Angarfather

Thanks for the support, Mike and Peter, it does make diving into those tiny details seem actually less daunting.
 
Peter -- on almost any given day, cows can be heard mooing from my back porch (no bells, I'm afraid); and at night, along with the owls, coyotes can be heard howling.  And then yesterday, we got a visitor who decided that our front porch made for pleasant perch:
 
                                       
 
I don't know if you see many of these roadrunners in Switzerland, England, or even DC (unless you're inclined to watch cartoons).

Back before anyone knew what a bucket list was, one of the boats on my bucket list was an  Edwardian_launch  Since I had not been able to find drawings of a launch I liked, I decided to design my own.  So out came the books and a few hours (days) later I have what I think will be a nice hull.  The cabin and seating will come later. 
 
As I was cutting out the bulkheads for the hull I happened to notice the 1:200 scale bulkheads for the Pequot that I had just finished.  They were what I started with before I changed to 1:100 scale.  As it turns out they are very similar to the 1:48 scale launch parts I had just cut.  My design has a clipper bow and the Pequot has a blunt bow but . . .  So I’ve decided to build two at the same time.  Something I’ve ever done before.  I expect to have fun finishing the design on both as I build.  As Popeye says “it’s in my head” .
 
Bob
 

 
 

Hello Nils!
 
what a forest of vents on the boatsdeck!!!!   In my office there is an old, photo of the "Kaiser". A very heroic picture of the "proud of the merchant navy". But without such inconsistencys like vents.
 
Very impressive work!!
 
Cheers Hartmut

Hello Nils!
 
what a forest of vents on the boatsdeck!!!!   In my office there is an old, photo of the "Kaiser". A very heroic picture of the "proud of the merchant navy". But without such inconsistencys like vents.
 
Very impressive work!!
 
Cheers Hartmut

Many thanks to Patrick and all the "likes".     
 
 
Today I have made the windows of the stern.  Because of he curved tops of  3mm plywood.
 
 

 

 

 

 
best regards 
 
Hartmut
 
 
 
 
 
 

Hello Nils!
 
what a forest of vents on the boatsdeck!!!!   In my office there is an old, photo of the "Kaiser". A very heroic picture of the "proud of the merchant navy". But without such inconsistencys like vents.
 
Very impressive work!!
 
Cheers Hartmut

Hello Nils!
 
what a forest of vents on the boatsdeck!!!!   In my office there is an old, photo of the "Kaiser". A very heroic picture of the "proud of the merchant navy". But without such inconsistencys like vents.
 
Very impressive work!!
 
Cheers Hartmut

Hello Nils!
 
what a forest of vents on the boatsdeck!!!!   In my office there is an old, photo of the "Kaiser". A very heroic picture of the "proud of the merchant navy". But without such inconsistencys like vents.
 
Very impressive work!!
 
Cheers Hartmut

Hello Nils!
 
what a forest of vents on the boatsdeck!!!!   In my office there is an old, photo of the "Kaiser". A very heroic picture of the "proud of the merchant navy". But without such inconsistencys like vents.
 
Very impressive work!!
 
Cheers Hartmut

Hello Nils!
 
what a forest of vents on the boatsdeck!!!!   In my office there is an old, photo of the "Kaiser". A very heroic picture of the "proud of the merchant navy". But without such inconsistencys like vents.
 
Very impressive work!!
 
Cheers Hartmut

Update
 
slowly working in forward direction on the boats deck.......
Last two days  made this little intermediate platform with deck-planking and two skylights ( two more lights and three vents also still to get mounted on this).
Am nearly at the position of the 3 rd. funnel....
 
Nils
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

Hello, Jack.
 
Congrats to the begining of this nice modell.
Cheers Angarvater

Hello, Jack.
 
Congrats to the begining of this nice modell.
Cheers Angarvater

Hi Michael and Nils
 
Many thanks and all the very best!
 
Cheers
 
Patrick

Hi folks!
 
Just a quick update on Shadow.
 
I've been concentrating on getting the external superstructure built. So far, most of the general shape is there; well enough to see the beauty starting to come through.
 
Still heaps to go, but time's been limited lately.
 
Hopefully, I'll be able to get more time later.
 
Have a great weekend!
 
Cheers
 
Patrick

Today's progress and the adventure continues.....  much head scratching, much smoke blowing out the window... fed the scrapbox as I sorted out my approach but success I do believe.
 
Rather than trying to attack the whole deck (center area) at once, I decided to break it into logical sections.   So.. aft section first as that's my anchor point for measurements. I spent the better part of last couple of days setting up the drawings for this with the deck plan as a basis and adding reference points and checking and re-checking measurements.
 
I finally produced a drawing showing what I thought I needed, printed it out, cut out the section and.. rats... off... Recheck measurements, reworked the drawing and repeated the test.  Got it.  Or so I thought.  I cut a piece of thin basswood and the fit was pretty good.
 
I then cut a piece of pear with etched in planking lines thinking... "one piece.. it should look good.".  It does look good (first picture).  However, not quite as good a fit as I'd like.  I mis-calculated the kerf of the Deathstar.  Different woods and different thicknesses affect the kerf.  It's not a constant but a variable as thicker wood needs more power which gives a bit of a wider kerf... a "Doh!" moment.  Back to the drawing board.  I ran some cutting tests (3 altogether for consistancy) using pear of the appropriate thickness to check the kerf and then ran those numbers into the calculator WITHOUT rounding them and got the correct kerf.  
 
While I had the drawing in the rework process, I decided instead of one piece and trying to get it to conform to the curve of the deck beams, I choose to cut individual planks.  Re-checked 3 or 4 times my calculations and it worked...  (See pic 2).  A light sanding to remove the ash but leave some of the char gives a nice fine line for the caulking.  It's been glued down into position and still needs some more light sanding to remove a bit of smoke stain and also to smooth out decking's surface.
 
Hopefully, tomorrow's efforts on the aft midsection (the next section forward) will yield good results.  I think it'll go a bit faster once I get into the rhythm of things.  It may seem like more trouble, but with the tapered planks on the deck I think this can produce a more uniform planking than trying to mark up the beams with the tapered widths and match them. 
 

 

Thank you for following along on this adventure and for the comments and "likes"....
 
Update weekend...
 
I've added the carlings where there will be a hatchway or ladderway.  Since the French laid their planks and then put the coamings ontop of the deck planking, the carlings will seen.   I've also added the mast partners, the capstan partner (I think that's the right term) and have started making bits and pieces while sorting out the deck planking.   The officer's ladder from the gundeck to the lower deck can be seen laying on the beams, the crew's ladders are in work and both fit in between the main mast partner and the oven on the lower deck.    I was 1/16th of an inch off on the making of the various deck pieces and planning the centerline planking (thick stuff).  It should be 3/32" of an inch instead of the 1/8" I mentioned previously... a miscalculation on my part.  I left the mizzen mast partner at the thicker size to better fit the pantry around it.   
 
Pictures show things ready for the next step.  The second picture is just a reference shot with dummy masts and the capstan in place to get an idea of things...  
 
 

 

 
As always, comments, corrections, and critiques are welcome. I'm still learning this art...
 

Saturday, October 22, 2016 - Introduction  
During the end of last week I issued on the internet an order for a kit of a new ship model. Yesterday I regularly received the package from the manufacturer and now I am going to open a new shipyard that I believe will keep me happily busy for the next months. Knowing myself I think I'll need, excluding unforeseen situations, a whole year to finish it, but this is just a raw idea.  
My thinking is that the model I chose was greatly illustrated with a plethora of images in the topic "Italian boats (and not) in the Adriatic Sea". Goto here to review it http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/14414-italian-boats-of-the-adriatic-sea/ . I'm referring to the "Gaeta Falcata" or "Gajeta Falkusa". As widely explained in the topic mentioned above it is a boat originating from island of Vis and used in the past by fishermen of Comiso, a village of that island.  
The kit is produced by a Croatian company, MARISSTELLA from Split, established in 2008. I discovered this company on ModelShipWorld forum where it has, in the home page, a ad banner. MARISSTELLA has a very interesting catalog, especially focused on boats of the Adriatic Sea. The first impression is positive: the material inside contained is quite valid, the timber is of good quality and the two paper sheets of building plans are very well made. The wood pieces are laser pre-cut, using both plywood and solid wood.  
For now, in my opinion, the major weakness consists in the building instructions: they are written in Croatian language and English.  
Well, you may say, you know English quite well and so, where is the problem? The problem is that that English is a lot to be desired and definitely looks like a translation made with Google Translator, most probably a version of a few years ago, and it is therefore hard to understand the concepts to be followed for the building. Luckily there are plenty of photographs of the various build stages, which help me a lot, but, although abundant for some steps, they are totally missing for others and I find several problems in understanding the whole process in a consistent and methodic way.  
For now I'm spending a bit of time to read them, interpret them, understand them, and given that I'm studying them, rewrite them in a better English with the objective to propose this translation as a gift to the kit manufacturer when all the steps will be checked (this just to avoid me too to write wrong things).  
Finally, again in terms of weaknesses, I would expect that at least all the frames of this model, in the classical three-pieces structure, were already laser pre-cut. Instead the kit provides many walnut and lime 3x3mm strips that must be soaked and bent before being applied inside the hull. This operation, anyway possible, stretches and increases the overall processing time. Being it a kit, it seems a pretty serious lack. I'll experience  in practice how much more time it will need.  
We will analyze more in detail later all the steps that will lead to the building of the hull inside and outside. Now it isn't the right moment.  
Here, instead, I would like to propose some of the kit images and the material contained inside.  
First, a bit of data: 1:20 scale
total length (with boom) 70.4 cm
packaging dimensions 65 x 21.5 cm
 
Now we can start looking at our kit box before opening it:  
01 - 20161021_163657.jpg  

Sometimes known as the replacement for the famous "Liberty" ship, the 14,000 ton SD14 general cargo ships are found under many different names and flags in most of the world's ports and all of the high seas. The designation "SD14" denotes "Shelter Deck 14,000 tons". The shelter deck is the second or tween deck in the cargo spaces and, when the ship is loaded down to her plimsoll line, she displaces 14,000 tons.
By the mid 1960s, there remained some 700 Liberty and other war-built cargo ships still trading. Even the youngest were 20 years old and the question of a replacement was exercising the minds of ship owners and builders around the world. the emergence of bulk carriers and container ships pointed to the end of the "shelter Deck" design which had been used with little alteration since the turn of the century. Many felt that this design was no obsolete and that the future lay with containerisation.
It was, therefore, something of a surprise when ship builders all over the world unveiled their plans for the "liberty Ship Replacement", almost all of which offered a two-deck vessel of 14,000/15,000 tons deadweight. Doubtless this choice was influenced by the requirements of potential customers. Most of the war-built vessels were, by this time, being operated by Greek ship owners of limited resources to whom these new designs, for a type of vessel with which they were fully experienced and priced at about £1 million with cheap credit facilities, were very attractive.
A total of 30 designs were put forward as the "Liberty Ship Replacement" in the early months of 1966. Of these, the most successful was the SD14, developed by the Sunderland shipbuilders, Austin and Pickersgill. The first SD14 keel was laid on 8th. June 1967. Unusually, this was not at Austin and Pickersgill's own yard, but nearby at that of another Sunderland shipbuilder, Bartram's, who were building the ship under licence. The first ship, named Mimis N. Papalios, was launched on 1st. December 1967. She was also very nearly the first SD14 to be completed. However, Austin and Pickersgill managed to make up the leeway in their own building programme to hand over the first completed SD14, the Nicola, on 14th. February 1968, the Mimis N. Papalios following the next day.
Between 1968 and 1988, a total of 211 SD14s were completed and it is interesting to note that, by 1990, only 10 had been scrapped for commercial reasons, a further three going to the breaker's yard after marine accidents. Of the dozen vessels reported as sunk, at least two fell victim to missile attack during the Iran/Iraq conflict.
Like the original Liberty ships, which many thought would be scrapped as soon as the war was over, the SD14 was not ascribed a very long life by some early critics. Nevertheless, these ships are still in demand in the charter market, with average daily rates of $5,200 for a one-year time contract, and in the second hand market with prices ranging from $2.5m for an early seventies ship to $5.75m. for a newer example.
One guide to the success of the SD14 is to look at the movement of the 211 ships through the second-hand market. Most of the ships now sailing are with only their second owner, a few remaining with their original purchaser. The oldest SD14 in service is the Wave Crest, the vessel which, as the Mimis N. Papalios, missed by one day the distinction of being the first completed ship of her type.
  The Model
In 1978, while attached to Manchester Docks, George Robinson, a retired Merchant Navy captain, hit on the idea of providing the port fire brigade with an easy-to-build model of the SD14. In this way, the trainee firemen could easily and quickly become familiar with the layout of the ship.
So, originated a 2-foot long, 1:70 scale model kit of the Forward section of the SD14. This first attempt met with such success that kits if the Midships and After sections followed in 1979, the complete model measuring an imposing 7 feet in length. Professional and international recognition followed in 1982 when the model won the "Shipwrights Model Competition" at the Guildhall in London.
Quite apart from sheer size, the kit is remarkable, for it is, in fact, put together in much the same way as the original was in Sunderland. Space here permits no more than a brief glimpse of what awaits the builder of this miniature leviathan.
The instructions, which, for the complete kit, run to about 60 pages, first explain that the model will be built by the dry dock method rather than on the slipway - the difference is clarified.
You then proceed to lay the shell bottom plates of the Forward section to form the double bottom, between the outer surface of the hull and the inner surface of the holds. On the original, the space in between in used for water ballast, necessary to keep the propellor submerged when there is no cargo and to maintain an even keel. This last expression, in such common and, I suspect , often unwitting, usage, is precisely defined.
The building progresses aft as the cargo holds are each constructed with transverse watertight bulkheads, hold pillars and centre line plates. There are even properly runged ladders on which to descend to the bowels of the vessel. In the After section, as well as a cargo hold, there is the engine room together with the propellor shaft tunnel and, by lifting up the after deck house, access is provided to the steering gear flat and the rudder stock.
In the bridge superstructure, containing the crew's accommodation, every cabin is accounted for. The crew's mess room, galley and smoke room are each separately delineated as are the linen locker, baggage room and officers' smoke room to mention but a few. The model also incorporates the correct ventilation trunk ways, the significance of which for cargo handling is explained.
In the course of construction, the instructions are supplemented by sections which explain the actual fabrication of the original, so that, as you work through the model, you learn about the SD14, how it was assembled and how it works.The operation of such components as MacGregor hatch covers, the keelson and camber in the original are fully expounded and you can then reproduce these to scale. Step-by-step diagrams illustrate the sequence of construction.
It is perhaps worth remembering that ships are machines, the largest ever built by man. So it is fascinating to see how this great machine works and to reproduce it in miniature at the same time. The correct nautical terms are used and explained, showing how each part of the ship functions and how the whole design draws on centuries of experience to produce the modern ocean-going vessel. If, like me, you have wondered what exactly is a "Tween Deck" and what is its purpose, you need wonder no more. All is revealed after which you can actually build one.
The kit is printed on 184 A3 sheets of top quality manilla card, there being approximately 4,500 pieces, and the modeller can choose to paint the model with an authentic colour scheme or one of his own choice. The three sections can be fixed together or left dismantled and the aft superstructure can be removed to give a glimpse of the various deck levels inside the hull. naturally, all the cargo hatches open to show the holds.
. The model can be made either for display or, with suitable waterproofing (see "Cutting Remarks" no. 3), can be sailed, there being space for R/C gear.
Although the original SD14 models were all sold out about 10 years ago, Marcle Models, under licence from George Robinson, reissues the SD14 kit. The complete kit, weighing over 17 lbs, is supplied in 6 cartons, complete with a tool kit and costs £280 including worldwide surface mail. The three sections, Forward, Midships and After, are each available separately at £105 each.
Should you decide to have a go, this, the "Non plus ultra of card (and perhaps any other type of) modelling, should keep you busy for about a year.
 

 
Christopher Cooke and Thomas Pleiner, with acknowledgements to George Robinson, John Lingwood and Ships Monthly. Article first appeared in "Cutting Remarks" No. 4, September 1992.
 

Many thanks to Patrick and all the "likes".     
 
 
Today I have made the windows of the stern.  Because of he curved tops of  3mm plywood.
 
 

 

 

 

 
best regards 
 
Hartmut
 
 
 
 
 
 

It had been a wonderfull sommer. Two journeys to Danmark, two most interesting jobs and last but not least the birth of my seventh grandchild, Richard.
 
Therefore there was no time left for modeling. That was already o k. But now its time for working on.
 
The windows of the pavillons frontwall. I have made it from quadrangular brass, and glued it with cyan acryl. To instal the windowpins ( 1mm brass wire) I have drilled in 1mm holes into the frames.
 

 

 

 

 
the bay windows of the side walls. The woodwork ( pearwood )
 

 
This frames are made from square tube (1,5 x 1,5mm)brass
 

 

 
Cheers Angarvater
 
 
 

Many thanks to Patrick and all the "likes".     
 
 
Today I have made the windows of the stern.  Because of he curved tops of  3mm plywood.
 
 

 

 

 

 
best regards 
 
Hartmut
 
 
 
 
 
 

Many thanks to Patrick and all the "likes".     
 
 
Today I have made the windows of the stern.  Because of he curved tops of  3mm plywood.
 
 

 

 

 

 
best regards 
 
Hartmut
 
 
 
 
 
 

It had been a wonderfull sommer. Two journeys to Danmark, two most interesting jobs and last but not least the birth of my seventh grandchild, Richard.
 
Therefore there was no time left for modeling. That was already o k. But now its time for working on.
 
The windows of the pavillons frontwall. I have made it from quadrangular brass, and glued it with cyan acryl. To instal the windowpins ( 1mm brass wire) I have drilled in 1mm holes into the frames.
 

 

 

 

 
the bay windows of the side walls. The woodwork ( pearwood )
 

 
This frames are made from square tube (1,5 x 1,5mm)brass
 

 

 
Cheers Angarvater
 
 
 

To make the front wall of the pavillon was very fiddly. At first I have made some decorations for the pillars.
 

 

 

 
Next were some  test pieces for the infills.
 

 

 
After some more training in makeing this parts this is the way I will make them all.
 

 

 

 

 

 
 
But now it's closing time in the dockyard for the next two weeks. Holidays in Danmark!
Cheerio Hartmut