Canute

Great progress, I like the bridge details and the upper level plans shared on here. I thought Navy mugs were supposed to be without handles?? Or was that older times?

I agree with JacquesCousteau - very impressive!
 
John

You could make it easier to do these details in 1:24 😉 

Very impressive! How did you manage to paint the seal? Is your brush made of a single bristle?

One coffee cup coming up!
 
First I drilled out a piece of 1/16 (1.59 mm) brass tubing to about 0.050 inch (1.3 mm). Then I drilled two 0.016 inch (0.4 mm) holes for the handle. The handle is 0.012 inch (0.3 mm) brass wire. The wire was soldered into place and the interior filed to remove the wire stubs.
 

 
Then the cup was cut off from the tube, polished and painted. The paint needs to dry more before a second coat is applied.
 

 
Here is the 1:48 scale 3 inch (75 mm) cup next to the real 1:1 thing. I calculate it will take about 120,000 "cups" from the scale cup to fill the real thing.
 

 
 
 
And here is the navigator's cup on the chart desk.
 
In the real Navy you would never place a coffee cup on the chart desk. But the Cape was McHale's Navy, and we went by Cape rules.
 
The really difficult part was painting the Navy seal on the cup. That took a steady hand!

Good idea, bracing the walls of this kit. I brace walls in wood, plastic, plaster and resin. The bracing increases the available gluing area, along with the obvious strengthening. 
Yes, Blair Line makes some nice kits. Is that house the start of the "wrong side of the tracks"? 😄

Brian, so much detail, it's a real treat trying to absorb it all. Just fantastic work. I didn't realize how much I missed seeing updates on this build till todays post.  

Man, it's so good to have you and this build back. I missed you both. This is especially well timed since we somewhat recently spent a weekend up along the Mississippi River, renting a small riverside cabin and just watching traffic go by on both the river and the adjacent busy rail line. Good times. I'll note that many towboats I've seen on the Mississippi have a smoker and/or gas grill on deck somewhere. Every detail you've added looks marvelous.

Greeting everyone,
 
I'm sure by now all have just about counted me out on this build. Well, I had to put the build and MSW on hold for a while, while we sorted out some family things. The loss of our daughter in law brought more pains than I care to bring up on this forum, but we have all finally got our lives on track and it's time to get back to it.
 
My initial plan was to have this build completed by the end of August, but the plan fell through. So I picked things back up around the first of September and have taken advantage of the hot late summer days and spent a few weekends just working on the build. Now my new goal is to be done by December. 
 
In no particular order, I'll do my best to describe each step as I went along.
 
First up is the construction of the deck lights. I created these using my 3D printer, just a simple two color print with amber and silver.

 
Once they were printed they were placed on the superstructure.


 
 
 
Next was the construction of the fire hoses. I used the laser cutter to cut the frame work from card stock. I painted to yardstick first then drew up the pattern on the computer.
 



 
I also used the card stock cut in thin strips to simulate the collapsed and stowed fire hose.


The completed hose reels.


 
Next I added the water line and valves to the reels.

 
Then it was getting them mounted to the superstructure.



 
Once all the fire hose reels were in place, I built up the flagpole/antenna mast. This was built from a wooden dowel, using brass wire woven thought the dowel to form the steps. The antenna was 3D printed and installed at the top of the mast.



 
Next it was the construction of the radar, searchlights, and other details that are installed on top of the pilothouse roof.
 
Searchlights. These were 3D printed as well and I used aluminum tape for the reflectors. I didn't take any pictures of them once they were finished, but there are some of them installed in later pictures.

Radar and GPS heads.

Forward navigation light.


Radar and painted GPS heads.

Horns, anemometer, searchlights and other features installed.


And as she sits up to this point.

 
Next up, I wanted to get the name and company logo put on. These were all cut on the laser tool from adhesive vinyl. I just size the letters and then the tool do all the detail work.





After the name was installed I built the aft navigation light mast. This was built the same as the flagpole/antenna mast. Wooden dowel and 3D printed lights.


 
Then it was time to knock out some of the more fiddly bits. These are the stanchions that run along side the main deck and are removable when the boat is docked in port. These took the better part of a day, having to drill all the small, no tiny holes in the 1mm styrene rod. A true test of patience.

 
It was back to the 3D printer to print up the deck winches and fire extinguishers.


 
Once the winches were painted up, I printed the capstans and installed them on the foredeck.

 
More images of the foredeck details.


More details added to the foredeck. Axes, ratchets and standpipes.

 
I thought the tow knees looked a bit naked so I added some ropes and bouys coiled up between them. Something to fill in the space and give the deck some "life".



 
Speaking of adding some life, what's boat life without barbecue? I ran across a video of the Titletown USA that had a BBQ grill on the deck and figured I'd add that as a neat little detail. I 3D printed this as well and fastened it in place up front.


 

 
One of the last things that I have completed were the aft work lights. I 3D printed the main structure of these and used the aluminum tape for the reflector. Once the selector was installed I used some of the clear 3D printer filament painted black on each end to simulate the light bulb. Once the bulb was installed I covered face with clear acetate paper then cut a face frame on the laser tool. I have not installed these yet, I didn't want to knock them loose while working on some of the other features on the deck.




After the lights were completed, I started adding the deck features. Engine room vents, oil baths, the funnels were secured in place and the booms were glued into place.

 
 
Finally, I printed up some warning signs and put them in place.



 
Well that is all for now, hopefully I didn't lose too much of my audience, but I understand. If you are still following, I appreciate you sticking with me. More to come soon now that I have some motivation.
 
Thank you all for stopping by.
 
-Brian
 
 


 
 

Making good progress on the 40’ mine launches:

It didn’t come with the keels/rudder assemblies, so I just made my own:

I still need to make the bilge keels and a bunch of railings.  Maybe I’ll make a couple of quick three bladed props while I’m at it.

And one more building done this weekend. This one was a laser-cut kit, so went a lot more quickly. 
 
Basic airbrushed coloration, again just a low-key color scheme.
 
Assembling walls with windows, doors, and roof braces. Already weathered the walls the same way as the last building, using pastels and small brush. Wood porch, same thing.


The kit's wood is quite thin, so I added some braces to keep it from warping.

Basic tarpaper roofing, colored with pastels.

Finished building, with posts and chimney installed. No need for a foundation on this one!



And here it is in its rough intended location.



As discussed earlier, this part of town is meant to be a somewhat poorer district down along the river, which is a short distance from the fascia here. It's hard to see in the photos, but the scenery slopes down gently from the tracks toward the river. There will be a small general store type building across the road from this, also up on posts due to the location. Using this style building helps differentiate from the higher ground districts across the tracks, and implies the nearby presence of the river.
 
As much as I like scratchbuilding, I do enjoy a well-designed kit where someone's put careful thought into all the dimensions and fit and so on, so I can focus on the artistic side. If you're wondering, here's the kit: https://www.blairline.com/cohouse/ Blair Line is a small Missouri-based manufacturer and I'm happy to support them.
 
Thanks for reading!
 
 
 
 

Great question, I had actually given this some thought; guess I should have discussed that! I decided not to list a specific business for two reasons.
Laziness. I just didn't want to hand-letter "Furniture makers" or some such in an even smaller font unless I really had to! Especially for a background/backdrop building. Leading to the next point. Flexibility. Even though in my head it might be a furniture maker, why not leave it a bit more open in practice? Maybe it's a cooper's shop instead? Since, as you say, there's precedent for just the owner's name, I decided that worked fine in this case. You can argue that in a small town like this, everyone knows everyone and their business. And this isn't so much a walk-up business like a grocer or clothes shop, so they're not as concerned with drawing casual passersby. Essentially versions of your B2B point. In the railroad's business directory, virtually every business was simply listed by owner's name, not any further clarification other than the general category. For example, under "general merchandise", they just listed J.B. Challis, H.R. Harris, etc. rather than something like "H.R. Harris, dry goods" or "J.B. Challis, grocer". Finally, defining it too specifically doesn't alter operations; you don't need to know exactly what that business is to accept that crates of goods are arriving at the depot for it. It's the depot operators need to recognize, not this little background structure. I will likely be putting more details on buildings that are more day-to-day public retail (bank, grocers, etc.). Later, I could also change my mind and make a separate sign saying "Furniture makers" or the like, and hang it over the door.
 
You two are on top of things! It actually does have a foundation, I just didn't photograph it. My goal is to install the foundation permanently on the layout to allow scenic material to overlap up to it, while the building stays removable. Same plan for most of my other structures. This lets me integrate scenery in without risking staining the building. I was planning on presenting that when I did the scenic install work, which I haven't done yet.
 
But since you asked, here it is with its foundation loosely held in place. Most of this will be hidden by overlapping scenery and by a partial wooden walkway. The overhang is just a storage area where I'll pile stacks of lumber, barrels of nails, etc., so it'll just have a gravel base.

Thanks for the attention to detail and thoughtful questions!

Internal weathering started up. Once this sets I can do a bit more tomorrow night 

Suitably decrepit engine; very nice.👍

Nicely done scratch-build. 👍
 
If I might add, since I've been zinged about this myself.    Most structures should have some kind of foundation, lifting it above the terrain. Could just be planks of wood, running around the base. And some dirt, etc. just above the base. Mud splashes and green algae buildup.

Nicely done scratch-build. 👍
 
If I might add, since I've been zinged about this myself.    Most structures should have some kind of foundation, lifting it above the terrain. Could just be planks of wood, running around the base. And some dirt, etc. just above the base. Mud splashes and green algae buildup.

Suitably decrepit engine; very nice.👍

Nicely done scratch-build. 👍
 
If I might add, since I've been zinged about this myself.    Most structures should have some kind of foundation, lifting it above the terrain. Could just be planks of wood, running around the base. And some dirt, etc. just above the base. Mud splashes and green algae buildup.

Nicely done scratch-build. 👍
 
If I might add, since I've been zinged about this myself.    Most structures should have some kind of foundation, lifting it above the terrain. Could just be planks of wood, running around the base. And some dirt, etc. just above the base. Mud splashes and green algae buildup.

Suitably decrepit engine; very nice.👍

Nicely done scratch-build. 👍
 
If I might add, since I've been zinged about this myself.    Most structures should have some kind of foundation, lifting it above the terrain. Could just be planks of wood, running around the base. And some dirt, etc. just above the base. Mud splashes and green algae buildup.

This is coming together so well. Doing a super-detailed plastic kit like this is on my bucket list, thanks for the inspiration.
 
Also, while there are many things I dislike about this timeline, the fact that I can tell my browser to translate everything, and it works well, makes me happy.
 
 

So, the gun barrels are now rigidly mounted, glued together, and stable.
This doesn't bother me, since I always build the main turrets in the moving position anyway.
 

 
The green arrow shows the defective primer.
 

 
After painting, you shouldn't notice any of it anymore. Now I can continue working on them next week.

Ahoy, dear forum community.
I’m back from my vacation.
I hadn’t quite unpacked my suitcases yet, but I was already magically drawn back to my ship model.
But since I didn’t feel like dealing with small stuff and wanted to make something big and simple, my eyes immediately fell on the large towers.
First, I cut out everything and collected it.
 

 
The interior was already prepared and only needed to be glued to the hood. Then the brass ring was attached to the base. A nice, easy start after the vacation.
 

 
Things got a bit more difficult with the large brass component that goes on the turret lid. But that wasn’t a problem with MIG’s acrylic glue. Of course, unlike with superglue, you have to hold the whole thing in place while it dries.
But that’s no problem.
 

 
Then I primed it, checked for cracks, and closed them.
So far, so good.
 

 
And then came the unexpected setback.
Getting the brass gun barrels into their mounts proved surprisingly difficult. The turret openings were very narrow and in some cases, the primer was peeling off the barrels. Furthermore, the barrels didn’t fit particularly well in their brass mounts and were relatively unstable. I then filled them with a lot of glue.
Thankfully, you won’t notice any of that later.
 

 
Standing upright like this, I’ll let the towers dry thoroughly before I continue working on them.
 

Some add on details and a few pics form today's work. Soon will be working on weathering