HMS Beagle by Capt Nemo - Mamoli - 1:64 scale - second try

[Capt Nemo]

I started this build log for one reason, there wasn't much of these being built for such an important ship. I tried my hand at the bluenose 2 as a first build and ended up abandoning her... let's just say one late night there was a shipwreck, might end up being a scratch build in the distant future. For know I'm tackling mamoli's kit. At first I noticed the plans are so much worse then artisana's, thank God for the interwebz as I'm learning how to build from those befor me. The wood as well is in very poor quality, I had a warp in the keel and the balkheads were very badly cut (all pre-cut by hand). The wood planks were all mixed up in one big bag, and some broke just by handling them, in part from the old kit and some just broke (5×5 broke in 1/2 cause if a knot in the middle). As a clear indicator of age on this kit... the little rubber bands that were suppose to hold a plank bundle together was basically brittle plastic that disintergrated on touch and stained the wood. I guess I grabbed a very old kit. I'm missing lots of wood like the blocks on the "nose" of the ship to round the plank into the keel. Had to fab up my own, no big deal but still a bit of a headache as this is my first real go at things. To do it all over again I wouldn't have bought the mamoli as the price of the kit isn't representative of quality in the slightest.

 

Anyways, mamoli bashing aside her we go with a few pics. 

Of my cat... because why not start with that adorable face 🤣

These are the pictures I took upon opening of the kit. Anyone willing to guess at the age?

[Capt Nemo]

Here is a few pics I took after I straightened  out the keel and started balkhead assembly.

At times kids can help in their own way... as in letting daddy raid your legos! 

[Capt Nemo]

I found "wetting" the wood only enough so it doesn't snap and heating it up with my professional bender (wife's pink hairdryer) and forms (soup can) I could get some fairly radical bends in wood withing a couple minutes. I bent all my planks with a side bend using clamps to stop lifting and then a 90 degree bend with can to round the "nose of the ship into the keel.

Looks straight but it has a few inches worth of side bend through the lenght of the plank. I also "split" planks believe its called along the whole length. Midship I'm at 5mm and tappered to 2.5m at the tail and nose of the ship.

[Capt Nemo]

After my 7th plank I notice my math at the nose and tail end aren't adding up so I started to split the planking in sections for easier visualisation of the work. Ended up hacking the "nose" in as best I could, going to need much more hands on for the first keel planks in determining were to end the planks befor the "nose" of the ship. I believe that's where I went wrong because I calculated 18 planks midship and kept that number on bulkheads A thru M (every bulkhead). Don't think keel planks hit all bulkheads going forward of the ship towards the "nose" of the ship. Please bare with me, still learning ship liguistics.

Having the planks sit well with no stress in them is mostly what I'm focused on atm. Never used pins or clamps to hold them, used CA as I went. At the rudder I have some clamps cause I'm using type2 wood glue there.
 

[Nunnehi (Don)]

Capt. Nemo,

 

Will be following along with interest, I too have some Mamoli kits in my stash and a partially finished Bounty. I especially like your creative use of Legos - what a great idea! And your sidekick is cool too!😸

 

Don

[Capt Nemo]

Thanks Don, beggars can't be choosers, hoping to get a keel clamp/slipway for the next one. I very much wanted to do the bounty, such a fascinating story and an even more amazing naval achievement in the getting back home for the crew. 

[S.Coleman]

Nice job planking. Looking great. The mamoli factory burnt down a few years back and these kits are the last from that batch. Dusek has now taken over production of these and the Mini Mamoli range.

So quality will be better with these new series with a couple of tweaks and small changes. Best of luck with your build. 

[Capt Nemo]

Finished up the first planking and about to start the second layer. Got a question here...

Q: What glue should I use for the final planking?

I got the first layer on with CA glue, but wondering what the easiest way forward is when it comes to the second planking. There is nothing to clamp the planks to and nailing/pinning dosen't seem like a sound idea to me at this point. So please, anyone with some guidance for a first timer would be much appreciated.

The planks are 1×4mm walnut for the final layer.

[Capt Nemo]

Colman thanks for the kind words, I have heard that the mamoli factory burnt down and that dusek took over. Never got my hands on a dusek kit, but they do look much better with "updated" parts and wood that the original did not. Very much enjoying the mamoli kit, but I do see some big draw backs that have to be overcome/re-invented... but isn't that expected in most kits? Example

Those blocks had to be hand made because in the old kit (mine) those were missing. Same as the back end and it took me awhile to figure out how to curve the planks. Conclusion for me was to build a block so as to have a nice smooth bend that I figured would be very fustrating/impossible to achieve without it. I hand made the ones in the back as well and it came as a surprise to me when I saw pictures of newer kits with these blocks included.

All that being said, I'm sure dusek is going to do these kits right and I wish all the best to them. I was looking at some of their viking longships and to my unprofessional opinion, they look like some great quality kits that I would very much like to "add" to my burgeoning shipyard. 😁

[Capt Nemo]

Thanks Don, I would very much like to see those 2 ships of yours on here one day. It's a learning process for me sofar.

[Capt Nemo]

Thank you YT, I'm always my worst critic, so your words are encouraging. That majestic creature is 2 years old now... pretty much a furry ball of joy at this point that seeks out sunspots through out the house. 😸

[Old Collingwood]

Hey  thats a really good start for your first planking  - so nice and tidy, it will so help your second planking, welcome to the club  by the way.

 

OC.

[Cathead]

I've never built a double-planked hull, but general guidance suggests that wood glue is far superior to CA for holding wooden pieces. You've done a good job so far, your methods for plank bending are similar to my own. You're right to want to shape the planks first, and only glue them on when they're already formed and have minimal stress.

 

Also, a few years ago I visited a museum in southern Chile which featured a full-scale replica of the Beagle. I took lots of photos, as this is on my model life list as a geologist, so would be happy to share if you'd find them interesting as references or simply inspiration.

 

EDIT: Meant to add, there's a lot of planking tuturiols and other guidance in the dedicated section here on MSW: https://modelshipworld.com/forum/14-building-framing-planking-and-plating-a-ships-hull-and-deck/

[Capt Nemo]

Thanks for droping in Cathead, I was leaning tword wood glue as well so your second opinion on the matter pretty much settles the debate for me. Got some wood bent to shape for the bulwark tonight so i'll try gluing them on and using a bunch of the rubber bands along the hull to hold things in place for drying/curing of the glue. Should do the trick. 

I believe i can't just post you my e-mail on the forums, but i truely would love to get my hands on those photos. I find the beagle to be absolutley facinating... her voyages/passenger changed everything. I read about them building it back in the early 2010s if memory serves me. How close is the replica to an original of when Darwin sailed on her?

[DavidG]

good looking hull so far! use white glue for the second planking. I use small spots of CA after applying the wood glue to hold the plank in place until the glue dries. push pins, rubber bands also can help.

[Cathead]

Nemo,

 

It's the  Nao Victoria museum in Punta Arenas, Patagonia. I was going to link their site but it's down; see Wikipedia instead. See this post and the next few in my Chile thread for a series of photos; I can provide more if you're looking for details of a given area. Here's one photo for inspiration:

 

You're right that it's not a good idea to post emails publically, but you can contact members privately through the site. Click on someone's name and go to their profile page. There's a fairly obvious "Message" button that lets you send private messages (usually called PMs around here) in which it's safe to exchange emails, etc.

 

By the way, as my avatar suggests, I love your helper!

 

EDIT: I'm not expert enough to judge the absolute accuracy. But the ship is littered with plans, and I got the impression they were shooting for a reasonably level of accuracy. Can't promise any detail is right. It's rather a Quixotic endeavor, mostly one guy's dream project.

[Capt Nemo]

Got the bulwark, I believe its called; done and now I'm ready for the final planking. The wood glue with a little CA to hold it worked wonderfully.

Got a little wood filler on there and haven't sanded , but I'm pleased with it sofar. Had to do a few modifications for better measurements and placement of wood and still have lots to go but that was a big step for me, especially bending the larger diameter wood. Now I'm about to start the final planking on the hull.

Q: What is a proper length of plank on the hull.

Scale is 1:64 with an overall length of 645mm. My planks are 4x0.5mm so I was guessing around 150mm long. My knowledge on the subject is very lacking so any advise is welcomed. While I'm asking about the plank length, on the decks I was thinking a little shorter.... say 120mm?

[Cathead]

Sorry for the late reply, I've been away for a few weeks dealing with a major crisis with my in-laws. I'm no expert, but I believe hull planking was commonly ~20-30' long, bourne out by various comments on this thread: https://modelshipworld.com/topic/14226-questions-about-plank-lengths/

 

EDIT: Also found this nice story in American Scientist magazine about the Beagle, might of interest to you.

[Cathead]

Haven't heard from you in a while, are you still working on this? We'd love to hear about your progress.

[Capt Nemo]

Yes sir I am, but i've been busy with life and it's slowing progress down a little. I'll try and get an update up within a couple days as i'm finishing up the decking now. So much work to get everything looking presentable!

 

Edit: Thanks for the link, was a great read.

Edited April 1, 2021 by Capt Nemo