Chinese Pirate Junk by Loracs - FINISHED - Amati - 1:100 (Completed)

[Loracs]

Hello, I'm Loracs. I'm new to model wooden ship building. The Chinese Pirate Junk was my introduction. I wanted to see if I had the interest, patience and skills in the hobby. I must say that I'm completely hooked.  I discovered Model Ship World late while building the kit. A fantastic resource for both the amateur and the expert.  

 

I used it so much that I decided to participate by posting my build log and pictures. It's been retro-active since I completed the ship today.  But hey! better late than never. My reasoning is that it may be useful for someone in the future.  If it help... fantastic!  I will post progressively as I sort my pictures.

 

One last note: I welcome comments and criticism.  If you see areas of improvement, better techniques that could have been used, or how to be more historically accurate... write it here.  This is the only way I can improve. it won't be for this build but the next one will be better. I posted it to be open.

 

Here it is...

[Loracs]

Building the frame...  was straightforward.  The mistake I made here was to clean-up the side portion with a Dremel 3000.  It just removes too much material, which I will pay a little later in the build.  Conclusion: Amati laser cuts are great...  be very gentle in removing the charring.

 

 

Edited July 2, 2023 by Loracs

[Loracs]

Planking the hull.

 

In preparation for hull planking, the edges of the frames were beveled to allow for good contact with the wood strips.  Again, I may have overdone it a little... but contact was good.  I started at the deck level and "planked" my way down slowly, allowing the wood strips to follow the hull without forcing them.  I started tapering when I reached the bottom.

 

The first slight modification was to use the two 1x5mm wood strips to plank the keel.  I realized the intent was for the ramp on top... but I did not know how I could bend those sideways...  I decided to make the ramp later with the 1x3mm wood strips.

 

Oopps... I broke the upper deck.  I glued it back together but had to add small wood strips underneath (both sides to maintain symmetry).

 

Edited July 2, 2023 by Loracs

[Loracs]

Side and deck planking.

 

Before planking the sides above the deck level. I planked the far edge of the deck first.  I figured I would have better access... which is true. Another modification: I decided to keep the internal edge of the frame intact. No planking on top... just use walnut wood tint.  While planking the upper decks, I maintain a 2mm edge gap for the railings.

 

In addition, if you look closely at the internal side, I reinforced the side using vertical wood strip pieces in anticipation of cutting the gun ports.

 

Edited July 2, 2023 by Loracs

[Loracs]

Bows and stern decals.

 

At this point, I added the decals to the bow and stern.  To my surprise, they did not fit at all.  They were both 4mm too wide!!!  This is when I realized I removed far too much material from the frames when charring and beveling.  Well...  I had to cut then a little to fit - 2mm each side.

 

Edited July 2, 2023 by Loracs

[Loracs]

Railings and other deck elements.

Railings were the tricky part.  Guillotine Plank Cutter was used to precisely cut 1x1mm strips into pieces of 5mm.  They were then assembled in parallel on 5mm wide sticky 3M note paper (5-6 sheets thick).  Then the top/bottom 1x2mm wood strip cut to desire length (based on the upper deck) was glued sideways to form the upper/bottom part of the railing.  Everything was assembled on a steel jig with small magnets while the glue set.

 

Stairs, winches and canons then glue to the deck.  Decided to keep the natural wood color... satin poly only.

 

Edited July 2, 2023 by Loracs

[Loracs]

Mats and sails

 

Some assembly for the mats and sowing for the sails... then they were ready to be added to the deck.

 

Edited July 2, 2023 by Loracs

[Loracs]

Rigging

 

Working with wood blocks is well... a challenge for a beginner.  I just could not handle the 3mm block the first time - it was too brittle and small.  I decided to get better quality walnut blocks of 5mm.  Not the right size but I had to be able to handle them.  Next time around, I will be ok with the 3mm (but was not then).  At the same time, I got better quality ropes - 0.75 and 0.88 dark brown.  After learning various knots, it progressed slowly.

 

Far from perfect... and still struggling with knots when working on the ship per say (off ship ok, if I get what to use - mostly a guess).  I took some shortcuts using square knots in some places I had trouble.  

 

Furthermore, I did not know wood blocks were directional... so a number were set inverse until I realized that (no redo since I was too far along in rigging).   But hey...  gained experience.  Next time will be better.

 

Edited July 2, 2023 by Loracs

[Loracs]

Final view...  of the model completed.

 

 

 

Edited July 2, 2023 by Loracs

[Loracs]

I hope you enjoy it...  I had a lot of fun building it.  My next one is in the house already, the HMS Revenge from Amati.

 

Don't hesitate to comment...

 

Edited July 2, 2023 by Loracs

[Knocklouder]

Very nice details. A fine job, looking forward to your Revenge log,  

[Louie da fly]

I've only just come across this build. You've done a very nice job. It's hard to believe this is your first ship model.

 

A couple of tips for next time. Planking; you've done a nice job, but in the real world planking is done differently, to avoid sharp corners at the ends (which don't hold nails or treenails). There are some very good planking tutorials which explain exactly how to do it for next time. This one is particularly good. 

 

The only other point I feel could be made is regarding the rigging. The ropes running through the blocks, and the ones holding the sail battens to the masts, look rather too thick for the size of vessel. There was a gradation of rope thicknesses depending on the forces they were to be subjected to. So halyards (the ropes that haul up the sails - they haul the yards) are pretty thick because they have to take a lot of weight, but where you have light loads, or several ropes sharing a load, the ropes can be thinner.

 

Also, though the ropes that hold up the masts (known as standing rigging) are usually tarred to preserve them, so they are dark brown or almost black, any rope used to control the sails (i.e. they usually run through blocks) would not be, as the tar would clog up the blocks. So they'd be a natural light colour - pale brown or even white.

 

Having said that, these comments are intended as a heads-up for your next model, so you're forewarned and can incorporate that information into your next build. It's all part of the learning experience. Don't even think of changing the current one. You've done a very good job, particularly for someone new to the field.

 

Looking forward to your next build.

 

Steven

[Loracs]

Louie...  thanks a lot for the comments.  I really appreciate it. I will look at the tutorial on planking and read more on rigging.  However, you make excellent points... truly worth following up on for my next build.

thanks

--Loracs

 

[Louie da fly]

As I mentioned before, you're doing very good work. Keep it up!

 

Steven

[Eindride]

Fantastic work 👏 

[GrandpaPhil]

Well done!

[Loracs]

Thank you for the thumbs up...  this is a great hobby and a wonderful community.

--Loracs

[Loracs]

I pulled those figurines from a stash in the garage.  They were painted 35-40 years ago.

I could not resist adding a touch of fantasy to the model.

[GrandpaPhil]

Very cool!