HMS Terror by Icksa - OcCre - 1:75

[Icksa]

Hello:

 

Just got my Terror kit from Occre today. I am new to this hobby and this will be my second build (I started by building Polaris from Occre). I learned a lot from the first build and am looking forward to learning from that experience. I loved "The Terror" TV show from a few years ago and thought this would be great for my next project. I also had some spare parts left over from Polaris so I thought those might come in handy on this build. This turned out to be wise, since the acrylic case containing all of the tiny parts was shattered in shipping and it took me several hours to find everything! My first lesson: open the box carefully. Luckily, I was able to piece together a complete kit with the spare parts I had.

 

So far, I have labeled and dry fitted the bulkheads to the frame, I am planning to glue a few of them on tonight:

 

 

My first question: I'll be starting the deck planking soon...what kind of finishes do you recommend for someone new to the hobby? On Polaris, I just applied a single coat of satin Polyurethane and it looks reasonable...The instructions say to use "Pore filling varnish", but I don't have any. I was thinking of using Tung Oil on this build to try something different. Any thoughts?

[Icksa]

Got a few bulkheads glued up and am facing my first unexpected challenge, I accidentally cracked the deck dry fitting and it looks like there is a small chunk missing from the bow section of the "false keel" (is that the right term?). I was able to shape a tiny piece of wood to fill the missing chunk...I will attach with CA glue and file into shape. I don't know if I need to do anything (or what I can do) about the split in the deck piece at this point. I'm hoping that once I glue the deck planks on it will prevent the split from spreading.

 

[kramer]

Hi Icksa...I'm new to this too. I'm working on my first, the Albatros by OcCre. I wanted to give you this website I found for OcCre builds if you don't have it. The Terror is on there. Lots of good step-by-step videos. https://www.occremania.com/

[clearway]

Welcome to what keith s describes as the little terror club😁. I always use matt acrylic varnish for wood work , but don't apply it til all fittings are fastened in place. If altering the dimensions of the masts now is a great time to enlarge the holes and slots. I used 6mm for the mizzen, 8mm for the main and 7mm for the fore and bowsprit. Really depends how much you want to alter the kit to make it more realistic.

 

Keith

[Icksa]

I managed to fix the bow today and also started planking the deck

 

 

The instructions suggested using a single long piece for each of the long planks that extend from the bow to the stern. They then suggest marking the individual planks with a pencil. I decided to cut individual 60mm long pieces instead. On my last project, Polaris, I used long planks and found it difficult to get them to fit tightly together. Using the smaller pieces made it much easier to get a tight fit. I could fine tune each piece. Also, I think you can get a more realistic look if you get the pieces from different strips so the grains don't match up. I'm using white wood glue instead of the contact cement the instructions recommend. The white glue is much more forgiving. On polaris, I also used wood glue and tried to clamp each piece in place for a few hours. However, I found that the pieces shifted slightly during the clamping. On Terror, I decided to not clamp the pieces - just place them and hold them for a minute. This seems to be working well and I have almost no gaps between any of the planks.

 

I noticed that on the diagonal planks, I am seeing some cupping of the planks. I am not sure if this is caused by pushing the planks together too tightly or possibly caused by using too much glue...I'll experiment a little tomorrow, but I am sure this can be resolved by sanding then the deck is complete.

 

Thanks for the finishing advice Keith! I'll follow your recommendation and use acrylic varnish after the fittings are in place. I've been following your log and will to emulate you where possible

 

Thanks for the advice Kramer - I'll check out your log. I found the Occre youtube videos for Terror and have also been consulting those. I think these videos are what drew me to Occre as a beginner. On my Polaris model, I followed the videos/instructions very closely. I think on this build I will attempt to deviate in a few places (especially the planking) and try to use some more advanced techniques. That being said, even as a newbie, my Polaris model came out pretty well...you can definitely see the imperfections if you look closely but luckily I have it on a high shelf

Edited July 19, 2021 by Icksa

[Icksa]

I finished planking the deck today. I still have to line the planks with pencil but that shouldn't take too long. Next step is to attach the deck to the false keel/bulkheads...on my last model I struggled a little with this step. I found it difficult to clamp everything together long enough for the glue to dry and ended up with some gaps between the two pieces. The youtube videos from Occre suggest using CA glue to attach the deck: 

 but I've never seen anyone else on this site use that approach. I may try a combination - a few drops of CA to help hold everything together and wood glue for a permanent seal.

 

[Icksa]

I've attached the deck...I'd like to report that the approach of using CA glue to hold the deck on doesn't seem to work very well (at least for me). I attached the deck and held it for a minute and it popped right off...luckily I saw the approach of using masking tape to hold the deck on while it is drying. I used this and things seem to have worked pretty well. Unfortunately, I didn't sufficiently sand the tops of the bulkheads to get everything smooth so I am seeing some small gaps beneath the deck. I think this is a good lesson for the next model.

 

Next up is "fairing" the bulkheads to get a smooth surface to attach the planks to. I struggled a lot with this on my last model and sort of gave up and started attaching the planks so I want to do better this time.

[clearway]

soak the bulwarks in cold water for an hour or so- i found  hot water "melts" the glue holding the ply together.

 

Keith

[Icksa]

I realized this weekend that I forgot to add several of the pieces that are places between the main bulkheads. Luckily I was able to squeeze them in and sand them down. The instructions call for shaping the bulwarks then staining them. The instructions call for using "sepelli stain or dye". I can't find this color near me so I am using "Red Mahogany" stain instead.

 

One question I had on my last build was whether it was worth using pre-stain conditioner. Some employees at a local hardware store told me it was unnecessary. I wanted to know the answer so I took some plywood, sanded it down (220 grit) and applied the conditioner to one part then applied the red mahogany stain to see if there was a difference. I can report that it had a large impact, see below:

 

 

The panel on the left had conditioner applied before staining. I think it looks much better than the middle panel with no conditioner. I only used one coat of conditioner and one coat of stain in both cases. So I will definitely be using the conditioner before staining going forward.

 

[Keith S]

Are you building the model in natural wood colours like Clearway, or painted? 

[Ian_Grant]

Generally conditioners are called for for soft woods like pine, or fir plywood, which otherwise can absorb stain unevenly and give a "blobby" appearance.

[scopatz]

Any updates, @Icksa?

[Icksa]

Hello:

I got mentally blocked when I hit the phase where you sand the bulkheads and have to plank. I don't know why, but I really struggle to get through this phase...I think because sanding the bulkheads is almost more art than science and I am always very afraid of getting the wrong shape. I can't believe it has been 18 months...but I decided to get back into it, and have finally finished the planking. I added wood filler to fill the gaps and sanded for many hours. The end result good and is very smooth. I'm going to start adding the second layer of planks tonight with contact cement...hopefully I won't get stuck again.

[clearway]

welcome back to the lil terror club- it can be scary how fast the months can go by!

 

Keith