HMS Terror by richardhd - OcCre

[richardhd]

Hi all! I’m starting a build log here of the Occre HMS Terror kit after spending many weeks greatly enjoying the other Terror builders’ logs, the incredible amount of research that went into making each of your models more accurate than the base kit, and the general supportive and collaborative spirit I’ve seen here on the forum. 
 

So far I’ve built up the keel and bulkheads and finished the deck with the Preston Patent Illuminators, now moving into fairing the bulkheads and hoping to begin the first layer of planking this week. Looking forward there are certainly a lot of enhancements many of the other builders have added to their Terrors that I intend on including in my build, but for now here are some pictures of the build to date.

[clearway]

welcome to the terror club- if modifying the diameter of the masts now is a good time to enlarge/ alter the holes in the decks if not already done>

 

Keith

[richardhd]

Hi Keith, thanks for the welcome message and the advice! I’m still of two minds about the masts. I’d like to add the more accurately sized masts, but I think I trust myself to narrow the end of a dowel to slot into the kit rather than enlarge a hole in the deck/keel—so my decision is being put on hold until I’m farther into the build. 
 

This is has become a theme for me, even this early into the build (lights or no lights, enlarge holes or not) as I try to strike a balance between keeping the build detailed/historically accurate and realistically in line with my current skill set. As my end product I’m aiming for a build that is more historically accurate than the base kit, but I’m also willing to slightly deviate on some details for the sake of personal aesthetics and aversion to going down too many rabbit holes of research. I want to build more ships in the future and don’t want to set the precedent of blowing the budget with too many extra (albeit more accurate) replacement and additional fittings.

 

See, for example that I built a master Korabel lifeboat (more accurate than base kit) but gave it a different paint job to match the eventual scheme of the Terror herself (less accurate, but in my opinion looks neat).

 

Apologies for the novel, been very excited to get building and my wife (bless her patience) is getting tired of hearing me ramble about the ship.

 

Edited February 28, 2022 by richardhd

[clearway]

No need to apologise for the long post, you are the captain of your ship so just go what you feel confident with. While i agree you can go down a rabbit hole with Terror some of the mods to the build wont cost more for example the spider band on the mizzen mast and the alterations to the fore and main fife rails as you already have the wood in the kit. My deckhouses in the stern were built from off cuts of ply from the kit and strip wood from my spares pile and for the spider band you can use the large brass eyes to hold the treenails.

 

As regards driving the admiral mad you can talk as much as you like about Terror on here and we will fully understand😁.

 

Keith

[Cathead]

Nice start!

[richardhd]

Hi all!

 

The build had to take a brief hiatus as I needed replacement bulwark pieces from OcCre (who were amazing and got them to me super fast and without any headache on my end!), but I’m back at it with some updates.

 

Bulwark pieces are glued on and I learned that fairing the bulkheads is an incredibly time consuming process—I spent weeks on it! To be frank, I’m not 100% sure I got it right, but it’s as good as I can get it and I figure since this is a double planked hull sanding and filling will be my friends before moving on to the outer planking layer.

 

I also added on the top planks on either side as well as the lowest planks by the keel (the garboard planks?) and will move forward with the rest of the planking soon.

[richardhd]

Hi everyone!

 

Planking is coming along, learning lots of interesting lessons and I’m not even halfway through planking! Very excited that I’m starting to see the hull though. 
 

I’m having trouble softening the entire length of the planks and it’s making the process somewhat more difficult than I’d like. I have a 3 gallon tub and a sous vide machine so I’m thinking that for the next time I sit down to plank I’m gonna toss them in there and get the water as hot as I can, hopefully that should allow them to flex along their entire length.

 

Concerns: definitely didn’t fair the bow well enough and there’s a slight kink in the planking. It looks close enough in person that I should be able to correct the shape with sanding. Thoughts here? Should I tear the planking off and go back to sanding? 

 

Things I’m excited about: I—after several weeks of shaping the bulkheads—have the stern modified to mirror Matt Bett’s Terror with the “tuck” and dry-fittings seem to show the planks should lay nicely on it.

Edited March 23, 2022 by richardhd
Spelling, grammar

[clearway]

the fairing on the bows looks o.k.- i soak my planks in hot water in the bath for a few hours the using thumb and fingers work the curve in (after tapering the bow and stern parts of the plank).

 

Keith

[richardhd]

Keith,

 

Makes sense! I’ll be sure to soak them for much longer next time. Thanks!

[Cathead]

That's a pretty strong kink. If it were me I'd redo it (you asked!), but it's your model and many issues like that end up being far less noticeable on the finished model than during construction.

 

As for soaking, I've rarely needed to soak a whole ship-length plank. It really only needs to curve significantly at bow and stern, so you can soak one end and then the other; it doesn't matter if the middle gets wet. I use an old rain-gauge tube.

[richardhd]

I appreciate your advice, and I did ask!

 

That being said I took Keith’s advice on the next few planks and soaked much longer, the curve of the bow is a lot nicer and I’m going to forge ahead  as now there’s just a small area that will need some filler and will be covered with the second layer of planking. 
 

thank you anyway though!

[Cathead]

There’s almost always more than one way to do things. Glad you found a solution you’re happy with!

[richardhd]

Hi everyone!

 

I wanted to hold off on posting until I’d fully finished the first layer of planking, but MAN this takes a lot of sanding and I’m excited with the progress so here’s a quick update. She’s got her first layer of planking mostly done (barring some sanding)!

 

First layer of planking is glued/nailed down and I have to say it truly is a science with how precise  all the fitting and tapering has to be. I’m satisfied with my decision to take on a double planked model because I did a pretty rough job of it and I’m going to be happy to cover it up because it’s not pretty. However, the shape is established and I was able to successfully sand over the nails and it’s very satisfying to feel a (semi) smooth hull forming. I also glued in the bow blocks and those are taking a while to shave down, but I’m in no rush.

 

Also I’m fairly satisfied with how the modifications to the stern turned out. Earlier in the build, when I had to commit to leaving it as is or reshaping the bulkheads I was feeling pretty anxious over the decision, but from referencing Matthew Betts’ build I think it looks alright.

 

Anyway, now that I’ve established that I can at least take some laser-precise, pre-cut wood and make it vaguely ship-shaped, I’m looking forward to the rest of the build and have some questions. First up, did the real Terror have a studded anchor chain? Been trying to find out online and I’m having trouble. I did see that studded anchor chains were patented in 1819 so I suppose it’s possible she got a new studded chain when she was fitted for arctic voyages, but I don’t know for sure. Also any suggestions on the places to get reference information/images of the ship? I feel myself slipping down the rabbit hole…

Edited April 1, 2022 by richardhd
Clarity

[clearway]

Nice to see someone else taking the plunge with the stern- apart from matthew betts blog if you go through keith s build log and my own i would say most of your questions will be answered as we spent a lot of time during lockdown one bouncing ideas off each other. I used studded anchorchain from caldercraft courtesy of cornwall model boats.

 

Keith

[richardhd]

So the ship is all sanded and shaped. Looking at starting the second layer of planking this week and I’m finding myself unsure of whether contact glue or CA is the way to go. Any thoughts?

[clearway]

I used bostik brand woodworking glue which while taking longer to dry lets you adjust wood a little- it is a fast grab glue but still takes a few hours to set enough to remove pins/ clamps.

 

Keith

[richardhd]

EZ & Keith, 

 

Thanks for the replies. I’ll look into Bostik as an option. I am leaving the pins in as I wanted the extra security and sanding them turned out to be fairly simple. EZ, I am painting the hull so I’m less concerned about rust. I am interested in your statement about CA being unreliable, does it fail after a while? 

[DanielD]

Welcome to the Terror club. Your doing a wonderful job on your planking. Keep up the great work.

[richardhd]

Hi all! No pictures today, just a quick update. First of all thanks for all the advice and feedback, it’s very encouraging and I appreciate that this site is such a well of experience and expertise. Secondly, I tested some glues and did find one that I think will work for second planking, so I’m going ahead with it. I haven’t been able to even touch the ship in the past month as things have been very busy, but I’m eager to get building again!

[richardhd]

Hi all! 
 

It’s been a really busy 3 months but this week I finally got some time to pull the kit out and start some second layer planking. Didn’t get a TON done, but it’s nice to see the second layer started and I’m hoping to have more time to dedicate to the build in the coming weeks. 
 

Also while I was waiting for glue to dry I tried my hand at some of the little deck structures. So tiny! 
 

Looking forward to putting all this planking behind me and to get into a different phase of the build. Very nice to be building again.

[allanyed]

Hi Richard

Good to see you back at it!   

 

To avoid the problems of the first layer of planking, will you be studying the tutorials in the Articles section here at MSW on how to plank the hull.  The tutorial by David Antscherl as well as You Tube videos (4 parts) on the internet by member/moderator Chuck Passaro are invaluable pieces that will save you a lot of grief and yield a realistic hull versus the fairy tale hull planking seen on OcCre models.

 

Allan 

Edited July 18, 2022 by allanyed

[richardhd]

Allan,

 

”Fairy tale planking”, ha! Very good. Yeah I’m learning that the OcCre Terror certainly has some ridiculous planking, but in all honesty it’s part of the reason I chose it as my first kit. Aside from my personal interest in the Franklin Expedition, the OcCre Terror having 2 layers of planking (in effect offering a “practice” run), plating covering the bow planking, and the option to obscure the whole planking job in black paint makes it a very appealing first timer build. I think once I finish the Terror I’d like to build a much smaller kit where I can practice more of the fundamentals of planking. Thanks for the recommended resources!

[Ian B]

And the option to obscure the whole planking job in black paint makes it a very appealing first timer build.  😁  I had the same thought Richard with my first build-- Bounty-- nice white paint to cover things up the lower hull ..you are making great progress--keep it up and thanks for starting a building log for us to follow, very much appreciated. 

[richardhd]

Hi all!
 

Second planking coming along and I’m running into my first real bungle that I’m somewhat lost on how to handle.

 

In gluing on the bulwarks it appears that I somehow misaligned them with the gap for the keel, leaving them slightly farther apart than they should be. This will result in a gap between the keel and the hull right at the bow. I’m unsure how this happened as the bulwarks have multiple little notches that ensure they are correctly aligned, but alas, I’ve managed to screw it up anyway!

 

I’m sure someone else has made this same mistake as a beginner. Any thoughts/experience on handling this?

 

I have some ideas, but they both involve modifying the appearance of my Terror, which I’m not too fond of.

 

First was to extend some of the iron playing above the ice chocks to top of the hull, which runs the risk of looking *terrible*. Second was to extend the railing down between the hull planking and the keel for a small section. See crude illustration below.

 

Anyway, insights and experience appreciated. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

 

 

[allanyed]

Hi Richard,

 

On 7/18/2022 at 9:30 AM, richardhd said:

”Fairy tale planking”, ha! Very good. Yeah I’m learning that the OcCre Terror certainly has some ridiculous planking, but in all honesty it’s part of the reason I chose it as my first kit

 

On 7/18/2022 at 9:30 AM, richardhd said:

obscure the whole planking job in black paint makes it a very appealing

I realize you are probably going to paint the planking to hide it, but  to learn proper planking techniques, maybe consider removing the planking below the wales and start over after studying the primer on planking here at MSW and the four part video YouTube series by Chuck Passaro.  It will serve you well down the road.   We all fully realize what you have now is a kit thing as OcCre has never had a clue (or worse, does note care) on how a ship was actually planked and they stick you with what is possibly the worst wood available for the task, but it can be fixed.  If not this go round, hopefully the next time.😀

Allan

 

 

 

Edited August 12, 2022 by allanyed

[richardhd]

Hi Allan,

 

Did you mean both layers of planking or just the thin second layer? I have some concerns about ultimately destroying the model. In either case my next build will most certainly be focused on a smaller subject and proper planking. Appreciate you pointing me to the planking primer and Chuck’s videos. 
 

Also, I’m ignorant as to the quality of this wood. Suggestions on better options? Should I avoid OcCre in the future?

Edited August 12, 2022 by richardhd

[allanyed]

Hi Richard,
Just the second layer, if only to get the practice of planking as described above.   Regarding the wood, look at the grain.  It is huge so way out of scale.   For the scales we use, most builders find that a tight grain wood looks better and is easier to spile or hot edge bend.  Alaskan cedar, castello (my favorite), steamed pear, maple, or even basswood or poplar (you may find the last two to be too soft).   Holly for decks is a great choice.  If this has your head spinning, not to worry, there is time before making your next choice of model.

4 hours ago, richardhd said:

Should I avoid OcCre in the future?

 

 I will take the route that if one has nothing positive to say,  say nothing.   Before you buy another kit, do look at the kit build logs and the photos in each build.  You will pretty quickly see which kit brands are growing in popularity due to good quality and which brands have been declining or pretty much disappearing over the past few years due to a lack of quality.  No matter the brands you consider, research and study contemporary models (and plans) that match or are similar in size and era to your next vessel choice, if available.  As has been discussed here at MSW there are thousands of photos of contemporary models and plans,  many of which are easily found on the RMG site.  https://www.rmg.co.uk/collections    There are about 3000 plans at the Wiki Commons site as well, including 800 or so high res plans.  These might help you make a decision on which ship is next.   

 

Allan

 

Edited August 12, 2022 by allanyed

[clearway]

I had the gap problem on the bulwarks as you have and i used a piece of scrap ply to "bridge" it before starting on 2nd planking( see earlier pages of my build log). I used walnut for the 2nd planking as i like the colour it oxidises into after a while and looks a lot better than the stuff occre supplied.

 

keith

 

 

[richardhd]

Allan, thanks so much for breaking that down. I’d be lying if I said it doesn’t have my head spinning a little, but I’m glad to be more informed. I’ll be referencing this on my next build.

 

Also Keith, thanks for the advice! I’ve referenced your build multiple times and never even noticed that you had the same bulwark issue nor how you solved it. Much appreciated, I will see what I can do on mine.

[Cathead]

18 hours ago, allanyed said:

Before you buy another kit, do look at the kit build logs and the photos in each build.  You will pretty quickly see which kit brands are growing in popularity due to good quality and which brands have been declining or pretty much disappearing over the past few years due to a lack of quality.

Not to derail this thread for too long, but I'm not sure that MSW build log count is a good metric. For example, BlueJacket is a good company but there aren't many logs for their kits, which has always surprised me. Whereas lots of people keep buying trash from Corel, AL, etc. because they're cheap, often on sale, and widely available through resellers; whereas people get sticker shock from good companies like Vanguard, Syren, etc. Or the trash companies are the only ones making popular prototypes like Beagle, whereas better companies like Vanguard or Syren seem to focus on relatively obscure prototypes. Within my own little riverboat world, for every (good) Model Shipways Chaperon, there are probably 10 (trash) AL King of the Mississippis (referring to kit quality/accuracy, not the builders). But that also fits the pattern, everyone's heard of a Mississippi riverboat but an Ohio River boat is a much more obscure vessel.

 

I do agree that reading build logs is a great way to assess quality; even if you can't find one for the kit you want to build, read logs for other comparable kits from that company to get a sense of their style.