Cathead

German, thanks for reading! Really cool to hear your perspective on being directly involved in so many of the vessels we saw. Can you give me any insights into the basic fishing craft?

¡Bienvenido a Model Ship World, German! Me interesa que usted es de Chile. En el año 2018 mi esposa y yo viajamos en su pais para un mes, y pasamos mucho tiempo largo de la costa. Yo escribí sobre esto viaje a Chile en MSW, ¿quizas le interesta leerlo? Planeamos volver, pero ahora no podemos por el virus. Es muy desfortunado, por que durante nuestro viaje nos conocimos a mucho gente y creemos que los Chilenos son muy simpaticos y interesantes. Mi español es limitado, pero he trabajado duro antes del viaje y después, por que los dos queremos volver a su país. Espero que puede me entender. ¡De nuevo, bienvenido!

On the brickwork, I think I used printed brick paper (from model railroading) on the Bertrand and made my own wooden bricks for Arabia. I don't think the former would hold up at your scale. There are a lot of model railroad molds out there intended for casting various building parts in plaster, I wonder if a brick pattern mold could be found that would look right? That would give you a nice 3D effect without having to cut out and shape lots of bricks.

On the brickwork, I think I used printed brick paper (from model railroading) on the Bertrand and made my own wooden bricks for Arabia. I don't think the former would hold up at your scale. There are a lot of model railroad molds out there intended for casting various building parts in plaster, I wonder if a brick pattern mold could be found that would look right? That would give you a nice 3D effect without having to cut out and shape lots of bricks.

First attempt to set a block for the caronade.  This is going to take a while!

You're probably right Vaddoc, though I usually think of a crance iron in association with a bowsprit. Thanks for the nice comment.
 
Sounds like the two of you had a good time Roger. There are a lot of good eats down there – Merrill's and The Black Whale on the wharves, and Moby Dick Brewing and the Whalers Tavern in the historic district are a few of my favorites. Hope they all survive this darned virus.
 
Hi Tim. It is my intention to be there.
It is good to think something in my log might be useful to you in your own modeling.  Thanks for the great comment Tim.
  
And thanks to everyone looking in and for the "likes".
 
 
Bilge Pump
 
The Edson model #2 pump is being used as a prototype (more-or-less) for this model. I used it as a general guide for the overall dimensions and construction. However, the Edson #2 can be operated from three positions whereas mine will be operable from only two.
 

 
This construction is a real hodgepodge of brass, paper, styrene, steel and plastic because I'm using whatever I have on hand.  It is 9/32” (7.14mm) wide by 1/4” (6.35mm) tall.
 
I begin with the brass center throat and the base which is wrapped paper.
 

 
 
Once I have enough wraps of paper giving me the base width needed, I saturate it with very thin CA (like water) which effectively turns it into a piece of plastic. I then jam it onto a drywall bit and spin it in a drill to get it round and smooth.  I use a drill motor instead of a Dremel because I can run the drill at very low RPM.
 

 
 
The lower pump flange is made from a steel flat washer. The washer is used simply because it was the exact thickness I needed. The center is drilled out to size and then pushed onto a tapered burr and placed into the drill chuck. The outer diameter is then reduced to size with a diamond grit file.
 

 
 
The washer is epoxied on and the spout opening is filed out.
 

 
 
The upper flange and spout are made from styrene. Holes are drilled for the connecting rods.
 

 
 
Brass wire is inserted for the connecting rods and injection molded nut/bolts are glued on top and nut heads on the bottom. The simplified inner pump thingy is a slide fit brass tube topped with styrene and bent wire. The handle is brass wire. The handle on a real pump is a more complicated item consisting of a rod that screws into a cast socket with a hook and fulcrum seats – but I'm just not going there.
 

 
 
The image below shows two small pieces of half round styrene which are placed on the upper flange and serve as the fulcrum point for the pump handle.
 

 
 
It was painted a base mixture of Testors “steel” and “rust” enamel. There is also some silver and black to help accentuate details. A few metal looking pigments and pencil graphite were used for highlighting. 
 

 
 

 
These pumps were positioned in a number of different places on deck and I chose between the winch and pilothouse for this model.
 

 
Thanks for stopping by.
 
Gary
 
 

Hello again Everyone,
 
So I managed to get the build jig set up this past week, and in hindsight I realized that I should have done this from the beginning. It sure makes lining everything up so much easier.
 
I didn't take any pictures of its construction, I guess I was just excited to get to building it and completely forgot about taking them. Anyway, basic construction was two sheets of 1/4" MDF with 1"x4"s cut to length and sandwiched between them the height of the hull. I then tuned the hull over, traced out it's profile and cut that out. I then lined up the Bob Hill plans (yes, I used these, but first I made sure that the framing stations lined up with the HSR ones and they did perfectly) with the hull opening, taped it in place then marked all of the frames.
 
This is where I started taking the pictures. Oh, and I went into town and had the scaled plans printed so that I didn't run the risk of the ones I printed and taped together throwing my frame lines out of whack.

 
Next I installed the pedestal mounts in the hull so that I could secure it to the jig. I for the mounts I used these 1/4" threaded inserts that you drill the pilot hole and insert with an Allen wrench. These things were pretty cool. I like them better than using T-nuts because if they strip out, you can replace them without tearing apart the model.
 
Drilling the pilot hole.

 
Installing the insert.

 
Testing the fit with the temp screws that I am going to use to hold the boat in place while it is in the jig.

 
And the whole setup in place. The red lines are every fifth frame, as called out on the plans. I then went in and marked all the rest of the frame lines in black so  I have a perfect reference for all of the frames. Also, as you can see by my simulated nail lines, The stations gradually migrated out of line with the frame stations. This was where I was having trouble keeping things lined up and prompted me to build the jig. Lesson learned. Luckily most of these won't be seen since they will be hidden by cannons or the Officers Quarters.

 
Now that this part is done, it's time to move on to finishing the gun deck framing and planking. First frame in place. And now they can be lined up where they are supposed to be. First frame going in.

 
A few more frames in place.

 
All frames in place. The wider frames have knee braces mounted to their undersides. These will be installed once the boat is removed from the building jig.

 
Aft planking going in.

 
And finally, the engine holds cut out, the deck all sanded and four coats of wipe-on poly applied. 

 
Things ought to start moving along a little better now that I have the build jig as a guide to work off of. I am going to start work this week on the boilers and getting the brickwork laid down in the boiler hold. Haven't quite figured out how I am going to do the bricks yet. I've seen several methods in different builds from powdered mixes to cutting small pieces of wood and painting them up. Not real sure yet, but I am open to any suggestions to other methods used that  might be easier.
 
Anyway, that's all for now. Thanks for looking.
 
-Brian

HMS Beagle replica:
 

Views fore and aft. That's me on the forecastle with the Magellan Straight behind me.

View near the wheel. Inside the chartroom, and posted around the ship, are myriad sheets of plans and drawings that are great to study while standing on the full-size equivalent.

View belowdecks, looking aft toward the officers' quarters.

Me and my namesake.

Another view from the bow.
 

It was just mind-blowing to walk around, and on, this vessel. I'm not enough of an expert to know if any details are wrong, but they sure seemed to try for authenticity. It was close enough for me. Both Mrs. Cathead and I reread Voyage of the Beagle in preparation for this trip (we both have a background in earth science and strong interests in ecology & natural history), so we both got a lot out of this visit. It amazes me that there aren't truly accurate kits of the Beagle, and I have to admit that scratchbuilding this is high on my potential next-project list. Really,  how could the household of two travel-loving natural history lovers not have this?

Not in this case, IMO, it's already interesting!
 

Time to add the false decks. It took quite a while to carve the frame slots out enough for these to fit properly, but I got there eventually. Part of the slowness was the need to keep sliding the decks back inside the frames to check the fit, which is a delicate process.
 
Once I felt they'd fit, I worked out how to hold them in place while the glue dried. Several people have used various combinations of rubber bands and clamps, but I drew on some resources from my geology background. First, I spread a thick layer of glue on all the keel/frame surfaces, as the fit isn't perfect in a few places, not worrying about spillover since none of this will be visible from any angle:
 

 
I then used rock samples between each frame, which seemed to work nicely with a minimum of fuss. I did one half of the frame first, then the other.
 

 

 
So far so good.

Greetings from Chile!
Yes... Chile!
Very glad to have found this forum.... I wasnt that much of a ship modeller until a few months ago so i just discover this very nice group.
 
Started with models some 35+ years ago with a few 1/72 matchbox airplane kits and it has been my hobbyever since with some deviations in between (who aint..) with Marklin HO trains, R/C sailboats and girls.
A friend asked me to build a 1/350 Tamiya Yamato Premium edition back in january of this year and it turned out really good with the addition of a wood deck and some eduard railing. Now im finishing an 1/350 Academy Graf Spee for the same friend and after that i have to tackle the 1/200 Bismarck also for him. In the meantime i just lost interest in aircraft models so i ended up selling pretty much all of the stash (some 200+ unbuilt 1/72, 1/48 and 1/144 kits) and started creating a quite decent 1/350 stash.
 
In real life im a long time member of the IPMS-Chile main branch (and IPMS-Chile Facebook group admin too), i managed to marry a gorgeous gal, have two wonderful kids and i work as a Naval Architect in a ship design office, but that's another story...
 
Looking forward to learn tons from you and if i can be of any help, just let me know.
Cheers!
German

Second bulkhead and paper touch up:
 
Finished the second bulkhead just like the first but one thing I did discover that might be useful to others is a way to touch up the paper patterns if you get a slight flaw, which was always a white or lighter spot than the rest. I have had a couple of very small white spots show up in the patterns where I tried to remove some glue that had dried too much. The only colors I've had to do that in were the red and the green but I had the advantage of a full set of color Prismacolor pens so I thought I'd see if I could touch them up, they were very tiny but if a flaw can be fixed why not? For the red I found that Peach PM-170 worked perfectly and for the green Apple Green PM-167 also worked perfectly. These colors look much lighter than the colors in the patterns but they work. A tiny touch of the fine marker on a white spot and it disappeared, couldn't even tell where it was. Pretty sure these can be ordered individually but looking online I'm not sure the fine tip is still like the one in the picture, my pen set is probably 10 years old, I was a little surprised that they still worked but they seem to be fine. Anyway if you ever need to touch up the paper it can be done and won't show.
 
 

Many thanks Pat and Mugje!! 😄
 
I decided to deconstruct the starboard main channel and glue it at a lower angle. I did this by drilling new holes for the pins.. Glad I did this. Looks much more symmetrical and cleaner. 
 

 
Now on to the headrails 

I have finally finished the hull details (apart from a small mishap shown later on).
 
The channels were installed and I used three pins to peg each one as shown:
 

 

 
I think the channels have been placed pretty symmetrically as shown in this overhead shot (I based the symmetry on the deck butt lines and distance from gun and sweep ports).. But if anyone can see any slight deviation please do let me know 🙂
 

 
Now for the small mishap... The main channel on the starboard side seems to be tilted higher than the portside one. No idea how it happened.. Maybe it is the angle I drilled the holes at. You can see it a bit in the below photo. I am inclined to leave it as is since it is not very noticeable, but if I find the courage I might try to remove it and bend the pins or something. Just scared if it has been bonded too well with the hull.
 

 

 
Anyways, here are some more photos
 

 

 

 

 

 
Next I will go ahead and try out the head rails 😬 😬 😬, unless of course I try and fix the channel issue...
 

Hah, good point. It would be cool to simulate some of the stone ballast, maybe I need to leave some of the deck planking off. Someone's log also has a super-cool real-stone anchor that I want to copy.

Time to add the false decks. It took quite a while to carve the frame slots out enough for these to fit properly, but I got there eventually. Part of the slowness was the need to keep sliding the decks back inside the frames to check the fit, which is a delicate process.
 
Once I felt they'd fit, I worked out how to hold them in place while the glue dried. Several people have used various combinations of rubber bands and clamps, but I drew on some resources from my geology background. First, I spread a thick layer of glue on all the keel/frame surfaces, as the fit isn't perfect in a few places, not worrying about spillover since none of this will be visible from any angle:
 

 
I then used rock samples between each frame, which seemed to work nicely with a minimum of fuss. I did one half of the frame first, then the other.
 

 

 
So far so good.

Everything looks real nice.

Love the use of the rocks, Eric.  Somewhere in the back of my mind I seem to recall reading that the Vikings used large stones to hold timbers to shape while soaking in water, so an excellent period method in use there. 
 
John

Time to add the false decks. It took quite a while to carve the frame slots out enough for these to fit properly, but I got there eventually. Part of the slowness was the need to keep sliding the decks back inside the frames to check the fit, which is a delicate process.
 
Once I felt they'd fit, I worked out how to hold them in place while the glue dried. Several people have used various combinations of rubber bands and clamps, but I drew on some resources from my geology background. First, I spread a thick layer of glue on all the keel/frame surfaces, as the fit isn't perfect in a few places, not worrying about spillover since none of this will be visible from any angle:
 

 
I then used rock samples between each frame, which seemed to work nicely with a minimum of fuss. I did one half of the frame first, then the other.
 

 

 
So far so good.

when in doubt put a rock on it!

I've been working on this Brig prior to starting the Paddlewheeler but have kind of put it on the back burner.

I started work on the main deck structures.

I detailed out the rubbers to make them look a little more authentic.

Time to add the false decks. It took quite a while to carve the frame slots out enough for these to fit properly, but I got there eventually. Part of the slowness was the need to keep sliding the decks back inside the frames to check the fit, which is a delicate process.
 
Once I felt they'd fit, I worked out how to hold them in place while the glue dried. Several people have used various combinations of rubber bands and clamps, but I drew on some resources from my geology background. First, I spread a thick layer of glue on all the keel/frame surfaces, as the fit isn't perfect in a few places, not worrying about spillover since none of this will be visible from any angle:
 

 
I then used rock samples between each frame, which seemed to work nicely with a minimum of fuss. I did one half of the frame first, then the other.
 

 

 
So far so good.

Hello there!
Sorry for taking so long this building log. I worked on the ship during the spare time I have and there is my progress (and some comments for my problems and solutions.
Here we go.
 

 

Problem here: as you can see I glued wrongly one at the bow, since it wasn’t a big deal y fixed it with a bit a sanding, lets hope it didn’t come on a bigger mistake. Nevermind now, lets continue.
 


You can’t appreciate from the picture, but there are three small mistakes of cutting too much, but I fixed somehow with spare bits of the wood after cutting the form, it’s hardlyt noticeable unlees you search for it (and in futher building even more hard to nitice). Time for some walls and doors.
 

After this point I made a little stop. I took my time to reorginze mi “work station”. Maybe I will update later with a photo of my little corner.