shipmodel

Hi Charlie - Looking better and better. I like the new gratings and coamings. You might just round the corners a bit. Sharp corners and edges on a ship tossing in rough seas would be an invitation to serious injuries. Excellent progress overall. Dan

Beautiful work, Michael. It has been quite an education to follow along with your restoration. I have bookmarked quite a number of places where you have furthered my education. Thanks, on many levels. Dan

Hi all, and welcome to this build log. I am honored by the many excellent modelers who are in my audience. Marc - yes, she will be a big one, but skinny. She will be exactly 57" long but only 6" max breadth. This is in 1/200 scale. In 1/192 (1/16"=1') she would be 59" long and 6 1/4" wide. I chose the smaller scale so I could source the wood much more easily, and the 4% difference is not noticeable. I did clear it with the powers that be. I did the heavy woodworking of making up the lifts and shaping the hull in the upstate house, but she is now in the Brooklyn drydock with decks and deckhouses going up. I will catch up the log with the construction at some point. Jan- yes, the starboard side dazzle was also quite bizarre and I am a bit glad that I don't have to do both sides. The civilian side will be the post-war colors of the United States Lines, since this is for the American Merchant Marine Academy museum. Nils - this museum has models in all sorts of scales. I never heard of a 1/96 requirement. If I had to build at that scale, the Leviathan model would be almost 10 feet long! Yeeesh ! Not only don't I have that kind of space in my city apartment, but I couldn't get it into the elevator after it was built. The smaller scale is better. Back soon Dan

Thank you all. Your appreciation is highly appreciated and treasured. I am happy to have entertained you and perhaps added one or two tricks to your toolbox. I know that I learned a great deal during this project, both from the subject herself, the technical puzzles, and from the great friends that I have here. See you at the Leviathan drydock. Be well Dan

Beautiful work, as usual, Chuck. Excellent joinery, especially the tricky notches in the floor planks for the ribs. Dan

Hello again to all, and thank you all for staying with me on this journey of the SS Michelangelo project which ends with this final segment. My efforts are now focused on the next project, the USS/SS Leviathan, which you can follow by clicking on the new link in my signature, below. As the last segment ended I had made up and installed the three types of lights around the ship. The final detail was the rigging. This was fairly simple and consisted of only two types, the stays and the radio antenna. The stays were of three different weights, but all were made up in the same way. The lowest shrouds for the two masts and their forestays were done with Accu-Flex stainless steel beading wire in 0.0095” diameter, while the middle backstays were done in the slightly smaller 0.007” diameter. Despite these small sizes they are each laid up from 7 strands of stainless steel wire wrapped in a clear plastic coating. They look like metal because they are metal. The uppermost backstays and the lifts for the spars are made from silver fly tying line, about 0.005”. Each line was secured with a scale turnbuckle made from a small piece of brass tubing. The line was fed through the body of the turnbuckle, then through a small eyebolt twisted up from iron wire, then back through the turnbuckle tube. After the shaft of the eyebolt is glued in place the wire is pulled taut and the tube slid down to lock it in place. Then it is simply glued and the excess line clipped off and the turnbuckle painted silver. For size comparison, the background is a normal paper towel with its embossed pattern. Here is the finished model with the stays installed. The radio lines are black so they do not show up here. Taking a tour of the ship, here is the forward half with the winches, hatches, and cargo cranes of the bow working deck. The midships area has the main pool, the boats, and those 3-D printed cages for the funnels. And the stern, with the two smaller pools and the numerous complicated light poles. Viewed from dead astern I can see just a little wobble in the upper green stripe, but overall I am quite happy with her. And of course, the obligatory shot from low on the bow. The final decision was how to display and case her. I located a nice mahogany case on line and had it shipped from Vietnam. The shiny aluminum pedestals nicely set off the colors of the model, but the light maple wood base that I first selected just did not go. It did not match any of the colors, and made the model look too high in the case. Instead, I refinished the base to match the mahogany case and the results were, I think, a significant improvement. So now it is ready to motor off to someone else’s collection. I will be contacting brokers who deal in ship models to see if there is any interest. Frankly, my wife will not mind if it does not sell. She thinks it looks perfect on our sideboard. I have to agree, though I say it who shouldn’t. Meanwhile, I will be posting my progress on the Leviathan project. If you enjoyed this journey with me, I invite your participation, comments and suggestions on that one, as always. And as always, be well. Dan

Hello to everyone who followed me from the SS Michelangelo build log. I hope that you will enjoy this one as well. This is the first of what will be 7 models built over the next 4 years for the museum at the US Merchant Marine Academy at Kings’ Point, NY. It is a gem of a small museum, open to the public, well worth visiting for the history of the US merchant marine during war and peace, as well as dozens of beautiful and informative ship models. This first model is of the most famous ship that I knew nothing about until I started this commission. The USS/SS Leviathan was, in her day, the largest ship in the world and a major contributor to the allied victory in World War I. Built in 1913 by Blohm & Voss Shipyards in Germany, she began service in 1914 as the SS Vaterland for the Hamburg-American Line. Displacing 54, 282 tons she was 100 feet in breadth and 950 feet long, some 67 feet longer than RMS Titanic, yet her engines could push her along at a very respectable 26 knots. After only one and a half trips from Hamburg to New York she found herself here in August when the war broke out. She was interned by the USA, a neutral country at the time, and spent the next three years in Hoboken, NJ. When America joined the war she was seized (stolen, the Germans say) and taken into the US Navy as a troop ship, renamed the USS Leviathan. As a troop ship she made a major contribution to the allied victory. In her 14 round trips she carried over 100,000 soldiers to the front, and the same number back, some wounded, some with the Spanish flu, but most just glad to be going home. On one return trip she carried over 12,000 troops plus another 2,500 officers, sailors and nurses, a total of over 14,500 souls aboard. During her first transit she stopped off in Liverpool where she took on a coat of ‘dazzle’ camouflage paint. Dazzle was developed by British marine artist Norman Wilkinson and used complex geometric patterns and contrasting colors to disguise the outline of the ship from German submarines and torpedo boats. The scheme for the Leviathan was particularly bizarre, but seems to have worked, since she was never attacked. After the war she was taken into the United States Lines as their flagship. She was completely renovated by Gibbs & Cox, with little help from Blohm & Voss, who were still smarting at the seizure of their masterpiece. Restored to her former splendor by 1923 she cruised from New York for the next decade before the newer, sleeker ships, the SS America and the SS United States, took her place. As I mentioned in the Michelangelo log, my contract is to provide a model that reflects, on the port side, her dazzling appearance during the war, while the starboard side will show her civilian colors. Down the centerline things will get dicey, and there will be many puzzles and challenges along the way. It should be an interesting trip. Next, research and plans. Be well Dan

Coming along beautifully, Marc. Really looking forward to seeing her in person. Well done. Dan

Hello all – Thanks to all, as always, for the many likes and compliments. I trust every one of my American friends has had a great Labor Day holiday with friends and family, and equally great wishes for everyone across the globe who graces my work with your interest. We are reaching the end of this project so this will be the penultimate report – a short one on the final fiddly details. The first detail was the bow ensign that was left to the end rather than endanger it during construction. It is built up with a small platform above the bow hawse hole. This is then topped by a vertical ensign post of 0.02” brass rod supported by a ‘vee’ brace of 0.011 wire. Two-bar PE railings surround all. And here it is after painting off the model and installation. The next detailed fittings are the two radio masts rising from the radio shack on the Belvidere deck. They are not detailed on the plans, but in this photo you can see them behind the people at the rail. They were built up from brass rod, tiny plastic pieces, and PE railings that were cut, shaped, and adapted to new uses. In the photograph above you can see one type of light on the ship, the ones that rise on two bars, then bend at the top to illuminate the deck. In fact, there are three types of lights in various locations around the ship. The first type was made by bending iron wire back on itself very tightly. The doubled end was then bent down toward the deck. One leg of the stand was cut to 10mm while the second was left long to fit a hole in the deck. The light body was formed from a drop of epoxy whose surface tension is used to pull it into a ball as it hardens. The light itself is represented by a drop of gloss silver enamel. Here too the properties of surface tension were my friend. A small drop of paint was picked up in the end of a toothpick. When applied to the fitting it drew itself up and dried as a perfect circle. The second type are simple floodlights on the end of single posts. They are mostly located above the lifeboats to illuminate them if there were a nighttime evacuation. These were also formed with epoxy and silver paint using surface tension. The final type of light is the most complex. Five rectangular light bodies are mounted on a pillar with the lights angled to either side. They do not show up well on the plans and the photographs are not the clearest, but were enough to give me a good idea of what was needed. A post of 0.032” brass rod was painted with white glue and five tiny lengths of plastic rod 0.015” x 0.020” were delicately adhered to the brass. As the glue set up I teased the lights into position. When dry the joints were reinforced with a drop of thin cyano. I use this double gluing technique a lot on small parts. It takes advantage of the sticky nature of PVA glue to get things into position, and the CA then can strengthen the joints without disturbing the positions of the parts. When all was dry they were spray painted with gloss white and the faces of the lights were picked out in black with the paint on a toothpick. So here is a shot of the midships area with all three types of lights. I am pleased with how they came out, and happier still with how much ‘texture’ they add to the look of the model. That’s it for now. The final segment will be posted soon with the model mounted, cased, and ready to travel. Until then, be well. Dan

Yves - Thanks for the translation. There is a similar fixture on English ships of the period called a 'pissdale'. I think I have seen drawings of one on HMS Victory in the book by Longridge. I had never seen one directly below a gun barrel, but I suppose it makes sense since that space would not be used for anything else, and you wouldn't want the gunners leaving their post or wetting themselves. Be well Dan

Hi Dave - Very nice work on the wreath. I like the added shadow lines. They should make it 'pop' when viewed with anything less than a macro lens. Yes, removing the ring would be better with this style of carriage. The train tackle hooks directly into the eyebolt. Aviaamator - do you know the English translation of the underlined text for the spout detail in the drawing you posted? I have never seen that particular detail. My French is not up to the task. Thanks. Dan

Hi Marc - No, laser cutting works for plastic too. My davits for Michelangelo are plastic. You can specify thickness and 0.020" will not be a problem. I know that Syren does both wood and a resin/paper material. If they are not satisfactory, then club member Charlie Zardoz works in plastic. You clearly need many, many of these small items, and trying to cast them seems to be a great deal of work. Best of success, whatever you decide. Dan

Hi Marc - All those FdL pieces came out almost identically. Quite an achievement. Your perseverance is inspiring. For the scrolls, have you considered laser cutting like I used for the Michelangelo boat davits? I know Syren Models does it. You can specify the thickness you want and the material to be used. The scrollwork could be laser etched. Since you will be painting them the char from the process shouldn't be a problem. I understand that 3-D services can also do it, but I don't know the process. Always good to watch your progress. Dan

Hi Don - This looks like it will be a fascinating project, and I will be following along with interest. The barrels in particular are quite nice. However, before you go much further, I wonder where your carriage design comes from. It has always been my understanding that there were significant differences between British 17th C. carriages and those of the French/Dutch/Continental practice. The most significant ones are that the Continental ones have solid base plates, while the British ones have open bottoms, and because of that the breaching ropes for the Continental cannon went through holes in the carriage itself, while the British ones are secured to the gun's cascabel. Here is a combination illustration of the two designs and how I converted a commercially available cannon kit from British style to French style. I made up a base plate and a bumper at the rear of the carriage, then drilled a hole through the carriage for the breaching rope. And here is how it looks fully rigged and at its battle station. On the other hand, you seem to have a solid base plate in the Continental style, yet your breaching rope goes to the cascabel in the British style. It leaves me unsure of which one you intended. I do not mean to make you go back to the beginning, and there is certainly no need to be hyper-concerned with historic accuracy, but such a discrepancy may impact the popularity of your project. Whatever you decide, you have my best wishes for success. Dan

Michael - I never even considered that solution. Brilliant! Unfortunately, I have already laid up the hull lifts, so I am committed (or should be) at this point. Mark - Who told you my secret? 😉 Dan

Hi guys - Thanks for all the likes and compliments. Yes, Druxey, building an ocean liner is an exercise in repetition. The first few were fun. The recent ones more of a chore. I have developed some techniques and have been the beneficiary of some wonderful gifts from friends in the community. But still a chore. Fortunately I get some commissions to build or restore sailing ships so I can keep those skills sharp. Michael, I suggested that I build two half models and mount them on front-surface mirrors, but this was rejected in favor of the bizarre bi-polar model. Well, it's their dime, so they get to make the decision. Be well Dan

Hi again to all. Many thanks for the likes and compliments, as always. It has been a while since my last post on this build log. Summer means more outdoor activities with family and many more outdoor chores, so less modeling. Someone should do something about that. 😋 This build has also been hijacked by another project. I have been hired by the US Merchant Marine Academy museum to build 7 models in the next 4 years, and I have been doing the research and laying the groundwork for them. I will, of course, be writing and posting build logs as I go along. The first of these will be quite an unusual model. It will be of the USS/SS Leviathan (1914), which in her day was the largest ship in the world. She was a troop ship during WW I and an ocean liner afterwards. The troop ship was painted in a wild ‘dazzle’ camouflage, while the liner was dressed in the red-white-and blue livery of the US Lines. The unique thing about the model is that I am directed to build the port side as the troop ship, with its guns, military style boats and dozens of life rafts, etc. The starboard side will be done as the ocean liner with the guns removed and civilian style boats. Down the centerline, where there were added lookout posts, rangefinder platforms and other structures, I am to cut them in half, make them hollow and paint the edges red to show the differences. The scale is 1/16”=1’, so the model of this 950 foot ship will be just under 5 feet long. Oh, and I only have 9 months to complete it. Wish me luck. I did get some work done though. I ended the last installment of the log with the construction of the bow cargo cranes. Next I turned to the lifeboats. With the Michelangelo, as with all ocean liners, the boats are an important visual element. In this illustration you can see how their bright orange interiors contrast with the general white colors of the ship. There are several types of boats shown, including a motor launch, although I cannot decide if this is a grainy photograph or a painting that may differ somewhat from the actual ship. In this next photo there is no launch, although the first boat is smaller and the second has an enclosed cabin at the bow. The boats hang from fairly simple one arm davits of a design that I have not seen before. From overhead I can see that the davits are joined to each other with a shaft that ends in large fittings which are probably the winches for the boat falls. Toward the aft end of the boats there is a white blocky element which must be either the engine or the control station for the boat. The boats started life as appropriately sized pewter castings from Bluejacket. With some refining they made excellent fittings. First the sides were smoothed to remove the bumps which are meant to be safety lines, I guess. The sternpost was straightened and concave hollows ground to let the water reach the propeller cavity. A plastic rudder was roughly cut and secured with CA, then refined in place. The insides of each boat was ground thinner, as was the cast thwart insert. After gluing it in, the whole boat was primed and painted white. Then the thwart piece was painted a bright safety orange. A short piece of plastic rectangular rod was set in for the engine. Lift blocks were made from Bluejacket 2mm castings. Their becket ends were cut off and their eyes were drilled out at the other end. A wire was looped through the eye and secured in each hole at the ends of the boat. This photo shows the danger of macro lenses. I had to go back to straighten the engine block and touch up the paint. The speckled look is not a mistake, though. Well, not much of a mistake. The original orange was much too bright, even though it was the correct color. For model purposes the intensity had to be tamed. I opted for a light mist of spray paint from a distance. The speckles are not individually visible without magnification unless your nose is an inch or two from the model, so the result is acceptable. Nonetheless, the next time I would probably choose a thin wash of translucent white or grey. The davits turned into a problem. Here is my best photo of their shape. They have a curved vertical arm with two flat pulley at the top. About halfway down there is a support arm that holds the keel and has a padded block for the boat to rest against. None of the commercial houses had anything close, and I needed 40 of them, all identical. Making so many identical fittings proved to be beyond my skills, so once again I turned for help to my friends who do laser cutting. Charlie Zardoz and Chuck Passaro are two of the most generous members of our community and they have my sincere thanks. I first marked out and cut a master davit from plastic. It turned out to be 22mm tall, about 7/8". I took that photo with a macro lens and exported it into CorelDraw, where I drew the outline of the shape. I sent this out and had laser cut copies created in both wood and plastic. The wooden ones were just the right thickness, but unfortunately there was a weak point at the base of the support arm where the grain runs vertically. Even strengthening the wood with hardener only helped a bit. The plastic ones were strong enough, but were too thin. In the end two of the plastic davits were glued together, with two punched discs to represent the pulleys. The davits were secured against the deck house on the Boat deck 25mm from their partner. They were joined by a .020” brass bar seated in two small blocks mounted to the inner faces of the davits. Each boat was hung with .003" fly tying line that began in each block, ran up and over the inner pulley, through the lift block on the boat, up and over the outer pulley, and then through a hole in the bulwark that led behind the rail. Small clips held tension on the lines until the height was adjusted, then everything was secured with CA and the excess line cut off invisibly behind the railing. Here are the forward three boats on the port side. The forward boat is slightly smaller and hangs just a bit lower than the rest. PVA glue holds the boats to their support arms and everything is really quite secure. And for scale, here is FDR about to board the middle boat. Here is the entire port side run of boats. I wish I had more depth of field for a better photo, but you get the idea. And here is the starboard side. I think it matches up pretty well to the illustration of the ship at the beginning of this post. Only a few final details and it will be ready for launching. I will report in again soon. Till then, Be well Dan

Michael - A pleasure to see your excellent work once again. Dan

Hi - You certainly have a large challenge in front of you. Whenever I am approached to restore a hobby-built kit model, I always ask "How much do you love the model and the modeler?" In your case your love for your grandfather and his work is quite evident. That settled, there is a huge amount of work to be done, but it is not hopeless at all. Taking it one step at a time is the way to go, just like building the kit in the first place. If you do go forward, I recommend that you get "Ship Modelers' Shop Notes, vol. II" from the NRG shop. I included a specific section on restorations. Rob Napier and others give a good introduction to the skills and methods used. Rob has a longer article in the Journal which you can get, and he has written a book on his restoration of an antique museum model. I am always happy to help out with general questions or specific problems. Don't worry about my time. Second only to building ship models I love talking about them. Contact me through this website or my email at shipmodel@aol.com Best of success Dan

Beautiful work, Michael - Comparing the current photos with the first ones, the amount of work, and its quality, are stunningly apparent. Congratulations. Dan

Beautiful work, Ken - Love how she is coming out. Dan

Hi Michael - Just stumbled on this while surfing MSW. You are doing amazing work, given the pictures of what you started with. Actually, I know this model. I did some pre-sale restorations on the Seamans' Church Institute collection when they moved from lower Manhattan to Port Newark in New Jersey. Some of the models were then sold through Bonham's at that auction in 2011. I did not work on the Albertic. It was one of the gems of the group, but it had been in a case so it did not need repairs. I was at the auction, but did not bid on this lot, needless to say. Quite a bit above my price range, and much too large for my NY apartment. I am so glad that the restoration is in your capable hands. I will continue to follow until you are done. Be well Dan

Beautiful work, JD - I especially like how the flags and pennants came out, especially the Maryland one. Dan

Hi Eric - Just got back from vacation and saw this interesting discussion. I do see your issue, which is a planking question and not one of internal structure. Since I have limited experience with river steamboats, but trying to think as a shipwright of the period and location, I would want to know a bit more about the building of the Arabia. Was she built for luxury travel, or was she more of a rivergoing 'truck.' If so, she would have been built as quickly and as cheaply as possible. This points me more towards A, which has the simplest, most economical use of medium length straight planks and wider tapered off-cuts. A more high-end ship might have had a more decorative planking for the guests to stroll along. Also really enjoyed reading your research and planning blog. Dan

Hi Marc - Beautiful carving work, and a very closely matching pair. But if you only used the best master, and doubled the number of castings, wouldn't they all be identical? One of the pair is just rotated 180 degrees. Dan