HMS Bounty Jolly Boat by DCooper - Artesania Latina - 1:25 - SMALL

[DCooper]

Well, my lovely wife surprised me this morning with a gift of my first wooden ship model.  She chose the Artesania Latina HMS Bounty Jolly Boat on the recommendation of the local hobby shop.  Her stated aim was to keep me from underfoot during the Christmas Holiday and to bring a smile to my face.  I have dutifully retired to the shed and spent the morning reading all I can on this kit, fondling the contents of the box and grinning like a fool.  Wonderful woman my wife.

 

I hope to be able to finish this little gem of a kit to an acceptable standard.  My skills with wood are very low but I have built many different kinds of kits in the past.  My plan is to not try and get too fancy but stick pretty much to what's in the box and to apply a nice painted finish.  The size of the kit looks manageable and not to intimidating to a newbie like myself both in sense of size and time required to complete.  From what I can see I have all I need to finish the build in the box so it is just up to me now.  

 

I am a little concerned in the planking of the hull as most builds I have seen suggest to not follow the plans and plank in a different way.  To be honest the ways suggested in the build logs look a bit more logical than what is proposed in the instructions.  I will wait to cross that river once I have the frame built so I have something tangible to play with.

 

I'm off to begin preparing the parts to build the frame.  Really looking forward to experimenting with something new.  I'll post a few photos once some bits are stuck together.  So happy to start on a new journey.

 

Dan

[Jay 1]

Dan, enjoy the build!  I also chose this AL kit for my first build--ran into a number of issues with the kit, so I hope your build goes smoothly.  However, the kit has a lot of room for deviating from the instructions and etc. if you choose.  About the planking...if you don't mind the recommendation, I suggest not following the kit's instructions.  Give a shot at planking the hull the way a boat actually would be planked, this may be more difficult but it'll be great skillset to have for your future builds.   There are a few JB build logs and photo galleries on MSW for reference; also Google John Earl's "Model Boat Yard" web site--he has some good stuff on his site (sorry, can't past the URL into this post...there's a bug in the new IE 11 when it comes to pasting content into forums ). 

 

That's a wonderful gift from your wife--I hope you have a lot of fun!

 

Cheers,

Jay

[Sailor1234567890]

Post us some pics of things. Should be fun to watch her come together.

[DCooper]

Progress;

 

All the frames cut out, sanded off the charred bits and fitted to the keel.

 

 

A enjoyable few hours work but the boat is taking shape.  I was surprised at the amount of charred bits to sand away.  Even so the laser cutting is much nicer to deal with then the old die cut Gullows kits from my dark dimly remembered boyhood ; .  I will glue the frame together tonight and let it dry overnight.  Next comes the shaping of the frames for the planking.

 

Jay -  Thank you for your encouraging reply.  Yours was one of the first build logs I read this morning.  I really liked how your Jolly Boat came out and will shamelessly pinch ideas, and colour scheme, from you, I hope you don't mind.  Thanks for the links and advise on planking.  I have spent a bit of time this afternoon looking into techniques of planking.  More informed but also more confused.  I will need to get some materials in my hands before it all clicks together. 

 

Mostly I'm just having fun!

 

Sailor1234567890 -  Well it's only one picture but it's a start.  I hope you like it.

 

Dan

Edited December 23, 2013 by DCooper

[Jay 1]

Dan, it's looking like she's off to a great start! By all means, borrow all that you like from my log--I did much the same for some of my stuff (later in my build, I borrowed a lot from contemporary models at the NMM website). I initially felt the same about planking as you do, but it came together once I actually started doing it.

 

Glad you're having fun--that's the main thing!

 

Cheers,

J

[CaptainSteve]

Arrr !!

 

Well considered approach to your build.

 

I think I'll just pull up a seat over here, if ye don't mind.

[DCooper]

Progress;

 

 

 

 

Lots and lots of sanding, good thing for the cordless Dremel.  About ready for my first go at planking.  I'm going to try to put into use the planking articles from this site and some bits I've seen on other sites rather than the way it's shown on the plans.  According to Jay if I do it this way I won't have enough materials so I'll have to wait until after Christmas to get some more to finish but there is no rush.  All nice and smooth right now but I'm not sure I have got all the angles quite right. 

 

The great experiment begins!  Just have to figure out what I'm doing by doing it.

 

Jay and Captain Steve-  I hope this meets with approval.

 

Happy Christmas to all!

 

Dan

[DCooper]

Progress;

 

 

 

Not great and certainly not correct practice but less one little fill plank, done.  Learned a lot by doing.  Funny how actually working with the materials makes such a difference to understanding what people are saying when the write tutorials.  If only I had correctly set out the top two planks I would have had room to use all full planks.  But that's what happens when you are learning.  Lot of sanding and a bit of filler and I think the hull will look okay.  A coat of paint should help hide some sins too.  I would do much differently next time but such is life.  

 

Off to bed soon so Santa can come.  

 

Thanks for looking in.

 

Dan

[Jay 1]

Dan, she's looking good! In my view, first builds are all about learning and developing the skills for this whacky, fun hobby-passion. Sounds like you're having fun and learning, and ya can't beat that combo! You're right about the planking--filler, paint, and etc. will have 'er spruced up in no time.

 

Cheers,

Jay

[Keith_W]

Solid effort there Dan. It just so happens that I am about to start building a Bounty launch as well (but mine is Model Shipways and not AL). Following your build with interest

[DCooper]

Progress;

 

 

 

Banished to the shed again so made good use of my time.  Much scraping and sanding and a touch of filler.  Still a bit rougher than I would like but better than I had originally thought possible.  Should have sanded the inside face of the planks before I attached them as they are very rough but can't do much about it now.  ( Next time...) 

 

Jay - Thanks for the support!

 

Amfibius - Like what you are doing with the Launch and excited to see how it goes together.  Hope you like my little efforts.

 

I'll let this harden off overnight and see what I can get up too tomorrow.  Much fun sanding away while listening to the Boxing Day Test.  More adventures to come but this part was the one that had me most worried.  So it is nice to have it in the bag.

 

Thanks for stopping by to have a look.

 

Dan

[DCooper]

Progress;

 

 

 

A bit of colour and some more parts.  i had used all of the 1.5mm x 5mm Material so had to go to three hobby shops before I could find anything useful.  Done for the day but hope to get some more internals done tomorrow.  I have to work out exactly what I'm going to do with the paint scheme on the outside but that can wait for a little while yet.

 

Thanks for dropping by for a look.

 

Dan

[Keith_W]

Your photography is beautiful, Dan. So clean that your boat looks more like a rendering than a photograph! Would you mind sharing your setup?

 

Oh yes, boat's not bad either

[DCooper]

Pretty simple setup Amfibus.

 

 

Ixus 65 point and shoot on a very stable Manfrotto tripod.  Camera set for Macro, ISO 80 and under exposed -2/3 plus timed delay to avoid shake.  Two white foam core bounce cards to get some light into the shadows under the hull.  Then a few post corrections in iPhoto to crop, resize, correct for colour and sharpen the image a touch.  I find that iPhoto is a simple way to fix some of the limitations of my simple camera.  Would love to upgrade to a DSLR... Maybe someday.

 

Glad you like the hull so far.  I do like taking nice clear photos. IHTH 

 

Dan

[Keith_W]

Nice! I am writing a photography guide for MSW. Would you mind if I used your photo? I'll attribute it, of course.

[Jay 1]

Dan, she's looking very good! Glad to see you're not hitting some of the snags I ran into with the kit--things look like they're lining up well and etc. with your build.

 

You're photography is excellent, thanks for sharing how you're taking your excellent pictures and thanks for asking the question Keith! The technique looks uncomplicated and the items don't look to be too expensive. Keith, that's marvelous that you're going to do an article for photographing builds for the forum--this is an area I'd like to learn more about and improve on, esp. with an upcoming build that I'm currently drafting.

 

Again Dan, your JB is looking really good and am glad that it's going relatively smoothly for you!

 

Cheers,

Jay

[DCooper]

Progress;

 

 

 

So far so good.  Had to use a bit of brown two part epoxy putty to fill some bits at the bow and stern where parts just don't meet up properly.  Most of what I'm not happy with is my own sloppy assembly.  Not enough dry fitting and thinking ahead.  I had to use some extra material to make the foot boards work because I didn't take the time to lay them out properly.  Learning all the time and that's a good thing.

 

Next on the list is to get the rudder fitted and make a start on the masts.  I'm really unsure of all this but will forge ahead.  I want to do more like what Jay has in his build rather than what the instructions show.  I'll need to look over his posts a bit more before I commit to brass and wood.

 

Still having fun, so much so that I'm thinking about a suitable next kit.  Must be small because I need to push though and get it finished.  Lots more to do on this one so plenty of time.

 

Jay -  Thanks for the kind words and wonderfully complete build posts.  I'm going over them again and again for guidance.

 

Amfibius -  If you find a use for my photos I'd be honoured to be included in any posts you have planned.

 

Ps.  There are only little cut outs on the side of the hull for the oars to sit in.  Shouldn't there be some kind of oarlock or at least an edge piece to support the top edge of the hull?  Any suggestions or am I just over thinking this.

 

 

Thanks for dropping by for a look.

[Jay 1]

Thanks for the kind words, Dan--glad that my old log is helpful. You're OK with the cut outs for the oars--by around this time, thole pins were pretty much "out" on small RN boats. While it can be a tricky site at first to navigate, the NMM ( http://prints.rmg.co.uk/category/Ship-plans ) is a great resource for seeing period craft--both in terms of models and esp. old plans. Query "longboat" and "cutter" and check out those to get a feel for late 1700s small boats. The pics from the NMM are smallish, but will give you a good idea of how these guys looked back in the day.

 

Glad you're having fun, Dan!

 

Jay

[DCooper]

Progress;

 

 

 

Rudder is on.  Miss measured a bit in the lower pivot but it's not too noticeable.  Need to get my act together and paint the lower hull then on to the masts, Yeah!

 

Jay-  Thanks for the intel and the link.  I've spent a fair while looking about.  Some very interesting material

 

Dan

[Jay 1]

Your rudder looks great, Dan--nice work! Dan, a "gotcha" I ran into with my kit are the sails and mast/bowsprit lengths. If you intend to install your kit's sails, be sure to check the lengths of your mast and bowsprit against the actual lengths of your kit sails before you cut any wood! Also layout the entire rig for the mast--i.e, position your gaff, mast bands, and etc. before cutting the mast. If you only use the mast/bowsprit lengths from the plans, you may wind up with a mast and or bowsprit that's not the correct length. A hard lesson learned here!

 

Happy New Year to you and yours!

Jay

[DCooper]

Progress;

 

 

 

Some minor touch ups to do but the base is solid.  I'm going to do the cutouts next and start adding some bits for the rigging.  The masts are still a way off.  Jay, you were spot on about the sails, the kit ones are bigger than the plans and have some funky curves in them as well.  A big thanks to you for pointing that out.  I'm in two minds about using them now…  Might just leave them off our stow them in the hull?  Need to work out how I'm going to base  this model.  I might see if I can get some of those brass pedestals.

 

Thanks for looking in.

 

Dan 

[michael mott]

very Nice work so far Dan, I think that you can drop the newbie label now. I would imagine that you are also thinking about the next boat as well.

 

Michael

[Keith_W]

Yeah, I agree. I would be happy if I built that.

[aliluke]

Just caught up with this log Dan. Great work - it looks fantastic. Spotted your question about mounting it on a base - for something as fine as this I'd go for brass rods rather than pedestals. These make the boat look like it is afloat. The finer the rods the better but just two straight rods and you are sorted in my opinion.

 

Cheers

Alistair

[Jay 1]

Alistair's right about the brass rods vs pedestals--wish I had thought of that with mine. Maybe surf the Longboat logs here on MSW for some ideas--several builds did an exceptional job with rods. Yep, the crappy quality of the sails were frustrating to say the least on my build...sounds like yours are the same or worse, good call to leave them off!

 

Cheers,

Jay

[DCooper]

Thanks for all the great comments gentlemen.  I find all your information and encouragement inspiring.  I though a lot about Alistair's suggestion of mounting on brass rods and the did some snooping as Jay had advised.  This is what I ended up with.

 

Progress;

 

 

 

 

Still very rough and I have to finish the base but nice and simple which is what I was going for.  I could have made better use of proportions and centered better.( I think it looks a little odd that the base is centred on the hull and not the overall length of the boat.)  But for a first try acceptable.  On reflection I have given up on the kit sails for two reasons.  One they don't look all that good up close and two it will simplify the build and thus help to make sure I finish.  I would like to make my own but I know that will end up in disaster and much frustration.  Better to keep having fun!

 

Started work on the masts and rigging.  I used flatted solder for the bands rather than the very thin brass strip provided.  Ideally I'd like something about halfway between the two.  Used some chemical blackening on the brass bits I did use and that worked much better than I had hoped.  So far so good.  The tapering went better than i had hoped but still need to tackle the main mast and the yards.  I need to get some turned belaying pins the next time I'm at the shops and some other little bits but I think I can get most done with what I have now.

 

As Michael points out I have been looking about for a next kit and Jay pointed out the neato MS Jongboat....  Hmmm very tempted what do you guys think of that kit?

 

As always thanks for dropping in to have a look at my efforts and a million thanks for the support and guidance.

 

Dan

Edited January 4, 2014 by DCooper

[DCooper]

Quick Progress;

 

 

 

No mistakes today so good headway made.  I've just noted that Jay added backstays to his build very much like those on the longboat builds… Interesting.

 

On to the main mast.

 

Dan

Edited January 4, 2014 by DCooper

[Jay 1]

She looking very nice--those rods look great! Don't blames you for scrapping the sails...they're a pain in the butt, esp. if they're poor fit. Also, no indication in the kit of where they belay to or etc.

 

Next kit? Are you in the UK or US Dan? If UK, then MS kits may be expensive in terms of shipping costs and customs. For your next build by all means get a kit that you like and will also challenge you/build upon your skill sets. Personally, I think smaller builds are great because they're relatively quick. Also one will build up a lot of skills fairly soon--doing a second smaller build will reinforce and build upon much of what you've learned already. Also they're not too expensive--if they get screwed up, you're not out on a lot of money or too much time. Definitely, doing a build you like is key!

 

 

Cheers,

Jay

[DCooper]

Progress;

 

 

 

 

 

The rigging was a lot harder than I thought.  Very rough and I had to go and get new material because I couldn't get the hang of the line provided with the kit.  I have bought some 0.2 , 0.5 , 0.7 mm line which worked better but I ran up against my skill limits.  everything is just so rough and I am even more in awe of those that can rig well.  I am going to try and do the backstays next and se if I can't stuff them up too.  Still having fun but need a lot more practice before I could say I like rigging.

 

Jay-- I'm in Australia so I'm used to everything being more expensive, either through shipping or exchange rates.  I'm definitely staying with the smaller builds.  Way too much to learn before I try something bigger.  Besides even though the shrouds kicked my behind I knew there wasn't that much to do so I kept going until I finished.  Anything much bigger and I might have pulled the pin.  I think I'll get this one finished pretty soon and once it's in the case I'll have a whole different outlook on the project.

 

Thanks to all for looking in.

 

Dan 

[CaptainSteve]

Dan,

 

She's a gorgeous looking little boat. I really like the little barrel and bucket you've added up-front. I only regret your build wasn't around when I started building my ship's boats. I reckon I would've used your work to make mine a lot better (but I still like 'em).

 

I notice you saying you are having difficulties with rigging. I do not know whether or not you have tired, old eyes like myself, but might I recommend getting yourself some magnifying spectacles. In Oz, these are available over-the-counter at any pharmacy for around $10. You'll see 'em labelled +2, +2.5, +3 etc. I keep a pair on my ship-building table exclusively for shipwright purposes.

 

Hope this helps and lookin' forward to seeing your finished build !!  

Edited January 8, 2014 by CaptainSteve