Golden Hind OCCRE Scale 1:85

[Invictaag 2,102]

In 1577 Sir Francis Drake left Plymouth onboard the Pelican along with 4 other ships to sail through the Megellan Straits and explore the lands beyond. He was given unofficial backing from Queen Elizabeth 1st to also attack any Spanish ships that he might encounter, something he did with great success. On 20 August 1578 whilst passing through the Megellan Straits he renamed the Pelican to Golden Hind to honour the expeditions main patron, Sir Christopher Patton, whose family crest was a Golden Hind, a female Red Deer. Drake arrived back in Plymouth in September 1580 having sailed around the world, when a large booty of treasure and spices. Queen Elizabeth decreed that the Golden Hind was to be kept at Deptford on the River Thames as a "museum" ship, where she remained until 1650 when the ship was broken up. A replica ship was built in 1973 and has travelled several times around the world covering some 140000 miles and is at present moored at St Mary Overie Dock on the south bank of the River Thames next to London Bridge. This is without doubt a very Eco-friendly ship having done 140000 miles to the Galleon. I plan to build this ship based on this replica. I had hoped to visit the ship before Christmas but due to the Covid lockdowns I haven't been able to get there yet but my Daughter is at University near London Bridge and she has taken a few photos for me.

I'll post more pictures of the real thing in a thread I'll start in the research section. 

The wood and metal parts are of good quality, nice clear instructions take you through the build process and easy to follow plans. I have built a kit by OCCRE in the past and if there are any problems they have good customer service, an email brings a quick response. 

Cheers Andy 

Edited January 11 by Invictaag

[Gorby 5,765]

1 hour ago, Invictaag said:

Eco-friendly ship having done 140000 miles to the Galleon.

I love that! Made me laugh.

Looking forward to this. It looks like an excellent kit.

[Col. 2,167]

An interesting subject with quite a history to it, a bit of subtle humour thrown in, and a kit with a difference. What's not to like  

[Grunhertz 10,232]

ooh this'll be good 

[Mish 1,905]

Following with interest OcCre make lovely kits

[Invictaag 2,102]

14 hours ago, Gorby said:

I love that! Made me laugh.

 

13 hours ago, Col. said:

a bit of subtle humour thrown in

I couldn't resist that old joke.

1 hour ago, Michelle Edwards said:

OcCre make lovely kits

I have always liked OcCre kits, they are not too complicated like the Master Korabel kits and the right size, this one's hull is about 30cm long, not too big that it takes up half the house and not too small that you need a magnifying glass to see the parts. 

[Invictaag 2,102]

First of all a picture of the tools I mostly use building these wooden ships. I have 2 sets of Files and 1 set of Needle Files, various small drills, 0.5mm to 2mm that I use in the Pin Vice but I also have a Mini Electric drill but I rarely use it. I also have various clamps and Crocodile clips that I use as well.

I decided to make the Stand first, it won't be needed just yet but I wanted to see how it fitted together.

The fit of the parts was a bit loose as are the false Keel and Bulkheads which means they'll need to be clamped in the correct place. I dry fitted all the Bulkheads to check everything out and then started by glueing the 3 Mast support pieces in place.

I then started fitting the Bulkheads starting at the Stern and working forwards.

The Stern extension is made up from 3 parts and I found it easier to glue them together first before fitting them to the Stern Bulkhead.

I left the whole thing for a few hours to let the glue cure and then fitted the main false Deck piece. The instructions tell you to fit the Deck Planks fisrt before fitting but I find it easier to fit the Deck first, that way I can pin it in place if neccessary but in this case using elastic bands worked.

This deck will need to be planked next before I can fit the next of the Decks. I need to dry fit the Bulwarks to see if I need to plank the Deck passed it's edge.

Cheers Andy

[Grunhertz 10,232]

great start, another masterpiece on the way 

[Mish 1,905]

Liking this build

[Invictaag 2,102]

I have been reading about a wreck of an Elizabethan ship that was found in the Thames Estuary a few years ago, they have recovered several parts of the Hull and it explains how the ship was built, even though they haven't been able to say what the ship looked like it was built around the same time as the Golden Hind so I am finding it interesting to learn how ships were built at that time. In between reading this and studying photos and Youtube videos of the replica Golden Hinde I have put the Deck Planking onto the Main Deck. I put a centre line down the false Deck and then fitted a Plank on one side, having run a pencil down the edge of the Plank to simulate the Caulking. I then laid the rest of the Planks on that side and once it was all dry, opened up the hole for the main Mast, and then planked the other side.

The "middle" Deck where the Mizzen Mast is is one Deck on the replica but the model has 2 Decks. I have decided to make only one Deck but the problem is that if I leave the extra Deck off the Bulkhead at the rear of the Deck will be too high and if I fit it the Deck at the front will be too high. What I decided to do was fit the extra Deck then fit a piece of Balsawood in front of it and then sand down the Deck so that the front was just above the Bulkhead at the fore end of this Deck, I know that probably sounds as clear as the water in the Thames Estuary.

Moving forward and in the Research section I posted about the Bulkhead on the main Deck. I fitted the Forecastle Deck as this will allow me to get the correct position of the foreward Bulkhead.

As you can see this is how the instructions would have you fit the Bulkhead. I used the P.E. Door to trace the outline of the Door on this Bulkhead.

Looking at the photo of the replica I worked out the Bulkhead was angled the same as the Bulwark so I used the Bulwark in the kit to give me the correct angle of this Bulwark. Because of this angle the Bulkhead was not fully supported so I made up a couple of supports using Balsawood and glued them in place before fitting the Bulkhead.

Cheers Andy

[Grunhertz 10,232]

good work andy 

[Mish 1,905]

Watching this one

[Invictaag 2,102]

Instead of finishing off laying all the Deck planking and doing the Bulkhead planking I decided to fit the Gun Port patterns. These are plywood and have the position of the Gun Ports pre-cut in the correct positions. They only needed a slight curve and once glued in place they were then pinned to the Bulkheads until the glue had fully hardened. Having done that I thought I might as well fit the plywood Bulwarks and the Bow pieces. These needed a soaking in warm water because they have more of a curve and were pinned in place and left to dry before being removed and glued in place. It's only now that I am seeing just how big this ship is going to be, about twice the size of the St. Gabriel.

Cheers Andy

[Grunhertz 10,232]

Looks great andy

[Mish 1,905]

Good work Andy

[Sprocket 649]

great project Andy, I have a similar kit half built, so you may provide the inspiration to get it down for some more work on it, It's the Mary Rose, and I'm up to first layer of planking done, thinking of making gun ports all closed so she won't sink.

Seriously though, I can then make them on the surface rather than cutting into the hull. 

Watching your work with interest.

[Invictaag 2,102]

On 10/02/2021 at 22:02, Sprocket said:

I have a similar kit half built, so you may provide the inspiration to get it down for some more work on it, It's the Mary Rose,

That will be interesting to see, I like the Tudor Galleons and you don't see too many Tudor Rose's being built even though it looks like a nice kit. You should be ok with the Gun Ports open just don't go near the Solent. 

[Invictaag 2,102]

Progress has been a bit slow lately, I have reached the stage that I dislike and that is "fairing" the Bulkheads in preparation for the planking. A few years ago I bought a couple of sheets of 5mm thick Balsa wood to be used for "packing" between the front and rear Bulkheads, this helps with the planking. I cut up one of the Balsa sheets and glued pieces of it between the front 3 Bulkheads and the rear 2 Bulkheads. I then spent much of the weekend in the garage fairing the Hull using a Permagrit rough flat file, this is a great tool, it removes wood quite quickly and doesn't "clog up" like some other files. I then used my electric hand sander to smooth off the rough edges. I used a planking strip to check on the Hull but will need to do some "fine tuning" when the planks get fitted.

I am now measuring the length of each Bulkhead and working out wide each plank needs to be at each Bulkhead, even though there will be 2 layers of planking I want to practice getting it correct on the first layer of planks.

Whilst I was "playing" about with the Balsa I cut a piece and glued some spare thin plywood to the one side. I then traced round the Door to the Fore Cabin on the plywood.

Using my Permagrit rough flat file I shaped the Ply/Balsa block and then after soaking 2 pieces of 2nd planking strip in warm water, I clamped the strips over the "Door" block. Once the wood strips had dried they were then glued and clamped in place for a couple of days. I then used my Permagrit file to shape the back of the Door block. This was then attached to the Bulkhead on the Fore Cabin.

I haven't decided whether to paint the P.E Door or to build a Door from scratch yet, I'm still trying to get my head round the Hull planking measurements.

Cheers Andy

[Col. 2,167]

This is proper model-making.

It makes my attempts to glue pre-formed bit of plastic together and moaning about minor issues with them look like Lego.

[Grunhertz 10,232]

My thoughts too Col