Ras Ambrioso

VTH, I started looking at you log because I am interested in also building the Alert. I am currently building the Fifie in 1/32.  I also noted the communications with Chris Watton, whom I admire, and whose builds have help me in my own build. I welcome his comments on the new version of the Alert.

Like you, I used to call Lakeland my home for many years. Now I am retired and live in Bradenton and perhaps one of these days we will meet. I have read your first and last logs and I am very impressed. Thanks

Eamon, in reference with your thought about the hinges, I didn't make them. Wish I had. They came with the Amati kit. As a matter of fact , they sell them as separate fittings. They are great for the 1/32 or 1/24 scale. Thanks for the comment, I appreciate your input.

More progress but, I have to say, very slow. Started to work on the rudder and found that the hinges were not designed for the double planking. When I tried to re-shape one of them, it broke. 

I figured that Amati did not count on the double planking. As a result I had carve out the upper layers.

This is the rudder with the hinges installed:

Then I found that the propeller supplied in the kit did not rotate when the rudder was presented to it. I had to file down the circular opening in the rudder to make it fit. Following is the result of almost four hours of work.

Still need to add the female portion of the hinges. This is going to require some more trim since the free space at the stern post is smaller than the hinges legs. I will probably cut the leg to fit. Details, details, details.

I should have paid more attention of what was coming while I fidgeted with the planking. Live and learn. 

Just had a wonderful weekend navigating the rivers of central Florida. Lake County, properly named, connects with the world through the waters of the Oklawaha river joining the St. John river all the way to Jacksonville. We went through two locks; one of them had a 20 feet drop. The vegetation is typically tropical and gives you a sight of what Florida may have looked before tourists. This a photo of part of the river.

Back to the workbench. Continue working in the detailing of the pilot house and the aft superstructure.

BTW, I made the roof removable so that we can enjoy the helm. I think I am going to add a clock and a barometer. Need to figure where.

If I thought that planking was a difficult task, I never realized how hard it is to manipulate the tiny etched parts. This is the finished aft skylight.

And the fwd skylight

And then, in between skylights, I fabricated several wood crates that will be used to sort out the fish. They are tiny, the squares are 1/4".

Thanks for watching. I am having a ball while my wife plays shuffle board. LOL

Thanks Bob l. I love the details. 

Ras

More on the pilot house. We have been wondering at the engine controls and have gone to several evolutions. This final one is this. It came relatively easy to build. I took a dowel and made a lengthwise cut in half. I sliced the half round like pepperoni and carved  two grooves. The levers were made from map push pins and I selected Red (port) for gear and Green (starboard) for throttle.

This was the result:

The instruments were made using and online picture that I printed reduced to the 1/32 scale. The same with the compass rose. I installed the supplied wheel just to see the fit. I intend to fabricate in more reasonable wheel following PJG's build.

I then dry fitted the helm into the pilot house

Noticed I also installed the door with its hardware and left it ajar. 

Next I will finish the windows with the acetate and the frame. I also will make the roof removable so that, every once in a while, I may enjoy the insides.

As a matter of reference I want to tell you about another super detailed ship: the Eilean Mor. It is a Clyde puffer and Banjoman (the builder) has a pilot house detailed to the chart tools and even the pencil. He also has the coolest crew. He posted his build in "Model Boats" forum at modelboats.co.uk. I got a lot of ideas from him.

Brian:

Today I started to follow your built and I am overwhelm by you attention to detail and the history lesson that your build has. I am on page three of your build and will keep reading and learning from you. You have developed some really interesting techniques hat I will  certainly applied to my own builds. Kudos to you.

Ras

Eamon:

You are obviously EU and I stand corrected. A Scottish vessel should have the green on the right and red on the left. We, "yankees", have the opposite. I found that out one day in Rotterdam when we were entering the river with a green marker on the right. I almost fainted thinking that we will be run aground.

BTW, in the US, we have the intercostal waterway which I frequently boat on. There, the red is to the land side while the green is to the ocean side. This make it very confusing to people not used to it. And then, if you leave the intercostal you must go back to " red, right, entering" which sometimes has a green and a red marker in the same place. Many a boater has been caught in this conundrum 

A little more progress. I tried to do the roof covering the same way I did my Patricia steam  launch. This was to cover the roof with cloth to imitate tarps. I did this with the cloth provided by Amati for the sails, but, it seems that that the edges tend to unravel. I brushed some Elmers glue and will see tomorrow how it went.

The big progress was in my pilot house. I built the helm as per my sketch but did not drop the top to make room for the throttle and the gear. I think it may look better to have these controls closer to the helmsman hands. Who knows? Basically, I didn't pay attention to my sketch and endeavored to fit this helm in the space available. So be it.

And this shows my previously made compass fitting nicely in front of the cabinet.

I have made mini-copies of vintage instruments and will glue them to the slanted part of the helm, in front of the compass. The compass will have his compass rose. I thought about bezels but I think I am getting miniaturization this too far. My eyes can't handle these ultra small stuff. Besides, you can hardly see these details once I set the roof over it.

Finally, I am looking for something that resembles formica to cover the top. The sides will be planked with my leftover from the outside if the pilot house.

Thanks for watching and I love to hear your comments and/or advise. FYI, my Patricia launch took me 5 years to complete as I had tremendous lapses in my construction time. Your interest has inspired in me this desire to finish this boat and the go into another build. I am having a ball.

Little progress. I dry fitted the ladder and the aft companionway and you can hardly see the ladder. When I install the door, which is already fabricated, the ladder will be invisible. So much Effort!

I have also been working on the pilothouse and I am pleased with the results. 

I placed one my figures inside and it sure look tight. These pilot houses were mainly designed to protect the helmsman from the weather. Be it as it may, the figure is actually to scale 1/30 which translate in a guy 6'-6" tall. I bought these figures in France (See my previous posts) and they are beautiful. I also bought some figures from Tamiya but they are 1/35 scale which makes a 5'-4" fellow. I figured Scots as really tall and brave guys so I'll use my frenchies. Besides, I only intend to man the deck.

Also been thinking about the helm. The mechanism provided by Amati seems very complex for something that will be literally hidden inside the pilothouse. I have been following PJG's built and have come out with the following idea: To build a wood encased helm that will include levers for gear and throttle, the compass and the engine instruments. Pardon the scribbling in my sketch, Will appreciate your comments.

Thanks James. 

The hull planking and painting is finished. However I still need to attach the gunnel rail. Starting work on the pilot house.

You may be able to see some of my booboos but I think that, for a poor man's boat (the fisherman), they give some reality to the ship.

And then the  pilot house. I am working on a layout for the controls of the ship following the work of Big Dan. Thanks for watching, I am having a ball.

Well the hull painting is done.

First the bottom

Then, the top

I was going to start the hull painting with the fat white waterline, but I found a little difference between the port and starboard  rub strakes. This was due to the asymmetry of my planking. I plan now on a slimmer line made with chart tape.

Have also been doing the preliminary work on the pilot house. We will cover this later.

Beautiful job Steven. I have a couple of questions. First: what did you use to round off the hull. An english wheel perhaps? OR did you made a wood mandrel to hammer at? Second: how thick is the meta you used. I am asking because I would love to to do the same ship in metal. I am from Cuba and the USS Maine is part of our history.

Thanks E. I promise to do better next time. 

In the last week I have completed the planking of the Fifie. Had some trouble with the fairing of the frames and the tapering of the planks. At Chris's suggestion I have bought NRG's tutorial for hull planking. I now have the kit and it is going to be fun to learn the old ways. 

Here is the last plank

Planking done

Filled, sand and primed

The priming brings in some additional booboos. Some will be filled and sanded but I will have to live with the others. So is life. Besides these boats used to be made in poor shipyards and they were for poor fishermen so....

For the newbies information. I used Miliput for the first time and have to say it is fantastic. Lots of possibilities with this material.

Chris:

Thanks for the tutorial. I am on it. I will start a log for the build. Thanks again

Chris:

I just started reading your "Introduction to card models" and was surprised to learn that this kind of modeling started in mid 20th century. That may me think that the first model I ever made, in 1939, was B17 bomber and, except for the stringers (1/16") that were balsa, the whole model was paper/cardboard. I am following your advise and I have downloaded the Perry civil war paddle gunboat. Maybe this is not the easy one but, I will learn and its free.

Popeye:

I am one that bumped into your M&M log. What a build. I love it. Sometimes we take everything so seriously and it is good to take some time for a laugh. My only comment is that your M&M people will have a lot of trouble going to the head. Good work

Just read you reply to me Chris and I will take you advise. Sorry about the confusion on my posting but I went directly to tell Dan about my purchase. Should have read yours first. Thanks for the advise. Wilco

Sorry about my last post. I didn't realize that Dan had passed away. My condolences. 

Dan:

After I read your post I went and ordered a kit. Today it arrived. It is The Kartonomy Arsenal Spitfire Vb Trop. I assume that the "trop" indicates the tropical version of the Spitfire that fought in Africa. This model can be distinguished by the blunt air filter on the nose and the kaki camouflage paint. I think that this looses a little of the beauty of the Spitfire" slick nose but, I will go along with it.

 I am at awe. I have have built Spitfire models in 1/72 scale and I figured the 1/33 would be much larger. Well, it is larger but the details are microscopic. I see myself buying a new set of pincers and really sharp scalpel blades. I am still working on my Fifie but I will definitely try to start this beauty. As soon as I do, I will start a build post. I will be following your methodology because this is my first card model

Ives:

A beautiful model.  Jacques Cousteau is one of my heroes. In 1950 I read his book: The Silent World, and got hooked on skin diving and later scuba. Spent my early youth in the water. When I came to the US I joined a diving club in Florida when diving wasn't cool yet. This were the early 60's and the SeaHUn came on TV and now everybody dives.

I have been thinking of building this model for a long time and maybe I'll do it after I've done with my current projects

Starboard side is complete. Not the best planking job but, I've had a lot of fun doing it. I knew that a curve is a polygon of infinite sides. Therefore, if you have a very curvy surface, you could break it into into smaller pieces to cover it with a flat objects. If I was working on the shipyard, I would be fired on the spot. But this a hobby and we are here for the fun.

Port side next.

Eamon: All is well in Ras' land. Today I build the narrow ladder and it fits. Unfortunately is not long enough. The hell is in the details. The forecastle has no floor. I measured that ladder's height for the fish hold which I had detailed. But, since the forecastle is not going to be detailed, I will hang the ladder from the deck beam. With the hatch partially opened , it will do the job.

I also worked on the hull planking. I am definitely need to practice. Its coming out OK but not the best. I purchased the half hull planking project from the NRG. It is sort of a practicum on planking. The instruction manual is 73 pages long.

Photo didn't come out too good but ,you may go to the NRG site and get the information