Well, this will be my first Build Log here and I hope some may find it of interest. You will normally find me at the Model Ship World forum as ships is my usual fare. However, I commenced this build following completion of my model of HMS Victory, as a bit of a change from ‘guns, masts and string’, and something far less complex while I get ready for my next ship build. I will continue to build this as a side-project once I commence my next ship model.
I chose this particular model as I had always enjoyed seeing models of Stephenson’s Rocket and this kit by OcCre looks to build into a very nice model. The kit is in 1:24 scale and makes into a model 290mm overall in length, by 65mm wide, by 180 mm tall - a nice size. I have not built an OcCre kit before, but I have heard good things about them. It is a relatively inexpensive kit and while it is possible to order direct from OcCre in Spain, I chose to order through Cornwall Model Boats in the UK as I had previously had dealings with them and found them to be very good. OcCre also offer an optional display base as an additional kit, and I opted to go for this too.
The packaging is very well put together in a sturdy box with a “teaser” window showing a partitioned plastic container mostly metal parts.
Inside, the castings appear to be of a high quality, there are a couple of plastic axles, wire mesh, brass rod (coiled), pins, screws and even some stone, which will be used to simulate coal (after being painted black). There are three sheets of laser cut plywood that make up the main parts of the model. The two larger sheets are 3-ply, while the wheels are on 5-ply. All of the plywood appears to be of high quality and there is no indication of warping. There is a bundle of strip wood of various dimensions, which the instructions refer to as Ramin, although it looks and acts pretty much like Basswood to me. Finally, there are two strips of very thin aluminium strip.
2 Box Contents 1.jpg
Instructions consist of a step by step series of colour photographs in one booklet and a corresponding assembly instruction sheet (in English). The assembly instructions also include a parts list, a diagram of the plywood sheets indicating part numbers (very useful) and some paper templates for some of the metal bits that need to be formed to shape. All in all, very nicely presented and all of the material seems to be of high quality.
The Display Base kit is fairly simple, containing a base-board, some trim, some metal parts for the tracks, and a bunch of stones.
3 Box_2.jpg 4 Box Contents 2.jpg
Construction begins with the main boiler. After removing the four parts from the plywood sheets, the laser char front he cutting process was removed with a light sanding. The end pieces were glued onto the central former, and a further bracing piece was then glued into place.
5 Boiler 1.jpg
The next job was to plank the boiler with 5mm x 2mm strip wood. Although the instructions don’t say to do so, I decided to chamfer the edges of the strips in order to get a tighter fit around the circumference of the boiler. I did this on my disc sander, setting the table to an angle of 18 degrees (as there were to be approximately 20 strips around the circumference). This is how it looked after initial planking:
6 Boiler 2.jpg
And after sanding:
7 Boiler 3.jpg 8 Boiler 4.jpg
The kit simulates rivets through the use of brass pins. For the end caps of the boiler, these are glued in place and then the excess ends of the pins are removed. The pins are 0.8mm diameter, and although all pin locations have been pre-cut by the laser, all of these holes need to be enlarged (“chased”, according to the instructions). I decided that this would be easiest to do while the pieces were still attached to the plywood sheets, so used my little drill press with a 0.8mm drill bit to enlarge all of the holes.
9 Parts Drill 1.jpg
This worked well and the pins were a comfortable push fit. Thin CA glue was wicked into the holes along the pin ends, and once dry the ends removed.
11 Boiler End 1.jpg
The ends were then attached to the boiler and the base of the chimney also attached:
12 Boiler 5.jpg
This was then set aside for painting while the Fire-box was constructed. To be continued...
I chose this particular model as I had always enjoyed seeing models of Stephenson’s Rocket and this kit by OcCre looks to build into a very nice model. The kit is in 1:24 scale and makes into a model 290mm overall in length, by 65mm wide, by 180 mm tall - a nice size. I have not built an OcCre kit before, but I have heard good things about them. It is a relatively inexpensive kit and while it is possible to order direct from OcCre in Spain, I chose to order through Cornwall Model Boats in the UK as I had previously had dealings with them and found them to be very good. OcCre also offer an optional display base as an additional kit, and I opted to go for this too.
What’s in the box?
The packaging is very well put together in a sturdy box with a “teaser” window showing a partitioned plastic container mostly metal parts.
Inside, the castings appear to be of a high quality, there are a couple of plastic axles, wire mesh, brass rod (coiled), pins, screws and even some stone, which will be used to simulate coal (after being painted black). There are three sheets of laser cut plywood that make up the main parts of the model. The two larger sheets are 3-ply, while the wheels are on 5-ply. All of the plywood appears to be of high quality and there is no indication of warping. There is a bundle of strip wood of various dimensions, which the instructions refer to as Ramin, although it looks and acts pretty much like Basswood to me. Finally, there are two strips of very thin aluminium strip.
2 Box Contents 1.jpg
Instructions consist of a step by step series of colour photographs in one booklet and a corresponding assembly instruction sheet (in English). The assembly instructions also include a parts list, a diagram of the plywood sheets indicating part numbers (very useful) and some paper templates for some of the metal bits that need to be formed to shape. All in all, very nicely presented and all of the material seems to be of high quality.
The Display Base kit is fairly simple, containing a base-board, some trim, some metal parts for the tracks, and a bunch of stones.
3 Box_2.jpg 4 Box Contents 2.jpg
Construction: The Main Boiler
Construction begins with the main boiler. After removing the four parts from the plywood sheets, the laser char front he cutting process was removed with a light sanding. The end pieces were glued onto the central former, and a further bracing piece was then glued into place.
5 Boiler 1.jpg
The next job was to plank the boiler with 5mm x 2mm strip wood. Although the instructions don’t say to do so, I decided to chamfer the edges of the strips in order to get a tighter fit around the circumference of the boiler. I did this on my disc sander, setting the table to an angle of 18 degrees (as there were to be approximately 20 strips around the circumference). This is how it looked after initial planking:
6 Boiler 2.jpg
And after sanding:
7 Boiler 3.jpg 8 Boiler 4.jpg
The kit simulates rivets through the use of brass pins. For the end caps of the boiler, these are glued in place and then the excess ends of the pins are removed. The pins are 0.8mm diameter, and although all pin locations have been pre-cut by the laser, all of these holes need to be enlarged (“chased”, according to the instructions). I decided that this would be easiest to do while the pieces were still attached to the plywood sheets, so used my little drill press with a 0.8mm drill bit to enlarge all of the holes.
9 Parts Drill 1.jpg
This worked well and the pins were a comfortable push fit. Thin CA glue was wicked into the holes along the pin ends, and once dry the ends removed.
11 Boiler End 1.jpg
The ends were then attached to the boiler and the base of the chimney also attached:
12 Boiler 5.jpg
This was then set aside for painting while the Fire-box was constructed. To be continued...
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