Mayflower by Ferrus Manus - FINISHED - Heller - 1/64 - A ship for my Uncle Jay

[Ferrus Manus]

There's quite the story behind this one. This is a model I have walked past for years at my local hobby shop, before this event took place. I have a great uncle who lives in Reno Nevada that i rarely get to see. Well, my dad and his girlfriend went to see him yesterday, and i got to talk to him on the phone. He said he wanted me to build a ship for him to display at his house, and this is the story thereof. I was able to go to the model shop a few hours ago and pick this up.

 

Another comment: The stated scale of the ship (1/150) is laughably inaccurate. This replica of a ~100 foot ship builds to around 19 inches. A 1/150 model of said ship would build to about 9 inches. The math computes to a scale of about 1/64, and to back that up, this is actually the same mold as the 1/64 Revell mayflower. I am impressed by the size, which i consider purely a canvas for extra detail that's impossible to put onto a smaller scale ship. 

 

As for painting, I will likely base the majority of the paintwork, especially the upper paintwork, on the box art as well as my Golden Hinde. 

 

Ready? Here we go! 

Edited January 1 by Ferrus Manus

[Ferrus Manus]

@Baker @kirill4 @Louie da fly

 

Welcome to the show. Your presence is much appreciated. 

[Baker]

I sit in the front row 😉

[Snug Harbor Johnny]

  I get the 'scale inaccuracy' (what were they thinking ... or were they thinking at all?),  as I picked up a Airfix 1:72 Golden Hind (one of their better models) to compare with my 'old stock' (pre fire) Mammoli GH stated to be 1:54 on the plans ... but the hull sizes are virtually identical.  (I think I figured the 1:72 was about right.)   These are part of my "kit collection" (AKA 'stash'), which isn't too large really - 10 plus three 'parts kits'.  I do like looking through them from time to time.

[Ferrus Manus]

10 kits + 3 parts kits IS a too large stash, dude. You should really build those. 

[72Nova]

I picked up a vintage Airfix Sovereign of the seas by Craft Master and the 1/600 stated scale is even more ludicrous, making it like 3 inches.

Looking forward to seeing this take shape.

 

Michael D.

 

[Ferrus Manus]

The stated scale is, i think, 1/168. Not 1/600. 

[Ferrus Manus]

First things first, painting. I want to give you all (and especially Kirill) some insight into how i paint. 

The very first thing i did with both hull halves was to paint everything above the first wale a sort of beige color:

This will serve as the base for the future paint that will go on the upper half of the ship. I am doing a good portion of this in line with the box art painting, however, i will likely change some things and keep others. 

[72Nova]

Clearly stated on the box, series # 1908-400. Just the hull measures 16", finished about the same length as yours, around 19"

 

 

Michael D.

[GrandpaPhil]

Ferrus,

  Good to see you back in the galleon arena!  Looking forward to seeing this build!

[Ferrus Manus]

We're a short way up the hull with the paintwork on the stbd side. Some of the running strakes will be banded, as in the box art, at one inch intervals. 

The base decorations for the stbd side may or may not be done tonight, probably not. Tomorrow is already an early morning. I will show you as much as i get done tonight. 

 

[Ferrus Manus]

The outer half of the starboard side of the hull is mostly done, with the exceptions of the white anti fouling paint, channels, gunport lid hinges, and the weathering.

Edited November 7, 2023 by Ferrus Manus

[Ferrus Manus]

Next update. What i wish they had done would be to mold the channels as separate pieces, for ease of painting. I have never had a model with channels molded onto the hull. It would probably be fine if it were anything other than an English galleon, due to the painting. 

All things considered, i think it's pretty good. The port side should go faster, because now i know what i want everything to look like. That should streamline the process some. I will do the interiors and weathering for both at the same time to preserve uniformity. 

[Snug Harbor Johnny]

On 11/6/2023 at 6:18 PM, Ferrus Manus said:

10 kits + 3 parts kits IS a too large stash, dude. You should really build those. 

    Point well taken,  so I consider it being optimistic on how many years of retirement there will be to enjoy before disabilities of one sort or another hamper me too much.  Besides, 4 in the stash are plastic kits obtained for comparison and study e.g., the Lindbergh/Pyro R. E. Lee (plastic) is identical in scale to the classic Scientific R.E. Lee (wood based)  aprox. 1:163  ... and there are many plastic parts from the Lindbergh kit that will enhance the detail (and ease of build) of the Scientific kit - a 'melding' of the two as noted in another MSW thread.  I've reviewed all the Lee builds on the forum and look forward to my own in the future (assuming I don't check out beforehand).

 

  One considered in the stash is actually underway (suspended build of the 1970s Sergal Great Harry).  The sheer size of the aprox 1:65 original kit, and also the inaccuracies in design due to the lack of information then (the Mary Rose had yet to be discovered, raised and preserved), prompted me to re-scale and correct all the bulkheads at 1:88 (cutting them all from new flat stock).  

 

  After completing the restoration of the Gorch Fock - getting some practice at rigging in the process, it will be back to finish the Vasa to the extent I've decided on, and then a return to the Harry - a very interesting project indeed.  That will leave the Billings Oseberg & Roar Ede (both 1:25 - a nice pair), Occre Endurance (about 1:70) the R.E.Lee and a perhaps version of the Golden Hind based on my research - but that might be left to someone else.

[Ferrus Manus]

If you want a great source for your Vasa, check out 72Nova's build.

[Ferrus Manus]

The painting has progressed significantly today. The outer hull halves are entirely painted, including the details. 

Also painted is the main deck, which i was surprised to see looks a bit like real wood.

I have a question regarding the interior painting of the hull. This is the hull interior, painted but not weathered. Should i paint the uprights brown, tan, or keep them the same color? Do we know what the color of the interior paintwork might have looked like?

 

 

[72Nova]

Well looking at the Mayflower 2 replica the insides of the bulwarks are painted the same shade of yellow as the outside, although much lighter and the bulkhead frames are painted the same tan/beige as the outside, how historically accurate that is, who knows but I think a subtle contrast would look good.

 

Michael D.

[Baker]

There is little information about colors on ships from this period.And certainly not about merchant ships.
I would leave the colors as they are, looks good

[Ferrus Manus]

The hull is being glued together in this picture. The aft transom is also glued into place. 

[Ferrus Manus]

The deck and the aft forecastle bulkhead being glued into place: 

[Ferrus Manus]

Several more bulkheads are painted, put in place, and the forecastle and quarter decks. 

That's when i discovered an issue. I know this kit isn't of the best quality, but what the hell!? 

Both the bulkhead and the deck are perfectly symmetrical and lined up perfectly. 

SOAB 

[Ferrus Manus]

This is the ship's beakhead:

Here's a detailed view of the interior of the beakhead area:

The uprights that exist on the ship naturally gave me an idea. This is 1620, right? Pins had yet to come into use on English ships. The earliest known use of pins and pinrails is at least a century later, if not more. The idea being that i could simply glue multiple "rails" onto the sides of the ship, solving my belaying problems. 

For more information and a better explanation of what's happening here, look at Baker's Pelican build. 

[Louie da fly]

A creditable result for a difficult paint job. I know how hard it is to do this, from personal experience. As a humble merchant ship she probably didn't have this elaborate a paint job, but this is a display piece after all, so it should look good.

 

The "raw timber" in particular looks good.

 

I agree about adding "rails" for belaying - do you mean on the inboard side of the bulwarks? After advice from other members of this forum, that is how I did most of the belaying on my Great Harry (75 years earlier - though Mayflower is likely to have been an old ship in 1620 - as attested by the cracking of one of the main (deck?) beams during the voyage).

 

Steven

[Ferrus Manus]

Yes, the rails will be on the inside of the bulwarks. This is the exact same thing you did on your Great Harry. All we know about the Mayflower is that she existed in 1609, but realistically, she was probably significantly older. 

I believe it was one of the major supporting timbers that cracked, causing the upper deck to buckle. The voyage was able to continue only because one of the passengers had brought an iron screw with them, and the crew was able to fix the structural damage. 

Edited November 10, 2023 by Ferrus Manus

[Ferrus Manus]

It's also obvious that this kit is based on the Mayflower II replica, which is inaccurate in multiple ways. 

Edited November 10, 2023 by Ferrus Manus

[Ferrus Manus]

This is the detailed view of the forecastle bulwarks, with the belaying rails glued on. The belaying rails are strips of painted cardboard, and can each reasonably belay about 15 lines apiece. 

[Louie da fly]

3 hours ago, Ferrus Manus said:

one of the passengers had brought an iron screw with them, and the crew was able to fix the structural damage. 

Yes, it was a printing press, and they screwed it upwards to support the cracked beam.

 

48 minutes ago, Ferrus Manus said:

the Mayflower II replica, which is inaccurate in multiple ways. 

Yes, the state of knowledge has come a long way since 1957. But not a bad job for what was known at the time.

 

Steven

[Ferrus Manus]

These are the knightheads the kit provided me with. I expected this. These "knightheads" are so worthless i might as well not even take them off the sprue.

Remember my Golden Hinde? If not, go check out the build and how i dealt with the knightheads. Anyways, since then my standards have improved greatly, and i dared myself to do better. 

This is a rough iteration of the new fore knighthead. This will be painted brown and have the excess plastic cleaned off. It has 3 sheaves for the fore halyard. 

[Ferrus Manus]

This is a replica of a Dutch galleon, i believe the Halve Maen. 

[Ferrus Manus]

 

This is the finished fore knighthead and halyard block, with the rigging. The reason for the brass pin is that if this comes loose at any point, there's no way to go in and fix it.