HMS Beagle by usedtosail - OcCre - 1:60

[usedtosail]

This will be the second Beagle model that I will build. I built the Mamoli Beagle model many years ago and gave it to my son. Since the Ochre kit is fairly new and is supposed to be a better representation of the real ship I was intrigued enough to buy it and build it. I am a retired engineer and scientist so besides the fact that this ship was so important because of Charles Darwin, it was also a survey and hydrographer ship which I think is really cool. I have the Anatomy of the Ship (AOS) book for the Beagle, which I used for the previous build and will use for this one too.

 

I opened the box today and at first glance the contents look OK. After building a few modern kits from companies like Vanguard, I realize how these kits from older European companies are really lacking in the realism of some of the smaller details. I will try to improve them as I go along. This kit comes with sails that are way too thick but I haven't ruled out using them yet. Maybe I'll use them as patterns for more appropriate sails. I may be starting this model this week, but don't expect to really get into it until after the holidays.

[Cathead]

As a fellow scientist (geologist and naturalist) the Beagle is on my life list as well. I'll enjoy following along. Back in 2018 I was able to visit a life-size replica being built in Chilean Patagonia; I posted some photos here (see comment #14) as part of a longer thread on Chilean maritime history.

[usedtosail]

Thanks Eric. I downloaded those pictures a while ago when I bought the kit. Thanks for posting them.

[usedtosail]

I started gluing the bulkheads to the keel, using Legos to align them while the glue dries.

 

[usedtosail]

All the bulkheads are glued in so the next step is to fit the deck. The slots in the deck were narrower than the thickness of the bulkheads so I used a burr in the drill press to widen the slots until the deck fit. I then removed it and marked it for planking ( a few times). The instructions have you use full size strips then mark them to 60mm but I am cutting the strips to 60 mm and gluing them in end to end with a 3 butt shift. I did use longer strips for the center plank. I am using Tacky glue to glue these down with.

 

[usedtosail]

I finished adding the planks to the deck, so I now need to trim them to the edges, sand the planks down and cut the slots back out. Then I will add the treenails around the plank joints.

 

 

 

[usedtosail]

I finished preparing the deck and it is now ready to install. I trimmed the excess planks, sanded it down, then used an awl to make indents for the treenails. I filled these with wood putty, then sanded the deck again. I then finished the deck with pre-stain, Golden Oak stain, and wipe on poly. I also checked the fit of the upper deck bulkhead pieces in the slots in the deck before finishing it.

 

 

I was happy that I used individual planks instead of using full length planks and drawing in the plank ends. I was also a little worried about the thickness of the supplied planking wood, but it did sand up nicely.

[RossR]

I agree that not drawing the plank joints looks better.  Nice work.