HMS Beagle by Michiel and Raphael - OcCre - 1:60

[Michiel]

parallel to the scratch build of the prins willem we have started to build a beagle. My wife is a university professor in biology / bioengineering. So I guess most of you will get it that she very much needs a Beagle to adorn her office. I've been playing with the thought of building one from scratch but with the prins willem also still in process this will take too long. So here we go the Beagle from ocre, with the necessary bits of kitbashing obviously.

 

 

[Michiel]

and with we I really mean we ...

[Michiel]

The build manual suggest to first fully plan the deck, 'more or less randomly' simulate the individual plank with a pencil. Not really convinced by this we'll first place the hatches etc. Draw the locations of the actual beams, from the anatomy book, and try to put a bit more realistic planking. We'll also add the structure of chine's and binding strakes in place. I feel the planking provided is too wide but I'll leave is at that.

 

Edited December 26, 2021 by Michiel

[Cathead]

I love that you're working together on this. My wife and I both trained as geologists and are serious naturalists, so a Beagle is high on my project list. I'm learning a lot from the various builds that are improving on the kit, and looking forward to seeing what you do. 

[Dave_E]

Very Nice!

 

Please let us know what you think of the Ocre kit quality and instructions/drawings as you go along.

[Michiel]

thanks guys,

 

I was a bit amazed how hard my son went in. Pretty much his first modeling but he is doing a great job, these were completely by his hand:

 

Concerning the kit.

First impressions:

The lasering is very precise, it al fits well, tiny connection points, easy to take the parts out.

The manual is full of detailed pictures. The build of which the pictures are taken is a bit sloppy though.

The only read minus right now is the amount of plywood, all plate materials is plywood, I would have liked at least the keel, and other visible parts to be solid wood. I will probably replace these. This must be a cost consession I fear.

As I mentioned above I also think the deck planking is too wide. 5mm on 1:60 = 30 cm, that is expensive wood. The anatomy of the ship book on the beagle also draws it thinner, 3mm strips may have been more realistic maybe with a few 5mm for the chine's and binding strakes.

[Michiel]

Small update one the progress with the deck.

 

 

Edited January 2, 2022 by Michiel

[Michiel]

This is what the staircase box finally became. For the top hinges I glued two tiny bits of brass on instead of putting a full bar from left to right over the two. The hinges on the door are pained on.

 

 

 

Edited January 2, 2022 by Michiel

[Cathead]

Nice work so far! If I may make a respectful suggestion, perhaps you'd consider editing the title of your build log to spell the ship's name correctly (Beagle rather than Beagel) as well as that of the manufacturer (OcCre rather than ocre)? Normally I wouldn't worry about misspellings, but in this case getting them right would help more people find your build if they're searching for such terms.

[Michiel]

Thanks for the likes.

 

Here's another update. The main deck is now finished and put in place and the wall of the forecastle is planked.

 

Edited January 15, 2022 by Michiel

[Michiel]

I did not really like the brass etch doors. So I replaced them, they may be not that visible at the end but, you know, I know and you can enjoy them here in close up.

 

 

 

 

Edited January 21, 2022 by Michiel

[Michiel]

This is what they look like installed:

 

[Michiel]

Starting the inside planking. I guess the picture explains the idea.

[Michiel]

progress on two fronts. with all the boots and guns to build we can easily work together on the project without getting in each others way. Raphael build the cutter all by himself, his first shipmodel.

 

Edited February 2, 2022 by Michiel

[Michiel]

And just for fun

[Michiel]

Ready for the second layer.

[Michiel]

And a bit of painting

[Michiel]

[Michiel]

11 strips of second layer planking left...

 

Edited February 13, 2022 by Michiel

[Michiel]

 That was fun. Not the most difficult hull i ever did but also not the worst. I still do not know if I like or dislike the fist layer plankings. They are rather thick maybe too.           

Edited February 21, 2022 by Michiel

[Michiel]

[Michiel]

[Whitebeard]

Nice work. I've been making my own Beagle from the same set, and great to see that someone has paid attention to the planks on the decks and not followed the kit instructions. Are you using the Anatomy of Ship series book? Good job with the doors and frames - I was too ignorant to do that - shame on me.

[Michiel]

tx.

Yes indeed the book is next to the build.

[Michiel]

Here is another update, putting together the smaller deck details and putting them in place. All ports are also closed again.

 

The pins for the rigging seem way too big to me...

should have looked for a replacement but i need to continue with this build. 

same goes for the brass eye bolds.

 

[The Gimps Chimp]

Hi Michiel,

Looks like you're making good progress with your build and all is looking nice.

I too have found the scale of many of the items haven't been quite right, some like the pins to be well over sized.  Having said that I've pushed on through with a view to completing the build.  For me, I'm using my build as a learning experience and have many mental notes for my next build.  I have found the kit supplied rope to be next to useless as it's very hairy.  I've tried to improve it with rubbing on wax and even burning off the fuzz but now I make my own (which has been a pleasurable experience).  I would suggest you consider your options here too.

Chimp

[Michiel]

Hey Chimp,

 

I agree, but then again what you get here for the price is actually quite a lot. 

 

I think the rope is not too bad. For my other build I also make my own, mainly to have it all to scale, and to have a orientation correct. In the other build I use pure cotton and a homemade device to turn the thread. There are pictures in the prins willem log if you like. I do agree it is quite fun. Here's a picture of the rope from my kit.

so here I hooked up the digital microscope. the rope to the left is from the kit, the middle one from the picture above. The one to the right is my own. You can see the twist is wrong in the one from the kit. Indeed the one made from cotton is much cleaner than the kit one

 

 

the sails are a bigger problem than the rope. I may replace those by something with a finer weave, like silk.

 

my biggest complaint about the kit would be that many visible parts are made of plywood, which then needs to be painted. This I don't like at all. If I would suggest something to the supplier is to replace those two boards by solid wood. 

Edited August 4, 2022 by Michiel

[allanyed]

18 hours ago, Michiel said:

You can see the twist is wrong in the one from the kit.

Why do you say this?   The rope on on the left looks like cable laid rope which was commonly used on stays, preventer stays et al.    The quality looks typical of many kit manufacturers, that is, it's horrible, but the twist does seem to be OK depending on where it is to be used. 

Thanks

Allan

Edited August 5, 2022 by allanyed

[Michiel]

very right, but this thread is for the thinnest rigging rope not for cable.

 

[Michiel]

On my phone I have difficulties with adding text. Somehow this always adds lots of empty lines. So I now just dump pictures and skip the text. May add some later on a laptop. Anyhow, here's a few shots on the progress. assembled the main mast and a lot of small things on the deck. Also added some figures to make it more lively. That are Darwin and Fitzroy discussing the progress on the second picture... 😉

Edited September 26, 2022 by Michiel