xken

John, thank you and yes it is. I finished up the rails and then added the ladder ways until I ran out and have since ordered more of both. I found the best way to fold the rails and ladders was to use small steel blocks that have sharp edges keeping things a crisp as possible. Here are a couple of views of the starboard side of the tower done. This is my first experience with these kind of tiny PE parts. 
 

 

 
While waiting for the additional parts to arrive from Tom's I will start parts for the mooring and forecastle decks.

Ken, thanks for the link and your assessment is correct a little too course, but will save for future reference.

Ken, thanks for the link and your assessment is correct a little too course, but will save for future reference.

Cathead, I have to add a few more details there are two ladderways to be added at the end against the bulkhead and two wheels that I think work the anchor brakes while standing on the platform. Standby more to come. 

I have been working back and forth between the bow and stern mooring decks working on the various items. Here is a picture of the stern mooring deck.
 

 
Here is a close up of the ladderway on the starboard side formed from one of Tom's PE sheets. Also note some yellow caution paint on some components which I added per photos.
 

 
One of the more challenging items was a raised platform between the anchor winches that has a meshed floor. My wife had some ribbon that came on a flower bouquet that I liberated from her. I sprayed a section with gray paint let it tack off and then pressed it between two steel blocks to set flat.
 

 
Next I cut a pattern of the platform floor and bent a .020" brass rod around the perimeter of the pattern and soldered the joint.
 

 
I then hammered the formed shape flat and then filed it smooth on both sides.
 

 
Next I bent three U shapes for the legs and hammered the center flat for a mating surface with the frame when soldered together. Once all were soldered in place the legs were all cut to the correct length needed. I then glued a formed ladderway to the edge of the frame and allowed the glue to really set hard.
 

 
I then sprayed the platform frame with gray paint and using a medium thick CA glued the frame to the painted ribbon. Once the glue set I carefully cut it out around the perimeter.
 

 
Next came the rails cut and fitted to the frame and then the painted with the ladderway rails and steps painted yellow.
 

 
Here is the platform in place along with the rest of the fixtures on the bow mooring deck with the various yellow caution highlights.
 
 
 
Now back to adding more details.

I have been working back and forth between the bow and stern mooring decks working on the various items. Here is a picture of the stern mooring deck.
 

 
Here is a close up of the ladderway on the starboard side formed from one of Tom's PE sheets. Also note some yellow caution paint on some components which I added per photos.
 

 
One of the more challenging items was a raised platform between the anchor winches that has a meshed floor. My wife had some ribbon that came on a flower bouquet that I liberated from her. I sprayed a section with gray paint let it tack off and then pressed it between two steel blocks to set flat.
 

 
Next I cut a pattern of the platform floor and bent a .020" brass rod around the perimeter of the pattern and soldered the joint.
 

 
I then hammered the formed shape flat and then filed it smooth on both sides.
 

 
Next I bent three U shapes for the legs and hammered the center flat for a mating surface with the frame when soldered together. Once all were soldered in place the legs were all cut to the correct length needed. I then glued a formed ladderway to the edge of the frame and allowed the glue to really set hard.
 

 
I then sprayed the platform frame with gray paint and using a medium thick CA glued the frame to the painted ribbon. Once the glue set I carefully cut it out around the perimeter.
 

 
Next came the rails cut and fitted to the frame and then the painted with the ladderway rails and steps painted yellow.
 

 
Here is the platform in place along with the rest of the fixtures on the bow mooring deck with the various yellow caution highlights.
 
 
 
Now back to adding more details.

I have been working back and forth between the bow and stern mooring decks working on the various items. Here is a picture of the stern mooring deck.
 

 
Here is a close up of the ladderway on the starboard side formed from one of Tom's PE sheets. Also note some yellow caution paint on some components which I added per photos.
 

 
One of the more challenging items was a raised platform between the anchor winches that has a meshed floor. My wife had some ribbon that came on a flower bouquet that I liberated from her. I sprayed a section with gray paint let it tack off and then pressed it between two steel blocks to set flat.
 

 
Next I cut a pattern of the platform floor and bent a .020" brass rod around the perimeter of the pattern and soldered the joint.
 

 
I then hammered the formed shape flat and then filed it smooth on both sides.
 

 
Next I bent three U shapes for the legs and hammered the center flat for a mating surface with the frame when soldered together. Once all were soldered in place the legs were all cut to the correct length needed. I then glued a formed ladderway to the edge of the frame and allowed the glue to really set hard.
 

 
I then sprayed the platform frame with gray paint and using a medium thick CA glued the frame to the painted ribbon. Once the glue set I carefully cut it out around the perimeter.
 

 
Next came the rails cut and fitted to the frame and then the painted with the ladderway rails and steps painted yellow.
 

 
Here is the platform in place along with the rest of the fixtures on the bow mooring deck with the various yellow caution highlights.
 
 
 
Now back to adding more details.

After a weekend of helping the Admiral at her Bird Festival Show selling her artwork as grunt labor I am now back to work. I am working back and forth between the bow and stern mooring decks along with the foremast. These parts are a combination of brass and wood materials as appropriate. Here is a picture of the foremast showing parts prior to painting and adding the signal lights. The wood blocks are flood lights that light up the area in front of the bow. The large horn id the fog horn, the smaller facing forward id the ship's bell and the rear facing is the loud speaker for bridge commands to the decks. 
 

 
Here is an in progress bow mooring deck with the winches in place with white ropes and yellow caution painted areas. Here you can see the lights have been added and lenses painted white. I still have to add the rope guides at the openings as well as the platform between the two anchor winches.
 

 
Now back to more fittings.
 
   

I finished up the ladderways and then added the mooring deck rails.
 
 
 

 
Next I made the mooring deck winches of which there are two styles, as well as left and rights based upon the electric motor location. Here they are set on the plans.

 
Here they are set on the deck with bits and mooring posts. White rope will be added before the winches are glued in place.
 

 
Next I moved on to the bow that has three winches the same as the mooring deck; in addition there are anchor winches and the pictures show "in progress" anchor winches in place on the bow fore deck.

 

 
The anchor chain will index into the hole with the brake arm over the roller and into the deck. Just a great deal of more details and fixtures to add yet. 

I hope all had as great a holiday season as we did with all the kids here for Christmas. We had four generations under one roof; Gretchen's father, Gretchen, our daughter Heather and Eric with grand children Sophia and Daphne;  Alex and Tyler. This picture was taken at Heather's house where we spent most of the time together.
 

 
Both Evan and Eric got to see their ships. Here is Evan holding his ship, still a work in progress.

 
Here is Eric and I standing next to his. He really loved the signal flags with the boys names on them.

I also spent a little time after Eric, Jamie and the boys returned to New York working on drawings for the LCVP for the Maritime Museum here in Morro Bay. At 1/12 scale it will be 36 inches long. Here is a PDF of one sheet of the plans I have so far. Once the drawings are done enough I will sort out a materials list to start the build.
LCVP PLAN.pdf
 
For now back to making the ladders and winches. HAPPY NEW YEAR to all!
 
 
 

Well the smoke was only around one day and all is clear now. While waiting for the airbrush paint to show up I painted the bow splash wall and then realized that before adding the rails that it would be easier to locate and paint the tower windows first. I copied the tower face CAD drawing and made a paper location stencil cutting out the windows. Once taped to the front wall I dry dabbed black paint to define the locations and then used strips of blue tape for the final shapes of the windows and painted with a small brush using two light coats.
 
Then the airbrush paint arrived and I then painted the previously primed rails. It has been 45 years since I last used an airbrush, but just like riding a bike it all came back. I glued the top rail in place and then added the top deck, easier to get this rail in place first. Now I am slowly working my way up from the bottom adding the painted rails. I am glad the tower is not glued in place yet, because adding the rails is a tediously slow process to get right.
 
I might also mention that I added the window glazing before gluing the top deck in place. I used card stock for pattern development and then cut out each window as required and once finally fitted was glued in place with tiny wood strips to hold in place on the inside. Glad I built in the bottom access hole just for this purpose. I did have to enlarge the hole for better access.
 

 
This shows the typical taping process used.  
 

 

 

 

 
Now back to adding deck rails.

John, thank you and yes it is. I finished up the rails and then added the ladder ways until I ran out and have since ordered more of both. I found the best way to fold the rails and ladders was to use small steel blocks that have sharp edges keeping things a crisp as possible. Here are a couple of views of the starboard side of the tower done. This is my first experience with these kind of tiny PE parts. 
 

 

 
While waiting for the additional parts to arrive from Tom's I will start parts for the mooring and forecastle decks.

I glued all the decks together except the top Bridge/Nav. deck; need to still sort out the window installation. After the glue set I then sanded all the mating surfaces and then added glaze as needed, sanded, glazed and then primed and sanded. Finally once satisfied I painted white. 
When priming and painting I used the spray cans, first warming them and holding back with light coats to seal the glaze then painting again with light coats. The real fun was masking off the green decks prior to painting, I used 1/4" masking tape and made sure to burnish all edges to avoid any paint bleed onto the green. I cut a piece of strip wood with a bevel on the end as a burnishing tool. 

 

 

 

 
Before I can add the ladder ways I will need to sort out how to add the windows on all the smooth sides. Still waiting for paint to arrive from MicroMark, perhaps next week. Next I will decide whether to add window glazing or not, will do some testing.   

Finished up a box full of tedious rail bending and fitting for all the decks. Now the decks can be glued together and joint lines finished up. Once the tower assembly is painted the and the rails painted they can then be added. In preparation to paint the rails I had to rig up my air brush compressor with a regulator and pressure gauge. I won this air brush set up several years ago when I lived back in Ohio; but never had a need to use it until now. I have also ordered some air brush paints as well. I have not used an air brush since my college days so we will see if the "just like riding a bicycle" theory is really true.
 

 

 
Now to working on the tower. 
 

I have repainted the balls to red and green per feedback from Evan. He said that is the way they should be when repainted. I also bent up both a ladder way and railing for test fitting and sizing. Based upon my initial count I will need a second sheet of ladder ways. Here are a couple of pictures; one thing I found helpful was spraying a light coat of white primer on the railing to hold pencil marks for bending. This Nav. deck I think is the hardest one piece rail to bend and will be final fitted when being glued down once painted white.
 

 

 
Now back to final fitting and fussing with the various decks.

Pictures show both balls a rusted color; I will have to check with Evan. One of the things the ship will have done in dry dock is a complete repaint. I finished up machining all the tiny signal lights, I had to break out my magnification glasses to make them. Here are a couple of images, one with the penny provides a sense of scale.

 

 
Now back to work.
 

Just adding more bits and pieces on the Nav. deck. Over the holidays Evan stopped by and shared that the red oval was the data recorder for the ship that would be recovered if the ship ever sank. The the binnacle with the magnetic compass is in the center with the two rust colored spheres on either side of it. Evan said that these are referred to as "the Captain's balls". I also found out that I had the two tripod units in the wrong locations and have them switched now. He indicated that the plans provided are close; but refitting over the years have added and moved certain items so I should use photos as more accurate than the plans for fittings. 
 

 
Now to tackle the tiny signal lights on the main mast.
  

Just a quick update for Dan. I received the railings and ladders and the railing will work THANKS DAN for your help! Once I saw the size of the railings and ladders I decided the first thing I needed was a new 25 watt soldering iron and then machined the tip to a point to work with tiny drops of solder one at a time. Here is a picture of the tip.
 

 
Next was my first attempt at PE parts this tiny. I picked the easy ones first; the round ones and soldered them to the edges and the top rail edges. I then soldered a length of ladder with one edge on a stanchion and soldered them together; then soldered the other side and cleaned with acetone. I then cut the top two rungs of the ladder away for the opening at the top of the ladder between the rails. Needless to say I have some cleanup and adjusting to do after seeing the pictures, but I am very glad that they are the correct size.
 

 

 
Now back to making the rest of the deck fixtures.

Thanks you all for your kind words. No secret to painting just patience and a couple of tips mentioned above. I am waiting for the PE ladders and railing to show up so I started the deck fixtures for the navigation deck which is quite busy on the real ship.
 
Here is an "In Progress" update. I first made the two communication domes and the one with the deck needs both a ladder and railing. I then moved onto the main mast, also known as the "Christmas Tree" per Evan. The challenge here is soldering the various components at this small scale. As usual I made sure that there was mechanical interlocks as best that could be done. The main mast started with a 3/32" rod turned down to 1/16" for the upper section. The real mast hinges at the second small platform for clearance to go under some bridges. This assembly required a great deal of patience and thinking ahead for each next move when soldering so as not to loosen a previous soldered part. The thin bracing bracing wire is .005" brass rod. I still need to add ladders and railing this as well. The assembly will be painted white below the hinge point and flat black above. I will also need to add the various colors of the mast signal lights which will be super tiny. 
 
I also added a picture of the stabilizing fin that has one on each side. They pivot in and out.
 

 
 

 

 

 

 
Now back to making more fixtures for this deck.
 
 
 

I finally ordered one sheet of rails(3501) and inclined ladders(3535) after not receiving any response from Tom's Modelworks and thanks to a reply from Dan. I also decided after finishing both the bow thruster and side stabilizing fins to paint the hull in order to add railing and main deck structures. First I painted the red stripe area masking from the top of the stripe up over the main deck. Once the red dried over night I taped off the red stripe with 1/4" masking tape matching the top edge. Then masked off the bottom to paint the blue and let it dry overnight. Next came the bottom burgundy.
 
Using spray cans I warmed the cans under hot water and then shaking each time until I could not feel any temperature change. This does two things; it increases the spray pressure and warms the paint for better atomizing for spraying. Repeated the warming process between coats. I sprayed light coats so as to not bleed under the tape and this provides a clean crisp line when finished.
 
I still need to paint the forward bow shield white and then the entire hull will be sprayed with a matte finish to even out all the finishes. 
Here are a couple of pictures.

 

 

 
Next I will start on the various deck fixtures based upon pictures supplied by Evan until the rails and ladders get here.

Just working away on small details for the hull and tower. Also had a big surprise; Evan's ship has been rescheduled for the shipyard refitting to January, so Evan flew home from Dubai just in time for his wife's birthday and will be here until January. The company wants him to be the Captain that takes the ship in for refitting and oversee the work.
Here are the rudder components and the rudder will be able to be turned when finished.

 

 

 
Next I added the Maresk logo to the stack.  
 

 
Yes they have a swimming pool halfway up the tower.

 
Here is a sequence of the bow thruster with the challenge being the 3/16" diameter propeller. 
 

 

 

 
This was a tricky operation; turning down a locating pin without hitting the blade.
 

 
Wood shims were used to center the propeller on center in the slip ring to hold in place while being soldered.
 

 
The thruster motor is reversible so the propeller is on the port side only. Drilling the hole through the bow was a slow and careful process to get a tight fit for the 1/4" brass tube and then cutting and careful filing to get both sides to match hull surface.

 
Next I will work on the stabilizing fins that are recessed in the hull 12" back from the nose of the bow. Will try to have them movable as well. Still no word from Tom's Modelworks on the rail sizes. 

Added details to the various decks and then decided to apply the first working color coat of paint. Still no reply from Tom's Modelworks. Does anyone have a phone number for them? 
 
The tower will now be set aside to allow paint to set and wait for pictures of more details from Evan once in dry-dock. Here are some views.
 

 

 

 

 
Now to prime, sand and paint the hatch covers.
 
 

I finally finished up fabricating all the hatches and now they are ready for finishing. They will get painted grey like the main deck. I also have started adding details  to the various tower decks like the swimming pool and additional windows. I have emailed Tom's Modelworks for information regarding the sizes of their railing and inclined ladders and hopefully the will get back soon. Here are some pictures of the completed hatches and tower.

 

 
Here is a color test and I am pleased with the matches. The horizontal tower deck surfaces are Green.

 

 
Now back to hatch finishing and tower detailing. 

The presentation went extremely well and some are now more informed about the various aspects of modelling.
In working on the hatches I first make the sidewalls fitting snugly on the coaming using Midwest #8006 Basswood strips. Then I glue a slightly over-sized 1/32" hatch cover to the sidewall frame while in place and set a small steel block weight on top until the glue sets. This assures a flat cover index to the coaming; the glue while drying can distort the the cover if not weighted down. Each cover is marked on the inside with B(bow) and S(stern) and location P (port) and hatch number from bow. There is enough slight variation in size to make each cover unique.
 
 
 
I bounce back and forth between making hatch covers and the accommodation tower. The tower is being built with individual decks so down the road details can be added much easier than if the tower were one piece. Things like door hatches, ladder ways and rails.
Here is deck "A" which will index on the main deck; the small locator rectangle will have glue added to the center while indexed into the deck and the glue will stick to the main deck and release the deck when the glue is dry providing a tight fitting locator. This will be the foundation for the tower.
 

 
I used a wood strip spacer against the bay wall and masking tape for centering and gluing Deck "A" locator to the main deck.
 

 
Here is a view of the in progress build up of the tower so far. The challenge is adding the indexing locators of each deck to each other with a tight fit. The tower decks will separate from each other to add details later on. Here is a front view.
 
 
 
Here is a rear view showing various ladder way openings. The individual height of each deck is .375" 
 

 
Here is an overall view of where I am at so far. Many more hatches to go.
 

 
Now back to making hatches and decks.   Bring a whole new meaning to "Down the hatch!" 

I have been doing a great deal of fussy work on the bay hatches coaming while waiting for more stock to come from Midwest.  A couple of hundred pieces cut and fitted on edge around the hatch openings. While doing this it came to me that given the tight tolerances needed that I better paint the interior and coaming before fabricating the hatch covers. So after priming, glazing and sanding and fussing I finally was able to paint a Gray in the holds, coaming  and bow mooring deck. At least this will be a working color coat for now and will have ample time to dry and set while waiting for the material to arrive on Wednesday. Tomorrow is my presentation to the local Rotary Club on Model Building which has also occupied some of my time as well.
Here is the first working coat of Gray.
 

 

 

 
Now back to the presentation for now and get ready to make hatches.