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Brian Falke

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Everything posted by Brian Falke

  1. And a starboard side view. I still have to cut out the inside of the transom/knuckle. But will wait until I have the exterior planked so that the planking provides added strength to the sides. After the planking the galleries and laser cut transom will be attached.
  2. So, it has been some time since I last posted. Unfortunately, not much progress has been made. The hull sections are all in one piece now and sanded to form a relatively smooth hull shell which will receive planking on the interior and exterior. In the two pictures below, you can see the hull I manufactured using the 3D printer and the hull provided by BJ. The only section missing from my hull section is the transom/knuckle section. Which I will get to later. The transom/knuckle area did prove to be difficult. My initial vision was to fashion framing as the original ship is. I cut a couple of stern timbers to attach to the wing transom. Before attaching them, I tried to envision how I could get all the stern timbers cut and aligned with the laser cut transom provided in the kit, and have the strength to withstand the attaching process. I just could not see that happening. So, I decided to shape the transom/knuckle on the hull in the kit to get a better idea of what it should look like. And, how the galleries would be shaped. As I was shaping I though how can I transfer this onto my hull. My initial inclination was to cut that section from the BJ hull and attach to my hull. But, to be honest, that scared me. Something that drastic is permanent and if the plan with my hull fails, there is then no back-up hull. It then came to me to just get my own piece of basswood and shape the transom/knuckle from that and then attach it. As for the galleries, I will use the metal pieces from the BJ kit to build them and then attach them to my hull. Here is where it stands today. (Pictures in follow on post).
  3. Still no bow. However, the rest of the hull has been rough shaped on the interior and the exterior hull has been filled in with wood filler and sanded smooth. I used wood rasps, 60 - 100 grit sandpaper for the exterior and wood rasps, a power drill sanding wheel, and a Dremel sanding drum for the interior. I removed the ridges between the frames down to about halfway (from aft to forward for the frames forward of midships from forward to aft to those frames aft of midships) into the frame it self. In the pictures the four sections between the bow and stern pieces are ready to be connected and then, when the epoxy is dry, sanded and filled in with wood filler. Once I get the stern piece shaped (in the picture below, it is basically shaped, just letting the wood filler dry before smooth sanding) and the bow completed, all pieces joined and the junction seams smoothed, I should have a "shell" hull ready to receive interior and exterior hull planking. In the last picture, two sections are epoxied and are drying. Making progress...slow, but moving forward. Cheers, Brian
  4. I printed out all frames, with the exception of the stern and bow sections. That section is going to be difficult to get right (more on that later). So, I decided to check my work and plan for the next step, attaching the frames to the keel. My initial plan was to print the frame with a toothpick size hole in the part of the timber that would rest atop the keel. A toothpick would then go through the timber into the keel to add longitudinal strength (first photo). I felt that would not be strong enough to withstand sanding and planking when the time came. So, I slightly altered the frames so that they would have a notch in the bottom that the keel would fit into. Next photo. I again felt that the frames would not be strong enough for sanding. That when I would sand them, they would flex inward, thereby rendering my sanding efforts ineffective for the most part. So, I then decided to experiment with a "shell". Pretty much printing out the entire hull from stem to stern, keel to top rail - well, close enough that I could effectively shape it using plastic wood and sanding. To do this I expanded the frame line fore and aft halfway to the next frame line thereby having the frames connected thereby providing mutual support between the frames and to the keel. I printed out from mid-ships to frame H in one section and frame J to U in another section. I added two holes in the keel at the forward and after ends to attach the sections. Using epoxy glue I was able to attach them with confidence that it would hold without concern. After that, I filled in the sides with plastic wood and then sanded. I used hand sanding, a couple of power sanders and a Dremel tool to sand them. Because of the strength, the sanding was effective. To test planking, I then attached a plank to the inside and outside of the hull. Normal wood glue works perfectly with the printed hull. Here is my test section. This gave me the confidence to press forward with printing out the hull using the hull section diagram from Bluejacket's manual. I have from the stern all the way forward to frame Y in the Bluejacket plan. Here are the pictures. So, I pretty much have it all with the exception of the bow. That is proving to be difficult. I have printed it twice already and have significant strength issues. The frames do not connect with each other when I expand the forward frames fore and aft like i had done with the rest of the ship. I am now doing it in small increments, of .03". So, it is taking awhile to get the frame designed in Tinkercad. Once I do, will post the pictures there. But this is where it stands now. I am about ready to shape the hull to prepare it for planking. Regards, Brian
  5. So, that attempt was back in May. I had other ideas - try and cut the wood to 1/8th thick and glue two pieces together with the grain perpendicular to each, place pins in the joints, etc... Each thought would resolve one issue, but would increase another, mainly time. So, I started digging around and decided upon a 3D printer. I am still using BlueJacket's plans and drawings to draw out each frame and from those drawings, creating the 3D file which will be then used to create the frame. I know this is "cheating" a little, but given the time constraints and risk with using wood frames (one breaks in during construction - or worse, after it is completed), I am opting to use the 3D printer - hey, I WILL be using Wood Filament for the frames...so, I am staying as close as possible. 😉 Here is the same frame as above, Frame C, but from the 3D printer. It is pure PLA filament that came with the printer. This frame was just a prototype. It is stronger - tested by squeezing the tops of the frame together - did not break. And accurate, as you can see the tops are level, and the beam is the same on each side.
  6. It has been quite a while since I have posted. Dealing with family issues, my own health issues, and just could not figure out how to build the frames out of wood with enough strength in them to withstand the construction process. My first attempt failed miserably, so bad, that I threw it into the trash out of disgust without thinking to take a picture of it. My second attempt, I divided the frame into 5 parts in order to keep the wood grain as close to parallel to the frame as possible. Using Frame C as the guinea pig, I cut the five pieces out of white oak at a thickness of 1/4". Using an S joint (guess that would be a good description) to join the pieces together, I glued them using wood glue and clamped for 24 hours. The following day, went out to check on my work and it all looked fine. I unclamped the pieces and then was checking the strength of the frame by slightly pressing the port and starboard ends together. Immediately, the top S joint on one side snapped free, ending that test and ultimately, this process of wood frames. I needed to find a way to build stronger frames and which did not take days just to build each one. Additionally, the frame was not too accurate, so include that in the development requirements. This is the wood frame:
  7. Thanks Roger. the pelorus' were purchased from shapeways.com. I initially had made two out of wood and was not completely satisfied with them, but they were all that I had. I did stumble upon shapeways when I was looking for the eggbeater antennas. The 35' whips, the eggbeaters, the big eyes and the pelorus' were purchased from them. As for the CPP, I struggled with those. Those were made back in 2009. I looked through all the model ship building websites in an attempt to find a port and starboard CPP and could not. They were pretty much fixed screws, and right hand at that, and wrong size. Yes, they were 1:96 scale, but for a destroyer, cruiser, etc. None for a Minesweeper. So, I decided to fashion my own out of wood. I initially tried to put some forward pitch on the blades but could not get the pitch uniform across the eight blades. It was at that point I decided to mount the ship as if she is pier side with 0 pitch on the screws.
  8. Tom, DANG! Now I have to take it out of the case....just kidding. That is a great example of planning. I installed the starboard pigs and otters before thinking about the aft steering hatch. Just could not get it in between the two. As the DCA on ENGAGE, aft steering was my space, it was the DC workshop. And with two DCmen that were, well, a little on the large size, I chuckled every time they had to go through the scuttle.
  9. Picking back up on this build after finishing and placing in a display case (finally!) the previous build. As I left off, I went down to my parents house to include my father in on the build. Well, did not go as well as I had envisioned - unfortunately. Guess eventually we all will reach that point. I have a little re-work to do on the gun carriages. Picking back up, as you recall, this is to be somewhat modified. I am going to build the hull as a plank on frame construction in order to open one side of the hull, all decks for viewing. My first was to do a little research in order to get a better picture of the keel. From the National Archives, I was able to pull the drawings Samuel H. Pook drew in 1849. Though not from 1812, it is well known that the keel is the original thus I felt Pook's drawings would be accurate for this purpose. Additionally, I reviewed SCRATCH BUILDING A MODEL SHIP by Gene Bodnar (August 2007) and his build log when he built the CONSTITUTION in 4 sections. The document is located here: http://modelshipworldforum.com/resources/plans_and_research/ScratchBuildingaModelShipgene.pdf and the build log is on another ship model building website. The keel is as the CONSTITUTION's - white oak. I elected to use a single keel, not two sections. To get the proper size (1/4" x 3/16") of the keel, I used a planner. Then, using a scroll saw, I cut the forward joint (where the bow stem meets the keel). Then measuring back from that joint, I cut the stern end of the keel. I did this process just in case I fouled up the bow to stem joint I wouldn't have to re-plane a new keel all over again. The bow stem is made of two sections such that the curvature of the stem would follow the wood grain giving it the most strength. After attaching the bow stem, using the Pook drawings again I cut out the sternpost and glued that to the keel. After the glue had dried overnight, I then drilled holes at each joint just tight enough to insert a toothpick. I then inserted a glue coated toothpick into each joint providing additional strength to each joint. Once done I place the keel on the work table and saw that I was starting off with a little sagging (you can see the stern is a little off the table). To remedy this, I place a small piece of metal under the keel at midships and then clamped down the stern and bow sections. I then place a wet sock (shop rag now) on the keel and let it set overnight. This, at last check, remedy the sagging and I now have a straight keel to work from. Next step is to start on the frames - which again, will be using Bodnar's document as a guide.
  10. Down to the final details, which I have been trying to figure out how to make since I began the model. The antennas. The MSO has 4 35' HF whip antennas and the 4 Fleet Broadcast antennas (egg beaters). I began sanding a 1/8" dowel in an attempt to achieve the right size for the whip antennas. I would get close, but each time, due to the thinness, it would break setting me back to the beginning. I tried maybe 5 times until I gave up. I did look at using wire as the whips, but it just did not look right. Too thin at the base, no tapper, and very difficult to get the wire straight. As for the egg beaters, I did not even attempt to build them. I just mulled thoughts through my mind. I came up with a couple of ideas using a toothpick sanded down as the center post and then bent wire as the egg beater part. With nothing left to lose, I did an internet search for "1:96 scale model parts" and one of the top returns was Shapeways.com. My interest was piqued. I went to the site and search on 1:96. A lot of 3D designed parts and pieces for ship models came up - all kinds of pieces from USS CONSTITUTION to the latest Navy destroyer. I felt like a kid in a candy store now. I found a plethora of detail pieces that I could use. Including the 35' whips and the egg beaters. I also replace the big eyes and the port and starboard pelorus'. The whips were not smooth, however, they were a heck of a lot better than a piece of wire or a fat whip made of wood. I do not have detailed pictures of the antenna's. However, I have completely finished the build. As I read somewhere in another build, if you do not put the model in a case, you will continue to tinker with it - never really finishing the project. That was completed yesterday. The base, ship mounted and the clear enclosure. I built the base and the clear acrylic box is from shoppopdisplays.com (I do recommend them). Now, the COMMCMDIV 11 burgee and shield. That was a personal touch. In the Navy, the command burgee or pennant of a senior commander would replace the commissioning pennant when that commander was embarked onboard the ship. MCMDIV 11 was my first of two operational commands. Though ENGAGE was long gone by the time I was in command of DIV 11, she did spend some time during the Vietnam War in Sasebo, Japan (where MCMDIV 11 was homeported under 7th Fleet). So, I felt, given the linkage there, and that ENGAGE was my first operational tour and DIV 11 was my last (DIV 11 and DIV 31 merged in 2009 becoming MCMDIV 31 under 3rd Fleet which I continued to be the commander for), it was fitting that I permanently "embark" the ship. Cheers, Brian
  11. It has been awhile since I have posted, so I might as well get back to it. As I left off last, the mast was next in line for logging. Masts on MSOs are not complex, the most technical piece of equipment on the mast is the surface search radar. However, there are a couple of unique sensors on the top part of the mast. These are the earth's magnetic field sensors used to determine the amount of current for each of the four degaussing loops for the ship to remain "invisible" to magnetic mines. Then there are the two wind measuring birds. These were very difficult to construct. First, the only picture I had of these where I could closely determine their actual size and scale them down was in the Interior Communications rating book. I was able to find a picture of a Sailor holding one and guessing the Sailor was about 6', I went from there. Then I had to make two that were, to the naked eye, exactly identical in size and shape. I think I went through 20 - 30 iterations of the propeller blades until I got 6 that were close and then glue them on the hub at the correct angle for each blade. On any other naval ship model, I think I would have skipped them, but on a 1:96 scale, and with such a bare mast to begin with, they would have noticeably been missing. Now, one more unique characteristic of the MSO mast, the three green lights. One on each end of the yardarm and one right above the radar. These are used for when the ship is conducting mine clearing operations. The additional lights are, at the top of the mast, the aircraft warning lights and the red, white, red lights on the front for various possible emergency conditions while underway. And, lets not forget about the aft masthead range light. You may notice the Division Burgee closed-up on the mast instead of the typical commissioning pennant. That is MCM Division 11 Commodores' burgee. More on that later in the build log. The mast is black where in the picture of USS ENGAGE in my first post it is haze gray. Why the difference? Back, when I first reported aboard ENGAGE, all masts on all USN ships were black. This was to hide the soot that would build up on the masts in the old coal boiler ships and became tradition until about 1989/90 when it suddenly came down from the CNO that all ships are to paint their masts haze gray. The story behind the change, and I cannot vouch for this, is that the CNO was out sailing with some British friends one afternoon in the New England area when they spotted a naval vessel off in the distance. Too far to make out nationality by viewing the flag, so one of the yacht owners grabber her binoculars and quickly let the CNO know that it was a US Navy ship. He looked through the binos and could not see the flag and then asked her how does she know it is a US Navy ship. Her reply was that only US Navy ships have black masts. Thus, the order for all US Navy ships to paint their masts haze gray and that remains the standard today. I elected to keep it black to add depth and character to the ship model and that is how it was when I first stepped aboard.
  12. Yes, that is correct. Being on the East Coast, it is a little difficult for me to get to the restoration project. However, I am following along through their Facebook page. The team is doing a fantastic job with the restoration. The ENGAGE was build in Stockton - think it is one of 3 Stockton built MSO's. In total, there were 102 laid down. The final MSO was stopped after the keel was laid down. After a few years of enjoying the model, my intention is to donate the model to the USS LUCID Museum.
  13. At this point, all fantail equipment was completed and in place. To complete the fantail I still needed to install the taffrail. I could not find stanchions that would work without some modification. I used the same stanchions I used on the focsle, just cut them off right at the second rail and filed flat for the rail to rest on. Though not 100% accurate, it did come close enough. Now that the fantail was completed, and for the most part, the entire ship's hull and deck equipment, I shifted my efforts to the mast. This I felt was going to be a challenge because I did not have clear pictures of where mast lights, antennas and sensor's were located on the mast.
  14. LOL!! I should have included those in my descriptions. The Otters were tough to make. It took months to get it right with all the angles and then to replicate the process three more times so all four were exact copies of each other. The Pigs were just dowels sanded down, but the fins/guides did take some time to make and glue together - but not nearly as difficult as the Otters.
  15. Roger, thanks for the story. It brought back memories of when I was OOD off the coast of Charleston, SC doing MCM Qualifications prior to deploying for Operation Desert Storm. We had a Double "O" sweep out and lost the starboard sweep. The kite snagged on the bottom and the wire parted setting the float and kit adrift. About 6 months later, they were recovered off the coast of Ireland. Was not a good day to say the least. It was about this point in the build I started to fret over a couple of detail items. The mast, four HF whip antennas, and the four egg beaters. My concern with the mast is that I could not find a decent picture which showed the detail I desired. As for the whip antennas, I tried to sand down a dowel to the right size, but each time when I would get the dowel to a thin piece it would break. And lastly, the egg beaters (receiver antennas for fleet broadcast). I never attempted to build one but I did have a number of ideas swimming around my head. So, I put these off until I finished the fantail. In other words, buying time to crack those nuts.
  16. At this point, my pictures jump way ahead in the build. For the most part, everything forward of the aft bulkhead leading to the fantail is complete - just some very detail items to install remain. I shifted my focus to the fantail where on MSO's is the business end. All the sweep gear is back there. The mine sweeping towing winch was built and installed early on in the build as well as the kingpost on the port side. From his point, I build the power crane on the starboard side with the 7 meter RHIB rigged and ready to be deployed over the side. The two noise makers (Mk 6B and Mk 4V). The 4V is the roundish, stubby one on the port side, and the 6B is the boxy one on the starboard side underneath the 7 meter RHIB. When deployed, these would mimic the noise of ships machinery (6B) or ships screws (4V). The float rigged to the port kingpost is used as the float for those noise makers. Only one is deployed at a time and it depends on the mine threat. Moving aft, right by the ships edge, all the way aft, are the port and starboard kites and depressors. These are basically about a 4' x 4' boxed vanes that when rigged with the sweep wire, depress the wire to depth and pull the wire outward to port and starboard. The depth of the sweep wire, when deployed is about 50' and width is roughly 150'. To get that width, about 1500' of wire needs to be trailed behind the ship. Just inboard of the kites/depressors are the two floats that mark the end of the sweep wire and keep the kite and sweep wire from sinking to the bottom. The port and starboard cranes rigged to the floats are there to deploy the kites/depressors and floats. It is a very dangerous evolution deploying this stuff with up to three wires trailing behind the ship basically increasing the size of the ship to an aircraft carrier. All the equipment back on the fantail were made from stock pieces of basswood - dowels and sheets of wood for the most part. I did use blocks from BlueJacket on the end of the port and starboard cranes and for the king post and power crane.
  17. Using the same jig process as I used above, I drilled a hole in the back of the Quoin for the handle for each of the gun carriages. The BlueJacket kit does not come with a handle as the expectation is to not get down to this level of detail on the build (but, I am modifying the kit to some extent) and I felt a Belaying Pin would work perfectly as the handle. The pins in the kit are 1/4", which are a little too long for this purpose. So, I purchased 3/16" Belaying Pins from another supplier and they worked perfectly. The handle part is about 3/32", which to scale is 9". As a prototype, I finished one of the 32 guns. Also, below the Quoin you will see the fitting for the Train Tackle. I will have to drill that hole by hand on the carriages since it is located just above the rear truck. Here is the prototype:
  18. After boring and smoothing the exterior of each cannon, I then focused on the carriages. Being one for details, I noticed the gun tackle loops and breeching ringbolt on each side of the carriage required holes for the small brass eyebolts supplied with the kit. I have scanned a few of the builds here and noticed that these were not included, so I am assuming that the kit does not come with enough eyebolts to do all the carriages and where needed throughout the ship - so I will have to order more. The problem that I faced was now to drill holes in each of the carriages exactly (or dang close) to each other to achieve uniformity. To do this I took a blob of JB Weld and mixed it together until it was starting to cure. I then took the blob and pressed it onto the 3/4" plywood. I then sprayed each side of the carriage with WD-40 so that the carriage would not stick and then pressed into the JB Weld each side of the gun carriage. With the impression of each side of the carriage in the cured JB Weld blob, I let it cure until it was solid. This provided me with a stationary form where I could put one carriage into the impression, drill one hole, remove the carriage and put a new carriage in and drill in the same place until all carriages had the gun tackle loop drilled and in the same place. Then I realigned the form on the drill press platform to drill the breeching ringbolt in the same place for each carriage.
  19. This point the hull and superstructure were complete. Next to dive into the deck details. On the 01 Level I used stanchions from BlueJacket. On the 02, 03, and 04 Levels I constructed the stanchions and rails - I could not find anything online that would suffice. MSO's were an odd bunch of ships. Nothing from a normal ship of the line would fit to scale; meaning deck railings from a 1:96 destroyer would be too tall for a MSO and look out of place. On the 01 Level I used black thin wire as the lifelines. Again, being unique, the life lines on MSO's were made of carbon fiber instead of stainless steel. Using carbon fiber as their lifelines significantly reduced the magnetic signature for the ship. At this juncture, I am focused on the details with the exception of the fantail. I elected to do the fantail last as that will be the most complex given the amount of equipment back there. It is also at this time that I took about a year off from the project. We moved from Texas to Japan. I secured the model in a 3/4" plywood box where it survived the trip from Texas to Japan and then to San Diego when I was able to remove it and continue working on the model. Not a bit of damage from the two overseas moves.
  20. Hi Tim, great to see another MSO sailor on here! Yes, I was on ENGAGE (MSO-433) out of Mayport from 8/89 - 3/91 (3/91-9/91 on IMPERVIOUS in the Gulf). I too spent some quality time up there in Little Creek (11/90-01/91) going through REFTRA. Was not fun at all. I was the DCA and Engineering was a disaster. We actually had to pause training for a month in order to get the strut bearings replaced. Some how the starboard shaft became misaligned and wore out the bearings unevenly causing excessive vibrations in the engines. All I can remember is the cold nights and the fight with the XO on my way back from one of the bars right outside the gate (but, that is another story for another time). I am actually finished with the model, just have to mount it. I took pictures from the 102 MSOs website, there are a lot there. But, for the most part, it is coming from memory. Thanks and glad you are following along.
  21. Keeping with authenticity of the ship, I sought to use cloth as the overhead on the bridge. I tried a number of methods and material. I just could not get the proper consistency and texture. So, I settled wood. I cut each section to fit from beam to beam, then filled in and sanded along the seams to give it the look of cloth being supported by a beam. With the bridge and pilothouse area completed for the most part, I moved onto the deck gear. Starting with the anchor windlass and AN/SQQ-14 Variable Depth Minehunting Sonar Winch on the focsle. It was also about this time that I discovered BlueJacket's website and Expo Model and ordered the life rings, fire hoses in their camelback racks, and brass portholes for the pilot house and captain's cabin. Unfortunately, I could not locate an anchor windlass for a MSO nor a sonar winch, so I set out to make them myself. For the anchor windlass I did have the ship's drawings to use, but for the sonar winch, since it was a mod in the 70's and the drawings are from original construction, I had nothing but my memory and pictures. Also in the picture below, are the port & starboard anchors - which again had to be constructed by hand and the mooring line reels. The mine hunting sonar winch is just forward of the forward bulkhead.
  22. I am going to jump ahead in the build, way ahead. But, there is a reason. If you will bear with me for a bit. My reason for building this kit was to include my father in on the build. You see, growing up, my father also built model ships and the one that I will always remember was the paddle boat ROBERT E. LEE. It was absolutely incredible. I was mesmerized by it. It now sits in my sister's house in Mississippi as my dad felt that it should reside as close to the paddle boat region as possible. I will get pictures of it one day and post them to this build. When I first received the kit I went over to my parents house to kick it off, and get my dad involved. It is unfortunate that now, in his old age he is not able to do this type of work. So, I packed up the kit and brought it back to my house to build. I still want to include my father in on the build, but with easier tasks. So, I am jumping ahead to the guns. I was already to grab the guns, the truck carriages, the trucks and the paint (thank you BlueJacket for delivering in time) and head down to my parents house to paint and build the guns. But, once I opened the guns I noticed that they required a little prep work before painting. The web between the gun and trunnions and seams along the barrel needed to be smoothed down. Additionally, the gun required boring out. So, I set my travel plans aside and commenced to prep the guns. Using my power Dremel tool I gently ground the web down rounding out the trunnion and barrel in those places. Using the wire brush on the Dremel I wired smooth the seams along the barrel and all along the barrel, breach and trunnions. My next dilemma was to bore the barrel in the center. To do this I clamped a 3/4" scrap piece of plywood to my drill press and drilled a 7/16" hole through the board. This allowed me to insert the gun into the hole with the muzzle swell up and centered. Using a 1/16" drill bit, I then bored out the barrel to a depth of about 3/16".
  23. It was about this point in the model that I decided that what is going to set my model apart from those that I have seen online is the details. What I had seen online lacked the detail or was not completely accurate. Additionally, I only saw the pre-modernization MSO models - the ones with the 40mm on the focsle, with the 26' MWB, and significant superstructure missing. And, I feel that as an observer and admirer of ship models (when at the Naval Academy, I would spend hours just looking at the ship models in the museum and around the yard), the detail is what grabs the observers attention. I have a tendency of placing myself on the model, walking the decks, etc. However, I do have the tendency to strive for perfection. As someone once said "Perfection is the enemy of excellence." I am challenged at times to step back and say, that is excellent. I tend to tweak somethings until my tweaking ruins it and have to start over. Pressing forward, I now shifted to finishing up the bridge. I needed to put the windshield and frame for the overhead tarpaulin. Using 1/16 stock, I cut the windshield with a slight outward angle. Fortunately there are no wipers on these. They were just framed plexiglass that on clear days we would raise them inward and allow the sea to blow in as we cruised at flank speed (13 knots). Below is the completed frame for the windshield and overhead tarpaulin.
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