First Model- Revell HMS Bounty

Got some more work done this weekend. I wasn't satisfied with the finish I was getting from the acrylic paint, so I airbrushed Vallejo matte varnish and am really pleased with how it looks. I've replaced more little plastic nubs with eyebolts and I got the deadeyes finished. I'm just praying that I don't break them, since I removed the piece of plastic on top of the deadeyes and drilled holes in preparation for tying shrouds instead of using the plastic ones. 

So I'm pretty well past the painting and assembling and getting ready to move into all the rigging, which will definitely be the most challenging thing for me. The drawings in the instructions are not great, but I've saved a lot of photos of various Bounty models for reference. 

I also snagged some tissue paper for trying to make furled sails. We shall see how that goes. I feel like open sails pull too much attention away from everything else (and I don't want to make them), and leaving nothing looks kind of unfinished. 

Jessica,

Here is a .pdf for one of the wooden Bounty's, although I cannot remember which. Anyway, the rigging instructions might be a help.

Steve

http://soubory.radekshipmodels.cz/plany/Bounty.pdf

Interesting plans. The drafting (on the basis of what I can see on my monitor) is beautiful, and the artist did some research. He/she got the little water closet on the quarterdeck (at least I think that's what it is - installed to accommodate the captain, whose cabin had been taken over by the pots for the breadfruit plants), which almost all kit manufacturers miss. The arrangement of the anchor hawsers is wrong; the hawseholes ought to be just above the level of the maindeck. And the fiferail around the foremast is a figment of somebody's imagination; it isn't shown on the Admiralty draught.

The sail plan looks fine, with one exception: the studdingsail booms on the topgallant yards. (The function of a studdingsail boom in those days was to spread the foot of the studdingsail above it. In the absence of a royal studdingsail a boom on the topgallant yard makes no sense.)

Other than those quibbles, a nice, well-done set of drawings.

Jessica, if you're interested in making furled sails from tissue paper, here's a link to a long discussion we had several years ago: http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/modeling_subjects/f/7/t/33775.aspx?page=1 . My own personal method, for what it's worth, is described four or five posts down from the top.

If I remember right, the Revell topmasts and topgallant masts have little molded locators that let the modeler choose between the raised and lowered positions of the yards. For a model with furled sails, the lower positions are correct. (Those plans show the sails set and the yards raised.)

Hope that helps a little.

Hello Jessica, I just wanted to say what a wonderful job I think you are doing on your Bounty and I'm enjoying this thread.  

John is correct, there are bands on the masts that show the locations as to where the yard would be if raised with sail or lowered without sail.  Those locators are a mixed blessing, I have glued a yard to the wrong position before on the Revell Constitution.

I've always disliked those bands though. I'd choose one or the other and carve the unused one off.

jtilley

Interesting plans. The drafting (on the basis of what I can see on my monitor) is beautiful, and the artist did some research.

As a fan of good drawings-

jtilley

If I remember right, the Revell topmasts and topgallant masts have little molded locators that let the modeler choose between the raised and lowered positions of the yards. For a model with furled sails, the lower positions are correct. (Those plans show the sails set and the yards raised.)

Thanks for the info! I did not realize that and probably would have been confused. I figured I'd just have to either put them in the raised position or fight with attaching them lower. Of course, now I have to sand and fill in the other spots and repaint. :)

I bought some new shoes and got some really great, albeit fragile, tissue paper. Here is what I came up with. I used a triangular piece, though it really doesn't look much thicker in the middle. Don't mind the superglue I accidentally dropped on the sail...

Thoughts? 

docidle

Jessica,

Here is a .pdf for one of the wooden Bounty's, although I cannot remember which. Anyway, the rigging instructions might be a help.

Steve

http://soubory.radekshipmodels.cz/plany/Bounty.pdf

 

Thank you for this! It's extremely helpful. 

Four down after two painful hours! I'm not super thrilled with the sails on the topmasts so those may get redone. I think I rolled them too tightly. (I know they shouldn't be rolled, but I had a bit of a meltdown and gave up after trying to gather the tissue paper.) They're made out of what I assume to be recycled tissue paper from inside a new pair of shoes. I really enjoy using things that would be trash otherwise. I got the paper a little damp as I've seen recommended, and it made the paper less fragile and easier to get those nice little creases. 

So the first set of shrouds was painful and time-consuming, but I think I'm satisfied with the results. My supervisor in the background approves as well. 

Your supervisor looks remarkably like mine. Her name is Hepzibah.

The shrouds and stays look fine. I think, though, that you're. Going to find that you made a mistake in not mounting the fore top (the platform at the fore lower masthead) before you rigged the shrouds and stays. Those lines are supposed to go through holes in the fore top.

I don't want to suggest that you tear down the rigging you've worked on so hard and successfully. But of the top of my head I don't see a practical way to get the top into place over the rigging.

Good luck.

jtilley

Your supervisor looks remarkably like mine. Her name is Hepzibah.

The shrouds and stays look fine. I think, though, that you're. Going to find that you made a mistake in not mounting the fore top (the platform at the fore lower masthead) before you rigged the shrouds and stays. Those lines are supposed to go through holes in the fore top.

I don't want to suggest that you tear down the rigging you've worked on so hard and successfully. But of the top of my head I don't see a practical way to get the top into place over the rigging.

Good luck.

 

There is actually a pretty big hole in the middle of the fore top, which looks odd but allows room after I shaved away a little plastic underneath. I made sure that it still fits in place before I tied it all down. I honestly wasn't sure how I would get them attached any other way without giving myself a huge headache. 

A detail the rigging plans leave off all to often is that the shrouds are formed into loops and stacked atop each other. A this small scale this gets difficult to properly model

(almost more a fly-tying exercise). As with our dear professor, I'd not ask you to tear down all that hard work for a tiny detail--just more a note for the next time.

Campbell, from his drawings for Victory

CapnMac82

A detail the rigging plans leave off all to often is that the shrouds are formed into loops and stacked atop each other. A this small scale this gets difficult to properly model

(almost more a fly-tying exercise). As with our dear professor, I'd not ask you to tear down all that hard work for a tiny detail--just more a note for the next time.

Campbell, from his drawings for Victory

 

Good to know. I definitely want to do something larger and more complex in the future, but I have a lot of learning to do first. Everyone here has been amazingly helpful and I'm very glad I joined. 

Look at it this way Jay.

One down, five to go. Leave it alone but change the game going forward.

The shrouds would want to go around the mast itself, not behind it. It's their job to translate the wind force down to the boaty.

Care to look at my ongoing shipyard series following the set up for a three masted ship.

The shrouds get run up, around the mast and back down. Same side in pairs.

See how they went left-right-left-right?

These are steel cables, and have been served and painted.

I'm going to go way out on a spar here and commend you, Jess.

There's a certain quality to ship modelers, where attention to detail wins out over time versus results.

You have a good idea about what you are doing, and most recently I saw this in David K. Pretty soon I expect we'll be learning from you.

There's alot that's been bitten off and may be hard to chew, with a little three masted ship.

I'd suggest schooners and brigs, barks and sailboats.

Hi Jessica,

I'm going to go along with the advice JTilley and GM are giving you, since I have built this particular kit a few times.  You are going along very well, but I need to caution you that you need to make sure the entire mast is built up including the cross trees, and your shrouds and stays are done first before cross roping the ratlines. You will need to allow them room to move and be adjusted as you build up the mast.  The reason I caution you is that unlike wooden models, and the larger plastic models, the plastic spars and masts on these smaller plastic kits become very flexible.  I would install ALL the shrouds up the entire mast, and then the backstays, adjust, tighten, then install the cross ropes for the ratlines. Its the foretops that will give you the biggest grief if you don't because these will bend and then look out of alignment when you are done.  You need a good, solid, strait mast in order to install the spars and running rigging without it becoming a job of hearding cats.

Also, are you using tweezers and a mag lamp?  Rigging a ship of this size requires a full set of tweezers; straits, bends, curves and such, a good, sharp pair of diagonal scissors, and a mag lamp or else you will end up a migrains and frustration.  Again, learned from experience  A comfy chair, good music, or just the sound of a purring cat nearby also makes rigging a more relaxing experience.  

Fly tying was mentioned, and that is funny because we use a number of fly tying tools. The bob and vise are great for holding a part and seizing.  Fly dope, or Head Cement, is great for sealing knots and seizings.  

And as everyone here has expressed, I think you are doing a superb job.  Keep it up!

Scott

Scott, 

Thanks for the advice. I was planning on doing the ratlines much later, partly because I'm putting it off and partly for the reasons you stated. I wasn't entirely sure what the most common way of rigging was, but it made the most sense to do all the standing rigging first, starting at the bottom, and getting good stability on the masts before expecting them to hold anything else. It's very insightful when I have those moments where the placement of the rigging makes perfect sense on a real ship. Like how I realize now that the way I attached the shrouds was rather silly!

I have super tiny locking hemostats, tweezers, scissors, etc. I have a familiarity with surgical tools and suture techniques, so I figured I'd just roll with what I know. As a bonus, I'll be prepared once I inevitably slice myself open with the xacto knife. 

A basic rule is to work up and out. Nothing harder than trying to reach in through rigging to tie knots.

I thought you had some previous skills and talents that were coming out 

She's getting taller! I have a confession to make though... I kept doing the shrouds the same way as the first. The string is thick enough that when I tried doing it properly, the knots were a nuisance and the loops on the masts ended up stacked really high. The string is probably too thick for the scale as well, I imagine. Despite those issues I'm pretty satisfied with how it looks so far. Some inconsistencies just really don't bother me, but don't ask me how I determine which ones do. 

I know the metal o-rings aren't ideal, but that's what I had. I'll be ordering fittings for my next project. Don't know what that will be yet though. 

my word you really are motoring along , look's great too

Looks great, and your right by not sweating over the orings, its giving you experience without frustration.  So, any ideas for a "next" project????

I am following this thread fascinated.

As mentioned by GM: you are perfectly pointing out issues in modelling.

Concerning the "clean" appearance: I believe plastic kits are perfect for exact that - weathering! Such a kit is not of such a high value that one risks to ruin a perfect wooden planking by an additional layer of colour -  you anyhow have to try hard to let plastic look like wood - all that predetermine plastic kits for dirt, for looking used, for real life.

Your Bounty develops perfect - and you are sure you did not help your father with his old model???

scottrc

Looks great, and your right by not sweating over the orings, its giving you experience without frustration.  So, any ideas for a "next" project????

 

I'm thinking maybe the Airfix 1:180 Victory. I do love me a big man-o-war/ship of the line. I don't love the idea of all the cannons, but I suppose mindless repetition is okay sometimes. 

I have aspirations of completing the big Revell Constitution someday. My husband looked at me like I was nuts when I told him I'd need a work area and eventually a display case for a three foot long ship. Never mind finding a place to put it. 

I also think somewhere along the line I really need to play with my airbrush on a Battlestar Galactica viper, just to mix things up. I saw those at the hobby shop and geeked out a little bit.

Edit: There really should be a plastic model of the Orca from Jaws. While building it I could quote Quint and sing "Farewell and Adieu" over and over again until I drive everyone in my house insane. 

Marcus- My dad's model is older than I am! I remember being a kid and helping him paint tiny details on his model cars though. He had this proud father/kid in a candy store reaction when he found out about my ship. 

Hi Jessica,

Both kits made by Revell and Airfix of the Victory are good kits.  I am finishing up my 3rd large Constitution and can tell you that it is a pussycat to build and allows you to really practice and expand your skills.  The only issue we have had is the deck seams, and we have advice how to work those out.  Well, maybe the second issue is trying to find a display case that it will fit in.  I am still working out building one for mine and where to put it in my small house.  My wife did find a nice 3 tier glass display cabinet at Ikea that can fit three of these large ships in it, so keep that in mind as a possiblity.  

Hi jessica, I was pointed to your build when I asked a question about making my own top and bottom deadeyes instead of using the kit ones (revell thermopylae ) I have to say (admittedly none had rigging till recently) I've been scratch building ships for 30+years, for a first ship this is outstanding, even my best efforts fail into insignificance when compared to this, OUTSTANDING skills and bravery (rigging scares the bejevers out of me) I look forward to your next installment, it's better than tv.

kpnuts

Hi jessica, I was pointed to your build when I asked a question about making my own top and bottom deadeyes instead of using the kit ones (revell thermopylae ) I have to say (admittedly none had rigging till recently) I've been scratch building ships for 30+years, for a first ship this is outstanding, even my best efforts fail into insignificance when compared to this, OUTSTANDING skills and bravery (rigging scares the bejevers out of me) I look forward to your next installment, it's better than tv.

 

Thank you so much for the compliments. My deadeyes are the ones from the kit, but I cut off the plastic bar on top and drilled holes for the shrouds. It worked pretty well but I probably won't do it again... I've broken three off so far. Superglue is my friend. Professor Tilley pointed me to some nice cast deadeyes from Bluejacket that I will use in the future on smaller models. I'm actually really enjoying the rigging, which I did not expect. Right now I need to retie a couple lines though because my main mast is leaning a bit too far foreward. The standing rigging is close to done (at least as much as I'm planning to do) and I'll get some more pictures up soon. 

JDavis657

 

 

docidle

Jessica,

Here is a .pdf for one of the wooden Bounty's, although I cannot remember which. Anyway, the rigging instructions might be a help.

Steve

http://soubory.radekshipmodels.cz/plany/Bounty.pdf

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you for this! It's extremely helpful. 

 

You are welcome. As I said, they are not perfect but might help you make sense of the Revell instructions. It is bad enough that they are on newsprint but the drawings are not even clear on top of that.

The best rigging instructions that Revell made were the older instructions for the Mayflower and Golden Hind. Nice kits if you are looking for other small ships to build. The big Constitution is a nice kit as others have said but also a long term project.

Steve