Patrick Matthews

No argument... except that I've read several e-books of multi-hundreds of pages length, no prob. But that's not the topic... point is, a paper magazine has gone under, and I hold that online sources like this offer a realistic and even improved alternative for the info one could find in magazines.

I use both... I prefer enamels when possible, for their durability on plastic and metal surfaces, and for friendlier function in airbrushes.

Ah, but how did you just respond to this topic- digitally with instant publication and near instant response, or via a letter to the editor, with a 3 month leadtime to publication, and another 3 months for an answer? Realize that digital editions of published magazines aren't the competition to print... but rather, Wikipedia and forums like this. I don't have a single digital subscription... but I practically live on several forums, because they ARE convenient. I don't miss print. I have several magazines laying around that I never seem to get to... all while having posted scores of times online. I do miss the curated and edited content, it's a little bit Wild West online... but the range of material is nearly infinite, compared to what is pared down to fit in a given magazine. Get used to it, and let's learn to make the online content as useful as possible.

Another one bites the dust. Back in the (fairly recent) day when "Ships in Scale" only published in B&W, and was literally the only ship model building mag left in the States (not counting research and prototype focus mags like the NRG Journal and Steamship Bill), I openly wondered why the USA could only support this single title, and at a mere 6 issues a year, while the UK and Germany each supported TWO magazines, MONTHLIES, in full color? ("Marine Modelling International", "Model Boats", "ModellWerft", und "Schiffs Modell")... and each of these countries having only about 25% of the US population! Well, one more is gone-- Marine Modelling International's parent company, Traplet Publishing, is in receivership, and it appears not to be a mere re-org. This actually takes a number of hobby titles out of print in one swoop. Discussed in more familiar detail at Model Boat Mayhem: http://www.modelboatmayhem.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,58598.0.html

Will anyone be picking up the model? Or will it be firmly, permanently, and safely mounted on pedestals? If pedestals are in the model's future, spend some time on internal structure to accept the mountings... and lose little sleep on the weight.

Most any RC hobby shop will carry this or similar: http://www.bsi-inc.com/hobby/ic_2000.html The image shows the thick stuff building a fillet on a Robbe Happy Hunter kort assembly, with ABS hull.

A major challenge with the Dumas model is that it relies on fittings from HR Products... whose tooling, and maybe even the company, are virtually defunct. There may be designers on Shapeways who offer suitable fittings, but I haven't researched that.

ABS is a tough material to glue to, and I'm always leary about things like polyester and epoxy resins' adherence as well. Maybe less of an issue for a display model, but the ABS hull can flex and pop these things loose. If the defects aren't deep, I'd start with regular or 2-part primer filler as the first coat, then use the appropriate glazing compound to take care of what's left. But yes- clean, most any primer, and most any top coat. For gluing: Robbe recommends the 2-part methacrylate adhesive "Stabilit Express"- expensive and hard to find in the US. For joints requiring a wee bit of flex (anything attached to the ABS hull), I find that rubberized CA (aka "tire cement") is perfect. It has a bit of flex, so it won't crack like regular CA; it can be built up in thick layers (use CA kicker to help it cure), yet cures hard enough to grind or sand. I use it when mounting bow thruster tubes through fiberglass or ABS hulls, for example.

I'd like to bring to your attention a few marvelous mahogany boats built by GPR (aka Greg R.). The build threads are on R/C Groups (links below), and indeed the models are operating, and built in the large scale of 1:8. But they also stand as examples of the research that can go into such models, and the high standard of detail, which is NOT exclusive to a model being operable. In each case, few or no plans exist for the subjects. Greg needed to visit the originals, work with current or previous owners, and then work out his own plans. Folks who visited the Manitowoc show a couple years ago will have seen two of these models; Evangeline is new. Evangeline, Henry Ford's Hacker https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?2592838-Evangeline-Scratch-build-of-Henry-Ford-s-Custom-Hacker-Runabout Lockpat II https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?1875686-Lockpat-II-Scratch-build-of-a-custom-Hacker-Streamliner Thunderbird https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?1025991-Thunderbird

That's fantastic, Jim & Joe! I hope that the material can be made available to others, either through yourselves, or at least via links to the appropriate government office. But I wonder how that would work... doesn't such material only go to NARA, from where one can eventually get copies?

Dave Hampton in Indianapolis showed a nice 1:6 example (IMEX based) at the Manitowoc show a couple years back. He has some reference and build threads on RCG: https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?1749558-PBR-Photos-up-close https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?1768099-Converting-1-6-scale-PBR-from-gas-to-electric https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?2071875-1-6-PBR-Part-2-before-painting-begins

I'll just mention (again) another alternative... if you just have to have brass or bronze, and you'd like to just order parts and have them delivered, it can be done via houses like Shapeways and iMaterialise. These places will take your CAD model, print the part in wax, and pass it on to an investment casting house. Not cheap, but not impossibly expensive either. Some examples: Pair of deck mounted fire monitors... I had the yokes cast. 2nd pic shows the as-delivered surface finish, an artifact of the 3D printer resolution... be prepared to polish your parts. A passel of Herreshoff style cleats I made, polished, and home-nickel plated: A flag staff socket, polished and true chrome plated at iMaterialise: A deck vent, rough, and then (roughly) polished and home nickel plated:

Don't forget the round-bottomed fire buckets! Could only be stored in the fire bucket rack... kept the deck gang from stealing them for mop work...

Sorry to come to this party late! But a couple links: Taylor Sparks' build of Atlantis: http://sparksstudios.com/boatyard/atlantis.htm and some others too. My build of the Robbe Valdivia (with many similar construction features): https://matthewsmodelmarine.wordpress.com/writings/robbes-valdivia-rc-schooner/ Hopefully you have the complete Robbe instruction set? Used to be available online... I have an e-copy for Valdivia, maybe Taylor has Atlantis. The hull should be vac-formed ABS (not injection molded styrene). Valdivia's decking is real teak, with some mahogany trim. The teak planks are a bit overscale in the grain department, but are soft enough to bend sideways. Gluing with CA is the plan, but have plenty of CA "kicker" on hand, as the CA is stubborn about setting on the porous wood. Not sure what was specified for Atlantis, but on Valdivia there were white plastic strips to use as caulking, and instructions on proper joggling and plank-end staggering. A scraper was the best way to smooth out planks and caulking; avoid sanding, as even light sanding can soften the plastic and drive its dust into the wood grain. BTW, I waxed my wood deck, never had a problem after sailing. Real boats get wet, no? Pat M

Thanks. More at:

Old thread alert! But I'll repeat something I just mentioned in another soldering thread: soggy globs of toilet paper (umm, use fresh water...) as heat sinks. I soldered a whole mess of brass rails to brass stanchions, pre-situated in drilled holes on a painted plastic deck... with the soldering taking place as close as 1/4 inch from the deck. The soggy blobs did the trick, no damage at all.

Place blobs of wet tissue paper on previously soldered areas, then use a hot iron to solder the next. Pretinning can help, and use flux.

Even easier... look for larger stranded wire made up of fine uncoated strands. Done. But not quite... straighten the wire: clamp one end in vise, and firmly pull the wire until you feel it yield just a bit... let loose, and the wire will be straight!

In functional boat and ship models, many modelers use brass props made of stamped blades soldered to machined hubs. Nicer props, having a more realistic shape, are made by casting in brass or bronze. The process used for these is lost wax, or investment, casting. Usually, the waxes are made by injecting wax into a rubber mold; the rubber molds can be made from a carved or machined master. Should you need a unique prop design, you’ll need to commission a master and a mold; don’t forget to allow for casting shrink when you specify the master! Need a left and a right? Twice the masters and molds. Another option? 3D print the waxes- no need for masters, no rubber molds, and complete freedom to scale and mirror the design. BTW: You can also machine the waxes on a 5-axis mill… but that’s another challenge. But if you can create a 3D CAD model of the prop, and don’t mind machining the bore yourself, you can use very convenient 3D printing services like Shapeways to source your own custom props. In this example, I made some props for Monterey Clipper fishing boats, using the Yuba-Hicks “weed cutter” design that many of these boats carried. While it’s possible to draw a convincing prop from scratch with some basic knowledge of prop blade shape, I had the benefit of the original factory drawing to work from: CAD rendering of the design: Raw cast bronze prop from Shapeways- 2.5” diameter: From the same CAD model, a 2.25” opposite hand prop (on left): Machining the bore and threads on my lathe: Prop with a 3D printed Hicks engine model: The 2.25” prop went on this 1:8 scale model Monterey:

Yes, that's what it is. But two topics here: 1. For any CNC machine, one starts with a 3D CAD model of a part. This is fed into some sort of tool path generating software, wherein you define the part's orientation and the size of the rough blank. Using the s/w, you then define what the rough and finishing cuts look like, based on the cutting tools used... the s/w generates the path that the cutting tool will follow. For simple 3-axis mills (including router tables with an adjustable Z-axis), I believe there is even free s/w available. 2. Going beyond the basic 3-axis machines, you have 5-axis and even more complicated machines available. Something like a half hull can be machined on a simple 3-axis; a complicated carving, like a 3D sculpture, a figurehead, etc., could make use of 5-axis. It gives the machine the ability to twist and turn the part under the cutting tool... search Youtube with "5-axis CNC" and you'll find plenty of fascinating videos of this. But 5-axis machines are very specialized, expensive, and take very skilled programmers to set up... so your machine-carved figurehead will likely be very important to you, for you to take this path!

3-axes are plenty for most machinable-from-wood jobs... what would need 5? But all you need is the appropriate software to generate tool paths, and away you go!

And ANOTHER thing... these outfits (like Shapeways) have set up so that you can sell your own designs in your own shop... they handle the web work, order taking and fulfillment, and send you a check every month. Sweet. I got started in it just to make my range of cowl vents available... those nasty little vents, about the hardest part to make on any ship model! The examples below are on a 1:32 ocean salvage tug.

Kurt- Sorry I couldn't make it to Manitowoc to give that talk! My advice to any fine modeler: Do NOT waste money on "affordable" home 3D printers... they are frustrating to use, and produce poor quality parts. Instead, take your designs to a commercial house like Shapeways or iMaterialise, where they have spent MILLIONS on top quality equipment... parts will come out quickly and much nicer than anything a home machine can produce. Here is my latest 3DP project, an animated Hicks marine engine in 1:8 scale. Mostly 3D printed, with a little PE and traditional machining. Even the brass parts, including the prop, were 3D printed. Well actually, the waxes were printed, and then fed into the traditional investment casting process.

For cutting complex shapes in brass sheet (thick or thin), nothing beats a jeweler's saw (used with a proper "bench pin"). See: http://www.fdjtool.com/custom.aspx?id=117 I have a friend who cut out a beautiful example (two actually) of the cursive text "Chris Craft" in 1:8 scale from brass sheet... just takes patience! No need to anneal your brass.

Tinning: You should try it! Much more durable than paint or blackening, and if the parts should be galvanized, this is your best bet! You are looking for "Tinnit", and easy to use solution, that normally is used to apply (electrolessly) a tin plate onto PCBs' copper traces. It works quite well on brass too. http://www.allelectronics.com/make-a-store/item/er-18/tinnit-bright-tin-plate/1.html Find an example here: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=967801&page=9#post11881171 where I used it on large scale brass rigging fittings.