Cathead

Then we have the cabin itself. The finished piece will have a thinner cover. You can see I took the shape directly out of the old Italian kit plans, that said I am wondering if the back should be widened a bit? Maybe a bit less triangular?  Also might move the top skylight window back a bit feels close to the edge? Also I'm not liking the flat skylight I'm thinking the sloped roof was probably how it was done? Also wondering how the edge of the cabin roof should be finished. I imagine historically it would have a frame. The top is supposed to be planked like the deck so itll have holly planks, maybe a cherry frame boarder? If that's the case then widening won't be necessary. Any thoughts or opinions, comments are always appreciated.

Here's a neat pic of the rudder.  The top will eventually be rounded and the edge tapered.
 
Added the beak which is a separate piece now.

Hi everyone! So going to add a few updates over the course of this weekend regarding a few different topics but first I thought I'd show more close ups of the laser parts I made. Nothing is glued together yet just fitted on the hull to see what worked and what didn't. In these pics you can see the keel and cabin are still basswood so I could gauge how they fit together and will be replaced after planking. Overall I am very happy with the margin plank in holly and the waterway in cherry also the cannon carriage parts they really worked out amazing!  The stern (again just laying on the deck flat for now) looks pretty good too I am wondering if those cleats are too thick though?  

Eric thank you for your interest in this build.
I finished up the rear hull section planking and forming of the propshaft housing which just required a great deal of cutting and fitting of the planks. While waiting for glue to set I moved back and forth with the sanding of the primer on the bow section. Here you can see the results of the sanding showing the highs and lows of the surface.
 

 
Here are views of the hull planking with a close up of the prop area. 
 

 

 
The the large flat sheets were cut and glued for the flat bottom and then weighted with steel blocks and allowed to set on the building board. This weighing down assures the hull staying flat and true.
 

 
 
I will plank as much of the forward hull section and finish off like the bow section and then thew inner racks before joining the two sections for easy handling.
 
 
 

I've learned to do it by hand (i.e. no power tools), either by taper square stock with a knife then sanding, or just sanding down a dowel. In fairness, the largest ship I've built is a topsail schooner, but doing it by hand makes sure I don't overdo it. I just put on an audio book or baseball game and work away.

Regarding cats, my avatar is getting on in years and has never been overly adventurous. As long as I push in the chair at the model desk, she doesn't try to get up there. Not sure how to exclude a more active cat other than a door. Hope you have fun with this model and manage to keep the paws off.

This is really cool; I love builds that help me learn about the ship itself. And I really appreciate the captioned photos that clearly document your steps. I'm going to try that angled plank end approach, too, seems obvious now that it's pointed out.

This is really cool; I love builds that help me learn about the ship itself. And I really appreciate the captioned photos that clearly document your steps. I'm going to try that angled plank end approach, too, seems obvious now that it's pointed out.

I am still working from Chapter Four. I framed the sides of each gun port using the laser cut uprights that were provided in the kit. I used the templates to mark their locations. The uprights were slightly longer than needed, and had to be trimmed to fit properly. I discovered that my 3/8 inch wide Xacto chisel was the perfect way to do this. I became pretty good at judging how much needed to be trimmed from each upright. Before the Xacto chisel, I had tried using sandpaper to trim the uprights but almost always changed the angle and screwed up the fit. The uprights are cut as parallelograms and the tops and bottoms need to be parallel to fit between the sill and lintel. The forward most gunport, or bridle port needed to have the bulkhead extension removed. Because a portion of the bulkhead extension sticks up above the portion that was removed, I elected to double the uprights on either side, just to make sure I provided enough strength. I also framed the sweep ports. The Instruction Manual says to use 3/8 inch by 5/15 inch wood for the frames, but I only found 3/8 by 3/8 inch wood in the box...and it worked OK. With 20-20 hindsight, if these were installed earlier in the construction process, they would have provided all of the strength and stability that was needed. I sanded them fair and used the templates to mark the sweep port locations. I “monumented” the corners of the sweep ports using a sharp compass point to punch into the wood. I still have to add the hance pieces and the hull sheaves. The pictures show my progress to date.
 
 

This is really cool; I love builds that help me learn about the ship itself. And I really appreciate the captioned photos that clearly document your steps. I'm going to try that angled plank end approach, too, seems obvious now that it's pointed out.

Hi Ken. 
 
That's a great idea about the 45 degree bevels at the tips of the planks.  I'm going to lock that idea away for future use.
 
Have a great weekend!
 
Cheers. 
 
Patrick

One of my commissions is now available to purchase. Here is the Ladder Wagon to compliment the Allerton Steam Pumper. Follow the link to view if interested.
http://modelexpo-online.com/MODEL-EXPO-HOOK-AND-LADDER-WAGON-112-SCALE-WOOD-METAL-KIT-_p_1402.html
 
The best laid plans often go astray. Initially I thought this would be an inside out build but the actual execution dictated otherwise. I added sidewall braces between the bulwarks but this did not eliminate the overall flexing so back to plan B of doing the outside planking while hull lay flat on the building board. I added the flat area outboard sidewall to stiffen the center area first. I then started planking form the sides inboard and from the center out board and slightly forward of center lengthwise.

 
When planking and regardless of the width of the plank I always bevel the ends so when adding the next plank I will have a stronger joint. Here you can see the top edge of the side wall in place.
 

 
I planked as much as I could defining both the hull and the prop shaft tunnel merging from the main hull shape. I reached the point where I had to add the prop shaft bearing for the propeller down the road.
 

 
I cut the shape need to support the brass tube bearing surface from the plans using 1/32" plywood. Using plywood I can keep track of the centerline when shaping around the brass tube later. In positioning the carrier I glued the tube first to the plywood, then once dry I inserted a longer rod to visually center the shaft both on centerline as well as vertically parallel to ground.
 

 
Here is a close up of the brass tube in place ready to be planked and blocked around. The curve will define the end of the planks. I will use solid wood for the rest of the shape.
 

 
Now back to more planking while waiting for status updates on three more commission projects.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Moved on to adding the balance of the framework and bracing on the walls and the coaming for the hatch openings. I also opened the third and fourth hold openings now that the structure is strong enough with the planking in place.  I carefully drilled and filed the deck drainage holes on the sidewalls. Just a great deal of fussy work with small parts to be cut and fit.
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Here is a closeup.
 

 
Next I located and cut in the anchor openings.
 

 
Next after a final hand sanding and blending I did the first primer spray painting of both the inner and outer surfaces and set aside to dry and set overnight before the next sanding. This is when you find those little bits of gaps that you missed resulting in more glazing putty.
 

 
Now while waiting for paint to set I will move on to planking the rest of the hull. 
 
 

Thank you all for your kind compliments. I have been bouncing between a commission project and the Detroit. Going from CAD drawings; writing instructions and building. Anyway making slow progress and I am really glad I decided to do the bow as a section with all this tiny work required on it. First I added the mooring deck one level above the main deck. Then the framing structure and cap rail that was hand bent after soaking in water on edge in two halves. Then, while waiting for glues to set I finished up the container racks. The forward bulkhead was then added along with it's supporting structure. Just for size reference the two passageways are six feet high by 3 feet wide between the mooring deck and lifeboat deck. Here is a few pictures so far.

 

 

 

 
Next I will add the walls and braces for the forward holds and standing walls for the hatch covers before joining to the center section.
I may also decide to sort out the rear center section planking supporting the propeller shaft which defines the "ride of the ship" since it does not have a traditional keel before adding the bow section. The joy of scratch building is making it up as you go sorting things out. 

After finishing up the roughing in of the stern mooring deck; I moved to the bow section which will have an elevated mooring deck one level above the main deck and have the same winches and fittings as the stern mooring deck. So I thought it would be wise to finish both decks at the same time with their winches and fittings. I decided to plank the bow section and finish up the inner container racks while still easy to handle since these ha d to be done before moving on to the bow mooring deck. I plan to finish up as much as possible on the bow section before joining it to the center section. 
 

 

 

 

 

 
I prefer using the automotive glazing putty because it is softer than wood, easy to sand and on the inner surfaces is scrapped with a square blade rather than sanded for easy cleanup. Works equally as well on bare wood and spray painted primer. Think of it as a thick primer and most will be sanded off. I does a great job of filling any deep sanding scratches and plank joints.
 
Now back to a couple of other projects that need attention.
 
 

I got all the hull bracing in place, not exciting work but very necessary with this narrow and long structure. I worked back and forth between the bow section and building the mooring deck at the stern which I made removable so as to be able to add the deck equipment later, bits and winches. On the bow section I added  solid blocks to form the bow and next will be the bow rider and adding more planking to support the bulwark parts secured with braces so that the braces can be cut away.
 
I thought this would be an inside out build but now am bouncing back and forth dictated by the hull structure. The good thing about scratch building is that you can kind of go wherever the build leads you.
 
Here is in progress of the bow section and why I built as a separate unit. Much easier to handle this short section for building. I am leaving the planking long to be able to attach to the center hull when joined.
 

 

 
Here is the development of the mooring deck which is below the main deck at the stern. The side and transom openings are for mooring lines. On this deck are located winches and bits for mooring lines. The deck will be 1/32" plywood and be glued to the support structure which press fits horizontally into the center hull section kind of like a drawer sliding in and out. Once finished and painted will be glued in place.
 
The real challenge was getting the 10 transom openings visually correct so I just started at one end and started down using a steel shim block as a spacer to get them correct. They are kind of like teeth in a smile. 
 

 

 

 

 
Back to projects and lets keep the Model Expo folks in our prayers since they are located in Miami and a site sponsor. 
 

Back to building after a hot weekend helping the Admiral with her craft show. I finished up the rough sawing of the bulwarks and glued them in place except for the stern wall which I will cut openings in before adding it. I will also add bracing to the deck before removing from the building board.
 

 

 
 

 
Reinforcing bracing to be added to retain shape before removing from building board in sections to add the inner walls.

 
Now back to bracing and some work on a commission project.
 

Thank you all for following along and welcome aboard for my new adventure into ship building.
 
Here is a beauty picture of the ship courtesy of Best Aerial Photos. Visit their website link for their service and other great aerial photos.
 
http://www.bestaerialphotos.com/typical-aerial-views-ny/maersk-detroit-cargoship/
 

 
Dan thanks for the links and I am an old customer of Tom's from my WWI  airplane builds using his machine gun cooling jackets.
I checked out his rails and once I get close to determining the number of rails I may order some. No it is not for RC but for container loading. I will let Evan sort out what load out he wishes down the road.
 
John, the new Proxxon table saw is working perfect and a great help in sawing the 1/8" plywood for the bulkheads shapes for hand sawing. Even the Admiral is happy because I made picture shadow box frames for her new product artwork.
 
I also mis-typed the scale and will have to edit, it really is 1:354 which makes the photo etched rails from Tom"s even better.
 
Sawing out all the bulkheads with my jeweler's saw is time consuming so I saw one, file it clean and glue in place with the glue setting as I saw the next one. This weekend is my wife's big craft show so I will help her as grunt labor and gopher for the Labor Day weekend. If the Admiral is not happy no one is happy!  
 

Finally completed enough CAD drawings to get started on building. The CAD drawings are based on technical drawings from the ship builder. Attached are a couple of PDF files showing all the section bulkheads for the container bays.
Detroit Bay Sections 01.pdf
Detroit Bay Sections 02.pdf
 
This build is being done for my son-in-law who is now the Captain of this ship which is his first command since being promoted to Captain. I thought that he should at least have a model of the first ship he commanded. Since he took over Command and after two 72 day tours the ship has gone from the worse in it's class to number 5 in the entire Maersk fleet. 
 
The build will be a new challenge being completely scratch built and a major difference from a tall ship. It will be built in sections for ease of handling during the build process until the units are glued together. As I pondered the build while doing the drawings I finally realized that this would be an inside out build due to the container bays down in the hull. The good news is the main deck is flat down the center line with a slight crown side to side which will really help on this build. Being a scratch build things will be made up as I go and bounce back and forth between build and CAD drawing.
 
Here is a sequence of the start on the bow section. The main deck and inner container walls are 1/32" plywood, bulkheads will be 1/8" plywood and planking will be 1/16" basswood strips. Because of the small scale dictated by eventual display location the length will be 32 inches. When drawn the hull walls and inner walls almost touch which required the use of location braces for some sections of the bulkheads that will be cut away as the inner walls are added. This will be an inside out build since it is easier to cut and trim the inner walls without the planking being in place.
 

 

 

 

 

 
Now back to adding the center section bulkheads.
 
 
 
 

This is a really neat project. Being from the American Midwest, I had never heard of this type of kit before. It seems a very intelligent and interesting approach. Can you share any more about how this sort of thing works? 
 
In any case, being of partial German heritage and fascinated by this era as a kid, I'm excited to follow along on this.

Attached are the most recent photos of our Shipcrafter Team's, "USS St  Louis", City Class Ironclad model which primarily consist of a successful "dry-fit" of our partially completed brass paddlewheel with several of its thicker assembly jig boards still attached. When completed, it will include a "birdsnest" of thin rod cross-bracing between the four inner rings and all 17 "buckets". The actual paddle boards ("buckets") are inside of the larger paddlewheel ring (one is attached by its "U-bolts") as shown in the close-up photo. We are now working on framing for the skylight which covers the paddlewheel axle bellcrank and "pittman" arm attachment which penetrate the Hurricane deck. This demonstration allowed us to properly locate the two paddlewheel suppout ramps to achieve the correct paddlewheel axle location fore & aft while simultaneously achieving its proper vertical location which determined the depth of "bucket" penetration into the river water. Note that the paddlewheel is not in the center of its wheelhouse but further aft than center to achieve, in combination with the feed ramp, a smoother water flow to the wheel per "Pooks" original specifications. The starboard side of Hurricane deck houses have been roofed & sided, sliding windows are in place and the structural framing for the small attached sheds are also visible. Our brass models of the wheelbarrows for coal handling are based on late 1800's versions used for iron steamships. The 1:24 scale of this model allows us an exceptional amount of fine detail.
 
johnhoward

A good ruler is indeed invaluable. But you can also use any of the multitude of online conversion calculators available. For example, go to http://www.onlineconversion.com/length_common.htm
 
and just enter 6 feet divided by mm, then divide that by 60. Pretty much every computer has a basic calculator you can do that last step on if you don't have a physical one.
 
Or you can use a spreadsheet like Excel, and if you don't have that, you can use the free versions offered by platforms like Google. For every one of my builds, I set up a basic spreadsheet that has a number of common conversions for that model's scale, and a few custom fields that let me enter a given number and have it spit out the corresponding scale measurement.
 
Maybe I should write up something about this with examples as a separate post.

A good ruler is indeed invaluable. But you can also use any of the multitude of online conversion calculators available. For example, go to http://www.onlineconversion.com/length_common.htm
 
and just enter 6 feet divided by mm, then divide that by 60. Pretty much every computer has a basic calculator you can do that last step on if you don't have a physical one.
 
Or you can use a spreadsheet like Excel, and if you don't have that, you can use the free versions offered by platforms like Google. For every one of my builds, I set up a basic spreadsheet that has a number of common conversions for that model's scale, and a few custom fields that let me enter a given number and have it spit out the corresponding scale measurement.
 
Maybe I should write up something about this with examples as a separate post.

Hi Jim -
Good choice!  So far I am very pleased with the CONFEDERACY kit for the same reasons I liked SYREN so much.  I really appreciate Chuck Passaro's design elements and the inclusion of laser cut wood parts that might be otherwise difficult to fabricate.  And both kits incorporate a lot more fine detail than I found in FAIR AMERICAN or BENJAMIN W. LATHAM.   I think Model Shipways is now using much better quality plywood for the bulkheads and bulkhead former. The stuff that came with my kit is first rate.  The color Instruction Manual is a great help as well.  I have learned many modeling skills from them. The cautions from Dirk's build log are worth noting though. 
 
<<Gary>>

All those gun port sills and lintels need to be sanded “fair” or flush with the bulkheads prior to framing the upright sides of each gun port. This means a LOT of sanding!!! If the freeboard was not fair before, it certainly is now. (Any other Confederacy or Syren builders wonder if Chuck Passaro owns stock in a sandpaper manufacturing company?) Just kidding...but I did make a lot of sawdust today. No pictures to prove it. Next step will be to use the templates to establish the location of the gunport upright frames.
 
<<Gary>>