HMSV Beagle - OcCre - 1/60

[psdavidson]

19 minutes ago, Bertie McBoatface said:

I shall return.

Take your time, we can wait until you're ready

 

/P

[steve5]

have you got a smaller project , you can do for a couple days , to refresh yourself ,

because this is going to be a beautiful model when finished .

[Bertie McBoatface]

14 hours ago, psdavidson said:

Take your time, we can wait until you're ready

 

/P

 

 

6 hours ago, steve5 said:

have you got a smaller project , you can do for a couple days , to refresh yourself ,

because this is going to be a beautiful model when finished .

 

I might paint a figure for a change (if the paint will stay wet long enough - let's get retarder, in there!)

[Bertie McBoatface]

Caption Competition

 

 

What IS my little dog thinking?

 

[Faraway]

He said he was making a Beagle, doesn't look much like a dog to me.

[Bertie McBoatface]

"When, oh when will he throw this stick for me?"

[Faraway]

11 minutes ago, Bertie McBoatface said:

"When, oh when will he throw this stick for me?"

Books.

 

https://onlineshop.oxfam.org.uk/searchresults?N=&No=0&Rdm=387&Nr=product.active:1&type=search&Nf=&Ns=null&Ntk=&Nrpp=30&Ntt=books ships

[Bertie McBoatface]

Yes, Oxfam are a good source. And if some of them are a bit expensive, well, it's in a good cause.

 

I also search on sail, maritime, nautical, nelson, navy etc

[Bertie McBoatface]

On 8/13/2022 at 5:58 AM, steve5 said:

have you got a smaller project , you can do for a couple days , to refresh yourself ,

because this is going to be a beautiful model when finished .

 

That was a very sensible suggestion and I did try it. I brought out a couple of figures that are primed and ready for painting but the summer temperatures won't allow it.

 

And then I got to thinking. Sometimes, enthusiastic creativity is best served by not being sensible. (Warning! This is the kind of thing a person like me comes out with when they have slipped into a rather manic phase, and should be treated with caution by the sane and sober.) Let's see what happens if I take Steve's advice and slightly modify a few words.

 

"Have you got a very much larger project, that you can do for a couple of years, to challenge yourself, because that might be a beautiful model if it's ever finished?"

 

Yes Steve, I have. 

 

It's a wooden model ship just like Beagle. In fact I bought Beagle as a training ship to sharpen the skills that I'd honed for Project B. I've practiced my hull building skills now so NOW is the time to build the hull of the mystery ship, not after Christmas when the Beagle is completely finished, and I've started to forget the planking lessons. OK, not actually NOW, because it's too damned hot to build anything today, but I can start the WIP and begin to organise myself and my entire environment to build the heaviest, biggest, most expensive, most complicated, most difficult and longest term modelling project that I've ever attempted.

 

We are just creeping up to 100 hours of Beagle building and there's around 300 more to go. I've just had my first proper look inside the box of Project B and based on that alone, I think I might be looking at a 2000-2500 hour build. 

 

This might slow Beagle down a little, but not as much as you might think. The first couple of months of the mighty B will be spent on research and planning giving me something to occupy my non-Beagling time. There's still every chance that I can finish what now looks like quite a small build by Christmas as planned. 

 

There's a voice in my head saying that I'm nuts to do this. That's perfectly fine as there's several more voices saying "So what? I always have a lot more fun when I'm nuts."

 

Today I'll launch the new WIP, tomorrow, or when the weather breaks, I'll be back to the blessed Beagle.

 

 

[Ray S]

9 hours ago, Bertie McBoatface said:

Caption Competition

 

 

What IS my little dog thinking?

 

 

"If that is a Beagle, it must be the dog's bulwarks!"

 

Tara, I'll get me coat...

 

Ray

[Bertie McBoatface]

7 minutes ago, Ray S said:

Tara, I'll get me coat...

 

Actually, I think you're winning. 😄

[ArnoldAmbrose]

18 hours ago, Bertie McBoatface said:

Caption Competition

 

 

What IS my little dog thinking?

"My new kennel? Surely not? I like the kong though."

 

I'll get my coat too.   

 

But yeah, "dogs Bulwarks"   -   LOL 🤣🤣🤣               Regards, Jeff.

[Bertie McBoatface]

1 hour ago, ArnoldAmbrose said:

I like the kong though."

Did you work out what the ‘Kong’ really is?

[ArnoldAmbrose]

9 minutes ago, Bertie McBoatface said:

Did you work out what the ‘Kong’ really is?

A dog's toy that you put food into, and let the dog get it out again. At least, that's what they are over here. And that small boat looks just the thing. Regards, Jeff.

[Bertie McBoatface]

1 hour ago, ArnoldAmbrose said:

A dog's toy that you put food into, and let the dog get it out again. At least, that's what they are over here. And that small boat looks just the thing. Regards, Jeff.

Well that’s what a Kong is, and we have one, but that red thing isn’t it. That red thing is model related. 

[SafetyDad]

22 hours ago, Bertie McBoatface said:

Caption Competition

 

 

What IS my little dog thinking?

 

 

Pah! That;s not a four plank butt, it's a three planker. What does he think he's doing? 

 

Coat also

 

SD

[roginoz]

" OOOH look, that funny looking thing's having pups ! "

[Bertie McBoatface]

38 minutes ago, SafetyDad said:

 

Pah! That;s not a four plank butt, it's a three planker. What does he think he's doing? 

 

Coat also

 

SD

 

You have just reminded me to add the simulated plank butt joints. Thanks!

 

35 minutes ago, roginoz said:

" OOOH look, that funny looking thing's having pups ! "

 

😄

[Bertie McBoatface]

I'll start with a book review.

 

 

This is a brilliant one volume intensive course on everything you need to know to sound like an expert on the Age of Sail. The terms are explained, the parts of the vessels are not just named but their functions and how to operate them are all in here. Harland writes very well and is very funny if you can catch the quiet humour. For example, speaking of errors copied from one dictionary to another he says "lexicographers are honourable men", referencing the old saying about there being honour amongst thieves. Well, I thought it was clever, if not LOL funny. 

 

Myers, the illustrator, is equally talented and his drawings are beautifully clear. They are well thought out to show you all the important details and after studying them for a minute, you hardly need Harland's text at all. 

 

It's an old book, pub. 1984, but holds its price well without getting too expensive. I think mine was about £25.

 

Here's a few extracts.

 

 

It's so clear. I never knew that sails in the time of the Beagle would be furled ABOVE the yard to keep the rain out of the folds. Now I have much more confidence for that stage of my build.

 

 

How to brace my yards.

 

 

This one is just a little old joke - for a bit of fun.

 

 

A view very relevant to the Beagle at Cape Horn. The weather cloth is a fascinating detail, keeping the Captain's hat on.

 

 

At last I know how the guns were lashed fore and aft, previous to this all I was sure of was that the OcCre version was utter pants.

 

So this is a 100% recommendation. Buy this book!

 

[Bertie McBoatface]

 

Before I had my weather induced hissy fit a few days ago, I took a break from the perils of planking the hull and found something to relax me. The ship's boats are cute little things, Beagle puppies indeed. They are constructed on a building board and when the hull is done, the board is sawn away. So guess what happens next?

 

 

Pinging perils of micro-planking. You still need to bend and shape the planks but now you're making something the size of a matchbox! Two planks later was my walk away moment. I had to use CA because of the impossibility of clamping and I somehow glued a plank on at least a millimeter out of place AND stuck the whole thing to my fingers too. 

 

I'll be returning to the li'l boat later today.

 

 

 

 

[Bertie McBoatface]

Tess commented on the entries in the Caption Competition...

 

 

 

 

[Bertie McBoatface]

 

And this morning I took technology to timber and sanded down the awful mess of Plastic wood and chaotic planks that I made last week.

 

I've been a bit of a luddite about using power tools, saying they make bigger mistakes faster than I can with hand tools. That is still true but mostly because I haven't practiced with them enough. I'm now getting to the point where they save me a lot of time despite my need to spend extra time fixing the bits that I mangled in the process.

 

 

The disc sander did the heavy work and then I followed up with sandpaper and luthier's scrapers. This is the 'before' photo taken in raking light to show shadows of the unevennesses.

 

 

And this is the other side taken after the morning's work. It gets really hard to see where to sand/scrape. Sometimes what looks like a shadow turns out to be a glue stain in the wood, or just a pattern in the grain. The only way to be sure is to rely on touch. I feel for irregularities and then work on them before moving on. I'm doing one side at a time for the purpose of refining my techniques. Anything I learn on side A, I can improve on the flip side. If I did them both together, it would be just one opportunity to learn but on a bigger, slower, more demoralising canvas.

 

 

This is the next stage. It's a very fine filler which won't completely level out the plank joints, but knock them back a bit. I want them visible under the paint but not too much.

 

 

It's thinned with white spirit and must dry overnight. It appears to be clear enamel varnish mixed with some really fine particulate matter, possibly talc or Fuller's earth. I'm experimenting with different ways of applying it. This was with a piece of thin card and turned out rather messy. 

 

And that was as far as I got this morning. While that's drying, I'll get back to the small boats. Only four are provided so I'll have to scratch three more. My first scratch building experience. I've modified many kits but never made one from nothing before. I don't want to spend lots on aftermarket boats and I relish the challenge too.

 

The carpenter on the Beagle, Mr Jonathan May, reacted to the loss of their boats through storm and theft, by quickly making more of them. On one occasion, he made a whaleboat out of a wrecked ship's spar that happened to drift past at the right time. If he can do it...

 

 

[Bertie McBoatface]

 

Plastic wood is strong but rough textured. I wondered whether acrylic plastic putties would work on wood. The good news is that they work a lot better on wood than they do on plastic! Faster drying and odour free too. 

 

 

The Beagle's first puppy is developing well and will have his eyes open soon.

 

I've put in more than five beagling hours today so it's time to stack. My enthusiasm for this kit has evidently returned. 😁 No doubt there will be further lapses along the way but that's life, hey. 

 

It's worth noting that today's hours have taken my total working time past the century to 102 hours and 40 minutes. I've worked longer on some projects but I've never spent so long getting only a quarter of the way through a model. 

 

[steve5]

neat work on the pup bertie .

[Bertie McBoatface]

5 hours ago, steve5 said:

neat work on the pup bertie .

 

Thanks Steve.

 

When I was doing the hull of the li'l boat, it looked awful but now there's more detail built on, I'm quite pleased.

 

I still sometimes judge my wooden modelling by injection moulded plastic standards which is a daft thing to do and must always lead to disappointment. Wood isn't good for accuracy, it excels in soul, or beauty and other nebulous qualities.