realworkingsailor

Afternoon  all,   right  - washes added  to the  wall, then  glued  down, also  I added  wee bit more  washes  to  the  general areas  to dirty it up a  little, the  log store  still needs  its  extension  placing.
 
OC.

Post One Hundred and Seventy-three
 
18’ cutter – Jolly Boat
 
I thought I would have another stab at clinker planking one of these bijou cutters to go with 'Indy'.
 
My original cutter which sits with Alert was of the older version replaced shortly after I had completed it.
This one is the current and revised version, which includes laser cut gratings and footwalings whereas the original had brass etch versions.
 
I will be using 3.4mm x 0.6mm Boxwood strip, and of necessity the planking starts at the keel and works up to the Wash strake.

4315
The Garboard is applied first using pva. This is shaped at the bow but is otherwise untapered.

4320
The second strake overlaps the Garboard by 1mm.
In proper practice there is a rebate or rabbet edge along the top of each plank to take the bottom edge of the plank above.
At scale and with 0.6mm board I can dispense with this nicety.
 
From the second plank above the Garboard I am adding a degree of taper both fore and aft. How much is down to eye and best guesstimate.
4528
As with all these projects clamping is an issue, more so as the planking rises.

4531
With three strakes added I move to the wash strake. This is fitted untapered into the bow slot.
 
Twice the stem part broke but repair was effected and once the wash strakes are in place the area is more stable.

4542
As the strakes are applied the taper increases fore and aft until the final strake fits flush with the lower edge of the wash strake.

4552

4550
Planking completed in its raw state, but the lapstrakes are clearly evident.

4565
I applied a 1mm square Ebony strip along the lower edge of the wash strake to represent the wale.
It looks broader than it is because top and face edges are not clearly defined on the photo.

4568

4569
There is a satisfaction to be had from completing the hull of this smallest of the boat range, but there is a fair bit of cleaning up required before the inboard fittings are put into place.
 
B.E.
 
06/05/2024

I have commisioned a second figure of Nelson using a new carver with more accurate facial features:
 
These are a work in progress with a little more tweaking required. The render showing Nelson on the plinth was the first. I asked, based on previous feedback, to have dowels on the bottom of the feet and holes to take the dowels in the plinth, if people want to display the figure either on the plinth, or on the deck directly.

Work has finally started on cleaning, restoring and completing our model of the 'Duchess'. Unfortunately, the cleaning process has revealed some damage on the model - it looks like an object has been dropped across the well deck, with the gangway and the boat skids damaged (both removed at the moment) and damage to the topgallant railing on both sides - a bit of extra work I don't really need! Cleaning has also revealed some unfinished areas on the deck - holes where fittings have been removed and the holes left unplugged. I'll simply fill those as I work my way along the model completing it.  She also has all four lower masts fixed. I would have preferred them loose, as the lower fore stays of the after three masts secure to the deck right bedside the masts ahead of them, so it will be pretty tight getting the stays secured when i get that far.
 The images below show the model as she is now, except that by the time I left this afternoon more cleaning had been done.  I hope to complete the cleaning next time i'm at the museum and acrually start some work on her.
 
John
 
The model on her work table secured inside her display case - sorry about all the reflections, but there are large picture windows to the right.

 
The 'Duchess' out of her case and ready to work on.

 
Looking down on the decks. At this stage I'd finished cleaning the forecastle; down all but one cleaning run on the well deck and swept the dust off the poop.
 
 

 
 

Sanding done (mostly) and stern veneers applied. You can tell from the photo that some additional minor sanding and filling will be needed to achieve the final stern shape.
 

Full Metal Beam Engine Steam Engine (RETROL)
EngineDIY
Catalogue # 33ED3487709
Available from EngineDIY for USD $299.99
 

 
A beam engine is a type of steam engine where a pivoted overhead beam is used to apply the force from a vertical piston to a vertical connecting rod. This configuration, with the engine directly driving a pump, was first used by Thomas Newcomen around 1705 to remove water from mines in Cornwall. The efficiency of the engines was improved by engineers including James Watt, who added a separate condenser; Jonathan Hornblower and Arthur Woolf, who compounded the cylinders; and William McNaught, who devised a method of compounding an existing engine. Beam engines were first used to pump water out of mines or into canals but could be used to pump water to supplement the flow for a waterwheel powering a mill. They also could be used to power steam ships.

 
The first steam-powered ships used variants of the rotative beam engine. These marine steam engines – known as side-lever, grasshopper, crosshead, or 'walking beam', among others – all varied from the original land-based machines by locating the beam or beams in different positions to take up less room on board ship.
 
The kit

This steam engine kit comes in quite an anonymous and thick gauge cardboard box with absolutely no label! The box itself is reasonably heavy too, weighing in at just under 2kg. Lifting that lid off immediately shows the colour printed instruction sheets which are sat on a sheet of foam which protects the two trays of parts underneath.

This kit contains 84 parts, inclusive of screws etc. All parts are sat in foam cutouts which provide excellent protection for the assemblies and parts. I say assemblies, because I see this as more of a semi-kit in that a number of elements are pre-built, and the idea is to assemble these to the individual parts, which are all then mounted on a metal base.


A number of the parts are in plastic sleeves. These are the ones made from stainless steel, and are for building the boiler's mounting chassis,  and also the fuel/igniter tray. 

Work starts on mounting a number of parts to a metal stand-off frame which will eventually mount to the main plinth. This includes the piston mount/condensation block, and the column for the cross beam. Hex keys are provided for the bolts, as well as a spanner with various sized jaws for various nuts etc.



This assembly can now be mounted to the main plinth. This is done via a series of brass stand-offs. I'll also now fit the two fly wheel mounts.

All screws are tightened up except for those holding the brackets. I decided to make sure I align the drive shaft through them before properly tightening up.

This is the cross beam, and one of the number of pre-built assemblies in this model. This is composted of cast and turned brass, plus stainless steel. You can see the piston plunger on the right of the image.

This is now fitted to the column using a small grub screw to secure. I ddi apply a little lubricating oil into the piston chamber first and then made sure the beam would move freely, pulling the piston up and down. A separate sheet of instructions gives tips on how to achieve this. If not done correctly, this is about the only area which will cause enough friction to stop the engine from running freely. I found I needed to do a little adjustment of the base of the beam. That's why you can see an adjustment hole underneath this, in the main plinth. The idea is that once the piston is raised, it will drop into the piston cylinder due to gravity.

This drive arm is now lubricated and slid into the base of the piston block, and the two bearings are interred into the outside of each of the brackets. Notice the larger end isn't yet engaged into anything and is sat on the bracket simply for the photo opportunity!


You could say this is one of the main events...the fly wheel. This beautifully machines piece of aluminium will now be fitted between the two bearings, via that drive shaft. Flats are machined onto this so the grub screws have a proper surface to fasten to. 


The opposite side of the drive arm is now engaged into the drive shaft and a grub screw used to tighten up to the machined flat on the shaft. 

The drive wheel can now also be secured to the drive shaft via a grub screw. A small collar is used to help space the components.


This is the beam link which will connect the beam to the flywheel drive shaft. The brass fastener has a reverse screw thread which secures into the drive arm.


This beautiful little assembly is the centrifugal regulator. The lowest bolt needs to be removed from the unit and reattached from the underside of the plinth, along with the smaller bolt you can see here. Pushing the small brass linkage downwards will force the two balanced wheels outwards. This is what will happen when pressure is pushed through the brass block that you can see midway down the assembly.

A small length of silicone tube is used to link the centrifugal regulator to the condensate box/piston chamber.

Lastly, for this section, a silicone drive belt is applied between the centrifugal regulator and the fly wheel.

The boiler sits atop a stainless housing which doubles as the heat box for the boiler. The first side is fitted, via two brass shafts which also help reinforce the assembly, as well as create mounting points for the boiler securing straps.



The box is now complete, with the scalloped side towards the top, and the square cutout as shown. The latter is to accommodate the fuel tray.

This really is a very nice piece of engineering, mostly from machined brass. I remember the boilers from the Mamod steam engines, and I can vouch that there are flimsier than this, and that had soldered joints. This is a far superior unit. 

The boiler is now fitted and secured. The protruding outlet pipe is connected to the centrifugal regulator via a length of silicone tubing.

The steam engine itself is now complete.




These parts assemble to create the fuel tray. This contains a tray into which the fuel (methylated spirits, IDA etc) will be poured. The 'wick' units which create a chamber from where the fuel vapours emit, are then plugged into the tray and then the cap is fitted. This creates a shield which closes off the fuel chamber from the outside world. 




The underside of the piston block has that condensation pipe. This little tray will sit underneath that whilst in operation. 

Instructions
These are quite sparse in text, with quite a lot of Chinese present, but the illustrations themselves are enough to easily build this steam engine. 





 
With the engine complete, we can now give it a test. First, the safety valve needs to be unscrewed and then water added. I do this with a syringe. First you need to open the valve at the front of the boiler, or the water will just leak from the injection point, as you add it. I found that about 60ml of water was enough for this. I also added about 10ml to 12ml of methylated spirits to the fuel tray and then lit the burner. The boiler took just a few minutes to come to pressure. The flywheel began to rotate slowly, so I gave it a gentle push and off it went!


 
 
 
 
 
 
Conclusion
Firstly, I have to say that this is a delightful little steam engine that is both easy to understand and build. This took me a little over 90 minutes to build, inclusive of taking the unedited photos. The quality of parts really is excellent, which is what you need when you are dabbling with a miniature boiler unit and the pressures within. The overall feel of the kit and the finished model is one of quality. All I would suggest is adding a little lube in areas such as the piston and gearing in the centrifugal regulator etc. When you compare the beautiful finished model here, compared with the current Mamod models which are pre-built and cost over a £100 more than this, then I consider this to be excellent value for money. It will also make a wonderful cabinet display piece too, which is exactly where mine will be heading. 
 
My sincere thanks to EngineDIY for sending out this kit for review on Model Ship World. To buy direct, click the link in the header of this topic.
 
 
 

Evening all,    working on my wall  -   random  brick colours  done  then a  dusty  dry  brush,  this  will  be  followed up  tomorrow  with a  wash or  Two  to darken  it all  - kind of looks  like a wall.
 
OC.
 
 

Dear all,
a short update with nothing exciting, but I needed to complete some necessary activities in preparation for closing the fuselage halves. One very tedious task was to address the many ejector pin marks on the fuselage inner sides. Then, the interior was furnished and some 'fantasy' cabling was added:

The two halves are now ready to receive some black paint before the interior green. Meanwhile, I finished to weather the bomb bay with the application of some black and brown Tamiya panel liner:

It turned out quite OK when inside the fuselage, although I must say that little of it will be seen because it will be covered by the structures that will held the bombs and half of it will be hidden by the doors of the cannons bay:

In the nose, I am replacing the Browning machine guns muzzles with the very nice Master brass additions:

I will glue them in place later on, probably after the application of the camouflage. I am not going to detail the gun bay and probably I will close this compartment after having glued the muzzle definitively in place. Finally, I am posting a picture of the completed cockpit tested inside the fuselage to show how much of it will be visible:

That is all for now, thanks for following,
Dan

What a difference some paint makes.   Bulwarks are painted however as usual, I will be applying many more thin coats over the next few weeks as I progress.   
 
Before and after...
 

 

I’ve seen a build video on YouTube of this kit. Interesting project!
 
 
Andy

Hi all,
 
This week, just a quick pic of some sub-assemblies I've made up whilst focusing on gardening/planting duties.
 
Below, a couple of side panels, the engine bay bulkhead assembly and the floor with seats and control levers added.  These will all now be put to one side as I concentrate on the next page of the manual, the radio gear.

 
Coming soon, the radio gear and cabinets.

 
Sorry this is so brief. I hope to get back to longer posts in a few weeks.
 
Richard

Many of you are curious about this photo.   Its floating around the forums without an explanation.  I brought my Medway Longboat to the New London show last week where it was photographed..   You may not be able to see it right away but yes I changed this Medway English longboat to be an American boat.   This model was used in the movie that I worked on last year which I talked about a while back.   I changed the flag and the nameplate on the model.  They wanted it to be American and have the Character's Name on the model.  They were going to slowly pan across it for the movie and wanted Ed Harris' character name very visible etc.
 
To my Surprise after spending a bunch time with him trying to teach him how to fake being a ship modeler,   Ed Harris signed the model.  But of course not the base....Black sharpie right across the hull.   No fixing that!!!  So rather than put the model back to its original English origin and remove the nameplates, I decided to just leave it as is.  It will make for a nice conversation piece.   The movie is supposed to come out in July I believe....It was about 10 degrees out the day he signed it.  The workshop was set up in the garage of the set.  I have no idea how they acted as if it wasnt freezing all the time.  I suppose that is why he is considered such a great actor.
 
Starring Ed Harris, Dustan Hoffman, Bill Murray, Gabrielle Union, Jenifer Coolidge, Pete Davidson and a bunch of others you would certainly know.   We shall see how the movie turned out!!!   At least I have a memento for the wonderful experience.
 

Bulwark planking has finally been completed.  It really wasnt too bad.   You just have to keep plugging away and while making careful cuts between those ports.   All the cracks, gaps and dents were filled and sanded in preparation for painting.
 
The second layer of spirketting was added as well to finish off the bulwarks below the ports.  The top edge was softened or even rounded off.  I dont like to leave a hard edge here.  I used a 1/32" strip the same shape and size as the first layer.  I took the shapes from the plans because this wide 1/2" strip needs to be tapered like the first layer and shaped before you glue it on.  Every model will have slight differences so it will take some time to get it right.     Then the top of the sills were very carefully sanded and the cracks filled there as well.   I was careful not to sand into the top of the spirketting which would ruin the nice continuous run along its top edge.  You can see how bad port sills look now but the surfaces are now smooth and once painted will look really nice.  
 

Before I paint however I needed to add the 4 fixed blocks on the inside of the bulwarks.  On Winnie, I had used laser cut fixed blocks the same thickness as the planking.   You would glue them to the framing before planking and then plank around them.  I went a different way this time.  I just planked the entire interior bulwarks and then just drilled the fixed blocks through from the outboard side.   Then I sanded them clean and reamed them a bit with a round file.  To finish off these simulated fixed blocks I took a very small "V" gauge chisel and made a small simulated sheave slot between the two holes.   Since the bulwarks will be painted this seemed like the better way to go.  You can see the two fixed blocks below at the bow on the starboard side.  I used a sharpened pencil to color the sheave to simulate a more appropriate color.   
 
I have also hi-lighted in this photo how I planked the bow inboard.   I first glued a 1/4" x 3/64" strip down the inboard side below the bowsprit hole.   See the red arrow.  This allows me to push the planking strakes up against it which for me makes the process easier and neater.  There were two more strakes to add on each side of this to plank the bow inboard.   The cracks were filled and it was all sanded smooth for painting.
 

 
Here is a photo showing the aft portion of the bulwarks planked and ready for painting as well.  Note the two fixed blocks here as well. 
 

The one last thing you might notice is that I did in fact add the margin plank all along the bulwarks.  This is 1/4" wide and 3/64" thick.   It finishes it off neatly.   You dont have to add this yet but I find it easier to paint the bulwarks when I have a nice right angle to paint down to.   Hopefully I wont bugger it up and get red paint all over the margin planks.  But if you find it easier to paint the bulwarks first without making a mess then fell free to do it that way.
 
At the bow,  the margin planks on each side were cut from a 3/64" thick sheet of yellow cedar.   I used the plans and planking template provided.  I cut it out and used that paper template as a starting point.   After seeing what I needed to adjust for a tight fit, I transferred this shape to the wood sheet and cut it out with a sharp #11 blade.  If you look at the photo again you can see my first attempt which I discarded.  It didnt fit as nicely as I wanted.   So I made more adjustments and cut another.   You would be best served to buy a few extra 3/64" thick sheets of Yellow cedar for stuff like this.   Every model will be slightly different and you will want to go through this exercise as well for a good fit.   
 

 
I am ready now for painting....the bulwarks will be carefully painted red over the weekend.  Depending on my honey-do list.
 
 

For best results this video must be played LOUD:
 

😀
 
Andy
 

Looks great Dan! I’m glad the Yahu IP worked for you!
 
Andy

Nice job Chris!
 
Are you sure you want to park it next to your Bf109? You might wake up one morning to find one or the other inexplicably turned into confetti!
 
Andy

For best results this video must be played LOUD:
 

😀
 
Andy
 

Done so far, phew. I have to continue to paint the figures and to clean up my bench, which I guess will take longer than the build itself .



















Cheers Rob

Final steps ahead, luckily. The huge airframe and the delicate details make working on the big bat more and more difficult. The issues fixed to parts torn loose ratio turns worse .

I assembled the elevators and the rudder and added steering cables for the rudder. the fittings were made from split brass rod to add some more detail.



Finally, I reassembled the guns, the worst part of the build and installed them into the gun mounts onto the gun rings.





There will be a lot of final touch ups and then the big bat is finished.

Cheers Rob

These 2pm to 2am shifts are really beating me up so not much else is getting done at the moment. Hopefully only another week and then back to something a bit more reasonable
I have been using the limited spare time available to experiment with ideas for spray and wave tops. 
I played with clear silicone sealant but it didn't really dry clear and was hard to work. I had read that it could be diluted to a jelly consistency with IPA but mine didn't seem to do that. I tried Lexel clear sealant which does dry crystal clear and glossy but didn't really provide any better options for the seascape.
Next up was gloss medium mixed with micro balloons. The micro balloons gave the medium a white colouring and stiffness to create dimensional wave tops. Curiously it dried matt. Initially I thought this might be the way forward but looking at the results for a few days I am not so sure.
Then I tried cotton wool teased apart and coated with dilute white glue. This provides something that can be worked with a brush into approximate shapes and further moulded by hand as it dries. I think it might be possible to make candidate shapes on a temporary base and transfer to the diorama for final shaping and installation when dry. That would avoid getting medium all over places it shouldn't be. The following photos show the micro ballons and medium, cotton wool spray and Lexel sealant.


More cotton wool experiments looking at creating the skeins of bubbles seen in turbulent water and more spray
 


I like the surface bubble effects. The spray looks promising. Not all results are good but they are quick to create and working off model means the best can be picked.
 
I got some polyester cotton wool material used for stuffing teddy bears and tried that. It is a little stiffer than cotton wool so the results have more depth which I like. It is whiter than the cotton wool and it has a bit of a sparkle to it. I tried spray, bubbles and wave caps and I think with a bit more work they may be the best option
 


Thanks for looking in and likes and comments.
 
Alan

I have a question for you...
How do I know when I'm running low on invisible ink?

I haven't a clue.... but I can probably find out how to make some.... {chuckle} If you really really need it....

Evening all,    more  work  on my  build -  I have been detailing  my  wall  measuring the  brick  spacing  then  engraving  the  mortar   gaps.
Its  hard  to get across  the  tiny  size of  the  wall  pieces  about 12mm   tall  and  4mm  wide  and  not very  long  was  a  real test  on my  engraving skills.
 
OC.

For best results this video must be played LOUD:
 

😀
 
Andy
 

For best results this video must be played LOUD:
 

😀
 
Andy