brunnels

I'm probably not the best person to answer that question, I'm only a few weeks into the hobby myself. But from just studying the hull images there are a few small variations like the aft cannon ports are planked over in the book, gangway steps aren't on the model, other builders have commented that the rigging holding the cannons in the model is poorly done, but these are all things that so far can be tweaked pretty easily as you build the kit. I haven't even attempted to compare the rigging yet.

Quick update. Last night I got the keel glued in place, I was pretty nervous about how hard it would be to get everything to line up, but I managed to do it without much trouble. It took a bit of trimming and fitting at the rear where the rudder will attach, but I'm happy with how it looks. It's amazing how much difference the keel makes to the model look, it's really starting to look like a proper ship.

Great start, looks like a few of us just started the Beagle all around the same time.

I just posted an update late last night if you haven't seen it yet.

Looks great, your making solid progress. I'm not looking forward to bending those metal rod pieces on the back, for some reason that just looks like it is going to frustrate me.

Been a long week so just now catching up on my progress. I first finished sanding down the first planking layer. I definitely saw a lot of ways I would have done things different for my next build, but I am happy with the first layer for my first go. I then spent the next couple days planking the second layer. I really struggled with this layer for multiple reasons, first I found the very thin material much harder to work with, it tended to tear and crack apart at the ends of the plank very easy, the area next to where my keel connects is embarrassing because all the ends just keep cracking and flanking apart. The other reason I struggled was it was my first time using contact cement and it was much more messy than I was expecting and it also set with the thin material almost instantly which I also wasn't expecting. I'm still trying to clean up the edges as much as I can, but it's a work in progress. Next I got to work cleaning up the cannon ports, and started on the outside bumpers. I have really started to love these little hobby saws for areas that need to be cut but you don't want crimp marks from snippers. In the AOTS Beagle book, I saw they clearly mention the very rear firing ports were planked over but clearly marked. I used the port doors and glued it to a piece of wood, which then fit perfectly on the edge of the port quarters panel. I then planked over and re- added the outer ribbing. Completed the ribbing and started on the vertical ribs (probably a proper term for these haha) Next I added the Anchor chaffing pieces, this actually took way longer than I was expecting. I wasn't really planning on copper plating this model, but I kind of want to cover up my hideous plank job lol, plus I am trying to make the model more accurate than the kit in a few other areas as well, so might as well add the coppering in the mix. A question for the veterans, are the AOTS plans accurate for length of plate in the image below? If I use their scale in feet and convert it to millimeters and scale it to 1:60 I am getting 20x5mm, which is close to Amati's 1:64 Scale plates which are 19x6mm so I feel like the book must be correct. I already have a few rolls of copper tape from building electric guitars, so I think I will try that route. Also in the image below you can see gangway steps which aren't in the kit's plans, so I plan on fashioning a set of those as well. That's where I am at for the week, still have lots of clean up to do on the hull. I still haven't decided on if I want to paint the inner bulwarks or just leave it bare, and I am also considering refinishing the deck in something a tad darker. I'm starting to understand why some of these projects take years to complete, the "to-do" list just seems to grow.

I ended up pulling the nails out just because i didn't want to deal with them while sanding. It only took about 20 minutes to pull them out. I think I will use light wood putty as needed and then sand and add more to fill gaps if needed. A couple HMS Beagle questions for the more knowledgeable, I'm still trying to learn more about these old boats. 1. The kit comes with a TON of brass metal pieces as I'm sure most kits do. Would these historically have been painted black or any other color? I assume they used mostly Iron covered with paint to prevent corrosion, but the kits instructions and just about every HMS Beagle build log or video has shown the builders leaving the brass mostly untouched. I have brass blackening already, so not a big deal if I need to blacken these parts, I just want to make sure I'm being somewhat historically accurate. 2. Were the inner bulwarks and inner gunports of the HMS Beagle painted or did they leave them in a more natural finish like the kit suggests. 3. I'm not a huge fan of the kits fake hammocks that go on top of the bulwarks, if I were to fashion some fake hammocks out of cloth what type of cloth do you all recommend for this task? Trying to get a copy of the AOTS Beagle book to help research, but I have yet to acquire a copy.

Decided to try my hand at planking the first layer of the hull over the weekend. This was my first time planking and I was pretty nervous getting into it, but once I got started I actually really enjoyed the process. I know it isn't the prettiest so take it easy on me since it's my first time, I still need to sand it down and trim all the edges and put a little wood filler in a few spots. What size gaps are acceptable for these first layers?

Got a little more work done over the past couple evenings. Planked the Castle and Poop decks, fit and glued them in place. I then worked on the Bulwarks. Initially I was pretty nervous for this step, while I have wood working experience I have never soaked and formed wood to any certain shapes, and the kit only comes with one set of Bulwarks so I was pretty nervous about snapping the pieces. I let them soak for 20 minutes and started rolling them over a can and they formed up very easily. I then tacked them to the boat while damp and went over them with a heat gun while they were tacked in place. I did have some curse words to say while gluing them in place, but that was due to me buying the wrong size nail pusher and it pushing the small little nails in every direction except the direction I wanted, lesson learned not all nail pushers are the same. Next I planked the Bulwarks and cut out the gun ports. I still need to sand the gun ports a bit more, but I figured It might be best to wait until the outer hull planking is done to do it all at once. There is a small gap where the Bulwarks meet the deck due to my previous error of cutting the deck slots and having to add more planks, I am thinking about just adding a running board along where the bulwark/deck meet on each side, It's just hard to judge how much spare material the kit gives me to work with for extras like that. Lastly I decided to remove the brass laser cut windows so I can paint them black, and I may just repaint the doors a solid brown color as I'm really not satisfied with how sloppy my doors currently look.

I have started watching this series as well, he seems to give lots of great tips for beginners.

I'm definitely considering making my own, I saw another build log in which someone went that route and it looked like a great alternative.

Yes I have been watching, although I guess I wasn't paying as much attention to their videos as I thought I was.

Hello all, I got a start on my first wooden ship model over the weekend. I have had a great time so far, with a few frustrating moments created by myself, an injury at the dockyard and a realization I am terrible at small scale painting. I do have some modelling experience, I built quite a few plastic model airplanes, cars, and military equipment in my youth so I do know some techniques but it has been 20 years since my last model, and as I have found out wood is a completely different animal. I do have some questions on the paint colors, other than the picture on the box it doesn't seem like there is any guide in the instructions on what color parts should be painted. I bought a paint kit for HMS beagle from Model Expo, but I'm just not sure what colors should be used for, I could definitely use a hand explaining some of these colors I have never heard of. I'm still learning sailing/ship terminology so please be patient If I name something incorrect. Anyways here is my start on the HMS Beagle log. Here are the colors that came in my kit, any help on these would greatly be appreciated. Here is the assembly of the skeleton of the ship, nothing much to look at yet just lots of glue and making sure pieces are squared away. Once I had the frame glued together my next step was to start planking the deck. I used a pencil to line the boards, and then lined them at 60mm and added nails. I know the pencil caulking and nails are controversial, but I wanted to try the process out for myself and see how it looked. Veterans of this kit will notice a mistake I made at this point, I still wouldn't notice it for another night. The next day I started to assemble to fore and aft interior ship walls and started to add planks to the walls. After dinner I sat down and started to look over the instructions, I then noticed my deck looked "off" compared to the instructions, and it hit me that I got a little carried away trimming the deck cutouts. Maybe I shouldn't watch American Football Playoffs while I work on the model...... This is where the dock workers should have stopped for the night and started fresh the next morning. A little frustrated at my mistake I decided to try and see if I could pull up a few of the planks and replace them. The only tool I could find to fit the job of prying the piece up was a razor blade, I got one piece up without too much trouble and then started on the second piece. This is when the razor blade slipped out from the wood and straight into my right hand behind my thumb, it was a very deep cut. The dock medic quickly came over and we cleaned the wound and closed it up with some super glue, no workers comp granted for this dock worker. Getting back to the model I decided just adding planks on top of the old planks and sanding them down a bit was the safest solution. The spouse says you can hardly notice the mistake, but as most model builders know your own mistakes are the most obvious. I also finished planking the fore and aft walls, you can also see a closer view of my correction, not super noticeable from afar, but if you inspect closely you can see the extra wood. Next up was the doors. I wasn't a fan of the solid laser cut brass doors and couldn't find much info on what color the doors should be so I settled on using the American Walnut paint (not stain) that came with the kit and giving it a white outline to kind of match the ships color. I have not painted with material this small in a long time, and I understand why so many of you have magnifying glasses now. My doors look terrible, but I came to the conclusion that it was the best I personally could do with what I have, and to not spend too much time getting hung up on them. I'm still not satisfied and may come back to them, but I'm really not sure I will be able to do much better. That's all I have for now. If you read through all of that, I appreciate your time. I am new to the hobby so any advice, tips, hints are greatly appreciated. Being a new student is one of the most fun parts of a new hobby. My main lesson I've learned so far is you really need to pay attention to the instructions on these kits, and I am starting to follow other Beagle build logs to help along the way.

Just wanted to say hello, I am Barry from Oklahoma. I have been wanting to build a model ship for a number of years and finally decided to jump in the water. I just ordered the HMS Beagle kits from Occre, supplies, tools and I am chomping at the bit for them to get delivered. I'm trying to soak up as much knowledge as I can in the meantime from this forum and YouTube videos, I do have woodworking experience and used to build scale models quite a bit when I was younger. My favorite part of every new hobby is just being an open student and learning from others who have years of experience. You will see me around, and I will try to start a build log once the kit arrives as long as i don't get so wrapped up in the project that I forget to document and take pictures.