HMS Beagle by Procyon74 - Occre - 1:60

[Procyon74]

Hi all.

 

I am a newcomer to the modelling hobby. I am Danish and live in Copenhagen. My English is ok, but I am struggling with all the shipwright terms in English (They are hard enough in Danish!) so please bear with me.

 

After building my first wood ship model (The beginner model Polaris from Occre) I decided to go ahead and move on to HMS Beagle also from Occre. After Polaris was pretty succesful I thought I would just go ahead and try. The videos Occre has published are awesome, and gives a feeling of "How hard can it be".

 

It was a pretty horrible experience in planking my Polaris model the Occre way, but rather satisfactory after sanding it down 🙂 So  I dived into studying heaps of tutorials on how to do the planking a better way. The Occre model has two layers of planks, I thought I could try and learn the most by doing my best with the inner layer - in preparation for a larger model with only single planking. Well, that did not go well! After rereading and rereading, I seem to prove that one learns the best by doing. Reading is not enough. Sanding saved me again. Unfortunately I can't find the photo of that. 

 

I have also started this build log at a little late stage. So my first posts will seem like I am a fast builder. I am not. I just want to show the progress.

 

So I finished the hull. Struggled with the rudder - the small pins were a mess I think. Too small really to insert. I painted it and started on the first few doors. At this stage I was very stringent on following the manual. Here the manual said to paint (the Gunwales?) all black and then white on top. My first thought was "That won't cover and be completely white" but I managed after several coatings, and I learned not to follow instructions too rigid. So far I am pretty satisfied after a very bad beginning with the first layer of planks.

 

I am a bit unhappy, though, with my wood dye. I have only been able to find a dark color, which does NOT look like the Sapelli wood that the model comes with. (In Danish this is mahogni - I think anyways) Thus, it looks awfull when mixing dyed lime wood with sapelli wood. I have to dye the original sapelli as well. But now I am sticking with this darker color compared to the manual and video tutorials from Occre.

 

Regards,

Lars

[clearway]

Looks good so far. I have this model in my stash and it looks a lot better than their attempt with HMS Terror!!! My advice is ditch occre method and go with the planking in a more prototypical manner though it does come down to what you feel confident with. Also there are lots of books on the subject of ship modelling most of which can be purchased second hand for a reasonable price.

 

Keith

[Matt D]

Welcome aboard, Lars.  Your Beagle is looking great!  This is one I'd like to build some time down the road. 

 

I recommend posting an introduction in the New Member forum.  Also, in your profile you can modify your signature to add a link to your build log that will help people find it from anywhere that you post on the site.  Good luck, and I hope you enjoy MSW.

[Ryland Craze]

You are off to a good start on your Beagle.  It is never too late to start a build log.  I see that there are 131 videos on YouTube of building this model.  Here is the link to these videos: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?reload=9&list=PLrPwa5r7zKUzDlhkDF4ztrTc2ag_wVD_a

 

[Procyon74]

Hi. Thanks for all the thumbs ups!

 

After the Hull was finished I could continue on adding the deck elements. I decided the supplied belaying pins looked too plasticky and painted them. They seem terribly small, I hope I will be able to tie the rigging correctly onto them.

 

First photo:

I was looking forward to building the swiwel gun for the front. My first model ship gun! yeah. And a great day when I attached it. Although my son (6 years) was not impressed that it was stuck and couldn't turn.

 

I was quite pleased with the anchor chain and glued it in place. Although carefully checking the plans for placement, I still had to rearrange it afterwards, as the both staircases, the mast-hole and stand for belaying pins became too crowded. I need to learn to check quite far ahead in the build instructions to see if an element will crowd later element. 

 

Second photo:

Here the wheel and aft part of the decks. I must say the staircases where very difficult to glue together, and still keep at close to right angles and straight.

 

Third photo:

All the dead eyes attached along the gunwale. This went far more easy than I thought it would. You know dead eyes are called "jomfruer" in Danish which directly translates to "virgins".  And I struggled a bit with the casting of the windows. They needed to be fitted to the hull, which I should have paid more attention to even before starting to plank. I should have paid attention when sanding/fairing to not take too much wood away, and then when planking not turn the planks inwards too early. Although it looks ok, but very educational.

 

Fourth photo:

Finally adding some more guns. I painted them black and dry brushed with gunmetal and a touch of brass color. Again my son complained the guns where not sticking out of the gun ports ready for action. Well he has a point I guess.

 

Regards

Lars

 

BTW can I insert pictures inline the text here. I only seem to add my photos at the very end of my posts?

[Procyon74]

So I guess the order of photos also changed. Now I learned to also preview my posts 🙂

 

[Procyon74]

Hi

 

Now I got all the cannons installed as well as the hatches. The big one in the middle caused me a lot of problems. Each sqaure is cut out from plywood, then applied the fine wood on top. Then they were to be glued together. No chance! The cutouts did not match at all. The four squares next to each other was much longer than the two pieces opposite. So the big hatch I had to scratch build completely.

 

 

Here is a closer look where the pumps also have been attached.

 

 

What also can be seen are the small deck houses. Here I happened to attach the wood sapelli first and the realised that the side boards would then be visible from the top when the roof side beams are attached. So note to do the walls first and the do the roof. That is much easier

 

 

Finally I have the figurehead. This of course is a beagle dog. The instructions said to paint this black. No way. I fantasize that the sailors were proud of the ship and the figurehead if not even a little superstitions. Of course this has to painted like the real thing. Constantly touched up by sailors for good luck!

 

 

Kind regards

Lars

[Procyon74]

Moving on to the longboats. The Beagle has four longboats attached. One white in the middle and three brown hanging.

So now I had to do planking again, but now only only one layer, so I had better get it right. So starting with the white launch to be attached midships. A very hard planking job and it took me ages. I was completely covered in CA afterwards. Not the cleanliest affair. And with CA glue on the fingers I keep happening to smear large fingerprints on the planks. 

Somehow the planking succeeded, and I got so happy that I continued too fast with attaching the small boats gunwale befor adding benches inside. Had to force disassemble there. Not good. Here with the final painted boat attached midship.

 

 

Even though I measured a lot, I am still a little worried that the bow will crowd the fore mast. I have tested it, but I know the mast is not just only the mast - it has fittings that I can't determine if they will be messed with by the boat.

 

The other three launches went more smoothly - but know the kit's supplied wood is running out. This is annoying. It is a matter of maybe five sheets of thin timber I am short. Now I have to cut other wood into thinner planks and attach.  

 

 

The stern boat could now be attached. The other two boats will have to wait till after the rigging is completed. Otherwise there will be no room for tying the rigging to the deadeyes for the mizze mast.

 

 

Regards

Lars

[usedtosail]

Lars,

Nice work for only your second model. I built the Mamoli Beagle many years ago and I remember how much fun it was but it was also very challenging. 

[Procyon74]

Thanks for the likes and comments. Yes it is a lot of fun. And as you all know time flies while building so don't do as much other stuff as I use to. Because of the corona situation I am forced to work from home, and my desk is also my work area for Beagle. So I have to admit I do a little building while attending teleconferences. It's amazing what you can do while listening to neverending meetings.

 

I have attached the bowsprit with the many attached blocks. I am a little bit anxious if I have them all correct when time for rigging approaches.

 

 

Next up is the fore mast. The masts takes surprising long time to assemble. Lots of small pieces to set together. In addition, following the guide I stain the wood, but this adds quite a few steps in preparation before assembling can be done. Especially since any glue will reject the stain and sanding afterwards has to be very light.

 

 

But the yards need an extra fitting of light wood on top. That has to be attached and sanded down after the yard itself has been stained, otherwise the light wood sucks in color. I truly find this a mess. Wonder if there is a better way to do this.

 

 

Well, beginning to attach the yard to the fore mast

 

 

Regards

Lars

[Cathead]

Lars,

 

Your model looks wonderful so far, especially for a second build. I'm sad that I just now discovered your thread. 

 

If it's of interest, a few years ago (seems like a lifetime) I was fortunate to visit a full-scale Beagle replica being built in southern Chile. I posted a number of photos here, which you're welcome to peruse if they'd be of interest or use as a reference or inspiration.

[Bill Morrison]

Finally!!! An accurate model of HMS Beagle!  The Mamoli kit is simply a carbon copy of the old Revell plastic model, which is a modified HMS Bounty.  Occre did a great job in designing this kit.  That said . . .

 

You are doing a commendable job on your second ship, but it will need some touching up of the paint on your quarter galleries. I am very impressed with your hull and deck planking!

 

Bill

[Procyon74]

Hi again. Thanks Cathead and Bill for the nice comments and feedback. And thanks for all the thumbs ups from everyone.

 

Cathead: What awesome photos. I saw elsewhere some photos from the museum in Chile that you have visited. But your photos are perfect! Especially on board the ship, the entrance canopy really made my day. I could wrap my head around the smallness of it on the model, and of course your photo just clears everything up. It is a rather small ship to circumnavigate the globe with I'm thinking. What brave souls they were.

 

Thanks Bill. Indeed I have touched up the galleries as you mentioned. At the time of the photo I was still a bit annoyed that I hadn't realized that the attached white planks should have been set to be more aligned with the galleries. (As Cathead's photos clearly show!). I am very glad that you find the hull and deck good. I completely messed up the first layer of the hull planking, but luckily the second layer covers that 🙂 

 

So I have started on the rigging. I've never done anything like this before. My first ship was the Polaris from OcCre, and that only has a few stays(?) to hold the mast. Nothing like the proper rigging on two full rigged masts. So starting with the shrouds I seem to find a good way around this. Both the tutorials on this forum, many posts around and the good book by Mastini (Ship Modelling Simplified) have been awesome sources for info. 

 

So here is a closeup of attaching the shrouds with the deadeyes. 

When I saw this photo I decided there and then, that my next ship, whatever that will be, I will absolutely have to replace the kit plastic items with wood items. I hadn't really noticed before, but the zoom on my phone just reveals the plasticness!

 

Well, when I tied the line I also decided on wrapping the lighter thread (seizing?) which I found more pleasing than just cutting it off per the instructions. Later I have noticed that some people emphasize three separate seizings up the shroud.

 

Well on to the ratlines. I tried first on the starboard shrouds. Tied the same as the video instructions from OcCre where they used a normal overhand (is this the right term?) knot.  I really struggled with this. I came out pretty bad I think. I could simply not tighten the ratlines properly so they are all hanging too much. Then I tried with a clove hitch - and that I should have done from the start. Here are the two side by side. 

 

 

Now I am debating whether to redo the starboards side again or leave it as a reminder for my learning!

 

Then again! I completed the shrouds and ratlines on the foremast and have started to attach the front stays on the mast. I must say it is quite rewarding to see the ship come alive like this. 

 

 

 

 

 

Kind regards

Lars

[Cathead]

Lars, how are you coming along? The model looks great so far.

[Pete D]

Hi , Lars . I am in the process of doing the same build . You have done very well . I am following your effort and words of advice  .

Thanks

Pete

[Max Johnson]

Great build Lars! I'm really enjoying your progress.  I'm still on my first build, like you, Polaris, and taking inspiration from this. 👍

 

Max.

Edited May 28, 2021 by Max Johnson
To add my signature.