Mirabell61

Update the upper forecastle portholes are mounted after plating this area, and the Stb waist reling is dry fitted. Also the area for the sprit bumpkin and its fastening eyebolts and stays. Aft deck the template for the breakwater is being estimated for fit. I am eager to get all the hull-related plating complete in order to continue with the painting job and the ELBE 1 name decals. For making the decals I got a great support from another MSW fellow builder. Here credit and thanks go to "Retired Guy", Richard for all his help. That gave me confidence to try and make my own decals instead of using larger sticker letters ( problems with the structured hull surface ) Nils The Railing is from Aronaut- Modellbau in brass and nickel plated. the wooden fastening rail underneath is to get the correct hight the aft breakwater will be mounted in this area. The blank space in the plating ( aft round between the rails ) will tape up the 5mm small sticker-letters for the name "Bürgermeister Oswald" after painting.

Update yesterday I made the fastening (still removable) of the stb side anchor. Because when the forecastle-deck is on, there will be no more access to the fastening line (no visable chain here), and the line is running in a curved thin copper tube, leading the line to midship area where the end will be fastend using a spring to the frame somewhere. That gives a little springload to the line and keeps the anchor well in contact with the achor fairlead. Also in accordance with the plan drawing, a rather short bumpkin with fastening points, a handrail on top and an eyebolt to the ships stern frontside was made. Also a non spanable metal bupkin stay Nils here the anchor line, and the eyebolt (upper right side) for the waterstay copper lad-tube for the line the line goes to the mid ship for fastening with a spring. The plate with the 13mm boring will adjust the lighttower later on. The deck is in 4mm wide pine-strips and black pencil "caulking" at the plank contact lines waterstay with fastening points and topside handrail side anchor when pulled up and waterstay in dryfit

Hi Richard and John, Richard I`ve sent you a PM this morning, relating to that issue.... John, its already the 6th ships plating I got out of that aluminiun original 50m foil roll, never thought it would last so long Nils

Thank you very much Keith, I`m moving on with the plating, its almost completed ... Nils

Thats a beautiful build Jeff, Congratulations to finishing this project. Your lightship is great. I like the superstructure and the fitting out very much. The lighting of the pictures is also very nice Nils

a beautiful built launch B.E. I also much like the tpo be painted figurines Nils

Hi Levebvre, the display capacity in my hobby office is exhausted for a longer time ago already. Because I favor a glas-casing for permanent dust protection, it takes even more space every time. Three ships have now already moved to our attic room office for this reason. My wife does not like shipmodels in the living areas of our home, and I have accepted that wish., so the lightship is probably the last one built in my shipyard. Perhaps there comes an oppertunity for selling the one or other some day for a fair price. Nils

Thank you Lefebvre, as I`m retired from my profession many years already, I have much time for my hobby. I guess its appr. 15-20 hours per week, but my admiral keeps me going also for house and garden. Nils

Hi and thank you Gary, many of the sequences have been performed with my previos models before, so I don`t have to spend too much time and headachs in thinking of how I shall do it. Here for example, I started with the plating today. New this time is the use of 10 mm wide Tamiya masking tape as a space holder, as I`m plating in "Belts" and need the better steady horizontal line for optical appeal The plates are cut from a self adhesive aluminium foil roll with a table paper guilutine. Poncing is done with a suitable double tooth wheel ( clock cock wheels) to the back of the protection paper before removing it. The foil thickness (without glue film) is 0,125 mm for best results Nils starting with the trick part in Basic the plates are 15 x 50 mm, The rows, apart by 10mm, and then a cover plating "belt" over the 10 mm wide horizontal gap. The platings are stagered to the next line above. a nice smooth hull surface provides a good ground for plating on 10 mm Tamiya distance holder, removed again before the covering, overlapping "belt is put on

exellent work Simon, She`ll be a beauty, once she`s finished Nils

many thanks Richard and John, Richard, the lightmast, still to be finished, was not so easy as I had thought ..... John, I`ll do my best for the further build .... Yesterday I made a first dummy trial for painting, plating, attaching of an obsolete 20 mm high letter. The bright light red color is RAL 2026 in silk-gloss, that is the one used on german fire-brigade and civil rescue vehicles. Nils I am a bit suspicious about the permanent sticking quality of the letters on a structured plating background. In the moment it seems to work .... The black sub waterline color is a silicone based black thermo-coating paint used for oventubes, etc.

amazing work Ian, well done ! Nils

Update Hull is all smoothened out and aft rounding rails (brass halfround) are mounted. The other rails will be from halfround nutwood strips. All is ready for metal plating now. Am preparing for railings, starting with forecastle deck. First dry fit for foremast and lightmasttower Nils rounding rails fitted. These are bent to shape, so that there is hardly no stress for springback when glueing on, also to avoid messing with the glue (CA) a bit of wood filler will do to smoothen curves masts in dryfit checking railing hight, the railing for the forecastle is a special bit ( 400mm length ) I found on the web, as the last available piece. It is of chemical etching and the brass has 0,6mm thickness, that appr. twice the thickness as I used on my Ergenstrasse rails. Unfortunately the source company does not exist any more, what a pitty. This railing type can be inserted into prior drilled holes of 0,8mm diam, and the hight of the top line therefore adjusted to the required hight, I will solder on mini washers as stopper on to the fastening posts, so that the chosen hight can be permanently fixed for 1:87 H0 figurines after glueing in. I wish I could get more of this railing type Here a dummy with the desired hight here are the fist two templates for the aft round metal plating

beautiful work Siggi, lovely fitting out of the panels Nils

Exellent metal work at the heel Keith, Nils