Force9

The Bow Hawse Pipe
 
The bow of the Olympic class liners had a distinctive opening for the bow hawse pipe: 

This opening was used for the infrequent deployment of the bow center anchor that was stowed in a well on the foredeck.  Probably also handy in certain mooring and towing situations.
 
The Trumpeter kit includes a very generic roundish appendage to represent this feature.  A big miss in accuracy that is hard to reconcile.

I was a bit worried about correcting this since screwing it up would be very noticeable on the model - but leaving the inaccurate kit version in place seemed to be a worse option.  Something needed to be done.
 
There is a very attractive 3D print that Arturo Anzures has available on the Shapeways site that could be a nice solution. Unfortunately, this option requires some serious surgery on the kit that will involve quite a bit of finesse and epoxy putty to properly incorporate.  I’m a bit squeamish about going down that path.
 
If I’m willing to work with the general dimensions of the kit version (slightly wider than historical scale) I think I can fashion a simpler solution that will get me a decent result.
 
Here I go…
 
First, I notched out a section in front of the kit version using a hobby knife, micro-chisel, and a flat file. 

This creates a space to insert a small bit of styrene shaped appropriately to resemble the historic contours of the hawse pipe.  

The piece was sized to the same width as the kit version to minimize the need to carve up the plastic and to maximize the surface area for the solvent.

After getting it affixed, I went ahead and drilled out the hawse pipe opening.

I first drilled a small pilot hole, then went back again with a larger bit for the final version.
 
At this point I had the framework of the new hawse pipe in place and just needed to fill behind the new styrene with epoxy putty to establish the final contours.
 

I’m not a frequent user of Milliput, but I do appreciate having some on hand for the right moments.  The White Superfine version works best for me.

I wear disposable gloves to mix the two components together between my fingers and then roll it back and forth on some tin foil (to protect my work surface from the residue).

I used some scrap styrene to fashion a few simple shaping tools to help mold the epoxy into the final form.
 
The styrene hawse piece defines the overall shape as I add putty to back fill behind. Having a small cup of water nearby is critical… Milliput is easily smoothed and manipulated if I dip my shaping tools in water as I go along.  

The first pass does not need perfection – it just needs to represent the rough outline. I’ll come back with progressively finer sanding paper to smooth everything out.
 
Round sanding sticks are useful for the next step:

The internal hawse pipe opening is widened and smoothed out to better match against the historic references.


 
I’ll stand pat with this result until I get to the primer stage.  Like some other areas on the hull, I’ll make refinements and finalize everything once the primer helps fill and smooth out some of the rough surfaces and otherwise reveals the imperfections.
 
This turned out to be less painful than I thought it would be…!
 
Cheers,
Evan

The Bow Hawse Pipe
 
The bow of the Olympic class liners had a distinctive opening for the bow hawse pipe: 

This opening was used for the infrequent deployment of the bow center anchor that was stowed in a well on the foredeck.  Probably also handy in certain mooring and towing situations.
 
The Trumpeter kit includes a very generic roundish appendage to represent this feature.  A big miss in accuracy that is hard to reconcile.

I was a bit worried about correcting this since screwing it up would be very noticeable on the model - but leaving the inaccurate kit version in place seemed to be a worse option.  Something needed to be done.
 
There is a very attractive 3D print that Arturo Anzures has available on the Shapeways site that could be a nice solution. Unfortunately, this option requires some serious surgery on the kit that will involve quite a bit of finesse and epoxy putty to properly incorporate.  I’m a bit squeamish about going down that path.
 
If I’m willing to work with the general dimensions of the kit version (slightly wider than historical scale) I think I can fashion a simpler solution that will get me a decent result.
 
Here I go…
 
First, I notched out a section in front of the kit version using a hobby knife, micro-chisel, and a flat file. 

This creates a space to insert a small bit of styrene shaped appropriately to resemble the historic contours of the hawse pipe.  

The piece was sized to the same width as the kit version to minimize the need to carve up the plastic and to maximize the surface area for the solvent.

After getting it affixed, I went ahead and drilled out the hawse pipe opening.

I first drilled a small pilot hole, then went back again with a larger bit for the final version.
 
At this point I had the framework of the new hawse pipe in place and just needed to fill behind the new styrene with epoxy putty to establish the final contours.
 

I’m not a frequent user of Milliput, but I do appreciate having some on hand for the right moments.  The White Superfine version works best for me.

I wear disposable gloves to mix the two components together between my fingers and then roll it back and forth on some tin foil (to protect my work surface from the residue).

I used some scrap styrene to fashion a few simple shaping tools to help mold the epoxy into the final form.
 
The styrene hawse piece defines the overall shape as I add putty to back fill behind. Having a small cup of water nearby is critical… Milliput is easily smoothed and manipulated if I dip my shaping tools in water as I go along.  

The first pass does not need perfection – it just needs to represent the rough outline. I’ll come back with progressively finer sanding paper to smooth everything out.
 
Round sanding sticks are useful for the next step:

The internal hawse pipe opening is widened and smoothed out to better match against the historic references.


 
I’ll stand pat with this result until I get to the primer stage.  Like some other areas on the hull, I’ll make refinements and finalize everything once the primer helps fill and smooth out some of the rough surfaces and otherwise reveals the imperfections.
 
This turned out to be less painful than I thought it would be…!
 
Cheers,
Evan

Beautiful and fun! 
 
Maybe that Video is interesting for you?

The Bow Hawse Pipe
 
The bow of the Olympic class liners had a distinctive opening for the bow hawse pipe: 

This opening was used for the infrequent deployment of the bow center anchor that was stowed in a well on the foredeck.  Probably also handy in certain mooring and towing situations.
 
The Trumpeter kit includes a very generic roundish appendage to represent this feature.  A big miss in accuracy that is hard to reconcile.

I was a bit worried about correcting this since screwing it up would be very noticeable on the model - but leaving the inaccurate kit version in place seemed to be a worse option.  Something needed to be done.
 
There is a very attractive 3D print that Arturo Anzures has available on the Shapeways site that could be a nice solution. Unfortunately, this option requires some serious surgery on the kit that will involve quite a bit of finesse and epoxy putty to properly incorporate.  I’m a bit squeamish about going down that path.
 
If I’m willing to work with the general dimensions of the kit version (slightly wider than historical scale) I think I can fashion a simpler solution that will get me a decent result.
 
Here I go…
 
First, I notched out a section in front of the kit version using a hobby knife, micro-chisel, and a flat file. 

This creates a space to insert a small bit of styrene shaped appropriately to resemble the historic contours of the hawse pipe.  

The piece was sized to the same width as the kit version to minimize the need to carve up the plastic and to maximize the surface area for the solvent.

After getting it affixed, I went ahead and drilled out the hawse pipe opening.

I first drilled a small pilot hole, then went back again with a larger bit for the final version.
 
At this point I had the framework of the new hawse pipe in place and just needed to fill behind the new styrene with epoxy putty to establish the final contours.
 

I’m not a frequent user of Milliput, but I do appreciate having some on hand for the right moments.  The White Superfine version works best for me.

I wear disposable gloves to mix the two components together between my fingers and then roll it back and forth on some tin foil (to protect my work surface from the residue).

I used some scrap styrene to fashion a few simple shaping tools to help mold the epoxy into the final form.
 
The styrene hawse piece defines the overall shape as I add putty to back fill behind. Having a small cup of water nearby is critical… Milliput is easily smoothed and manipulated if I dip my shaping tools in water as I go along.  

The first pass does not need perfection – it just needs to represent the rough outline. I’ll come back with progressively finer sanding paper to smooth everything out.
 
Round sanding sticks are useful for the next step:

The internal hawse pipe opening is widened and smoothed out to better match against the historic references.


 
I’ll stand pat with this result until I get to the primer stage.  Like some other areas on the hull, I’ll make refinements and finalize everything once the primer helps fill and smooth out some of the rough surfaces and otherwise reveals the imperfections.
 
This turned out to be less painful than I thought it would be…!
 
Cheers,
Evan

I very much agree with Don.  These little scratch projects are so much fun, and you have captured so much extra detail to perfect scale.  Very well done!

Thank you Don!  
 
I really appreciate your continued interest in my build.
 
Cheers!
Evan

The Rudder Continued…
 
Let’s make a scratch-built rudder for the Trumpeter 1/200 Titanic.
 
I started with a sheet of .030 thick styrene.  This is not so thin that it’ll warp, and not too far off from scale.  It is also easily cut with common paper scissors.
 
Step 1
I traced the general outline on the sheet using my previously modified Trumpeter rudder as a template.  This provides a good shape while allowing exact alignment of the pintles to fit the kit.

Step 2
 
I cut out the gaps between the pintle positions and did some initial test fitting:

Step 3

The rudder outline was snipped using scissors to get a rough outline that was refined with a hobby knife and smoothed using a coarse flex file.
 
Step 4
Before adding the bolt flanges, I cemented some half round strip to the pintles to give them a cylindrical shape…
 

I used .080 No. 242 half round Evergreen that was filed a bit thinner to better match the scale before cementing.  I affixed a single length and used a chunk of styrene to press against the rudder edge for tight alignment of the half round strip.  After a few minutes I came back and snipped between the pintles to remove the excess.  Worked one side at a time.  These will later get filed flush on the ends as I fitted them to the kit.
 
Step 5
Now to attend to the bolt flanges.

I needed to find a method that would produce consistent wedge shapes for all the needed elements.  I determined that strips of .020 x.060 could be stacked in the approximate shape and glued side by side to some scrap sheet (only glued down at the ends) to allow me to file them all at the same angle to shape the flanges.

I needed ten for the job, but I made them in two batches of 7 each to get some extras just in case.  The thick chunk of styrene in the picture was used to press against each stack during gluing to make sure everything stayed aligned.
 
Step 6

Once dry, I came back and filed the wedges at a consistent angle and then cut them free from the sheet.  They didn’t need to have a perfectly smooth slope – just enough to represent the wedges.
 
I carefully separated them with the hobby knife blade:

Step 7
Next, I flipped over each of the newly made wedges so that the factory smooth side was on top and cemented them to the rudder with plenty of overhang:

These were carefully positioned in relation to the pintles according to the historic photo references.  Note that the last flange is set slightly BELOW the last pintle.  The overhangs were trimmed to fit and the whole process repeated for the other side.
 
Additionally, small styrene rod was used for the bolt heads on the pintles.

Step 8
I added the zinc anodes based on what appears in most of the historic photos. These were .010 x.030 strips that were pricked with a push pin to represent the small bolts and flipped over and cemented in place.
 
As @Tsm209 noted in an earlier post, there are discrepancies in how some folks think the rudder anodes should be represented.  Robert Read shows a “double-wide” version rather than what is seen in most historic Titanic photos.  It may be that Mr. Read has access to other photos and/or documentation that he used to source his drawings.
 
The talented digital artist Vasilije Ristovic’ also shows this type of rudder anode in his stunning 3D illustration:

(Image from Mr. Ristovic’s terrific Facebook page )
 
I chose to stick with what I could see on the historic Titanic rudder photos that are most referenced in online searches.
 
Step 9
I added the rudder stock to the top of the rudder using Evergreen .080 rod (No. 212).  The stock was made long enough to easily extend into the hull.

Step 10
Adding the details

The Titanic had stops mounted on two of the pintles to limit the maximum rudder angle to 40 degrees on hard turns.  Small snips of .020 x .040 styrene were added for these.  There is also a small piece of .010 x.020 strip on the outer edge for a future hasp (?) ring that mounts here.  I’ll add that just before priming/painting since it’ll be fragile.

Also included are the small stops mounted on the kit where the rudder pintles would meet the hull.  I should also note that the small hole under the counter was drilled wider to accommodate the new rudder stock diameter.
 
Some sample views from aft to show the overall effect:


Not quite up to the level of a 3D printed version, but it was fun to build and likely cost me less than $5 US in materials that I already (mostly) had on hand.  (I did need to purchase the half round and smaller rod for the pintle detail.)
 
Thanks again to those who’ve been following along.
 
Bow Hawse up next.
 
Cheers,
Evan

The Rudder Continued…
 
Let’s make a scratch-built rudder for the Trumpeter 1/200 Titanic.
 
I started with a sheet of .030 thick styrene.  This is not so thin that it’ll warp, and not too far off from scale.  It is also easily cut with common paper scissors.
 
Step 1
I traced the general outline on the sheet using my previously modified Trumpeter rudder as a template.  This provides a good shape while allowing exact alignment of the pintles to fit the kit.

Step 2
 
I cut out the gaps between the pintle positions and did some initial test fitting:

Step 3

The rudder outline was snipped using scissors to get a rough outline that was refined with a hobby knife and smoothed using a coarse flex file.
 
Step 4
Before adding the bolt flanges, I cemented some half round strip to the pintles to give them a cylindrical shape…
 

I used .080 No. 242 half round Evergreen that was filed a bit thinner to better match the scale before cementing.  I affixed a single length and used a chunk of styrene to press against the rudder edge for tight alignment of the half round strip.  After a few minutes I came back and snipped between the pintles to remove the excess.  Worked one side at a time.  These will later get filed flush on the ends as I fitted them to the kit.
 
Step 5
Now to attend to the bolt flanges.

I needed to find a method that would produce consistent wedge shapes for all the needed elements.  I determined that strips of .020 x.060 could be stacked in the approximate shape and glued side by side to some scrap sheet (only glued down at the ends) to allow me to file them all at the same angle to shape the flanges.

I needed ten for the job, but I made them in two batches of 7 each to get some extras just in case.  The thick chunk of styrene in the picture was used to press against each stack during gluing to make sure everything stayed aligned.
 
Step 6

Once dry, I came back and filed the wedges at a consistent angle and then cut them free from the sheet.  They didn’t need to have a perfectly smooth slope – just enough to represent the wedges.
 
I carefully separated them with the hobby knife blade:

Step 7
Next, I flipped over each of the newly made wedges so that the factory smooth side was on top and cemented them to the rudder with plenty of overhang:

These were carefully positioned in relation to the pintles according to the historic photo references.  Note that the last flange is set slightly BELOW the last pintle.  The overhangs were trimmed to fit and the whole process repeated for the other side.
 
Additionally, small styrene rod was used for the bolt heads on the pintles.

Step 8
I added the zinc anodes based on what appears in most of the historic photos. These were .010 x.030 strips that were pricked with a push pin to represent the small bolts and flipped over and cemented in place.
 
As @Tsm209 noted in an earlier post, there are discrepancies in how some folks think the rudder anodes should be represented.  Robert Read shows a “double-wide” version rather than what is seen in most historic Titanic photos.  It may be that Mr. Read has access to other photos and/or documentation that he used to source his drawings.
 
The talented digital artist Vasilije Ristovic’ also shows this type of rudder anode in his stunning 3D illustration:

(Image from Mr. Ristovic’s terrific Facebook page )
 
I chose to stick with what I could see on the historic Titanic rudder photos that are most referenced in online searches.
 
Step 9
I added the rudder stock to the top of the rudder using Evergreen .080 rod (No. 212).  The stock was made long enough to easily extend into the hull.

Step 10
Adding the details

The Titanic had stops mounted on two of the pintles to limit the maximum rudder angle to 40 degrees on hard turns.  Small snips of .020 x .040 styrene were added for these.  There is also a small piece of .010 x.020 strip on the outer edge for a future hasp (?) ring that mounts here.  I’ll add that just before priming/painting since it’ll be fragile.

Also included are the small stops mounted on the kit where the rudder pintles would meet the hull.  I should also note that the small hole under the counter was drilled wider to accommodate the new rudder stock diameter.
 
Some sample views from aft to show the overall effect:


Not quite up to the level of a 3D printed version, but it was fun to build and likely cost me less than $5 US in materials that I already (mostly) had on hand.  (I did need to purchase the half round and smaller rod for the pintle detail.)
 
Thanks again to those who’ve been following along.
 
Bow Hawse up next.
 
Cheers,
Evan

The Rudder Continued…
 
Let’s make a scratch-built rudder for the Trumpeter 1/200 Titanic.
 
I started with a sheet of .030 thick styrene.  This is not so thin that it’ll warp, and not too far off from scale.  It is also easily cut with common paper scissors.
 
Step 1
I traced the general outline on the sheet using my previously modified Trumpeter rudder as a template.  This provides a good shape while allowing exact alignment of the pintles to fit the kit.

Step 2
 
I cut out the gaps between the pintle positions and did some initial test fitting:

Step 3

The rudder outline was snipped using scissors to get a rough outline that was refined with a hobby knife and smoothed using a coarse flex file.
 
Step 4
Before adding the bolt flanges, I cemented some half round strip to the pintles to give them a cylindrical shape…
 

I used .080 No. 242 half round Evergreen that was filed a bit thinner to better match the scale before cementing.  I affixed a single length and used a chunk of styrene to press against the rudder edge for tight alignment of the half round strip.  After a few minutes I came back and snipped between the pintles to remove the excess.  Worked one side at a time.  These will later get filed flush on the ends as I fitted them to the kit.
 
Step 5
Now to attend to the bolt flanges.

I needed to find a method that would produce consistent wedge shapes for all the needed elements.  I determined that strips of .020 x.060 could be stacked in the approximate shape and glued side by side to some scrap sheet (only glued down at the ends) to allow me to file them all at the same angle to shape the flanges.

I needed ten for the job, but I made them in two batches of 7 each to get some extras just in case.  The thick chunk of styrene in the picture was used to press against each stack during gluing to make sure everything stayed aligned.
 
Step 6

Once dry, I came back and filed the wedges at a consistent angle and then cut them free from the sheet.  They didn’t need to have a perfectly smooth slope – just enough to represent the wedges.
 
I carefully separated them with the hobby knife blade:

Step 7
Next, I flipped over each of the newly made wedges so that the factory smooth side was on top and cemented them to the rudder with plenty of overhang:

These were carefully positioned in relation to the pintles according to the historic photo references.  Note that the last flange is set slightly BELOW the last pintle.  The overhangs were trimmed to fit and the whole process repeated for the other side.
 
Additionally, small styrene rod was used for the bolt heads on the pintles.

Step 8
I added the zinc anodes based on what appears in most of the historic photos. These were .010 x.030 strips that were pricked with a push pin to represent the small bolts and flipped over and cemented in place.
 
As @Tsm209 noted in an earlier post, there are discrepancies in how some folks think the rudder anodes should be represented.  Robert Read shows a “double-wide” version rather than what is seen in most historic Titanic photos.  It may be that Mr. Read has access to other photos and/or documentation that he used to source his drawings.
 
The talented digital artist Vasilije Ristovic’ also shows this type of rudder anode in his stunning 3D illustration:

(Image from Mr. Ristovic’s terrific Facebook page )
 
I chose to stick with what I could see on the historic Titanic rudder photos that are most referenced in online searches.
 
Step 9
I added the rudder stock to the top of the rudder using Evergreen .080 rod (No. 212).  The stock was made long enough to easily extend into the hull.

Step 10
Adding the details

The Titanic had stops mounted on two of the pintles to limit the maximum rudder angle to 40 degrees on hard turns.  Small snips of .020 x .040 styrene were added for these.  There is also a small piece of .010 x.020 strip on the outer edge for a future hasp (?) ring that mounts here.  I’ll add that just before priming/painting since it’ll be fragile.

Also included are the small stops mounted on the kit where the rudder pintles would meet the hull.  I should also note that the small hole under the counter was drilled wider to accommodate the new rudder stock diameter.
 
Some sample views from aft to show the overall effect:


Not quite up to the level of a 3D printed version, but it was fun to build and likely cost me less than $5 US in materials that I already (mostly) had on hand.  (I did need to purchase the half round and smaller rod for the pintle detail.)
 
Thanks again to those who’ve been following along.
 
Bow Hawse up next.
 
Cheers,
Evan

Thank you Don!  
 
I really appreciate your continued interest in my build.
 
Cheers!
Evan

The Rudder Continued…
 
Let’s make a scratch-built rudder for the Trumpeter 1/200 Titanic.
 
I started with a sheet of .030 thick styrene.  This is not so thin that it’ll warp, and not too far off from scale.  It is also easily cut with common paper scissors.
 
Step 1
I traced the general outline on the sheet using my previously modified Trumpeter rudder as a template.  This provides a good shape while allowing exact alignment of the pintles to fit the kit.

Step 2
 
I cut out the gaps between the pintle positions and did some initial test fitting:

Step 3

The rudder outline was snipped using scissors to get a rough outline that was refined with a hobby knife and smoothed using a coarse flex file.
 
Step 4
Before adding the bolt flanges, I cemented some half round strip to the pintles to give them a cylindrical shape…
 

I used .080 No. 242 half round Evergreen that was filed a bit thinner to better match the scale before cementing.  I affixed a single length and used a chunk of styrene to press against the rudder edge for tight alignment of the half round strip.  After a few minutes I came back and snipped between the pintles to remove the excess.  Worked one side at a time.  These will later get filed flush on the ends as I fitted them to the kit.
 
Step 5
Now to attend to the bolt flanges.

I needed to find a method that would produce consistent wedge shapes for all the needed elements.  I determined that strips of .020 x.060 could be stacked in the approximate shape and glued side by side to some scrap sheet (only glued down at the ends) to allow me to file them all at the same angle to shape the flanges.

I needed ten for the job, but I made them in two batches of 7 each to get some extras just in case.  The thick chunk of styrene in the picture was used to press against each stack during gluing to make sure everything stayed aligned.
 
Step 6

Once dry, I came back and filed the wedges at a consistent angle and then cut them free from the sheet.  They didn’t need to have a perfectly smooth slope – just enough to represent the wedges.
 
I carefully separated them with the hobby knife blade:

Step 7
Next, I flipped over each of the newly made wedges so that the factory smooth side was on top and cemented them to the rudder with plenty of overhang:

These were carefully positioned in relation to the pintles according to the historic photo references.  Note that the last flange is set slightly BELOW the last pintle.  The overhangs were trimmed to fit and the whole process repeated for the other side.
 
Additionally, small styrene rod was used for the bolt heads on the pintles.

Step 8
I added the zinc anodes based on what appears in most of the historic photos. These were .010 x.030 strips that were pricked with a push pin to represent the small bolts and flipped over and cemented in place.
 
As @Tsm209 noted in an earlier post, there are discrepancies in how some folks think the rudder anodes should be represented.  Robert Read shows a “double-wide” version rather than what is seen in most historic Titanic photos.  It may be that Mr. Read has access to other photos and/or documentation that he used to source his drawings.
 
The talented digital artist Vasilije Ristovic’ also shows this type of rudder anode in his stunning 3D illustration:

(Image from Mr. Ristovic’s terrific Facebook page )
 
I chose to stick with what I could see on the historic Titanic rudder photos that are most referenced in online searches.
 
Step 9
I added the rudder stock to the top of the rudder using Evergreen .080 rod (No. 212).  The stock was made long enough to easily extend into the hull.

Step 10
Adding the details

The Titanic had stops mounted on two of the pintles to limit the maximum rudder angle to 40 degrees on hard turns.  Small snips of .020 x .040 styrene were added for these.  There is also a small piece of .010 x.020 strip on the outer edge for a future hasp (?) ring that mounts here.  I’ll add that just before priming/painting since it’ll be fragile.

Also included are the small stops mounted on the kit where the rudder pintles would meet the hull.  I should also note that the small hole under the counter was drilled wider to accommodate the new rudder stock diameter.
 
Some sample views from aft to show the overall effect:


Not quite up to the level of a 3D printed version, but it was fun to build and likely cost me less than $5 US in materials that I already (mostly) had on hand.  (I did need to purchase the half round and smaller rod for the pintle detail.)
 
Thanks again to those who’ve been following along.
 
Bow Hawse up next.
 
Cheers,
Evan

The Rudder
 
The Olympic class liners had serious chunks of metal for rudders…
 
The Titanic's rudder was nearly 79 feet tall, more than 15 feet at the widest point and weighed in at around 100 tons. It was controlled using two steering engines (one backup) connected via tillers to the rudder quadrant.
 
Some have argued that Titanic’s rudder was far too small for the job and contributed to her inability to avoid disaster.  Others claim otherwise... They say that the math works out well and the rudder surface area was only slightly undersized in relation to the waterline length and other factors that naval architects consider these days when sizing a rudder. They point out that Titanic likely turned at least two compass points in the very brief interval between "Hard a Starboard!!!!" and contact.  Pretty good considering her overall length and Titanic’s relative speed at the time of sighting the berg. It is also relevant that the Olympic had a long career and was thought to be very maneuverable by her multiple captains.  The rudder was probably very serviceable and not a significant factor in the collision.
 
Here is a historic photo of the rudder showing human scale.  Note the large bolts on the flanges that hold the five large panels together.


In this view by photographer Robert John Welch, we see that the bolts are now encased in cement (note the lighter color on the outer edges) to streamline the water flow over the rudder surface.
 
So how does the Trumpeter version hold up to the historic record?  Not great.  The shape is too wide across the entire form, the bolt flanges are much too thin, and the rudder stops and other details are missing.  Not to mention the out of scale thickness of the entire piece and the lack of any dimension on the rudder pintles.
 
I first considered modifying the kit rudder to improve the shape and add the missing details.  I assembled the necessary tools and marked a pencil line to refine the shape and went to work.


 

The shape was easily improved, but at this point I thought it didn’t make sense to proceed since the piece was just too thick for the scale.  Why bother?
 
So on to the KA resin version.  This rudder was much improved in terms of shape and detail, but mine was a bit warped and needed a bath in warm water to get it (mostly) straightened.

But alas… Inexplicably the KA rudder pintles don’t align with the gudgeons on the kit and the rudder stock at the top doesn’t extend far enough to reach into the hull.  Ugh. 

I’d need to extend the KA rudder stock and relocate the gudgeons on the kit.  And I'm a bit worried about future warping since the piece is so thin (but likely accurate to scale).
 
Hmmm… I have a varied collection of styrene strips and sheets built up over years of plastic modeling.  How about I try my hand at a scratch-built rudder?  I can control all the details, make sure it fits cleanly to the kit, and make it a bit thicker than the KA version, but not as thick as the Trumpeter one.
 
And it’ll be fun.
 
Onward.
 
Cheers,
Evan

The Rudder Continued…
 
Let’s make a scratch-built rudder for the Trumpeter 1/200 Titanic.
 
I started with a sheet of .030 thick styrene.  This is not so thin that it’ll warp, and not too far off from scale.  It is also easily cut with common paper scissors.
 
Step 1
I traced the general outline on the sheet using my previously modified Trumpeter rudder as a template.  This provides a good shape while allowing exact alignment of the pintles to fit the kit.

Step 2
 
I cut out the gaps between the pintle positions and did some initial test fitting:

Step 3

The rudder outline was snipped using scissors to get a rough outline that was refined with a hobby knife and smoothed using a coarse flex file.
 
Step 4
Before adding the bolt flanges, I cemented some half round strip to the pintles to give them a cylindrical shape…
 

I used .080 No. 242 half round Evergreen that was filed a bit thinner to better match the scale before cementing.  I affixed a single length and used a chunk of styrene to press against the rudder edge for tight alignment of the half round strip.  After a few minutes I came back and snipped between the pintles to remove the excess.  Worked one side at a time.  These will later get filed flush on the ends as I fitted them to the kit.
 
Step 5
Now to attend to the bolt flanges.

I needed to find a method that would produce consistent wedge shapes for all the needed elements.  I determined that strips of .020 x.060 could be stacked in the approximate shape and glued side by side to some scrap sheet (only glued down at the ends) to allow me to file them all at the same angle to shape the flanges.

I needed ten for the job, but I made them in two batches of 7 each to get some extras just in case.  The thick chunk of styrene in the picture was used to press against each stack during gluing to make sure everything stayed aligned.
 
Step 6

Once dry, I came back and filed the wedges at a consistent angle and then cut them free from the sheet.  They didn’t need to have a perfectly smooth slope – just enough to represent the wedges.
 
I carefully separated them with the hobby knife blade:

Step 7
Next, I flipped over each of the newly made wedges so that the factory smooth side was on top and cemented them to the rudder with plenty of overhang:

These were carefully positioned in relation to the pintles according to the historic photo references.  Note that the last flange is set slightly BELOW the last pintle.  The overhangs were trimmed to fit and the whole process repeated for the other side.
 
Additionally, small styrene rod was used for the bolt heads on the pintles.

Step 8
I added the zinc anodes based on what appears in most of the historic photos. These were .010 x.030 strips that were pricked with a push pin to represent the small bolts and flipped over and cemented in place.
 
As @Tsm209 noted in an earlier post, there are discrepancies in how some folks think the rudder anodes should be represented.  Robert Read shows a “double-wide” version rather than what is seen in most historic Titanic photos.  It may be that Mr. Read has access to other photos and/or documentation that he used to source his drawings.
 
The talented digital artist Vasilije Ristovic’ also shows this type of rudder anode in his stunning 3D illustration:

(Image from Mr. Ristovic’s terrific Facebook page )
 
I chose to stick with what I could see on the historic Titanic rudder photos that are most referenced in online searches.
 
Step 9
I added the rudder stock to the top of the rudder using Evergreen .080 rod (No. 212).  The stock was made long enough to easily extend into the hull.

Step 10
Adding the details

The Titanic had stops mounted on two of the pintles to limit the maximum rudder angle to 40 degrees on hard turns.  Small snips of .020 x .040 styrene were added for these.  There is also a small piece of .010 x.020 strip on the outer edge for a future hasp (?) ring that mounts here.  I’ll add that just before priming/painting since it’ll be fragile.

Also included are the small stops mounted on the kit where the rudder pintles would meet the hull.  I should also note that the small hole under the counter was drilled wider to accommodate the new rudder stock diameter.
 
Some sample views from aft to show the overall effect:


Not quite up to the level of a 3D printed version, but it was fun to build and likely cost me less than $5 US in materials that I already (mostly) had on hand.  (I did need to purchase the half round and smaller rod for the pintle detail.)
 
Thanks again to those who’ve been following along.
 
Bow Hawse up next.
 
Cheers,
Evan

The Rudder Continued…
 
Let’s make a scratch-built rudder for the Trumpeter 1/200 Titanic.
 
I started with a sheet of .030 thick styrene.  This is not so thin that it’ll warp, and not too far off from scale.  It is also easily cut with common paper scissors.
 
Step 1
I traced the general outline on the sheet using my previously modified Trumpeter rudder as a template.  This provides a good shape while allowing exact alignment of the pintles to fit the kit.

Step 2
 
I cut out the gaps between the pintle positions and did some initial test fitting:

Step 3

The rudder outline was snipped using scissors to get a rough outline that was refined with a hobby knife and smoothed using a coarse flex file.
 
Step 4
Before adding the bolt flanges, I cemented some half round strip to the pintles to give them a cylindrical shape…
 

I used .080 No. 242 half round Evergreen that was filed a bit thinner to better match the scale before cementing.  I affixed a single length and used a chunk of styrene to press against the rudder edge for tight alignment of the half round strip.  After a few minutes I came back and snipped between the pintles to remove the excess.  Worked one side at a time.  These will later get filed flush on the ends as I fitted them to the kit.
 
Step 5
Now to attend to the bolt flanges.

I needed to find a method that would produce consistent wedge shapes for all the needed elements.  I determined that strips of .020 x.060 could be stacked in the approximate shape and glued side by side to some scrap sheet (only glued down at the ends) to allow me to file them all at the same angle to shape the flanges.

I needed ten for the job, but I made them in two batches of 7 each to get some extras just in case.  The thick chunk of styrene in the picture was used to press against each stack during gluing to make sure everything stayed aligned.
 
Step 6

Once dry, I came back and filed the wedges at a consistent angle and then cut them free from the sheet.  They didn’t need to have a perfectly smooth slope – just enough to represent the wedges.
 
I carefully separated them with the hobby knife blade:

Step 7
Next, I flipped over each of the newly made wedges so that the factory smooth side was on top and cemented them to the rudder with plenty of overhang:

These were carefully positioned in relation to the pintles according to the historic photo references.  Note that the last flange is set slightly BELOW the last pintle.  The overhangs were trimmed to fit and the whole process repeated for the other side.
 
Additionally, small styrene rod was used for the bolt heads on the pintles.

Step 8
I added the zinc anodes based on what appears in most of the historic photos. These were .010 x.030 strips that were pricked with a push pin to represent the small bolts and flipped over and cemented in place.
 
As @Tsm209 noted in an earlier post, there are discrepancies in how some folks think the rudder anodes should be represented.  Robert Read shows a “double-wide” version rather than what is seen in most historic Titanic photos.  It may be that Mr. Read has access to other photos and/or documentation that he used to source his drawings.
 
The talented digital artist Vasilije Ristovic’ also shows this type of rudder anode in his stunning 3D illustration:

(Image from Mr. Ristovic’s terrific Facebook page )
 
I chose to stick with what I could see on the historic Titanic rudder photos that are most referenced in online searches.
 
Step 9
I added the rudder stock to the top of the rudder using Evergreen .080 rod (No. 212).  The stock was made long enough to easily extend into the hull.

Step 10
Adding the details

The Titanic had stops mounted on two of the pintles to limit the maximum rudder angle to 40 degrees on hard turns.  Small snips of .020 x .040 styrene were added for these.  There is also a small piece of .010 x.020 strip on the outer edge for a future hasp (?) ring that mounts here.  I’ll add that just before priming/painting since it’ll be fragile.

Also included are the small stops mounted on the kit where the rudder pintles would meet the hull.  I should also note that the small hole under the counter was drilled wider to accommodate the new rudder stock diameter.
 
Some sample views from aft to show the overall effect:


Not quite up to the level of a 3D printed version, but it was fun to build and likely cost me less than $5 US in materials that I already (mostly) had on hand.  (I did need to purchase the half round and smaller rod for the pintle detail.)
 
Thanks again to those who’ve been following along.
 
Bow Hawse up next.
 
Cheers,
Evan

The Rudder
 
The Olympic class liners had serious chunks of metal for rudders…
 
The Titanic's rudder was nearly 79 feet tall, more than 15 feet at the widest point and weighed in at around 100 tons. It was controlled using two steering engines (one backup) connected via tillers to the rudder quadrant.
 
Some have argued that Titanic’s rudder was far too small for the job and contributed to her inability to avoid disaster.  Others claim otherwise... They say that the math works out well and the rudder surface area was only slightly undersized in relation to the waterline length and other factors that naval architects consider these days when sizing a rudder. They point out that Titanic likely turned at least two compass points in the very brief interval between "Hard a Starboard!!!!" and contact.  Pretty good considering her overall length and Titanic’s relative speed at the time of sighting the berg. It is also relevant that the Olympic had a long career and was thought to be very maneuverable by her multiple captains.  The rudder was probably very serviceable and not a significant factor in the collision.
 
Here is a historic photo of the rudder showing human scale.  Note the large bolts on the flanges that hold the five large panels together.


In this view by photographer Robert John Welch, we see that the bolts are now encased in cement (note the lighter color on the outer edges) to streamline the water flow over the rudder surface.
 
So how does the Trumpeter version hold up to the historic record?  Not great.  The shape is too wide across the entire form, the bolt flanges are much too thin, and the rudder stops and other details are missing.  Not to mention the out of scale thickness of the entire piece and the lack of any dimension on the rudder pintles.
 
I first considered modifying the kit rudder to improve the shape and add the missing details.  I assembled the necessary tools and marked a pencil line to refine the shape and went to work.


 

The shape was easily improved, but at this point I thought it didn’t make sense to proceed since the piece was just too thick for the scale.  Why bother?
 
So on to the KA resin version.  This rudder was much improved in terms of shape and detail, but mine was a bit warped and needed a bath in warm water to get it (mostly) straightened.

But alas… Inexplicably the KA rudder pintles don’t align with the gudgeons on the kit and the rudder stock at the top doesn’t extend far enough to reach into the hull.  Ugh. 

I’d need to extend the KA rudder stock and relocate the gudgeons on the kit.  And I'm a bit worried about future warping since the piece is so thin (but likely accurate to scale).
 
Hmmm… I have a varied collection of styrene strips and sheets built up over years of plastic modeling.  How about I try my hand at a scratch-built rudder?  I can control all the details, make sure it fits cleanly to the kit, and make it a bit thicker than the KA version, but not as thick as the Trumpeter one.
 
And it’ll be fun.
 
Onward.
 
Cheers,
Evan

Hello @DavidG...
 
I agree with your view on build log formatting... I don't think Facebook and other similar forums lend themselves to laying out a log.  The MSW type of environment is best since everything is laid out in one place and others can easily follow the progression and improve on my approach (and mistakes).  It allows everyone to see a cohesive narrative and get context on the WHAT, WHY, HOW questions that inform my build.
 
I also agree with your comment about the propeller shaft near the stern frame.  It is much too stubby compared to the actual ship version... However this is one of those areas where I think I'll shy away from trying to make any improvement... It seems to me that the core problem is that the hull is too thick in this area.  Rather than widen the shaft so that it can extend more into the hull, I'd need to first thin out the edge of the hull.  That is too big of a job for me to take on - with a big risk of damaging the model in an unrecoverable manner.  I'll be interested to see your result if you do make an attempt to improve the shaft...
 
Folks will notice as I go along that most of the "improvements" that I attempt will have a reasonable fall back in case I screw up.  The carving of the curved plating at the stern, for example, was minimal risk.  If I had screwed that up, I'd have come back and shaped a thin sheet of styrene to glue over the top so that I could move on.
 
I'm still pondering the risk/reward for reshaping the bow hawse hole as another example.  It might not be worth it if I have a misshaped blob on the bow if I mess it up.  And I'm not sure it is worth the effort to cut everything away and insert a 3D print replacement with all the shaping and putty that would still be needed.
 
All decisions that make ship modeling so much fun.
 
Thanks for popping in to follow along.
 
Cheers
Evan

The Rudder Continued…
 
Let’s make a scratch-built rudder for the Trumpeter 1/200 Titanic.
 
I started with a sheet of .030 thick styrene.  This is not so thin that it’ll warp, and not too far off from scale.  It is also easily cut with common paper scissors.
 
Step 1
I traced the general outline on the sheet using my previously modified Trumpeter rudder as a template.  This provides a good shape while allowing exact alignment of the pintles to fit the kit.

Step 2
 
I cut out the gaps between the pintle positions and did some initial test fitting:

Step 3

The rudder outline was snipped using scissors to get a rough outline that was refined with a hobby knife and smoothed using a coarse flex file.
 
Step 4
Before adding the bolt flanges, I cemented some half round strip to the pintles to give them a cylindrical shape…
 

I used .080 No. 242 half round Evergreen that was filed a bit thinner to better match the scale before cementing.  I affixed a single length and used a chunk of styrene to press against the rudder edge for tight alignment of the half round strip.  After a few minutes I came back and snipped between the pintles to remove the excess.  Worked one side at a time.  These will later get filed flush on the ends as I fitted them to the kit.
 
Step 5
Now to attend to the bolt flanges.

I needed to find a method that would produce consistent wedge shapes for all the needed elements.  I determined that strips of .020 x.060 could be stacked in the approximate shape and glued side by side to some scrap sheet (only glued down at the ends) to allow me to file them all at the same angle to shape the flanges.

I needed ten for the job, but I made them in two batches of 7 each to get some extras just in case.  The thick chunk of styrene in the picture was used to press against each stack during gluing to make sure everything stayed aligned.
 
Step 6

Once dry, I came back and filed the wedges at a consistent angle and then cut them free from the sheet.  They didn’t need to have a perfectly smooth slope – just enough to represent the wedges.
 
I carefully separated them with the hobby knife blade:

Step 7
Next, I flipped over each of the newly made wedges so that the factory smooth side was on top and cemented them to the rudder with plenty of overhang:

These were carefully positioned in relation to the pintles according to the historic photo references.  Note that the last flange is set slightly BELOW the last pintle.  The overhangs were trimmed to fit and the whole process repeated for the other side.
 
Additionally, small styrene rod was used for the bolt heads on the pintles.

Step 8
I added the zinc anodes based on what appears in most of the historic photos. These were .010 x.030 strips that were pricked with a push pin to represent the small bolts and flipped over and cemented in place.
 
As @Tsm209 noted in an earlier post, there are discrepancies in how some folks think the rudder anodes should be represented.  Robert Read shows a “double-wide” version rather than what is seen in most historic Titanic photos.  It may be that Mr. Read has access to other photos and/or documentation that he used to source his drawings.
 
The talented digital artist Vasilije Ristovic’ also shows this type of rudder anode in his stunning 3D illustration:

(Image from Mr. Ristovic’s terrific Facebook page )
 
I chose to stick with what I could see on the historic Titanic rudder photos that are most referenced in online searches.
 
Step 9
I added the rudder stock to the top of the rudder using Evergreen .080 rod (No. 212).  The stock was made long enough to easily extend into the hull.

Step 10
Adding the details

The Titanic had stops mounted on two of the pintles to limit the maximum rudder angle to 40 degrees on hard turns.  Small snips of .020 x .040 styrene were added for these.  There is also a small piece of .010 x.020 strip on the outer edge for a future hasp (?) ring that mounts here.  I’ll add that just before priming/painting since it’ll be fragile.

Also included are the small stops mounted on the kit where the rudder pintles would meet the hull.  I should also note that the small hole under the counter was drilled wider to accommodate the new rudder stock diameter.
 
Some sample views from aft to show the overall effect:


Not quite up to the level of a 3D printed version, but it was fun to build and likely cost me less than $5 US in materials that I already (mostly) had on hand.  (I did need to purchase the half round and smaller rod for the pintle detail.)
 
Thanks again to those who’ve been following along.
 
Bow Hawse up next.
 
Cheers,
Evan

Evan,  
 
You have done a fantastic job on the rudder.  The scratch build was well worth doing.
Thanks for sharing your construction process.
Don

The Rudder Continued…
 
Let’s make a scratch-built rudder for the Trumpeter 1/200 Titanic.
 
I started with a sheet of .030 thick styrene.  This is not so thin that it’ll warp, and not too far off from scale.  It is also easily cut with common paper scissors.
 
Step 1
I traced the general outline on the sheet using my previously modified Trumpeter rudder as a template.  This provides a good shape while allowing exact alignment of the pintles to fit the kit.

Step 2
 
I cut out the gaps between the pintle positions and did some initial test fitting:

Step 3

The rudder outline was snipped using scissors to get a rough outline that was refined with a hobby knife and smoothed using a coarse flex file.
 
Step 4
Before adding the bolt flanges, I cemented some half round strip to the pintles to give them a cylindrical shape…
 

I used .080 No. 242 half round Evergreen that was filed a bit thinner to better match the scale before cementing.  I affixed a single length and used a chunk of styrene to press against the rudder edge for tight alignment of the half round strip.  After a few minutes I came back and snipped between the pintles to remove the excess.  Worked one side at a time.  These will later get filed flush on the ends as I fitted them to the kit.
 
Step 5
Now to attend to the bolt flanges.

I needed to find a method that would produce consistent wedge shapes for all the needed elements.  I determined that strips of .020 x.060 could be stacked in the approximate shape and glued side by side to some scrap sheet (only glued down at the ends) to allow me to file them all at the same angle to shape the flanges.

I needed ten for the job, but I made them in two batches of 7 each to get some extras just in case.  The thick chunk of styrene in the picture was used to press against each stack during gluing to make sure everything stayed aligned.
 
Step 6

Once dry, I came back and filed the wedges at a consistent angle and then cut them free from the sheet.  They didn’t need to have a perfectly smooth slope – just enough to represent the wedges.
 
I carefully separated them with the hobby knife blade:

Step 7
Next, I flipped over each of the newly made wedges so that the factory smooth side was on top and cemented them to the rudder with plenty of overhang:

These were carefully positioned in relation to the pintles according to the historic photo references.  Note that the last flange is set slightly BELOW the last pintle.  The overhangs were trimmed to fit and the whole process repeated for the other side.
 
Additionally, small styrene rod was used for the bolt heads on the pintles.

Step 8
I added the zinc anodes based on what appears in most of the historic photos. These were .010 x.030 strips that were pricked with a push pin to represent the small bolts and flipped over and cemented in place.
 
As @Tsm209 noted in an earlier post, there are discrepancies in how some folks think the rudder anodes should be represented.  Robert Read shows a “double-wide” version rather than what is seen in most historic Titanic photos.  It may be that Mr. Read has access to other photos and/or documentation that he used to source his drawings.
 
The talented digital artist Vasilije Ristovic’ also shows this type of rudder anode in his stunning 3D illustration:

(Image from Mr. Ristovic’s terrific Facebook page )
 
I chose to stick with what I could see on the historic Titanic rudder photos that are most referenced in online searches.
 
Step 9
I added the rudder stock to the top of the rudder using Evergreen .080 rod (No. 212).  The stock was made long enough to easily extend into the hull.

Step 10
Adding the details

The Titanic had stops mounted on two of the pintles to limit the maximum rudder angle to 40 degrees on hard turns.  Small snips of .020 x .040 styrene were added for these.  There is also a small piece of .010 x.020 strip on the outer edge for a future hasp (?) ring that mounts here.  I’ll add that just before priming/painting since it’ll be fragile.

Also included are the small stops mounted on the kit where the rudder pintles would meet the hull.  I should also note that the small hole under the counter was drilled wider to accommodate the new rudder stock diameter.
 
Some sample views from aft to show the overall effect:


Not quite up to the level of a 3D printed version, but it was fun to build and likely cost me less than $5 US in materials that I already (mostly) had on hand.  (I did need to purchase the half round and smaller rod for the pintle detail.)
 
Thanks again to those who’ve been following along.
 
Bow Hawse up next.
 
Cheers,
Evan

The work on the HMS Bellona is temporarily halted for various reasons (dog and cat inside the house....).
 
In the meantime, I got the itch of continuing this large project which was placed on hold for way too long. The next step is to work on the stern and the diving and steering planes.
 
This part is just enormous and did not fit on my small Creality printer. I had to cut it in 5 pieces: four wings and the rear section: 
 

 
Above is one of the wings being printed. Below, it is almost finished: 
 

 
The four parts will be glued vertically first, and then horizontally: 
 

 

 
Before assembling the tail to the main hull, I need to work on a way to anchor and display the hull on a base. With a complete hull 6 feet long, I need to think about something relatively light that will allow the full beauty of this incredible machine.
 
Yves
 

The Rudder
 
The Olympic class liners had serious chunks of metal for rudders…
 
The Titanic's rudder was nearly 79 feet tall, more than 15 feet at the widest point and weighed in at around 100 tons. It was controlled using two steering engines (one backup) connected via tillers to the rudder quadrant.
 
Some have argued that Titanic’s rudder was far too small for the job and contributed to her inability to avoid disaster.  Others claim otherwise... They say that the math works out well and the rudder surface area was only slightly undersized in relation to the waterline length and other factors that naval architects consider these days when sizing a rudder. They point out that Titanic likely turned at least two compass points in the very brief interval between "Hard a Starboard!!!!" and contact.  Pretty good considering her overall length and Titanic’s relative speed at the time of sighting the berg. It is also relevant that the Olympic had a long career and was thought to be very maneuverable by her multiple captains.  The rudder was probably very serviceable and not a significant factor in the collision.
 
Here is a historic photo of the rudder showing human scale.  Note the large bolts on the flanges that hold the five large panels together.


In this view by photographer Robert John Welch, we see that the bolts are now encased in cement (note the lighter color on the outer edges) to streamline the water flow over the rudder surface.
 
So how does the Trumpeter version hold up to the historic record?  Not great.  The shape is too wide across the entire form, the bolt flanges are much too thin, and the rudder stops and other details are missing.  Not to mention the out of scale thickness of the entire piece and the lack of any dimension on the rudder pintles.
 
I first considered modifying the kit rudder to improve the shape and add the missing details.  I assembled the necessary tools and marked a pencil line to refine the shape and went to work.


 

The shape was easily improved, but at this point I thought it didn’t make sense to proceed since the piece was just too thick for the scale.  Why bother?
 
So on to the KA resin version.  This rudder was much improved in terms of shape and detail, but mine was a bit warped and needed a bath in warm water to get it (mostly) straightened.

But alas… Inexplicably the KA rudder pintles don’t align with the gudgeons on the kit and the rudder stock at the top doesn’t extend far enough to reach into the hull.  Ugh. 

I’d need to extend the KA rudder stock and relocate the gudgeons on the kit.  And I'm a bit worried about future warping since the piece is so thin (but likely accurate to scale).
 
Hmmm… I have a varied collection of styrene strips and sheets built up over years of plastic modeling.  How about I try my hand at a scratch-built rudder?  I can control all the details, make sure it fits cleanly to the kit, and make it a bit thicker than the KA version, but not as thick as the Trumpeter one.
 
And it’ll be fun.
 
Onward.
 
Cheers,
Evan

The Rudder
 
The Olympic class liners had serious chunks of metal for rudders…
 
The Titanic's rudder was nearly 79 feet tall, more than 15 feet at the widest point and weighed in at around 100 tons. It was controlled using two steering engines (one backup) connected via tillers to the rudder quadrant.
 
Some have argued that Titanic’s rudder was far too small for the job and contributed to her inability to avoid disaster.  Others claim otherwise... They say that the math works out well and the rudder surface area was only slightly undersized in relation to the waterline length and other factors that naval architects consider these days when sizing a rudder. They point out that Titanic likely turned at least two compass points in the very brief interval between "Hard a Starboard!!!!" and contact.  Pretty good considering her overall length and Titanic’s relative speed at the time of sighting the berg. It is also relevant that the Olympic had a long career and was thought to be very maneuverable by her multiple captains.  The rudder was probably very serviceable and not a significant factor in the collision.
 
Here is a historic photo of the rudder showing human scale.  Note the large bolts on the flanges that hold the five large panels together.


In this view by photographer Robert John Welch, we see that the bolts are now encased in cement (note the lighter color on the outer edges) to streamline the water flow over the rudder surface.
 
So how does the Trumpeter version hold up to the historic record?  Not great.  The shape is too wide across the entire form, the bolt flanges are much too thin, and the rudder stops and other details are missing.  Not to mention the out of scale thickness of the entire piece and the lack of any dimension on the rudder pintles.
 
I first considered modifying the kit rudder to improve the shape and add the missing details.  I assembled the necessary tools and marked a pencil line to refine the shape and went to work.


 

The shape was easily improved, but at this point I thought it didn’t make sense to proceed since the piece was just too thick for the scale.  Why bother?
 
So on to the KA resin version.  This rudder was much improved in terms of shape and detail, but mine was a bit warped and needed a bath in warm water to get it (mostly) straightened.

But alas… Inexplicably the KA rudder pintles don’t align with the gudgeons on the kit and the rudder stock at the top doesn’t extend far enough to reach into the hull.  Ugh. 

I’d need to extend the KA rudder stock and relocate the gudgeons on the kit.  And I'm a bit worried about future warping since the piece is so thin (but likely accurate to scale).
 
Hmmm… I have a varied collection of styrene strips and sheets built up over years of plastic modeling.  How about I try my hand at a scratch-built rudder?  I can control all the details, make sure it fits cleanly to the kit, and make it a bit thicker than the KA version, but not as thick as the Trumpeter one.
 
And it’ll be fun.
 
Onward.
 
Cheers,
Evan

The Rudder
 
The Olympic class liners had serious chunks of metal for rudders…
 
The Titanic's rudder was nearly 79 feet tall, more than 15 feet at the widest point and weighed in at around 100 tons. It was controlled using two steering engines (one backup) connected via tillers to the rudder quadrant.
 
Some have argued that Titanic’s rudder was far too small for the job and contributed to her inability to avoid disaster.  Others claim otherwise... They say that the math works out well and the rudder surface area was only slightly undersized in relation to the waterline length and other factors that naval architects consider these days when sizing a rudder. They point out that Titanic likely turned at least two compass points in the very brief interval between "Hard a Starboard!!!!" and contact.  Pretty good considering her overall length and Titanic’s relative speed at the time of sighting the berg. It is also relevant that the Olympic had a long career and was thought to be very maneuverable by her multiple captains.  The rudder was probably very serviceable and not a significant factor in the collision.
 
Here is a historic photo of the rudder showing human scale.  Note the large bolts on the flanges that hold the five large panels together.


In this view by photographer Robert John Welch, we see that the bolts are now encased in cement (note the lighter color on the outer edges) to streamline the water flow over the rudder surface.
 
So how does the Trumpeter version hold up to the historic record?  Not great.  The shape is too wide across the entire form, the bolt flanges are much too thin, and the rudder stops and other details are missing.  Not to mention the out of scale thickness of the entire piece and the lack of any dimension on the rudder pintles.
 
I first considered modifying the kit rudder to improve the shape and add the missing details.  I assembled the necessary tools and marked a pencil line to refine the shape and went to work.


 

The shape was easily improved, but at this point I thought it didn’t make sense to proceed since the piece was just too thick for the scale.  Why bother?
 
So on to the KA resin version.  This rudder was much improved in terms of shape and detail, but mine was a bit warped and needed a bath in warm water to get it (mostly) straightened.

But alas… Inexplicably the KA rudder pintles don’t align with the gudgeons on the kit and the rudder stock at the top doesn’t extend far enough to reach into the hull.  Ugh. 

I’d need to extend the KA rudder stock and relocate the gudgeons on the kit.  And I'm a bit worried about future warping since the piece is so thin (but likely accurate to scale).
 
Hmmm… I have a varied collection of styrene strips and sheets built up over years of plastic modeling.  How about I try my hand at a scratch-built rudder?  I can control all the details, make sure it fits cleanly to the kit, and make it a bit thicker than the KA version, but not as thick as the Trumpeter one.
 
And it’ll be fun.
 
Onward.
 
Cheers,
Evan

Under Counter Plating
 
As mentioned before… The Trumpeter Titanic does not have the plating under the stern counter.  

 
There is a terrific PE brass solution provided by Mini-Brass that will produce an excellent result (as evidenced by many build logs out in the ether), but I didn’t go that route.  It seemed to me that using PE would make those plates stand out as elements not belonging to the rest of the hull.  Essentially, I worried that the brass plating with the overlapping seams might be TOO accurate.
 
I chose instead to scratch build the plating using styrene strips and sheets so that I could blend everything with the existing kit.
 
This scratch building was actually the very first thing I did on the kit after I first bought it a few years ago… I wanted to see what I could make of this area before I invested any time elsewhere.
 
There are plenty of online resources and photos to help guide my efforts. 

This view of the Olympic prior to launch gives a good sense of what is needed.  As Roger pointed out earlier – The kit is very far from reality.  The Olympic class ships do, however, look very different in their under-counter plating than what Roger showed on his model.  Specifically, these ships have “centerline plates” (Robert Read’s term) that provide strength across the theoretical midline and anchor the additional outboard strakes.  These are solid plates with no midline seams.
 
Centerline Plates
 
I marked off the innermost plate with tape and transferred the pattern to a strip of styrene.

 

This was cut and glued into position.

The same piece was replicated for both port and starboard.  I then filled the midline seam with Tamiya putty so that it will disappear when primed.

Similar procedure as I worked outward for the next plates.  I would slightly overlap the styrene and cut them square.

I was careful to use the existing kit molded plates to blend into the new styrene pieces as I expanded the plating. After crafting on one side, I’d trace the plate using Tamiya tape to replicate the same piece on the other side.
  
Spaces to fill were also traced with tape and transferred to styrene strips to form the next plates.

Joints were sanded even to blend with the kit…

Finally, I added .010 x .030 strips to represent the butt laps between strakes.  I thought this would match closer to the kit versions. Overlapping the styrene strakes (as in actual practice) seemed to me to be out of scale no matter how hard I tried to make them look like the Trumpeter versions.
 
You’ll notice two things:
 
1.     The depth of the plates/strakes varies to reflect what is shown in the historic photo.
2.     I screwed up.
 
Yup.  I got so caught up in the flow of building out the strakes and balancing them against each other and blending in with the kit plating that I neglected to include one of the strakes!  To make the correct plating pattern, I’ll likely need to undo everything I’ve done.  The spacing would need to be reset starting with the critical first centerline plate near the hole for the stern post.

(Note that I’ve also added the .010x.030 strips to the upper counter to represent that plating.)
 
At this point I’m in a holding pattern… The result isn’t terrible, and the error won’t be apparent to any but the most ardent Titanic fans.  I may try to get away with it unless it gnaws at me enough to eventually force my hand.
 
Cheers,
Evan

Under Counter Plating
 
As mentioned before… The Trumpeter Titanic does not have the plating under the stern counter.  

 
There is a terrific PE brass solution provided by Mini-Brass that will produce an excellent result (as evidenced by many build logs out in the ether), but I didn’t go that route.  It seemed to me that using PE would make those plates stand out as elements not belonging to the rest of the hull.  Essentially, I worried that the brass plating with the overlapping seams might be TOO accurate.
 
I chose instead to scratch build the plating using styrene strips and sheets so that I could blend everything with the existing kit.
 
This scratch building was actually the very first thing I did on the kit after I first bought it a few years ago… I wanted to see what I could make of this area before I invested any time elsewhere.
 
There are plenty of online resources and photos to help guide my efforts. 

This view of the Olympic prior to launch gives a good sense of what is needed.  As Roger pointed out earlier – The kit is very far from reality.  The Olympic class ships do, however, look very different in their under-counter plating than what Roger showed on his model.  Specifically, these ships have “centerline plates” (Robert Read’s term) that provide strength across the theoretical midline and anchor the additional outboard strakes.  These are solid plates with no midline seams.
 
Centerline Plates
 
I marked off the innermost plate with tape and transferred the pattern to a strip of styrene.

 

This was cut and glued into position.

The same piece was replicated for both port and starboard.  I then filled the midline seam with Tamiya putty so that it will disappear when primed.

Similar procedure as I worked outward for the next plates.  I would slightly overlap the styrene and cut them square.

I was careful to use the existing kit molded plates to blend into the new styrene pieces as I expanded the plating. After crafting on one side, I’d trace the plate using Tamiya tape to replicate the same piece on the other side.
  
Spaces to fill were also traced with tape and transferred to styrene strips to form the next plates.

Joints were sanded even to blend with the kit…

Finally, I added .010 x .030 strips to represent the butt laps between strakes.  I thought this would match closer to the kit versions. Overlapping the styrene strakes (as in actual practice) seemed to me to be out of scale no matter how hard I tried to make them look like the Trumpeter versions.
 
You’ll notice two things:
 
1.     The depth of the plates/strakes varies to reflect what is shown in the historic photo.
2.     I screwed up.
 
Yup.  I got so caught up in the flow of building out the strakes and balancing them against each other and blending in with the kit plating that I neglected to include one of the strakes!  To make the correct plating pattern, I’ll likely need to undo everything I’ve done.  The spacing would need to be reset starting with the critical first centerline plate near the hole for the stern post.

(Note that I’ve also added the .010x.030 strips to the upper counter to represent that plating.)
 
At this point I’m in a holding pattern… The result isn’t terrible, and the error won’t be apparent to any but the most ardent Titanic fans.  I may try to get away with it unless it gnaws at me enough to eventually force my hand.
 
Cheers,
Evan