Patrick Matthews
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Sorry to everyone back east...
Patrick Matthews replied to Patrick Matthews's topic in Modeling tools and Workshop Equipment
It's becoming Winter, a time when I'd retreat to my well heated basement shop where I could only get a little glimpse of the slate gray skies through the little casement window yet could hear the sound of the howling wind resonating down the furnace flue. -
...but here's the mid November view out my shop "window" in southern California I'll spare you the photo of me in shorts .
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Thanks. Cabin is cherry with Minwax Gunstock and spray can semigloss lacquer. Hull is fiberglass over basswood, primed and semigloss Rustoleum black, wet sanded and waxed (!)
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Any varnish could be used, builder's choice. But note that many details in this kit are completely wrong, including the finish shown on the box art. Hull should be black with a red bottom; transom MAY be varnished mahogany. I haven't confirmed what the cabin was... one source says mahogany (quite possible), and it may have been unstained early, and a darker stain later... the wood would be frequently refinished over the years. The kit represents the boat as it sat at Finca Vigia before its latest restoration, including later gaudy modifications that Hemingway likely never saw, and loss of critical drive hardware like the bronze rudder footing and auxiliary drive. Here's my interpretation of what the boat should look like: https://modelshipworld.com/gallery/album/2157-hemingways-pilar-in-112/
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The cabin walls, be sheeted in basswood, are subject to splitting over time due to humidity changes. So they receive the same fiberglass treatment as the hull. It's easy to deal with here, as the large surfaces are flat or simple convex. Windows are cut after walls are installed to ensure correct location. A simple template aids in marking out, and holes are opened and finished by Dremel, files, and sanding sticks. The aluminum sliding window frames will be installed later, likely made by printing. A sheet of 1/16" plywood covers the lower house... it seems big enough to double as a boogie board. The bulwark around the pilot house is basswood sheet again, this time being sheathed in 0.010" styrene. .
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Main cabin is built up from frames and stringers, and sheeted in 1/16" basswood. The tricky corners are "planked" or covered with steam-bent sheet, depending on the radius. Traditional ship models are built from wood, often in a fashion that follows the prototype build method. If I wanted to keep that link to the prototype, I'd be rolling sheet metal skins here. It is possible- many modelers have built ships from soldered tinplate in the past. Today, modern ship modelers in Europe make use of thin phosphor bronze sheet. It's stronger than regular brass, allowing very thin gauges to be used... it works nicely enough and solders like a dream. But that's a bridge too far for me! I'll stick with simple wood. .
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Prop shaft tubes and motors in place. While it's a cheat on my part to run the tubes out to the struts/nozzles, instead of the headache of aligning an exposed shaft, I do have a couple photos of real boats that had enclosed tubes like this. Motors are MFA-Como from the UK, with 6:1 gear heads mounted conveniently on 500-sized brushed motors. They'll spin the 2" props at the correct model speed. Couplings connecting the 6mm motor shaft to the 5mm prop shaft, and the modified prop tube parts, are from Raboesch.
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Get the deck "plating" on, and start fiberglassing.
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The frames are designed with tabs reaching "up" (down?) to the build board datum surface. The board is marked out, and the frames are simply hot-glued in place. The hull has a "model bow", as opposed to the simpler scow bow used on many towboats. Looks nice, but it's debatable if it's of any use behind a raft of deeply loaded barges. Hull is sheeted in 1/16" basswood. The real boats weren't planked, and there's no reason to use planking on a model. 3d-printed nozzle set attached to the frames and sheeting blended in. After a bit of filling and sanding, the hull is cut free, and the tabs are cleaned off the frames. Ready to deck and for installation of prop shaft tubes.
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My original CAD model only represented the "skin", enough to show lines and detail placement. More recently I drew up model frames and a 3d-printed Kort nozzle set. On towboats like this, the nozzles are flat bottomed, and the tops are blended into the curvy tunnel portion of the hull. It was just easier and more precise to print this as an assembly to splice into the wood hull model.
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Using information provided by John Fryant, I was able to create a set of plans for the 115' towboats from Hillman Barge Co., five sisters built between 1949 and 1959. More discussion of all that in the Plans area: https://modelshipworld.com/topic/10027-diesel-towboats-from-hillman-barge-construction/ I'm attracted to these boats because of the unusually graceful styling. Several still operate today, and rivermen still acknowledge their attractiveness. The design, I suspect, results from the pent-up yearnings of a 1940's designer, Elmer Easter, who still recalled the "streamline moderne" styling of the 1930's. Now it's time to build a model! Which will be R/C in 1:32, making for a nice sized model that should operate stably. .
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See above- done not by me, but someone with alien powers over the metal.
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Silver soldering
Patrick Matthews replied to Dziadeczek's topic in Metal Work, Soldering and Metal Fittings
?? I've filled ugly gaps and even created fillets with true silver solder. Biggest problem for me has been the amount of heat required for even "easy" grade silver solder- it totally anneals any brass I'm using. I do most all work now with Stay-Brite low content silver solder and flux. -
Silver soldering
Patrick Matthews replied to Dziadeczek's topic in Metal Work, Soldering and Metal Fittings
53 pages... sigh, just have to go through them! The M1Ax was an obsession of mine for a while... had a lot of info, but I needed to crawl on one to get more. Had an appointment to do just that on the display unit parked in front of TACOM Sterling Heights (MI), behind their secure fence, just up the road from GDLS. The appointment was on 9/12/2001. Did not happen- there was much else on everyone's minds. While I focus on boats today, I do have one HL 1:16 model in a box, and a 21st Century 1:9 corpse in a crate... someday... -
Hmm, in another forum, I see that Steinhagen stopped producing their hulls last year. No idea about the plans. But again, try asking on the German forum- no worries, their English is better than mine!
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I believe Steinhagen is active. https://www.steinhagen-modelltechnik.de/htm/igl-capsandiego.htm You can also ask on the German RC model sites, like: https://www.schiffsmodell.net/
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Silver soldering
Patrick Matthews replied to Dziadeczek's topic in Metal Work, Soldering and Metal Fittings
Barry- would love to see more of your M1 (?) ! -
As above- may not be the BEST wood choice, but I used cherry, as with the rest of the cabin. Added the brass reinforcing straps and mounting hardware, and now I can display the outriggers up or down. BTW, that was a whole 'nuther detective job, figuring out how Hemingway rigged the outriggers... not obvious from available photos.
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3d printing crew figures
Patrick Matthews replied to highlanderburial's topic in 3D-Printing and Laser-Cutting.
The real art is in the original 3d sculpting, from a digital ball of clay, a figure that not only looks realistic but is recognizably a historical figure. I know a fellow in Spain who can do that- here's "Papa" Hemingway in 1:12 scale. .
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Mahogany Marvels by GPR
Patrick Matthews replied to Patrick Matthews's topic in RC Kits & Scratch building
Yes, this site remains "sticks & strings" even though it aspires to be all-inclusive. Most of those modelers wouldn't even bother with this dim corner of the site. -
I have a 350 model and previously a 144 model... post a nice image of your parts tree, we can proffer anything from sage advice to wild @ss guesses!
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Just saw this build for the first time- excellent. Do I see some of my 3D printed parts in there? You've taken them far beyond the rough parts I designed!
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Cutting brass sheet
Patrick Matthews replied to Landlocked123's topic in Metal Work, Soldering and Metal Fittings
Tip: Polish the stainless before cutting strips... -
Cabin is constructed of ply and basswood, with all exposed wood done in cherry. The real boat appears to have been built with mahogany, but I find that cherry "works" better, and has a better scale grain appearance. The sides are built up as a 3d jigsaw puzzle, as many as 3 layers deep. They hang down straight like a curtain from the deck intersection, but angle inwards at 2° from that line up, while also following the sheer... a bit tricky. The cabin roofs are covered with shirt cloth to simulate canvas. The cloth is secured with water based polyurethane, painted, and clear coated. The weave still shows through, like painted canvas. The cherry is all stained with Minwax "Gunstock", and clear coated with lacquer. Warning: Most all of my cherry stained a very nice color, but occasional pieces turned orange, yuk. Always test! . I changed my mind after this shot and added the forward cockpit. Roof beams First piece of cloth installed
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The most important part of the boat- the fighting chair. Brass parts aged in vinegar. The figures were masterfully sculpted digitally and 3d printed by Luis Hidalgo, aka "Holden8702", of Spain. .
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