Polaris by Meekes - OcCre - 1:50 - First Build

[Meekes]

Some of you may have seen my roam around on the forums for the past few weeks looking for advice, inspiration and information... Well, here it is, my first build!

 

After getting the Polaris by OcCre suggested to me the most i figured it would be stupid for me to not listen, so i went for the starter kit and also bought the paint set for the Polaris.

 

A little about me, i'm a total inexperienced beginner when it's about model building but i'm eager to give it a shot and try my best to learn and adapt.

 

My life is quite busy and filled so my posts and updates might be really slow and far apart from eachother but i will definitely try to respond whenever i receive a question or comment.

 

Oh, and apologies if my vocabulary or grammar isn't the best at times, i'm from Belgium so my English isn't the best.

 

 

 

First of to get atleast a little bit familiar with sanding, gluing and clamping in proper 90 degree angles i started with the OcCre workstand.

I got this because i felt like i would end up using it quite a bit even if it's not during my first build, and i thought it would also be a fun way to get a tiny taste of woodwork before the actual build.

 

After succesfully having built the workstand i do feel like i can i've learned some stuff that i will take with me on the build.

 

 

Now onto numbering all the parts of the boat, cutting them from the frames and sanding them to get them ready!

[RossR]

There have been a number of very nice results from first time builders with this kit.   I think you made a good choice.  Good luck with your build.  
 

[palmerit]

Definitely useful to read ahead on a number of build logs - and flagging the most detailed ones for future reference. Note that sometimes people will add a "I wish I would have ..." or "I realized I made a mistake earlier ..." noting something that they should have done or done differently many many posts (and build steps) after the step you are on in a model. Good to read through a bunch and take notes (or give yourself reminders to check out someone's log once you get to a particular step). 

 

There were times I thought I was following the instructions (and often the instructions aren't all that clear) and then realize that I didn't quite get a part positioned right because some later step (many pages later) doesn't fit quite right. If only I (and the instructions) had told me to test fit this later part, I might have added that earlier part in a different place (or faired the hull in a different way or whatever it is).

 

Then again, you can always just plug ahead and learn from your mistakes. That's actually more of what I do since I often don't have enough time to read the details of every build log. The nice thing about wooden model ships is that there is rarely ever a mistake you can't correct with some more wood or wood filler (especially when painting) or by removing a piece (with an application of alcohol for PVA glue or acetone for CA glue).

[Meekes]

26 minutes ago, palmerit said:

Definitely useful to read ahead on a number of build logs - and flagging the most detailed ones for future reference. Note that sometimes people will add a "I wish I would have ..." or "I realized I made a mistake earlier ..." noting something that they should have done or done differently many many posts (and build steps) after the step you are on in a model. Good to read through a bunch and take notes (or give yourself reminders to check out someone's log once you get to a particular step). 

 

I have indeed read a few build logs before about this kit and i will definitely look at them again before each part!

This forum is an ocean of knowledge so it would be silly not to use it.

[Knocklouder]

Good luck on your journey Meekes.         Bob M.

[Meekes]

So, two days later and i've finished attaching the ribs to the false keel, this went suprisingly well and using lego blocks to keep it at a perfect 90 degrees went smoother than expected (honestly cutting each piece out and sanding them was the most tedious part and took the most time).

 

 

 

The next step is planking the deck, but while preparing some of the planks i noticed some of them bend quite a bit sideways along the width.

I haven't seen anyone else post about this so maybe it won't be an issue in the long run? Does anyone have any experience with something similar?

 

[Meekes]

Some time later and i'm extremely happy with the progress i've made!

 

When planking the deck i found out the majority of my planks were bending sideways, some even so much it would've been hell to use.

I first looked for all the straight ones and then looked for the ones with partially straight planks or ones with just a very slight bend, these i would use the outer parts of the deck as i didn't need to use the whole length there.

 

Then i started planking the deck using contact glue, first i drew a straight line in the middle so i could nicely place my first plank. And here, i made my first major (and very silly) mistake, i was so focussed on placing it perfectly on the line i didn't pay attention to the length and i reached short at the end! ouch...

As the plank was already stuck on i decided to cut a small piece from another plank and glued it on the leftover part. Hoping it won't be too obvious to see in the end.

 

 

I then drew on the lines and nails with a pencil and put on two layers of satin varnish.

Sadly, i noticed afterwards that some of my pencil lines and drawn nails were badly visible or fully gone after the varnish. i tried to fix it up a bit more but not everywhere was as visible as before. oh well, not the end of the world.

 

After that was one of the parts with stressed me a bit, although, afterwards i realized that wasn't necessary at all.

I dry fitted the deck on the frame and with a bit more sanding i felt like it would fit quite easily.

I put on some wood glue and pushed the deck on, forcing it on with my hands for a good 5 minutes untill i felt like it was stuck enough to let go, adding a drop of super glue at each rib to make sure it would definitely be properly attached to the deck.

 

 

 

 

Overall i'm very happy with how it turned out. After the varnish i also found that the small part i glued on separately wasn't too noticable.

 

 

Edited 9 hours ago by Meekes

[Knocklouder]

Very nice ,  wow if that is your only thing that you don't like,  a well placed rope coil you won't see it. Plus  some thing else may cover it up.  Lol . Nice work in deed.  

Bob M.

[Meekes]

27 minutes ago, Knocklouder said:

Very nice ,  wow if that is your only thing that you don't like,  a well placed rope coil you won't see it. Plus  some thing else may cover it up.

 

Yeah right now it's the only real silly thing i've done, other than that i sometimes feel like i rushed something and could've made some details look better.

And yeah, either something else will be covering it up or you just won't be able to spot it once the whole ship is detailed.

[ibozev]

This particular mistake may not be visible at the end. I think if you're lucky enough the hole for the rudder and the rudder itself could hide it at some point. 🙂

 

[Meekes]

20 hours ago, ibozev said:

This particular mistake may not be visible at the end. I think if you're lucky enough the hole for the rudder and the rudder itself could hide it at some point. 🙂

 

 

That's what i'm thinking aswell! I've mainly been following your finished build log as it's extremely detailed and the ship's very well made.

 

I have a question for you though (and anyone else who can help), when sanding the ribs to make it flush for the planks on the hull.

How and when do you know that they're sanded enough and in the right angle?

I've been slowly working on it but when holding planks to it it seems that in one way or another the plank won't sit nicely flush on it and i'm too afraid to put more force as i fear i'd snap a plank.

 

    

[Knocklouder]

You could bend one plank and see how it  fits,  that will give you an ideal of how much more you need to take off.  Soak the plank in water 5 minutes or so, use your plank bender of choice,  

This is the way I did my last few hulls., but there is always another way lol. Good luck.

It's  looking good 👍🏾 

 Bob  M.

[Dziadeczek]

Do this:

 

 

Make sure the strip lays on the entire width of the edge of each bulkhead. If not, sand this edge a little more until flush.

To help determine further, mark (smear) the bulkhead's edge with a pencil and see that this marking disappears after sanding. Or leave laser burns there intact and use them as your guide instead of pencil marks...

Edited April 16 by Dziadeczek

[JacquesCousteau]

It can be helpful to rub a pencil along the edges of the bulkheads while fairing, because you can easily see how much you've taken off that way and make sure that you're not overdoing it and destroying the shape of the bulkhead. I second Bob's suggestion to try bending a plank and seeing how it fits, as a moistened and heated plank will bend more than a batten. You wouldn't necessarily need to bend it exactly (as the exact bend required changes with each plank), but getting a good approximation will still be helpful. That said, if it's stillbreaking or nearly so upon bending over the bulkheads, that is a sign that you need to sand more. I had that same issue at the bow of my NRG Half-Hull model, and it took a lot of fairing to get it right. Good luck!

[Dr PR]

First, that little bit of short plank would never have been noticed by anyone else if you had never mentioned it. Your "repair" came out very nice. Don't let it nag at you. There are more important things to "worry" about!

 

Second, you can bend just about anything that is flexible over the bulkheads to see how the fairing is coming along. A thin strip of plastic will work as well as a plank - cut a strip out of plastic packaging or some other scrap. It just needs to be thick enough to be a bit "springy." Even heavy cardboard will do.

 

If you rub a pencil over the edge of the bulkheads you can see the results of sanding. Be sure you do not sand away the pencil from the "high" edge of the bulkhead. You don't want to take away too much wood or you will end up with a "dent" or low spot in the planking.

 

Although it is nice to get a wide flat surface for planks to glue to, you really don't need the entire width of the bulkhead. So leave the little bit of the pencil mark on the high edge to reassure yourself that you haven't sanded too much.

 

When you bend the test strip over the bulkheads is should fit "naturally" against every bulkhead. Play around with it and you will see what I mean. If the edge of a bulkhead is too low you can always glue a scrap piece of planking to the edge and repeat the fairing.

 

Put extra time and effort into getting the bulkheads faired so the test strip fits with a nice smooth curve. After you start planking it is too late to get it right!

[Meekes]

Alright time for a tiny update as i've been extremely busy.

 

I've sanded the rest of the bulkheads so that, as far as i can see, the planks sit nicely flush on the bulkheads.

I've got to say though, this part has been quite stressfull as i'm afraid i'll either have sanded too little or too much and will only find out during planking when it's too late. But, here goes nothing as i've probably just been overthinking it.

 

Here are a few pictures from different angles, hopefully these will help some others in the future, or someone will spot something that i've missed or messed up.

 

Bow side:

    

 

Stern side:

    

 

    

 

 

I do have to admit that the curved sander from OcCre has been amazing for the stern side, i've seen some smart ways to make your own curved sander but for any beginners that are thinking about getting this, i can definitely recommend it.

[JacquesCousteau]

Nice work! Taking your time with fairing the hull will definitely pay off later.