Mirabell61

Update...
 
am still building the profiled edge of the boats deck, am pleased with the way the stanchions fit for soldering, it provides a strong hold...
 
Nils
 

 
the profile is done in 3 sections, each about 250 mm long
 
 

 
 

 
 

 
the small brass brackets will get a drop of CA later on to fasten and hold the boat deck edge
 
 

 
here the lower portion ( 6,5 mm tube ) aft mast is set in, considering its correct rake angle, it rests in the ships "spine" square bar down, just above the keel.
Also  some of the porthole sleeves and their "glassing" in one of the deck housings can be seen...
 
 

 
status overall view
 
 

 
drilling the 0,8 mm stanchion holes into the edge profile. A simple little jig (slotted wooden chunk) holds the T-shaped profile for drilling
 
 

 
 

Update...
 
am still building the profiled edge of the boats deck, am pleased with the way the stanchions fit for soldering, it provides a strong hold...
 
Nils
 

 
the profile is done in 3 sections, each about 250 mm long
 
 

 
 

 
 

 
the small brass brackets will get a drop of CA later on to fasten and hold the boat deck edge
 
 

 
here the lower portion ( 6,5 mm tube ) aft mast is set in, considering its correct rake angle, it rests in the ships "spine" square bar down, just above the keel.
Also  some of the porthole sleeves and their "glassing" in one of the deck housings can be seen...
 
 

 
status overall view
 
 

 
drilling the 0,8 mm stanchion holes into the edge profile. A simple little jig (slotted wooden chunk) holds the T-shaped profile for drilling
 
 

 
 

Update...
 
am still building the profiled edge of the boats deck, am pleased with the way the stanchions fit for soldering, it provides a strong hold...
 
Nils
 

 
the profile is done in 3 sections, each about 250 mm long
 
 

 
 

 
 

 
the small brass brackets will get a drop of CA later on to fasten and hold the boat deck edge
 
 

 
here the lower portion ( 6,5 mm tube ) aft mast is set in, considering its correct rake angle, it rests in the ships "spine" square bar down, just above the keel.
Also  some of the porthole sleeves and their "glassing" in one of the deck housings can be seen...
 
 

 
status overall view
 
 

 
drilling the 0,8 mm stanchion holes into the edge profile. A simple little jig (slotted wooden chunk) holds the T-shaped profile for drilling
 
 

 
 

Beautiful work Ed,
 
your clipper build is a through and through sample of masterly model shipbuilding of the 19th century....
 
Nils

thanks for visiting the log Ben, you`re very welcome,....,
 
and thanks for your kind words....
 
yes, I have been looking for the purpose of those winches on the boats deck, and agree they must have been multi-purpose auxiliary.. for boats lowering / Hoisting
I have in the meantime found a pic showing one of these winches on the boatsdeck of the 1899 launched "SS. Hamburg", after WW1 serving for the US as  "USS Powhatan"   Two drums of same diameter for winding fore- and aft pulleys of a lifeboat. (pic kindly borowed from the web)
 
Nils
 

 
 

That dashboard is fantastic ( the rest of the build isn't bad either  ).
 
Bob

Thanks very much Mobbsie, Popeye and Bug, and to all who hit the 'Like' button.  Some more progress this week, and a major milestone achieved (I think).
 
As mentioned previously, I have decided to attempt a two-piece hinged engine hatch. I started by re-designing the hatch framing using TurboCAD and then cut and assembled the new pieces. It needed to be slightly smaller in each dimension to allow for the hinges and for some trim at a later stage. In the photo below, the original kit-supplied hatch is on the left, and the new hatch on the right. It has been built as one piece initially and will be separated into two pieces after the planking has been done.
 

 
I then moved back to completing the dashboard by installing the gauges and switches. The gauge bezels are the ones that I turned Aluminium at the start of the build. The gauge faces are decals provided by a fellow modeller, glued onto a clear plastic backing. Gauge glasses are made from “googly eyes”. The knobs and switches are from MACK products. It’s not perfect, but I think it looks a heck of a lot better than the simple decal dash provided in the kit.
 

 
The next job was to test the lighting for the dash. The two 3-volt lights in the light box were temporarily connected up to the power and tested – successfully!
 
Lights off:
 

 
Lights on:
 

 
And with the dashboard in place:
 

 
I also fitted the cockpit woodwork and floors. The floors are plastic (Sintra) and the kit instructions say to paint them grey to represent the non-skid flooring. I decided to use some wet and dry sandpaper to give a textured surface. It has been coated with a waterproof matt varnish. Here’s a couple of pics of the two cockpits.
 

 

 
I think that I am at last ready to install the sub-decking and close this baby up in preparation for planking!

Looking good Grant,
 
You and Gerhard and definitely getting me interested in RC!!

Grant,
 
I too like the steering solution.  Great idea.  She's looking very shipshape and Bristol Fashion to these eyes.

Dashboard and Lighting
 
Having decided that I wanted to light the dashboard, I decided it would be a good idea to make it removable in case a light needed to be replaced down track. Rather than using screws or pins to hold the dash in place, I decided to use some rare earth magnets. Making up a light box was fairly simple, using some scrap pieces of ply and a cardboard backing. The light box was painted white and given a gloss finish to help reflect the light. Two 3v lights will be used as shown here. I also made the light box itself removable, although I did elect to use screws to secure this one. In the picture below, you can see the light box in place, and on either edge of the photo is a spacer block with a rare earth magnet epoxied in place. There is a matching pair on the mating face of the dashboard.
 

I decided to replace the kit-supplied walnut dashboard with one made from some Redheart that I had left over from a previous build. This is to match the cockpit sides that will likewise be made from Redheart planks instead of the kit supplied plywood. I used the kit piece as a template to get the overall shape. I also used the supplied dashboard decal to locate the positions of the gauges and knobs/switches – although I added a couple of extra knobs based on some photos of the real boat. I have already made new instrument bezels (way back in January last year), and I have acquired some nice looking knobs/switches from MACK products. Here is a picture of the (empty) dashboard in place. It will be finished when the cockpit sides etc are done, but was needed now to ensure that the steering and light fittings would all work as planned.
 

 
I have also installed all of the deck frames in preparation for closing up the decks with more Sintra sheeting. Here are a few shots of overall progress, including a couple showing the electronics housings temporarily in place. I’m still thinking about making these removable to make connections/replacements easier down track.
 

 

 

 

 
Next up, the cockpit sides.....
 

Once again, many thanks for all the kind words and to those who hit the 'like' button.  Progress has been slow lately due to other commitments, so only a mini-update this week. 
 
Installing the sub-decking was straight forward:
 

 
 Took the opportunity to fill some of the dings in the hull using a two-part Epoxy putty (Milliput Terracotta) and she is finally ready for planking.
 

 
The instructions would have you just lay complete planks the length of the hull, from the chine up to the sheer. I tried that on one side and wasn’t happy, so ripped it all off again. Then I lined-off the hull using tick-strips in an attempt to do better by tapering planks fore and aft and having the same number of strakes throughout. Here is the lined-off hull:
 

 
So far, the tapering seems to be working quite well. I've been using a miniature plane to taper the planks and have to say, it beats the pants off sanding! Much easier and far less mess. The supplied planks are not wide enough to spile, so I will likely use some shorter plank lengths in addition to tapering, to cope with the bow curvature. I got as far as laying three strakes the second time around before I ran out of CA kicker – a real must for this process. So, it’s back on hold until I can pick up some more supplies.
 
More pics once substantial progress has been made with the planking.
 
 

Más

beautiful work Glenn,
 
its getting more and more shape now....
 
Nils

beautiful work Glenn,
 
its getting more and more shape now....
 
Nils

beautiful work Glenn,
 
its getting more and more shape now....
 
Nils

beautiful work Glenn,
 
its getting more and more shape now....
 
Nils

beautiful work Glenn,
 
its getting more and more shape now....
 
Nils

very nice and clean work Mike,
 
your "Cheerful" looks top...
 
Nils

Thanks Patrick, albert, Keith and Pat,
 
Keith, I look forward to seeing the sternwheeler!
 
 
 
This week I was finally able to get around to the top of the paddle box.  It's starting to look like a sidewheeler.
 
I was able to cut all the pieces for the arches in about 2 hours with the mill.  I don't know how long it would have taken by hand.  I milled some of the segments double.  These will be used on the planked side.  It saves a little time and adds a little strength.

 

 
Trying to keep everything square.  The notches in the cross pieces are for a thin plank that will be used to support the ends of the lateral planking.

 
Port side.

 

 

 
Starboard side.

 

 

Thanks Nils....coming from a skilled model shipwright as yourself..I am honored to receive your compliments.
 
Rob

Hi Rob,
 
had a look at your trials with the coppering......
 
if you wish, here is a tip....
 
my first Trials have been for the bin, but I would`t like to give up so easily.
Some time ago member  Dirk posted a very helpfull link out of that "mini sail Switzerland" assotiation relating to coppering. Together with B.E.`s Prior Input I started a new Trial with real adhesive copper tape. (Tiffany tape) It would in scale size 1:64 be necessary to place 88 to 125 nails per plate of size 6 x 19 mm.

After some Trials I managed to place 88 nails, flattening the surface afterwards, and having the overlapping plates borderline-nails placed at half distances compared with the the main field. Unfortunetely the staggering of the nail lines in the centerfield is beyond my possibilities in this scale. The reproduceabilty is given due to the embossing Tools I made.
 
The sample here shows the "Tiffany Tape" coppering of the HMS Pegasus with 88 nails per plate, nail surfaces flattend down after poncing. The poncing is done with two different wheels. The 3-disc wheel is used for the larger sized inner field, oin order to obtain a better regular structure. Of course I could have bought the plates, but I wanted to see if I could do it selfmade and in acceptable way.
 
Nils
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 
 

Good idea Rob,
 
I love ingenious thinking methods  
thanks for sharing !!
 
Nils

interesting Project Rob,
 
that four masted clipper ship must have been one of the largest and beautiful clippers ever built in wood. Encouraged by an article here at MSW I was curious about this ship and looked up the appropriate pages in the heritage Dec. 1935 edition of the Popular Science Magazine. (frame plan on page 95)
 
I wish you a good start with your project, and much fun with digging out, exploring and gathering all you need for that lovely build. Will be following the "rebirth" of this clipper...
 
Nils

Thanks Piet,
 
the next full ship photos will take some time before posting, as there is so much to do first....
 
Nils

Congrats Clare !
 
a beautiful looking cutter, well done,   
 
Nils