HM Schooner Pickle by Peter Y. - Caldercraft - Scale 1:64 - First ever ship build

[Peter Y.]

Hello All and welcome to my build log!

 

To make things clear  - I'm a genuine beginner that only recently became interested in this wonderful hobby. I've never attempted anything similar or even worked with wood before. If you're just like me then this thread might serve as a great example of what can you expect from your first build. I'll do my best to cover not only my successes but also the failures.

 

To kick things off I should probably show you the contents of the box, but then again there are already 12 other Pickle build logs on this forum and numerous other reviews available online. I'm also (obviously) not an expert and won't pretend that I'm capable of judging the quality or historic accuracy of the kit, so I've allowed myself to skip this bit. I will however tell you in a nutshell what made me go with this particular kit for my first build. This was mainly due to:

- Caldercraft being a highly respected manufacturer, often acclaimed for high quality of materials.

- The fact that the instructions are available online, so I could have a look of what's to come and reassure myself that I can do it.

- Many other build logs available on the forum.

- I'll be honest with you - the copper plating stole my heart.

 

You can see where I'm currently at with the actual build below - I've glued bulkheads 1-8 in place (made sure that the angles are right with Lego parts). The keel was a bit bendy, so I've added some reinforcements between bulkheads 2/3, 3/4, 4/5 and 5/6. Good idea (I think) but poor execution means that there is still a slight bend, but it's not nearly as big as before.

I've glued the plank termination patterns in place (11 and upside down 12 on the photo below) and am currently wondering: Should I add filler blocks here? I've seen some people do it and others not really and am a bit confused.

I also had a go at the bearding line and trimming bulkheads 7 and 8, so that they fit it. Not sure if this was done correctly - I did this according to the instructions, but I've seen that quite a lot of people left the bulkheads alone and adjusted the bearding line instead.

That's it for now. All comments welcome.

Edited April 25, 2018 by Peter Y.

[Thunder]

Hello Peter,

 

Welcome to the hobby its a great and all consuming great hobby. If it is nautical history that is of interest you get modelling, art, painting, books, museums etc, it just goes on and on. My wife is not so keen though!!

 

Your stern looks very tidy, the only tip I would give is that you have some bevelling to do so I would mark the edges with black marker pen. If when fairing the edges you must leave the fore edge on the stern bulkheads and the aft edge on the bow bulkheads with a bit of black still showing you have not effected the hull shape. Did I mention that you need to learn a new way of talking as well! The picture below is not the pickle but the Chatham but you can see the black marking on the bow and stern bukheads.

 

 

 

At the stern (back) I would of expected the bearding line to match the front or fore edge of the bulkheads so that after fairing the aft edge then matched the bearding as well. I have built this kit but it is a while ago and I cannot find the photographs of this stage.

 

I am a little concerned about that part 12, and I seem to remember worrying about it when I built the ship. It seems too low even though you have the top correct. If you look at part 11 it is spot on with the edge nearest to the keel section spot on to the front bearding line and bottom edge of the first bulkhead. I would of expected 12 to follow the same line with its bottom edge in line with the first and second bulkheads. As it stands you have a lot of shaping to do of these parts but I am sure you will cope. It is sometimes easier to do some of it before gluing in place.

[Peter Y.]

Thanks for the great tips. I'll make a list, so I don't forget any of them ;-) As you rightly noticed, I'm still getting my head around the jargon, so do excuse my unprofessional terminology ;-)

 

Yes, I knew there will be an awful lot of sanding/shaping to do and am a bit worried about getting all the angles and bevels right, but not as nearly worried as I am about hull planking, copper plating, painting, rope making or rigging (come to think of it that's quite a long list of things that I'm concerned about!).

 

As for the progress: I've finished the false (lower) deck planking yesterday and am quite happy with the result. This part of the ship will only be visible through the various (small) holes in the main (gun) deck, so you might say it was unnecessary but the goal here was to get some practice and learn on mistakes. I've tested out quite a lot of different caulking and treenailing techniques with varying results and in the end decided to go with something subtle, as seen below:

The caulking is graphite (2B pencil gently applied to the sides of each plank) and the treenails are birch toothpicks that have been stained in earl grey tea for 6 hours and dried. Size of the treenails is about 0.55 [mm] or 1/7 of the width of the plank.

 

The plan now is to fit the 9th bulkhead along with the stern extensions and then do all the shaping over the weekend. After that I'll bend and fit the gunport patterns and do a lot of reading on hull planking before making the next step.

Edited April 26, 2018 by Peter Y.

[Thunder]

That looks great, well worth doing and nothing to stop you leaving some of the hatch covers off to make sure it can be seen.

[Peter Y.]

Well... There's progress.

 

I've glued the last bulkhead and stern extensions and did all the shaping/beveling in preparation for the planking.

The gunport patterns are also in place - I did a lot of unnecessary holes in the process but in the end they came out nicely (I think).

I also did the first two planks on the port side (bending was done with a steamy iron):

All comments welcome - would be great to know if I'm at least heading in the right direction ;-)

[jwvolz]

Looks like a good start. Those gunport strips can be a real challenge. 

[Peter Y.]

On 5/2/2018 at 1:21 AM, jwvolz said:

Looks like a good start. Those gunport strips can be a real challenge. 

Thanks, Joe. In this case it wasn't so bad as they're quite thin (makes them easier to shape).

 

I'm currently working on the rest of the planking and would like to finish that before Tuesday, in the meantime I can post a picture of the Pickle replica docked near to where I work:

I'm also planning on visiting the NMRN in Hartlepool this weekend to look for further inspiration/motivation ;-)

[Peter Y.]

4 hours ago, SpyGlass said:

Are you intending to remove the first plank pinning - you will find it can be a real B**** trying to smooth the hull with them still in place.

 

That did cross my mind, but I haven't decided yet. To be honest, looking at it now most of the smoothing will have to be done in-between the bulkheads where there are no pins.

[Peter Y.]

We had some great weather so I didn't have a whole lot of time to work on the build.

 

The port side is now completely planked.

I was originally really worried about the stern, but am pretty happy with how it came out.

Middle bit looks great.

The bow is quite sloppy though and will require a lot of adjustments. Looking at it now I regret not placing the filler blocks between bulkheads which would make things a lot easier.

On 5/3/2018 at 11:34 PM, SpyGlass said:

Can i recommend that you do remove the pins - after putting a good layer of glue on the accessible bits of the inside of the hull.

The pins play havoc with sanding medium ! And  to get a smooth hull line you have to sand the whole length not just between BHs

Yes. I will definitely attempt to remove them after gluing from the inside.

[Peter Y.]

Progress is steady.

 

First planking is completed and glued from the inside. Starboard side has been sanded down, but no filler was used yet. Stern counter is now in place. I have attempted to remove the pins, but was unable to do so and as a result am using much more sand paper ;-)

While waiting for the glue to dry I've entertained myself with putting together some bits and bobs, namely:

 

The anchor:

Gratings:

Skylight:

Remainder of this week will be spent on sanding down the port side, followed by filling the whole planking and another sanding session. Hopefully after that I'll be in a position to post some satysfying pictures of a smooth hull (fingers crossed).

[Peter Y.]

Yay! First planking finally completed :-)

 

Quite a lot of filler was necessary, but in the end I'm happy with how it looks. The bow that was previously awful is now OK (I think). Starboard gunport pattern will require some small adjustments as it's 0.5 mm higher then it should be at the bow.

 

Any and all comments welcome - I consider your feedback very valuable.

 

 

[Ryzuhr]

I appreciate you putting your build log up! I am also brand new to this hobby and have yet to start my first build. I've perused a lot of the more experienced modellers and man... the level of skill here is incredible. It's nice to follow someone closer to my level to see what they learn and have trouble with, as well as how they solve those problems.

 

Hull is looking great so far and i look forward to seeing how the rest of it progresses! I will be following along. =D

Edited May 23, 2018 by Ryzuhr

[Peter Y.]

12 hours ago, Ryzuhr said:

I appreciate you putting your build log up! I am also brand new to this hobby and have yet to start my first build. I've perused a lot of the more experienced modellers and man... the level of skill here is incredible. It's nice to follow someone closer to my level to see what they learn and have trouble with, as well as how they solve those problems.

 

Hull is looking great so far and i look forward to seeing how the rest of it progresses! I will be following along. =D

Ah, tell me about it! I feel exactly the same! All those build logs with perfect ships, well-equipped workshops, etc. It's like seeing the top of a mountain that you want to climb from a valley beneath. But 'A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step', so just slowly and steady plow ahead. It's great to hear that you appreciate this log - It was kind of hard for me to find entries by beginners as well.

12 hours ago, SpyGlass said:

Thats come along very very nicely indeed !

It's really encouraging to hear that from an experienced builder. Thank you!

12 hours ago, SpyGlass said:

Just a query as to how you intend handling stem and stern post?

The stern seems a bit wide  -do check (by temporary fitting the stern post ) to make sure you have enough narrowed the end of the keel sufficently to lay the second planking flush with the post.

I myself would open a rabbet along the stem ( I am just making mine a teeny bit bigger at present)

 

- or are you going to just lay the second planking against the side of the stem.

 

Either way I suspect you will need to attend to that first row of pins - it looks a bit proud and you may have a real devil of a job getting the end of the planks fitted unless you ease that a bit

You are absolutely right about the stern. I did a dry-fit of the sternpost after taking the photos and it was indeed too wide. I've sanded it down a bit further. At present the stern is 3.2 mm wide at the bottom and 4.0 mm wide at the top, so although the second planking will still require some sanding it's not nearly as bad as it was (planks are 1.0 mm thick, sternpost is 5.0 mm wide). The reason for this was my poor execution of the bearding line.

 

In regards to the stem my plan is to try and bevel the edges of the second planking so that it'll sit flush with its side. Same with the keel.

 

I've recently equipped myself with some 'diamond' needle files which makes sanding down the pins a lot easier :-)

[Landlubber Mike]

Hi Peter, really nice start!  Looks really great!

 

On the first planking, one tool that I found really helpful is this spike insertion plier from Micromark which is used for model trains:

 

https://www.micromark.com/Spike-Insertion-Plier

 

Rather than hammering in the pins, I just add a bit of glue to the bulkhead and the binding edge of the plank, and then use the plier to insert the pin through the plank and into the bulkhead.  It's super quick and easy, and there is no need to push the pins all the way flush.  As long as a bit of the pin is in the bulkhead, I've found that the pin will hold the plank against the bulkhead while the glue dries.  Then, after the glue has dried, I go ahead and remove the pins (either with the plier or even by my own fingers) and many times can re-use them.

 

Just wanted to pass that along as I found that to be much better than hammering pins all the way.  There are other "pin pusher" devices, but I've found this spike insertion tool to be the easiest by far.

[Peter Y.]

Hi Mike. Thank you for your kind words and sharing that great advice. I realize that what I did here is suboptimal (to say at least) and will definitely do it differently on my future builds (if there are any). That tool is quite pricey though!

 

I'll take this opportunity to share some further progress photos. Stern counter has been planked, the black strake, wale and further 4 planks beneith it have been laid on the port side. These are all the planks that will be visible on the bow as the rest will be covered by copper plates. 

This was a particularly tricky spot:

While waiting for the glue to dry I've once again tended to some deck equipment, namely:

 

The second skylight:

And one of the carronades:

I'll now proceed with laying the same planks on the starboard.

Edited May 27, 2018 by Peter Y.

[robdurant]

Those carronades look great! Fiddly little things aren't they.

 

If I had a pound (or dollar for that matter) for every time I realised I could have gone about something a better way, I'd be raking it in by now - I have very fond memories of building Pickle. She was the first wooden model I built, but I got there in the end. It's a fantastic model that I'm sure will give you a great degree of satisfaction. Hope you don't mind my following along.

 

Rob

[No Idea]

You are making a very nice job of this ship its looks lovely.  If I could comment I would say that there are a few things that could make your building a bit easier for you.  Firstly as has been said earlier just see the planking pins as temporary and use them just to hold whilst the glue is drying.  I like to use clamps too so maybe invest in some cheap ones just to help you along.

 

Cutting a rabbet into the stem also makes the planking easier as the end of the plank sits where it should whilst you glue, which leaves you to work on the rest of the plank while working along the hull.  Also a good tight joint beats any amount of glue on a lesser joint - The reason I say this is because the bulkheads look like they could have done with just a little more time on them to get the angles perfect.  This can take literally days!

 

You have some very good skills so trust your instincts - I think that this will be a very nice build indeed!  Keep up the great work

[Ryzuhr]

Looking good!

[Peter Y.]

Some further progress pics below. 2nd planking on the port side has been finished (no filler used at the moment). Meanwhile the starboard got its black strake, wale and 4 further planks beneath it. AS previously mentioned some sanding on the stern will be required to enable it to sit flush with the sternpost.

 

I'm pretty happy with the quality of the work so far. Bit of a shame that 80% of it will be covered by copper plates ;-)

[bigcreekdad]

Remember, you always have the option of not coppering. I coppered my Pickle, and I really went back and forth on it. However, in  the future, if I am very happy with the planking, I will not copper. Especially if I am substituting with woods like cherry or swiss pear ( a really nice look).

 

You lose the authenticity I suppose, but, for me anyway, that's not of utmost importance.

 

You are doing well.

[Peter Y.]

22 minutes ago, bigcreekdad said:

Remember, you always have the option of not coppering. I coppered my Pickle, and I really went back and forth on it. However, in  the future, if I am very happy with the planking, I will not copper. Especially if I am substituting with woods like cherry or swiss pear ( a really nice look).

 

You lose the authenticity I suppose, but, for me anyway, that's not of utmost importance.

 

You are doing well.

Ooooh, now that you’ve said it I’m starting to have a real dilemma. Ironically, the copper plating is one of the features that made me buy this particular kit and now I’m seriously considering not doing it...

[Ryzuhr]

23 hours ago, Peter Y. said:

I'm pretty happy with the quality of the work so far.

Going off of this, and it being your first build (yes?), if you're happy with it don't cover it up. That way you can have something to showcase your first build, everything you learned, and how well it paid off. Yes the copper plate would be really cool, but would it be worth covering up all the work you put in?

 

Just my two cents.

Edited June 1, 2018 by Ryzuhr

[Peter Y.]

Long time no post. Believe it or not: There's actually summer in the UK so I'm taking full advantage of that once-in-a-decade opportunity ;-)

 

I've been working on the model for about 15-20 min. almost every day for the past couple of weeks and simply thought it's pointless to update you on every little thing. I think there's some noticeble progress now so decided to take some photos.

 

A summary of what was done:

- 2nd planking completed - includig planks above black strake and in-between gun ports

- hull sanded down - no filler used (I don't think it's necessary)

- stern post and keel in place

- false deck in place

- gun/main deck in place

 

I've decided to paint the bulkheads and other bits inside the hull black as I want them to be less visible through gratings/openings. You can see the result on the last photo.

I think that my next step will be doing the gun/main deck planking followed by the inner bulwark planking and fitting the stern fascia.

 

[Peter Y.]

Stern fascia in place:

Gun deck planked (not sanded yet; caulking made with archival ink brush pen):

Inner bulwark planking up next.

[Peter Y.]

@SpyGlass Thank you! I've 'drilled out' the tree nails/plugs out of a piece of birch wood using a pin vice and a modified needle (internal diameter 0.55 [mm]). Then used a very thinned walnut wood stain to give them the right color.

 

This is the deck after two layers of matt varnish:

I also corrected a small error. I didn't take into account the thickness of the stern fascia when cutting the black strake and wale so it was necessary to extend them:

As you can see in the first picture - I've already started the inner bulwark planking.

Edited July 22, 2018 by Peter Y.

[Peter Y.]

@SpyGlass I just followed the technique on the 2nd page of this topic:

Honestly - the hardest part was obtaining the needle as in the UK they're basically unavailable to the general public.

[Peter Y.]

Inner bulwark planking has been completed.

 

Question time: There is nothing in the instructions about the gunport sides and sills planking. Should I just use some filler to make them nice and smooth or should the three layers of wood be visible?

Up next - the part that I dread to think of... Painting.

 

Thanks to all the useful topics on this forum I was able to get proper materials and equipment - sable brushes, Tamiya masking tape, Admiralty Paints, etc. but I don't feel any more competent than a 4-year old about to design his first nuclear reactor.

 

Fingers crossed for me not screwing things up.

[Sjors]

First build?

You’ve gotta be kidding.......

That second hull planking is just great!

I wish i can do that this way😏

deck caulking is also great.

I will follow you further on.

 

Sjors

[alde]

A first build to be proud of for sure. Very nice.

[Peter Y.]

@Sjors @alde Thank you for the kind words and joining the spectacle. I'd never get this far if it wasn't for this forum's resources and advice from the community.

 

I've decided to take care of some of the imperfections - this will include using filler here and there. Then I'll mark the waterline and hopefully apply the first coat of paint early on Saturday followed by the second one on Sunday evening.