herask

Hi folks
 
Thanks for all of your Likes and comments.
 
Another quick update. Well, last night I added the bar stools to adorn the bar in the saloon.  Also, I added a chair for the writing desk on the other starboard side of the saloon.  
 
Still more to come, folks.
 
Have a a great week.  
 
Cheers. 
 
Patrick
 
 
 

I have finished other sculptures and placed them on the front bulkhead. I tried to follow the original paintings od Royal Katherine from artists and also museum models - mainly HMS Prince (1670), where you can see similar sculptures.

 
And here is my work:
 

Dear friends,
thank you all for your comments, praise and "likes", your words mean a lot for me and are much appreciated.
Hello Amalio,
I still try to improve my knowledge and craftsmanship to make better a more realistic models. I am very honoured reading your words. Thank you a lot.
 
 
Well, I believe it may be even better in my future project if I build models according to quality plans. Sometimes I must remodeling or modify some parts on the Royal Katherine model, cause I have no exact plans or drawings of the ship.  So it is necessary to improvise as well.😉
 
Hello Richmond, 
to be honest I use only one kind of gold acrylic paint so far, it creates a slightly darker shade in reliefs and slits. When I finish decoration completely I am going to do weathering using clear varnish with darker colours.
 
Dear Karl, 
thank you very much for your kind words. Your work is also gorgeous and I admire your craftsmanship a lot. Each of us is unique. The most important in our hobby is to do things that we like.  
 
Oh yes, she is really heavy. The models with its base weights more than 7,5kg. I have sometimes problem to move it from the table to another place. Well, though I'm not too strong ...😊
 

 
 

The Gearbox consists of about 40 parts. Here's a pic of some of them, the rest have already been put together :

 
There are even four bolt heads :

 
The finished box :


 
Danny

Thank you all.
 
Fitting the interior skin looked like it may have a problem with alignment. I'm not going to second-guess it, I've made that mistake before, so I've glued it up by aligning a couple of areas where I knew it was right. The pics below show where it looks like the skin falls way short or overlaps - most likely it's actually OK :



 
The Torsion Bar suspension comes next. I could have rolled paper tubes for the bars themselves, but the kit didn't supply any parts for these. Instead they had a template which I would have had to cut from plain paper and paint, or they suggested I could use wire. I chose PVC tubing, which was the right diameter and painted them to match the floor :


 
Some of the side bracing. Once again I used my punch kit to make the holes :

 
The transmission tunnel :

 
Some tiny parts - the wingnuts that close the hatches :


 
Danny
 

Hi Grant, yeah it's a bit different to what I'm used to . This kit also comes with a detailed cockpit and engine compartment, so that will be fun.
 
As I didn't get any laser-cut framing etc for this model I've had to do it the hard way, glue the parts to 1mm card and cut out. I've found it's a lot easier and more accurate to actually glue it to some 0.5mm first, cut out the piece, and then glue it to another 0.5mm card and cut out again (the 2nd time is a lot easier). This ensures a much squarer cut without running off on an angle. I'm using fairly hard card, the "right" stuff is easier to cut but I've run out of large sections of it at the moment :


 
Several parts require an angle to be cut on at least one edge. I use a scalpel to take off the bulk of the material, and finish off with a 150 grit sanding stick :

 
Once the main hull was glued up it came time to fit the outer skin, which comes in one piece. It actually fit quite well :



 
The lit supplies extra parts if you want a more "3D" effect than merely the printed covers etc. The longer pieces in the pic below are slightly rounded using a brass rod and a piece of high-density foam :

 
The start of the suspension :

 
These little (3mm) boxes were a bit more difficult to make than usual because they are double thickness. Despite that they turned out quite well :


 
To avoid damaging the parts that protrude past the floor level while working on the rest of the hull I used double-sided tape to stick on some 4mm thick card packers :

 
Danny

Have fun with the tracks! 

Hello all. I hope everyone who celebrated the Thanksgiving holiday enjoyed themselves. 

Got a little more done over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. The quarter deck and gang boards are in place. Now I am making the 6 pounder canons and carriages. 
 
Tom
Just noticed that I left a couple of temporary supports under the starboard gang boards when I took the pic.  Oops.  Also not to happy with the gap in the center of the deck boards.  Sticks out like a sore thumb in the picture.  Luckily that area will be covered by the forecastle deck so it will not be that obvious.  I may just put a bit of filler in there to help conceal it anyway.
 
 

Good morning,
these pictures of cannons I made 2013 in Chatham. Most of the muzzles are like the one in Marks second drawing, not so step. So what is right?
 

 

 
The No 9 is the big mortar far back to the right, No 18 is the mortar where the explanations are lying on.
 

 

 

Hi all
Gunport lids in the process of being fitted.
Brackets for sweeps fitted on larboard side.
Just about to start work on channels and anchors.
Cheers for now....mick

Evening all,      thank you again for all the likes and comments - like everyone else it really inspires ones building,    so  last time I had assembled the wicked wench,  it was now time to weather her same as I had done with the other brass bits  - first I applied a coat of enamel brass, this was force dried  then I used a diluted black and brushed that over into all the nucks and crevices,  again force dried  that last I applied a dry brush of white to highlight and age the lady.
 
Here are the pics  including her fixed in place.
 
OC.

Thank you very much Michael,
 
The model is now standing under the window on a side board, in good view from my desk working place...
I was so happy to get all the glas panes without any damage or breakage. Together with my wife we got the glasbonnet gently and slowly down from above and on to the guide pins
 
Nils
 

 
 

Thanks guys....
 
Working on making a simple stand/cradle.  This isnt a small model especially after its rigged so I want it to be sturdy.  These will be added to the masting and rigging kit when its made available.  Toying around with trying to lasercut them in plexi but as it stands now they will be cherry.  I may also paint them black but wanted to see if they were less obtrusive the same color as my baseboard....not included.
 



 
Chuck

Hey everyone,  I was on a roll with the cranes so I figured I might as well just finish them. 
First was to finish installing the pulleys. 

and with that done i was ready to paint. This part allways Makes me nervous. Which is why I’m procrastinating on the launches. 

45 minutes later the deed was done. 

theres the launches. I shudder when i think of painting them. 

also the Bismarck came out to play. I have to really start to build a case. A 1/4” thick acrylic 5 sided box the shape of a fishtank should do. Now I just have to make it. 

Gaetan, the second photo can easily replace the one on the cover of Ancre's 74-gun ship publication. found my new desktop image...

Wall construction

Gaetan, the second photo can easily replace the one on the cover of Ancre's 74-gun ship publication. found my new desktop image...

Hi all
Hinges ready for blackening
Macro photos reveals all!
Cheers...mick

Thanks, Ed and druxey, I am resolved to do a better job on the cannon this time around. Good thing I had to put that project aside while retiring and moving. A little time away made it very clear that I needed to do better. And now I have renewed energy to tackle it again.
 
Thanks, John, for your kind comments. I have come to think of this as a lot of separate parts, each of which needs full time and attention. I have continued to be inspired by Remco's comment "Treat each part as if it is a model on its own, you will finish more models in a day than others do in a lifetime".
 
Here are a few pictures of the wales refined a little more at the stern. I temporarily attached the mouldings at the stern, made many years ago and just waiting for their time again.
 
Reflecting on the wales, now they are almost done, It is pretty remarkable how a series of relatively short planks can be fitted together not only for structural strength longitudinally, but also how they can accommodate to a hull curving gracefully in several directions. The individual parts recede in emphasis, revealing the beauty of the collective whole. Like so many things on these models, the individual parts will likely not show themselves in the final model, but we all know they are there!
 
Mark
 
 

Ciao a tutti, il cantiere prosegue, altre foto.
Hello everyone, in the pipeline continues, more photos.
 

 

 

 

 

 
Un Saluto

Good morning.

thanks, druxey, I have now completed the lowest pieces, except for some final refinement of the lower sweeping curve. I can see why this had to be carved in the real ship; the lieutenant standing on top of the wale shows how large this lower piece is, and it curves all over the place. Since I am not planking the lower hull, it does look a little strange to have the wales hanging down at the stern at the corners, but they would obviously have done so to house the ends of the lower planking.
 
Thanks, Ed, this is very helpful. And I apologize; I had entirely forgotten about the instructions in the Sherline manual. I think at the time I bought the machine, I did not think I would ever be making my own cutters, and so eventually forgot about it. My needs and confidence have risen since purchasing the machine.
 
A few more days cleaning up the wales, and it is time to think about the cannon again. I have decided to re-cut the master, since my first efforts necked in the muzzle end too much. So I will get a little more experience with cutting a gun on the lathe, and think about whether I want to go that direction or try casting again, from a new master. Good thing I am retired and in no rush.
 
And thanks, Michael, it is fun to see the hull upside down again. Somehow the full beauty of the hull does not quite show up when it is right side up.
 
Mark
 

I could stare at the details whole day long! cudos for patience and the execution, Phil. 

AFTER SUPERSTRUCTURE AND TOWER
 
For the CLG conversion everything above the main deck aft of the midships superstructure was removed. The triple 6"/47 turrets #3 and #4, dual 5"/38 gun mounts #54, #55 and #56, the aft Mk 34 and Mk 37 directors and the deck houses around them, and the aircraft catapults and crane were scrapped. In their place a huge armored missile house was built on the main deck and a new after superstructure and tower were built on top of the missile house. The entire after deck house was part of the Talos guided missile launching and guidance system.


 
 
The missile house contained the Mk 7 Guided Missile Launching System where the missiles were stored and serviced. The house was made of 1 1/2" Special Treated Steel (armor plate). Including 46 Talos missiles and boosters the house added 400,000 pounds on the main deck. This didn't help stability problems!
 
Missiles were prepared for launching inside the house and then moved onto the Mk 7 launcher rails, passing through armored blast doors in the end of the house. The upper doors carried spanner rails to mate the launcher rails to the launching system rails inside the house.
 
For more information about the Talos launching system go to this link: https://www.okieboat.com/Talos launching system.html

The deck house on top of the missile house contained Weapons Control, where the Talos system was operated, and radar rooms for the SPS-30 3D height finder radar, the two massive AN/SPG-49 missile tracking radars and the two AN/SPW-2 guidance transmitter antennas.
 
Talos was a long range (130 nmi.) Mach 2.7 missile designed to intercept aircraft and missiles at altitudes from 50 feet to 75,000 feet. It had an anti-surface ship capability, and an anti-radiation (radar) ARM capability. For these missions it carried a conventional expanding rod warhead. It also had a 2 KT nuclear warhead that could be used against air, surface and shore targets.  For more information aout the Talos missile see: https://www.okieboat.com/Talos missile.html
 
Talos was the first anti-aircraft missile system designed by the US Navy, beginning in 1945 before the end of WWII. The program actually spun off the shorter range Terrier missile which was the first to enter service. Talos was a massive system that was installed on only a few cruisers. It was replaced by the newer AEGIS missile system.
 
You can see the stowage locations for the two 7th Fleet 28 foot personnel boats and their cradles.
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
There were two of these little snaking winches, port and starboard,  that were used to haul the 28 foot personnel boats and carriages around the top of the missile house. It was the smallest of the ship's winches, with just an electric motor and gear system and no hydraulics. I modeled it from photos and dimensioned sketches made on the USS Little Rock CG-4 museum ship.
 
It was also used to transfer missile warheads into the missile house through hatches in the deck at the rear of the missile house.
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
The after radar tower was much simpler than the other two towers. It was positioned above the radar room for the AN/SPS-30 3D height finder and air search radar. In addition to the SPS-30 antenna an AS-791/UPA-43 Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) interrogator antenna (below left) was mounted on a platform wing. It was slaved to the SPS-30 to allow IFF interrogation of targets.  An AS-979A/UKR telemetry antenna (below right) was mounted on a platform extension at the rear of the tower platform. I think (but I am not certain) that this was the antenna used to receive telemetry information from Talos missiles in flight. The missiles sent back airspeed, altitude, fuel consumption, wing motion and radar proximity fuze information to allow analysis of the flight.
 

On the ship's centerline on top of the forward end of the missile house was a large contraption called the Fleet Active Shuttle Transfer (FAST) crane (below). It was designed to operate with similar equipment on replenishment ships to transfer Talos missiles to the OK City's missile magazine. It was capable of transferring a missile or booster every 90 seconds. The operator worked in a small booth at the aft end of the midships superstructure on the O3 level.


Missiles would arrive on a shuttle that rode a highline strung between the FAST crane and the FAST system on the replenishing ship. The missiles and boosters were attached to strongbacks carried by the shuttle. The FAST crane would capture the shuttle and strongback, A pantograph arm on the FAST crane lowered the strongback and missile/booster into position above a strikedown elevator (yellow in the images above). The elevator captured the missile and the strongback was released. Then the missile was lowered into the magazine at the forward end of the missile house. The pantograph arm raised and sent the strongback and shuttle back for another load.
 
That's the way it was supposed to work. In reality the FAST crane was a piece of junk. It was exposed to the worst of weather conditions and the complex hydraulic and electrical system failed during transfers more often than not. The real problem was not with the machinery - the Navy did not have enough trained personnel to maintain it. Many complex systems were introduced into the navy in the 1950s and 1960s - nuclear submarines, nuclear powered ships, nuclear weapons, sub launched ballistic missiles, surface to air missiles, jet aircraft with complex avionics systems, air to air and air to surface missiles, and many new types of radars. There were not enough intelligent people joining the Navy and not enough training facilities to train them. First priority went to nuclear submarines and the air wings. There was a chronic shortage of trained personnel on all other units. We just didn't have enough trained men on the OK City to maintain the missiles, launching system, radars, guns and other systems to spare anyone to baby sit the FAST system.
 
The FAST crane was removed in late 1971 and only the kingpost at the center remained. We used the FAST kingpost and burtoning winch for underway replenishment of missiles and powder for the guns. The FAST crane is the reason I decided to model the ship as it was in the summer of 1971, just before the FAST crane was removed. I wanted to model it.
 
Phil

One more pic hurridly taken just now.
 
OC.