HMS Beagle by Patrick - OcCre - 1/60

[RossR]

2 hours ago, Patrick B said:

Hi RossR, could you show a picture of the cement glue you are using. 

 

Thanks, Patrick B

This is what I use.  Available at Home Depot, Menards etc.    You apply it to the hull and the planks.   Wait 5-10 minutes and the glue will barely feel sticky.  Then when planks is placed on the hull and a little pressure is applied it sticks very firmly.   Difficult to undo.   I apply it to the planks after sticking them to a piece of cardboard. 
 

I like it because there is 100% surface coverage and with the thin material in the Occre kits the should be no chance of any edges not laying flat.  

[RossR]

Definitely your carved version.   Very nice.  

[Patrick B]

The first layer of the hull is officially finished and trimmed.

 

Here is the result :

 

[Patrick B]

The decorations are finished. They where one of the reasons why I chose this particular ship. I have never seen any other with this kind of decorations. If you know one, please let me know. It could be my next build for the future. 

 

Here are the results :

[Capella]

Wow. Looking great!

[Patrick B]

Hi, I know the last update was a while ago, but life got in the way a bit. Anyway, I bought a small drill kit, and I have been playing with it a bit. I got bored of planking so I decided to take a break. I instead worked on the main mast. Here are some of the small holes I was able to acheive.

[RossR]

Nice work on the mast.    Your planking looks good so far.   

[Patrick B]

One side of the model has now 10 strips of double planking. The keel fits seamlessly into it to my great hapiness. 

 

 

 

The main mast, lets call it step 1 of it, has been finished. The mast is temporarly secured with a smal wedge.

 

 

Edited June 22, 2023 by Patrick B

[Paul Le Wol]

Very nice planking Patrick. Your happiness is well deserved!

[Cathead]

Planking looks great. It's such a good feeling when those proper lines start to take shape, flowing smoothly.

[allanyed]

On 4/15/2023 at 4:19 PM, RossR said:

This is what I use.

Your planking is extremely neat, but I hope you do not have problems with the glue as contact cement is reportedly short lived compared to other commonly used glues for wood.  This came up on another post the other day so I did a bit of research.    One of many similar comments that I read   --- Over time, rubber cement loses its "stickiness." Items bonded with rubber cement will gradually just "let go" of each other. The adhesive does not simply evaporate; rather, it dries out and leaves a brittle residue where the pieces come apart.     

Allan

[Patrick B]

Thanks for the info allanyed, good think I stuck ( without making a bad word play ), with CA glue.

 

My only concern is that I have sometimes a little bit of glue that comes out on the sides of a plank. I try to sand it until it disapeares, but I hope it won't show when I will apply the Tung oil.

 

Anyway, here is the progress of the hull. Please inform me if you see any CA leakage.

 

 

 

 

Edited June 24, 2023 by Patrick B

[allanyed]

6 hours ago, Patrick B said:

Thanks for the info allanyed, good think I stuck ( without making a bad word play ), with CA glue.

Hi Patrick,

Sorry I must have misread the earlier post, I thought you went with contact cement.   Others wrote that OcCre plans suggest using contact cement which seems a very odd thing to do if it is indeed such a bad choice for this kind of application.   Was that the case in your kit as well?

 

Regarding CA, I have never used it on planking models so cannot offer a solution.   Have you tried to wipe it clean with acetone?  As the wood in the kit is so open grained and porous, I hope the CA did not penetrate to the point that it cannot be removed.   Looking at the photos you posted, it does not jump out to these old eyes.   I can see that your planking looks exemplary!   

 

Allan

 

Edited June 24, 2023 by allanyed

[Patrick B]

I haven't cleaned it with acetone. After sanding the little that leaked through, I can't see anything. Now its fingers crossed. Regarding the manual, here is what's written. 

 

Using contact (or cobbler's) adhesive, glue the lining into place.

 

The lining being the second planking of sapelli.

[allanyed]

Thanks Patrick

Based on comments from those who have tried this kind of adhesive, the kit maker may not be giving very good advice.  I would hate to be looking at my model 10 years down the road and watch planks start popping loose!!!

Allan

 

[RossR]

I think that contact cement is not given a fair shake on this forum.  Does anyone have an example of planks coming off a model after ten years where contact cement was properly used?  Contact cement is primarily used in the countertop industry for attaching laminate counter tops  to wood subsurfaces.  I am currently sitting in a 40 year old house with original laminate counter tops in the laundry room with no sign of the glue letting go.  It is applied differently to other glues, you have to let it dry to the point of being barely tacky before the pieces are attached.  If the pieces are attached too soon when the glue is still sticky, it doesn't set up properly.  This could be the issue people have had.  

 

I have not been involved in modeling for 10 years, so I cannot say with certainty that my my second layer of planking will not start to let go, but I am not very worried about based on the available information about the adhesive and the fact that I believe I used it properly.  

 

[Snug Harbor Johnny]

  A fair point to be sure, Ross ... there ARE different qualities of contact cement.  And yes, the cement needs to be almost completely dry on both surfaces before pressing together - and one chance is all one gets for correct positioning.  There is a step in the gluing of counter tops following the positioning - and said positioning is often done with the formica overlapping the countertop a little - so the 'exact' placement is not as critical since the excess will be trimmed off with a special router bit designed for this work.  

 

  That important 'next step' after positioning is a thorough rolling of the surface with a heavy roller having extra force applied by the assembler from above.  Note also that when the pieces are joined that one edge is placed first (with the thin top flexed a bit to make it curve), then the remainder 'rolled' down onto the surface to prevent any air getting trapped in the 'sandwich'.  The heavy rolling is also may drive out air near the edges, and one can hear a popping sound when air so compressed (and driven to an edge) escapes.  I witness all of the above myself.

 

  After the top is in place and trimmed, the sides are applied - and they are most often a standard thickness to go onto a specific substrate.  I will agree that  I've not seen a failure (de-lamination) of a top piece, but have seen several edge failures - and one in my own kitchen after 25 years (we are not the original owners, and I've since remodeled the entire kitchen myself - except quartz countertops made and installed by professionals).  That is why I'm not so concerned with contact cement for flat (or near flat) deck planks on a model, but cautious about curved hull planking with that method ... since I'm thinking of a time frame a lot longer than the first 10 years.

 

  The cheapest (and least desirable) contact cement would be artists' "rubber cement" - or perhaps even worse ... "spray mount".  These products were intended for temporary 'paste ups' back in the day, and have been largely superseded by modern computer art.  Trade-name 'Weldwood' is likely better and easily found in bottles with a brush built into the cap.  There may be better grades under other trade names.

[Patrick B]

Anyways, here is the first side of the model planked, using CA glue. The other side is to come.

 

 

The little thing to hold the anchor has been made, although I can't find in the instructions how the rigging will pass through it. Even on the final picture these 4 holes seem unused.

 

Edited July 1, 2023 by Patrick B

[Cathead]

That little thing is my namesake, the cathead! Someone else had the same question on MSW, and a response shared two images that might be of use. The wikipedia entry for cathead also gives some basic detail on its purpose and use.

 

 

[Patrick B]

The second planking is finished.

 

Pretty happy with the results, considering I have used full lenght strips everywhere (no stealers), and didn't use an ounce of filler too. 

 

Next I will varnish it and place the rubbing strakes on top. After that, it will be about gluing the rudder in place and finally, painting the sides. I don't plan to copperplate this hull.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 27, 2023 by Patrick B

[Patrick B]

There it is, with a good coat of tung oil and with its keel.

 

I also made deck details with added holes for realism.

 

[Patrick B]

I just finished the windlass and its attachments.

 

 

Followed by the two flag storage boxes.

 

 

I also glued the stern, wich wasn't and easy task. So much so that I couldn't get the ends to touch with this weird compound curve, without having the bottom halve ungluing.

 

 

I then shaped the brass rods, wich wasn't straighforward either.

It was small tweak there, a bit of straightening here, oups that was too much, back to the small tweak.

 

[RossR]

Nice job on the brass wire.  I struggled with that on mine.   

[Patrick B]

The bowsprit, without its rigging, is completed. It hasn't been installed yet, because I will paint the hull before that. The nail is an idea of mine (I think) to hold the mast in place when it will be time.

 

 

 

I have a question. The manual asks for 2 holes on each side to make rope pass through them. I can only see one rope for each side in the rigging instructions.

 

 

Anyone who has built this ship has an idea?

Edited August 21, 2023 by Patrick B

[The Gimps Chimp]

Hi Patrick,

 

Your build is looking fantastic, keep it up!

 

Regarding the number of holes, I think you're absolutely right.  Looking at the AotS for the Beagle it only shows two ropes, one each side. The forward one is the fore topmast stay and the rear one is the fore topmast preventer stay.  Looking the Occre's own assembly video it shows only two holes and not the four shown in the instructions.  Unfortunately this doesn't surprise me as I've found their instructions to be riddled with errors and inconsistencies.  However, some might say this is a good thing as it forces us to research things further.....  No, it's just frustrating. I was just trying to find something positive to end on  

 

Regards

Chimp

 

[Patrick B]

Hi guys, to paint the hull, I though about using those two matte paint from Apple Barrel.

 

 

Anyone has an idea about the quality of those paint ? Do they cover enough ? Not enough ?

[RossR]

I haven’t used that brand.  I have had good luck with the “Folk Art” brand available at a lot of the big box craft stores.   Not very expensive.  Most of the big box stores have store brand that is the least expensive and I have had bad luck getting good coverage with those.   Are you using any sort of primer or sealer?    I have good luck with a coat of shellac before painting.  
 

[Patrick B]

The hull has been coated 2 times by tung oil. 

 

 

I have seen the folkart paint, but they seemed rather thick compared to the Apple Barrel's milk like consistency.

[Patrick B]

The 6 pounder carronade is finished, and has been painted with the black paint from Apple Barrel. I did my best with the whipping to make it look more realistic. If anyone know how the other canons where rigged on the Beagle, please let me know, as occre shows them simple held by a rope on the deck through an eyebolt.

 

 

The rubbing strakes have been installed... sort of. When I glued the middle one in the first place, I made so that it went through the middle of each gunport. However, the plans show them elevated at the stern.

 

 

Something I did not take in consideration. But I don't think its that bad. I even think mine looks better.

 

 

The bad part is the bow. I made the bottom strake follow its natural curve. This made the soon to be painted white stripe taper, wich in my opinion, would look ugly. I proceeded to carefully unglue the undesirable part, to place it in a straighter position. You can see the before (left) and after (right).

 

 

 

To finish off , why is there only one hole used on that thing ?

What is the purpose of the other ?

 

 

Until next time, 

Patrick B.

[RossR]

I assume the second hole is to allow a second anchor on either side is the ship, but that is just a guess.  
 

Your workmanship is really impressive for your first build.