Mayflower 1620 by rlwhitt - Model Shipways - 1:76

[rlwhitt]

My next build will be the the Model Shipways Mayflower 1620, MS2020.   To be a little pedantic, this is really a model of the Mayflower II replica of 1956,  based on research of William Baker and the best knowledge of what Mayflower of 1620 might have looked like.   The replica ship was sailed from the UK to the US in 1957 where it was gifted to us and exists today as a floating museum.   It has recently been undergoing a new restoration, where the color scheme has changed from the original Baker scheme as depicted on the box cover shown below.  At some point I will need to decide if I want the designed scheme or to follow the changes of its current incarnation.  

 

 

 

This is not a terribly complex kit, parts wise.  There are 4 sheets of plywood parts for the framing, and 4 others of assorted parts, plus the usual strips, dowels and other bits.   I will make just a few observations of the contents quality here.  

 

Firstly, the keelson piece (bulkhead former) was quite warped.   As this forms the whole basis of hull alignment, that was a disappointment.  Got to get this bit straight or else you end up with a banana boat!  More on this later.  Also the cutting on the plywood could be better.  Several parts were not cut all the way through, so there was some work to do to finish the cuts.  The plywood in my kit was quite "splintery" at the edges and tended to get a good bit of delamination when cutting or sanding.  That's going to present some challenges while fairing.  

 

One thing I tend to fuss about is Britannia metal parts and how badly they tend to be made.  I was pleasantly surprised in this kit because as these things go (low expectations, I know) , these are not too bad.  Even the crows nests might be usable, though there is a good chance I might want to scratch build new ones when I get there.  

 

 

 

The blocks and "rope" provided are typical MS fare, which is to say not very good.  I will be making an order to Syren to get proper materials.  

Edited January 17 by rlwhitt

[rlwhitt]

Framing Highlights

 

Firstly, to deal with the warped Keelson.  A little water, lots of heat gun, heavy weights, bending in the opposite direction, etc, etc.  Fussed with this thing for a couple of days and finally got it pretty flat.  But I suspected it would not stay that way, and sure enough it sprung back a little over time.  To cope with this and get a final straightening, I added the middle section  of bulkheads that are slotted for a false gun backing strip and then propped the assembly so I could bend it straight and then glue on these backing strips to hold everything in place.  Bit of balancing act, but I think it worked.  Shown here are those bulkheads with the strips glued in place.  Not going to show the Rube Goldberg mess I had to use to get it all propped up 

 

 

Prior to all this I had added the rabbet strip and tapered the stern at the bearding line, as shown.  This rabbet strip method seems to be a standard feature of Chuck's designs and I really like the simplicity of it, as opposed to carving the rabbet as a groove into the keel/keelson.  Note that I've taken these photos somewhat out of construction order. 

 

 

 

Finally, the completed rough framing.  Next we'll need to frame the gun ports and then tackle the fairing work.  

I'll be doing the gun port framing as a placeholder for the lids, which I will be showing closed, not placing the dummy gun barrels.  

 

 

Edited January 17 by rlwhitt

[rlwhitt]

Gun port framing & beginning of fairing

 

Before leaving the framing subject, I wanted to mention that something I really like about this design is that the frame and former joints are TIGHT.   This is really nice, especially since on my last build of Essex they were so loose they all had to be shimmed.   On this one you'll have to at least sand off all the laser char and maybe a little more to get them to slide in, which is really really nice, IMHO.

 

To finish up the framing, we do the gun ports.  Upper and lower framing is done with 2 long strips.  The formers are already notched out for these, requiring only a little adjustment.   I used a scrap of 1/4" stock to gauge and adjust all the way down.  You can see here that I needed to add a bit of shim to former 2b on the port side, as it was looking a little short.   As I get into the fairing a bit more I'll see if my eyeballing was accurate or not. 

 

 

Here the vertical bits were added, taking reference points from the framing plan.  

 

 

The instructions have you make the uprights with the same square stock as the upper and lower, but I founds that to be a bit fiddly.  So  I instead laminated 2 pieces of 1/16 x 1/4 and cut pieces long enough to reach back to the false back stringer.  Very strong and I found it easier to place.  Note that there is one single upright in there that is not part of a gun port.  It was not shown in the prototype build, but the plan shows it and it seems to be a landing point for a planking joint.

 

 

I have started the rough fairing.  Before I got too far though, I went ahead and fitted all the false decks to get the fairing of the upper parts of the formers in line.  

 

[rlwhitt]

Start of Planking

 

First step in planking is to plank the lower stern and counter.  Here this is complete, with the tiller hole cut in.  As you can see in the photo, I used 2 different 1/32 strips and they are not the same color.   As is often the case on these things it's much less apparent in person than in the photo but it's still there.  Luckily this is painted white later.

 

 

Next it's on to the first layer of planking the sides with 1/16" x 1/8".  I didn't take a photo in the proper sequence, so I faked it a bit here.  First step is to use the bulwark template as a guide to set the top line of the first plank.   There are marks scored onto the bulkheads in the approximate location of where this line is.   So, you pin the bulwark template to the framing, trying to align to as many of these marks as possible.  Like the instructions say, "more or less".  They won't all align perfectly.  I think it's important to get the elevation and fore-aft alignment correct at both ends, and let the rest fall where it may.   Then you pencil mark the bottom of the template, which will become the top line of the top plank.  

 

I just propped the bulwark template up for the photo here after I already made the first couple of rows, to sort of illustrate the concept.  

 

 

The first planking step complete and roughly sanded, which is the first 6 rows covering the gun port area.  The bottom of this area will roughly be the waterline.  These planks are all sanded down to 80% width at the bow, gradually narrowing from about 3" back.  Then they are flat-bent to fit the bluff bow.  Later planks will use a slightly different bending (edge) according to the instructions.  I'm anxious to see how well this will work, as opposed to true spiling.  

 

 

 

Edited February 2 by rlwhitt

[allanyed]

Nice start on the construction Rick!   From the second photo it looks there are belaying pins in the kit. The British did not use them on navy ships until about 1745 so, to me at least, it seems odd that they would be in use on the Mayflower more than 100 years earlier. 🤔

Allan

[rlwhitt]

Thanks Allen!  The things that sort of look like belaying pins are actually cannon barrels. Well, just the tips, which is all this has, sort of faked.  I’m not going to bother with these, rather I will have the port lids closed.  This one has Kevels, those bits that sort of look like letter “A”s.

[rlwhitt]

Planking, continued...

 

Moving down the hull with the planking, and where it starts to become necessary to have a curve in the bow end of the planks so they sit flat on the forward bulkheads.   The most exact method of doing this is real spiling, where you cut the plank in a curve from wider (sheet) wood.   I did that here for a couple of planks, but mostly I followed Chuck's method given in the instructions to edge bend the 1/16" x 1/8" strip using a template and little heat and water.  Some will prefer to use heat only, though it might take a little longer.   

The kit comes with a laser cut "spiling guide" piece.  The photo below follows the recommendation of the instructions to glue this down and add a couple of pieces of scrap to hold the bent strips against the guide.  They are glued here to allow for 3 plank widths to be bent at once.

 

 

Next I have sanded the first few inches of each plank to be tapered down to 80% of full width at the tip, slightly soaked them, and bent them one at a time while applying a heat gun until I got all 3 bent and trapped in place with some scrap and clamps.  Let them sit a while to fix the bend.  

 

 

Next is something extra I did to curve the planks in the flat direction a bit to help make the sharp curve at the bluff bow.  The dog picture is actually a hard foam rubber drink coaster.  Rolling the plank on it under a dowel makes a nice bend (I wet the end of the plank a bit again before doing this).

 

 

Here is some of the first upper planks in place.  I'm rough sanding and filling as I go.

 

 

And now I have switched over to the the bottom with the garboard and first adjacent plank.

 

Edited February 16 by rlwhitt

[Tim W]

On 2/4/2024 at 2:30 PM, rlwhitt said:

Thanks Allen!  The things that sort of look like belaying pins are actually cannon barrels. Well, just the tips, which is all this has, sort of faked.  I’m not going to bother with these, rather I will have the port lids closed.  This one has Kevels, those bits that sort of look like letter “A”s.

I am currently building this kit and the instructions do have some belaying pin racks.  I hav also built crows nests from wood as I saw in another forum on this site

[rlwhitt]

On 2/19/2024 at 4:19 PM, Tim W said:

I am currently building this kit and the instructions do have some belaying pin racks.  I hav also built crows nests from wood as I saw in another forum on this site

Tim, 

 

You are correct, the kit has some pins as well, in addition to the kevels.  It's accurate inasmuch as this is a model of the Mayflower II replica, which has them.  My theory - without doing any research to find out - is that even though they are not accurate for 1620  the replica was fitted with them out of plain practicality since it had to be sailed across the Atlantic and they wanted it to be as easy as possible.

 

[rlwhitt]

1st Layer Planking Complete

 

Pretty much done on the sanding and filling.  It will get a final touch up after bulkhead templates are on and ready for 2nd layer.

 

 

 

 

back up top, next up will be hatches and deck planking

 

[rlwhitt]

Deck Items

 

Added some things to plank around - main gratings, forecastle hatches, capstan base.  I also went ahead and drilled some pilot holes for the masts and poked some toothpick pieces in so I don’t loose them.  
 

[LCdr Dave]

Your planking came our really well. I am jealous! I am working on a Billing Boat Mayflower and so I will be following along for any procedural steps or tips.

Cheers,

Dave

[rlwhitt]

Thanks Dave!  I don’t really think I have any particular planking techniques of note, but this one came out better than my last build.  Just the practice, I’m still pretty new to this.  I gotta say that planking the bow of a ship has gotta be about the hardest part of the build to me.  

[rlwhitt]

Decking and Bulkheads

 

Next up we have planking of the decks except for the “half deck”.  That one will be extended in length after the bulwark pieces are in place.  A couple of in progress shots:

 

 

 

Here’s all 3 decks done and finished.  I like using shellac, this is my “light mix”, 1/3 clear, 1/3 amber, 1/3 alcohol.  I had used a more concentrated amber mix for the hatch frames and such.  Even though the instructions cover doing tree nails, I still haven’t caught the fever to do them yet, so I’m not planning to do them on this build.

 

 

Next we start on the bulkheads, which are laser cut parts that are planked and doors added with planking material.  I started with the poop deck bulkhead as it has the most complexity because of the window.  There is a cross hatch pattern in the instruction pages for you to use as a template, on which you place some strips of very thin white tape on the provided acetate.  The way it reads makes it sound as if it’s included, but it’s not.  I swiped a simple idea from David Lester’s log in that I just printed copies of this pattern and cut a piece of it to go behind the acetate and then lined the edges with some chart tape I did have.  The stuff is shiny and sort of semi transparent, so I had to paint it flat white.  This will be glued to the back of the bulkhead.

 

 

I’m sure the solid black of the paper does not produce as nice a look up close as a true transparent window, even though what’s behind it is dark.  I feel though that the “3 foot” rule applies to this and it will be fine.
 

This is the finished bulkhead, mounted.  This one was designed a bit oversized and had to be cut down a bit.  Also note the scrap bits of decking to glue it at the height to allow the decking underneath once the half deck is finished.  I’d also mention that I left a little gap around and under the door and paint the part under the planking black before doing the planking.

 

Edited March 8 by rlwhitt

[rlwhitt]

More Bulkheads, Bulwarks

 

Cubbridge head, with steps.  These steps are laser cut, with plenty of extras for the inevitable breakage and trips under the work table, plus if you take the option to put them on the beakhead bulkhead (more on that later).

 

 

A view to the rear, with the great cabin bulkhead and stern piece in place.

 

 

The next thing to add is a pretty big step, the bulwark templates, with windows and internal planking.  These form all of the sides from just above the gun ports.  First, we have to add the faux (in my case) windows.  I painted the area inside the laser cut holes and just to the outside white.  I'm planning to leave a little margin around the windows on the outer planking to make the window "frame".  The process I used to make these faux windows is different from the instructions as I didn't care to do the window grids with tiny tape.  My way does not make as realistic a window, but it's very simple.  I started with a photocopy of page 12 of the instructions where there is a white on black grid printed.  I cut a small piece of the provided acetate sheet just larger than the hole and tacked it from behind with some CA.  Then a bit larger piece of the grid photocopy glued to the wood behind the acetate and flattened down around it.  I will plank up to the window in the next step.  Here's a pic from the outside and inside of this treatment:

 

 

Windows in place, next we plank the entire inside of the template with 1/32" x 1/8" planking.   Where the planking will show I've done the pencil blackened edges.  This is the rough planked template, before sanding:

 

 

Here one of the templates is glued on.  It is a bit oversized so it will need some trimming in several places once in place.  

 

 

And this is the outside view.  You will most likely have some gaps at the bottom to fill

 

 

Finally, a couple of overall pics with both bulwark assemblies in place.  It's starting to look like a ship!

 

[LCdr Dave]

It’s looking good! I love your ideas (or David’s) for the windows. I have waterslide transfers and I think I will just glue to whole thing onto the wood (paper and all) and add a wooden trim for a frame. In my head, it is awesome, LOL.

Cheers,

Dave

[rlwhitt]

1 minute ago, LCdr Dave said:

It’s looking good! I love your ideas (or David’s) for the windows. I have waterslide transfers and I think I will just glue to whole thing onto the wood (paper and all) and add a wooden trim for a frame. In my head, it is awesome, LOL.

Cheers,

Dave

 

Yeah, I stole that idea from David Lester's log (I think I mentioned that before), but he went even a step further.  Rather than use just a crappy photocopy like I'm doing, he made a better quality version in a draw program.  

 

[rlwhitt]

Bow, Stern and Keel

 

We finish up the bow end of the basic hull by planking the little bit of deck at the beakhead and putting on the bulkhead here.  There are two options for the beakhead bulkhead given.  As drawn on the plans it has 2 doors like this, as it was designed and came over from the UK in 1957.   Later, these doors were removed and replaced with steps like on the bulkhead on the other side.  The kit provides enough laser cut step parts to do it that way if you want.  Here the bulkhead is installed but not yet trimmed to fit the sides.  

 

 

 

Next we are going to turn our attention to finishing up the stern.  First up is the main windows.  I didn't do things exactly like the instructions.  I decided I wanted to build a frame and glue the acetate and grid to it before attaching to the ship.  Here I have done a pencil rub pattern of the windows to give me a template to build the frame shown below, made from various widths of 1/32" stock.

 

 

Here I sanded the top, rounded to fit under the return, painted white, and cut/attached the acetate sheet and photocopied grid bits.

 

 

Now I attached it and framed it with 1/16" stock.  Here you can also see that the upper rear bulkhead was finished with 1/32" plank before putting the windows on.

 

 

Finally, the rest of the lower section is planked with 1/16" stock and the laser cut knees are trimmed and fitted.  There are extra ones of these and they needed to be cut back a good bit to correct size.

 

 

Wrapped up this section with the stem piece (laser cut) and 1/8" stock keel and stern post.

 

 

Edited March 18 by rlwhitt

[Baker]

Looks great  👍

[rlwhitt]

Stanchions

 

I have started the stanchions and upper bulwark pieces, which pretty much cover the entire length of the ship.  Basically, they will all proceed the same.  Put down waterway/base strips, then place the uprights, cut extra long.  Then a couple of strips to form a top rail, and finally trim and round the tops of the stanchions.  Here’s the start and finish of the forecastle, followed by the halfway done poop deck.   Some will find this tedious - but I’m enjoying this part!

 

 

 

[rlwhitt]

Half Deck and Finishing the Bulwarks/Stanchions

 

Before I continued with the stanchions I decided to change up the order of things.  Instructions sequence has you doing all the stanchions, and after the 2nd layer of planking coming back and finishing out the half-deck.  Didn't make a lot of sense to me as I wanted to be done with all the major inboard stuff before moving to finish the outside.  Plus, if you put the long stanchions in the half deck section on first and then put the deck in, you have to notch the false deck and the planking around them.  Sure, this is how the real ship is built, but I figured I can make a lot neater looking job if I split them, thus putting the upper part of the stanchions on the waterway like is done throughout the rest of the model.   Hopefully the following pictures will illustrate what I mean.  

 

First we need a partial bulkhead, made of 2 sides, planked.  

 

 

Those go behind the 2nd of a pair of full height stanchions. In this picture you can see them installed, and behind them are stanchions that will come up to just under the false deck, installed next.  Added to both bulkheads here are some deck beams, appropriately arched to match the part of the half deck that was originally installed during framing

 

.  

 

You can also see the capstan peeking out there a bit.   I scratched that from some leftover bits from my Essex build, instead of using the Britannia metal one provided.  

 

Here the false decking is placed on the beams and a few pieces added to dress up the open bulkhead.  

 

 

Put on the deck hatches first, before planking around them

 

 

Finally, a couple of pictures of all the decking, bulwarks and stanchions complete.  Next we will go on to finish the 2nd planking and other outside details.

 

 

[LCdr Dave]

Looking great! 
Dave

[rlwhitt]

1 hour ago, LCdr Dave said:

Looking great! 
Dave

 

Thanks Dave!

[rlwhitt]

Outer planking, Gun port lids, Wales

 

Now it's time to move outboard and get all the hull planking done.  The first thing to do is to make a starter plank with the top edge aligned exactly with the bottom of the bulwark template.  This is a very important step as all the rest of the planking's correct positioning depends on it.

  

 

From there we start planking up the sides.  Here you can barely see some pencil marks I made on the bulwark templates to indicate where to put the planking joins:

 

 

One side upper planking complete, before final sanding:

 

 

The bottom strake of the upper planking (the first plank you put on), will become the upper wale.  The wales in this case are nothing more than another 1/32" x 1/8" strip just like the rest of the planking, so the wales are just doubled planks.   

 

Next we add 5 strakes below the upper wale.  The bottom strake of that set will be doubled to become the lower wale.  Here we have that done, with margins left around the gun ports:

 

 

OK, now comes a key choice in the build.  The 2nd layer of planking below the main wale is not technically required, so you are given a choice.  Supposedly there is enough of the 1/32" planking to do the rest of the hull down to the keel, but not in my case - there's not enough even if I wanted to do it.  Maybe I was a bit wasteful in its use so far but I really don't think so.  Everything below the wale will be painted so small imperfections can be filled/sanded.  So if you are content with the shape of things down here, no real need for the 2nd layer.  Mine's not perfect, but I don't think I'd improve things much or at all with a second layer, so mine's going to the paint shop as-is.

 

How you treat the gun ports is another choice.  You can put in the dummy cannon barrel tips and show the lids open, or you can show them closed.  My choice is closed, since I don't think in real life you would have typically seen a common merchant ship like this with guns run out.  I believe the real Mayflower would have actually carry them stowed, "just in case" (Pirates!).  Someone who's seen it in person correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think Mayflower II ever had them, except for maybe 1 sample one at the stern, just going by the pictures online. 

 

Anyway, mine are going to be done closed.  I started by making some blanks out of 4 planks penciled and glued up like the example below.  Then I cut port lids out of it trying to align the plank joints as best as the inconstant width planking supplied would allow.  

 

 

Moving for a moment to the back, I went ahead and did the stern part of the main (lower) wale.  Not much is said about this in the manual, the pictures there show it pretty much straight across and intersecting the  stern post somewhat.  Looking at pics of the real thing, it's got quite a pronounced curve, like I've done here.  I used the thicker 1/16" planking stock instead of the thin stuff and used the edge bending jig to get the curve:

 

 

Finally, here we have both wales on this side complete.  Next up will be the decorative trim strips and bunch of painting.

 

Edited April 5 by rlwhitt

[Ronald-V]

Perfect clean work! Just like your Essex. You are doing great with this kit  

[Baker]

Beautiful  work 👍

 

[rlwhitt]

Baker and mugje, thanks for the nice comments!

[LCdr Dave]

Looking great. So clean! My Billing Boat Mayflower has so little info, I can’t wait to see how you deal with some of my issues. 

Cheers,

Dave

[rlwhitt]

Thanks Dave!  What kind of issues are you running into? 

[LCdr Dave]

Not to hijack your post, but I’m having a hard time figuring out where the rigging goes in some cases. I also seem to have parts (or lack parts) compared to others. If you don’t mind I might be able to message you separately and you may have some insight. 
cheers,

Dave