HMS Bounty Jolly Boat by Cannon Fodder - FINISHED - Artesania Latina - Scale 1:25 - First Wooden Ship Build - SMALL

[Cannon Fodder]

Hello all.

 

It finally came in the mail today and I broke it open tonight. I will spare you all with the unboxing as there are already several good build logs of this kit.

 

The HMS Bounty Jolly Boat by Artesania Latina -Scale 1:25

 

The first notable newbie sensation I would share is the unnerving snap as your x-acto blade cuts through the flashing of the wood surrounding the laser cut pieces. Being unfamiliar with the strength of the pieces of wood it unsettled me. I'm sure the master builders are used to it by now.

 

I would like someone to confirm what I feel my research in this site seems to have revealed to me about the sanding completely of the laser scars on the edges of every piece of wood and it's effect on the strength of the glue.

Answer: no effect.

It's more of an aesthetic as this boat is open and single planked with exposed bulkheads that one would need to sand it all off. Or you are just OCD, glad I found an outlet.

 

The photo below is the bulkheads fitted not glued. Are there tips you would share with respect of the application of the wood glue. Q-tip? Brush? Toothpick? And how best to clean up the excess that will inevitably squooge out the sides? I am struck by the miniature scale of this model. Even at 1:25 things are really small with really tight spaces to work in.

 

I am reading Bligh's account of the voyage in this boat after the mutiny, aggressive natives on all islands, yikes.

 

Is is bad that I am shopping for my second build?

[Keith_W]

Welcome to MSW and congrats on your build! I am on the other end of my Bounty Launch - it is almost complete except for the sails. I will follow yours with interest

 

BTW you're not the only one shopping for your next build

[DCooper]

Welcome Cannon Fodder.  

 

Nice start and I hope you are having fun.  I did go to the effort to sand off the char, more to get a nice finish rather than for strength.  My kit seemed to have a very rough finish almost like it was flame cut with a torch, which I suppose in a way it was.  Most of the edges won't show in the end anyway.  

 

How are you going to do your planking?  Are you going to use the kit supplied pre cut pieces or all planks?  If you go all planks you will need some more 1.5mm x 5mm stip.  As for cleaning up the glue squeezed out I just use a moist Cotton bud(Q-tip) to wipe away the excess.  Have you decided to paint or strain your hull?

 

I'm getting close to finishing mine and yep I'm looking forward to my next one too.

 

Dan

[Cannon Fodder]

Planking- I do plan on following the guides from this forum in regards to planking. Dan - thanks for the heads up about needing extra planks.

 

Paint vs stain- I plan on staining to show off the wood and simulating tree nails. Dan- I read your build log, nice paint job.

 

Thank you Amfibus, your build is part of my inspiration.

 

Off to find planks.

 

CF

[Keith_W]

Thanks, CF. To apply glue, I used a toothpick and a piece of card, 2cm wide. The toothpick is good for precision areas, and the wide card is good for edge gluing (i.e. applying glue to the edge of the plank). To clean off excess glue, I used a wet Q-tip.

 

Given that your ribs are exposed and on display, I would sand all the laser burn marks off. Not only that, I would also suggest staining the keel and ribs before you assemble the frame. I have found out to my cost (in a previous build) that stain and glue don't mix. You will get pale blotches of unstained wood if there is any glue at all on the surface. Naturally you will need to stain your planks before you install them as well - especially the inside. The outside is not so critical - you will sand it all off anyway.

 

From what I can see, the AL kit does not include pre-tapered planks - so if you are planning to leave your boat stained and unpainted, your planking job has to be very, very good!

Edited January 7, 2014 by Amfibius

[Cannon Fodder]

Here is my attempt number one on this delicate number. Photo one my clamp job and photo two the curves the piece makes.

[Keith_W]

Good start CF, but the curve on the "deck" does not look right to me. Towards the stern, it appears to rise and then flatten off. I checked DCooper's Bounty build log here and the curve of his deck looks different to yours. It could be the camera angle, but I think it is more likely that frame #7 has not been faired properly. Suggest you check again. 

[DCooper]

Good eyes there Amfibius but to give CF his due I think his is right and mine is...well not so right.

 

I ended up with a pretty big gap at the stern which I had to fill with brown epoxy putty.  The only issue I can see with the curve will be fitting the thick dark brown seat sections.  Getting those to curve and fit well might be a struggle.  CF you might just check that they fit now rather than wait until after planking( which is what I did).

 

Edit : (Ahhh, silly me maybe if you angle the top of frame 7 you could straighten the curve and therefore lower the deck reducing the gap but leaving the deck flat for the seat piece.)

 

I like your progress and I'm sure you'll get everything to fit.  Hey, that's the fun part of building.  If you haven't done so yet check out the forum section on the 18th century long boat.  There are heaps of great build there and you can download a copy of Chucks instructions as a PDF which I have found super useful on my build especially the rigging.

 

I like your clamps.  I have to get me some of them for my next build.

 

Dan

Edited January 12, 2014 by DCooper

[Cannon Fodder]

I think I have more of a problem than one simple piece, more pics for your assessment of my issues...at this point nothing looks straight. FYI it is all glued with titebond II for about 24 hrs now.

[Bugra]

Hey there Cannon Fodder ! 

 

She looks great and very clean.. Congratz on your first build. Watching with an interest! 

 

 

Cheers! Bugra.

[Cannon Fodder]

I answered my own question of what to do next by trying to fit the next pieces. The bow piece will fit but the rear two piece bench won't it should lay flat on the circular frame. So u delicately backtracked using q-tip and hot water and gentle prying.

[Cannon Fodder]

There a bit straighter, me thinks. Not perfect but probably as close as my skills allow.

[Cannon Fodder]

Fairly good fairing progress this evening. Eagerly anticipating the planking to come.

I have not figured out how you do more than one plank in a sitting with a soaked plank clamped to dry then clamped with glue before moving on to the next? That is without pinning them, while the kit comes with nails I am loathe to use them since I am not painting the hull...

[Keith_W]

CF I did four planks at a time while waiting for them to dry. Two on each side. Depending on your local weather conditions, it will take a few hours for the planks to dry. I waited 24 hours with the planks in a sunny area before proceeding. In the meantime you can work on other areas of your model (e.g. making masts and spars). It is absolutely vital for the planks to be dry before mounting them on a single planked kit - as mentioned, wet planks expand and will shrink as they dry. If you mount planks which are still wet, they will shrink and create gaps in your planking. 

[Cannon Fodder]

Been busy, I swear there's a boat taking shape under the clamps.

I've figured out the process with the hull lined out for the taper on the bulwarks. I shape the taper on the plank, then soak it to get it pliable, then clamp in in place, let it dry and then glue it and clamp that in place. I figure this process will take me a month to complete with only about an hour per night to model.

Getting the planks to fit tightly given this a single planked boat is a challenge, I will say. Thoroughly enjoying my new hobby resurrecting a childhood pastime my father shared with me via model railroading.

[Cannon Fodder]

Hey all,

Frustrating progress tonight, I ruined three planks in a row trying to shape and taper them. So I only got one on this evening. Here are the glamour shots...I fondled some of the small parts with tweezers... Oi!

 

I have a question about the rudder assembly, I might try and tackle that one night while watching glue dry. I doesn't look like the slot in the rudder where the pin assembly is has enough clearance for the rudder to actually come off like it might in real life...?

[Keith_W]

I have a question about the rudder assembly, I might try and tackle that one night while watching glue dry. I doesn't look like the slot in the rudder where the pin assembly is has enough clearance for the rudder to actually come off like it might in real life...?

 

That's because it needs to be trimmed. Do you have a Dremel? Mount the sanding tool on the Dremel and it will make light work of it. 

[Cannon Fodder]

Is this called a "stealer"? Or a "drop" plank? I've run out of room at the bow for planks but got plenty in the middle. I guess I did not taper enough... But I did not want to go below half the width of the plank, clearly not super uniform.

 

And I ventured into the rudder stuff...waiting to glue as I am indecisive on stain. Kind of waiting to see if my planking after finishing is good enough doe stain for my eye.

 

Comments welcome, even encouraged. This being my first foray with planking, finding the scale hard to work with, trying to experiment with the techniques I've read about.

 

How do you better transfer the taper evident on the hull to the plank pre soaking and bending? I've read something about wide scotch tape?

 

Thanks CF

[Cannon Fodder]

Hopefully I am doing this right, the last place looks hard to fit...

[DCooper]

Looking fine CF.  Just take your time and carefully fit the last planks in.  Test, mark, sand and repeat till you get there.  Seems like a chore while you are doing it but it doesn't take that long.  Just have fun and you are almost there.

 

Dan

[Keith_W]

CF, you need scotch tape which can be marked. Apply the tape to the gap, then use a pencil to trace the outline of the gap. Remove the tape and place it on a plank. Use a sharp knife to trim the tape up to the mark, then cut the plank to fit the tape. Make sure that you do not cut exactly to the outline of the tape - leave yourself some excess, then sand the rest of the plank until it fits the gap. 

[Cannon Fodder]

Done planking! Gaps! I filled the big ones by gluing in slivers. A few others with some glue and sanding sawdust according to some recommendations on this site. But there are stil gaps.

 

Stain or paint? What do you think? And I am wondering how I can clamp this keel on there?

[DCooper]

Victory!

 

Looks mighty fine.  For my two cents, I'd say scrape and sand the exterior until you get a nice even smooth surface and then paint.  That's what I did and I'm very pleased with the results.  Save the stain for you next kit.  Especial as you said you still had a few gaps.  ( I did too I thought they would show up too much under stain as you can't hide!)

 

Excellent progress all the same.  Thanks for sharing.

 

Dan

[Keith_W]

Congratulations on completing your planking! Do you feel like a million dollars?  

 

The keel should have been clamped on before you started the planking. Do the Artesania instructions tell you to clamp the keel on after the planking? Too late for that now, I suppose you need some rubber bands and slow setting glue. Make sure the keel is absolutely straight and true before you leave the glue to set. 

 

Personally I would stain it with a water based stain of your choice. If you don't like the stain, you can always paint over it. 

[Cannon Fodder]

Stained and the seats installed. I am pleased with my choice. And a picture of my next step. So tiny!

[Cannon Fodder]

Good progress with the small bits. Rudder complete, some other metal work complete, and about to raise the mast.

[Bindy]

Hi Cannon Fodder,

 

I just had to say that your first build is looking fantastic!  You must be so proud!

[Cannon Fodder]

Congratulations on completing your planking! Do you feel like a million dollars?  

 

The keel should have been clamped on before you started the planking. Do the Artesania instructions tell you to clamp the keel on after the planking? Too late for that now, I suppose you need some rubber bands and slow setting glue. Make sure the keel is absolutely straight and true before you leave the glue to set. 

 

Personally I would stain it with a water based stain of your choice. If you don't like the stain, you can always paint over it.

 

Amphibius, The instructions actually did say to plank then clamp on the keel. Rubber bands works well, thanks for the tip.

 

The instructions also show the rigging coated in something. I've read hear everything from beeswax to some fancy smancy preservative, to just running it through a flame to burn off the fuzz. I'm looking for a cheap poor mans product, would Chapstick work?

[Keith_W]

I don't know CF, i've never tried using a Chapstick. In fact I have not coated any of my lines, ever. Maybe it's something I should start doing  

[Cannon Fodder]

Hi Cannon Fodder,

 

I just had to say that your first build is looking fantastic!  You must be so proud!

I am trying to be, I am my own worst critic. Every time I look at the hull all I see is the giant huge gaping gaps.