Moonbug

If we recall, I used served sewing pins for the futtock staves on the lower masts, providing something a bit more firm than just a served line.  The futtock staves on the upper masts are smaller in circumference however, so instead of pins I opted for #28 beading wire - which worked quite well.  I did have to put a very, very thin coat of tacky fabric glue on the wire before I served it however to get the thread to stay put instead of just having the wire rotate with the thread doing it's job.
 
 
 
Next step was measuring the length of the stave for the given mast - which ended up being 7mm for the main and 5mm for the fore mast. This small size was quite tricky to work with - so I coiled a knot on each end first, then attached it to the shrouds.  As a note - I touched each end of the stave where it was cut with a black sharpie to cover the exposed wire.
 

 
The staves were attached just far enough below the sister blocks to allow for the two foremost shrouds to be pulled apart a bit and all four shrouds to be evenly separated as they have a tendency to overlap where they come together in the limited space below the heads.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

As I illustrated above - Added the additional stays to the upper main and fore masts.  It definitely adds to the complexity and bulk on the mastheads, but still looks good to me.  And more importantly, I've utilized those extraneous deadeyes. 
 
 
 
 
 
   I guess we can just rest assured that this would be the most stable 14-gun sloop in the Navy! 
 

Finally finished up the Main upper shrouds today.  Nothing special about them - served just past the hounds and hooked to the deadeyes. 
 
 
 

 
Here is a tip however - that I figured out way too late. As in, after replacing / repairing three futtock shroud hooks that had snapped off from the tension of the lanyards, etc.  I shoved a toothpick into the chain to relieve the tension on the hook while rigging - then eased / twisted the toothpick out after the rigging was tied off.
 

Deadeyes - Backstays - and Shifting Backstays....
 
As continue to work on the shrouds and stays, I've noticed some conflicting information regarding the number of deadeyes and their corresponding stays. This is certainly something of which to be wary when you're working off a few different plans - i.e., a kit build but also guided by Steel, The Fully Framed Model, and sometimes Lees.  TFFM has the fewest stays - and Chris Watton's plans for the Peg have the most. TFFM specifically mentions the Swan class only having single stays off the masts, and Steel specifically mentions three pairs for ships of 74 guns or larger, two pairs for 74 to 20 guns, and a single pair for 18 guns and smaller.  However Chris' plans show multiple stays off the main and fore.  Chris' plans also show Royal Stays  and a shifting back stay off both main and foremasts - which are not shown in other guidelines. As a result - if I continue to progress using primarily TFFM  - I'll end up with some unused deadeyes.  In fact - even on the final images of TFFM's Swan - there are unused deadeyes - which I've also seen on Dan's Vulture as well as BE's Peg.
 

 
Here's the thing - I know my personality; I'm the guy who has all his stuff positioned specifically on his desk.  So having unused deadeyes is going to drive me crazy.  As such - I'll be diverting from TFFM and Steele and including enough additional stays to use the deadeyes. So - I'll have two back stays and one t'gallant stay on the fore, three backstays and a t'gallant on the main - and I'll forego Royals (Lees says they weren't introduced until after 1810) and shifting backstays - because I'm running out of room on the top masts.  
 
So here's what I'll have:
 

 

If we recall, I used served sewing pins for the futtock staves on the lower masts, providing something a bit more firm than just a served line.  The futtock staves on the upper masts are smaller in circumference however, so instead of pins I opted for #28 beading wire - which worked quite well.  I did have to put a very, very thin coat of tacky fabric glue on the wire before I served it however to get the thread to stay put instead of just having the wire rotate with the thread doing it's job.
 
 
 
Next step was measuring the length of the stave for the given mast - which ended up being 7mm for the main and 5mm for the fore mast. This small size was quite tricky to work with - so I coiled a knot on each end first, then attached it to the shrouds.  As a note - I touched each end of the stave where it was cut with a black sharpie to cover the exposed wire.
 

 
The staves were attached just far enough below the sister blocks to allow for the two foremost shrouds to be pulled apart a bit and all four shrouds to be evenly separated as they have a tendency to overlap where they come together in the limited space below the heads.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

If we recall, I used served sewing pins for the futtock staves on the lower masts, providing something a bit more firm than just a served line.  The futtock staves on the upper masts are smaller in circumference however, so instead of pins I opted for #28 beading wire - which worked quite well.  I did have to put a very, very thin coat of tacky fabric glue on the wire before I served it however to get the thread to stay put instead of just having the wire rotate with the thread doing it's job.
 
 
 
Next step was measuring the length of the stave for the given mast - which ended up being 7mm for the main and 5mm for the fore mast. This small size was quite tricky to work with - so I coiled a knot on each end first, then attached it to the shrouds.  As a note - I touched each end of the stave where it was cut with a black sharpie to cover the exposed wire.
 

 
The staves were attached just far enough below the sister blocks to allow for the two foremost shrouds to be pulled apart a bit and all four shrouds to be evenly separated as they have a tendency to overlap where they come together in the limited space below the heads.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

As I illustrated above - Added the additional stays to the upper main and fore masts.  It definitely adds to the complexity and bulk on the mastheads, but still looks good to me.  And more importantly, I've utilized those extraneous deadeyes. 
 
 
 
 
 
   I guess we can just rest assured that this would be the most stable 14-gun sloop in the Navy! 
 

If we recall, I used served sewing pins for the futtock staves on the lower masts, providing something a bit more firm than just a served line.  The futtock staves on the upper masts are smaller in circumference however, so instead of pins I opted for #28 beading wire - which worked quite well.  I did have to put a very, very thin coat of tacky fabric glue on the wire before I served it however to get the thread to stay put instead of just having the wire rotate with the thread doing it's job.
 
 
 
Next step was measuring the length of the stave for the given mast - which ended up being 7mm for the main and 5mm for the fore mast. This small size was quite tricky to work with - so I coiled a knot on each end first, then attached it to the shrouds.  As a note - I touched each end of the stave where it was cut with a black sharpie to cover the exposed wire.
 

 
The staves were attached just far enough below the sister blocks to allow for the two foremost shrouds to be pulled apart a bit and all four shrouds to be evenly separated as they have a tendency to overlap where they come together in the limited space below the heads.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

As I illustrated above - Added the additional stays to the upper main and fore masts.  It definitely adds to the complexity and bulk on the mastheads, but still looks good to me.  And more importantly, I've utilized those extraneous deadeyes. 
 
 
 
 
 
   I guess we can just rest assured that this would be the most stable 14-gun sloop in the Navy! 
 

If we recall, I used served sewing pins for the futtock staves on the lower masts, providing something a bit more firm than just a served line.  The futtock staves on the upper masts are smaller in circumference however, so instead of pins I opted for #28 beading wire - which worked quite well.  I did have to put a very, very thin coat of tacky fabric glue on the wire before I served it however to get the thread to stay put instead of just having the wire rotate with the thread doing it's job.
 
 
 
Next step was measuring the length of the stave for the given mast - which ended up being 7mm for the main and 5mm for the fore mast. This small size was quite tricky to work with - so I coiled a knot on each end first, then attached it to the shrouds.  As a note - I touched each end of the stave where it was cut with a black sharpie to cover the exposed wire.
 

 
The staves were attached just far enough below the sister blocks to allow for the two foremost shrouds to be pulled apart a bit and all four shrouds to be evenly separated as they have a tendency to overlap where they come together in the limited space below the heads.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

If we recall, I used served sewing pins for the futtock staves on the lower masts, providing something a bit more firm than just a served line.  The futtock staves on the upper masts are smaller in circumference however, so instead of pins I opted for #28 beading wire - which worked quite well.  I did have to put a very, very thin coat of tacky fabric glue on the wire before I served it however to get the thread to stay put instead of just having the wire rotate with the thread doing it's job.
 
 
 
Next step was measuring the length of the stave for the given mast - which ended up being 7mm for the main and 5mm for the fore mast. This small size was quite tricky to work with - so I coiled a knot on each end first, then attached it to the shrouds.  As a note - I touched each end of the stave where it was cut with a black sharpie to cover the exposed wire.
 

 
The staves were attached just far enough below the sister blocks to allow for the two foremost shrouds to be pulled apart a bit and all four shrouds to be evenly separated as they have a tendency to overlap where they come together in the limited space below the heads.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

If we recall, I used served sewing pins for the futtock staves on the lower masts, providing something a bit more firm than just a served line.  The futtock staves on the upper masts are smaller in circumference however, so instead of pins I opted for #28 beading wire - which worked quite well.  I did have to put a very, very thin coat of tacky fabric glue on the wire before I served it however to get the thread to stay put instead of just having the wire rotate with the thread doing it's job.
 
 
 
Next step was measuring the length of the stave for the given mast - which ended up being 7mm for the main and 5mm for the fore mast. This small size was quite tricky to work with - so I coiled a knot on each end first, then attached it to the shrouds.  As a note - I touched each end of the stave where it was cut with a black sharpie to cover the exposed wire.
 

 
The staves were attached just far enough below the sister blocks to allow for the two foremost shrouds to be pulled apart a bit and all four shrouds to be evenly separated as they have a tendency to overlap where they come together in the limited space below the heads.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

As I illustrated above - Added the additional stays to the upper main and fore masts.  It definitely adds to the complexity and bulk on the mastheads, but still looks good to me.  And more importantly, I've utilized those extraneous deadeyes. 
 
 
 
 
 
   I guess we can just rest assured that this would be the most stable 14-gun sloop in the Navy! 
 

If we recall, I used served sewing pins for the futtock staves on the lower masts, providing something a bit more firm than just a served line.  The futtock staves on the upper masts are smaller in circumference however, so instead of pins I opted for #28 beading wire - which worked quite well.  I did have to put a very, very thin coat of tacky fabric glue on the wire before I served it however to get the thread to stay put instead of just having the wire rotate with the thread doing it's job.
 
 
 
Next step was measuring the length of the stave for the given mast - which ended up being 7mm for the main and 5mm for the fore mast. This small size was quite tricky to work with - so I coiled a knot on each end first, then attached it to the shrouds.  As a note - I touched each end of the stave where it was cut with a black sharpie to cover the exposed wire.
 

 
The staves were attached just far enough below the sister blocks to allow for the two foremost shrouds to be pulled apart a bit and all four shrouds to be evenly separated as they have a tendency to overlap where they come together in the limited space below the heads.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

If we recall, I used served sewing pins for the futtock staves on the lower masts, providing something a bit more firm than just a served line.  The futtock staves on the upper masts are smaller in circumference however, so instead of pins I opted for #28 beading wire - which worked quite well.  I did have to put a very, very thin coat of tacky fabric glue on the wire before I served it however to get the thread to stay put instead of just having the wire rotate with the thread doing it's job.
 
 
 
Next step was measuring the length of the stave for the given mast - which ended up being 7mm for the main and 5mm for the fore mast. This small size was quite tricky to work with - so I coiled a knot on each end first, then attached it to the shrouds.  As a note - I touched each end of the stave where it was cut with a black sharpie to cover the exposed wire.
 

 
The staves were attached just far enough below the sister blocks to allow for the two foremost shrouds to be pulled apart a bit and all four shrouds to be evenly separated as they have a tendency to overlap where they come together in the limited space below the heads.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Finally finished up the Main upper shrouds today.  Nothing special about them - served just past the hounds and hooked to the deadeyes. 
 
 
 

 
Here is a tip however - that I figured out way too late. As in, after replacing / repairing three futtock shroud hooks that had snapped off from the tension of the lanyards, etc.  I shoved a toothpick into the chain to relieve the tension on the hook while rigging - then eased / twisted the toothpick out after the rigging was tied off.
 

Conclusion
 
The kit
This is my first Occre Ship kit and i was surprised  how well she would turn out, she will certainly not be my last one
The hull
at 1/50 she builds up fast into a nice  90cm long sleek looking hull, without much effort, but:
Far too few frames I think at least another 4 frames are needed and  as a result careful attention is required on the fairing to ensure the planks have max contact, she is  also  single planked therefore, some experience at planking would be suggested rather than the non tapering way suggested, with lots of infills
The shaft tube area, could do with  better defined photos and explanations, it is very much hit and miss on trying to get this important area correct
If being built as a static it might be worth looking at obtaining some better drawings to find a way of reducing the large area/space around the prop, ali I have done is put in a rudder post,
Superstructure
No real issues other than where the large 8MM holes for portholes which have to be drilled into the planked areas, the wood is very soft/balsa like and tends to rip rather than be allowed to be drilled, so took several redo’s to look presentable,
Fixtures and fittings,
 the cast items were clean of flash and required very little work to remove seam lines, but some items did seam out of scale to the hull
Conclusion
This was from the start going to be a OOB build, no scratch, lighting or special effects, the tyres are the only change from the metal kit ones.
Im mixed on this, the lack of detail, makes her a average static display kit, and as a RC build I think a lot of work would be required to make her work well on the water, but feel she would be quite delicate due to the way the superstructure lifts off to allow access into the hull, even on my desk the railings, forward vents and riggings got in the way and needed repair,
She was on my work bench for a period of six weeks, and reckon I put about 120 hours, from start to finish
With a retail price from Cornwall Model Boats of £269, I think that is extremely good value for money,
Thank you again Occre for the opportunity of myself doing the review, you have given me 120 hours of modelling enjoyment.
 
Paint
Hull  
Halfords Rattle can red primer and Vallejo red brown surface primer
Halfords rattle grey primer and Halfords Rattle can matt black
Superstructure
As above
Halfords Rattle white primer and  Vajello white primer
Funnel
Rattle cab VW brilliant orange.
Mast
AK 11118 ochre
Rigging various sizes from the Amati range. I found the Occre ones out of scale and very fluffy
Extras
The tyres are from the 1/35 Trumpeter M1070 tank carrier.

Finally finished up the Main upper shrouds today.  Nothing special about them - served just past the hounds and hooked to the deadeyes. 
 
 
 

 
Here is a tip however - that I figured out way too late. As in, after replacing / repairing three futtock shroud hooks that had snapped off from the tension of the lanyards, etc.  I shoved a toothpick into the chain to relieve the tension on the hook while rigging - then eased / twisted the toothpick out after the rigging was tied off.
 

Nice work!

Finally finished up the Main upper shrouds today.  Nothing special about them - served just past the hounds and hooked to the deadeyes. 
 
 
 

 
Here is a tip however - that I figured out way too late. As in, after replacing / repairing three futtock shroud hooks that had snapped off from the tension of the lanyards, etc.  I shoved a toothpick into the chain to relieve the tension on the hook while rigging - then eased / twisted the toothpick out after the rigging was tied off.
 

Deadeyes - Backstays - and Shifting Backstays....
 
As continue to work on the shrouds and stays, I've noticed some conflicting information regarding the number of deadeyes and their corresponding stays. This is certainly something of which to be wary when you're working off a few different plans - i.e., a kit build but also guided by Steel, The Fully Framed Model, and sometimes Lees.  TFFM has the fewest stays - and Chris Watton's plans for the Peg have the most. TFFM specifically mentions the Swan class only having single stays off the masts, and Steel specifically mentions three pairs for ships of 74 guns or larger, two pairs for 74 to 20 guns, and a single pair for 18 guns and smaller.  However Chris' plans show multiple stays off the main and fore.  Chris' plans also show Royal Stays  and a shifting back stay off both main and foremasts - which are not shown in other guidelines. As a result - if I continue to progress using primarily TFFM  - I'll end up with some unused deadeyes.  In fact - even on the final images of TFFM's Swan - there are unused deadeyes - which I've also seen on Dan's Vulture as well as BE's Peg.
 

 
Here's the thing - I know my personality; I'm the guy who has all his stuff positioned specifically on his desk.  So having unused deadeyes is going to drive me crazy.  As such - I'll be diverting from TFFM and Steele and including enough additional stays to use the deadeyes. So - I'll have two back stays and one t'gallant stay on the fore, three backstays and a t'gallant on the main - and I'll forego Royals (Lees says they weren't introduced until after 1810) and shifting backstays - because I'm running out of room on the top masts.  
 
So here's what I'll have:
 

 

Nice work!

Finally finished up the Main upper shrouds today.  Nothing special about them - served just past the hounds and hooked to the deadeyes. 
 
 
 

 
Here is a tip however - that I figured out way too late. As in, after replacing / repairing three futtock shroud hooks that had snapped off from the tension of the lanyards, etc.  I shoved a toothpick into the chain to relieve the tension on the hook while rigging - then eased / twisted the toothpick out after the rigging was tied off.
 

Nice work!

Finally finished up the Main upper shrouds today.  Nothing special about them - served just past the hounds and hooked to the deadeyes. 
 
 
 

 
Here is a tip however - that I figured out way too late. As in, after replacing / repairing three futtock shroud hooks that had snapped off from the tension of the lanyards, etc.  I shoved a toothpick into the chain to relieve the tension on the hook while rigging - then eased / twisted the toothpick out after the rigging was tied off.