Schooner Altair by KeithAug - Scale 1:32 - 1931 - Finished

[dgbot]

Nice prop assembly.  How did you make the prop and the blades?

David B

[KeithAug]

Hello David,

 

I made the prop some time ago. You can find the details on page 5.

 

Thank you Bob for you comments - and also thanks all of you who hit the "like" button.

[Julie Mo]

I think we need a "OMG! That is amazing!" button. 

Edited October 9, 2016 by Julie Mo

[KeithAug]

Scuppers---------

 

The penetrations through the bulwalk have covers on Altair.

 

 

I thought the covers would look bad if they weren't identical so I decided to cut them from brass channel. The correct angles were formed using a combination of the disc sander and mill - with the settings being maintained through the use of simple jigs.

 

The uniformity was good and the test mounting looked fine.

 

 

I also got round to putting the 1st coat of poly on inner surface of the bulwarks and capping rail.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mtaylor]

Beauty.   She's just fantastic looking, Keith.

[KeithAug]

Julie / Mark

 

Thank you for your kind comments. 

[michael mott]

Keith very nice work indeed the hull is looking superb.

 

Michael

[KeithAug]

Thank you Michael.

 

I'd like to be spending more time on the build but my daughter is demanding my decorating skills. 

[Jim Lad]

Just catching up after being away for a while, Keith.  As the others have said - she looks superb.

 

John

[KeithAug]

Thank you John

 

Between redecorating duties I managed to make a bit more progress.

 

The deckhouse is quite open and I thought I needed to attempt some internal detail - to be viewed through the windows, open doors and deck house roof hatch.

 

Before I start a few photos of the original.

 

 

I started by blocking out the basic shapes.

 

 

Then I covered the visible surfaces in mahogany and cut out and attached the sides of the steps and the handrails.

 

 

At the bottom of the steps is a transverse corridor. Its virtually impossible to see from outside the deckhouse but I thought I had better represent it.

 

 

 

[KeithAug]

Above the transverse corridor sits the flag locker. It consists of a number of pigeon holes into which the flags are posted for storage. I made the pitch of the holes .200 inch with .040 walls - hole size .160 x.160 inch or 5.12 x 5.12 inch at full size.

 

Cross slots were cut in a piece of mahogany at .200 inch pitch before .040 inch slices were milled off.

 

 

Assembly was easy, but care was necessary to avoid damaging fragile parts.

 

[captainbob]

Beautiful stairs I may need that kind of thinking on my next build.

 

Bob

[KeithAug]

Thank you Bob and everyone else who has paid a visit.

[KeithAug]

I thought the flag locker looked very bare......

 

 

So I got some flags from the net and filled the locker........

 

 

As you can see I also built up the sides of the seats. Cushions to follow.

 

 

Very little of the flag locker will be visible once the chart table is fitted over it. But I know it is there!!!!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

[KeithAug]

The upper steps in the deckhouse are now complete and the first finishing coats of poly applied.

 

 

As I think I previously said the chart table sits above the flag locker. I got a bit carried away with making it.

 

 

The charts cover the Western Isles from the Butt of Lewis to the Mull of Kintyre. The books are old friends - "The Yachtsman's Pilot to the West Coast of Scotland" and "Reeds Nautical Almanac".

[mtaylor]

[Jim Lad]

Good grief!   I assume that drawer will stay open on the completed model?

 

John

[KeithAug]

Mark / John - thank you for your comments. Also thank you to all who have hit the like button.

 

John - I have a dilemma about leaving the draw open as in its open position it makes the flag locker even harder to see. Maybe I will have to move it on an annual basis. I am toying with making a parallel rule, dividers and a hand bearing compass but this may be a step too far. First I think i will have a go at the seat coverings.

[crabbersnipe]

This is just brilliant, have no other words for it - thought I was looking at the actual real-size drawer when I first glanced at the photographs ! 

Keep up the good work

 

E

[KeithAug]

Thank you "E" ......... I could probably have made a full size one nearly as quickly!!!!

[KeithAug]

Seats

 

I thought a bit about how to make the seat cushions and backs. Altair has white seats without any features. I wanted to make the seats white but felt that some contouring would enhance the look. I did consider covering foam backed by ply with linen. I thought however that this would look clumsy at the scale of 1:32.

 

Eventually I decided on creating a ribbed mould and "casting" the cushions in silicone.

 

The ribs were cut in nylon sheet (actually an old chopping board) using a ball end milling cutter.

 

 

The casting was a fairy simple operation.

 

 

I produced 4 silicone castings over 3 days - allowing plenty of time for curing.

The sheets were then shaped to fit on to the benches

 

 

 

[captainbob]

They say every part is a model unto it's self.  You have made a beautiful little model of this deckhouse area.

 

Bob

Edited October 27, 2016 by Cap'n'Bob

[KeithAug]

Bob

 

Thank you. Your kind comments are much appreciated.

[Jim Lad]

Bob, from your latest photos I can see what you mean about the drawer being open and the flag locker - what a dilema!  

 

John

[KeithAug]

I decided to do a bit on the deckhouse - actually the sides. I am going for a sandwich construction, a .031" inch ply core with .040 of mahogany cladding on either side. 

 

I spent a happy couple of hours on the table saw cutting the mahogany cladding. I am finding with increasing practice that I am able to make cuts to an accuracy of a couple of thou - quite sufficient. I went to some trouble to get the right spacing for the window - as per calculation sheet below parts in photo.

 

The "kit of parts" is shown below.

 

 

Assembly was straightforward using PVA glue. The side is 3.5 inch wide.

 

 

On the reverse side you can see the recess for the windows. One piece of clear acetate will be used, the frames creating the impression of 5 windows. The cladding of the inner surface will trap the acetate in place. This avoids trying to glue the acetate in place which I always seem to make a mess of.

 

 

After a days work ( with many interruptions ) I had made a bit of progress.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[michael mott]

Wow!! I really like the flag cabinet and the drawer the seats look like white vinyl or Leather.

 

Michael

[KeithAug]

Thank you Michael.

[KeithAug]

Progress continues to be slow as other distractions intervene.

 

I continued to build the deck house, trying to reproduce the original in miniature.

 

 

The roof is quite a delicate structure at model scale. I decided to laminate up the roof beams. The beams to the front of the deckhouse are thicker - laminated from 3 pieces of mahogany each .040 thick. The beams at the rear of the deckhouse are thinner - 2 x .040 planks. I made a simple jig (nails in a plank) to hold the beams while gluing (PVA glue).

 

 

Another simple jig was shaped (on the mill) to produce and accurate cutting guide to consistently get the planks the correct length.

 

 

Finally I made a 3rd jig in which to build the roof.

 

 

2 edge strips were laid in the jig and then the 6 curved beams were placed glued at each end with PVA ------ all very delicate.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[michael mott]

I like the jig for assembling the roof beams Keith.

 

Michael

[KeithAug]

Thank you Michael.

 

The roof beams are true vertical / horizontal while the roof slopes down towards the bow. This means that the beams have to be flared. I did this using a sanding stick using fine emery cloth and very little pressure to avoid breaking the beams from the edge strips. 

 

I was pleased to get to planking the roof as this started to add much needed rigidity. The planks were .040 inch thick by .160 inch wide mahogany. The first two planks were placed to form the edges of the sliding roof hatch. Elastic bands proved effective in holding the planks while the PVA dried.

 

 

Once fully planked the roof was sanded and the additional longitudinal beams attached to the underside.

 

 

The roof construction is very light but surprisingly rigid.

 

The 3 beams which cross the hatch opening will be removed later.