The gunwale and covers accentuate the lines very nice. Looks very good!
Also nice to see you started with the deck attributes.
Regards. Peter
Also nice to see you started with the deck attributes.
Regards. Peter
Bluenose II Build (Artesania Latina) 1:75 by Nomad [Completed Build]
Thanks Peter. Slowly but surely it is starting to look like a real ship now
- Joined
- Oct 9, 2020
- Messages
- 1,831
- Points
- 488
That was my first build as well. I had zero knowledge of how to do it, but I managed to get it done. Yours looks 10 times better than mine did at the time. Well done!This is my very first ship modelling endeavour, or my first modelling endeavour of any nature really. I ordered the Bluenose II from Artesania Latina as a starting point and it already feels that I'm punching well above my weight. Nonetheless, I was encouraged by other build logs on this forum and thought I'd try the same, so any advice and suggestions are more than welcome. With family and work commitments, and a total lack of experience, it is likely that this build, if successful, will be the slowest build known to man. Still, I am fascinated by sail ships in general, and look forward to the challenge of building the Bluenose II, learning more about modelling in general, not to mention coming to terms with all the nautical terminology with which I am wholly unfamiliar
View attachment 245596
Last edited by a moderator:
Thank you Jack Sparrow. Too kind, I'm just good at hiding all the cock-ups I make
I finally installed the deck furniture that I had assembled earlier while waiting for my order of stanchion wood. Well most of it anyway. I left the two dory boats loose for now as it seemed they might impede the rigging work that is still to come.
The smaller parts, such as the quarter bitts, the fore boom sheet buffer and the fife rail were reinforced with wire dowels at their base for greater stability when attached to the deck.
Some of Artesania Latina's deck-spacing measurements were a bit off, but they do at least supply plenty of colourful photos to give you a reasonably good idea where everything should go.
There are still a few more components to fix on deck, such as cowls, lifebuoys and a series of eyebolts, not to mention the hand and warp line rails, but the furniture so far has at least given life to a deck which had been rather bare and dormant until now.
And with the masts loosely fitted, it really is starting to look like a proper sail ship now!
The smaller parts, such as the quarter bitts, the fore boom sheet buffer and the fife rail were reinforced with wire dowels at their base for greater stability when attached to the deck.
Some of Artesania Latina's deck-spacing measurements were a bit off, but they do at least supply plenty of colourful photos to give you a reasonably good idea where everything should go.
There are still a few more components to fix on deck, such as cowls, lifebuoys and a series of eyebolts, not to mention the hand and warp line rails, but the furniture so far has at least given life to a deck which had been rather bare and dormant until now.
And with the masts loosely fitted, it really is starting to look like a proper sail ship now!
Last edited:
Great job! 
Kurt Konrath
Kurt Konrath
Grand looking boat in sea of green.
Indeed, it is looking more and more a nicely lined schooner. And the deck items looks very nice.I finally installed the deck furniture that I had assembled earlier while waiting for my order of stanchion wood. Well most of it anyway. I left the two dory boats loose for now as it seemed they might impede the rigging work that is still to come.
View attachment 268587
The smaller parts, such as the rope tie-offs, the bench and the central pin-rack were reinforced with wire dowels at their base for greater stability when attached to the deck.
View attachment 268588
Some of Artesania Latina's deck-spacing measurements were a bit off, but they do at least supply plenty of colourful photos to give you a reasonably good idea where everything should go.
View attachment 268589
There are still a few more components to fix on deck, such as cowls, lifebuoys and a series of eyebolts, not to mention the hand and warp line rails, but the furniture so far has at least given life to a deck which had been rather bare and dormant until now.
View attachment 268590
And with the masts loosely fitted, it really is starting to look like a real ship now!
View attachment 268591
Regards, Peter
Artesania Latina's chainplate and dead eye assembly is something of a challenge. The brass hoop that encircles the dead eye is too short for the chainplate connection and breaks quite easily when adjusted. Even if you do manage to link them together, the chainplate sits awkwardly against the dead eye with very little give, and just doesn't look right.
After a couple of hit-and-miss attempts I decided to try and create my own hoops using 20-gauge brass wire. I found that a bent nose pliers answers very well for an exercise of this nature.
Cut a length of wire about 50mm or two inches long and wind it tightly around the dead eye. Also bend the two wings of the chainplate slightly inwards.
Use the pliers to twist the wire one or two turns, and bend the remaining wire outwards, perpendicular to the face of the dead eye.
Feed the wire ends through the holes in the chainplate wings. A bit like putting a jacket onto a small child
Bend the wire arms backwards to fold the chainplate wings around the wire twists applied earlier, snip off the excess wire and the assembly is now complete.
One down. Just another 21 to go
After a couple of hit-and-miss attempts I decided to try and create my own hoops using 20-gauge brass wire. I found that a bent nose pliers answers very well for an exercise of this nature.
Cut a length of wire about 50mm or two inches long and wind it tightly around the dead eye. Also bend the two wings of the chainplate slightly inwards.
Use the pliers to twist the wire one or two turns, and bend the remaining wire outwards, perpendicular to the face of the dead eye.
Feed the wire ends through the holes in the chainplate wings. A bit like putting a jacket onto a small child
Bend the wire arms backwards to fold the chainplate wings around the wire twists applied earlier, snip off the excess wire and the assembly is now complete.
One down. Just another 21 to go
Last edited:
Looks like what was provided should work. If you bend one ear 90 degrees first, then install one side of the wire around the deadeye through that hole as far as possible. Then as you bend the other ear, once it gets close to the wire you should only have to bend the wire a little to find the hole in the second ear. Then finish bending the second ear to 90 degrees. Looking at the material above the hole in the eye and the distance on the provided wire, the deadeye should remain above the top of the strap. But the wire might be too long to get the second ear hole over it. In that case you might have to cut it a little shorter?
Yes I thought that too, until I tried it. I managed to complete a couple of them, but most of the ears were too short and the strap finished right up against the face of the dead eye. But worse still, the hoop wire didn't take to being bent much and the ears broke off all too easily when they were adjusted. I felt a bit better when I learnt that this is a common issue with AL's BNII kit and most have gone about creating their own. Either way, it also gave me the opportunity to acquire a few wire-bending skills which may come in handy in future builds
For all my confidence in assembling customised chainplate and dead eye links I still managed to muck a few of them up, and find myself a chainplate or two short as a result. I think my strategy needs a bit of rework, but it will have to wait until I receive the chainplates I've been obliged to order to make up the shortfall. In the meantime I turned my attention to the anchor and davit assembly.
The process is relatively straightforward. A stock is bound to each anchor by way of fine raw thread, the anchor is attached to a length of chain which feeds through a pulley suspended by the davits, through the hawseholes from outside to inside of the hull, past the bowsprit assembly, over the pulleys of the windlass and is finally housed in the deck.
The anchors, stocks and davits were all made of cast metal, buffed, and painted black. The anchors rest on small walnut blocks attached to, and presumably to protect the deck. The ends of the axles in the pulley wheels held by the davits could probably do with a better finish, perhaps by soldering if you have that kind of equipment and know-how on hand. I was satisfied with the overall result however, and the assembly has given the model something of a working-ship look now
The process is relatively straightforward. A stock is bound to each anchor by way of fine raw thread, the anchor is attached to a length of chain which feeds through a pulley suspended by the davits, through the hawseholes from outside to inside of the hull, past the bowsprit assembly, over the pulleys of the windlass and is finally housed in the deck.
The anchors, stocks and davits were all made of cast metal, buffed, and painted black. The anchors rest on small walnut blocks attached to, and presumably to protect the deck. The ends of the axles in the pulley wheels held by the davits could probably do with a better finish, perhaps by soldering if you have that kind of equipment and know-how on hand. I was satisfied with the overall result however, and the assembly has given the model something of a working-ship look now
Last edited:
Added the cowls to the deck and hand-rails to the gunwales. It was something of a challenge to seize the rails ends with seriously thin galvanised wire, but I managed to get there in the end after a fair amount of trial and error
The deck is starting to get quite busy, which must mean that the masting and rigging effort can't be too far off now
The deck is starting to get quite busy, which must mean that the masting and rigging effort can't be too far off now
Last edited:
Hi Mark. The surrouding of the main cabin on the aft deck starts looking very nice.Added the cowls to the deck and hand-rails to the gunwales. It was something of a challenge to fasten the loop-ends of the rails with lengths of seriously thin galvanised wire, but managed to get there in the end after a fair amount of trial and error
View attachment 271167
The deck is starting to get quite busy, which must mean that the masting and rigging effort can't be too far off now
View attachment 271168
And it are nice looking pictures in your garden with natural day light.
Regards, Peter
Thank you for the kind comments and reactions to this build, although I must say after browsing through several other logs I am blown away by what other modellers have achieved, some of them with their very first build. Even now I consider myself lucky to have got through the planking phase without too many injuries, and still get the jitters about being able to finish this whole thing properly.
That said, I'm already scratching around for another kit to follow this Bluenose II so I'll take it that I'm hooked. Any suggestions are most welcome, just not straight into the HMS Victory like I see others are able to do with relative ease
That said, I'm already scratching around for another kit to follow this Bluenose II so I'll take it that I'm hooked. Any suggestions are most welcome, just not straight into the HMS Victory like I see others are able to do with relative ease
- Joined
- Sep 3, 2021
- Messages
- 4,780
- Points
- 688
Batavia, Duijfken? Two ships with Australian connections.Thank you for the kind comments and reactions to this build, although I must say after browsing through several other logs I am blown away by what other modellers have achieved, some of them with their very first build. Even now I consider myself lucky to have got through the planking phase without too many injuries, and still get the jitters about being able to finish this whole thing properly.
That said, I'm already scratching around for another kit to follow this Bluenose II so I'll take it that I'm hooked. Any suggestions are most welcome, just not straight into the HMS Victory like I see others are able to do with relative ease
Thanks for the suggestions Johan, both ships look very interesting. The Duyfken, in particular, is on a very handy special with Premier Ship Models at the moment. It uses walnut/oak planking and also carries several cannons, a good step up from the Bluenose II. Food for thought anyway