HMS Terror by drumgerry - OcCre - 1:75 Scale - First build

[drumgerry]

So I was a little bit scared to start a build log in the face of all the amazing work on the forum.  But if you don't try, you don't learn.  And after all no-one might read it and it'll just be a personal log for me to document my wins and losses.  

 

So here goes.....

 

HMS Terror.  Pretty early stages at the moment.  I have the bulkhead and deck assembled and the seemingly endless deck planking done.  The transom is attached and I have the bulwarks clamped and bending as we speak.

 

I've given the deck a wash of tobacco brown stain that I have for one of my other activities just to give it a less brand new look.

 

Already worrying about the planking......

[VTHokiEE]

I’m glad you decided to start a log; I’m looking forward to seeing how you make it your own.

 

57 minutes ago, drumgerry said:

Already worrying about the planking......

There are a handful of tutorials and guides to read that can help out a lot. Also read through the other Terror logs to see what issues in planking they ran into. Finally, really pay attention to your fairing; that will pay dividends when you plank.

 

Above all enjoy yourself!

[drumgerry]

Varnished the deck (still wet in the pic) with Epifanes yacht varnish.  It's what I had on hand for my musical instrument building.  It'll look ok though I think

[Louie da fly]

Hi Gerry. Good to see yor build log up and going.

 

For planking I'd recommend you have  agood look at the tutorials at https://modelshipworld.com/forum/98-planking-downloads-and-tutorials-and-videos/

 

And also see Chuck's HMS Winchelsea build. Start out with fairing the frames - so the edges of the frames aren't at right angles, they follow the curve of the hull - you can see that in the photo in his post of March 18, 2009 at 

And for the planking itself, see the sequence starting at August 28, 2019 at 

 

 

Your Occre model has two layers of planking - one to get the shape pretty much right, which can then be tweaked (with wood filler etc) to get all the curves smooth, and a second layer of planking over that to make it all perfect. That makes it a lot easier on the modeller. Small mistakes in the first layer aren't a major disaster, and by the time you get to the second layer you've had a lot of practice and are getting much more accomplished.

 

Anyhow, enough of that. I'm looking forward to seeing how it all goes with your next steps.

[clearway]

welcome to the terror club, dont forget to sand back to bare wood when adding fittings to decks.

 

Keith

[drumgerry]

Thanks for the words of wisdom VTHokiEE, Steven and Keith.  I'm going to need all the help I can get I think.  Need to do some reading before fairing and planking. 

 

Attached one of the bulwarks and working on the other tonight.

 

 

 

 

[Louie da fly]

Nice crisp work, Gerry. This is a good looking build.

[Ryland Craze]

You are off to a good start Gerry.  The Terror looks like it will build into a very nice model.  If you click on the black topic tag "terror" located under the topic heading at the top of this page, it will pull up Terror build logs here on MSW that you can refer to during your build.

[drumgerry]

Thanks guys.  The encouragement really helps!

 

I think I've made my first mistake but it's not my fault yer honour - I think I might be able to blame Occre for this one.

 

The two wee filler pieces at the bow are shown as flush with the false keel on one page of the instructions and on the next page set back from the bottom of the false keel.  Pics to make clearer below.  I'm thinking setting them back a little would have made fairing easier and I'm going to have to remove a lot of material so that there aren't silly bends in the planking there.  Thoughts and comments most welcome!  

 

 

[Keith S]

You are correct. I feel that it's OK to blame Occre for just about anything you like. The most important thing in the framing stage of building is that the planks lie fair across the frames. You must sand and sand away until they do.

[Wahka_est]

Keith is correct. Most important that planks sit correctly. It will save a lot of time if you sand them know.

I k ow the urge to start planking but it will cause ton of extra work if oreparations arent correct-belive me, i know  

[clearway]

can't agree more- a little patience fairing the frames will save pain later- lay a planking strip along a couple of frames and it will give an idea about how much to sand off- it's a case of sand and check- also the amount of bevel will differ along the frame from top to bottom.

 

Keith

[Geowolf]

Hi drumgerry, another Terror joined to our fleet!! And regards to both Keith & whaka!!

 

About first planking i think is important a smooth curves, the laser burn must to be dissapeared with the sandpaper to achieve a smooth transition for the planks. Six planks at the top, six planks at the bottom, and finally fill the hull. Dont forget to use water some hours ago with the planks and if you have It, you can use an electric solder yo fix the curves before glue It, the later sanding Will be more easy

 

best regards,

 

F.

[drumgerry]

It's been a little while since I last posted but made a bit of progress at last.  

 

I'm in the midst of the first layer of planking and it's enjoyable.  I'm using my instrument bending iron and it works very well.  Also using a technique from instrument building to fix the planks - water thin CA glue wicked on to the bulkheads and neighbouring planks as I go along.  Occasional use of CA accelerator to immediately glue any awkward bits.  Messy but effective and I only need my hands as clamps.  One of the tricks is to use a whip tip on the glue bottle which allows quite precise application. 

[Geowolf]

hi drumgerry, remember you can use the spikes to fix the planks, they must to have smooth transition between them otherwise you'll need to fill it later. Use the fingers across the hull in all directions, if you note some "hills" or "valleys" you'll need to repair later; the hills are easy with the sandpaper (be carefull because a high hill can need more sanding and leave your plank too slim). For me it's easy to use the spikes; i fix the plank to the hull at the middle of the plank more or less with a spike, tight to the adjacent plank, and later i fix the both sides left/right with glue and spikes. In each "rib" i fix the plank with a nail, so i'm sure the plank is following the correct curvature, because the plank even will try to follow his own curve and maybe it's not correct. Take a look to my hull, i'm finishing it these days.

 

i've not the tool to fix the spikes, but with a small pliers i can fix it with not much difficult

 

Buff sorry my english is terrible hahahaha 😓

 

well done and have fun!!!!  😄😄😄

 

F.

[drumgerry]

Thanks for that Geowolf. Yep using the pins is a good method for sure.  The good thing about the CA glue is you can hold the plank where you want it and then the glue sets very quickly.  Despite the photos the planks are pretty evenly attached to the Hull.  In any case it should clean up fine when I sand it! 

 

All the best, Gerry

[Wahka_est]

Im little worried about only using CA as it might not last for years. Maybe before you totally close the hull add PVa to inside where planks meet the frame.

I started with CA also but then turned to PVA only. Now i use it only in really difficult situations like glueing 2nd planing stern and bow parts etc.

Otherwise good job!

[Geowolf]

6 hours ago, drumgerry said:

Thanks for that Geowolf. Yep using the pins is a good method for sure.  The good thing about the CA glue is you can hold the plank where you want it and then the glue sets very quickly.  Despite the photos the planks are pretty evenly attached to the Hull.  In any case it should clean up fine when I sand it! 

 

All the best, Gerry

Ok if the final result is smooth it'll be good, be careful with the different high of the planks at the stern... I usually works on the model at the afternoon after muy job, i only need to think in my boss and the pins enters in the wood eaaaasy eaaaasy hahaha

 

Regards and keep pushing!!!

 

F.

 

[drumgerry]

3 hours ago, Wahka_est said:

Im little worried about only using CA as it might not last for years. Maybe before you totally close the hull add PVa to inside where planks meet the frame.

I started with CA also but then turned to PVA only. Now i use it only in really difficult situations like glueing 2nd planing stern and bow parts etc.

Otherwise good job!

Honestly I'd say I don't have any concern over using CA glue.  I've used it for gluing guitar bindings for nearly 20 years with no longevity issues.  It's something you have to be careful of if you're putting colour on top of it and it can stain certain woods but durability isn't a problem.  I think it's what Chuck Passaro uses to attach his planks and Mastini uses it in combination with PVA so if it's good enough for them it's good enough for me!

 

And Geowolf maybe voodoo would be your thing with the pins and your boss etc?!

 

Thanks for the continued words of advice and encouragement guys.  It helps keep me motivated.

[Geowolf]

15 hours ago, drumgerry said:

And Geowolf maybe voodoo would be your thing with the pins and your boss etc?!

it's a joke you know hahaha... in fact i've a good relationship with my manager, and today it's not very easy to say... 🤪

 

about my comments don't worry; speaking about me, i've learned by "test/error" method and when i see something different to the usual way or different to the manual, i enter in panic mode! 😁. For me, the most important is to have an escape valve making the model so (for me) the final result it's not very important. You know, if an expert see my models, he'll find a lot of mistakes; and if a non-expert see it only will say "it's awesome", so then no problem, i'll only show the models to my friends and family hahahaha

 

nice weekend and regards!

 

F.