Polaris 1850 by Chikpeas - OcCre - 1:50 - first build - loosely based schooner

[Chikpeas]

Hello!

 

so being new to the ship world and to modeling them, I thought the Polaris build from Occre was a completely random kit specifically designed to help you into the world of wooden models. 
 

I have since learned the Polaris WAS actually a real ship! And a steam one at that, so this kit is not completely accurate, from what I read this vessel was procured by the US Navy and was actually known as the USS Periwinkle prior to being an arctic expedition ship?

 

That being said, I took a lot of artistic liberty. 
 

I have been learning some terminology in the nautical world, what parts and pieces are, how things work— but slowly. I have some learning disabilities so PLEASE don’t judge me too hard for sounding so basic with what I post!

 

I know there’s measuring involved to make the strake planks accurate, Occre is very difficult in the sense that they just shrug and have you figure out how to hodgepodge the pieces. You’ll see I followed Occre’s instructions up to the second layer of planking, where I tried to fiddle with things a little to make it easier. 
 

anyway!

 

I used a 90 degree ruler to make sure that the ribs were PERFECT, and of course they were! Until I tried to glue the deck on. 
Thankfully the wood glue I used it rather forgiving and a bit rubbery when it dries, so I could gently crack the ribs into place without breakage.

 

 

 

 

I learned the cement I was used “contact glue” was garbage. I must have gotten a bad bottle because the planks didn’t stick to the wood very well. It was a frustrating process of using the glue I bought from Occre to get everything to lay down well

 

AND HERE IS WHERE I MADE MY FIRST MASSIVE MISTAKE

 

 

I followed the instructions TOO precisely. 
 

Using the varnish. That was a big whoops. It was after I applied the varnish I looked at other finished kits and saw that they stained the deck to get richer colors… Well, I guess I’ll be getting back to this—- and you can already tell what’s going to happen.

 

All in all, I was feeling very proud and excited to be getting this far 

 

 

[ccoyle]

1 minute ago, Chikpeas said:

so this kit is not completely accurate

 

One thing you'll quickly learn in this hobby is that some manufacturers (I'm looking at you, OcCre) will take a lot of liberty when it comes to naming their kits and providing them with colorful, um -- "histories." It is often a fool's errand to try and figure out what they used for source material. Best to not sweat it too much and just enjoy the build. The flip side of the issue is that you can name your ship pretty much anything you want and the name will be equally valid.

[Chikpeas]

So there you have the first two days, one day of gluing the skeleton of this ship, and the second of getting the deck done and down, I was determined to devote a LOT of time into this project, something to stay distracted with. 

Then the first layer of planking!

 

WHERE DO YOU GUYS GET MAGNETIC BRAD PUSHERS CMON…

 

I instead I learned how to hand-drill the holes, put in the brass nails, and use a small pin hammer to smack them in. My mom was beyond annoyed with the noise, honestly it was not a great time—- but I still had plenty of fun! 
 

 

So far the instructions and videos were clear enough, I was sort of struggling with the bow of the ship. I hadn’t learned that if I curled the planks pre-setting them, they would have fit better and be easier to handle.

 

 

 

THUS, I started to have a WHOLE mess 🫣

I cut the planks improperly, measured them wrong…. And this was the Terrifying end result…

 

 

ouch

 

 

Fortunately, I used to sculpt, so I know for my particular situation it wasn’t the end of the world. There was a second layer of planking, so as long as I could get the end result to resemble a sort of hull…. I could make it work….

 

this is the first and last time I hope to ever be doing that. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Chikpeas]

5 minutes ago, ccoyle said:

 

One thing you'll quickly learn in this…

Oh I love that information! Thank you 🤣 
Funny that you mention that, I absolutely am turning this into just a first ship progress- off the books. I’m even planning on remaking the flag. Haha!!!! 

[ccoyle]

4 minutes ago, Chikpeas said:

WHERE DO YOU GUYS GET MAGNETIC BRAD PUSHERS CMON…

 

Amati makes a product called the "nail nailer", but you can buy pretty much the same thing at your local ACE hardware store for about 1/3 the price. Personally, I don't use the brass pins. I use push pins driven with a tack hammer into pre-drilled pilot holes.

[ccoyle]

Like so . . .

 

 

[Chikpeas]

THIS FIX TOOK A WHOLE WEEK it was so painful 

 

not to mention, my ship got broken and I lost a lot of the planks that actually Looked decent…. 
 

 

but she started to look a little better!!!

 

and even turned to looking like an actual boat 😭😂

 

 

I found some excellent wood filled…. A bit of carving to create the stake plank appearance, and she was saved!

 

I have never used electric tools in my life, but I discovered a cordless model dremel off Amazon and put it to use. It did wonders in shaping and sanding. 
 

 

This the second planking layer began!

 

 

 

Edited March 28 by Chikpeas

[Chikpeas]

1 minute ago, ccoyle said:

Like so . . .

 

 

That is GENIUS 😄

That looks way easier than trying to sand brass nails 🤣🤣🤣 I’ll try that out next build thank you!

[Chikpeas]

I TRIED to do research on planking!

 

But realistically the measuring and math was wedged into NOVEL long paragraphs and I couldn’t understand what was being said… I struggled really hard with this. Nothing made sense…. Soooo I winged it. Didn’t come out too horribly actually.

 

I was relieved that someone actually advised me to hide mistakes through painting, I still think of you whoever you were ✌️

 

It was Very rough at the bow. Perfect everywhere else, so I learned that’s my weakest point in modeling so far. 
 

But again, filler and sanding bailed me out….

 

 

and then I drowned it in primer. Now, sure you can’t drown your problems with paint, but if you do it right……

 

 

you sure as hell can 🤣

 

 

I just was completely happy with how it came along.

 

I know I might’ve jumped too soon into painting, but looking at the instructions, it seemed like a good idea to get into it. From here on out I’m going to be careful with how I glue and handle things, but now you get to see my second hell.

 

 

Remember that Varnish I applied? Well, the deck popped too much for what I envisioned.

 

 

so let’s dive into that journey next post 🙂 

 

 

Edited March 28 by Chikpeas

[Chikpeas]

this is where I ran out of Occre’s magic instant glue, I felt lost. 

Anyway, The deck, remember the varnish?

 

yeah so you can’t stain wood after varnish apparently.

(Yes, I am a woman with 0 experience with wood, projects, anything like this! Haha!)

 

 

I tried to make an acrylic wash, that didn’t work. Tried to sand off the varnish, that didn’t remove it all.

 

 

I was down to my list will to keep this project and not give up…. I used the sander on the paint but it ended up looking way too weathered.

 

So- out came the crayola pencils. It worked, all thanks to the brilliance of a 5 yo! I feel quite a bit of guilt looking at the professionalism of the other build logs on the site, but I’m hoping gloss will make it a bit more not like pencils… oof. 
 

 

And here is my current progress! 

 

one layer of hull gloss done! I have some Side panel thing to do on it, but I get to start finishing it now! 😄

 

Thanks for reading the current progress!

 

I started this February 28th of this year, I hope to finish it soon! 

 

 

 

Edited March 28 by Chikpeas

[ccoyle]

There is another option for the deck, depending on how much effort you want to put into it. Decks on real ships are nearly always light colored, thanks to being bleached out by so much sun. Many modelers like to use holly for decking. It can be purchased from wood suppliers in quite thin and/or narrow strips. You could easily lay down a new deck atop the old, if you wanted.