kit review 1:65 HMS Terror - OcCre

[James H]

1:65 HMS Terror
OcCre
Catalogue # 12004
Available from OcCre for 99,95€

 

 

HMS Terror was a Vesuvius-class bomb ship built over two years at the Davy shipyard in Topsham, Devon, for the Royal Navy. Her deck was 31 m (102 ft) long, and the ship measured 325 tons burthen. The vessel was armed with two heavy mortars and ten cannons and was launched in June 1813.Terror was a specialized warship and a newly developed bomb vessel constructed for the Royal Navy in 1813. She participated in several battles of the War of 1812, including the Battle of Baltimore with the bombardment of Fort McHenry. (It was at this battle where the "Star-Spangled Banner" was written by Francis Scott Key, which later became the American national anthem.) She was converted into a polar exploration ship two decades later, and participated in George Back's Arctic expedition of 1836–1837, the Ross expedition of 1839 to 1843, and Sir John Franklin's ill-fated attempt to force the Northwest Passage in 1845, during which she was lost with all hands along with HMS Erebus. For the conversion for polar exploration work in the mid-1830s, Terror was refitted. Her design as a bomb ship meant she had an unusually strong framework to resist the recoil of her heavy mortars; thus, she could withstand the pressure of polar sea ice, as well.

 

On 12 September 2016, the Arctic Research Foundation announced that the wreck of Terror had been found in Nunavut's Terror Bay, off the southwest coast of King William Island. The wreck was discovered 92 km (57 mi) south of the location where the ship was reported abandoned, and some 50 km (31 mi) from the wreck of HMS Erebus, discovered in 2014. The wreck was found in excellent condition. A wide exhaust pipe that rose from the outer deck was pivotal in identifying the ship. It was located in the same location where the smokestack from Terror's locomotive engine had been installed. The wreck was nearly 100 km (62 mi) south of where historians thought its final resting place was, calling into question the previously accepted account of the fate of the sailors, that they died while trying to walk out of the Arctic to the nearest Hudson's Bay Company trading post.

 

The kit

 

 

OcCre’s new HMS Terror kit, simply labelled ‘Terror’ is packed into a relatively small box for the model’s finished size but is fairly weighty. The glossy box has a laser-printed product sheet taped to the lid, containing a full colour shot of the finished model, plus a couple of smaller detail shots of the deck area.

The box is designed with a cutaway panel which shows off the clear plastic fittings tray and its contents. Lifting off the lid reveals that tray fully and a set of A3 sheets which contain a history of the vessel, parts list, written instructions and also some masting drawings. Underneath this is a split-partition box which needs to have its tape lock cut through before you can open up things to properly reveal the contents. This box is choc-stuffed with materials, and I know that it will be difficult to fit everything back in once it’s removed.

However, let’s take a look OcCre’s kit spec, and then at the contents more closely.

 

SCALE:                          1:65

HEIGHT:                        504 mm

WIDTH:                          195 mm

LENGTH:                       676 mm

DIFFICULTY:                 Low

DOUBLE PLANK:          Yes      

 

My eyes are immediately drawn to the large bundle of timber for the first planking layer. Here we have 72 strips of Ramin, which are 5mm x 2mm x 400mm. All strip timber is 400mm long. This is certainly some thick first layer planking and thicker than I’ve been used to. Timber quality here is excellent with good, clean edges and no splintered wood or mis-cutting.

Our second bundle of timber has material for the deck (again in Ramin, but 0.6mm thick), and some darker timber for the hull second planking. The latter timber is Sapele and is again 0.6mm x 5mm. The latter can tend to split/breakout at the edges, so take care with it. Thankfully, the quality of this is also extremely good as my sample doesn’t show any rough edges. With this model, options are shown for a bare timber/varnished hull, and also a more accurate, painted version. I would lean towards the latter as the second planking colour wouldn’t look right to me.

The last bundle of timber has both strip wood and dowel of various diameters. Most strip wood is again in Ramin, but of various section sizes, plus one length of as yet unidentified darker timber. All dowel lengths are supplied as Ramin, and cleanly cut. All wood has good grain and isn’t at all flaky or with rough edges. All bundles are also held together with elastic bands instead of the tape we see in some kits.

All other wooden parts are packaged into a sealed clear wrapping, along with a pre-sewn sail pack. Inside the pack, we see the false keel and main deck as items that are ready to use and don’t need removing from any sheets. Like the bulkheads and other main assembly components, these are laser-cut from plywood. A quick check down the length of the false keel shows that everything looks true, and without warp.

Where parts need to be removed from their sheet, the small tags are thin enough to be able to just nip through with a craft knife. Also note that no parts have any engraving on them for identification. You should mark all parts manually, in accordance with the included parts plan. 

A slightly darker plywood of a higher grade is used for smaller components, such as the mast tops and the various support structures for them. Laser-cutting is clean and again, all parts should be easy to remove. Take care when doing so though as this sheet is absolutely packed out with parts.

Here we see a walnut-stained piece of ply that contains the parts for the keel and rudder. Note the rudder is cut out to accept the propeller. Remember that Terror was steam as well as sail. Again, I’ll be painting my model, so the stained appearance of this ply won’t matter to me. 

Our final timber parts for the bulwarks and are made from thin ply. These are cut out to accept cannon etc. and are suitably thin enough to be able to shape to the curvature of the hull. No clean-up is required before installation.

Some kits provide sail cloth whereas this provides actual sewn sails! I think you may need to sew a bolt rope to these, but that is it. You’ll also note that the sails are pre-aged, so no need to dunk them in vats of tea etc.

A large zip-lock bag contains no less than SEVEN packets of nicely formed brass nails, all of which seems to be well-formed with good sharp tips and properly defined heads. Also inside this bag are 5 spools of natural colour rigging cord of various diameters and 6 more of dark brown, again in varying sizes. Material quality looks excellent and I can’t see a need to purchase extra material. 

The bow of Terror was plated in iron to help protect it against pack ice. This kit provides what appear to be either thin aluminium or zinc plates which can be formed around that area to represent the large plate sheathing that was utilised. 

As with many model kits these days, Terror is equipped with a sheet of photo-etch parts. This single, bare-brass fret is equipped with parts for the rear gallery windows and chainplates. Production is as good as any PE I’ve dealt with. You’ll need a razor saw or similar to remove the parts from the fret before use.

Some cack-handed handling of my kit during shipping resulted in the clear box being broken in one corner, but thankfully, all the components within were ok, despite some being unintentionally redistributed within the main box! This box is very similar to how Artesania pack their components, and I quite like the format. Each compartment has numerous fixtures and fittings, from stock materials such as brass rod and stars/grating components, to cast items such as cannon, ship’s boats, anchors, drive propeller, ship’s wheels, wooden parts such as the deadeyes, brass pintles and chain, and flags etc. Essentially, this is where all the minor and major detail components are stored. 

 

Two sets of paper instructions are enclosed in this kit, printed on A3 paper and folded/stapled. The black and white sheets contain the vessel history, parts inventory, deck layout for parts placement, and some nice, clear masting drawings. 

The colour sheets show construction of Terror as a photographic experience, with simple and clear annotation. Illustrations also exist for masting and rigging, plus the parts map that you’ll need for marking the various laser-cut components. 

 

Conclusion
For many years I’ve wanted to get my hands on an OcCre model kit to see just what they offer in terms of design, materials and quality. This new kit is quite apt as I’ve seen the fictional TV series mentioned online, plus I decided to visit Topsham on holiday next week, where Terror was built. I’m certainly not disappointed at all at this beautiful little offering from OcCre, and I can’t wait to dig into it in a few weeks, once I have some commitments. Materials quality is extremely nice, and the whole design is very pleasing and looks like it will be a joy to build. 

 

My sincere thanks to OcCre for sending out this kit for review/build on MSW. To purchase directly, click the link at the top of this article. 

 

 

 

[puckotred]

I'm building this kit and I'm satisfied with most of it. The instructions could be a little more specific with measurements etc but you can work it out eventually...

The plywood sheet with the smaller details I got was missing a couple of parts, production fault at Occre as I got one of the first kits from the factory. Occre sent me a new one within 3-4 days so good service there.

Building sequence is all wrong for me, but that seems to be common with Occre kits.

I ordered new blocks though... And the 2x4mm ramin as the supplied strip was enough for about half of what needed. I also skipped the metal you should use for the bow plating, too hard to handle, difficult to bend etc. I used the strips for the second planking and grain filling filler that gave the plates a distinct difference in texture from the hull.

I payed 99€ from Occre and you get a lot to build for that price.

Edited August 10, 2018 by puckotred

[James H]

1 minute ago, puckotred said:

I'm building this kit and I'm satisfied with most of it. The instructions could be a little more specific with measurements etc but you can work it out eventually... 

Building sequence is all wrong for me, but that seems to be common with Occre kits.

I ordered new blocks though... And the 2x4mm ramin as the supplied strip was enough for about half of what needed. I also skipped the metal you should use for the bow plating, too hard to handle, difficult to bend etc. I used the strips for the second planking and grain filling filler that gave the plates a distinct difference in texture from the hull.

I payed 99€ from Occre and you get a lot to build for that price.

Nice insight. Thank you!

 

The instructions show the metal plates as needed sanding thinner. That makes me think they are aluminium. I have some thinner copper plate that I may yet use instead. 

[Erebus and Terror]

Thanks for the wonderful review. While I wasn’t involved with the design of the kit, it is based on my original research and plans from my ongoing Terror build:

 

Those interested in the ship may want to check it out.

 

Also, Ages of Sail has a pretty fantastic starter package on sale now with the kit, which includes a complete set of tools, including a plank bender, for less than $300, if I recall.

 

Thanks for again for the review!

 

[James H]

16 minutes ago, Erebus and Terror said:

Thanks for the wonderful review. While I wasn’t involved with the design of the kit, it is based on my original research and plans from my ongoing Terror build:

 

Those interested in the ship may want to check it out.

 

Also, Ages of Sail has a pretty fantastic starter package on sale now with the kit, which includes a complete set of tools, including a plank bender, for less than $300, if I recall.

 

Thanks for again for the review!

 

I saw that mentioned.

 

My apologies for missing that out!

[Ebomba]

James, Thank you for the very informative review and look forward to your build log, based on your review I will be

purchasing the kit within the the next week from Ages of Sale.

 

Ed

[JerseyCity Frankie]

It just so happens that today (August 10th 2018) is the 204th anniversary of the Battle of Stonington, a battle in which HMS Terror participated.  Stonington CT is directly adjacent to Mystic Ct, home of the superb Mystic Seaport Museum. 

The sunken wreck of HMS Terror was recently located.

[popeye the sailor]

great presentation and enjoyed the video very much!   looks like a fine kit  

[puckotred]

5 hours ago, Erebus and Terror said:

Thanks for the wonderful review. While I wasn’t involved with the design of the kit, it is based on my original research and plans from my ongoing Terror build:

 

Those interested in the ship may want to check it out.

 

Also, Ages of Sail has a pretty fantastic starter package on sale now with the kit, which includes a complete set of tools, including a plank bender, for less than $300, if I recall.

 

Thanks for again for the review!

 

It was your thread that got me going all in on this Terror thing. As mentioned elsewhere I came across your thread here and on Building HMS Terror .

Shortly after this (a week or two) I stumbled over the book by Dan Simmons and then the TV series (where they hired you as historical advisor I believe it was)

... And two weeks later Occre released the kit...

So, I read your blogg, listened to the audiobook, seen the series, read the book and building the model

 

[Oliver24]

Hi Guys! Could you recommend this kit to a beginner? I am working on my Amati Santa Maria right now but after she is finished, I am really considering buying this kit. It seems a very good value for money.

[ccoyle]

Oliver, I would think that if you are successful with your Santa Maria build, then Terror should be something you could expect to pull off. Perhaps a bit challenging here and there, but it wouldn't be much fun otherwise, would it?

[Oliver24]

Thank you ccoyle! I am encouraged by the fact that Occre posted on its youtube channel a session of videos regarding the step-by-step building process of the ship. There are about 90 videos, 1 to 2 minutes long each! So I guess that will be very helpful for beginners.

[clearway]

got this in my stash and will be starting her if and when i get my victory finished 😋

[AgesOfSail]

Just an update on availability and pricing on this kit. We were out of stock for a few weeks and just recently got the new shipment in. However, OcCre had apparently raised prices on the kit to €119.95. We have to cover the cost of shipping them here to the US, so as you might notice, our list prices at Ages of Sail are unfortunately higher.

 

We just adjust pricing to $209 for the regular price on this kit (note that it's now the same price as expected for OcCre's upcoming HMS Beagle kit). However, the owner agreed to a limited offer price break of 10%, so you can get it for $188.10 for limited time. There's no special coupon required.

 

Here's a direct link: https://www.agesofsail.com/ecommerce/hms-terror-occre-oc12004.html

 

[catopower]

Well, I couldn't help it...

 

I was at Ages of Sail, picking up items to take to tomorrow's IPMS show in San Jose (I'm manning the Ages of Sail table at this event), and they had the HMS Terror kits there – the shipment just came in. 

 

Not that I need another project to start, but I also want some experience with OcCre kits for my own blogging purposes. At least, that's my excuse for spending more money on yet another kit.

 

Anyway, it's a great looking kit, and the Building Terror Blog is great material and inspiration for making an even better model. Looking forward to the build.

[ccoyle]

You should post some pictures from the show!

 

[catopower]

Here's another thing to add to the HMS Terror kit review – at least I didn't see any mention when I dug through the review and follow-up posts...

 

OcCre created a series of short videos to help less experienced ship modelers with their HMS Terror builds. They made 111 of them – yes one hundred and eleven – posted on Youtube.

 

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrPwa5r7zKUzCBCWrtnYjaSn4I5Ex-qBp

 

[James H]

11 hours ago, catopower said:

Here's another thing to add to the HMS Terror kit review – at least I didn't see any mention when I dug through the review and follow-up posts...

 

OcCre created a series of short videos to help less experienced ship modelers with their HMS Terror builds. They made 111 of them – yes one hundred and eleven – posted on Youtube.

 

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrPwa5r7zKUzCBCWrtnYjaSn4I5Ex-qBp

 

 

Thanks for the link. It's very useful. 

I didn't mention the videos in the review, and perhaps I should, although OcCre were still building it themselves at the time with only around 40 of the 111 videos complete. I did embed the very first one towards the top of the review though, so they would have been fairly easy to find the subsequent ones.

[catopower]

James, it seems I was digging too deeply through the review and didn't spot the obvious! 

 

Yes, you are right, once you watch a video, the current will take you to the others.

[sir francis haddock]

Hello first time here. Just got the terror, it is my first build. Looking forward to starting it.

[James H]

2 hours ago, sir francis haddock said:

Hello first time here. Just got the terror, it is my first build. Looking forward to starting it.

 

I hope you'll share a build log with us.

[catopower]

Heads up for those who are expecting this to be a 1/65-scale kit. I've been using info from Matthew Betts' excellent blog regarding his work on researching and building a 1/48-scale model of Terror. 

 

After I got the kit, I started doing some measurement comparisons and found that the stated scale of the kit is wrong. I exchanged a few emails with OcCre, however, and got them to see that they had made a scale error. This doesn't really affect the build, unless you are adding your own details. They have since changed the stated scale on their website, which is now correctly stating 1/75-scale.

 

I expect it will be a while before we see kits with the updated labeling out there. There were a lot of these shipped out. I see that OcCre lists the kits as out of stock on their website. Perhaps they're repackaging them with an updated label(?). 

Edited May 15, 2019 by catopower

[James H]

Nice catch!

[JWB]

On 8/10/2018 at 6:20 AM, puckotred said:

I'm building this kit and I'm satisfied with most of it. The instructions could be a little more specific with measurements etc but you can work it out eventually...

The plywood sheet with the smaller details I got was missing a couple of parts, production fault at Occre as I got one of the first kits from the factory. Occre sent me a new one within 3-4 days so good service there.

Building sequence is all wrong for me, but that seems to be common with Occre kits.

I ordered new blocks though... And the 2x4mm ramin as the supplied strip was enough for about half of what needed. I also skipped the metal you should use for the bow plating, too hard to handle, difficult to bend etc. I used the strips for the second planking and grain filling filler that gave the plates a distinct difference in texture from the hull.

I payed 99€ from Occre and you get a lot to build for that price.

Personally I have had absolutely no luck getting any type of response from my multiple requests for replacement of missing parts.  Very disappointed with OcCre at this point.

[stuglo]

Just seen this thread and the associated videos on Utube. What a fantastic starting build for newbies or others. For price, interest (see the film series) , and likelihood of completion and satisfaction, to be recommended.

[Lohengrin]

This seems to be an older post but I would still like to say thanks for such a thorough review and break down of the kit!
I cannot wait to get my hands on this 🥺

[James H]

On 6/2/2024 at 10:37 AM, Lohengrin said:

This seems to be an older post but I would still like to say thanks for such a thorough review and break down of the kit!
I cannot wait to get my hands on this 🥺

 

It's never a problem to reply to an older post.

 

I hope you share your build with us  

 

Jim