Occre are great with customer support. They also used to do a personalized nameplate for the ship kits for free. It may take a while to turn but they are very good at support. I have built seveal kit from Occre, including their trains.
-
LUCZORAMA SHIPWRECK SCAVENGER HUNT GIVEAWAY. 4 Weeks of Fun • 1 Legendary Prize ((OcCre’s Fram Ship)) • Global Crew Welcome!
**VIEW THREAD HERE**
Thank you Rich, it is very rewarding for me to see that he is very happy pursuing something that was overdue on his part!
At stopping point for the day. I put the hinges on the rudder, cut some heads off the nails to use on hinges. Glued on and painted rudder. I also drilled extra holes in the hinges, after cutting them to length. They were all one length and only had 3 holes each.
I took a picture with the rudder hanging on ship for reference.
Need advice...should I leave the hinges gold since the accents on the ship are black and gold?
Or should I go ahead and make them black too? I fear they will disappear if I make them black. Opinions welcome! Thanks.
I took a picture with the rudder hanging on ship for reference.
Need advice...should I leave the hinges gold since the accents on the ship are black and gold?
Or should I go ahead and make them black too? I fear they will disappear if I make them black. Opinions welcome! Thanks.
Last edited:
It does pop. Nicely done with great precision. Much better than this ham-fisted lubber will ever do.
Do you have nail heads on both sides?
yes, I cut the nails very short to use the heads on both sides
I think you should leave them unpainted, they stand proud and in real harmony with your Gold & Black color schema. If you wouldn't paint the rudder 'black', then I would suggest 'blacken' hinges. Here is my question, what size are those rivets (nice rounded heads)?
Thank you, seems unanimous thus far. I shall leave them gold!
I used the nails provided in the kit and cut them very short, only about 2mm long. that way I had the nice rounded head. They are about the size of a regular straight pin, which you could use also.
Of course you can always use the old trick of putting a dab of glue on with a toothpick, and then painting it black or silver. But you will never have the consistency in size and shape as you do when using an actual nail or pin head. But with repeated applications of glue, you would be surprised how well you can simulate rounded nail heads or rivets.
Last edited:
Many thanks for your prompt answer. I have never used the method with glue, good to know. Most times I made my own rivets by rolling the wire with a dull knife against a rubber mat (ice hockey pack). This divides the wire into two rivets\nails with rounded heads. The only drawback, the heads are not as nice as in your kit. 
Rather than wait for the wood to arrive from the manufacturer of the kit, you might be better placed to find suitable material from your local hardware store.
It's a race at this point, I have requested the missing parts. They will ship within 10 days, may arrive within a week of that. So let's call it 3 - 4 weeks.
If I have finished everything else on this ship prior to them arriving, which is very doubtful, then I would go to the local hobby store and buy the required dowels. They have to be painted black anyway, so wood type really isn't that important.
So I'm willing to wait for now. But when I'm ready to build yards, I will no longer wait. Luckily I realized they were missing far enough in advance. So if I can get them from OcCre I will use them, verses going out and spending more money to buy what I already paid for when I purchased the kit!
Yeah, I get it. This hobby is starting to get expensive for an old man on a limited income.
Ok...day two on rudder! I added the pins to the hinges on the rudder. (Pic 1)
Then I added the hinges to the keel on the transom. Making sure they were centered in keel and perpendicular to keel, and finally the right distance from the transom to maintain a proper gap with rudder. (Pic 2)
Then I realized they gave you a cut out to fit the hinges pinned. Does not allow for assembly...sigh! (Pic 3)
So I opened the cut in the bottom of the rudder and at the top of the keel. This allows them to be brought together and then the pin stabbed vertically. What a pain.
And finally success! In fact, it’s so snug I didn’t even glue it...lol
Also the tiller arm is in the center of the opening. So I feel a bit lucky I got past this as good as I did. I’m not 100% happy with it because I wish I would have taken more care on the rudder hinges to ensure the same distance from the edge of the rudder. But I let the holes dictate that. It would have been better if they didn’t pre drill any holes and let me drill all of them. So I had to compromise. And I’m picky!
(Pics 4-6)
Then I added the hinges to the keel on the transom. Making sure they were centered in keel and perpendicular to keel, and finally the right distance from the transom to maintain a proper gap with rudder. (Pic 2)
Then I realized they gave you a cut out to fit the hinges pinned. Does not allow for assembly...sigh! (Pic 3)
So I opened the cut in the bottom of the rudder and at the top of the keel. This allows them to be brought together and then the pin stabbed vertically. What a pain.
And finally success! In fact, it’s so snug I didn’t even glue it...lol
Also the tiller arm is in the center of the opening. So I feel a bit lucky I got past this as good as I did. I’m not 100% happy with it because I wish I would have taken more care on the rudder hinges to ensure the same distance from the edge of the rudder. But I let the holes dictate that. It would have been better if they didn’t pre drill any holes and let me drill all of them. So I had to compromise. And I’m picky!
(Pics 4-6)
Last edited:
Now she can sail the seas of carpet with a rudder!
Last edited:
So...I’m not happy with these cannon and carriages...sigh!
Should I try to turn them into something nice or just spend another $70 to get the nice cannon assemblies from Amati?
I guess I could see how much work it’s going to take on one of them, before deciding.
Should I try to turn them into something nice or just spend another $70 to get the nice cannon assemblies from Amati?
I guess I could see how much work it’s going to take on one of them, before deciding.
Last edited:
Hello Dean. The barrels look 'acceptable' (on the image). I am not sure how they authentically correct for the Schebec type of vessel, but hey...they are acceptable. But carriages definitely need improvements. Being them cast metal, nothing much you can do, honestly. Dave Stevens @Dave Stevens (Lumberyard) has naval gun kits e.g. wooden carriages and barrels (not sure if they pewter, or resin). He is local (USA). Check them out (below). If interested, you can PM him with questions.
Another cannon retailer store and our member as well is HISModel. They have mostly all barrel sizes turned from brass (RB manufacturer, if you are familiar), and carriages kits as well, However, they are based in Czech, and shipping to the USA may take a while.
Another cannon retailer store and our member as well is HISModel. They have mostly all barrel sizes turned from brass (RB manufacturer, if you are familiar), and carriages kits as well, However, they are based in Czech, and shipping to the USA may take a while.
Thanks for the guidance!Hello Dean. The barrels look 'acceptable' (on the image). I am not sure how they authentically correct for the Schebec type of vessel, but hey...they are acceptable. But carriages definitely need improvements. Being them cast metal, nothing much you can do, honestly. Dave Stevens @Dave Stevens (Lumberyard) has naval gun kits e.g. wooden carriages and barrels (not sure if they pewter, or resin). He is local (USA). Check them out (below). If interested, you can PM him with questions.
Another cannon retailer store and our member as well is HISModel. They have mostly all barrel sizes turned from brass (RB manufacturer, if you are familiar), and carriages kits as well, However, they are based in Czech, and shipping to the USA may take a while.
I was thinking of putting some veneer on the carriage casting, but would be a lot of work. Also they seem to be too low, forcing the cannon barrel to aim up. I would have to add a piece of board to the top sides of the carriage to build a higher mount for the cannon. Or try to cut or file off the wheels and make wooden wheels larger in diameter. Regardless it will be a lot of work to turn them into something useable!
So it would be worth it to just buy some that have potential out of the box!
or...build the carriages from scratch!! Maybe it will take the same (or more) amount of work than modifying existing ones, but a totally different experience, joy, and proudness: I build my own carriages, WOW!!!