torpedochief

Hello Shipmates!
 
Been a busy man the past week.  I have a carved whale to get done (Sperm Whale,)  three pieces of scrimshaw to get pictures of for the gallery, and another magazine article.
 
However I am having such a hoot with this little boat!  This is nothing compared to the outstanding work I see on here! You Ladies and Gents are some top shelf sons and daughters of Neptune!
 
OK here is what I have done.  I have the paint just about the way I want. Still more weathering I want to do since this was a working vessel.  I fitted the Anchor Cat.  I have the anchor primed and ready to finish painting. Tonight I finished both capstans.  Tons left to do, but she is starting to take shape. Also have the jib boom in place for a fitting.
 
Thanks for all the nice comments. Hey but if you see any gross errors let me know.
 
Thanks
 
Chief
 
Oh and I am using oak, bass, and cherry, and a pop sickle stick or two.
 
  

I am determined to see this to some sort of completion.  I have modeled now for 30 years however this is my first ever wooden ship from scratch.
 
I choose the Anchor Hoy for a few reasons. 1. Looks Strange. 2. Easy to Build, (I hope.) 3. This little ship has more meaning than just being a ship.  Think about it. All the Clippers, Men-O-War, Whalers all rely on the unsung small boats that day in and day out did and still do most of the work. 4. I wanted to see if a quality model can be made in small scale. I have seen in kit instructions and other places where something is "too small to be considered do-able."
 
I also wanted this project to show that a nice looking wooden ship model can be produced for under $50.
 
I am using the plans from AMERICAN SHIP MODELS AND HOW TO BUILD THEM.  I began by transferring the profile and station lines to tracing paper and the n using transfer paper, I drew the lines for the hull on a 8"X6"X2" basswood block.  The station lines were drawn on thick plastic stock and cut using a #11 Blade.
 
With the lines drawn I sawed the profile on my small band saw. Once that was done I remarked the station lines and carved and sanded the hull to shape using the plastic templates I made.
 
Careful if you are building tiny models. One little slip of the file or even sandpaper means lots of "Do it Again."
 
I attempted to add the Keel, Stem and Rudderpost using thin bass wood. Well that was a disaster as the thin weak wood went to pieces if you looked at it wrong.  I tried about every wood I had, but it either broke to easy or I could not bring myself to painting fine wood.  So, I have used plastic card for the stem, and keel.  Not my favorite option, but now I have some strength in this important part.
I now used the same thin basswood sheet to make the deck.  Boy did I sweat this one!  I drew the deck out and then scribed the lines.  Holy Cow! That process took forever and by the end I was exhausted.  I looked at my work and went "I sure did a great job. Too bad you can't see the lines.  So I read through the forums and consulted books on how to make the lines visible and accurate. In a moment of "Oh well what have I got lose," I sprinkled Vallejo Burnt Umber Pigment on the deck and rubbed it in.  Hoping against hope I brushed the excess off and then with 0000 steel wool rubbed out the rest. I was very impressed.  As this is a working vessel doing work with greasy chains, mud, tar, and whatever else I made the deck used and dirty. I then went over the entire with three light coats of Danish Oil which was then buffed with the same 0000 steel wool.
 
I made hatch covers and coming in basswood and they look 100% US Grade A Terrible. So they had to go and will be replaced by hatches of plastic card. The companion way is made of reclaimed cherry, and still needs a bit of detailing done.  The transom and support knees are right from the plans and made of basswood and card.
 
The one thing I most dreaded were the low Bulwarks.  I cut my 2mm strips of basswood and boiled those for 5 minutes. I then wrapped them around a can and secured them with rubber bands.  When dry I was surprised that they fit perfectly and glued in with not one bit of trouble.
 
I have given the hull a Yellow Ochre coat to find any flaws.  Oh and I found a bunch that need some attention.
 
So, onward I march.  More later shipmates.
 
Don
 
Author of OF ICE AND STEEL and EPITAPH                  
 
       

Shipmates I found a young man who sells kits of WWI Battleships and other models. These are really exquisite works of art. They are big at 1/100 scale. I really don't know what else to say. other than breathtaking.
 
here is a link to his site http://www.ml-modelships.com.ua/ 
 
Chief Out! 

It is such a terrible and wonderful day. The restoration is complete. You would not think so looking at the pictures. Today I did a 30-hour straight effort to finish.
 
Yesterday the former COB of 608 and legend in the Submarine Force received orders to his final command. Barry "BEAR," Randell a Torpedoman of the highest order your watch is over. Good and Nobel Sailor we your students, and Shipmates have the watch. Rest your oars. The lesson you taught are far too numerous. Your love of your Brothers of the Phin, your dedication and your love of the nation and to the Submarine Force is engrained in just about every American submarine that goes into harm's way. You have and will save many lives. Thanks, Bear for being that cranky, fun loving, wealth of technical knowledge you are.
 
Today this model will be completed by 25 of your former shipmates. Each will place the remaining detail items one at a time into the model. As you would have loved there was a big demand to be the ones who installed the toilets.
 
Men who were once young and vibrant honor you. Men of USS COBBLER, USS TANG, USS SEA HORSE, USS TULIBEE, USS STONEWALL JACKSON, and USS ETHAN ALLEN. Now the old ones come to honor you. But look Bear! When you are talked about there is a sparkle of youth in their eyes. For a brief second the men are the 17,  18 and 20- year olds who took to the sea in submarines.  Loud bouts of laughter emit from tired lungs as the hundreds of old dirty jokes you told are retold.
 
You live in all of us who earned and proudly wear the Dolphins of the UNITED STATES SUBMARINE SERVICE.

MISSILE AWAY! 

POLYBAK produces no odors at all while cutting with the laser. This stuff is strong I am tellin you what.  Joe just remember the iceberg. If you only know how large they are out of the water. 

Completing the MK 16 Torpedo for the ETHAN ALLEN SSBN 608.
I have been using a new product in some of my building. Polybak is supposed to be used for backing used in countertops. However, as a modeling material, it is superb!
It will not burn. It is eco-friendly. It will sand, take stain and paint, and bend. It cuts clean and with the laser, it can render very small parts.
The fins and the screws were cut using of the 40watt CO2 laser at 35% power at 115 mm/sec.
Once cut the fins are attached to the torpedo afterbody by CA adhesive and Zip Kicker accelerator.

Painted and applied decals to the exterior. Put the masts in after carving and painting. I also made the Posiden A3 missile which still needs final painting.
Decals were made with my CRICUT as described in my article for THE JOURNAL couple issues back.  

It is such a terrible and wonderful day. The restoration is complete. You would not think so looking at the pictures. Today I did a 30-hour straight effort to finish.
 
Yesterday the former COB of 608 and legend in the Submarine Force received orders to his final command. Barry "BEAR," Randell a Torpedoman of the highest order your watch is over. Good and Nobel Sailor we your students, and Shipmates have the watch. Rest your oars. The lesson you taught are far too numerous. Your love of your Brothers of the Phin, your dedication and your love of the nation and to the Submarine Force is engrained in just about every American submarine that goes into harm's way. You have and will save many lives. Thanks, Bear for being that cranky, fun loving, wealth of technical knowledge you are.
 
Today this model will be completed by 25 of your former shipmates. Each will place the remaining detail items one at a time into the model. As you would have loved there was a big demand to be the ones who installed the toilets.
 
Men who were once young and vibrant honor you. Men of USS COBBLER, USS TANG, USS SEA HORSE, USS TULIBEE, USS STONEWALL JACKSON, and USS ETHAN ALLEN. Now the old ones come to honor you. But look Bear! When you are talked about there is a sparkle of youth in their eyes. For a brief second the men are the 17,  18 and 20- year olds who took to the sea in submarines.  Loud bouts of laughter emit from tired lungs as the hundreds of old dirty jokes you told are retold.
 
You live in all of us who earned and proudly wear the Dolphins of the UNITED STATES SUBMARINE SERVICE.

Lets get this guy on the shelf.  If you note the seven bladed screw, it might look like another propeller, but oh no.  Second and third generation Russian submarines benefitted from Toshiba selling Russia the machining equipment to produce such a fine balanced and precise screw.
 
Screws on submarines are so precise that in manufacturing each blade must be polished with the same number of strokes. Screw are x-rayed, balanced, and yes tuned. In dry dock they are covered, to prevent wind blown sand or debris from scouring the surface.  Even a scratch can cause a harmonic or what we call a "singing screw." Such a noise offender means death. The vortex dissipater is cast in resin and painted brass.
 
The ability of the Russia to use the technology from Toshiba closed the quality gap between the US and Russia.
 
Thinned black ink was used to fill the lines around the control surfaces.  Ink is great since it will fill the lines yet is easy to wipe off the surface if you get all butter fingers. Decals were made from photos.  I imported pictures into a program called GIMP 2.0 .  There I could manipulate the image to flatten or skew to the shape and size I needed. Since you cannot print white I used white decal paper. I scanned a swatch of the paint I made to the upper hull and used that to match the outline of the decal sheet. This would show up if at all as a small shadow.  Once satisfied the decals were printed and sealed with three coats of lacquer.  During application a decal setting solution was used.  In hindsight I should have applied coat of furniture polish to the areas to receive decals.  This would have made it easier to hide the edges.  Once in place selected decals around the water line were "distressed," to show wear.
 
Faint rust tracks from the limber holes were brushed on using dry pigment powder.  The silver gray of the acoustic window of the SHARK GILL Sonar was hand brushed to give it texture. what appear to be oppses around the window are in face correct.  The screw holes for the window mounting  are filled with putty and sometimes it is not the neatest stuff. 
 
The white line around the hull was also left kinda well... authentic.  Being at the water line and in the arctic makes getting the lines just so a little rough. 
 
One major system missing from the model is the anecroholic tiles. These square rubber tiles are vital in absorbing active sonar and holding in some of the passive noise offenders.  When my first submarine was fitted with them, we had a hoot bouncing coffee mugs off the hull. Then we got the bright idea to Armor All the boat  Big time booboo.  Once done the USS RAY SSN 653 was indeed a shining beauty. However there is a reason you do not armor all your brake pedal, seats or steps...you get the drift.  Adding these tiles would have been very difficult so I went with what I had.
 
The AKULA was given three coats of clear, and mounted on a stained poplar board.  I proto etched a name plate and secured the model and plate into the display case.
 
Kinda fun build and I hope it helps me draw attention to my books.
 
Chief               

Masts, screw hull ready to go.  Base made and all the dandy funk added.
 
We need decals!!!!   I use a system to make my own dry transfers decals.
 
With this system the decal design is drawn into the computer. You can use any of a million programs to accomplish this.
 
Once the design is complete it is printed onto a special paper using a laser printer.  With the image is on the special paper, I need to change the black numbers into white numbers.  This is done by laminating white mylar foil into the black toner.
 
A special laminator is used which is the only really thing expensive in this system.  Once the white is added the decals is then again laminated with a clear carrier film. This process causes static to adhere to the foil and toner.
 
Then the decal is dipped into water which releases the image from the paper.  the decal is dried trimmed and then sprayed with an alcohol based adhesive.
 
The decal is positioned and burnished. The carrier is then removed leaving the decal in place.
 
If you are interested in the system let me know and I will get you the particulars.
 
The model was then mounted using brass tubing.
 
That was it guys hope you enjoyed!!! 

There is a way anyone can make photo-etched parts. You will need cheap newspaper advertisements the kind with the plastic coating, Ferrick Chloride, thin sheet brass, enamel paint, access to a laser printer, printing paper, clothing iron, 2 Plastic tubs, gloves, eye protection, plastic apron, and a well-ventilated area.
 
1. Design what you need using any program you want.
2. Using the laser printer, print the design on the cheap ad paper. The toner will melt onto the plastic which is what we want.
3. Clean the brass with wet 1500 grit sandpaper. Rinse with plenty of water and let dry.
4. When the brass is dry place the printed design face down so the black toner is in contact with the brass.
5. Place copy paper on top of the design.
6. Use a clothing iron on its high setting  (NO STEAM) and go over the design. This is a slow steady process. Check the transfer of the toner to the brass by carefully lifting a corner.
7. Let the brass cool.
 
8. Soak the brass with the paper still attached in room temp tap water. The water will weaken the paper part and cause it to fall off. A gently rub with the fingertips helps some. This is another time-consuming process. 
8. When the paper is totally gone you can see your design now on the brass. The toner acts as a resist to the Ferric Chloride.
9. Dry the brass and turn it over. Now use enamel paint orf Plasti-Dip to coat the back of the brass. This will stop the Ferric Chloride from eating everything.
10. When the enamel is fully dried you are ready to etch your parts.
11. Heat a pan of water. When just below boiling remove the pan from the heat.
12. Place the bottle of Ferric Chloride into the water and allow it to heat the chemical.
13. Fill one of your 2 plastic tubs with clean cool water.
14. Set both tubs next to each other.
15. When warm, and you have on your gloves, eye protection,  plastic apron, and in a very ventilated area Pour the Ferric Chloride into the empty plastic tub just enough that it will cover your brass.
16. Place the brass into the chemical facing up.
17. Start rocking the tub back and forth. You will notice the brass dissolving from around your soon to be made parts.
18. When the waste brass is dissolved place the parts in the fresh water tub. Swirl them around to stop the chemical reaction. Change water and continue to swirl the parts.
19. If you used enamel paint, the parts are all loose unless you included a fret in your design. If you used Plasti-Dip they are embedded in the plastic.
20. Remove the parts and let them dry.
Have a ball, my friends!!
 
Here is a block and some lances and Harpoons I use
   
     

The paper needed is the annoying advertisement paper that comes with the newspaper. The flyers inside. Magazine paper also works. Wefalck these are reversed from where I was using another method.  He is correct you need to have them like this.
 
As for the size of parts I have been able to do 1/700 scale railing for the EDMUND FITZGERALD, Flood grates on My Submodels in various scales and Awards for my German tank crews in 35 scale. 

There is a way anyone can make photo-etched parts. You will need cheap newspaper advertisements the kind with the plastic coating, Ferrick Chloride, thin sheet brass, enamel paint, access to a laser printer, printing paper, clothing iron, 2 Plastic tubs, gloves, eye protection, plastic apron, and a well-ventilated area.
 
1. Design what you need using any program you want.
2. Using the laser printer, print the design on the cheap ad paper. The toner will melt onto the plastic which is what we want.
3. Clean the brass with wet 1500 grit sandpaper. Rinse with plenty of water and let dry.
4. When the brass is dry place the printed design face down so the black toner is in contact with the brass.
5. Place copy paper on top of the design.
6. Use a clothing iron on its high setting  (NO STEAM) and go over the design. This is a slow steady process. Check the transfer of the toner to the brass by carefully lifting a corner.
7. Let the brass cool.
 
8. Soak the brass with the paper still attached in room temp tap water. The water will weaken the paper part and cause it to fall off. A gently rub with the fingertips helps some. This is another time-consuming process. 
8. When the paper is totally gone you can see your design now on the brass. The toner acts as a resist to the Ferric Chloride.
9. Dry the brass and turn it over. Now use enamel paint orf Plasti-Dip to coat the back of the brass. This will stop the Ferric Chloride from eating everything.
10. When the enamel is fully dried you are ready to etch your parts.
11. Heat a pan of water. When just below boiling remove the pan from the heat.
12. Place the bottle of Ferric Chloride into the water and allow it to heat the chemical.
13. Fill one of your 2 plastic tubs with clean cool water.
14. Set both tubs next to each other.
15. When warm, and you have on your gloves, eye protection,  plastic apron, and in a very ventilated area Pour the Ferric Chloride into the empty plastic tub just enough that it will cover your brass.
16. Place the brass into the chemical facing up.
17. Start rocking the tub back and forth. You will notice the brass dissolving from around your soon to be made parts.
18. When the waste brass is dissolved place the parts in the fresh water tub. Swirl them around to stop the chemical reaction. Change water and continue to swirl the parts.
19. If you used enamel paint, the parts are all loose unless you included a fret in your design. If you used Plasti-Dip they are embedded in the plastic.
20. Remove the parts and let them dry.
Have a ball, my friends!!
 
Here is a block and some lances and Harpoons I use
   
     

First of all I want to thank you all for the kind words. I do love all ships, however I spent from my late teens to my 40s riding submarines. So bear with me.  Still have many projects going.  Scratch Building the LEE, upgrading a little Academy Whale Ship.  Oh yeah and a 1/700 EDMUND FITZGERALD.
 
Lets Rig for Dive and get this little puppy to bed!
 
Well I poured the mold by using the syringe method to ensure the pour hole did not become clogged and result with a missing mid ship.
 
                                                                            SUBMARINE FACT TIME!!!
 
                   On a US 688 Class Fast Attack there are only two water tight doors. One is at Frame 57 and separates operations from engineering.  We have another name for forward people and after people.  We are Coners (We work in the cone.) and Nukes.  The other water tight door is the washing machine in the laundry space.
 
I did not attach any control surface to the master prior to pouring.  Thin areas of a pour take forever to cure out as they can not generate heat that well. Also unless you can spin cast or have a pressure pot there is always the chance a bubble will somehow get trapped and really complicate your day.
 
After 30 minutes I de-molded the hull, and re-drilled the mounting holes. 
 
The mold for the control surfaces was heated to 150 F  in the oven.  Your mold might sweat some so be sure you wipe it clean and give it a bit of mold conditioner.  With the mold heated I mixed and poured the control surfaces.
 
The surfaces were allowed to cure for an hour then removed from the mold and the little bit of flash trimmed away.
 
The surfaces were attached to the hull at locations indicated by the plan using CA. A fillet was made where the vertical stabilizers meet the hull just forward of the Stern Planes using Green Filler Putty, and sanded smooth.
 
Three light coats of auto primer were applied. After each the hull was given a light going over with 0000 steel wool.
 
With the primer coats dried I next airbrushed Flat Black Acryl over the entire hull.  As with the Primer this was steel wooled between coats.
 
While these dried I used GIMP 2.0 to design the screw and decals for the model.  The decals were printed and sealed and the screw was photo-etched.
 
With my water line marker I retraced the previous marks and taped the hull at the line. The lower hull was air brushed with a mixture of 80% Red 10% dark Blue and 10% Black.
 
With the paint cured I gave the little monster a few coats of clear coat.  Then the dry transfer hull numbers went on the sail.  Along with the BARBEL'S  BATTLE E Award.  We love getting those! Means we are best of the best.  Of course!
 
I then applied the draft marks and locked then down with Micro sol decal solution.  Black ink was used to highlight the hatches and Bronze was used to paint the capstan.
 
I made the base from Walnut and added the ships patch and a set of Dolphins.  After a coat or so of clear, the ole girl was moored on her base.
 
Well that is that friends.  BARBEL was the test bed for many of the systems modern subs use.  It was found that bow mounted torpedo tubes can really interfere with passive sonar as it is also bow mounted.  Starting with PERMIT 594 Class SSNs the tubes were located on the sides of the ship.  These are at and angle of 8.5 degrees off centerline. S.I.N.S was tested on BARBEL  Ships Inertial Navigation System.  This system was in use until late 637 and all 688 Class Attack boats.
 
Hope you enjoyed the build and a little sub history.
 
All clear on the broadcast. All messages aboard. Lower all masts and antennas. Going Deep!!
 
 
Chief
                           

A three-year project finally completed. This big cat now features High voltage Main gun Flash, Servo recoil, Clark TK 22 control, and soundboard, Metal Tracks, Working Headlight, 4:1 Reduction Gears, Metal Drive Sprocket and Idler, Flashing Bow and COAX MG 34s, Track adjusters, Smoke systems, and it plays the Panzer Leid. All external fittings are nickel and photo-etch. Barrel and muzzle brake are brass and aluminum. The suspension is actual torsion bars just like the real TIGER 1.  It is finished in the scheme of the 3rd Company 101st SS at Normandy June 1944.  Tiger 334 was knocked out during the fighting. 

From many years ago. My COB found this and posted it.

From many years ago. My COB found this and posted it.

From many years ago. My COB found this and posted it.

These guys have some great bases for your waterline type projects.
 https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.coastalkits.co.uk%2Fnewstore%2Fships.html%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR0w-i8geoT0l2ymhm1R-7Rht0w0dhlQCC7QMmHhGRF-OD2afRNQnvEdS6I&h=AT07OBoXAXmm5i4u_JKyrid-TAhjAL1J_2p--8W2zsMSdy_wB8FfyYy3ExVSgmjxk3k_WkzZjpQC2mLN8ajkEgeVKjESb-Fk336d8nrY4JqgezbaavT2vupaXY-J8xfxdx3-rh_DYNJ07_TBAWDLldBkdqHcn0j_bmZMMAU67PyXPjqk348XmB7dMeaNTot6AoYn7UGEIG1976BbZTJ__Mfgletpwngzbh4xSHgrPanhAyP0HblBpHMJivFkKiTY37ai6JILcXVZOiIWn7H-Z5ZeglahZYmEWkyCL6d6GmOOCRlug2rQyl5jlSqzRDwCi4eVIucgofmMekJhRQaIKughX6uTiBmVJ5gEZ24DhCeA5ElxIRjPzeoDolSATQDvRGebVpK9t3AocCgOxacNfBvT_vbwpUe4UxohyQxhil_eG7vglt9VfXOgUetaQr-QzBZgRlycYfgJzaWRst_a1rnFp7M_KrO_DcY_8L_74bq_2tCYhGbWr2PhE2lwEnRbllbssRB6EtEgx1z1xG-sdakfC1pQUFhfymWF7CVNt_DQjAp22A2bUA9bEmUgd6ssa6ai3cIGFtVYwBhu7wCncVyADe495U7jTVj9gyu1VT8bLKySW-dDdoS_rujTnD_683vYQJbktA0t9taM88PkxJL5zBdkegkC0l99IOL7U5DmUkynURpD

While I was waiting for the paint to dry, I made the rudder, always with the walnut
as you can see its composition is very simple, it will be a piece that I will insert later,


once the paint has dried, I gave the third "past" leaving it to dry

 

A tutorial I did for some impatient folks who wondered why making their scratch built submarine models took so long.
 
 
 

The cheaper the magazine the better. Most have that plastic coating, but the higher quality the paper the harder it is to remove the paper and leave the toner.
 
Whatever you use just please be careful. Every one of you, in my opinion, is a master modeler and we need to keep that talent intact. 

A tutorial I did for some impatient folks who wondered why making their scratch built submarine models took so long.
 
 
 

A tutorial I did for some impatient folks who wondered why making their scratch built submarine models took so long.