Santisima Trinidad by CaptnBirdseye - OcCre - 1:90 - parts work

[CaptnBirdseye]

I thought i would share with you my journey to build this leviathan of it's day. I had tried twice to build it with DeAgostini, but theirs has some differences to this one. One thing they both share though is the fact that you can buy them in installments. Well sort of, in the case of OcCre, as it comes in 7 packs instead of 33 with DeAgostini. I wasn't even aware that Occre did this, but in my case it makes sense, as i can buy the packs when i need them and not having to store packs unnecessarily.

 

Anyway, i started this back in February last year, but i hope it will be of interest to some of you, so i would like to share my build with this forum. Any hints, tips and general advice welcome as always. I will try to bring this diary up-to-date as soon as I can. In the meantime……enjoy!

[CaptnBirdseye]

Pack 1 - The Skeleton.

 

As mentioned, i am buying this in Stages (never knew you could do that with these kits). This will help with storage, but does cost a little more than the full kit though.

First impressions? The initial box is huge, and well packaged. Pack 1 comprises of 2 false keel sections, Keel brace parts, the bulkheads, 4 rib strengtheners (not in the MS version), pre-cut gun-ports, lower and middle decks, 2 types of wooden planks and a bag of pins. The instructions come in two parts: one full colour and the other numbered instructions.

So Far, so good 

[CaptnBirdseye]

First job, remove all the bulkheads (hull formers) and false keel, clean up the edges and number the parts. I also drew vertical lines on the keel to aid alignment of the bulkheads. The false keel is in two sections, so using a flat work surface, these are glued together and braced over the join on both sides.
 

Edited February 3, 2022 by RockinBudgie

[CaptnBirdseye]

Next task is setting up my Hobbyzone jig, making sure everything is square. The hull formers are then sanded for ease of fitment, and glued in place.

Two things noticed here: no warpage on the keel, and the formers nearly all sat square without having to clamp to a set square! (oddly enough only the first and last former need squaring).

It is important that the hull formers sit suare to the keel, and seated fully into the keel slots, otherwise problems could occur later when fitting the decks.

Once the formers are dry, the mast and deck support braces are fitted. That finishes this first update.

[CaptnBirdseye]

Another small update. The first photo shows all the formers installed, and looking mightily straight .

Next came the task of fitting the 'bracing beams' for want of a better word. Inverting the skeleton of the hull, the four beams are prepared to slide through the square holes in the hull formers.

It makes the job easier to give each beam a light sanding, and also to chamfer one end so it slides through easier.

I superglued the ends of the two beams to hold in place, and then added glue where the beam and formers touched. This was repeated for the opposite side.

The beam in situ looked too long to me, so , fearing it would interfere with the hull planking, i removed about 2cm from the stern end.

Edited February 3, 2022 by RockinBudgie

[CaptnBirdseye]

Next, i built up what will become the stern gallery. Straight forward enough, just adding the supports and the end panel.
The instructions then ask that you add supports for the lower deck. These seemed a bit flimsy to me, so i used a few of the offcuts from where the hull formers came out of the ply sheet. These, i judged to be the right thickness - thick enough to offer better support to the deck, but not so thick that they interfere with the mast when installed (hopefully!). It is essential that these supports are at a right angle to the false keel, otherwise there are going to be problems when installing the deck itself. I used a set square for the first support, then a straight edge for the second. Seemed to work out ok 

Another deviation was to install the lower deck before planking. No other reason than for personal preference. My thinking being this way you can ensure better fit of the deck.

Started laying the first planks. Decided to use some Tanganyka that i had laying around. The pins are there just to help butt them up against each other until the glue dries. I then gave the planks a coupleof coats of Danish oil.

 

 

 

 

Edited February 3, 2022 by RockinBudgie

[Allanon]

Looking very good. I am also building this also , just up to fixing the first bulwarks. I will watch your build with great interest.

[CaptnBirdseye]

Time for another update. Once lower deck was complete, upper deck fitted and planked, again with left-over Tanganyka. Used 4 plank shift, simulated the trenails and then a few coats of Danish Oil

 

 

[CaptnBirdseye]

The Bulwarks are fitted next, but strangely to my eyes, you actually start from the top, working downwards 

This presents its own problems, like how do you get the upper bulwark to fit along the edge of the top deck? In the end i glued some temporary tabs underneath the top deck, which alowed the bulwarks to sit at the right height (tip i found on Youtube - thank you John Aliprantis). Once one side was glued in place, it was repeated for the other. However, i think if i was to ever build this again i would start from the bottom, ala the De Agostini version

Each side has three rows of bulkarks, which terminate at the notch on each bulkhead. As each row is fitted, 15mm squares are cut and glued in place behind each gunport. Some of these can be a bit of a pain to get in place. Also because of the bulkheads, some of these will need to butt up against them. The bow end on the second row has to be shaped to fit. On the last row the bulwalk didn't avtually meet the notch in the bulkhead. After a little ponder, i decided i would leave it like that and rectify later.

 

Edited February 9, 2022 by RockinBudgie

[CaptnBirdseye]

Once all of the bulwarks are in place, it is time to sand everything down, ready for planking 

I needed something that would alow me to turn the skeleton upside down without damaging the top bulwark. As luck would have it, i had just recently replaced our home printer and the polystyrene that came with it was just the right size for the hull to sit in  Result!

I also added balsa to the bow and stern to help with the lay of the planking.

[CaptnBirdseye]

This update involves planking the counter.
Due to the curve below the transom, i had to temporarily use pins to hold the planks on the lower counter in place while the glue dries. When cured, i will sand to shape.

While waiting for that, i thought i would skip forward a bit in the instructions. I had read that once the upper planking was in place, the false gunports need painting black. As many have said, this has disaster written all over it, as the posibility of getting paint on the resulting planks is waaaayyyyy to easy!
So i used some Tamiya X1 Black acrylic to 'black out' the ports before fitting the planks.

I've found a noticeable drawback with the Amati Keel Clamp, shown in the last picture below. When trying to clamp it to my worktable, the front end has a habit of 'lifting'. So much so that i couldn't use it easily on my workbench so had to adapt my computer table 

 

This bring us up-to-date.