mikegr

I love the θ shaped chain. The epitomy of perfection.

I need to cut 1mm wide fillets of wood. Looking for a tool I found this one which might be useful cutter

Everything can be worked up to a good point. This is how my 1:700 Yamashiro looks after restoration. A project built 24 years ago with brush only ofcourse.

I have been started making the superstructure. Unlike modern cargo ships it has a round delicate shape, its not a square box. That makes it more challenging to built. For the front curved areas I use aluminum sheet 0.2 mm thick, quite easy to bend. I drill it then making window frames using staples cutting in L shape pieces. After gluing them and dry i have to trim it to give he perfect shape Quite time consuming procedure.

There has been some snowfall which slowed down my progress. I have finished the polysterene work on the hull. Also, due to fact i used 8mm thick plywood for the frame, i had to sharpen the stern and bow as well. Some smalls frame parts from the paper model were trimmed down to almost elimination. The next step was to aplly filler is some areas and sand them. It took me two evenings to finish it. Next thing was to cut the deck. At the moment and cause of lockdown the only wood available was 4mm MDF. I managed to sand it down t 2,5 mm aprox. Then cut it and fit it to hull. As found out MDF was is a very absorbing material i sanded it to remove the water based primer and gave it 3 coats of specialized white primer for MDF. One thing that made me happy is that i shaped the bulkheads in that way so deck has the inclination from center line to edges, present to all merchant vessels. Most ready made models don't have this detail which i believe is a must. Finally i did my first wood scratch built. Unlike planking i found out that shaping things out of wood can be very fun

The initial paper model plan calls for a 3 decker ship. In my A4 printed test model this proved quite rigid even not proper paper have been used. However that would require too much woodwork which I would like to avoid as a begginer. After weeks of research i decided to plank the hull using pieces of aluminum sheet 0.2mm thick, which is easier to work with, than wood. But this thing has to sit somewhere solid so my model won't end up as a Coke can. After research I decided to use polystyrene, light and easier to give it shape. Polystyrene has its drawbacks. If pressed even gently with fingers can be curved. But what is important at the moment is to sit in alignment with the frames so my hull will look as smooth as possible. This will allow me less filling-sanding effort. It doesn't look as beautiful as wooden models but I opted for the easy way. Time will show.

Ok after a week on evening work managed to fit bulkheads on frame. Fitting them vertically was the one thing. In my ocassion I had to measure the distance from frame to bulkhead edges to make sure are well positioned. Redrawing and cutting fitting slots by hand is a job that can't be done perfectly by a begginer. I ordered a PU glue so I can fill in gaps easier but cause of lockdown, shops only accept online orders and courier services are overloaded so delivery time is 2-3 weeks! Anyway I just used some wood filler. Not of great importance but I wanted the hull to look a bit better

I cut the two parts of the central frame. I use plywood 8 mm. Noticed some peeling off after cutting so I coated all the edges with epoxy resin which sealed the wood. I marked the cutting areas with modeling tape, slots were redrawn from 1mm to 3 mm wide so they can fit the bulkeads.

Done with bulkheads. I had to redraw the slots from 1mm wide to 8 since I'm going to use 8mm thick wood for the frame

Kit has some inaccuracies so I have to do some extra work but nothing that can't be fixed. At the hands of an expert builders though it can look very impressive

Meantime I printed the ship in my A4 printer and made a prototype just to get familiarized with the model. Purpose was not to be the best looking, just to get the basic idea. I used whatever paper I had some cardboard and plastified regular paper

I got printed the first batch of drawings. Noticed that original size is in A3.I measured the overall length and was found to be 3 cm shorter than displayed. So I did the calculations and printed the hull plans 31% larger instead of 28% to get the correct dimensions in 1/160. Not Sure about the other sheets though, regarding the bridge, cranes, etc.

I'm going to make my first scratch project after months of research. Not sure if this should be posted here as i won't use plans exactly but a model. The problem is that the model is on paper so must be copied on wood. But it won't be a wooden model either as most probably other materials will be used. Cap San Diego was a hybrid cargo and liner launched in 1961. The "white swan" as was nicknamed is a 159 m, 10000 dwt ship which ran a regular schedule between Germany and South America, completing 120 round trips until 1981. After being sold and running under different names and under Spanish flag and also flags of convenience as a tramp trader, the run-down ship was scheduled for scrapping in 1986, when She was bought by the city of Hamburg

So basically jpg to vector is the suitable search?

Anyone knows how to convert a jpg file to Corel or cad so it can obtain lines for processing? Need this to send to the laser cutting shop.

While sitting here in Kea Island and planning my next project i remembered a piece of history well known to locals but unknown to most foreign visitors which come to the island for the hot sun and its crystal clear blue waters. Lambros Katsonis was a Greek revolutionary hero of the 18th century; he was also a knight of the Russian Empire and an officer with the rank of colonel in the Imperial Russian Navy, decorated with an Order of St George IV class medal. Born in Levadia he joined the Orlov Revolt in 1770, but not pleased by the result he built up a small fleet and began harassing the Ottomans in the Aegean Sea. In 1778 he assembled a Greek pirate fleet of seventy vessels, which harassed the Turkish squadrons in the Aegean and forced the Ottomans to abandon the island of Kastelorizo. The Sultan, aware of his achievements tried to bribe him by offering an Island. Instead, Katsonis refused and continued harassing the Ottoman's fleet and trying to inspirate the rest of the Greeks in an arm race against the Turks. In August 3, 1789 his flagship was chased by 26 Ottoman ships near Makronisos Island. Katsonis managed to escape to Agios Nikolaos bay in Kea, where the central port of the island is located until today. The Ottomans anchored just outside the bay waiting for him. However Katsonis came up with an idea. He sent his sailors ashore, they cut several tree trunks, spreaded all over them with pork fat and lay them down at a narrow piece of land, known as Koka Straight. Then he ordered his men to tow the ship over the trunks until it slipped to the other side , straight to the Aegean sea. By the next morning and when the Ottomans realised that Katsonis had escaped, they attacked the port of Kea burning it to the ground and killing hundreds of civilians. In May 6 1790 Katsonis and his fleet of seven ships faced the Ottomans with 20 vessels. Before dark, Katsonis although outnumbered had gained a tactical advantage over his enemy. Then, a force of 11 Algerian pirate ships hired by the Sultan, joined the battle at the Ottomans side. Katsonis managed to escape but he had lost 5 of his ships and over 600 well trained men. Ottomans and Algerians lost over 3000 men while half of their force was sunk or put out of action. They attacked Kea again and in October they sailed to Istanbul where they celebrate their victory by hunging from the ship's masts about 50 prisoners from Katsonis crew. Katsonis was a unique ocassion who even defeated was decorated and promoted for his actions from Cathrine the Great of Russia. Later Russian and Ottoman Empire signed a peace treaty. Katsonis was ordered to cease hostile activities but he denied. His disobidience was the reason that he got banned from the Russian fleet. He returned to Greece dealing with the rise of the Revolutionary party. Then in June 1792 his fleet while anchored at Mani Bay was attacked by a joined force of Ottoman and French comprised of 30 vessels. After a 3 day battle Katsonis managed to escape to Ithaca then returned to Russia with his family where he rejoined the Russian Fleet until he retired.

Best project I ve seen in this forum

What about the thickness of the frames? 3 or 4 mm would be enough?

Found this method also. The square balsa pieces looks ideal for planking a model of a modern ship. https://youtu.be/8qlNx_6wD8Q

εξαιρετικο!

Thanks for the replies. Here is the plan I have to get a better idea. Scale is 1/144.

I am going to start my first scratch built project. Length is 110 cm. What is the suggested material thinkness for the keel and frames? Apart MDF and plywood I am thinking of using a synthetic material which i believe would be easier to work with as I have not worked with wood so far. So I have found the following: -ABS -PVC -Styrene -Forex If anyone was worked with the above materials would like to know his experience.

Buy some ready made. And cheaper https://www.ebay.com/itm/PVC-Ripple-Water-Effect-Sheet-Basing-Miniature-Lake-River-Stream-Diorama-Scenery/273235574346?hash=item3f9e1bfe4a:g:KWUAAOSw1xVbB5X4

Just get a basic PE set from e bay. Sometimes there are great offers on wooden deck stickers also.

Buying a 10€ cheap kit for practicing on planking seems a good idea. Of course the outcome result won't be impressive, cheap quality wood etc. But even buying a book is more expensive and you won't get any practice which is the real thing.