NavyShooter

So, a recurring theme with this ship has been slipping of grub screws in the drive-train, resulting in a loss of propulsion. It's happened twice now, and I'm displeased at it.... So...the 3mm grub screws (that used a 1.5mm hex key to tighten them - which strips when you try to actually tighten them) have been replaced on the dogbone with a pair of 5mm long socket head screws. Did not negatively impact the balance of the shaft from my observation, so this seems to be the solution going forward. Additionally - to make sure I've got the necessary tools available, I drilled some holes, and put a set of 3 hex keys in the stern-by the rudder post. You can see that I'm also keeping the old scale sized rudder in the stern area as well - in case I ever need it for display purposes.

I think the smaller chain - have a look at this site: https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234987388-flower-class-corvette-hmcs-sackville/ Here's a couple of images of the capstan and anchor chains:

I also paid a visit to one of the local aviation museums yesterday with my son, and we puttered about looking at some of the aircraft, and their model of the Bonnie in 1/200. Also some detailed views of a Tracker - alas, not in Bonnie Era paint scheme though. Got some good detail pictures of the torpedo dolly, however, it seems not to be one that would have been used on the Bonnie - rather, used with the Trackers later in life when they were shore based (hence the green colour.)

A couple of quick updates - I've got 5 of the 8 trackers filled, sanded and primed (again) after there were still some gaps after the first layer of putty. I've done a bunch more 3D printing - you can see some of the TAPV's that I'm busy painting up for a friend who's a Company Commander and wants them for their sand-table training use with the Army. Also visible are some of the Sea King bits that are in progress - and the island.

Looks like the Anchor Pics don't show up properly in the previous post...here they are again.

I found a guy in Germany that sells an Ankerwinde kit. I've ordered two...we'll see how they look when they get here, and I'm hoping that google-translate has actually worked for me! My high-school German was a bit rusty. NS

An interesting - not oft spoken of - piece of data about early machine guns such as the Maxim (and Vickers) and other such designs is the oil that was used. It's a type of oil that is no longer available - but gave outstanding lubrication and minimal wear in service. Here's the tale as found 'in the wild' on the internet: "In 1963 in Yorkshire, a class of British Army armorers put one Vickers gun through probably the most strenuous test ever given to an individual gun. The base had a stockpile of approximately 5 million rounds of Mk VII ammunition which was no longer approved for military use. They took a newly rebuilt Vickers gun, and proceeded to fire the entire stock of ammo through it over the course of seven days. They worked in pairs, switching off at 30 minute intervals, with a third man shoveling away spent brass. The gun was fired in 250-round solid bursts, and the worn out barrels were changed every hour and a half. At the end of the five million rounds, the gun was taken back into the shop for inspection. It was found to be within service spec in every dimension." In WW1 and prior there was a special oil used...that being whale oil. Whale oil was a nearly perfect lubricant - natural - unfortunately non-renewable though. The heat aspect was managed by using asbestos gasket material. So, a week ago, in the UK, a commemoration was held of the 100th anniversary of the end of the Machine Gun Corps, and they fired 16 Vickers guns at once on the ranges in Bisley. An incredible scene - guns blazing, steam blasting - people in period uniforms - some great video available. But, the lost aspect to the legendary mechanical reliability of the Vickers and Maxim guns is the whale oil used as the lubricant. NS

I was actually at the Museum of Science and Technology in Ottawa last year with my family, and while we had a great time, I do not recall seeing this ship model. I'm sorry!

Continuing background work...I took a few minutes today to visit the memorial in Point Pleasant Park in Halifax to the military personnel lost during the 'Cold War' years since World War 2. It is a very fitting tribute, a fouled anchor, with the chain leading off into the sea... After paying my respects to the fallen (including one of my shipmates who we lost in February 2005 north of Poland) I then focused on taking some measurements... because this is one of HMCS Bonaventure's anchors. And now I've got some chain and a new anchor ordered....

I have in my archive somewhere a picture of a very early Maxim gun in a Naval Reserve Unit here in Canada - it is on display in the unit museum. It was magnificent - as I recall, the brass-work on it was incredible, but I'd never seen a Maxim Naval Mounting, so I'd assumed it was some kind of prototype - thank-you for sharing this bit of history! If I can find a picture of the gun in my archive, I'll add it here. NS

OK....so I have a small pile of money wasted on FPV gear....Amazon is a dangerous website...I'm going to add FPV to the Liberty Ship and my Wolf 8 Tug boat as well I think. I'm not going to post links to the stuff I wasted my money on until I see if I actually wasted it or not!

Doesn't look like much, but here are 4x Sea Kings having been successfully given a layer of primer. I did a bit of sanding and added another layer of paint to them tonight.

Welcome aboard good Sir! (From another Canuck!)

I now have 4x Sea Kings printed...(one is already in the paint booth!) In the background, you see some of the TAPV armoured vehicles that I'm printing for a friend who's unit uses them...she wants 19 of them printed so she can do sand-table work with the troops from her unit showing exactly where they're supposed to be!

I decided to do some painting this evening. Then I decided I liked how things looked, so I dug out some aircraft and accessories, and staged them for a picture. Enjoy! (Still more painting to do inside the Bridge and Flyco - the chairs will get painted, the chart table and the status board and so on - and the deck needs another layer of waterway gray to touch it up a bit.)

Welcome aboard! Lot of experience here to learn from, and it's great to see new folks joining and bringing new ideas and projects!

That's a great build that you have going! I've embraced 3D printed ships and accessories of late as well, but do not the skill to transfer a full hull drawing to a 3D print. For any who are interested in an 'easy' build Landing Craft, there's one available on Thingiverse - https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2003327 It is not a detailed scale version, but it has left me sorely tempted to try and build it! Your LCT's are much more accurate and detailed - I applaud your work! NS

It only LOOKS organized because the pictures are staged. 🙂 Here's how the new version of the Bridge looks. It's the partially blue one in the middle. I ran out of Gray filament, so I had to switch colour. (No, it doesn't impact the size...but that leaves me to note that I've used all of the 11 spools of gray filament I bought 2 months ago now...) It's out in the garage right now having been given a fresh coat of gray paint....we'll see how it looks tomorrow. I've got a request out for colour pictures of the inside of the bridge and the Flyco compartment - I'm guessing similar to what we have inside our ships now with white walls and a dark grey deck (we called it "waterway gray" in the Navy.)

And... a couple of hours of work with some sand paper, putty, glue, and a layer of primer...and we have 8x Trackers painted.

This evening, I got the wall mount up for the Bonnie - here's her 'wall' home:

That is a beautiful model sir! Well done! As a sailor who's been aboard the Bluenose II, it's a thing of beauty and you captured the essence well. (Note I was only onboard for a couple of day-sails - not as crew. A good friend of mine was employed as the Stoker for a full tourist season one year. I was slightly jealous!) NS

Welcome aboard! That's a great display case of completed projects! Be careful....it'll probably fill up and you'll need another one!

Here was the location of 'loss' at the top right (showing as '0' on the measuring line) My house is in the bottom left corner, with the dock at 520m.

Had her out on the lake last evening and determined that there is a maximum range...she left visible controlled navigation at about 500 meters (1600 feet or so) and ran aground across the lake from me. Had to dig out the canoe to affect a rescue. No damage to the ship, but I did lose the rear hatch cover. I'll go reprint one and we'll be all fixed up.

Lou, I've thought magnets, but am not sure how well that would work with the magnets in the fuselage. I'm thinking maybe putting the aircraft on a small clear plastic sheet with a magnetic element on it and putting magnets under the flight deck for when the ship will be sailed. When the ship is static - I can put the aircraft wherever and however I want. I've got the trackers assembled - each one took about 15 grams of lead/copper in the nose and wheel wells to get them to return to flat when tipped up on their tails.