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Next I added the individual bay framework of three bays across the hull. First I added the lateral support beams and then the shorter longitudinal beams. These form the deck support structure with each opening having coaming around them onto which the hatches were located. 
The short beams required notching into the cross beams to have a level surface.
 

 

 
I should mention that when adding the cross members care had to be taken to make sure they were level to each other as added.
 
 

 
Next I started adding the coaming using 1/32" x 1/16" doing the outboard ones first. I drew a pencil line aligning with the existing coaming on the bow section. I laid down 1/4" tape which provided an edge to "bump" the coaming against but also kept any excess glue from the finished surface.
 

 
Once the outboard coaming was set I added the lateral ones fist on one side of the frame surface and allowed the glue to set. This allowed using a spacer when adding the second side to the frame.

 
This shows the using of the spacer.
 

 
Once all the coaming was in place and the glue allowed to set after adding CA to all the outside perimeters the entire frame work was sanded smooth and even.
 

 
Next all the joint gaps were cut carefully with the tip of a #11 blade and filed with a needle file to make sure there was an even spacing. Here is an overall view showing all the bay openings.
 

 
Next will come the tedious process of cutting and fitting of all the hatches. The hatches will form the water tight decking for the containers stowed below them and the surface for the containers open above the deck. I may address some of the accommodation tower to break up the boredom of making over 50 hatches. 
 
 

Patrick and Nils here are the results, Michael welcome aboard. I finished up closing the gap both outside and inside. Then sanded and blended the surfaces using 120 grit dry and then 320 using a block and sanding diagonally across the curves. Primed once again to seal the exposed wood then sanded with 320 grit avoiding to break the primed surfaces back to wood. Then a final prime coat. This will be a working surface until the balance of the construction is completed. This will allow normal scuffing while handling, but will really allow the primer to harden and the wood to set with the primer. Wood does expand and contract over time so hopefully it will set by the time I am ready for the final painting.
Here are various views of where the hull is now. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Now to move on and start adding the bay hold openings with coaming, basically extending those that are in place on the bow section. Evan is on his way to the ship today and I am looking forward to getting pictures of many details as his schedule allows.
 

Finished up the inner walls and container racks and cut the solid hold walls and installed the hold wall in the bow section. One of the challenges I am having is that in the plans provided there are no view drawings, just a great deal of sub components. Evan, showed me where the solid hull walls were located. He goes back to sea on Tuesday and will be taking the ship into dry dock for some serious maintenance and updating and new paint. He will be sending me a bunch of photos to use.
 
Here are two pictures showing the hold walls.
 

 

 
 
I then sanded and fitted the bow section to the main hull just a little bit of fussing to get the three reference points to touch without any pressure to assure a good tight level fit.
 

 
Once fitted I glued the two sections together and once the glue set overnight I then sanded the hull section to match the hull. The bow section plank ends splayed a little which I had thought would happen since they were not glued to anything and required a little sanding to blend before adding the filler plank pieces.
 

 
Here I am adding the filler pieces and here is where cutting the beveled ends comes in handy for a tight fit on the hull section.
 

 
Now back to finishing filling the gap.
 
 

Planking along slowly but surely, just a great deal of cutting, fitting, forming and gluing. I worked both on the outer hull and while waiting for glue to set I cut and fit the rear interior sections. I decided that I will finish as much of the interior before adding the solid walls that define the holds. My son-in-law shared that these solid walls compartmentalize flooding and that the ship could still float with any two holds completely flooded.
First I added the bottom flat piece based upon the tangents of the curves. Next I added the 1/16" thick planking starting at the top and working down from side to side. 

 
I also added gluing surfaces for the front bow section joint area. The gap will be short transition planks that will be filled in once the bow section is added after the hull is primed and sanded. 
 

 
Here I have added the rear portion of the holds interior walls. I am using the 1/32" plywood for the interior walls which really stiffen the hull once the glue is set.
 

 
Once the forward planking was complete I started adding the interior surfaces starting with the flooring and then working up the sides using steel blocks as weights to maintain flatness until the glue set. I am cutting away the braces a bay at a time as I move forward to maintain the structural integrity and strength. I also am staggering the internal and external joints again for strength and not creating a bending point.
The solid hold walls will add even more strength.  
 
 
 
Now back to cutting and fitting. 
 
 

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.
 
 
 

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.
 
 
 
 

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.   

Today the smoke arrived from Santa Barbara "Thomas" fire. Here is a picture that was posted from 10 am. this morning. It was eerie seeing the sun blood red through the smoke cloud.  

Today the smoke arrived from Santa Barbara "Thomas" fire. Here is a picture that was posted from 10 am. this morning. It was eerie seeing the sun blood red through the smoke cloud.  

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.   

CHEERS ALL!

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.   

The frames look great! 

Dave, yes I did and of course I always stop by not only you but others as well. I still have a great deal to learn about ships. Yes it must be fun otherwise it becomes just another stress factor; life is too short not to have fun. If not making mistakes one is not trying hard enough to learn.

Sorry Dave it was my intent to educate, not frustrate. 
 
I think I indicated that I was new to shipbuilding and that this was my second ship build. Thank you for your kind words and I am just an old fart that thinks God is in the details and that I just strive to do the best I can when replicating the subject being modeled regardless of what it is to the best of my ability. Hence the work on the gun deck which can be seen when the central grates are lifted.
 
Yes, it looks that I will be building more ships; currently building the Maersk Detroit container ship for my son-in-law. I have also been asked by the local maritime museum to build an LCVP landing craft in 1/12th scale to accompany the Dirty Dozen as part of another display. Then I also have a Mamoli Victory awaiting when I can get around to it. 
 
Looking forward to seeing the finial and the rest of your canopies when completed. Keep up the great effort you are doing.

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. 
 

These may be of some help to sort out details if needed. I used these to build my camel. Braces are where the turnbuckles are attached.