About This Site

    I am putting this site together to document the construction of the HMS Bounty wooden model I am building. I thought it would be fun for those of you who showed an interest in the project when told about it. It will also, hopefully, be helpful to another novice model shipwright or two to avoid some of the pitfalls I will no doubt run into.
    I received the kit for Christmas (2002) and thought it would be fun to have a record of the project. I have done quite a bit of modeling with balsa wood airplanes, plastic airplane and car kits, and have built a small wood Viking ship model to "test the waters", however, this is by far the most ambitious model I have attempted to date. I will try to update this site on a weekly basis or when any major progress has been made, so bookmark this page if you want to follow the progress. I will also include images of the current state of the build and any important details.

About The Kit

    This kit from Atesiania Latina shows a fully finished, planked model on one side. A cutaway view allows you to see the decks, structural and internal details through a series of open ribs on the other side. The finished model will be 38.5" long and 30" inches high. I received this kit as a requested Christmas gift (2002) and it was purchased from the ModelExpo-Online.com website for $169.00 (list price is $399.95).

About the HMS Bounty

    The HMS Bounty, (originally the Bethia) was purchased by the British Navy and taken to Deptford for refitting and supply on 26 May 1787. The Bounty carried four 4-pounders and ten swivels and was too small and cramped for a long mission. The ship's statistics: 215 tons, length on deck 90 feet 10 inches breadth 24 feet 3 inches. In comparison Captain Cook's Endeavour weighed 368 tons and the Resolution 462 tons. The refit commenced in June 1787, the great cabin was converted to house the pots holding the breadfruit plants and gratings fitted to the upper deck. Bligh was appointed commander on the 16th of August and could not have known that the events to follow would go into the history books. On the 23rd of December 1787 the HMS Bounty sailed from Spithead on a voyage to Tahiti where it was loaded with breadfruit plants destined for the Caribbean to provide food for the slaves.

    The HMS Bounty is most famous for the dramatic mutiny led by Fletcher Christian against the infamous Captain Bligh. After a trip to Tahiti, Fletcher and his mutineers cast Bligh and 18 of his loyal supporters adrift in the ships launch. Captain Bligh survived the perilous voyage to Timor, only to be ousted from another ship in 1797. In 1779 the HMS Pandora and its 24 guns made the voyage to Tahiti to bring back Fletcher and his crew. So I will build the HMS Pandora next for my wife   :-)

To learn more about the history and genealogy of the HMS Bounty
Go here: http://www.ourbounty.com/bounty/index.html