Force9

@Roger Pellett  Terrific insight regarding the Clinker methodology... Makes sense that the Clinker construction would get used for the underbody but not the entire hull.  Probably doesn't lend well to cutting out entryways and portholes, etc.  In/Out much better for that.  
 
We can see the Hydraulic Riveters also at work on the upper bands of the hull in old photos...

 
@Hubac's Historian Thanks for the kind remark... I dunno that this type of effort is worthwhile for anyone else, but I have fun with it.
 
BTW - I have added the joggling to my frames... Very small in scale but still visible.

I added .010 x .040 strips to the top edges in an overlap fashion to create the effect.  Should look good once they've been primed and painted.
 
Question for the group at large - any thoughts to how these looked on the actual ship?  Would these also be given anti-foul red paint?
 
Cheers
Evan

Bottom Plates
 
Up next, I needed to blend the outer edges of the new bottom plating with the kit hull… I didn’t like having that .010 lip all around the bottom of the hull.
 
Out came the Miliput again…

After taping around a narrow band that encompassed the outer edge and enough area for a smooth transition into the kit, I mixed up a small batch of the Miliput and spread a thin coat the length of the edge – port and starboard.  I was careful to keep it wet and kept smoothing it down and scraping with a scrap of styrene until it was reasonably thin and just covering the styrene edge.  I then removed the tape and let it all dry overnight.
 
Came back the next day and sanded the Miliput down using various grit sandpaper – coarse, medium, fine until it was blended into the kit surface and smooth to the touch.  A lot more effort than I thought it’d be before I started!  Another part of the kit that will be refined after a layer of primer.
 
In the meantime, I cut a length of .250 wide styrene to match the general length between butt joins on the upper hull to use as a marking template.

I then marked off the individual plates in pencil across the hull bottom mid-section.  Adjustments were made at the bow and stern to accommodate the more complex shapes.

Next, I snipped many dozens of .250 width strips of .010 x.030 styrene to approximate the kit butt joins.  I used some scrap styrene as a template:

These were cemented to the hull in the marked positions…

It took about four days’ worth of my modeling time, but the plates are complete (except for a few on the outer edges that will wait until final tuning).
 
Here is a view of my bottom plate butt joins along with the kit side versions:

Not too far off.  Some sample views:



Butt Straps and bottom keel up next.
 
Cheers,
Evan
 

Bottom Plates
 
Up next, I needed to blend the outer edges of the new bottom plating with the kit hull… I didn’t like having that .010 lip all around the bottom of the hull.
 
Out came the Miliput again…

After taping around a narrow band that encompassed the outer edge and enough area for a smooth transition into the kit, I mixed up a small batch of the Miliput and spread a thin coat the length of the edge – port and starboard.  I was careful to keep it wet and kept smoothing it down and scraping with a scrap of styrene until it was reasonably thin and just covering the styrene edge.  I then removed the tape and let it all dry overnight.
 
Came back the next day and sanded the Miliput down using various grit sandpaper – coarse, medium, fine until it was blended into the kit surface and smooth to the touch.  A lot more effort than I thought it’d be before I started!  Another part of the kit that will be refined after a layer of primer.
 
In the meantime, I cut a length of .250 wide styrene to match the general length between butt joins on the upper hull to use as a marking template.

I then marked off the individual plates in pencil across the hull bottom mid-section.  Adjustments were made at the bow and stern to accommodate the more complex shapes.

Next, I snipped many dozens of .250 width strips of .010 x.030 styrene to approximate the kit butt joins.  I used some scrap styrene as a template:

These were cemented to the hull in the marked positions…

It took about four days’ worth of my modeling time, but the plates are complete (except for a few on the outer edges that will wait until final tuning).
 
Here is a view of my bottom plate butt joins along with the kit side versions:

Not too far off.  Some sample views:



Butt Straps and bottom keel up next.
 
Cheers,
Evan
 

@Roger Pellett  Perhaps it'll give me an opportunity to describe it as the little known glass bottom observation area available only to first class passengers...??!!!

@Roger Pellett  Perhaps it'll give me an opportunity to describe it as the little known glass bottom observation area available only to first class passengers...??!!!

A number of years ago a local organization held an event involving dinner followed by screening of the movie Master and Commander.  To add atmosphere to the evening I brought a Dockyard style model that I had built- exposed framing below the bends.  An otherwise intelligent lady, in all seriousness asked how the vessel floated with the holes in the bottom.
 
Be prepared for people to ask you if that large hole that you left in Titanic’s bottom is what caused her to sink! 😆😆
 
Roger

Thanks again to all who are following along...  I appreciate the continued interest.
 
Clinker Strakes
 
I’ve already confessed to cheating on the Clinker plating… I didn’t overlap the plates on the hull bottom. Instead, I simulated the overlap by affixing a strip of .010 x .030 styrene to the underside of the adjoining edge of each .010 x.250 strake before cementing each tightly against the preceding row.  This lifted the adjoining edge and provided a more consistent clinker effect across the entire underside of the ship.
 
Very simple to do… I laid the .030 strip against a small metal ruler abutting each of the styrene strakes and laid down a bead of thin Tamiya cement along the length being careful to keep the strip tight against the ruler as I went along.  The capillary action filled in along the seam and affixed the strip nicely.


Then these were flipped over and cemented to the hull using Plastruct Cement as I pushed the styrene firmly against the preceding row.  I could cover a lot of territory across the mid-section with a few full-length strips. Same process for the shorter strips at the bow and stern.
 
In a few cases, I only added the .010 x.030 strip to half of the strake to help transition the plate to the ends of the ship.

I filled in the recessed plate on the Trumpeter kit bow so that the bottom plating was consistent.
 
I first scraped away the molded butt joins to get a flat surface.

Once all the hull strakes were laid down, I came back along with Tamiya Putty (and occasional Sprue Goo) to fill in the seams to give a smooth and consistent surface.


Here are close ups of the Bow…

Transition section…

Midships.

And finally, a few closer views of the clinker effect:


A bit more work needed to smooth out the outer edges to blend with the kit before I start adding the butt joins to establish the pattern of individual plates across the bottom.
 
Cheers,
Evan
 

@Kelp and @yvesvidal Thank you both for the positive feedback... Glad to see that folks appreciate my efforts!  I think this came out better than I thought it would - I'm a little sorry I didn't make more frames to extend the effect a bit more.  The frames were a bit of a hassle to make and I only used the styrene I had at hand.  These really would lend themselves to a 3d printed solution... higher quantity with better/accurate detail.  I think the trick would be to scale/adapt to the model and NOT make them accurate to the historic dimensions.  In particular, the joggling would need to align to the .250 styrene width that most folks would use to plate the bottom.
 
This will likely be the only cut out I'll add to the model.  There is at least one modeler I've seen currently making a spectacular version of the Trumpeter kit with all manner of cut aways into the hull - including an impressive engine room.  Wonderful stuff. Like many in this forum, I tend to gravitate to ship models in museums and enjoy seeing all manner of incredible displays.  The larger scale models with cut out views inside are always impressive... But for me, the models that elicit an ooh and aaaah are the ones with unexpected detail.  As you lean in you suddenly notice detail behind a port hole or beyond an open door or down an open hatch to the deck below.  Those models have depth... those models have dimension.  I'll be trying that approach with my build.  Hopefully I can make a few folks do a double take and peer a bit more into the open recesses and appreciate some unexpected detail.
 
I'll post more progress this weekend.
 
Cheers
Evan

@Roger Pellett  Terrific insight regarding the Clinker methodology... Makes sense that the Clinker construction would get used for the underbody but not the entire hull.  Probably doesn't lend well to cutting out entryways and portholes, etc.  In/Out much better for that.  
 
We can see the Hydraulic Riveters also at work on the upper bands of the hull in old photos...

 
@Hubac's Historian Thanks for the kind remark... I dunno that this type of effort is worthwhile for anyone else, but I have fun with it.
 
BTW - I have added the joggling to my frames... Very small in scale but still visible.

I added .010 x .040 strips to the top edges in an overlap fashion to create the effect.  Should look good once they've been primed and painted.
 
Question for the group at large - any thoughts to how these looked on the actual ship?  Would these also be given anti-foul red paint?
 
Cheers
Evan

Fun with Frames
 
One of my quirks is that I try to incorporate into my ship models a view of the framing to give a sense of the underlying construction.
 
In my Old Ironsides build, for example, I have stripped away some of the outer planking to reveal the stout girth and tight spacing of her Live Oak frames.

It seemed to me that I could break up the monotony of the Titanic bottom plating by hacking out an opening and adding some exposed framing to highlight the double hull construction.  (And continue my quirky streak…)
 
The double bottom framing on the Titanic was not only a key component of the overall structure of the ship, but also served to divide up the water ballast and distribute weight across the various compartmented tanks.  
 
The frames were numbered from the middle out to the ends. So, the first frame aft of center was 1A (Aft) and the first frame forward of center was 1F (Forward).  I don’t think there was a frame zero.  I think the aftmost frame was 149A and the forwardmost was 154F.  They were spaced about three feet apart through the midsection but were spaced closer toward the ends.  It may be that “floors” is the technical term for these frames and “intercostal” is the term for the fore/aft frames that subdivide the tanks and create the cellular structure.
 
I whipped together a simple jig to help me drill holes into strips of styrene to represent the framing. This was all done by hand with a pin vise.  I could stack four strips at a time and figured I’d need to do twelve to get eight or nine good ones. 

I tried to open the hull around frame 18A which is Watertight bulkhead “J” that separates ballast tank compartment #8 Port from ballast tank compartment #9 Port.  I’ve approximated the location so don’t hold me to account.  I chose to add this feature on the port side aft section hoping to deter some folks from thinking this exposed framing is representing the gash from the iceberg.  We’ll see…
 
Before drilling, the rectangular dimension was outlined with blue masking tape.  More narrow Tamiya tape was used to define a “Drill free Zone” to help ensure that I didn’t get too close to the final outline.
 
I grabbed the power drill and went to work…
 

Once the section had been drilled out, I came back with a utility knife to eliminate the jagged edges.

Next came a heavy file to get the final smooth outlines against the blue tape.

The perimeter was then outlined with .030 x .250 strip and reinforced on the inside with scraps of whatever thick chunks of styrene I had at hand.
 
I’ve fudged a bit on the frame dimensions and the spacing. I didn’t do the math to determine the exact scale size.  The final frame size and spacing was determined by the styrene stock I had at hand. I had one strip of .020 x .250 styrene in my stash that seemed an easy fit. The .010 thin version probably scaled better, but it seemed to distort when I drilled holes into it and otherwise didn’t give much surface area for attaching to the sides. 
 

I used the same .020 x .250 strip to insert spacers between each frame to evenly separate them and help lock them in with more surface area for the cement.  .020 x .188 strip would probably have been a bit better to represent the 36” spacing between the actual frames, but I had none in my stash.
 
I included one row of the intercostal cross framing, but elected not to put all the rows in place… It would get too crowded and would be difficult to keep it all aligned as I went along.
 
Here is where things stand:

 


 

I will overlap the edges with strakes and leave some of the strake ends extended slightly beyond the outer frames.  Exposing these ends will help with the illusion that the hull strakes are all thinner than the thickness of the model molding would suggest.
 
Here is a mockup without any strakes cemented down…. This is the effect I’m trying to achieve.

Based on our recent discoveries, I’ll come back behind and use some .010 x .020 strips to add the joggling to the edges of the frames.
 
I might need to bulk up the solid center frame… This may have been a heavier frame as part of the ship’s watertight system. 
 
I won’t add the double bottom interior until after I have primed and painted the frames – I need the access.
 
More tracing, transferring, cutting, cementing this week.
 
Cheers,
Evan

The Strakes Layout
 
Before proceeding with any of the hull plates I had to lay out some penciled guidelines based largely on the shape of the Trumpeter hull bottom… 
 
As indicated in the previous log, I used the .010 x .250 strips to mark up the mid-section.  The bow and stern areas were laid out next based on an approximation of what the hull expansion plan showed.  Finally, the mid-section layout was connected to the bow and stern layouts with curves that narrowed to meet in the transition sections - while also mirroring the curved edge of the model.  This generally followed the principles in play on the actual ship.  The other standard that I’ll try to adhere to is having no more than two strakes dead end into any other.  You’ll see some areas that look to violate this on my initial pass, but I’ll try to mitigate that when I finalize everything prior to priming.
 
A ”bendable buddy” (my term) flexible drafting ruler came in handy to plot the transition section curves.

In the interest of full disclosure… I did mess up a bit on the entry holes for my future pedestals.  I needed to drill these out before laying down any styrene.  I initially used my drill press to do this.  I drilled using successively larger bits to get the large opening, but the last (and largest) drill bit drifted and left me with an off-center mounting hole.  Rats.  I didn’t realize it until I started laying out the keel plates.  I filled the existing holes and hand drilled the newer versions.  Lesson learned.

The Stern Hull Plates
 
Like the bow, there seemed to be an opportunity to incorporate some of the plating seen on the expansion plan into the stern area of the model.

Building out from the stern most plate already molded on the model, I penciled in some outlines to approximate what can be seen on the hull expansion drawing:

Not exact, but it’ll do for my purpose.
 
A couple days’ worth of modeling time using the same trace, cut, cement process as before left me with a reasonable result.

 

The individual plates will get defined at a later stage.
 
I’m currently working through the mid-section.  More fun on the way.
 
Cheers,
Evan

Thanks again to everyone for the Likes...
 
The Keel Plates
 
For my hull plating methodology, it will be important to establish a straight centerline that I can use to build each successive row of strakes out toward the edges of the hull.  Using .010 x .080 strips, I carefully attached the Keel Plates (not sure that is the exact technical term) along either side of the kit centerline seam.  (I didn't use one wider strip since the hull is slightly angled from this seam.)
 
I taped a metal straightedge against the kit seam and laid down the first strip. Same procedure for the other side. 

 

This was done across the entire length starting from the bow and proceeding back to the stern.
 
Once in place, I used successive strips of .010 x .250 styrene to trace the pattern of the strakes from the center out to the edge.  I only did this on the port side since each piece will be mirrored on the starboard side.

Adding BOW hull plating
 
Since I will not be overlapping the styrene to create the butt laps, I don’t need to begin at the stern and work my way forward.  I was free to start at the bow.
 
Bob Read’s  Shell Plating Expansion drawing includes terrific detail in the bow section that can be incorporated into my representation.

 
In particular, the “stair-step” plating that abuts the stem can be replicated on the model.  The forwardmost plate (numbered 1 in the highlight above) already exists in Trumpeter’s version.  

I need to fill in the area underneath the first plate with a short length of Styrene. I used the trusty Tamiya tape to overlay the spot and traced the outline.  
 
This was transferred to a length of .010 Evergreen strip and cut to match.  I made two – port and starboard.
 
I’ll come back later with a solid plate to overlay on top of this to represent that part of the stair-step.

Next, I created two copies for the plate marked 3 in my reference.  The same methodology – trace the outline on tape, transfer to .010 thick styrene and cut out two identical copies.

 

 
 
 

The piece was bent over a hobby knife handle to give it some curve to help match it to the hull form.

From this point I just repeated the trace, cut, and cement process for each plate that I had outlined in pencil on the hull.  
 
No need to be too exacting in the fit – that is why they invented Tamiya Putty:

I should note that each piece was given a generous wet coat of cement to make sure it holds to the hull in the future.  Because the strips are so thin, I will likely see occasional bubbling under the styrene that I’ll need to sand smooth along with the odd dab of putty.
 
Some sample views:


What I haven’t illustrated yet is the approach I took to replicate the Clinker effect across the strakes.  I’ll show that more clearly on a future post.
 
At a later step, I'll come back and lay down small strips of .010 x .030 styrene to represent the butt overlaps to define individual plates.
 
Cheers,
Evan

Aye @yvesvidal...
 
We get spoiled with all of the molded detail.  Those of us who focus on plastic models are cringing at the extra work needed to bring these ship hulls up to the next level... Meanwhile wooden ship modelers think nothing of layering on multiple strips of custom trimmed planking and hundreds of individual copper plates as a matter of normal course...
 
I'm happy to put in some extra effort.  All part of the fun.
 
Cheers
Evan

Thanks again to all who are following along...  I appreciate the continued interest.
 
Clinker Strakes
 
I’ve already confessed to cheating on the Clinker plating… I didn’t overlap the plates on the hull bottom. Instead, I simulated the overlap by affixing a strip of .010 x .030 styrene to the underside of the adjoining edge of each .010 x.250 strake before cementing each tightly against the preceding row.  This lifted the adjoining edge and provided a more consistent clinker effect across the entire underside of the ship.
 
Very simple to do… I laid the .030 strip against a small metal ruler abutting each of the styrene strakes and laid down a bead of thin Tamiya cement along the length being careful to keep the strip tight against the ruler as I went along.  The capillary action filled in along the seam and affixed the strip nicely.


Then these were flipped over and cemented to the hull using Plastruct Cement as I pushed the styrene firmly against the preceding row.  I could cover a lot of territory across the mid-section with a few full-length strips. Same process for the shorter strips at the bow and stern.
 
In a few cases, I only added the .010 x.030 strip to half of the strake to help transition the plate to the ends of the ship.

I filled in the recessed plate on the Trumpeter kit bow so that the bottom plating was consistent.
 
I first scraped away the molded butt joins to get a flat surface.

Once all the hull strakes were laid down, I came back along with Tamiya Putty (and occasional Sprue Goo) to fill in the seams to give a smooth and consistent surface.


Here are close ups of the Bow…

Transition section…

Midships.

And finally, a few closer views of the clinker effect:


A bit more work needed to smooth out the outer edges to blend with the kit before I start adding the butt joins to establish the pattern of individual plates across the bottom.
 
Cheers,
Evan
 

@Kelp and @yvesvidal Thank you both for the positive feedback... Glad to see that folks appreciate my efforts!  I think this came out better than I thought it would - I'm a little sorry I didn't make more frames to extend the effect a bit more.  The frames were a bit of a hassle to make and I only used the styrene I had at hand.  These really would lend themselves to a 3d printed solution... higher quantity with better/accurate detail.  I think the trick would be to scale/adapt to the model and NOT make them accurate to the historic dimensions.  In particular, the joggling would need to align to the .250 styrene width that most folks would use to plate the bottom.
 
This will likely be the only cut out I'll add to the model.  There is at least one modeler I've seen currently making a spectacular version of the Trumpeter kit with all manner of cut aways into the hull - including an impressive engine room.  Wonderful stuff. Like many in this forum, I tend to gravitate to ship models in museums and enjoy seeing all manner of incredible displays.  The larger scale models with cut out views inside are always impressive... But for me, the models that elicit an ooh and aaaah are the ones with unexpected detail.  As you lean in you suddenly notice detail behind a port hole or beyond an open door or down an open hatch to the deck below.  Those models have depth... those models have dimension.  I'll be trying that approach with my build.  Hopefully I can make a few folks do a double take and peer a bit more into the open recesses and appreciate some unexpected detail.
 
I'll post more progress this weekend.
 
Cheers
Evan

@Roger Pellett  Terrific insight regarding the Clinker methodology... Makes sense that the Clinker construction would get used for the underbody but not the entire hull.  Probably doesn't lend well to cutting out entryways and portholes, etc.  In/Out much better for that.  
 
We can see the Hydraulic Riveters also at work on the upper bands of the hull in old photos...

 
@Hubac's Historian Thanks for the kind remark... I dunno that this type of effort is worthwhile for anyone else, but I have fun with it.
 
BTW - I have added the joggling to my frames... Very small in scale but still visible.

I added .010 x .040 strips to the top edges in an overlap fashion to create the effect.  Should look good once they've been primed and painted.
 
Question for the group at large - any thoughts to how these looked on the actual ship?  Would these also be given anti-foul red paint?
 
Cheers
Evan

Thanks again to all who are following along...  I appreciate the continued interest.
 
Clinker Strakes
 
I’ve already confessed to cheating on the Clinker plating… I didn’t overlap the plates on the hull bottom. Instead, I simulated the overlap by affixing a strip of .010 x .030 styrene to the underside of the adjoining edge of each .010 x.250 strake before cementing each tightly against the preceding row.  This lifted the adjoining edge and provided a more consistent clinker effect across the entire underside of the ship.
 
Very simple to do… I laid the .030 strip against a small metal ruler abutting each of the styrene strakes and laid down a bead of thin Tamiya cement along the length being careful to keep the strip tight against the ruler as I went along.  The capillary action filled in along the seam and affixed the strip nicely.


Then these were flipped over and cemented to the hull using Plastruct Cement as I pushed the styrene firmly against the preceding row.  I could cover a lot of territory across the mid-section with a few full-length strips. Same process for the shorter strips at the bow and stern.
 
In a few cases, I only added the .010 x.030 strip to half of the strake to help transition the plate to the ends of the ship.

I filled in the recessed plate on the Trumpeter kit bow so that the bottom plating was consistent.
 
I first scraped away the molded butt joins to get a flat surface.

Once all the hull strakes were laid down, I came back along with Tamiya Putty (and occasional Sprue Goo) to fill in the seams to give a smooth and consistent surface.


Here are close ups of the Bow…

Transition section…

Midships.

And finally, a few closer views of the clinker effect:


A bit more work needed to smooth out the outer edges to blend with the kit before I start adding the butt joins to establish the pattern of individual plates across the bottom.
 
Cheers,
Evan
 

Thanks again to all who are following along...  I appreciate the continued interest.
 
Clinker Strakes
 
I’ve already confessed to cheating on the Clinker plating… I didn’t overlap the plates on the hull bottom. Instead, I simulated the overlap by affixing a strip of .010 x .030 styrene to the underside of the adjoining edge of each .010 x.250 strake before cementing each tightly against the preceding row.  This lifted the adjoining edge and provided a more consistent clinker effect across the entire underside of the ship.
 
Very simple to do… I laid the .030 strip against a small metal ruler abutting each of the styrene strakes and laid down a bead of thin Tamiya cement along the length being careful to keep the strip tight against the ruler as I went along.  The capillary action filled in along the seam and affixed the strip nicely.


Then these were flipped over and cemented to the hull using Plastruct Cement as I pushed the styrene firmly against the preceding row.  I could cover a lot of territory across the mid-section with a few full-length strips. Same process for the shorter strips at the bow and stern.
 
In a few cases, I only added the .010 x.030 strip to half of the strake to help transition the plate to the ends of the ship.

I filled in the recessed plate on the Trumpeter kit bow so that the bottom plating was consistent.
 
I first scraped away the molded butt joins to get a flat surface.

Once all the hull strakes were laid down, I came back along with Tamiya Putty (and occasional Sprue Goo) to fill in the seams to give a smooth and consistent surface.


Here are close ups of the Bow…

Transition section…

Midships.

And finally, a few closer views of the clinker effect:


A bit more work needed to smooth out the outer edges to blend with the kit before I start adding the butt joins to establish the pattern of individual plates across the bottom.
 
Cheers,
Evan
 

Thanks again to all who are following along...  I appreciate the continued interest.
 
Clinker Strakes
 
I’ve already confessed to cheating on the Clinker plating… I didn’t overlap the plates on the hull bottom. Instead, I simulated the overlap by affixing a strip of .010 x .030 styrene to the underside of the adjoining edge of each .010 x.250 strake before cementing each tightly against the preceding row.  This lifted the adjoining edge and provided a more consistent clinker effect across the entire underside of the ship.
 
Very simple to do… I laid the .030 strip against a small metal ruler abutting each of the styrene strakes and laid down a bead of thin Tamiya cement along the length being careful to keep the strip tight against the ruler as I went along.  The capillary action filled in along the seam and affixed the strip nicely.


Then these were flipped over and cemented to the hull using Plastruct Cement as I pushed the styrene firmly against the preceding row.  I could cover a lot of territory across the mid-section with a few full-length strips. Same process for the shorter strips at the bow and stern.
 
In a few cases, I only added the .010 x.030 strip to half of the strake to help transition the plate to the ends of the ship.

I filled in the recessed plate on the Trumpeter kit bow so that the bottom plating was consistent.
 
I first scraped away the molded butt joins to get a flat surface.

Once all the hull strakes were laid down, I came back along with Tamiya Putty (and occasional Sprue Goo) to fill in the seams to give a smooth and consistent surface.


Here are close ups of the Bow…

Transition section…

Midships.

And finally, a few closer views of the clinker effect:


A bit more work needed to smooth out the outer edges to blend with the kit before I start adding the butt joins to establish the pattern of individual plates across the bottom.
 
Cheers,
Evan
 

And....the official launch has happened as well.  We used a tug to push her out into the pond, then the tug 'christened' the ship with her water monitor.
 
Some photos from our Guild "Fun Float" yesterday morning.
 
Yes, I realize that the flag is far from the right scale size, but I felt it was suitable as a 'battle ensign'.... it gets the message across!
 

Thanks again to all who are following along...  I appreciate the continued interest.
 
Clinker Strakes
 
I’ve already confessed to cheating on the Clinker plating… I didn’t overlap the plates on the hull bottom. Instead, I simulated the overlap by affixing a strip of .010 x .030 styrene to the underside of the adjoining edge of each .010 x.250 strake before cementing each tightly against the preceding row.  This lifted the adjoining edge and provided a more consistent clinker effect across the entire underside of the ship.
 
Very simple to do… I laid the .030 strip against a small metal ruler abutting each of the styrene strakes and laid down a bead of thin Tamiya cement along the length being careful to keep the strip tight against the ruler as I went along.  The capillary action filled in along the seam and affixed the strip nicely.


Then these were flipped over and cemented to the hull using Plastruct Cement as I pushed the styrene firmly against the preceding row.  I could cover a lot of territory across the mid-section with a few full-length strips. Same process for the shorter strips at the bow and stern.
 
In a few cases, I only added the .010 x.030 strip to half of the strake to help transition the plate to the ends of the ship.

I filled in the recessed plate on the Trumpeter kit bow so that the bottom plating was consistent.
 
I first scraped away the molded butt joins to get a flat surface.

Once all the hull strakes were laid down, I came back along with Tamiya Putty (and occasional Sprue Goo) to fill in the seams to give a smooth and consistent surface.


Here are close ups of the Bow…

Transition section…

Midships.

And finally, a few closer views of the clinker effect:


A bit more work needed to smooth out the outer edges to blend with the kit before I start adding the butt joins to establish the pattern of individual plates across the bottom.
 
Cheers,
Evan
 

Thanks again to all who are following along...  I appreciate the continued interest.
 
Clinker Strakes
 
I’ve already confessed to cheating on the Clinker plating… I didn’t overlap the plates on the hull bottom. Instead, I simulated the overlap by affixing a strip of .010 x .030 styrene to the underside of the adjoining edge of each .010 x.250 strake before cementing each tightly against the preceding row.  This lifted the adjoining edge and provided a more consistent clinker effect across the entire underside of the ship.
 
Very simple to do… I laid the .030 strip against a small metal ruler abutting each of the styrene strakes and laid down a bead of thin Tamiya cement along the length being careful to keep the strip tight against the ruler as I went along.  The capillary action filled in along the seam and affixed the strip nicely.


Then these were flipped over and cemented to the hull using Plastruct Cement as I pushed the styrene firmly against the preceding row.  I could cover a lot of territory across the mid-section with a few full-length strips. Same process for the shorter strips at the bow and stern.
 
In a few cases, I only added the .010 x.030 strip to half of the strake to help transition the plate to the ends of the ship.

I filled in the recessed plate on the Trumpeter kit bow so that the bottom plating was consistent.
 
I first scraped away the molded butt joins to get a flat surface.

Once all the hull strakes were laid down, I came back along with Tamiya Putty (and occasional Sprue Goo) to fill in the seams to give a smooth and consistent surface.


Here are close ups of the Bow…

Transition section…

Midships.

And finally, a few closer views of the clinker effect:


A bit more work needed to smooth out the outer edges to blend with the kit before I start adding the butt joins to establish the pattern of individual plates across the bottom.
 
Cheers,
Evan
 

Wrought iron rivets driven by hand were used for most of the in and out shell plating. The interesting photo that you posted appears to be riveting of the sheer strake, another highly stressed area requiring steel rivets.  An irony of the Titanic sinking is that iceberg damage occurred in an area where lower strength wrought iron rivets  driven by hand were used for plating seams.
 
Roger

@Kelp and @yvesvidal Thank you both for the positive feedback... Glad to see that folks appreciate my efforts!  I think this came out better than I thought it would - I'm a little sorry I didn't make more frames to extend the effect a bit more.  The frames were a bit of a hassle to make and I only used the styrene I had at hand.  These really would lend themselves to a 3d printed solution... higher quantity with better/accurate detail.  I think the trick would be to scale/adapt to the model and NOT make them accurate to the historic dimensions.  In particular, the joggling would need to align to the .250 styrene width that most folks would use to plate the bottom.
 
This will likely be the only cut out I'll add to the model.  There is at least one modeler I've seen currently making a spectacular version of the Trumpeter kit with all manner of cut aways into the hull - including an impressive engine room.  Wonderful stuff. Like many in this forum, I tend to gravitate to ship models in museums and enjoy seeing all manner of incredible displays.  The larger scale models with cut out views inside are always impressive... But for me, the models that elicit an ooh and aaaah are the ones with unexpected detail.  As you lean in you suddenly notice detail behind a port hole or beyond an open door or down an open hatch to the deck below.  Those models have depth... those models have dimension.  I'll be trying that approach with my build.  Hopefully I can make a few folks do a double take and peer a bit more into the open recesses and appreciate some unexpected detail.
 
I'll post more progress this weekend.
 
Cheers
Evan

@Roger Pellett  Terrific insight regarding the Clinker methodology... Makes sense that the Clinker construction would get used for the underbody but not the entire hull.  Probably doesn't lend well to cutting out entryways and portholes, etc.  In/Out much better for that.  
 
We can see the Hydraulic Riveters also at work on the upper bands of the hull in old photos...

 
@Hubac's Historian Thanks for the kind remark... I dunno that this type of effort is worthwhile for anyone else, but I have fun with it.
 
BTW - I have added the joggling to my frames... Very small in scale but still visible.

I added .010 x .040 strips to the top edges in an overlap fashion to create the effect.  Should look good once they've been primed and painted.
 
Question for the group at large - any thoughts to how these looked on the actual ship?  Would these also be given anti-foul red paint?
 
Cheers
Evan