HMS Beagle by Krupi - OcCre - 1:60

[Krupi]

Hi Chaps, 

 

I was debating about making a log of my build considering the abundance of Beagles, appears like it is well liked by beginners of which I am most definitely one, clearly I have decided to log my experience... Perhaps it will be a success but more likely it will be a nightmare and a warning to others!

 

So far I have already made two unfortunate mistakes both could have been avoided in hindsight with more research/common sense and the other rushing ahead without the guide close by for reference. 

 

The false keel out of the box had a slight warp after delving into the rich resources the internet offers I soaked the keel and scrounged around for anything flat and heavy and left it overnight... No luck still warped... On to the next solution, namely a wet towel and an iron. I really wish I had done my research/had more common sense as after a bit of steaming I peeled back the warm towel to behold a horrifying sight of delamination... In my impatience I had steamed away the glue bonding the three parts together and now they were mockingly peeling apart right in front of my eyes. As I was waiting for glue to be delivered I promptly stuffed it back under the heavy flat object more out of shame than clarity. 

 

After an eternity or twenty four hours I decided to face the music and retrieved the offending object, swollen, snapped in places and slightly less warped than originally found I went work gluing back and trimming the curled timber. 

 

Unfortunately/fortunately for my ego as I didn't plan to make a log I have no pictures of the calamity. 

 

I went to work on the ribs and proceeded from there, a lesson learnt. 

 

 

[ccoyle]

It looks like you made a good recovery!

[Krupi]

On to the next step.... After some digging around I stumbled upon a enlighten topic regarding the "The sequence and pattern of decking"

From this I opted for the three butt and individually planked method opposed to Occre's drawing of the butt's method, inspired I set to work... 

 

Unfortunately after hours of cutting out and scoring trunnels and nursing a sleep deprived brain I made my second mistake, I cutout all the profiles from the decking base plate not just the ones depicted.

 

Crestfallen at such a foolish error I made the decision to pry the affected decking off and replace them. Once done I sanded back and applied Tung Oil. 

 

In the pictures you can see my attempts to repair some of the decking rather than peel it off the base. 

 

P. S. 

During the shading of the panel edges for definition I slipped and my brown pencil left a mark on the top surface attempts to wipe it off gave a nice effect that I then mimiced intentionally on the other pieces. I also decided to add a bit more detail with the three trunnels on the planking. Unfortunately my placement of these in retrospects wasn't as accurate as it first looked, I should have done these after the panels were glued to give a nice straight line. 

 

Edited February 23, 2021 by Krupi

[Krupi]

13 minutes ago, ccoyle said:

It looks like you made a good recovery!

Thank you, I am already dreading the planking. I will definitely do more research here before I start on that thankless task. 

[Pete D]

14 hours ago, Krupi said:

On to the next step.... After some digging around I stumbled upon a enlighten topic regarding the "The sequence and pattern of decking"

From this I opted for the three butt and individually planked method opposed to Occre's drawing of the butt's method, inspired I set to work... 

 

Unfortunately after hours of cutting out and scoring trunnels and nursing a sleep deprived brain I made my second mistake, I cutout all the profiles from the decking base plate not just the ones depicted.

 

Crestfallen at such a foolish error I made the decision to pry the affected decking off and replace them. Once done I sanded back and applied Tung Oil. 

 

In the pictures you can see my attempts to repair some of the decking rather than peel it off the base. 

 

P. S. 

During the shading of the panel edges for definition I slipped and my brown pencil left a mark on the top surface attempts to wipe it off gave a nice effect that I then mimiced intentionally on the other pieces. I also decided to add a bit more detail with the three trunnels on the planking. Unfortunately my placement of these in retrospects wasn't as accurate as it first looked, I should have done these after the panels were glued to give a nice straight line. 

 

Looking good

[Krupi]

Have made some progress on the hull. 

 

After reading up on decking colour I decided to give mine a bit of a greyish tint, the comparison picture unfortunately don't do it justice. 

 

After this I started on the gunwale, unfortunately I was a bit heavy handed with the starboard one and managed to snap it during adjustment. Fortunately the portside went on without a hitch. 

 

Edited February 27, 2021 by Krupi

[Krupi]

I have now started on the internal planking of the gunwales however I don't much like Occre's method of lining them without split at 5mm widths. 

 

I am going to split the 5mm in half and I am looking for a reference for the lengths of planks used here, I assume a similar pattern was used here to avoid a weak point. 

 

If I can't find anything definitive I might opt for 60mm lengths as per the decking, any advice would be much appreciated. 

Edited February 27, 2021 by Krupi

[Cathead]

The deck has a nice complex weathered texture. You're doing a great job overcoming challenges so far!

[Krupi]

Thank you, trying to slow down and be a bit more patient. 

[The Gimps Chimp]

Hi Krupi,

 

Looks like you're making good progress.  I'm glad you decided to make a build log.  It gives others some insight into your experiences with the kit and might give them different ideas on how to do things.  I'm also currently making the same kit so I'll follow your progress with interest.  Keep up the good work  

 

Chimp

[Krupi]

Hi Chimp,

 

I have been following your build log as well, looking great 

[Pete D]

10 hours ago, Krupi said:

Have made some progress on the hull. 

 

After reading up on decking colour I decided to give mine a bit of a greyish tint, the comparison picture unfortunately don't do it justice. 

 

After this I started on the gunwale, unfortunately I was a bit heavy handed with the starboard one and managed to snap it during adjustment. Fortunately the portside went on without a hitch. 

 

Nice work repairing , only you will know its there when you're done

[Krupi]

I have a quick question, is there a recommended brand of Sand and Sealer. 

 

I have Tung Oil, but it looks like this would not be advisable to use prior to painting. 

 

So I plan on using a Sanding Sealer on the hull,  painting and finally a finishing coat of Tung Oil. 

 

I plan on using the Tung Oil on the dyed pieces as well. 

 

Please let me know if this could cause me problems. 

Edited March 3, 2021 by Krupi

[Krupi]

Making a bit of progress on the planking, the steps are a bit bigger than I had hoped, but it I am pleased with the progress so far. 

 

 

[The Gimps Chimp]

17 hours ago, Krupi said:

Making a bit of progress on the planking, the steps are a bit bigger than I had hoped, but it I am pleased with the progress so far. 

 

 

 

Hi Krupi,

 

The planks are 2mm thick so you will be able to give it plenty of sanding without it getting too thin.  It's looking smoother than mine did and I managed to get that smooth with a combination of wood filler and sanding.  I'm sure you've got nothing to worry about.  I guess you plan to remove the pins holding the planks in place.  I never used the pins in the kit but used a combination of notice board push pins and foldback paper clips.

 

Chimp

[Krupi]

Thank you Chimp

 

There are a one or two areas that are on the limit of even for 2mm. 

 

I will just have to layer up these areas with more strips. 

 

Unfortunately I am going to have to sand down the nails first, I am not bothered about this though. 

 

 

 

[Techtonic]

1 hour ago, Krupi said:

Thank you Chimp

 

There are a one or two areas that are on the limit of even for 2mm. 

 

I will just have to layer up these areas with more strips. 

 

Unfortunately I am going to have to sand down the nails first, I am not bothered about this though. 

 

 

 

I just started building the Beagle a few days ago so I'm following the builds here with great interest.

 

One idea I had regarding the pins is to make a bunch of 5mm x 5mm wooden square washers by cutting up some spare deck planking  strips. Then I can put each pin through a washer then into the hull. I can later grab the washer with needle nose pliers and pull the pin out. I suspect most of the washers will split and break off rather than pull the pin out - but then the pin head should be exposed enough to get under it with some shear cutters and pull the pin out that way.

 

Well that's the plan anyway... We'll see how it goes!

[Pete D]

2 hours ago, Techtonic said:

I just started building the Beagle a few days ago so I'm following the builds here with great interest.

 

One idea I had regarding the pins is to make a bunch of 5mm x 5mm wooden square washers by cutting up some spare deck planking  strips. Then I can put each pin through a washer then into the hull. I can later grab the washer with needle nose pliers and pull the pin out. I suspect most of the washers will split and break off rather than pull the pin out - but then the pin head should be exposed enough to get under it with some shear cutters and pull the pin out that way.

 

Well that's the plan anyway... We'll see how it goes!

One of the methods that I have used , is not to depress the whole pin into the wood . Leave it out about 2 mm . This means you can pull it out once the glue is set. Works with both glue sets

[Pete D]

4 minutes ago, Pete D said:

One of the methods that I have used , is not to depress the whole pin into the wood . Leave it out about 2 mm . This means you can pull it out once the glue is set. Works with both glue sets . In this image you can see where I have removed the pins

[Krupi]

I had a similar idea however I like the additional strength that the pins provide. 

[Krupi]

7 hours ago, Techtonic said:

I just started building the Beagle a few days ago so I'm following the builds here with great interest.

 

One idea I had regarding the pins is to make a bunch of 5mm x 5mm wooden square washers by cutting up some spare deck planking  strips. Then I can put each pin through a washer then into the hull. I can later grab the washer with needle nose pliers and pull the pin out. I suspect most of the washers will split and break off rather than pull the pin out - but then the pin head should be exposed enough to get under it with some shear cutters and pull the pin out that way.

 

Well that's the plan anyway... We'll see how it goes!

I would avoid using the deck planks for this they will be too thin for the task, the 2mm planking would be best. 

[DonSangria]

I used the same method as Pete, worked fine for me 😃

I was afraid, that when i sand the nails, the surounding wood would be sanded away since it is much softer than the metal. But I don't know if this is true...

 

BTW: Your planking looks good! Keep going! 😃

[Techtonic]

5 hours ago, Pete D said:

One of the methods that I have used , is not to depress the whole pin into the wood . Leave it out about 2 mm . This means you can pull it out once the glue is set. Works with both glue sets

Yeah that's what I'm trying to achieve, but I'm using a pin pusher so you can't see how far in the pin has gone. 

I just experimented with using the deck plank as washers but unfortunately they split when driving the pin through them.

I still like the idea, I just need to find some thin material that the pin head can't go through. I'm thinking of maybe cutting little squares out of something like a plastic milk container.

Or I guess I can just push the pin in a small way with the pin pusher to get it started and then tap it in with a small hammer until the head is the right height.

[The Gimps Chimp]

12 hours ago, Krupi said:

Thank you Chimp

 

There are a one or two areas that are on the limit of even for 2mm. 

 

I will just have to layer up these areas with more strips. 

 

Unfortunately I am going to have to sand down the nails first, I am not bothered about this though. 

 

 

 

 

Remember the first planking only needs to be smooth and is a base for the second planking.  Adding wood filler will increase the height of the low plank edges.  The high edges can then be sanded down.  This should leave plenty of material for the second planking.

 

Here are a couple of photos of mine which look bad to start with but turned out okay after filling and sanding.

 

Chimp

 

 

[Blackreed]

Your planking looks great.

[Krupi]

Thanks for the advice chaps, almost done. 

[Techtonic]

On 3/5/2021 at 1:06 AM, Techtonic said:

Yeah that's what I'm trying to achieve, but I'm using a pin pusher so you can't see how far in the pin has gone. 

I just experimented with using the deck plank as washers but unfortunately they split when driving the pin through them.

I still like the idea, I just need to find some thin material that the pin head can't go through. I'm thinking of maybe cutting little squares out of something like a plastic milk container.

Or I guess I can just push the pin in a small way with the pin pusher to get it started and then tap it in with a small hammer until the head is the right height.

I started attaching the first gunwale with leaving the pins proud by 2mm, but the wood would ride up and separate from the join through the slack.

 

So I decided to try the washer idea again. After some more experimentation I've found that cereal box cardboard works really well. It's dead easy and quick to cut into small ~ 3mm x 5mm rectangles and is perfect for the job. I found using the washers with the unfinished side of the cardboard down works better as it helps stop the cardboard sliding around as I'm applying pressure with the pin pusher.

 

With the washers it allows the pin heads to actually clamp down and hold the joint correctly. Then the pins are also really easy to remove by inserting flush cutters under the cardboard and leveraging upwards.

Edited March 6, 2021 by Techtonic

[Krupi]

Started sanding, really happy with the results so far.

 

Tested the forepeak and it was a nice snug fit ☺️

 

 

Need to sand the second half down then on to the vaneer. 

 

I am wondering how to glue it, some seem to prefer Superglue others PVA. 

Edited March 6, 2021 by Krupi

[Gus M]

I already follow another Beagle construction thread, but I will do the same here, your work looks great.

This is one of those historic ships that many of us would like to do. I will follow it with attention.

 

Thanks for sharing the progress

[Cathead]

Wood glue generally seems preferable for wood-wood contact. Some planking methods use that for long-term strength, but include a few drops of CA here and there to achieve the rapid bonding that is desirable to many modelers.