EDIT by Mark;

We’ve moved this into position as the Official Build. While the kit has been modified, the quality of work and the mods done truly show the potential of this kit. Tenderfoot is doing a DAR better job than I might have, so I’m delighted to position this build log as the Official Build.



EDIT by Tenderfoot

This build log was initially started at about the 5 month mark and has included only a few mods. I am going to go through each post and highlight the specific points where modifications were made. Also, around post 200 I will provide a retrospective on months 1 through 5 which were mostly repeatable steps as I built the keel and ribs. It may take a few days for me to complete these two things (mods and retrospective), so I thank you for your patience in the meantime.




Been working away at this thing for five months...subscribed when I first saw it available back in September, or thereabouts. Typically I am a quiet builder, skulking around various forums picking up hints and tricks to help me improve as a builder. However, my conscience has finally gotten the best of me and it is now time to return the favor. Granted, I still have a lot of questions, but at least now I may have the opportunity to share what I have learned. Plus, now seems like a bit of fun to engage with others with similar likes.

I originally took interest in this model for two reasons. One - it is just a pretty model to me. Two - it will challenge my skills as there isn't so much planking to hide mistakes. The second reason was really important as I am getting ready to tackle one of the most difficult builds for me yet and honing my skills will help me improve before I dive into the deep end.

That said, here we are, five months in, and I have been able to keep pace with the subscriptions to date.

Overall, the past several months have been more repetitive than anything else. Don't get me wrong, enjoying it a lot as I find this sort of thing relaxing. Just mean that there isn't much in the way of "here is what I did" for the first few months since it is mostly building a dry dock and assembling a load of ribs.

Again, I was looking to really make this build stand out as there isn't much ability to hide anything as there is limited planking and the like. For each rib I was very meticulous in getting the pieces assembled and cleaned up as nicely as possible. This took quite a bit of time.

First off, I did not clean the char from the edges as I wanted the seams to come through a bit. In the few areas that I did need to clean the char I came back in with a pencil and added some color back.

Shaping was done with the paper template. The first one I adhered the paper to the rib but removing it was a pain...mostly ensuring all the adhesive was removed. Having learned from that first attempt, for all the remaining ribs that needed shaping I simply traced the template onto the rib...much better results.

To take the wood down to shape on the ribs I used a Dremel with a fine grit sanding drum (220). I didn't want to be too aggressive and instead let the drum do the work. Sure, it took a bit longer, but in the end there was less error as coarser sanding can get out of hand quite quickly. I also had the Dremel set to the lowest speed to make sure I retained full control.

After shaping I went back in with some 220 grit and hand sanded...using my fingertips to feel out any bumps or imperfections. Following that, I used 320 to get a nice clean finish. I think the ribs have turned out very well. I have not yet sanded the exterior of the ribs to perfect as I figure I will need to shape them once I place some test planks along the hull.

Hi Tenderfoot,

Welcome to the forum.

Your build is looking very good, keep up the good work.


Also congrats on your "Blue" medal for starting a build diary.


Regards
delboy271155
(Derek)

Woot! Woot! My first medal. Didn't notice that...thanks for calling my attention to it.

More importantly, thank you everyone for the kind words. I am really looking forward to sharing here and elsewhere as I continue through the end of this build.

As I stated in Medric's HMS Bounty build diary (everyone should check it out), the hawse has been the most difficult part to date. I had already shaped Rib L and the starboard hawse when I read ahead in the instructions and learned that the two pieces marry up. When I dry fitted them I was not fortunate enough for such a marrying. However, it wasn't too bad. Instead of starting over on the hawse (not too keen on cutting all those pieces on a jigsaw) I decided to fudge it a bit, choosing to let the inside edge of the hawse not quite match with the rib, but ensuring the outside matched perfectly. After looking at images of the final build it became apparent that this portion of the inner hull will not be visible so little harm done. However, I, and everyone here, will know it isn't right...let's keep that our little secret.

NOTE: No mods at this point, but I did move ahead a bit as I awaited the next month's subscription, so this is not in the order as it is presented in the instructions.

As I await the next subscription (will be a couple weeks) I decided to go ahead with the skiff, or whatever it's called (I'm still learning). My lord, the ribs are teeny little things. Trying to clean the char from the edges was quite a bit of work as you can't be aggressive at all...one wrong move and SNAP! Little bit goes flying and you find yourself crawling on the floor in the hopes of finding the bit before the dog does. The image below shows that although I was able to remove the char, about 10% or so remains. I must admit that no matter how careful I was I still managed to snap 3 ribs. Thankfully, they went back together quite easily. Because of their frail nature I decided not to try to get the char 100% off - basically calling it a win before I did some serious damage.

Your picture in post #10 is exactly what I needed to see. What a wonderful thing to have seen at this point. Oh, and by the way, expect your eyes to make a dramatic departure from normal, in the wrong direction, as you get older. Mine certainly have. I would be lost without my several different magnifying glasses. I have a Dremel and the temptation is strong but I have a tendency to get careless with it so I'm trying to keep myself in check. I can certainly see that you know how to use yours to good effect. Your HMS Bounty is exquisite.
I noticed that you are level two and I am level three. Somebody sure got that wrong. Should be the other way around.

Welcome to the forum. She is a stunning looking kit and you’ve done an excellent job so far.

Mark

I guess the mind is the first thing to go in my case. Here I am, chatting away that I am 5 months into the build. Yet when I started reading Issue 6 I came to the realization that I had already done it. So make that 6 months into the build. I can sense all the squinty eyes gazing at me.

Placing that here as a reminder to myself