Erebus and Terror

HMS TERROR TO CROSS THE ATLANTIC ONCE AGAIN My build log has been silent for nearly five months, but I have an excellent excuse. Since December, I’ve been working night and day on HMS Terror. Why the rush? This week, my model is carefully being packaged for transport to Greenwich. In one month, it will be displayed in a new exhibition on the Franklin tragedy at the National Maritime Museum. Mini-Crozier stands at his taffrail. Created by the Canadian Museum of History, Parks Canada, and the National Maritime Museum, the exhibition will open in Greenwich on July 14th. In January, the model will travel back across the Atlantic with the exhibition, where it will be displayed at Canada’s national museum beginning on March 1st, 2018. A view from the bow. Port side planking. It took nearly six months of work to double (and in some cases tipple) plank this hull with scale timber. Some strakes are 8 scale inches thick. What does this mean for my project? First and foremost, it is a sincere honour to have been asked to display my model alongside iconic artifacts related to the Franklin Expedition. I jumped at the chance to loan it when it was presented to me, despite the short time frame involved. Due to time constraints, progress on my model has now far outpaced my build log. I’ll be playing catch up for the next several months. My model is not finished. Currently, it most closely resembles a shipwright’s “builder’s model” which typically only show the design and major fittings of a ship. The reason for this will become clear when you see the model in its position in the exhibition. I admit that I couldn’t help but add a few extra details, but it’s essentially just a builder’s model right now. When the model is returned to me, I’ll complete all the finer details; I estimate it’s about ¾ complete. Missing details can be seen in this view; the tiller, deck houses and conning (ice) plank are all absent. Mini-Crozier keeps watch on the voyage. Mini-Crozier keeps watch on the voyage. I won’t show all the details of the model in this post; I intend to catch up over time while it is away from my workbench. I hope to have much more time to be an active member of the forums again in the coming months. The bow plating is made from 100 chemically blackend brass plates. Post Script: It is very apparent I didn’t add treenails to the planking of my model. For some ship modelers, I know this is sacrilege. My rationale is simple; on real ships treenails and plugs are nearly invisible, and consequently I often find they don’t look realistic on a scale model. Also, I don’t like marring beautiful wood with hundreds of tiny holes. It’s a personal opinion and choice, and I’ve certainly seen many superb models with beautifully rendered treenails. I’ve never been satisfied with it on my models, so I chose not to do it here.

This was a simply epic topic and a brilliant result. It's been a masterclass in model building and kit design. Thanks so much, Chuck. Can't wait for the next one.

Beautiful work, Ed. I'm in awe of your progress.

Thanks for the speedy reply, Mark. Those are all very useful hints. I'm going to try the focus tip you gave me - will be really useful on thick woods, I'm thinking. Keep up the fantastic work on this build!

Thanks everyone for the likes and comments! They sure help with motivation!

Very interesting indeed Mark. You know of my use of the laser cutter at my local library. However I have been reticent to use it for planking. How do you measure the kerf? Do you calculate it then increase the size of the planks? That's how I do it, but it's never perfect. I always make my pieces slightly large and then sand to fit. Also, no matter how thin the stock, I find that the laser doesn't cut a perpendicular line - there is always a taper that has to be sanded down. How do you deal with that? Keep up the excellent work. Yours will likely be the first laser-cut scratch build ever!

COMPANIONWAYS The 1835/1836 modifications to HMS Terror introduced a new fitting to Royal Navy polar exploration vessels– the hatched companionway. Covered companionways began to replace open ladderways on smaller Royal Navy ships in the late 18th century. However, the special type of hatched companionway associated with Erebus and Terror is rare on Royal Navy plans and models until the middle of the 19th century. The Companionways on HMS Terror The aft companionway of HMS Terror was a simple box-shaped structure, with a large sliding hatch on its roof. To access the ladderway, the crew would slide the hatch back, and then pull open two small starboard-facing doors. They would then descend the ladderway backwards, pausing midway to close the doors, and then the hatch, behind them. The 1836/1837 Terror profile plan (1) indicates that this companionway could be removed and replaced with a tall winter deckhouse with a standard-sized door (it was apparently shaped like Terror’s water closet). However, pencil marks on these draughts indicate that this special winter coaming was abandoned sometime after Back’s 1836/1837 Arctic voyage. Prior to 1839, there was no raised companionway in the forward part of Terror. Instead, an unusual hinged trapdoor system was used to access the forward ladderway. Curiously, this ladderway was located on the starboard side of the vessel, and not on the midline as was typical. This feature was changed in 1839, and a raised companionway identical in design, but somewhat larger, to Terror’s aft companionway was installed (2). Unlike its aft counterpart, its doors faced port, and it was located just behind the funnel for the ship’s stove. Its ladderway below it descended just aft of the ship’s stove. This must have been somewhat inconvenient, as using it would have introduced terrible drafts to the lower deck mess and sleeping area during the winter months. References: (1) National Maritime Museum ZAZ5672 (2) National Maritime Museum ZAZ5673 (3) National Maritime Museum SLR0715 The basic components of the companionway were cut from pear wood stock using my local Library’s laser cutter. Tracks were added to the roof of the companionway. Terror’s companionways were very simple box-like structures. I had trouble simulating the bronze tracks with brass sheeting, so I opted to use a brass foil product here. Preparing to cut the grooves in the aft hatch. The companionways with hatches and tracks completed. The completed forward companionway. The completed aft companionway. Mini-Crozier inspects the workmanship. A coat of Minwax Wipe-On Poly provides a protective finish. These structures were neither large nor comfortable. Robustness seems to have been the primary design feature. The 1839 Erebus model at the National Maritime Museum (3) indicates that the doors had small knobs, which I recreated using brass pins filed to the correct size. I elected to show the doors with hidden door hinges (the doors swung outwards), which is common on modern companionways of the similar design.

Thanks Druxey! And thanks everyone for the likes. It's good to be back at it. Should be more soon - companionways and windlass are already completed.

A WINDOW ON HMS TERROR By 1845, Terror’s stern windows were very different from those Captain John Sheridan gazed through as he bombarded Baltimore in 1814. In 1812, Henry Peake designed a relatively traditional stern gallery for HMS Terror, which included seven stern lights in addition to six windows arranged on her port and starboard quarter galleries. Each of the stern windows had nine panes, while the smaller quarter gallery windows had six panes. Henry Peake's original 1812 design for Terror's stern gallery and quarter galleries. NMM, ZAZ5662 When Terror was first converted for polar service over 1835 and 1836, its vulnerable quarter galleries (and the water closets they contained) were removed, resulting in a reduction to five stern windows. Contemporary artwork by Owen Stanley indicates that the windows retained their original nine-pane configuration during Back's harrowing Arctic expedition of 1836-1837. Terror's stern lights in 1837. Note the cipher and ship's name depicted above the hanging rudder. NMM, PAF0275 Since the time of Parry’s second Arctic voyage, 24 years previously, polar exploration vessels had been fitted with "double window-frames" (1), and Terror undoubtedly had double windows installed for Back’s 1836 -1837 Arctic voyage. Parry described that during the coldest months, "cork shutters" were inserted between the sashes on HMS Hecla (1), and it is possible that cork shutters were used on Terror’s subsequent polar voyages. Contemporary images suggest that Terror's stern gallery remained unchanged during the Antarctic expedition of 1839-1843, when Terror was under the command of Francis R.M. Crozier, although the 1839 Terror and Erebus plans indicate that significant changes were made to the great cabin itself. In the spring of 1845, Terror and Erebus had their sterns dismantled and reconstructed to accommodate large wells needed to raise and lower their new screw propellers. The centre window on the stern of each vessel was removed to make room for the new well. Green-ink annotations on Terror’s 1836 plans show that her stern frames were shifted slightly forward during the 1845 refit. The reasons for such an extensive refit are unclear, but it may have been necessary to redesign the stern framing to accommodate the weight and stress of the new propeller system. While it appears that the remaining four stern windows were kept (roughly) in their original positions in 1845, the windows themselves were redesigned from a nine-pane to a four-pane configuration. We know this because of a remarkable woodcut of the great cabin of HMS Erebus, which appeared in the May 24th, 1845 issue of the Illustrated London News (2). The accompanying article described that the windows were “double[d]”, similar to those used on Parry’s voyages. Astonishingly, high resolution images of the cabin illustration in the report clearly show the double sashes. Why the stern lights were modified to a four-pane design is unknown, but the woodcut indicates that by 1845 the window muntins were much more robust than those on a typical stern window. A sturdier design might have been thought necessary, after the unprecedented heavy seas and storms Terror and Erebus encountered during their Antarctic expedition. However, we know that the thickness of the glass was not increased, because window glass recovered from HMS Erebus in 2015 has the same thickness as that specified on Terror’s (i.e., Belzebub’s) original 1812 building contract (3). Below, I’ll outline how I have recreated Terror’s windows for my model. Though few pictures have been released, they appear to compare well with the recent Parks Canada images of Terror’s stern. References: (1) Parry, William Edward. 1824. Journal of a Second Voyage for the Discovery of a North-west Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific: Performed in the Years 1821- 22-23, in His Majesty's Ships Fury and Hecla, Under the Orders of Captain William Edward Parry, R.N., F.R.S., and Commander of the Expedition. London. (2) Departure of the “Erebus” and “Terror” on the Arctic Expedition. Illustrated London News, May 24th, 1845. Volume 6, Page 328. (3) National Maritime Museum, ADT0010 Construction of the stern windows began with laser cutting the sashes from a sheet of Swiss pear. A bevel was added to each muntin with a hand file. The filed windows are on the left, the unfinished windows are on the right. Comparing progress to the original woodcut. Instead of adding four individual panes, I opted to add a single simulated pane. This was achieved by carving out the backside of the windows to accept the simulated glass. The window panes were made from high quality PVC blister packaging material. It is crystal clear, resists yellowing, and bonds well with CA glue. The painter's tape protects the surface from scratches and permits patterns to be drawn on the surface. A beading line of CA was used to glue the panes in place. Allowing the glue to dry. A pair of finished windows compared to the woodcut. Note the double sashes in the woodcut image. Gluing the sills to the sashes. These are not the proper configuration, but will not be visible on the finished model. A nickle for scale. The completed double windows. A closeup view. The interior panes were sanded to simulate frost (and to prevent a view into the interior of the model). The port stern lights installed between the stern frames. A view from the interior of the model. The imposing nature of the well can be seen here. Approximating the view from the great cabin (as best possible). The completed stern gallery. Mini-Cozier surveys the pack from the comfort of his great cabin.

A great subject for a build! Lang also did the modifications on Erebus and Terror, and his stern modifications have clearly stood the test of time. I like your metal work on the screw propeller very much. Just wonderful work on the hull.

You make the best anchors. Superb.

Precise, clean, work as always, Chuck.

The metal work really makes it into a ship! Excellent craftsmanship.

This is amazing work Ed, really stunning! Did you make the chain, too?

Wonderful, Chuck, especially the simulated metalwork.

Very nice work indeed!

Thanks for the kind words Druxey. Getting a "very nice" assessment from a master planker like you certainly helps with motivation. Cheers. I agree, spiling will be my only option below the channels. I did some tests with some pear last night, and I've been able to bend the thickest planks sufficiently with hot water soaking and a jig. It certainly raises the grain though. Perhaps the easiest way might be to add moulded shims to the bulkheads and just plank it once with thinner stock, though that causes problems with the double planking visible in one small section of the sternpost. Decisions, decisions!

PLANKING TERROR'S TOPSIDE Over the summer months, I have been working steadily on my model's topside planking, while it seems the real Terror has been biding her time, waiting to reveal herself to the world. Despite the excitement of the discovery, my work continues, though perhaps with somewhat more adrenaline than previously. I began this part of the project by cutting out the numerous ports on Terror's bulwarks, and then proceeded with planking the entire topside down to the level of the chock channels. The planking followed a carefully laid out plan that I devised for the entire model. Based on data in 1845 stern plans by Oliver Lang, the strakes on my model Terror vary between nine and ten scale inches wide whenever possible. Consistent with information gleaned from the original ship's contract, each strake is approximately 24 scale feet long (where possible), and follows a three plank shift. Deviations from this plan were necessary in many portions along the topside, where ports interrupted the normal planking layout (and common sense indicated a butt would not be necessary). I marked the position of the port sills using paper guides (this is the reverse of the printed plan, used on the port side) Each port was carefully cut out with a sharp blade. The port sills were lined with holy. Terror's bulwarks were riddled with ports. Here the bitts have been modeled from Swiss pear and are portrayed in an unworn condition. Details of additional bitts. In the stern, Terror had two large chocks on each side. These were cut from Swiss pear sheet stock and the correct shape transferred to them from a card cutout. Ensuring the chocks are symmetrical. The finished pieces. And again after installation. Planking began at the solid ice channels and proceeded strake by strake (tier by tier), following the plan I had devised. Terror has an extremely bluff bow, and care had to be taken here. While spiling would be preferred, I am constantly worried about my wood supply and used a technique taught by Chuck Passaro. It worked very well, despite planking in scale thickness (here 4"). The port side, after a coat of Minwax Wipe on Poly. Not the bottom strake is left untreated so that I can glue the ice channel top to it. Comparing the symmetry of planking on both sides of the knee. Following the planking plan and marking off the hull carefully ensures less variation. Terror's bow is so bluff, and the scale plank so thick, that I resorted to using a plank bending tool to achieve the proper curvature. I dread planking the second layer on the wales, which are over 9 scale inches thick! I expect hot water immersion , or hot iron bending, will be my only option there. Planking surrounding the many ports at Terror's bow. The planking plan indicated that one plank, in particular, would be very complex. I measured and marked it off carefully before cutting. Installation involved dry fitting, careful sanding, dry fitting again, sanding again, and repeating constantly until it was acceptable. Planking amidships, showing the three plank shift. Detail of the chocks after planking. The completed planking run on Terror's starboard side. The next task in my project will be to frame the stern lights (windows) and install them. Until then, I hope we get to see more images of the real ones from Franklin Expedition 2016.

Thank you Druxey. I hate to speculate on what this means, but the implication from the articles I've read is that it was manned and in good condition when it was in Terror Bay, and therefore supposedly didn't drift there. Regardless, much more archaeological work by Parks Canada will need to be completed before any firm answers can be provided.

HMS TERROR FOUND! Some people have asked me how I feel about this discovery. To find out..... http://buildingterror.blogspot.com/2016/09/hms-terror-found.html

Excellent to hear, Druxey! Congratulations!

My goodness, Chuck! Amazing idea for the gudgeons and pintles. I think you've started a new scratch-build trend, though why would we when we could just buy your kits! And good call on painting the tiller. Brilliant work.

Amazing. Insipring. Intimidating!!!

Thanks Ed, for the wonderful comment. Much appreciated.

Thank you everyone for the likes and Mark, Antony, and Druxey, I appreciate your kind words. Antony, I had a lot of trouble with the stern - until I built my jig. Then it came together fairly quickly. I wish now that I had framed it properly, even if won't be seen under the planking. Druxey, those "ah-ha" moments are a sincere pleasure of this build, though I admit with the discovery of Erebus they are also increasingly fraught with indecision. My one saving grace is that Terror was a different ship with a different history. If I follow the plans and available historical documents there is always a possibility that I'm right. That is of course until they find Terror!