Last bit...attaching the drive chain.

I used the thinner brass wire for this. Annealed it as I always do. Here's the catch, I did not use one long piece of wire wrapped around the entire spit assembly. I didn't think that would look very good and would be quite difficult to get a nice smooth and tight fitting look. Instead, I simple took a straight piece of the wire, trimmed it to size and glued it one one side. Then I took another piece, trimmed to size, and glued it on the other side. The flashing on the drive gears hides that I did this and the end result in the impression that it is one continuous piece.

I am really happy with how this turned out. Really happy. Even in the photos, super enlarged, I think it looks pretty good. At normal zoom when viewed by the human eye it looks 100% awesome! Really, this thing isn't much bigger than my thumbnail and it looks great. Don't want to toot my own horn here, just simply happy when things work out as planned...too often, as evident in this build log, they do not. So when they do the celebration begins!

I also want to add that this modification was not very difficult. I try to keep in mind that much/most of this kit is suitable for a beginner to ship modeling of this sort, but someone who has some experience in modeling. To that end, I would say the modifications I made are right in line with what someone new to this could accomplish. Like anything else in this kit, if you take your time and think things over before hacking away you can product some awesome results. I like to do simple, or sometime complex modifications as it make my final ship one of a kind as do many others.

Also, a bit more info on the pumps. They are actually elm pumps and were carved from one continuous elm trunk. The center would be bored out and the pump action inserted. They were a fairly simple form of pump and would often times need to be primed before they could start pumping water from the bilge. Captain Bligh actually mentions the pumps in his captain's log several times as they found other uses for the pumps. The main one was they could use the pumps to help improve the air circulation in the lower deck. Not quite sure how that helped, but I can envision the concept. Sailors had to be an adaptive and creative sort in those days.

NOTE: The follow is a mod

Now it is time for a bit more kit bashing. Again, referencing the Anatomy of the Ship: The Armed Transport Bounty and I have learned that the Bounty was originally going to be named Berthia and have a bit different layout than the eventual Bounty. This was a really cool bit of history and brought a thought to mind - would the original Admirality Model (If there was one) of the Bounty had actually ben built per the original deign? If so, then the two companion ways on the lower deck that are missing on this build would actually be historically accurate. However, looking at the galley and the great cabin, these are both presented as the Bounty was built even though both of them did not exist in that state for the original Berthia design. So this kit is a bit of a mix of Berthia and Bounty...at least as best as I can tell based on what I have learned about Bounty history thus far. Will definitely share more info as I come across it.

That said, I did decide to add the two companion ways on the lower deck that actually existed on the Bounty, but are not on this build. As with all modifications I have made to date, and as I repeat often, this is simply a personal choice...the kit is fantastic and one could just as easily stick to the plan and end up with an excellent build.

The best part of this modification is the support beams under the decking actually included the framing for the two companion ways - one near the bow/galley and a second just a bit astern of the main mast. So I decided to simply cut out the decking in these areas.

I also had some extra timber from some past builds and found that I had plenty to frame these companion ways as well as use for other modifications I may decide to do. I made a simple frame and glued it into place. However, I am a bit dissatisfied with the overall result and the fact that I botched the cut out of the decking just slightly - you can see it in the photo below where the support beam still has some stain showing and where the decking is just not as smooth a cut as it should be. This is a case of me not swapping out my blade when I should have. Yes, I went against the advice I have offered up multiple times in this log - keep a very sharp or new blade - and tried to work this area with a blade that was past its prime. Shame on me. Now I need to take some extra time to clean things up with some sandpaper and such. Will provide another photo later once I have this improved.

Very nice, clean build. Well done.



Chris

The rudder was about as simple as it gets. Not much to say here except to follow the directions, take your time, and it should turn out just fine.

I haven't applied any stain and poly yet as I still want to see what this kit offers in terms of the hinge hardware. Not that it will make much of a difference, but I just don't like taking steps that are irreversible until I know what the potential consequences may be.

Sticking with the techniques I described earlier, I then released the top piece from the sprue and scratched the surface in preparation for paint. Once again, I annealed the piece and carefully folded, checking constantly against the main piece, to ensure the piece ended up symmetric. After glueing to the top of the lamp assembly, I then used CA Glue to create a soldered seam where the two ends of the topmost piece came together.

You can see in the image below the two soldered seams indicated by the green arrows - one on the top most piece and the other on the glass frame piece. Again, after applying the glue, applying some water, and letting it dry (it only take about 20 seconds) I then use a needle file to clean things up. In the end you end up with a really clean and seamless result.

Hi Tenderfoot,
Some nice nice details there in your diary.
Chris

Thank you for your kind words. As always, appreciated!

Before continuing on with the lanterns and since there was some lovely weather over the weekend, I decided to work on a couple things that didn't require the work bench, magnifying lamp, etc. Instead, I wanted to work outdoors and enjoy the weather while the dogs ran around the yard.

To that end, I returned to the galley stove. Having done some additional research into ship stoves of the period I found it was typical for the base beneath the stove to be sand or a combination of sand with tiles on top. Because the galley stove base provide with the kit was just a simple slab of wood, and because the physics just screamed at me that a wood base for a cast iron stove would be very dangerous, I decide to make things safer just as they would have done back in the day.

To do this, I still used the base provided with the kit, but it needed some modifications. First off, I needed to apply a bed of sand. This was pretty simple since I have sand paper which, of course, is sand on paper. Also, to contain the sand within the base a frame would be needed. But I did not want to increase the size of the base and make it too bulky. To resolve this I decided to mark the base about 2mm in from the edge and trim all four edges off.

Next, I glued a small piece of 120 grit sandpaper to one face of the base and let it dry. I used simple wood glue for this. Once it was dry I trimmed the edges.

Next, I used the same wood I used for the companionway frames and created a new frame around the base. Since this wood was .5mm taller than the thickness of the base it matched perfectly with the base + sand paper thickness. After a bit of sanding to finish things off the base was complete.

Originally I thought of doing something to remove some of the shine from the sandpaper but after further thought chose to leave it as is. After all, this will be on the interior of the ship so maybe that little bit of gloss will help highlight the fact that there is actually sand in the base. Also, I have not yet applied a poly finish to the wood. Once I do this it will contrast nicely with the sand.

Another thing I did while sitting outdoor, and since I had the sandpaper out, was to create some new sanding sticks. This is something I do on occasion and typically I will make 50 or more in a sitting. I use these sanding sticks for nearly everything and the best part is they are cheap and easy to make. I know there are sanding sticks available online all over the place, but I prefer to make my own as I can customize them to my needs and techniques.

I use standard craft stick (popsicle sticks) that one can find online for just a couple bucks. I also use quality sand paper. You don't want to go through the effort of making these just for them to fall apart or become useless after just a few minutes. Personally, I have found that cloth backed sanding paper is typically the better quality stuff.

I like to make several different grits as I do this, so I pull out a sheet of each grit that I want to make. Next, I take a hobby blade and I trim the tips off one end of about 15 sticks. I try to vary the angles of these just so I end up with a mix of tips that can get into all types and sized of tight spaces.

Next, I use wood glue and fasten the sticks to the sheet of sand paper. I don't care that only half of the stick has sandpaper on it. But one could cover the entire surface if one desires. I find this to just be a waste of effort, but to each their own. Once the glue is dry I trim the sandpaper and am left with some nice sanding sticks.

Finally, I take a few of the sticks and add a small handle using the cut-offs from when I trimmed the one end. These I use when I need to apply some pressure straight down in a tight area - something you can't do when your fingers are wrapped around the stick. Also, notice that I marked the sticks with an "8". This indicates 80 grit. I am one of the laziest people in the world and don't even take the time to write the zero. For 120 grit I write 12, for 220 grit I write 22, etc.

There are also other shapes and sizes of sanding sticks that I make on occasion using scrap wood, but these are my most common. Again, I use them all of the time and couldn't imagine doing a build without them.

I have officially accepted that I have an innate ability to screw things up. Today I decided to circle back to the lanterns and began assembling the second one. When cutting the top piece free from the spru it went flying across the room. I heard it hit something, possibly the floor, but not sure. Spen the next hour on my hands and knees trying to find the little beggar to no avail. Eventually gave up and decided to make another one. As was suggested on a guest post on this build log, this is truly an Idiots Guide to Model Ship Building. I am Tenderfoot...I am the idiot.

Oh well, I accept my position in the Model Ship Building World and I move forward. To recreate the top piece, I measure the existing one at 4mm. I took a piece of 4mm dowel from my scrap bin and cut a piece of about 3mm in length. Of course, this is way too large for the final piece, but to try and cut it any shorter would result in bits of grain along the side of the dowel being torn away by the cutting action. In my experience I have found you get better results if you cut larger than needed and once the piece is glued to the assembly you sand it to the desired thickness...the thinner the end result the more important it is to follow this.

Once I had it sanded to my liking I went ahead and rubbed in some CA glue to seal the wood. This way, once paint is applied it will look closer to the metal and not so much like a piece of wood - in essence, hides the grain of the wood.

In the end, it looked very close to the first lantern assembly so I was good to move forward.