Jack12477

Hi Keith,
acc. to the techn. data of the Elbe 1 there was a 12 head crew, but i also unfortunately do`nt have any information for their individual tasks. Probably in duty-shift operation at a time there were 6 on duty and the other 6 had free time, (or on stand by).
The Elbe 1 is (was) the largest German lightship ever.
 
Nils

You're progressing nicely, thank you for your dedication!

Additionally I wonder what size of crew she carried. Trinity House lighthouses (before automation) were typically manned by a team of 3. While I don't know the crewing arrangements for Trinity House lightships, as they have no propulsion, they presumably also had a crew of 3. 
Presumably this vessel didn't carry the "steaming crew" unless she was being moved.

And the Next "Honey I shrunk the Bike" Award goes to.....
 
TIM!!!!
 
Congratulations Sir!!!
 
Fantastic result..... Anyone in pics would be hard pressed to tell the difference between model and real...
 
VERY VERY well done....

Awesome-looking bike right there!
 
I bookmarked that page, too.

Pffftt! Get your priorities straight, dude.

It's exciting to have a stage where there's a great leap forwards in what the model looks like. This was one of those weekends, spending time taking pleasure in the unfolding of the model. Turning the model right way up & trimming the aft hull sections makes a big difference, she's looking a lot more like a yacht now. And not just like a yacht - the beamy but well proportioned lines are starting to show.
 
The support is from some free foamcore cardboard, it was easy to make but I'm not sure it's going to last the distance. 

 
Stout boats, definitely not a racehorse, with just a hint of of tumblehome....
The large volume of the hulls is really evident here.

 
I have added some scrap lead inside the hull, I think it feels better if they are slightly heavy & it's probably safer for the model. Those 4 pieces, found on a building site, are probably about 500g or 1lb. Cut into 4 pieces & glued in place. Hopefully the time spent working out the pre-cut plywood frames will make the next stages simpler. It can be quite tricky to measure  - for example - the height of a cockpit sole off the hull.

 
Next I'll start laying the cockpit plywood, & have a think about the rigging - if there needs to be anything done now while access in the hull is still possible, such as backing for the chainplates.
 
One more thing, on the related 28' design for Maluka: following her good result in the recent Fastnet, there's an article on her in the June Classic Boat mag. She's still in the UK & her owner will be cruising the north east coast of the UK the next few weeks.
 

Thanks CDW, Shipman and Rick! Patrick that is a lovely rendition of this kit. Very authentic looking I can almost taste the rust on that exhaust.
Just finishing up the handlebars and a few other mechanicals. This Italeri kit may be old but it builds up to a pretty good looking model. Kind of wish there were others at this scale. 
 

For scuppers: My method (waterway in place) is, first accurate mark-out both inboard and out. Drill with a very small diameter bit from both sides. Hopefully the holes will meet - at least partially. Then progressively enlarge using larger diameter bits and needle files, making minor corrections as you go until you reach the diameter of the scupper.
 
I've not drilled hawseholes in years. I file the half-holes in the hawse pieced before assembly. Again, I make them slightly under final size, then file them out once planking is complete.

Nicely done!

I added more details to the engine and also prepared the distributor. Drilling the tiny oil tube connectors proved tricky. They need to be drilled to accept the oil tubing made from solder wire.
Most of the screws shown on the casings are separate parts and also need to be pre drilled and then inserted. The manual suggests to add the oil tubes next, but I will do it later, because handling the still not finished engine would be a nightmare with the soft wiring on. Luckily the places for the tubing should be reachable later.
I also added some dots of black panel wash here and there to enhance contrasts.




 
Cheers Rob

Exactly Craig, most of the polishing tumblers include a bag of non specified steel pins. Mine, the only one which could be shipped to my place after a lot of effort included none and  had to purchase them separately.

Cheers Rob

Did the tumbler come with two sizes of pins, or are those purchased separately? In the ads I've seen for the unit, did not see the options for pin size selection/purchase. it simply says it comes with pins, not stating size.

I use only the 0,3 mm steel pins, water and a drop of detergent. There are polishing fluids around, but I haven´t tested these. The non magnetic white metal parts are relatively unmoved in the magnetic tumbler, which helps avoiding scratches due to impact of the parts. Only the steel pins swirl around and do their polishing job.
I tried a simple rotating tumbler as well, filled with water and tiny steel balls. The surfaces were shinier with that treatment, but you loose sharpness of details and the steel balls don´t reach in all the tiny crevices.

Cheers Rob

That is looking so nice  mate.
 
OC.

I've got too many irons in the fire. Very little time has been available for the tom kitty but the cockpit is nearing a finish with some minor details, a little detail painting, and a dull coat to finish it up.
Somehow I managed once again to see a small part go flying off into the netherworld, never to be found again (yet). This time it was a shoulder harness strap. Hence, the rear seat has no shoulder harness straps attached yet. I will not attach the gun site glass pieces until the very end before the canopy goes on. These are all box stock parts from the kit, no aftermarket used at all.

Looking really nice, Chuck. Your progress is amazing and the ship looks aesthetically pleasing, at least to my eye.
 
As I recall, when I did the scuppers on Cheerful, I started with a small diameter drill that was large enough to get the point of a round needle file inside. Then I just rolled it to increase the hole size. Once the hole size was close a final drilling to even out the taper worked nicely. Like I said, as I recall. To be honest I'm not 100% sure.

Thank you Phil,
for your input, I took a look at the Columbia WLV604 lightship per WW-web. A nice Vessel, perhaps we shall see a model of her here at MSW someday.
 
Nils

many thanks for your words Andy,
 
you`re right, I also sometimes make a decision on a certain build sequence and start preparing to the intended  thing, but after thinking it over twice I recognize that if I would do so, there is no more access to an item that lays behind or under the section I`m planing to do. So foot on the brake before continuing. For example, before the boatsdeck is placed, I have to make sure that the ship`s bollards are near to the appropriate fairleads and the footpoint-fastening positions of the  lighttower stays are placed so that they do`nt interfere with other items, and that the stairs to the boats deck are clear form what is to be mounted items above later on.
 
For mounting the boatsdeck to the long deckhouse and to install a number of supports along the length, I decided to make a bunsh of wooden supports which have slight overhight so that the can be tuned to precise fit when mounting. In this case I refraigned from making a brass framework to mount on.
 
Nils

these are the  20 wooden supports for the boatsdeck. 2mm pine squarebars with ply-knees

a template for the boatsdeck, for evaluating positions etc.

the boatsdeck has a shere and a longitudinal curving. The standovers (port and starboard side ) need to be supported and fastened to bulwarks below and deck above. Before that the 0,8 mm ply deck needs to be planked, like the main deck below. All must be in accordance in what I wrote in the  beginning of this post
 
 
 
 

Brilliant. Love this approach. The speed of your build is astonishing. I seem to spend hours staring at my plans and workbench and bits of wood for little output. I must learn to make these pragmatic decisions and move on!

A lot like drilling holes for multiple strips and eyelets on the hull you spent almost a year planking. Not much opportunity for recovery. 

Just take a deep breath and go for it, Chuck! 
 
John

Oh its scary…one slip up and it will be hard to fix.  But that is true when you drill hawse holes and scuppers on any model.  A year of hard work and one slip up…poofff.

Thank you Craig, the tumbler indeed helped a lot, specially for a kit like the Crocker, where many parts will be left without painting or even be polished later for a realistic chrome effect. 
You can toy a bit with the diameter of the steel pins, I bought some with 0,6mm and 0,3 mm diameter and used 200 gram of the latter. The tumbling process needs to be supervised. I tumbled about an hour, but you have to find a balance, between nice surfaces as a result and not losing sharpness in tiny details like boltheads on the other side.
I recommend wearing rubber gloves, while handling the parts after tumbling, you will be astonished, how black the water will be, and I guess, it´s not too healthy either.
I also got the magnetic tumbler suggestion through videos and build logs too.

Cheers Rob

I love your choice of subject here, a MFH kit in particular. I've had my eye on that same tumbler for a while now but never decided to purchase it. Your show of how well it works has helped me clearly see its value. Trying to clean up all those tiny parts by hand would be a monstrous task. I first got the idea of the tumbler by watching a fellow who builds MFH kits on YouTube. He suggested it in his builds. 
What will you use as a cement for the metal parts of the kit?
 
PS: one other question about that tumbler...how long does it take for the parts to clean up?