Bon Retour Artesania Latina 1/25 scale

Joined
Aug 25, 2017
Messages
313
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193

Location
Moira N.I.
Bon Retour was built in 1952 in France and was used as a Scallop fishing boat off the Brittany coast. In 1982 it was restored and is now used in the preservation of marine culture. The wooden parts are all wrapped in cellophane, a plastic compartment tray with lid contains all the small wood and metals parts, pre-made sails, and two sizes of rigging thread. The instructions are a series of colour pictures, a booklet with 2 pages of text instructions, a parts list and a large sheet with full size plans. There is a page with rigging details but no sign of any tie off points for the rigging.RetourBox.jpgRetourParts.jpgRetourParts1.jpgRetourParts2.jpgRetourParts3.jpg
Cheers Andy
 
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Hi Andy, AL make some nice kits, I built one of these a few years ago, I look forward to seeing your progress, I have looked at your Sherbourne, a very nice build, enjoy,

best regards John.
 
Thanks John, I am impressed by the quality of the parts in this kit, all the wood is straight and cleanly cut. I built Sherbourne about 8 years ago and enjoyed it, I have the Brig Badger in my attic but I don't feel I have enough skills yet to build it to the standard I would like. I am really impressed by your Royal Caroline build, a ship I want to attempt one day,
Cheers Andy
 
As I mentioned in my first post the instructions are a series of colour pictures, a couple pages of text and a parts list. There is also a full size plan and a basic rigging diagram. I thought it would be easier to combine all the instructions so I photocopied the colour pictures and stuck each picture on a page of a notebook. I then added the written instructions for each each picture and wrote down the details of the parts to be fitted.

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I removed the false Keel and Bulkheads and removed any rough edges and the charring from the laser cutting. The plywood that is supplied is 4mm thick but the slots cut in the Keel and Bulkheads were only 3.5mm so I spent a few hours widening the slots being careful to keep the slots square. After I had made sure the Bulkheads were at 90 degrees to the Keel, I glued them in place using white wood glue. This was then left overnight.
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The 2 small lower decks needed their slots widening and once I was happy with the fit, they were glued and then pinned in place. I then fitted the 2 extra bow location pieces.

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Cheers Andy
 
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Thanks Zoltan and Gary.
The next step, according to the instructions, is to plank the main and fore decks. These 2 decks, when fitted, have to be curved in 2 directions and I didn't fancy trying to do this with planks fitted. I soaked the 2 decks in hot water for about 30 minutes and then pinned them to the bulkheads and left them to dry.
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After they were dry, I removed the decks and had a think about my next move. The 2 lower decks are covered by hatches but I thought I might have the hatches slightly open to give the boat a bit of depth. I painted the bulkheads around the holds matt black and then planked the 2 lower decks. I'm not sure how much will be seen but it was good practise for the main decks.
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The main deck has to have an inner Bulkwark fitted either side, this has to be curved and fits into some slots in the deck. Rather plank the deck and then fit the Bulwark, I decided I would glue the deck in place, wet the Bulwark and dry (wet) fit it to get the curve right. Once dry I will then glue the inner Bulwarks in place and will then fit the deck planks.

Cheers Andy
 
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I left the inner Bulwarks to dry and then glued them in place using wood glue and a couple of Foldback clips to hold them in place. I decided to fit the centre plank on the Main Deck the full length of the deck and then cut out the gap for the Hatch later. This would make it easier to get the other planks nice and tight to this plank either side of the Hatch opening. I used a thin coat of wood glue on this plank and held it firmly in place for a minute or two. On the rest of the planks I used the side of a pencil lead to run along the edge of each plank to simulate the caulking. Up till now I had been cutting each plank slightly long and gradually trimming it until it fitted, but I had now got to the inner Bulwark and needed to trim down one side as well. When I got to the last plank I cut out a piece of paper and used it as a template to get the plank to a rough shape and then adjusted the shape until it fitted. The Deck was then left for a couple of days and then I cleaned up the Hatch edges and Mast hole before giving the whole Deck a sanding down with a sanding sponge. The Fore Deck was a lot easier to plank because I could lay the planks over length and then trim them down after the glue was fully dry.
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Cheers Andy
 
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Looks great Andy. I like the larger 1:25 scale. I built the AL Swift about a year ago.. about the same size as your Bon Retour. It should be a fun build!
 
Hi Andy, nice build and good job in your construction. I've found that the AL kits are pretty good quality at a very affordable price. I've built their Swift and Bluenose II and am now working on their Virginia Sloop. I'll be following along on your build from here on out.

Take care,

Bob
 
Very nice Andy, nice clean planking, I really like that clamp you had on your keel holding it, did you make it, the last AL kit I made was the Surprise, I really enjoyed that one, a lot of folk dont like them for some reason, maybe its the instructions, anyway enjoy and will catch up later,

best regards John.
 
Zoltan, Mike, Bob and John, thank you all.
I like the A.L. kits, I built the Bounty's Jolly boat many years ago, it was my first wooden boat and despite making a few mistakes, I was pleased with the finished boat. I like the picture instructions but when they get to the Masts and rigging they just say see the main plan and no clear tie off points. I can't remember where I got the keel holder from, I think I got it when I bought my Sherbourne which I got from The Model Dockyard in England.
Cheers Andy
 
Aginvicta post_id=22389 time=1505157451 user_id=4798 said:
Zoltan, Mike, Bob and John, thank you all.
I like the A.L. kits, I built the Bounty's Jolly boat many years ago, it was my first wooden boat and despite making a few mistakes, I was pleased with the finished boat. I like the picture instructions but when they get to the Masts and rigging they just say see the main plan and no clear tie off points. I can't remember where I got the keel holder from, I think I got it when I bought my Sherbourne which I got from The Model Dockyard in England.
Cheers Andy

Hi Andy,

I have to agree with you on the rigging plans. The AL kit of Bluenose II was the same way. I found it more confusing than any rigging plans I've ever seen and I'm an experienced modeler who has built dozens of kits. I can't imagine how a new modeler would approach the rigging with no knowledge or experience to fall back on.

Take care,

Bob
 
Before fitting the Bulwarks the instructions said to fair the Bulkheads ready for planking. Having got all my household chores done nice and early, I spent last Saturday afternoon sitting in my conservatory listening to the footie (soccer to our American members) on the radio, fairing the Bulkheads or rather one side of the boat. It's one thing I am never too sure about, have I taken enough off or maybe too much, sometimes I feel like I have to file off nearly the whole Bulkhead especially at the stern.
I normally play tennis on a Sunday afternoon but the weather wasn't too good so I decided to take a break from the dusty Bulkhead fairing and made a start on the Hatch covers. I remoced and cleaned up the 4 plywood pieces that make the base of the main Hatch cover. These were glued using wood glue and an Engineer's Square was used to make sure they were at right angles.
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Whilst this was drying I started on the small Hatch cover that also goes on the Main Deck. The Hatch cover edging was cut from 2mm by 2mm Walnut strip, one long and one short edge piece was then glued at right angles. The 5 strips that make up the cover were cut slightly over length from 3mm by 1.5mm Walnut strip and glued. Once this was dry I then filed them down to the correct length and glued them to the edge piece I had made earlier. The other 2 edge pieces were then glued on and once dry sanded down with a sanding sponge.
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Next I made a start on the Fore Deck Hatch cover and this time I made up the 7 main strips first again from 3mm by 1.5mm Walnut strip, filed them to size and then added the 2 short edging pieces, cut over length from 2mm by 2mm Walnut strip and once glued, filed down to size.
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I just need to add the other 2 sides now. I started fitting the side strips to the Main Hatch cover, these are 0.6mm by 5mm Mahogany strip, cut slightly long.


Cheers Andy
 
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I decided to continue with the Hatch covers and finished off adding the lower pieces to the Fore Deck Hatch cover. I then finished fitting the Main Deck Hatch cover side pieces and after giving it a sanding I attached the top cover.
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Turning my attention back to the Hull, I cut out and cleaned up the 2 Rails that fit on top of the inner Bulwarks, I needed to make a few small adjustments to get them to fit and once I was happy with the fit they were glued in place and clamped to hold them whilst the wood glue dried.
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The next job was to fit the plywood Bulwarks, after cutting one of them out and cleaning up the edges I soaked it in hot water for about 45 minutes, just long enough for me to take my hound Archie for his morning walk round the nearby park. I dry (wet?) fitted the Bulwark and clamped and pinned it in place to dry.

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Cheers Andy
 
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I left the Bulwark to dry for a day and then soaked the other Bulwark in hot water. I decided to glue the Bulwark I had previously soaked in place whilst the other side was pinned in place to dry. After I had glued the Bulwark it took a while to get the other Bulwark pinned in place making sure it was at the same height all the way along the Hull.
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The following day I glued the remaining Bulwark in place again making sure it was aligned with the other side. I had not been looking forward to this part of the build but it turned out to be not as difficault as it looked.
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It was now time to make a start on the Hull planking which starts below the ply Bulwarks. The first plank is 5mm by 1.5mm Basswood which runs the full length of the Hull and only needs a small amount of bending. I soaked the planks in hot water for about 30 mins (or 1 Archie walk) and then they were dry fitted and allowed to dry before being glued in place.
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The next 5 planks are already pre-shaped but are 5mm by 2mm basswood. The top edge of the first plank needed to be angled with a file and then I put it in boiling hot water for 1 Archie walk (1AW). This was then pinned to the Hull and left overnight but it's going to need another soaking before I permanently fit it.
Cheers Andy
 
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nice little kit great Job

If you want an AL challenge try the San Jan classic kit. The single page 4 x4 photos instruction stop at the hull with a " the hard part is done...." and just look at the picture( of a completed ship) to finish it off.

Shame as it builds into a really nice kit.


Just about to start the AL Santa Ana..
 
Thanks Paul, funny enough the instructions for this boat says much the same thing, "now you have finished the hard part" etc. The main problem is the lack of measurements for the Mast,Gaff, Bowsprit and Boom, and no rigging tie off points. The instructions tell you to use the full size plan for measurements, but I'm a Mechanical Engineer and the first thing we got taught was never use a ruler to take measurements from a plan. I could tie the rigging off anywhere and the vast majority of people seeing this boat would be none the wiser, but I want things to be as accurate as I can make it.
Are you going to be doing a build log on the Santa Ana?

Cheers Andy
 
Don't worry normally AL plans for the masts are 1:1 so juts lay the piece on the plan and cut to size.( They allow for the hull mast hole length. The size should be in the part list.
Bst advice I can give is measure against plans and then against dowel but don't cut till you have measured all other mast parts. They just give enough wood and you have to work out the beast cut combination to get out all the parts.

Also the rigging normally only covers the left or right side and it sometimes has to be duplicated. IT is obvious when you actually rig the ship, but not from the plans.

Looks great so far. Caldercraft have the best rigging details.
 
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