Polaris by nhansen - OcCre - 1:50 - My first build

[nhansen]

Another first-timer working on OcCre's Polaris. I'm a law student looking for a hobby to keep me sane through long semesters. I used to spend my time doing home projects, but I don't have quite enough time for things of that scale anymore. My hope is that model building will keep me busy long-term without upending large parts of my house for months 😂. One of the reasons I chose the Polaris for my first build is that there are so many people on this board who've been generous enough to share their build logs on this kit, so I'm here to repay the favor. 

 

- Step Zero - 

 

I've taken inventory on all the parts in the box, and everything appears to be in order. 

 

Fortunately, the false keel I received doesn't have the problem with warping that many people here have had. Either I got lucky or OcCre got tired of sending out extra parts & fixed the problem. 

 

I'm waiting on the delivery of a couple essential tools, but I'm excited to get started, hopefully on 12/28. 

[ccoyle]

Good luck with your project and with school!

[Knocklouder]

[nhansen]

Thank you for the warm welcome!

 

- Step 1: Attaching Bulkheads to False Keel, 12/28 - 

 

I attached the bulkheads to the false keel yesterday. I'm using type 2 wood glue. I had started by using angle plates & clips to keep the bulkheads perpendicular to the keel, but that was a bit too fiddly for me, so I opted to use patience instead. I glued them individually, dry fitting them to the deck as I went along while the glue was still pliable.

 

In my quest for perfect perpendicularity, I forgot to check for center-line symmetry. The A4 bulkhead was glued in out of whack, so I dissolved the glue with alcohol and repositioned it. It took a while for the glue to dissolve. Water probably would've loosened it faster, but I was afraid too much water would warp the wood. The whole operation took about 4.5 hours. 

 

 

I let the glue cure with the deck dry fitted to the bulkheads.

 

I left off the transom, I'll glue that on after the deck so it has more points of contact for the glue to adhere to. 

 

Tomorrow, I'll start planking the deck. I don't have contact adhesive, and I'm not too keen on working with it, so I'm going to deviate from the instructions and use wood glue. I have a lot of experience in paper crafting with wetter glues, so I think I'll be ok. I'm opting to glue on the strips whole instead of cutting them like real planks, just to avoid more opportunities for error while I'm still unfamiliar with the materials. 

Edited December 30, 2022 by nhansen

[Oldsalt1950]

Looking good. Take your time, I realize that is easy to say but building your ship is not a race. The Amish have a saying that holds very true to model ship building, " The hurrier I go, the behinder I get."

 

Jim