yvesvidal

A real beauty, Ras. And what an unusual model on top of that. Yves

Impressive work that this guy is doing.... He knows his stuff, for sure. Yves

Beautiful hull. It looks very promising. Yves

Frames #2 to #9 have been built. They are by far, the most difficult and delicate to install. There is a lot of sanding that takes place to fair them externally and internally and the insertion on the keel requires a lot of delicate sanding and numerous attempts. The CAF Model kit is very close to the Monograph and did not take the short cuts seen on the ZHL kits, which simply place each frame in a slot. The picture below shows what I mean: The frames are ready to install. Because of the severely restricted space, you need to build one frame at a time and make sure it fits perfectly. No gluing must take place at this stage. Then, when all frames are ready, I find it easier to glue #2 first and go to #9, one at a time. Above, Frames #2 and #3 have been glued. I use CA glue, since it is not practical to use Titebond at this location. Above, three more frames to go..... And it is over for the front: At this stage, a good half of the frames have been installed (#1 to #50). We will encounter some difficult frames again, when moving to the stern. Yves

Frames #10 to #19 are now completed: Dry-fitting first: One frame is not exactly aligned with the rest.... #17. It will comply later on.... Finally, we pull the tube of glue (Titebond): Next will be Frames #9 to #1.... The most difficult ones !!! Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Yves

Since there were some interests and concerns about building the frames, here is the step by step approach I am taking. Let's focus on Frame #15, which is one of the delicate and more complicated to build: After removing the five pieces that make #15, the following central parts are glued: The long ribs are then carefully sanded using a Dremel, a semi-round file and some sandpaper: The center piece (there must be a technical term for that...) is not touched yet, besides sanding and opening the slot to make sure it fits on the keel, smoothly but tightly. Fairing of the long ribs must be done on the external side and also on the internal side. Thinking and visualizing how the ribs will fit is paramount. Then glue (Titebond will give you time to adjust the parts in situ) the two long ribs to the center piece and place it in the jig, on the keel: You can see that the fairing done on the outside, allows the frame to fit perfectly in the jig. Small clamps are used to hold the parts during drying. Lots of verification to make sure that everything fits nicely. When dry, remove the frame from the jig: Now is the time to sand and polish the center part. When done, another verification in situ: The frame can now be oiled and waxed, using my favorite Howard mixture: Once all the lints has been removed and when the part is dry, it can be inserted back into the jig, before the final gluing to the keel: Now, redo the same for Frame #14. Yves

Frames #20 to #29 have been completed and glued to the keel: It looks more and more like the skeleton of a large fish. Frames as depicted, have been oiled and waxed. I have about done one third of all the frames. Next will be the #10 to #19 series.... Yves

Chuck, where are you moving? Are you getting a house with more utility space for your business? Yves

You really have to sand the ribs as much as possible, before inserting them in the building jig. Multiple reasons for that: Fairing internally and externally must be done ahead of time, because the internal planking will be glued when the hull is inside the jig. For the frames to be extracted from the jig, they must be slightly smaller/less thick and well polished/sanded so that they can slide out without breaking. I noticed that oiling and waxing them before gluing them, helps tremendously. I still suspect that extracting the spine and frames from the jig is going to be nerve wracking. I think I will insert some kind of crowbar from below and push up the keel very gently. Right now, with about 30 frames in, it is still possible to move it a tad. Finally, the hull is not planked on the outside, with the exception of a plank or two. The goal is to show the skeleton of the ship. I need to check with Tom, when is the ideal and safest step to take the hull out of the jig. This is not clear in the instructions. Yves

I am now working on Frames #20 to #29. Most frames are made of 5 parts and the instructions below, explain what has to take place: When building the frames, one has to always keep in mind which way they are fitting on the keel, before fairing them. Easier said than done. Yves

Interesting project. Please, make sure you post figures of your 3D design and perhaps think of how this can be turned into a virtual kit for 3D printing enthusiasts. You have made some very serious 3D models in the past and there may be a few aficionados that would love to build your kits. I know I like these dreadnoughts that you built in the past. Yves

I am trying to finish the underside of the coach: Another couple of parts missing from the OCCRE kit: the straight cables/bars, as you can see below. I replaced them with 2 mm brass wire, but that is forcing me to paint them, instead of being able to keep the metal shine. This is the third part missing from this kit, all in the cast metal section..... Not good for Occre. Installing the steps: Alright, we are getting close to the end. I have the trucks and couplers to complete... Yves

I just completed frames #50 to #41. The ship is now equipped with all the "easy" frames. My faithful and precious Dremel: priceless to remove all the charring on the parts: #30 to #50 completed and glued in place, against the inner keel: The center of the ship: No more than 66 frames to go.... Yves

You are definitely pimping up on the original Model Shipways kit. You are actually doing what they should have done to start with. Yves

The tedious and repetitive assembly of the frames has started. I have decided to populate first, the "easy" frames located in the middle of the hull. These do not require any fairing, for the most part and are composed of only three parts. Bow and stern will be kept for the end as they are significantly more advanced and delicate. Frames #30 to #40 are now completed and ....glued to the keel: The next series will be #41 to #50. I have started using a DREMEL equipped with a round abrasive head, after loosing a good chunk of skin on my fingers....due to sand paper abrasion. It really helps. Yves

Time to start a new thread for the Aston !!! Yves

Major point of no-return.... The bow assembly has been glued to the keel: When reaching that stage, the only thing left is to place the keel/bow assembly in the cradle and start assembling the numerous frames: At this stage, pulling out the keel is still very easy. Once the frames are installed and glued to the keel, it will be another story.... Yves

Did you use real dirt, clay ? Super realistic. Yves

Another Norwegian marvel. Count me in !!!! Yves

This past weekend I worked on the bow and got very confused at the beginning. The instructions are showing this: I tried the assembly C1-C5 in all directions but it would not fit in the cradle or on the keel. Then I started looking into the Monograph and CAF plans: And it made much more sense. C1-C5 is just a jig and is not part of the ship. As a matter of fact, that jig is useless and if you glue carefully Frames A to H and 01, on top of each other, following carefully the laser marks, you end up with a very good result: Below, you can see the assembly with the jig inserted underneath: A lot (and I say a LOT) of sanding is required to come up with a decent shape that fits tightly in the keel and slide into the cradle accordingly. I like the slight separation of the frames, as it brings more depth and realism to the model. Most bows I have seen on the Internet look like a big block of wood perfectly shaped, which would not have been like the real ship. Inside fairing was also done to a certain extent: Yves

Very true. I have not done any "detailed" fairing yet. Yes, there will be a lot of sanding required on that kit. If you do not like sanding and adjusting, then this is not a kit for you 🙂 Yves

I would add a drop or two of acrylic resin in the pools, for realism. Your model looks incredible for such a small scale. Yves

Frames are 3 mm thick and from 5 to 6 mm wide, depending of their positions in the hull. CAF is a Chinese company and as such uses the metric system. Yves

I have completed (more or less) the eight frames #10 to #80 in increment of 10. These frames will still require some more sanding and fine-tuning to fit perfectly and to allow a smooth fairing of the hull. Each frame is made of at least 3 parts, all the way to 5 and 7 parts in some cases. I have to make sure that the frames slide freely into their respective notches, otherwise it will be impossible when glued, to remove the skeleton from the cradle. Also, all this sanding really hurts the fingers.... I may have to use Dremel in the future. Frame #80 is giving me some problems to sit perfectly in the cradle. We will revisit this issue later on, with the building of the stern. Just another 80 frames to build..... 😞 Yves

Beautiful track and very realistic. This module is going to be gorgeous, once you complete the water and place the structures. Yves