HMS Bounty by Captain Al - FINISHED - Artesania Latina - Scale 1:48

[Captain Al]

For those who did not see my introductory post when I first joined about a week ago, I will summarize:

 

I am 68 years young and have been retired a few years.  My wife and I have been sailors on SF Bay and coastwise for 25 years but sold our last boat (a Baba 30 by Perry) a few years back.  Over the years I have accumulated lots of woodworking tools both hand and power and have a modicum of skill with them.  I've wanted to start ship modeling for a long time in order to satisfy my love of woodworking, sailing and everything nautical.  A week ago, while discussing woodworking and shop talk in general with a neighbor (91 years of age -- don't know why that is relevant) he offered me a gift of a model ship kit.  When I went to the garage to get it I was overwhelmed.  This was a model that is for advanced modelers (so all the brochures say) and cost $400 or so.  I am neither advanced, nor would I have spent that kind of money on my first build.  I had been looking for something in the beginners class and for maybe $100.  To make a long story short, my neighbor friend insisted I take it and give it a try; nothing ventured nothing gained he said, and "what's the worst that can happen? "  Having no answer to that question, and with encouragement from various members herein, I have commenced my build.

 

I first decided I would jury rig a vise from one I had for my 15" drill press.  I replaced the jaws with some soft wood I took from a wooden yardstick.  Works pretty well but I think it'll eventually be replaced by something more versatile.

 

My wife (who is a pattern maker and has worked in electronics assembly) and I spent a few days just reading the instructions, looking at the step by step pictures and then identifying and labeling each and every precut part.  Next step was popping out these parts from their sheets.  I found they didn't pop very easily, and not wanting to bust any, I took the precaution of sort of cutting them fully through the sheets using a very small artist's palate knife (super thin blade and dull edge).  Once I'd scored through the cuts, the parts popped out easily.  Time consuming but effective.

 

I've popped out only enough parts to lay the false keel, attach the ribs (frames), stiffeners and lower deck beams, and sanded them pretty well.  I want to finish sanding with 320 grit, but I wonder if, for these parts, most of which won't be visible, if this is overkill.  I have dry assembled the parts just so I will be fully aware of where things go before I do anything drastic with glue.  I plan to use carpenters glue on these parts.  I've also put in a supply of CA glue for future use.

 

The instructions suggest that since half the hull will remain open, a more finished look will be had by staining and varnishing these parts before gluing.  I am going to use Minwax's pretinted walnut/urethane for this.  I'll test it out first on scrap.  Any better suggestions?  I wanted varnish but did not want to try tinting varnish myself (read here that it can be tricky), so for these I think urethane will be OK.

 

Varnishing parts prior to assembly gives rise to how to do it efficiently and as quickly as practical.  My plan is to build a little painting enclosure out of a cardboard box with a dowel run through it.  I will stick a sewing pin into each part's edge and use that to hold the part while I paint it.  Then I'll hang it from the dowel with something like dental floss or thread.

 

So that's where I'm at now.  I know I'll have lots of questions in the coming days, weeks, and months.  I am hoping to finish this build before my friend who gave it to me passes away.  He is 91 as I said, and his doctor gave him just a few months to live almost a year ago.  I'm sure he would be saying, "don't worry about me; take your time and do the best you can.  Everything you do will give you experience."  So I will take that unspoken advice.

 

Attached are photos I have taken and I will continue to document the build with photos.  I am using a Nikon P80. 

[Captain Al]

Having looked at the pix myself, I apologize for several being pretty redundant. Also might mention that the last pic I did not take myself; its from the net and just serves to show what this build should end up like.

 

I used the sanding disk on the dremel jig saw to carefully bevel the ends of the Afr walnut beams. I think this was more accurate than trying to saw them with either the jig saw or a Dremel moto tool. BTW, does anyone know where sanding disks (4") can be had. The one on the tool is my last and I can't find them in stores or on the net. This Dremel is almost 30 years old. I've cut down a 7" disk and might have to continue doing that if I can't find the four inchers.

[Captain Al]

Nothing more for now.  I think I just hit the wrong button.

[Vivian Galad]

Hope u get along, Al. Havê fun and keep it up!

[nightop]

Good to see another Bounty. Your kit looks more detailed than mine. Will follow along. I too am a first time builder in this medium.

[Jeff-E]

Hi Al,

 

A warm welcome to this forum

 

A very nice model of the Bounty and it looks like you are off to a good start with it, I will follow your build with interest as I have this kit on my shelf to do maybe after the Victory bow is finished

[dragzz]

looks like a great kit u are off and running now  

[Keith_W]

Hi Captain, welcome to MSW. When I started boat modelling, I was like a kid in a candy store. Kids in candy stores have appetites that are greater than their wallets, and likewise I had an appetite which was greater than my skills.

 

I have built this kit myself (see my signature). Please take my advice - this kit should NOT be attempted unless you have some skills with planking. This model is single planked and is mostly unpainted. Furthermore, the curves around the bow and stern are difficult to form because the planks twist both upwards and by 90 degrees. But more than that, the instructions by Artesania are extremely sketchy and considerable research is required before you can finish the model. Any mistake you make with planking will show up. And if you make a mistake, you can not resort to wood filler or a second layer of planking to hide your mistakes.

 

I built 2 kits prior to attempting the Bounty, and even then I still made plenty of mistakes. I would suggest you pause, buy a simpler kit (preferably one which is double planked OR painted) - and practice on that first. Either that or get someone local to help you.

 

Please note I am not disparaging you in any way. These skills can be acquired, but they are often acquired after making mistakes.

Edited December 27, 2013 by Amfibius

[Captain Al]

Hi Amfibius,

 

Just read your post and want to thank you much for imparting these warning tips to me.  Before starting it I thought long and hard about it, thinking along the same lines as you.  I have no experience in planking, and as I work toward assembling the framing I have come to learn the difference in double planked models and single planked, as well as those that have ribs for frames v. solid bulkheads.  All in all the thought of doing the planking is the one part that has been keeping me up at night, even though I am days if not weeks away from starting that process.  I am going to consider your suggestion to get some planking experience on something less daunting (and inexpensive) before I go forward.  But I think that given the state of my work table with ribs, keel etc. all cut out and ready, I will take it up to the planking process before stopping.  I was also thinking that maybe it would be a good idea to build the launch and the jolly early on.  I see that you did the Bounty launch as a kit in itself, and of course it therefore had all the rigging and detail.  But the launch in the Bounty kit still requires planking on ribbing.  Do you think this would be a good practice run?  I also wanted to mention how great it is (for me at least) to have your pictures of the Bounty build in your history (profile?).  They are going to help me tremendously.  Thanks for picking up on my build and for your observations.

[Keith_W]

Hi Captain, the launch in the Bounty kit is not enough for a trial run of planking. You will encounter different problems when planking the actual ship.

 

You do raise another point which I forgot to mention earlier - the open frames of this kit makes it more difficult to plank than a "normal" plank on bulkhead ship, because it is much less rigid. One thing most books on planking will warn you about is to plank both sides of the boat symmetrically, otherwise you risk warping the boat - the planks on one side will stretch the boat and distort it. It may not be apparent on my finished kit, but this certainly happened to me, despite being aware of it and taking precautions to avoid it.

 

What makes this kit in particular more difficult than other kits is the planking. Take that away, and it should be doable. The rest of the modelling is not difficult, but it is time consuming.

[Captain Al]

Interesting time zone difference.  BTW, my wife and I spent 2 months in Australia in 2003, about a week in the Melbourne area, and we had the time of our lives.  Just loved the country and your countrymen (and women).  Thanks for showing us a great time.  We're anxious to return.

 

On the subject of planking (again).  I've been reading a lot about it, particularly in the tutorials on this site, and while it appears straightforward in theory, I know it is not so in practice.  Those open frames are flexible, without any beams installed, so cutting the beams to size was carefully done.  I know I have them to the precise specs, but precise to what degree??  I'm beginning to see that even a half mm can cause an imperfection in the fairness of the hull.  Then there was the beveling of the ends of these first 4 beams (bow end) to fit precisely into the knees precut on the ribs.  This might have thrown the length off by a hair.  But I think I will continue the build as I noted yesterday.  My wife, being a skilled pattern maker, seems to understand the curves and tapers and angles even better than I do so when we reach that stage, if she is willing and I have read up on it enough, we'll go for it.  My generous neighbor is really pressing me not to give up on this particular build.  I'm mulling over the method of pinning the planks (and temporary ones) to these ribs, given not too much solid wood behind them.  Any suggestions?  Do those nailer tools work well?  Should I be thinking of temporarily blocking the inner side of the ribbing somehow?  Anything to give it some resistence to a pin being driven in.  Or can the whole thing be done (all the markups and measurements etc) with just clamps?  I truly appreciate your interest in this project.  Thanks.
 

[Keith_W]

Yes Capt, Melbourne is a great city to live in. Great restaurants, lots of music, art, and culture. Ethnically diverse, but unlike other ethnically diverse cities, everyone gets along. I love it here

 

As for your boat, when I built it I pinned the planks to the ribs using a nailer. No additional material behind the rib is necessary. In fact you will find that glue on its own is strong enough to hold the planks to the hull without nails.

 

I DO recommend adding material to the bow, if you are planning to nail. That's because the ribs in the bow are straight, but the planks are at an angle - which means the nails might be grabbing mostly air before it touches a rib. I simply broke off bits of wood from the templates, glued them together and sanded them to shape.

 

Have you installed the lower decks yet? You absolutely need to do so - these decks provide much needed rigidity to the frame. Remember when you are installing the decks to insert the dowels for the masts to maintain alignment. In fact, you should periodically check for alignment using the masts as you are building your ship. If your keel distorts, it will pull the decks out of alignment and your masts won't be straight ... if they can go in at all. Don't ask me how I know

 

If you need more help, feel free to post pictures with questions.

 

Everyone else: come on, I know there are others out there who have built this ship! Please chip in and help!!

[Captain Al]

Great advice A. I have not yet put the lower decks into place.  Not even the frames permanently onto the false keel.  As I've said, each step is a learning process so I am taking things verrrrrry slow.  Looking at a lot of pictures and reading stuff until I am quite sure I am ready.  I think this weekend will take me through the gluing up of the forward frames to midships and possibly the bow stiffeners and forward lower deck beams.  Your advice re the alignment of the deck for the mast(s) is quite well taken.  I have put together the mast steps and placed them (dry) on the false keel.  This is when I noted that care must be taken to line up and maintain that perpendicular line through the decks and into the step.  As regards "adding material to the bow" you wrote:

 

"I DO recommend adding material to the bow, if you are planning to nail. That's because the ribs in the bow are straight, but the planks are at an angle - which means the nails might be grabbing mostly air before it touches a rib. I simply broke off bits of wood from the templates, glued them together and sanded them to shape."

 

Do I understand you correctly in that you are recommending adding tiny bits of wood to the ribbing so as to fill the gap that would otherwise be there when the plank (running at an angle to the squared rib) meets the rib?  I thought (I believe this is actually in the instructions in not so many words) that this gap was eliminated by filing down (mitering) the ribs slightly as they approach the bow.  I can visually see how this would solve the problem, but now I am wondering if it is the correct way to go?  I would think the same will need to be done to the aft most frames as well.  I hope that before I reach that point you can clarify the process for me.

 

My last question for the morning (you're probably fast asleep now) is what parts to stain/varnish prior to assembly.  This is more rhetorical since before you awake I will probably have made the decision after looking at pictures (particularly your's) and those in the kit, and will have done it.  Given the open hull nature of the build, I think all these ribs can be seen and should be stained.  That's my project for after breakfast.  For now, thanks again.  I'll post some pix probably after the weekend when I have something to show.

[Keith_W]

Capt, this is why I suggest you practice planking on a more simple boat before attempting the Bounty. It is a difficult kit, one that even experienced modellers may not find easy.

 

I whipped up a quick diagram in Paint to illustrate:

 

 

This shows a plank meeting a bow frame. The bow frame has been tapered to accept the plank. Note how the nails in position (1) and (3) grab on to a tiny amount of wood. You should ideally place the nail in position (2), but if your nails are long they will still exit the wood.

 

This is why you should be adding material to fill in space in between the frames in front. Needless to say, you need to shape it to conform to the run of planks as well.

 

What parts do you need to paint or varnish? I can't tell you. Study the plans carefully. Are you going to position your model high up so people might see the underside of the decks? Then you need to finish the underside of your decks (I didn't, since my model is low). Don't just look at my build, there are umpteen others on MSW which are better.

[Captain Al]

Building the HMS Bounty by AL. I've popped out, deburred and stained all the pieces to build the forward framing. I'm ready to start gluing in the ribbing from bow to midships. I laid the false keel on the perfectly flat table top and noticed that there was a slight bow to it. 1.5 mm at the midship point to be exact. I've contemplated whether this will affect the final orientation of the ribs and ultimately the entire build. I think that once the deck is laid (assuming both halves are perfectly symmetrical), the keel has to straighten out. It's plywood, 24 inches long and 6mm thick and 1 inch wide along most of its length. So its pretty darn flexible. (note that it may have bowed some cause it was sitting in its box in a garage for 6 years).

 

Anyway, I am thinking of trying to flatten it with a steam iron and clamping between two perfectly flat boards after the steaming. I am right now waiting to see the results of doing this to the scrap of template from which the false keel was taken. Question I have is: is this necessary and is this technique the best solution if it is. Or is 1.5mm flex not enough to worry about and will putting in the deck straighten it out? Thanks for any help offered.

[Arjan68]

Hello Captain Al,

 

Like you I'm a newcomer to MSW, but not to ship modeling. I've built a number of kits so I'll be so bold to give my own two cents of advice.

 

I agree with Amfibius that this Bounty kit is not an easy introduction into this hobby, but with the help and experience of other members it can be done. A single planked model is more difficult, but it is also only half the amount of work of a double planked one 

 

There are a lot of howto's and theories about planking a ship's hull. You can read them all from start to end and back, but still the practice will be a challenge. No two ships are the same. The shape of the bow and stern have a big impact on how the planks behave. For your first kit you should not be concerned about a 'historically correct' planking pattern. Your main goal will be to have a smooth result without any gaps. This will make life a bit easier.

 

I do not agree with amfibius where he suggests to drive nails trough the planks! It is better pin them down with a drawing pin pushed into the frame. I hope you understand what I mean.

 

About the bend in your keel: it should not be necessary to try to fix that. A sturdy keel clamp can keep it straight during the planking. Afterwards the stiffness of the hull will keep the keel straight.

[Captain Al]

Thanks for the encouraging words Arjan. I do not believe in perfection here on earth so I just try my best. I agree wholeheartedly that this build should have come later, but I decided to accept the challenge and just see where it leads. I do read a lot and look at lots of pictures. Its all a learning experience and I'm having great fun doing it. Thank you for your advice on the keel warp. Tomorrow I will start gluing in some frames and not worry about it. I don't actually understand the difference between nailing down the planks (as Amfibius suggests) and pinning them into the frame. Are you saying the pins should be removed after glue has dried? Is that why you call them drawing pins cause they can be drawn out?

[Jeff-E]

Hi Al,

 

That is exactly what Arjan is saying the pin is pushed intothe frame adjacent to the plank and then removed once the glue has dried . You also may be able to use small paper clamps to hold the the plank even with the one above it.This method won't leave any holes in your  finished planking

I would also suggest that you predrill the holes in the frame so that the pins don't splt them as you push them in. The pins used in the following pics are plastic map pins

 

 

 

May I also suggest that you use short plank lengths, maybe 200mm long, instead of the full length as I think it will be easier to obtain a smooth run of planks and you don,t have to worry about trying to line up and glue down a full length of plank in one go. If you do decide to use this metod make sure you stagger the pattern and ensure the ends finish covering half a frame width so the next part of that plank has some frame to glue to, as Arjan says it does not have to be 'histrocally accurate' but it may make the job easier 

 

 

This is only a suggestion and if you feel more comfortable with using the full length planks then thats fine it is your build.

 

I do agree also with Arjan that a good building board is essential and this, along with the decks will hold the keel straight

 

I hope this helps

[Arjan68]

Jeff, thanks for your better explanation on how to use the pins. Explaining such things is difficult when english is not your native language.

[Captain Al]

Thank you all for further explaining and showing the use of the pins to hold down the planks. I also think its a good idea to shorten the planks. Since my build has open ribs I am thinking of a way to buttress them from inside temporarily during planking. I thought this will give them support as I push pins into them. With predrilled holes that might not be necessary. It's hard for me to imagine a drill bit that small, but I assume they are readily available. Probably use my Dremel tool. Thanks again all. This morning I begin setting in the frames.

[Captain Al]

Well the Holidays are over and I made some modest but significant progress on Bounty.  I finished staining all the ribs and glued them into the false keel.  Despite my diligence in making sure they were perpendicular and spaced according to the plans, when the process was over I was only 90% satisfied with my work.  The first issue I had was the spacing between ribs.  I had to place temporary spacers (made of matchsticks) between a couple of them to achieve the desired space.  When I took the spacers out the flexibility of the ribs went back to being off by a mm or two.  I decided not to sweat this as I figure the notches on each level of decking will be spaced properly and these ribs will flex enough to slide into them.  The more troubling issue (and I still cannot understand what caused it) was that one of the beams, cut to perfect length, would not sit level between its two ribs.  As can be seen in two of the pics, I solved this with a small piece of wood glued to the top of the knee.  I am wondering, and seeking advice, on possible causes.  I know the laser cut notches in the rib and the false keel are pretty well cut and result in a squared up mating; no play side to side which would have thrown the two knees out of level.  I did take a swipe with 320 sandpaper over most surfaces and edges of all these ribs, but nothing close to removing that much material.  So my conclusion (without being arrogant for a newcomer to the hobby) is that sometimes S happens at the factory and this may be one of them.  I fully expect that along the way there will be times when imperfections in the kit and mistakes I make will need to be remedied.  The other question I have re this fault, is did I choose the best way to fix it?  I couldn't think of any other, so I'm interested to hear if others have had to do something similar.

 

So now with the forward 7 ribs, stiffeners and beams in place I am ready to plank the lower deck and put it in place.  I've done a dry run with the unplanked deck halves and the fit is nice.  The deck sits atop all the beams flat and the only gap there is is from the flexibility of the plywood.  This will either come true when the planking is glued to it or I will apply some small weight to it from atop which puts it flat onto the beam.  I'm coming to expect that these thin pieces of ply will always have some flex or warp to them.

 

Questions I have before I dive into the planking and placing of this lower deck:

1.  Is it best to plank from the center line out since this is the straight edge?

2.  The instructions recommend contact glue to affix the planks to the underlying deck pieces.  Is there agreement from all that this is the best?

3.  Should each plank be coated, then placed on the deck separately or can they all be coated then set aside as each is laid in place?  I forget exactly how contact glue works (I'll experiment before doing it) but I think the two contact surfaces are allowed to dry before being placed together.  They are easily handled when dry but once contact is made with the other surface its all she wrote.  They stick fast.  Is that how it basically works?

4.  Last question -- what type of glue should be used to secure the deck to the beams, and if white glue, should the entire beam be coated?

 

Thanks for any advice, answers and critique of what I've done.  This is quite fun.

 

 

[Dan Vadas]

Hi Al,

 

First, please read my reply to the question you asked in Framing and Planking a Ship"s Hull by clicking HERE . That will save me repeating myself .

 

When doing an Open Side hull it's a good idea to glue some temporary battens, say four spaced about an inch apart, to the full length of the open side first using PVA glue. This will ensure that the frames won't pull the keel out of alignment. You can easily remove the battens when the Planked Side is finished by simply cutting them off the frames, but some Isopropyl Alcohol will soften the glue and you will be able to re-use them if necessary.

 

JeffE also gave some very good advice in an earlier post - I'd take it all if I were you.

 

The Sapelli planking strips supplied with the kit are not the easiest timber to use for planking, but with care you can still achieve a good result. Soaking them first, clamping to the hull or around a Former to dry, and then gluing them on after final tapering/bevelling is the best method as the inside of some will be visible. I used a home-made "crimping" type tool on my AL Bounty, which was a lot quicker (I was on a deadline to finish her) but the commercial types (Amati etc) will work with a bit of modification if you wish to go down that road.

 

Remember to Dry Fit every plank, and sand the edge until you get a really good fit. You may have to repeat this step a number of times, but it's worth it. Try and get the plank to sit on each frame without any more pressure than simply stopping it from moving while the glue dries.

 

  Danny

[Captain Al]

Did read that post Dan and appreciate your time.  All very good suggestions which I will be employing.

[Captain Al]

Its been a week since posting and I have not done a whole lot but lay the ramin planks over the forward hold deck, and drill pin prick holes (.5 mm) to simulate pegs. I got my first lesson in using a pin vise. I have two practical questions regarding its use: (1) how to set such a tiny drill perfectly straight in the collet of the pin vise (I did the best I could but still got a little wiggle when I turned the drill), and (2) is there any way other than visual and extreme care to prevent drilling through the underlying wood? (I couldn't imagine a collar on the bit and the bit would not go deep enough into the collet to expose only so much bit. I confess, out of the 120 holes I drilled I broke through on three. This is for the lowest decking and it will be hard to see, but I want to avoid that completely on the upper decks. I am also debating whether or not to fill then sand these holes. I did so on some scrap and the holes are so small that I think they look better (more noticeable) with nothing in them. I could have used darker filler but all I had was balsa color. What do you folks think? Go get some dark filler and do it right or move on?

 

So I am at the point where the instructions would have me glue in this deck. But before doing so I will want to do that filling or not, and also have to decide when to add material to the ribs/frames as many here have suggested doing. My plan is to use 3/8" balsa, jigsaw out copies of the ribs, then laminate 4 of these together to make a 1 1/2 inch fill between each rib. If its a bit too wide I will sand down and if a bit too narrow I'll add another layer of veneer out of 1/8" balsa. Each of these fillers will either have to be done in sections (above and below the decks) or I will need to cut notches in them to accommodate the deck. Any opinions as to how to go about this and whether to glue these in before the decking or after?

 

I feel I'm making progress. Probably its going about 90% as it should. The other 10% is giving me the opportunity to learn from my mistakes and be innovative and resourceful. As they say now-a-days, its all good.

 

I'm attaching a couple pictures. My previous attempt at a hobby was Photoshop and obviously I've moved on. I hope I get better at modeling than I was using PS.

[Dan Vadas]

Hi Al,

 

(1) how to set such a tiny drill perfectly straight in the collet of the pin vise (I did the best I could but still got a little wiggle when I turned the drill)

 

 

It should centre itself properly. If you're getting a wiggle there may be a problem with the collet (buy a new one) or your drill bit is bent (ditto).

 

is there any way other than visual and extreme care to prevent drilling through the underlying wood?

 

 

Drill through an appropriately thick scrap of wood and use that as a spacer against the shoulders of the pinvise.

 

Filler can be made from the same sawdust of the timber in question mixed with diluted PVA.

 

Glue the decks on BEFORE adding material to the frames to ensure they aren't pulled out of alignment and you need to add MORE material/sand off some.

 

  Danny

[Captain Al]

Thank you Dan. Good suggestions. My drill, collet and bits are all brand new. But the pin vise was pretty cheap (about $9) so maybe not the best. I think I'll go over to the hobby shop this weekend and investigate.

[Captain Al]

Its been almost 2 months since I updated my log.  More a case of fumbling with Photoshop and Windows 8 than with the build itself.  I have been working diligently and hopefully intelligently to make this first build something worthwhile.  I probably made some serious error in the first stages of putting the frames to the false keel.  I thought I had them all lined up and squared properly, but not so.  Perhaps some flaw in the manufacturing, but not likely.  I should have built a jig and done it much slower.  But, having said that, there are only two or three frames that seem out of whack and I anticipate I can correct things in the pre-planking process.  I will add some material (swizzle sticks from Starbucks) to those that are "indented" and file/sand down the ones on the opposite side that stick out.  Since the ship will be open on the starboard side, I may not even find the need to make those frames perfectly fair. 

 

Another issue that may have resulted from improper placement of the frames, or again, from poorly cut knees in the frames, was that several of the beams for the lower deck did not sit level.  I had to shim them.  Easy enough and pretty invisible (except maybe on the starboard open side).

 

Other than these two problems its going better than I even expected ..... (other than that Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?).  Planking the holding platforms got pretty tedious.  Now that I am ready to start planking the lower deck I'm wondering if there is a better technique for cutting out the framing notches and (on the lower and later the main decks) the open spaces for grates, stairs, masts, stanchions etc.  than I used on the hold platform.  For the most part I filed the notches out, being careful to hold the piece tightly between my fingers, and sometimes putting the piece in the vise.  Between filing, sanding and careful use of the Moto Tool, I got them done.  I still don't know what the most effective way is though.  For large openings (eg the grates on the lower deck) I plan to cut my planks to stop at the edges of the openings.  For the small round holes I plan to plank over them and then drill them out using a backing underneath to avoid splintering the .6mm planks.  For the small square cut outs I will probably drill them out then use a file to square them up.

 

I chose to use  urethane over the hold platform.  I also used a black marks-a lot on the edges to simulate caulk.  That much worked fine.  When it came to the trenails I was dumbfounded.  I drilled tiny holes (using a #76 bit which is .02" approximately.  With the scale being 1:48 this means about an inch diameter hole/pin/plug in the actual ship.  That seems reasonable.  But having drilled the holes, I couldn't get a toothpick into them and filler just smeared over them and didn't make any noticeable impression.  In the end I opted to just leave them alone.  After applying the urethane finish to the wood, the holes stood out more and look OK (I think).  Moving upwards to the lower deck soon and later the main deck, I am in need of advice as to how to do this work properly.  Perhaps a bigger hole is called for to insert the head of a toothpick?

 

Building the hold well and box (what did that box usually contain?) was a challenge.  I'd never worked with miniature before.  The joints do not provide much gluing surface and I found it couldn't be done well with a square jig.  You can see below what I concocted.  I took the precaution of adding a 1.5mm molding to the inside of the well just to give more gluing surface.

 

I am now working on planking the lower deck (with all the aforementioned cutouts).  I like to do things in a planned, controlled method, so I first traced out the outline of the deck onto 5 mm square graph paper.  This was very convenient to have as the planks are 5 mm wide.  I don't want to run one plank the full length of the ship (not authentic), so I planned out a scheme and broke it into 3rds for the most part.  I then counted squares and figured out how many of each length plank I would need to cut.  I have just finished cutting the planks with about 5 mm of leeway to each plank which I will trim off upon gluing up.

 

Here are some pictures.  I welcome any and all criticism, tips and warnings. 

 

 

[Mike Dowling]

Hi, I am so impressed with what you have done so far. I am trying to build the OcCre Bounty which is not nearly as kind in the bow as yours. I am only a beginner but I notice you asking at one point about contact adhesive. I do my planking with ordinary carpenters (PVA) adhesive. Contact is totally unforgiving and gives no room for manoeuvre at all! 

I notice that your build has several decks as does mine. Does that mean that part of the hull is exposed with yours as well?

All the best,

Mike.

[Desert_Sailor]

If it's the same AL Bounty cutaway kit, here's the finished product.  Pretty much OOB  but I did add a number extras in the hold and lower decks... This took about 14 months ( I travelled a lot).  I'll be happy to answer any questions.

 

 

 

[Captain Al]

Quick answer Mike; yes this will be open on starboard side.  Which in itself poses lots of issues (in planking and other areas) which I have been warned of.  But I move forward undaunted (if naively).  Later today I plan to upload some pics which will bring my log up to date.  Thanks for your kind words.