink that has a lifespan of more than 100 years.

 

I can see the lower decks through the small slots. There is no reason to pay huge labour cost on the lower deck.  

 

Also, I'll use 0.80mm hole gratings, which are good for the 1/60 scale. It'll reduce visibility but save the sailor's heels.  

[Oldsalt1950]

Your framing jig is a work of art, and extremely practical. 

[modeller_masa]

I appreciate your comment, Oldsalt1950.

 

I updated the jig. It is the ver.5 Final of Finale to the end.

 

I placed bolts under the keel. It secures exact 5.00mm depth equally. 

 

In addition, I optimized the horizontal bar.

 

By the way, the hull fairing of this old kit is really hard. The Mantua Sergal's plan is different from the AOTS or Amati's plan, especially on the fore and aft sides.

 

I placed wood blocks under the edges of the deck before I installed it. 

 

The Mantua's transom is so weird that I had to sand it a lot to fit the deck. To sand it properly, I spent lots of time understanding the shape of the Bounty's transom.

 

It isn't surprising that the line of the bow hull is different from Amati's plan and the AOTS book. I won't fix the line because fixing frames is huge work for me.

 

To get the best planking section lines, I'm transferring waterlines and wale lines from the plan to the real model. Although the tools aren't efficient, I found some weird numbers...

 

I found that the drawings on Mantua Sergal's plan have different sizes and shape. 🤨 Which drawings should I believe? 

 

Anyway, I ordered digital height gauge. It'll help my future hull fairing work.  

[ccoyle]

I really admire your determination to get this right!

[modeller_masa]

More tools are always better, especially for amateurs.

 

I purchased some interesting movies. The movies include tons of details of two replica ships.

 

The 1962 Mutiny on the Bounty replica was launched in Canada in 1960. Sadly, the ship was sunk during Hurricane Sandy in 2012. The 1984 The Bounty replica was launched in New Zealand in 1978 and is still operating as a harbour cruise on a river in Thailand. 

 

These replicas in the movies are very different. The 1962 replica in the movie has a very colorful hull, and the gears on the deck seem like those on a modern ship. The 1984 replica in the other movie is a more realistic sailing ship, and the gears are much legitimate wooden fittings. Also, the hull isn't painted. The difference is noticeable that it gives me many inspirations. Of course, the current building kit, which was designed in 1973, is similar to the 1962 replica.  

Edited November 19, 2022 by modeller_masa

[modeller_masa]

I translated Allan's planking guide, which means I read it 100 times.

 

Here is a result. It took a month, and I finished only half of the hull.  

 

The bow side was the easiest part. The red and blue shapes show a cross section diagram of the stem.

 

Against my expectation, the frame 6 in the center of the hull made a trouble. I sanded it to make a smooth curve.

 

The stern and transom made me almost cry. The upper plank (red) couldn't be clamped by the stern post and the last frame because the last frame had moved forward. The Amati kit plan didn't. I'll add some balsa blocks to hold the plank edges.

 

This is another cross section diagram. It is heavily modified, according to the Amati plan and the AOTS book plan. 🤣

Edited December 3, 2022 by modeller_masa

[alpayed]

Hi.

The 3 green lines on the last photo look good for the planking.

Some of these kits could do with a couple more frames at the bow and stern and a transom would help a lot. Sometimes I  think that the people who design them have never built a model. 

Keep up the good work it will give you great pleasure despite the tears.

Regards Allan 

[modeller_masa]

Thanks for the useful information and your great planking guide, Allan. I firmly concur with your advice. I already sanded transom and stern extensively. 😆

 

I finished the first planking on a half hull.

 

I used a Lego brick to hold strips at bow.

I discovered that I couldn't easily apply the lego brick at the stern. I slightly sanded both side of the stern post and emulated the rabet.

 

I used balsa blocks and push pins to hold strips. I won't use the balsa in the next time. I finally realized that the wood is more expensive than cherry. 😱

 

Unlike the planking guide, I finished a half side first because the balsa block keeps the hull stable.

 

The red planks are mistake. The 5 and 6 planks made later work (10-13) difficult. The greens are better.

 

This is a total planking sequence. I hope I finish planking at third stage on the other side.

 

This is a second mistake. I had to attach the 1st planks first. 

 

I had planned to only paint the wales, but the exposed 1st planks changed me to paint all. 😆

 

There were some hollow parts or cracks that couldn't be sealed by wood filler. I patched them with junk strips.

 

The stern post is nicely done. 

 

The experience will make a better 1st planking on the other side.

By the way, I found that the deck wall is unusually higher than real ships. The height is 28mm, which is equivalent to 1.8 meter or 6 feet. On the contrary, the height of the AOTS book is 13mm, which is the height of desk, and the height of the Amati's plan is 17mm, which is equivalent to 1 meter or 3.3 feet. In addition, two Bounty movies shows that the height of the wall doesn't exceed sailors' waist.

 

I'll cut the deck wall before I do the second planking and cut the gun ports.

 

[modeller_masa]

I finished the first planking layer. I'll determine the transom line after I draw the waterline and wale line.

 

I patched up hollow areas to make hull smooth. It was a lesson from the last build, Santa Maria. I learned that wood filler isn't effective in wide and open area.

 

 

This is a video of the hull fairing and half hull first planking. 

 

I'm enjoying this build, and my stress level is quite low. I would say that I know what I'll do next. The HMS Victory 1/325 kit, which is an easier kit and which I build when I need a refresher, is not on my workbench but on my book shelf.  

Edited December 14, 2022 by modeller_masa

[modeller_masa]

I finished sanding work.

 

I can't raise my arm... 🤣

I found a minor error between port side and starboard. The reason for the different planking lines on both sides is that I planked each side separately. I understood another reason why the guide said to plank both side at the same time.

[whitejamest]

The frustrations of this kit would utterly defeat me, so I am taking all the more enjoyment in watching your meticulous progress. 

[allanyed]

All things considered, what you have achieved so far is very impressive!! 

 

Will you be planking the second later the same as the first layer?  The tutorial on planking here in the Articles section and the Chuck Passaro video on planking are a tremendous help for anyone wanting realistic planking on their model rather than what some kits propose.  

 

When it comes time to build the launch that Bligh used (he did not use the jolly boat, it was rotted through) consider taking a look at the build log on making this launch yourself.  https://modelshipworld.com/topic/33539-23-foot-launch-by-allanyed-bounty-late-18th-century/

 

I look forward to your next post

 

Allan

 

 

 

[modeller_masa]

Hello, white jamest. I wouldn't have reached this stage two years ago.  The kit tested and tried my limit, but it is barely in my hand.

 

Thanks for your advice, Allan. According to the "Allan"'s planking guide, the second layer should be layed on the first layer differently. It helps solidity and increases resistance against moisture. 

In addition, I purchased the ME's Bounty launch 1/16 kit to add detail to this kit. I planned to downscale the launch kit and install the scratch build 1/60 launch boat. However, as you see, I already have difficulty fixing this old kit's errors. I cancelled the downscale plan to focus on more general matters, such as the hull. In the future, I'll build a scratch build Bounty again with all the details I planned. Please consider this kit as a practice build. I hope to finish this old kit without any big issues that I can't manage. I'm planning to wrap a metal boat with wood strips, but I'll refer to your post if I can affort to do so.

 

While I was drawing new wale lines, I found some magic numbers from the reference book and Amati's plan. From the different proportion of the height of the waterline, I think the Mantua kit is a bit squeezed.

 

The wale lines are set by height of the deck, according to the AotS and Amati. 

 

The Mantua kit doesn't. It gives a relatively good wale line that connects to transom, but it doesn't look uniform. 

 

I adjusted the wale lines so that they were all the same height from the deck floor. Now it seems much better and fairer. Although the wale line bites the transom, I decided to use this curve. I realized the importance of setting the deck floor.

 

Based on the new wale lines, I determined the transom's position and am planking it. I'll apply wood filler and sand it again. It is the end of the first planking.

[modeller_masa]

I sanded the transom. It seems unrealistic, but it is the best I can do...

 

 

I applied a new technique I had planned long ago. It works.

The wood is a 1/32 inch cherry veneer sheet.

It takes about 25 minutes to complete the 30cm = 1 foot 4 butt shift pattern planks. I'm trying to add nibbling strakes.

[modeller_masa]

It was a huge leap week. I got lost again and had to rethink my entire planking plans. To relieve the high stress level, I made a simple plastic model ship.  

 

 

On 10/6/2016 at 6:43 AM, Chuck Seiler said:

  What I believe to be the primary function, is to provide structural "meat" to support other parts of the ship. 

This article gave me lots of perspectives on wale lines. I decided to change all my planking plans. 

 

I finished installing deck planking sheets.

 

I also added nibbling strakes. Because they were hidden by the edge, the narrow nibbling strakes were an oversight.

According to my new plan, the hull shape is based on the AotS book, and the color profile came from the 1982 Bounty movie. 

I widened the edges and cut the gun ports.

 

 

To extend the edge to a bow, I used a customized shape gauge.

 

The tool worked well, as I planned.

However, the gauge didn't work well on the steep slope at bow. 

 

I used a traditional method to make the special edge plank.

 

 

It is called a cold bent lamination.

The method saved more time than steam bend method. 

 

It looks good with the walnut strips, but I would choose a steam bend method if it were light colored wood.

 

I made the mast holes. Finally, it looks like a ship!

 

According to my new planking plan, I'll attach planks from top to bottom. I cut strips for the upper wales. The laser cutter is much safer and clearer than my table saw.

 

It doesn't look bad. There is much foom for improvement in time efficiency...

 

Merry Christmas!

Edited December 25, 2022 by modeller_masa

[modeller_masa]

After some break time, the wale progress has gone forward a little bit.

 

As I said, the structure of my build is based on the AotS book.

 

This is a summary of the planking layers. 

 

Happy new year~

[modeller_masa]

Before I wrapped up the wales and went to the lower hull planking, I had to finish the transom. 

 

 

 

 

[Vinnie]

Really enjoying watching your determination overcome some of the quirks of this older kit. Will grab a cold one pull up a seat, and looking forward to seeing where you go from here😎🍺…as far as I can find…this build is the only Mantua Bounty build on this website…i was considering ordering a mantua Bounty myself…but hard to know if some of the quirks your experiencing with this kit have been rectified in the last few years. 🤷