Lecrenb
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Well, if it was me, I know I could not replicate the scroll work with any hope of fidelity to the original. I would take a picture straight on, or manipulate one with photo shop to appear straight on, then size it to model scale. Then I would make a negative of the picture and send it to a shop that does electronic circuit boards or brass photo etching. You will end up with accurate scrollwork in copper or brass on a substrate. The substrate can be painted and become part of your head timbers. Best of luck! Regards, Bruce -
I have achieved Deckhouse! Before fastening the roof I placed the builder's plaque... made from a picture of the original. My historic photos are in black and white, and show a greyish roof. St. Roch had a limited colour palette so I mixed a bit of green into the grey, as if this surface was canvas covered and sealed like the hatch covers and companion roof. Moving right along... I started framing the structure behind the deckhouse. This is original to the ship and was not replaced when the deckhouse was enlarged in 1930. To the left is the lobby leading to the lower deck. To the right is the head. It is 2 feet lower because there is no clerestory underneath. Once this is finished there are some ventilators and gew-gaws (a nautical term for fiddly bits, eh) to put on, then I will move on to the wireless office and steering gear. I hope you like my ship so far! Bruce
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The deckhouse is getting close now... The bay window is installed... The wheelhouse roof frame is installed... Here is the roof roughed in to check the fit... While paint and glue were drying I made the rest of the fiddly bits for the poop... Once the goosenecks and ring bolts are installed there will be some paint touch up on the hull, then finally the deckhouse gets installed! I am thinking good thoughts about installing the ship on the display base at that point... but I may wait... The rudder and quadrant mechanisms can go on any time, and the structures behind the deckhouse can be built. After that the lifeboat platforms and davits can be built, the spare rudder and steering cables installed, and the masts stepped! Woot! Love it when a plan comes together! Thanks for checking in! Bruce
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We will be in Paris for a brief time in August... a Viking river cruise. not a lot of free time, but if you are available perhaps we could meet?
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Feeling ambitious, so I got the lower frame of the bay window together... it is test fit in place so the corners will be accurate once the glue dries. O yeah... I made and installed the ship's clock... It is from a picture I took of St. Roch's clock, that I reduced to 3/16" (9 scale inches). Our printer does a very good job of retaining details, even at that size. The face is glued to a short piece of styrene tube that I coloured with a Sharpie (no drying time required)! Here is the picture of the actual clock... The compass card was an on line photo that reduced to 1/8", and I was surprised the details of the rose remained! Good night all!
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Well, the binnacle is completed and installed... The picture is my lathe setup to slice the groove for the lantern's chimney. I set the binnacle into the tool post and mounted that on my vertical slide. This lets me adjust the position of the binnacle in three axes so the groove goes straight down the side of the dome. I used the same setup to drill the recess for the compass card, but offset the binnacle. The next picture is the top view of the wheelhouse with the binnacle installed. Note the chimney and the compass card. I did not want just a brass recess, even though details on the card will not be visible your eyes will see something in there, and "fill in the blanks". Here's what it looks like through the side window... Next I have to make the bay window across the front. From photos this appears to be one window with three panes, rather than three windows. I have roughed out the roof so fitting the window should be a bit easier... I hope! Thanks for looking in! Bruce
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So far, so good... now to finish shaping the pedestal portion, then I can cut in the viewing glass and lantern chimney...
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Here is the binnacle being roughed out on my Taig lathe... I'm taking it slow and easy, lots of checking with the micrometer to make sure it will be good for size and still fit the model! I only get one shot, if I screw up then I have to go get more brass rod! This is the ship's binnacle today... note the tight fit between the wheel and the wall... also the windows in this 1944 wheelhouse are smaller than the ones in the 1930 house that I am modelling. Also the gyro and voice pipe were not present in 1930. Thanks for looking in!
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Good morning! Thank you for your interest in my St. Roch build, hope you are enjoying it!
Regards,
Bruce
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More progress on the deckhouse... the wheel is complete and installed, the grey covers are over the chains leading out to the rudder. The side walls are finished and glazed. I used plastic sheet cut from clamshell food containers, free and no hardship to provide for! I will install the front windows after I make the binnacle. I did measure twice, but fingers crossed that I left enough room for it between the wheel and front wall! Turning to the two cabins behind the wheelhouse, I glazed the windows and decided to finish them with pull down blinds. I did try several tricks using sea cabin pictures to give more of an idea of the interiors, but I was not happy with the results. I would also have had to install a floor to keep from looking through the windows down to the clerestory. The window blinds are left over from a Walthers model storefront kit that I built for my model railroad. Setting them a bit behind the glazing gives a decent 3 dimension effect. I have also started roughing out the roof, so once the wheelhouse front is finished I can put that on and attach the deckhouse to the ship!
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Good question... Captain Larsen refers to a system of bells used to signal the engine room... presumably this was either magneto operated like an old telephone ringer (because St. Roch had no electric power unless the auxiliary engine was running), or pull cord operated like Edwardian era stately homes, used for summoning servants. Either way, or if a third system was used, Captain Larsen reported the bell system was unsuitable because the engine commands came in quick succession as the ship maneuvered through the pack ice, and the engineer at the throttle often got confused as to what was required from the engine! A telegraph was fitted in 1940, also a voice pipe, although I believe this led up to the open pilotage above the wheelhouse. Unfortunately the historic record is silent, or unclear, on many of these details. Thanks for your interest!
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Thank you very much... I wanted to put realism into this space since you'll be able to see into the front windows. I used St. Roch's chart table and flag cuddies as they appear today. I am thinking they are original and were re-used during the various deckhouse rebuilds. The chart is Queen Maud Gulf, waters that St. Roch sailed during her Arctic voyages.
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More progress... the flags and chart table are complete... The interior doors into the cabins are my best guess. Photos clearly show only the two forward structure doors that presumable lead to the wheelhouse. It does not make sense to walk through the cabins to get to the wheel, therefore there must have been some sort of interior access to the cabins. If I size the two new cabins equal to twice the size of the single original then you get the dimensions I have modelled. The wheelhouse is slightly larger but now there is space for the chart table and flags that were in Captain Larsen's original cabin. While conjectural, I think this layout is defensible absent any new information. The steering wheel mechanism is ready for paint... At this point it actually works, but once the paint goes on it will freeze the gears and pulleys in position. I'm thinking about how to tackle the glazing in the cabin windows... I don't like black rectangles, but there is no cabin interior, so I might put window shades on the inside of the glass. Another option might be to use internet photos of sea cabin interiors behind the windows; details won't be apparent but the eye will see there is something there. I use this method on my model railroad building interiors. If anyone looking in has other thoughts I'd certainly consider them. Nearly ready to attach this cabin module, then on to the lobby and head aft of the cabins. These are original from 1928, and were kept when the new cabin/wheelhouse was built in 1930.
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Work continues on the wheelhouse. I added the cuddies for the signal flags and the top on the chart table. finishing up tomorrow then I can start planning the roof and front windows... I had this brass wheel in my stash, and it turned out to be a near perfect match for St. Roch's... so I used it to start making the steering pedestal. The steering is manual using chains and cables back to the rudder quadrant. This is a picture of the actual wheel today, the gearing and chain gypsy are clearly visible... Here I have begun roughing out the pedestal... the gears are from a repair set for a Hi-Tec RC servo, and again are a near perfect size for the originals... I am cutting the channel for the chain into the nylon gear hub to replicate the gypsy. Hopefully in a day or two I will have the wheel completed and installed. Then I have to turn the compass binnacle on my lathe... fortunately St. Roch's wheelhouse is spartan. In the 1930s there was no voice pipe, gyro, or telegraph! Thanks for looking in and suggestions and comments are welcome!
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G'day all, and thanks again for looking in! I am continuing to plug away at the wheelhouse and cabin area... As you can see from the picture below I have got some paint on, some doors and window frames installed, and I'm working on the rear wall of the wheelhouse with the chart table roughed in. After considering the painting options I decided to go with the wood varnish, to match what appears to be her original deckhouse finish. I make this look by using Tamiya Brown (coloured wood stain works equally well) then overpainting with Tamiya Clear Orange. I am following the original 1928 plans for the wheelhouse layout, assuming the original was copied when it was moved forward, then the two cabins tacked on behind. I installed the three remaining fairleads and some poop deck fittings that are easier to put on now instead of trying to work around the deckhouse. I've also set up my decal sheet and my son is using photoshop to turn the pictures into decals... This is a screenshot of the Word document I prepared for the decal sheet layout. The pictures are pretty much close to the final sizes... what the Photoshop will do is adjust perspectives so you look straight on, like for the Plimsoll lines. Then remove the backgrounds leaving what will become the decals! It is hard to see, but at the bottom of the sheet is the chart of Queen Maud Gulf that will be placed on the chart table! Rain is in the forecast so I hope to get some more work done soon!
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Thanks Keith! I'll trust the geese before the groundhog, should be back above 0 by next week!
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That is a thought... photos show the exterior was painted white, same as the hull. The original structure was stained or varnished, and this finish is still seen on the lobby and head that remain behind the cabin area. There was a likelihood that the interior was also stained and varnished, that was a common practice and it is how the ship is finished today. Another, less likely, possibility is that it was painted buff... Appreciate your thoughts! Bruce
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It is -12 outside and we just got 10+ cm of snow, but the sun is shining, the dog enjoyed her walk, and we saw a pair of geese flying low over the frozen ponds! I guess this means the rodent lied, and spring is only days away! I've been using the last few nasty days to start stick building the wheelhouse and the cabin area behind it... I have started painting the wheelhouse interior... it will be fitted out with the wheel and magnetic compass, based on the original layout, because these will be seen through the windows. I'll probably add the chart table and flag lockers, modelled after today's, but otherwise 'best guesses' on my part! I have zero information on the interior colours, but I am following parts of the scheme that I do know, such as the red oxide deck. Was it linoleum like today's wheelhouse... maybe?? This deckhouse was built to replace the original in 1930, and other than exterior photos and the original plans there is zero information available. It is almost complete, I am going to work on the interior before adding the rear wall, windows and doors, and the roof. The area aft of the wheelhouse contained two cabins, one for Captain Larsen, and the other for the Detachment Commander. They will be a simple enclosure without interiors. Photos indicate that there must have been doors from the cabins into the wheelhouse, but I have zero information, so again a 'best guess' because they will be seen through the wheelhouse windows. Thanks for checking in, comments and suggestions are always appreciated!
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OK, all the fiddly bits are mounted on the main and foc's'le decks, and they are essentially complete. I need to make the hatch cover, fo'c's'le deck hand rails, and the platform on the starboard side that was used for swinging the lead. Besides the large items that are plainly seen, there are 30 'wedge keepers(?)' that hold canvas covers in place, 24 ring bolts, 2 deck lights, 8 gooseneck vents, and 6 fuel and fresh water tank filler caps. The black rectangles are bases for the winches which will take me a while longer to build. The small hatch forward on the main deck is access to the sail room, beside it is the freshwater pump. Everything is scratch built, except the 2 bollard fairleads at the stem, the anchor and its' davit. I find it interesting that the chimney for the Quebec heater extends above the foot of the jib sail, so the crew would have to lift the sail over the chimney when tacking... If I wanted to get ahead of myself I could step the masts, but I will move on and complete the poop deck first!
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