bdgiantman2

Hello again everyone,
 
Time again for another update. With the summer winding down and the weather cooling off, I have been busy with my "Honey Do" list but managed to find some time to put together a few more items on my build.
 
I finally finished getting all of the remaining cannons installed and rigged. The three forward cannons are complete with the exception of the rope coils. I managed to run out of rope with only a couple of feet needed to finish, but more is on the way.
 
Picture of one of the forward 42 pounders rigged and ready for install.

 
One of the starboard side 8" Smoothbores in place.

 
Here are a few pictures of the gundeck at eye-level showing powder barrels, munitions crates and the crews mess lockers.

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
Next I worked on the hog chains. For these I used brass wire for the chains themselves, styrene for the turnbuckles and copper sheeting for the cast caps. 
 
Up close picture of the actual hog chains. These took a little bit to figure out exactly how they were built. I had a few personal pictures from my last visit in 2014, but none with any real detail. I did try looking up some others on the internet, but the hog chains don't really seem to be an area of focus for visitors so the pictures are limited to long distance shots that I had to zoom way in on. Nevertheless, I think my interpretation of them is fairly close.

 
Here is the horizontal chain with the ends formed into the eyes.

 
 
Then it was time to test my metal working skills to see if I could solder the eyes to close them up without making a mess of things. Well, almost. Nothing a little drilling and filing can't fix.

 
There we go. They look a little better cleaned up.

 
Now to get them bent into shape. The forward chains are significantly shorter than the aft ones, due to their placement, so the angle on them was a bit more. Also, where the hog chains rest on the posts the iron was pounded flat to give it a better mounting surface. The green area drawn on the wire is where I flattened the brass to rest on the caps.

 
Both horizontal chains shaped and flattened.

 
Next came the cast caps. These were made from thin copper sheeting that I cut to size and scored along the folding edges to get the correct shape.

 

 
Then they were placed on the hog chain posts and glued to the horizontal chains.

 

 
From the pictures that I was able to find and zoom in on, it is difficult to tell if there were bolts that were inserted through the chains and cast caps into the tops of the posts. It would make sense for them to put something there to avoid the chains from slipping off, but since I was not able to find any pictures of the tops of the posts, I took my builders liberties and drilled them out and will place bolts in them.
 
Next work was done on the turnbuckles. Or at least that is what I think these are called. They are not built like regular turnbuckles but they look to function as a way to tighten the tension on the hog chains. These were built with the same brass wire and styrene plastic.

 
Partially assembled.

 
and temporarily installed.

 
Port side.

 
Starboard side.

 
 
Before I got too far ahead of myself, I remembered that I had not built the axle pillow block caps. So I figured that I had better get to these before they were buried and impossible to install. These I just carved out of a piece of square stock and sanded to shape.

 
Cut out and just needing a little finish sanding.

 
Sanded and painted. I use the gold beads to simulate the grease cups. With the small nail in the top, I think they look pretty convincing.

 
And all mounted in place.

 
Next came work on the pilot house. I was not actually ready for this part, but I was running some additional lights before I closed up the boiler for good (I ran all of my wiring to terminate under the boiler) and had the thought that it would be neat to put some LED's in the pilot house to give it a little additional detail. So, I decided to go ahead and get it built.
 
So to give a brief history on the pilot house. The original plans for these was a wooden octagonal substructure, 12" thick with 1.5" thick iron plates fastened to the frames for protection. After several men on the Louisville and St. Louis were injured or killed by flying shards of iron from direct hits on the pilot house during Battle of Fort Donelson, including Flag Officer Foote, Lieutenant Bryant (then commander of the Cairo) had some modifications done to the pilot house in order protect the crew from further injury. 
 
While Cairo was awaiting her next assignment, Lt. Bryant put her crew to work extending the front three panels of the pilot house. They added an additional 7.5" of timber to each panel and then reinforced the inside of the house with pine paneling. Additionally, 1/2" thick iron flaps were added to the ports as well to protect the pilots form enemy sniper fire. When these ports were closed, the pilots would have to navigate by squinting through a peephole drilled into the flaps that was about the diameter of a silver dollar. All in all, these modifications gave the pilot house its new unique shape.
 
So I started out by tracing the footprint of the pilot house from the HSR plans. I drew the footprint up on some card stock to use as a mounting and construction base. I over extended the lines to give me a cutting line for the toe boards, then glued the strips down for the toe boards.

 
Once the boards were all in place I removed the excess card stock to start going vertical. Once I had this part cut out I realized that my octagon shape was not uniform and that the sides of the pilot house extension weren't even.

 
So I went to the computer and dug out my trusty Visio program to get a perfect Octagon shape. Then with careful measurement, I added the extension to the octagon then sized everything to scale. This is the new result. Much more uniform.

 
First course of toe boards in place.

 
Then it was on to building the sides.

 
Five sides up and rivets installed. I simulated the rivets the same way that I did for the casemate armor.

 
Extension sided in place. These were added when the front three panels were beefed up to compensate for the new thickness.

 
All eight (actually ten) panels in place and the structure temp installed in it's home.

 
Next it was time to install the view ports. To give them some depth, I built up some wooden tunnels to simulate the 19.5" walls.

 

 

 
Next I started constructing the top. This was pretty much the only part of Cairo that was left exposed from the Yazoo River mud, so it had long rotted away by the time the pilot house was recovered in 1960. Without knowing exactly how this part was constructed, I used what information was available on the HSR and what Bob Hill had drafted up, and made my own version.
 
My thoughts were that for the most part, since the top of the pilot house was flat one can assume that the roof was as well. The drawings show the center of the octagon to be open with a wire mesh covering the opening. I can somewhat see where this could be the case in that since there was a entry hatch from the gun deck with a ladder to access the pilot house just forward of the boilers and the cook stove. Given the hatch placement, you would think that some of the heat from below would filter up to the pilot house. That as well as the entire structure being painted black would make for an almost unbearably hot place to be on sunny days, so they would have to have some sort of ventilation besides the portals. However, with an open top, that exposes the pilot and controls to rain and other elements, so there could have possibly been a cover that could be placed over the opening. This cover could have just fit down inside of the opening with a small lip around the edge to hold it in place. Handles could have been mounted to the cover to facilitate removal and installation. Somewhat like a manhole cover. So this is what I came up with.
 
The basic shape of the top.

 
Cutting out the center opening. I'll use this part as the cover.

 
Installing the wire mesh. I don't think that this served much of a purpose in the way of protection from arms, but it could prevent tree branches and the occasional bird from coming into the pilot house.

 
Installation of the port flap hinges and flaps. These I just made with styrene rods and sheets. I used foil tape again for the rivets.

 
I wanted to show some of the ports closed, for the details and to give somewhat of a peak at the small aperture the pilots had to peer through when they were closed. This is also the area where I placed the lanterns to light things up inside.

 
For the pine paneling on the interior, I printed some lines on cardstock and glued this to the inside of the pilot house. 

 
Lanterns installed. The extra cardstock under the lanterns is to cover the wiring. Very little of this will be seen, but I wanted to cover it up just in case the keen eye is able to spot it from the outside.

 
The completed structure temp installed.

 
Lastly was the construction of the access ladder.

 
This was another feature that was never recovered from the wreck and there is no mention of it in the HSR so I just went with a simple build of a round rung ladder that would allow the pilot access to his house.

 
Placed near it's location in relation to the hatch that will be built when the hurricane deck goes in.

 
Finally, I started work on the lifeboats. The City Class Ironclads each carried four of these. Unfortunately none of the ones from the Cairo are around anymore and it is hard to say if any were deployed during her sinking since she went down in 12 minutes. From my reading on the sinking, Commander Selfridge ran her ashore as soon as she was hit, where most of the men jumped from the boat and swam or simply jumped to the ground before she slipped off the bank and went under. It is most likely that the lifeboats broke loose over time and drifted downriver in the swift Yazoo River current or they simply rotted away in the their davits.
 
So since there were no surviving lifeboats to model them after, I relied on pictures of the Cairo as well as the other boats for the details. From the available pictures they look to be pretty standard in shape with a flat transom and from the measurements on the plans they are about 6.25" which scaled out at 1:48 would be about 25' long. Rather than scratch build four of these and run the risk of them all not coming out shaped the same, I cheated a bit and bought some Model Shipways kits instead. There was only one problem with this, the biggest MS kit is only 5.25" long. So I kit bashed the lifeboats and extended them the extra inch. For the most part I got the desired shape and length I was looking for.
 
Stretching the keel.

 
Keel stretched.

 
Planking going on.

 
And the finished result. 

 
I then gave it a shot of black paint and started to other three. I'll get them all built and painted before I build the interiors of them. I still haven't decided if I am going to cover them with tarps or not. I am still researching the techniques on how to simulate them and need to practice up since I've never done that before. I'll at least leave one uncovered to see the benches, oars and other details, just don't know about the rest. Once I have all four completed, I'll post more pictures.

 
Well, that is all for this update. Hope you all enjoyed it. Thank you all again for the likes, comments and just stopping by.
 
Until next time, take care and be safe.
 
-Brian

After the supports for the rafts, we need to install the cabinets and lockers for the ammunition. Again, this is done from historical pictures and the readers should keep in mind that this arrangement has evolved multiple times throughout the life of the ship. We also add the rear gun turret, after improving it a little bit.
 

 

 
The anti-flak cabin is just a big block of PLA, in the kit. It would take way too much work to hollow it (the material is so hard) and I wish the designer would have done it in parts to assemble. So, in order to give it more dimension, I added a front wall and frame around the opening. The "stuff" above the cabin is made of brass wires, welded together and provide 5 hooks for the lines between the main mast and the rear gun tub.
 
One painted and installed, it looks pretty decent and gives the illusion that it is indeed hollow:
 

 

 

 

 
That pretty much concludes the Module #5. The machine gun is being 3D printed in resin and I do not have it yet.
 
A few overall pictures to satiate your impatience and curiosity:
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Next will be Module #6, the rear deck.
 
Yves
 
 
 
 
 

I reinforced the frames that tended to detach in the upper part:

 
The stemson:

 
the keelson:

 
The limber strakes:

 

 

 

 

 

 

I installed the capstan barrel and drum head, which completes the capstan project.
 

 

 

 
This was a fun project and I especially enjoyed the scratch build aspect. I am not sure I am ready to tackle a whole ship as a scratch build project but it is not out of the question in the future. Thanks to the NRG and especially Toni Levine for her great instructions and plans, and her help during this build.

Installation of the QG top parts, again following the roundup of the transom athwartships AND the sheer angle the same as the lower pieces, I used a simple marked strip to check that the window space was the same fore/aft and in the middle.

Port side of hull looks great, buddy. I know I need to work at planking myself,  have that half-hull tutorial kit to do. Will be having to take top planking off of long boat and reglue it on because of positioning errors I made.

Port side of hull looks great, buddy. I know I need to work at planking myself,  have that half-hull tutorial kit to do. Will be having to take top planking off of long boat and reglue it on because of positioning errors I made.

Very unfortunate. I remember her being in San Diego many times during the Summer Festival of Sails fundraisers at the Maritime Museum and volunteering for this event.

Port side of hull looks great, buddy. I know I need to work at planking myself,  have that half-hull tutorial kit to do. Will be having to take top planking off of long boat and reglue it on because of positioning errors I made.

If I remember correctly, wasn't this ship caught in some hurricane like around Fiji and either ran aground or strike a reef? Don't remember the full story, but she was listing pretty badly after the hurricane. She was talked about in a book that my dad has about a number of ships in nautical history.
 
Brian

So i finished the rudder and the rudder box and seats
 

 

 
Then I moved on to the lids for the gun ports....
 

 
I laser cut the hinges from black laser board about the same thickness as the brass version. I did not let the laser drill the holes. I did that manually

 
i turned the end of the laser board tab with jewelers pliers and hardened with a touch of CA water thin...

 
They are not very big as you can see from the photo, I made the edges a little wavy so as to make it appear to be hand wrought by the 
smithy...left side the drop from the laser board, right side turned thimble for the hinge pins...
 

 
This was an experiment with a jewelers fitting for a necklace in bronze 1mm hole, glued on with CA and painted. I wasn't too hot on this so I passed on it and went with the laser board turned end. 
 

 
And here is what they looked like installed.  I guess I'm going to go ahead with this as it looks great to the eye without magnification .
 

And I inserted a pin into the foot of the Captain, so I could get him off the plank and more mobile. This has worked out great as I can now put him down anywhere on the deck with no damage. 
 
The above hatch cover was cut with a laser as an experiment just to see if I could do it. The one behind the captain was the first try and the one in front was the second try, I like these better than the other ones , so I'm going to proceed to cut all of these and sand and finish them for the final model. 
 
That's it for me now. Just got to decide how many gun ports I'm going to open and close, and if I'm going to do them all or just the ones Chuck has shown on his model. 

If I remember correctly, wasn't this ship caught in some hurricane like around Fiji and either ran aground or strike a reef? Don't remember the full story, but she was listing pretty badly after the hurricane. She was talked about in a book that my dad has about a number of ships in nautical history.
 
Brian

Here is a illustration I photo'd of a compass binnacle from the book Historic Ship Models by Wolfram zu Mondfeld. I will be using this same binnacle on my model of Brig Eagle with some potential modifications. Mr. Mondfeld says how warships would have two compasses with a lantern in the middle station, merchant ships would be the opposite. 

Thanks for the likes and comments.   
 
I've started sanding and will take my time and not rush it.  I know I'll have gap fill but I'm ready for that.
 
On this step as Willie Nelson would say:  "It's been fun and it's been real.  But it ain't been real fun.".    On the bright side, it was a good lesson to re-learn on first planking.

Very unfortunate. I remember her being in San Diego many times during the Summer Festival of Sails fundraisers at the Maritime Museum and volunteering for this event.

Very unfortunate. I remember her being in San Diego many times during the Summer Festival of Sails fundraisers at the Maritime Museum and volunteering for this event.

first roughing:

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've completed the stove. This little gem is a tribute to Chuck's skill, both in design and production. Even a very old guy like me would have trouble screwing it up. A fun item. I tried some weathering, but liked it better without, so repainted over it.
 
Bob

after some time I have completed the laying of all the frames:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Your model is incredibly like-life and it's been a pleasure to follow you on here. Can we get a picture of this beautiful model, the whole ship as she is?

Shone
I may be mistaken but I detect a hint of  Nepalese in your screen name .
 
DO NOT BE INTIMIDATED by anyone's build.  This hobby of ours is first and foremost a fun endeavor.   As suggested above, for a first scratch build perhaps a smaller project for a first time such as a ship's boat or smaller vessel such as a Swan Class sloop.  There are great plans available and in the case of the Swan class,  an excellent series of books, The Fully Framed Model, with step by step lessons and instructions.
 
As with the Naiad books, the author of The Fully Framed Model is a member here and he would likely be checking and helping you from beginning to end if you start a build log and request if you run into a stumbling block.
 
Brian,  while Bitao's stove is incredible, the stove can be made from alternate materials and result in a credible job.   I would emulate Bitao's stove, but if you are not yet ready for this, as is the case for most of us, take a look at the articles here on MSW as there is a simplified build of a stove in the Furniture and Fittings section of the Articles Data Base.  It may be an acceptable alternative for some builders.
 
Allan
 
 

No words to describe this beauty. Amazing museum quality work! And thanks for images of whole ship  

Hello Malazan, welcome to this site. I am in Colorado myself. Success to you with model ship building. Which area of the state are you in if I may ask?

Hello Malazan, welcome to this site. I am in Colorado myself. Success to you with model ship building. Which area of the state are you in if I may ask?

Hello Malazan, welcome to this site. I am in Colorado myself. Success to you with model ship building. Which area of the state are you in if I may ask?