HMS Beagle by Penfold - OcCre - 1/60

[Penfold]

On 6/19/2022 at 9:56 AM, The Gimps Chimp said:

Hi Penfold,

Looks like you're making good progress.  I found the second planking somewhat easier than the first.  Looks like you're on track to making a very fine model  

Chimp

Thank you Chimp, appreciate the support👍

[allanyed]

Penfold, the second layer is much neater. Congratulations.

 

For the future keep in mind the strakes are tapered and end at the rabbet fore and aft, not on another plank, except for the occasional drop strake or stealer.  If you wish, take the time to study the tutorials for how to put in planking that is realistic.  Is the method you show from the kit instructions?   It is seen on a number of kit builds here at MSW but no ship was ever planked this way.

Allan

[Penfold]

6 hours ago, allanyed said:

Penfold, the second layer is much neater. Congratulations.

 

For the future keep in mind the strakes are tapered and end at the rabbet fore and aft, not on another plank, except for the occasional drop strake or stealer.  If you wish, take the time to study the tutorials for how to put in planking that is realistic.  Is the method you show from the kit instructions?   It is seen on a number of kit builds here at MSW but no ship was ever planked this way.

Allan

Thank you, and yes it is (basically) the method from the instructions.

[Penfold]

12 hours ago, allanyed said:

Penfold, the second layer is much neater. Congratulations.

 

For the future keep in mind the strakes are tapered and end at the rabbet fore and aft, not on another plank, except for the occasional drop strake or stealer.  If you wish, take the time to study the tutorials for how to put in planking that is realistic.  Is the method you show from the kit instructions?   It is seen on a number of kit builds here at MSW but no ship was ever planked this way.

Allan

Thinking about this a bit more… I think I’m still living and learning as I go. 
Following the abominable first planking I now understand the significance of tapering the planks (something which isn’t at all clear from the instructions or the on line videos) and the ramifications of not doing so!

Similarly, I can appreciate that the second planking isn’t ‘realistic’ and that If I want that realism on my next build, then I will need to lay the second planks on differently as well, rather than simply following what the instructions might say.

At this stage in my ‘career’ I’m still very much guided by the instructions. As my confidence grows then, in time, I’m sure I’ll be more willing to go off piste, and use the instructions as a ‘guide’ rather than something which must be followed to the letter.

 

Thank you all for the continued support. It really is appreciated.

[allanyed]

On 6/23/2022 at 8:13 AM, Penfold said:

I think I’m still living and learning as I go. 

We all learn as we go, so no need to fret.   Most of all enjoy the journey.  Know that we all hit bumps in the road no matter how much experience we have accumulated.  For your next build maybe consider changing over to a quality brand like Syren or Vanguard.  The designs, plans and instructions will help rather than hinder, yielding a great looking model.  Some kit makers, seem to rely more on fantasy rather than basing it on any meaningful research.  As you are still somewhat of a beginner, maybe consider the three vessel series from Model Shipways designed by David Anscherl to learn proper techniques and as mentioned earlier, study the tutorials here at MSW in the articles data base and the four part video on You Tube by Chuck Passaro.  

 

Allan

Edited June 26, 2022 by allanyed

[Penfold]

8 hours ago, allanyed said:

We all learn as we go, so no need to fret.   Most of all enjoy the journey.  Know that we all hit bumps in the road no matter how much experience we have accumulated.  For your next build maybe consider changing over to a quality brand like Syren or Vanguard.  The designs, plans and instructions will help rather than hinder, yielding a great looking model.  Some kit makers, seem to rely more on fantasy rather than basing it on any meaningful research.  As you are still somewhat of a beginner, maybe consider the three vessel series from Model Shipways designed by David Anscherl to learn proper techniques and as mentioned earlier, study the tutorials here at MSW in the articles data base and the four part video on You Tube by Chuck Passaro.  

 

Allan

Thank you Allan.

Im now a subscriber to Chucks you tube channel 😉

[Penfold]

Port side done too now…

[Penfold]

15 hours ago, E Z Breeze said:

Very tidy workmanship. The bows are so blunt it's hard to imaging the Beagle making any headway at all.

I know what you mean… not as blunt as that in the pictures of the Endeavour which I’ve seen though.

[Penfold]

Maybe that’s why we have the beagle on the prow… a bit of extra doggy-paddle to help it along 😂

[Penfold]

I see no dog either!

I'm thinking I probably won’t include the little dog on mine either.

 

[allanyed]

13 hours ago, E Z Breeze said:

I won't be having a figurehead on mine. Thompson's book The Beagle, points out that a 10 gun brig wasn't a grand enough vessel to carry a figurehead.

You are quite correct to forgo the figurehead.    Many/most British RN ships stopped having figure heads early in the 19th century to save money.   If there was anything, busts were substituted about that time.   From the 1808 contract for HMS Astrea and Curacoa    (The contract was a printed document and the strike-throughs were on the contemporary document.)

 

TRAILBOARD           To have a Bust double Trail Board and a Lion or Figure, as shall be directed,

Bust    handsomely carved; the Rails and Supporters handsomely wrought with Mouldings ''

 

I did a quick search of contemporary models from about 1815 onwards on the RMG site and could not find one model with a figurehead, but rather, those with any decoration were busts. 

 

Allan

[Penfold]

Pardon ignorance gents, but what’s the difference between a figurehead and a bust?

[Clementine]

59 minutes ago, E Z Breeze said:

 

I've been looking through all of the Beaglebuilds specifically at the bulwark fittings which can be troublesome it seems. This is the neatest so far with minimal pinning and no snapping or cracking. I'm thinking that the use of the plank bender was significant. Is the tool you refer to one of these?

 

 

 

I've been wondering whether to use it or rely on soaking or steaming. If this is the thing that worked for you, I'd be more confident trying it (for the first time apart from some brief experiments on planks)

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Your planked up hull is superb. You have some serious woodworking skills happening there!

 

i used a plank bender basically the same as yours and i had no issues at all. 

[Clementine]

16 minutes ago, E Z Breeze said:

 

Excellent! May I ask if you wetted the plank?

 

yes i had soaked them for about a day just to make sure they could bend properly, had worked perfectly.

[allanyed]

On 7/1/2022 at 2:03 PM, Penfold said:

Pardon ignorance gents, but what’s the difference between a figurehead and a bust?

The bust generally only included the chest and head, no appendages.  The following are all from the RMG Collections site.

The first photo is the bust on a third rate of about 1813

The next is a drawing of a bust of about 1805

The last is a figure head on the model of the Hercules or Thunderer  circa 1860

 Allan

 

 

[RLindsey]

Very nice so far.  Looking forward to the rest of your build.  Dry fitting the deck to keep the bulwarks straight (fair?) was an excellent idea.  I'll have to remember that.

[Penfold]

On 7/8/2022 at 6:46 PM, E Z Breeze said:

 

I've been looking through all of the Beaglebuilds specifically at the bulwark fittings which can be troublesome it seems. This is the neatest so far with minimal pinning and no snapping or cracking. I'm thinking that the use of the plank bender was significant. Is the tool you refer to one of these?

 

 

 

I've been wondering whether to use it or rely on soaking or steaming. If this is the thing that worked for you, I'd be more confident trying it (for the first time apart from some brief experiments on planks)

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Your planked up hull is superb. You have some serious woodworking skills happening there!

 

Sorry EZ 

only just picking this up. Yes that’s exactly the one I have and used, and yes I wet the strips first. I was able get a nice bend to my planks, I just failed to narrow my planks which is why they looked so horrendous.

[Penfold]

On 7/8/2022 at 9:29 PM, RLindsey said:

Very nice so far.  Looking forward to the rest of your build.  Dry fitting the deck to keep the bulwarks straight (fair?) was an excellent idea.  I'll have to remember that.

Thank you kindly

[Penfold]

On 7/8/2022 at 8:14 PM, allanyed said:

The bust generally only included the chest and head, no appendages.  The following are all from the RMG Collections site.

The first photo is the bust on a third rate of about 1813

The next is a drawing of a bust of about 1805

The last is a figure head on the model of the Hercules or Thunderer  circa 1860

 Allan

 

 

Thank you for that. Very informative 

[Penfold]

2 minutes ago, Penfold said:

Sorry EZ 

only just picking this up. Yes that’s exactly the one I have and used, and yes I wet the strips first. I was able get a nice bend to my planks, I just failed to narrow my planks which is why they looked so horrendous.

Must say I didn’t soak them for anything like a whole day!!! Just a couple of hours. Seemed long enough, but try it yourself and see how you go

[Penfold]

On 5/8/2022 at 7:02 PM, Penfold said:

 

Remember this??

[Penfold]

It’s taken some fettling, filling and sanding, but I finally think I’ve got the basic hull ready to move on…

[Penfold]

I did have moment of ‘fun’ when I was checking the shape and size of my gunports… I managed to lose one of the gunport covers inside the port bow of the ship. Probably wouldn’t have been an issue as it’d be quite easy to make a new one, but I was annoyed and I didn’t like it rattling around in the hull. It took about half an hour of jiggling to get the cover to show in the gunport so I could remove it 😂😂

hey-ho!

[allanyed]

5 hours ago, Penfold said:

Thank you for that. Very informative 

RMG  Collections is a wealth of information.

 

Cheers

 

Allan

[Penfold]

Managed a bit more progress over the last couple of weeks…

[Penfold]

Got the strakes in. The lower one struggled to adhere to the line of the bow (probably as a result of me not quite getting the bow curve quite right), and it took a bit of filler to get it to look OK. It’ll all be painted black so doesn’t really matter.

Edited July 28, 2022 by Penfold

[Penfold]

[Penfold]

I soaked the stern transom and pinned it in place to dry. I felt it needed to ge done this way as it isn’t a straight forward curve, being straight at the bottom but curved at the top. Using the four pins enabled it to dry in the right shape.

I’m still not really sure how I go about making it look seamless but I guess that’ll come.

Edited July 28, 2022 by Penfold

[Penfold]

So then I’ve added the chaffing boards and the other little bits from the strakes up to the top rail.

 

Even if I say so myself, it’s starting to look like a boat.

I’ve had a look a dry-fit of the keel, which looks like it’ll be OK.

But the next job is to do the internal decorations, then it’ll soon be time to be getting some varnish and paint on it.

[robert952]

Just now jumping on board this log.  I appreciate the details in this log.  Also, thanks to those contributing their experience and tips.  

 

Nice looking ship.  As you said, interesting history to go along with it.