Restoration of Bassett Lowke "Albertic" by michael mott - FINISHED - Scale 1:100

[Chasseur]

Hi, Michael good to see you back in your Man Cave and it looks Awesome! You have exactly the same airbrush I use if... yours is the double-acting model? I have found Testors Model Master paints whether acrylic or enamels to work extremely well with Paasche. Most of Model Master paints will work right out of the jug with no mixing/thinner except white.

 

On another note, my favorite hobby shop discontinued Model Master paints due to some trade wars happening on the border. Fortunately, I believe you can still order them online.

 

Looking good my friend ...Jeff

[popeye the sailor]

http://www.testors.com/product-catalog/testors-brands/testors/airbrush/external-mix

 

just look for the paint area.

[Roger Pellett]

Michael,

 

Great to see that you are now again working on this wonderful model.  Another Michael (MikeB4) recently included a post about a model of the US flagged passenger ship African Enterprise c1950 that he found in a flea market.  He said that it is kind of rough and you immediately came to mind as the guy who could return it to its former glory.

 

Roger

[BANYAN]

Hi Michael, I have tried Vallejo primer also but resorted to Tamiya rattle/spray can for most jobs.  The Vallejo primers work okay on some surfaces but the trick is to really let them cure (I have found more than 48 hours) but if you scratch it you will find it hard to sand/fair the edges as it wants to peel off.  I also found it does not like brass (PE or other).  The Vallejo paints though are generally very good.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[michael mott]

Thanks all for the thoughts on the primer.

 

A few pictures of the progress  to date. I peeled the masking off the funnels and will let the paint cure for a few days before tackling the tops of the funnels. 

 

 

In the meantime I have put the portholes back into the black part of the hull and am working on the little bits along the top edges.

 

 

Bit of a long shot to see the overall effect.

 

 

Back to working on tiny eyebolts and stuff for the cable stays.

 

Michael

Edited June 28, 2018 by michael mott

[cog]

Wonderful, Michael. You make her shine. Funnels look good. I was afraid you might pull some paint off with the masking tape, glad it turned out so well

[BANYAN]

Those funnels look like they have been there the whole time - nice repair work.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[Jim Lad]

A very professional job on those funnels, Michael.

 

John

[Thistle17]

In an earlier life I was in real time software development. There was a saying within the team; "You can tell much about the developer by the sharpness of his tools". That fits so well when I witness your work. Jig making is an art form of itself.It goes beyond creating a single point object as it has to be flexible, adaptable and of course useful beyond a single objective. You bring it to such an astounding level of utility.

Joe

[druxey]

Very nice work blending in the original paintwork with the new on the ship's side. It is so difficult to match both color and reflectance. Well done, Michael!

[popeye the sailor]

I noticed that too..........the bottom paint is hardly detectable by the eye {the only reason it stands out now, is because it's still fresh}.  still some work to do on the white.......and you'll have that part licked      she's look'in good!

[michael mott]

Carl, Pat, John, Joe, Druxey and Denis. Thanks for the supportive comments. today I finished painting the funnels.

 

 

 

 

and the last one in natural daylight.

 

 

Now the real work begins with the replacement of the funnel stays.

 

But for now I'm off to the lake to do a little sailing and Rest & Relaxation.

 

Michael

Edited June 29, 2018 by michael mott

[cog]

You have definitely deserved the SR&R Michael. a beautiful result!

[colinmaclock]

Funnels look great, spot-on old boy! The hull repairs look good too, you matched the surface and colours well, a challenge indeed!

Now comes the fun part, attaching all that rigging (you made some up if I recall).

[druxey]

Must be some feeling of accomplishment at this stage, Michael. Enjoy your Canada Day weekend.

[popeye the sailor]

they look great Michael.........another milestone reached       rigging will be the fun part for you........you probably have it all figured out   

[EdT]

Hi Micheal,

 

Any water-based finish is likely to be have an adherence problem on unprimed metal.  Suggest a solvent-based primer for metals first.  Your spray booth probably doesn't catch solvents, so you may wish to spray the primer outdoors.

 

Ed

[bensid54]

Looks great, it's truly a pleasure to admire your great work.

[michael mott]

Carl, Colin, Druxey, Denis, Ed, and Ben, thanks for the comments and advice.

 

I set one of the stays today and was pleased with the way it was able to be fixed regarding the length. This particular job was troubling me, in as much that i was unsure as to the winding up of the cable at the top end where it attaches to the funnel. I solved it by making the turnbuckle end next to the deck a slide fit into the hole by opening it up a little. Originally the deck eyes to which the turnbuckles are attached were basically nailed in place.

By making it a slide fit (a touch of glue will fix it later) I was able to measure the length and fold the cable at the appropriate length so that I could then wind up the one longer strand the same way that Basset Lowke did it in the funnel eye off the ship.

 

 

 

This certainly cave me a lot of confidence that I would be able to complete the rest in the same manner.

 

 

And so it was. I did the second one the same way just to be sure that the first one wasn't a fluke. However while putting on the vent stacks discovered I was missing a small one! it must have been swept up in the debris at the beginning, before I was called in.

 

I really had no option but to set about copying the size that was missing.

 

I turned up a cup out of some 3/8 brass then drilled a hole for the 3/16 vertical section put it back in the lathe and finished off the inside by using the ball end cutter as a lathe tool before parting it off.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The vertical rod was filed with a 5/16 round file to match the inside of the cup.

 

 

Then scooped out with the ball mill

 

 

After being satisfied with the basic shape I silver soldered them together before shaping the cup into the oblong like shape of the originals (which are all slightly different from each other) so I am not to worried about it being exact to one of them since they are all different slightly anyway.

 

 

 

A shot of red paint in the inside after cleaning it all up.

 

 

 

That's it for today.

 

Michael

 

 

[BANYAN]

Really nice work there Michael; lovely metalsmithing!

 

cheers

 

Pat

[michael mott]

Thank you to everyone for the likes and visits. While I enthusiastically replicated the small vent in my haste I forgot to consider the mounting on the ship.

 

 

Back to the workbench and a new one was machined up and again silver soldered together this time using a hollow vertical section.

 

 

After cleaning up and shaping the opening by squeezing it, I dipped it into some Tremclad Primer after spraying it out of a rattle can into a glass jam-jar.

 

 

As all of the vents were attached to the deck with screws soldered to the bottom of the stack I needed a way to re attach them without using heat which would destroy the paint.

 

 

This picture shows the broken screw, and a new small brass screw of the same diameter and a small bit of tube to act as a sleeve.

 

 

Next the head of the screw was made flush with the diameter making sure to keep the slot. The tube cauld slide up the threads but not over the head end which is important.

 

 

Next the new screw was threaded into the funnel  house with a small screwdriver .

 

 

This will enable the new vent and the old ones to be re attached with a drop of white paint as the glue and slid on the new screw.

 

Michael

[BANYAN]

very neat solution Michael; well executed.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[druxey]

Neatly solved, Michael!

[Thistle17]

Michael as I follow your reconstruction I can't help reflecting on those "passers by" that will casually observe your incredible work. I think but a few will appreciate the talent, ingenuity and work you are accomplishing. I certainly do!

Joe

[michael mott]

Pat, Druxey and Joe thanks for the compliments. And thanks for all those who hit the like button.

 

A couple more cable stays on the port side of the forward funnel.

 

 

Now we can play, Spot the new vent stack.

 

 

If you guessed this one you were correct.

 

 

It is beginning to look like a ship again.

 

Michael

[Louie da fly]

Beautiful work, Michael. A real pleasure to watch this build.

 

Oh, and I take comfort from the fact that even someone at your advanced level sometimes misses something (the attachment of the vent stack). I don't feel quite so embarrassed about my own boo-boos. Still embarrassed - I've got a long way to go before I even approach your level of skill - but not quite so embarrassed.

 

Steven

Edited July 6, 2018 by Louie da fly

[druxey]

Looking better and better! I do spot a minute difference with your vent, but I shan't tell anyone. It's still far nicer than any effort of mine!

[michael mott]

Steven thanks for those thoughts. Oh Dear Druxey I'm not sure if it was the 1mm smaller diameter on the top diameter or the 1/2 shade difference on the red interior or the thickness of the bead at the rim or the ..... Perhaps I should make a new one....

 

12 hours ago, druxey said:

It's still far nicer than any effort of mine!

I think that you are selling yourself short Sir.

Michael

[bensid54]

This is why guys like you Micheal can do restoration so well you can see the tiniest details and it shows your true love and interest in this hobby. I looked at those pictures and couldn't spot any difference other than they were in different locations. The thing that stands out the most for me is it's too bad the original builder didn't make those windows on top more realistic, then again are they windows?

[michael mott]

Thanks Ben, yes your comment about the windows is interesting. The models of various ships like these was to promote to the public to use their shipping line to travel, and were more often than not displayed in the storefront windows of the different shipping lines. I remember as a young boy looking into the windows of many different offices along regent street and others looking at these models and dreaming about one day being able to build one of my own. What a difference 60 years makes. Oh and yes hours in the upper floors of the Science Museum in South Kensington with my nose up to the glass studying the model ships that used to be on display there as well.

 

Michael