gjdale
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Everything posted by gjdale
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Looking great Slog. I'm really enjoying following your work on this.- 244 replies
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- borodino
- dom bumagi
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Nice work on the jigs Mark. Those spales have come in handy a number of times - you'll wonder how you ever got on without them. Re your first jig in your post, I wonder whether some telescoping brass tubing (round or square) might achieve the same aim?
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Thanks very much Mobbsie, Popeye and Bug, and to all who hit the 'Like' button. Some more progress this week, and a major milestone achieved (I think). As mentioned previously, I have decided to attempt a two-piece hinged engine hatch. I started by re-designing the hatch framing using TurboCAD and then cut and assembled the new pieces. It needed to be slightly smaller in each dimension to allow for the hinges and for some trim at a later stage. In the photo below, the original kit-supplied hatch is on the left, and the new hatch on the right. It has been built as one piece initially and will be separated into two pieces after the planking has been done. I then moved back to completing the dashboard by installing the gauges and switches. The gauge bezels are the ones that I turned Aluminium at the start of the build. The gauge faces are decals provided by a fellow modeller, glued onto a clear plastic backing. Gauge glasses are made from “googly eyes”. The knobs and switches are from MACK products. It’s not perfect, but I think it looks a heck of a lot better than the simple decal dash provided in the kit. The next job was to test the lighting for the dash. The two 3-volt lights in the light box were temporarily connected up to the power and tested – successfully! Lights off: Lights on: And with the dashboard in place: I also fitted the cockpit woodwork and floors. The floors are plastic (Sintra) and the kit instructions say to paint them grey to represent the non-skid flooring. I decided to use some wet and dry sandpaper to give a textured surface. It has been coated with a waterproof matt varnish. Here’s a couple of pics of the two cockpits. I think that I am at last ready to install the sub-decking and close this baby up in preparation for planking!
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- dumas
- Chris-Craft
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Thanks Mobbsie, I have some miniature piano hinge for the alternate hatch covers.
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- dumas
- Chris-Craft
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Thanks Mobbsie, Mark and Glenn for your kind words, and also to all of the 'likes'. A minor update this week: Cockpit and Engine Hatch As mentioned previously, I decided to replace all of the cockpit woodwork with Redheart. I used the kit-supplied parts as templates and cut new pieces. I also decided to follow the lead of another builder and make small glove boxes in the front cockpit sides. I cut the holes in the side panels and made up some boxes to sit behind them. The insides of the boxes have been painted with an off-white (Valejo Ivory). Once satisfied with the fit of the panels, I began applying a finish using Feast Watson Spar Marine Varnish. In the picture below, the parts have just had their third coat of varnish, but already the beauty of the timber is coming through and I think will be a nice improvement over the stained plywood from the kit. I plan on doing at least four and probably six coats of varnish on these. Here is a close up of the dash panel: I have also been continuing to plod away at the wiring. I have cut the conduit on the starboard side and epoxied the ends to the cockpit floor. This will allow some excess wiring to be pulled through under the cockpit floor. I have also run some extra conduit on the port side to take the wiring from the dashboard lights through into the bow compartments, and then down the port side, under and behind the battery, and back over to the starboard side where it will connect to the terminal post. This will ensure that the wiring for the dashboard lights is kept well away from the steering gear in the cockpit and bow compartments. I also made up the framework for the engine hatch as per the instructions. This sees the hatch as a single piece that is removable. I plan on making another hatch, in two pieces that will be hinged on the sides, as per the real boat. More on that later…. The hatch is built up in place to ensure a snug fit. Once the pieces are glued together, the completed assembly is removable. A short break now while I visit the LHS to get some more wiring, and other supplies before continuing with alternate hatch configuration. The kit-supplied hatch will remain as a 'stand-by' option. And of course, more varnishing.........
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- dumas
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Chuck wrote that Practicum for Phantom, and he also wrote one for Sultana, another solid hull model. It's worth reading both as he offers a couple of different techniques as well as a host of additional information and instructions. The Sultana Practicum is available here in the NRG database of articles: http://modelshipworldforum.com/ship-model-build-and-practicums.php
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Terrific work, as always, Glenn. Like so many others, I am getting genuine pleasure from reading your weekly updates. Thanks for sharing and for your informative descriptions.
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Congratulations Alexandru, what a magnificent build and some really stunning pictures on your website!
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Your base/case looks great Bob. Thanks for sharing your techniques - there's a lot to take away from your mini-tutorial.
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- model shipways
- 18th century longboat
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Another interesting project Slog. Think I'll pull up a chair as well.
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- borodino
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I haven't got that far yet, but plan on using the lit supplied stain. Everything I've read says it looks a bit orange when it goes on but after the resin us applied, it goes a very nice colour. I'm also using different timber for the cockpits and dashboard, where I'm using some Redheart, which will just receive a clear finish.
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And Happy Birthday from me too Mark. I hope you get thoroughly spoiled for the day and receive many model building-related gifts!
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Dashboard and Lighting Having decided that I wanted to light the dashboard, I decided it would be a good idea to make it removable in case a light needed to be replaced down track. Rather than using screws or pins to hold the dash in place, I decided to use some rare earth magnets. Making up a light box was fairly simple, using some scrap pieces of ply and a cardboard backing. The light box was painted white and given a gloss finish to help reflect the light. Two 3v lights will be used as shown here. I also made the light box itself removable, although I did elect to use screws to secure this one. In the picture below, you can see the light box in place, and on either edge of the photo is a spacer block with a rare earth magnet epoxied in place. There is a matching pair on the mating face of the dashboard. I decided to replace the kit-supplied walnut dashboard with one made from some Redheart that I had left over from a previous build. This is to match the cockpit sides that will likewise be made from Redheart planks instead of the kit supplied plywood. I used the kit piece as a template to get the overall shape. I also used the supplied dashboard decal to locate the positions of the gauges and knobs/switches – although I added a couple of extra knobs based on some photos of the real boat. I have already made new instrument bezels (way back in January last year), and I have acquired some nice looking knobs/switches from MACK products. Here is a picture of the (empty) dashboard in place. It will be finished when the cockpit sides etc are done, but was needed now to ensure that the steering and light fittings would all work as planned. I have also installed all of the deck frames in preparation for closing up the decks with more Sintra sheeting. Here are a few shots of overall progress, including a couple showing the electronics housings temporarily in place. I’m still thinking about making these removable to make connections/replacements easier down track. Next up, the cockpit sides.....
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- dumas
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Thanks again everyone for the kind comments and all of the 'likes'. Steering Column Mk 2 The best laid plans….. When I did a test fit with the dashboard in place, it became obvious that my brilliant feat of engineering was not going to work. The joined section of square tubing was going to be too long to fit in the space available and shortening the joined section provided too much play in the joint. Back to the drawing board. After sleeping on the problem I decided on a different approach – one that I cannot take any credit for as I simply modified slightly an approach I’d seen taken by someone else. In the end, it was far simpler and took far less time, and best of all – it works! I started by making a couple of small jigs to hold the two sections of steering shaft rod. I did this by tack-gluing two pieces of scrap wood together and then drilling a 1/8” hole directly down the centre, along the join line. I then separated the pieces, glued the two shaft sections in place with CA glue, and filed a 20mm section half-way through each. The two shaft sections were then removed from the jig and cleaned up of glue residue: These two pieces are then able to interlock within the steering column tube, shown here with the joint just poking out for illustration. The lower half was then positioned in the boat, and held in place with a wheel collar. The removable dashboard (more about that later) was then fitted, the chrome steering column tube slipped in place, and the top steering shaft section inserted and mated. Finally, the steering wheel was screwed into place (remember that this is only for test purposes – a new wheel assembly will be made in due course). Once I was satisfied with the assembly, it was disassembled and the lower shaft was fitted with its sprocket and chain to the servo. This won’t be coming out again now! Continued next post...
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- dumas
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You might want to consider replacing the motor mount blocks with something other than balsa. I used some scraps of pine for mine - just felt a little more secure for holding the mounting screws. I just noticed that in the two pics above, your steering column support appears on different sides - starboard side in the top pic, and port side on the bottom pic. The starboard side is correct.
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Sorry to hear of the cumulative error problem Toni. However, it does nor detract from the beauty of your model in any way and I doubt that any of us would have noticed had you not told us. Red wine helps in these situations too!
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Wow! She's looking just stunning Mobbsie. I love the extra little touches you've applied to make her uniquely yours.
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- armed launch
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Thanks everyone for looking in, your kind words, and valued advice. I have been super busy with work the last couple of weeks, so not much time in the shipyard until this weekend. Once I was happy that all the glue joints were going to hold, I painted the whole of the interior with a coat of epoxy finishing resin, thinned to the consistency of paint with Methylated Spirits (denatured alcohol for my American friends). Several days later, a coat of red oxide primer was sprayed over the entire interior, giving the whole boat an immediate face-lift: Steering Column The next job was to finalise the design and construction of the steering column. Because of the set-up I am using to make the steering wheel turn when the rudder is turned, it will be necessary to install this equipment before closing up the hull. However, if I installed the steering column as a single piece, I could see it causing problems during the remainder of the build. I needed to come up with a design that would see the lower half of the steering column permanently mounted, while the upper half would be removable. It would also have to engage in such a way that the turning moment was transferred from lower half to upper half. My solution was to make use of the fact that brass tubing is manufactured in such a way that each size telescopes inside the next size up. Both halves of the steering column are made from 1/8” diameter rod (brass on the lower half and stainless steel on the upper half). I then soldered a 1/8” square section brass tube, 10mm long to the ends to be joined. I then took a piece of 5/32” square section brass tube, 20mm long and soldered this over the lower half, such that the previously soldered 1/8” section fitted inside for half the length. This then created a mating “socket" for the upper half. The top end of the upper half was then threaded (using my newly acquired, oh so expensive 5-40 HSS Die, and my home-made die holder). This then screws into the Steering wheel, which had a 5-40 thread tapped through the centre. This is a temporary arrangement as I plan to remake the steering wheel in brass later on, but is sufficient to prove the concept of the removable steering shaft. The upper half of the steering column also has an outer sleeve of polished chrome (kit supplied). Here is a shot of all the components (minus the drive gear, which will be fiited on mounting permanently): And here is a shot of how it all goes together: And finally, a shot of it test-mounted in the boat: I have also installed some plastic tubing to help with electrical cable runs (no pics yet). The next job will be to complete the dashboard as I need to work out the lighting and run the wiring for it. I plan to make the dashboard removable as well, in case a light fitting needs replacing.
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- dumas
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Hamilton, There is a tutorial on silver soldering in the NRG database: http://modelshipworldforum.com/resources/materials_and_tools/SilverSolderTutorial.pdf Hope this helps.
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In Pat's book, he recommends using Milliput (a two part epoxy putty). I'm going to use that but haven't got that far yet. Pat recommends not using Bondo as it sometimes has difficulty adhering to plastics.
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Congratulations Danny, another masterpiece completed. So what's next? Enquiring minds want to know.
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