"Mayflower" Yuanqing models

[AlexSkripko]

Since this is the lower deck, it is not visible on the model. And to support the trim strips around the port, you can do it like I showed below. Thank you!!!

 

[AlexSkripko]

The Chinese promised to send the electronic drawings on Monday. I'll hold off on assembly for now. The existing drawings are simply awful. It's impossible to measure a single distance (poor print quality). I made blank gun ports for one side. I hope I managed to measure them correctly. I won't install them. I'll wait for the electronic drawings.

 

[AlexSkripko]

I received the drawings from the Chinese. It turns out there was one drawing missing from the set. A very important one. Therefore, the deck planking will have to be redone. It's as shown in the instructions (item 44) and as it should be. They pointed this out to me yesterday. And, as it turns out, the Chinese copied the drawings from a Polish model from 1976.

 

[DARIVS ARCHITECTVS]

One of the effects of ship kit piracy...

 

[AlexSkripko]

One of the effects of ship kit piracy...

I'm going to redo the deck. The planks from the kit are clearly not enough. According to the part list, they are 5 x 80. In fact, they are 4.6 x 80 (8.7" when converted to scale). I measure 2.8-3.0 (5.7") according to the drawing. I measure in Photoshop - about 3.0 (5.7"). Literary sources: the width of decking boards in the early 17th century was about 12".??? I don't understand. So, a 4mm plank will look fine in this scale?

 

[Corsair]

I'm going to redo the deck. The planks from the kit are clearly not enough. According to the part list, they are 5 x 80. In fact, they are 4.6 x 80 (8.7" when converted to scale). I measure 2.8-3.0 (5.7") according to the drawing. I measure in Photoshop - about 3.0 (5.7"). Literary sources: the width of decking boards in the early 17th century was about 12".??? I don't understand. So, a 4mm plank will look fine in this scale?

Actually, scale 12 inches at 1/48 scale comes out to 6.35 mm

 

[DARIVS ARCHITECTVS]

I'm going to redo the deck. The planks from the kit are clearly not enough. According to the part list, they are 5 x 80. In fact, they are 4.6 x 80 (8.7" when converted to scale). I measure 2.8-3.0 (5.7") according to the drawing. I measure in Photoshop - about 3.0 (5.7"). Literary sources: the width of decking boards in the early 17th century was about 12".??? I don't understand. So, a 4mm plank will look fine in this scale?

A range of 4mm x 80mm up to 6.5mm x 80mm would be fine. Planking width varies based on available timber, and the plank width varies on the deck also as a result. Whatever you choose in that range is good. Remember, we know NOTHING about the design of the Mayflower other that it was a typical wine galleon, one among many.

You can get some thin wood veneer and cut your own planks on a band saw. Whatever you make from scratch, it will probably be better than what is provided in the kit. Don't be afraid to make changes based on your own research. My last kit build had many major changes based on errors in the kit that were corrected.

 

[AlexSkripko]

While waiting for the new bars, I thought about it. Why do the Chinese propose to make deck flooring from slats 80 mm long? It's on a 1:48 scale of only 12.5 feet. It should be 30 or 40 feet though. 30 feet on a 1:48 scale is 187.5mm. Deck length 255 mm. Who thinks what?

 

[Pepite 1/60]

While waiting for the new bars, I thought about it. Why do the Chinese propose to make deck flooring from slats 80 mm long? It's on a 1:48 scale of only 12.5 feet. It should be 30 or 40 feet though. 30 feet on a 1:48 scale is 187.5mm. Deck length 255 mm. Who thinks what?

In real life, these planks were wood, wich is cut from trees, and these usually dont grow perfectly streight and unfinitely long or wide. The best, say longest pieces were used for the hull and spars; deck planking is somewhat secondary and could easily be made from shorter pieces. That also makes them more easy to replace when necessary. So your 80mm seem to be quite all right.

 

[AlexSkripko]

The pause in reworking the deck gave me the opportunity to spot some more flaws.

1. The keel frame doesn't have any mast mountings. According to the instructions, the holes are drilled after the planking and deck is built. This is probably not entirely correct. The plywood will delaminate. While the sides are open, I'll probably drill them now. I'll also file the mountings to the correct size for the masts. I need to check the length of the mast blanks to understand the groove depth. I'll also cut out space for the roof grating on the upper deck.

2. I don't know why I decided to measure the deck length. The fact is: According to the drawing, its length is 276 mm. In reality, it's 255 mm. I'll probably have to recalculate everything.

 

[AlexSkripko]

Был в командировке. Решетка из набора мне не понравилась. И материала не хватает. Сделал рустерные решетки из бука. Палубу буду переделывать. Пока не определился с цветом решеток. 2,3,4 - морилка орех. 5 - решетка без покрытия. 4 - палуба. Что посоветуете?

 

[Corsair]

I like 3.

 

[DARIVS ARCHITECTVS]

I like 2 or 3, whichever color is equal to or slightly darker that the deck planking.

 

[AlexSkripko]

Continuing my experiments. Only tung oil. 1 - grating, 2 - coaming and waterway, 3 - deck. I like it. One more question. What do you think? Should I cut openings for the grating in the deck? Or just paint the area under the opening black?

 

[DARIVS ARCHITECTVS]

Continuing my experiments. Only tung oil. 1 - grating, 2 - coaming and waterway, 3 - deck. I like it. One more question. What do you think? Should I cut openings for the grating in the deck? Or just paint the area under the opening black?

View attachment 572760

The tung oil looks good. The wood grain is visible. Cut the openings, leaving and thin edge all around to support the grating on all four sides. Leaving the black painted deck underneath can sometimes remain visible up close. Opening the deck and painting the visible surfaces of the hull interior black creates the illusion of spaces and decks beneath the grating, even if they are not there.

 

[AlexSkripko]

I'm very upset. The deck is turning out very ugly. The tone is different. It's not glued yet. I need to find a different wood. I have oak. I'll try that.

 

[DARIVS ARCHITECTVS]

What sort of appearance are you looking for? do you have any pictures as examples? Oil and stain have great influence on the deck appearance, as does choice of wood. The planking port and starboard looks acceptable to me, but the long strips in the center have long straitions of darker course grain that are far out of scale. Oak is a porous wood, and that may not look good for a deck because thes larger, dark streaks will appear as large darker stains on the deck of a small model.

 

[AlexSkripko]

Let's start again.

 

[AlexSkripko]

Not quite so. I didn't remove the old deck. The port and starboard sides are it. The middle is the new deck. I don't like it. I removed everything. I'll try oak.

 

[Roger Pellett]

If you can find photos of the Vasa, (approximately the same time period) you will note that the decking has a haphazard, random appearance. It appears that the builders were more interested in making use of available timber than following planking rules.

There is very little known about the real Mayflower that sailed to the New World in 1620. The replica vessel moored at Plymouth, MA is a total reconstruction. I would, therefore, not worry too much about details missing from the plans. Build what would be a seaworthy vessel.

Roger