yvesvidal

Well , as promised, these are the latest photos of my miniature Maxim. Still need to make the operating handles and the support brackets for the MG post. From top to bottom you have : mainspring housing, sights, receiver and water cooled barrel. On the left are the double trigger. Following are the charging handle and the belt feed tray. Finally the MG mount assembly. Love this job.

 

3 the hull framing 
 
I first, scanned the line drawing, embedded it into 2d cad, scaled, and then traced bulk heads.  I chose to do this hull only as bulk heads because the affect I think is to have the unusual white hull and flying sails as the chosen image.   I then scanned the Keelson on three images and embedded them in a 2d Turbocad drawing, then aligned and scaled them.  Unfortunately, when I first did this, I was following the note by Howard Chapelle on the drawing that made it (148ft at the rail). Fortunately I   re-read the NJR article mentioned above and learned that the best approach would be to shorten the vessel to 133.5 FT at the rail.   Thank goodness for cad scaling.
1    Here are the stations all cut out and glued to luan plywood ready to cut.  
2    Here we see the keelson assemble drawing and building board ready to go at 148 feet  
3   here is the Chapelle note that set us on the path to 148 ft.  
4.    here are the dotted lines that extend the bow all above the waterline.    Purely for speed, I am sure.  Later measuring this extension, as in the article it is 6.5 feet.  
5    here is the rescaled keelson assembly.   I remade the building board template on the same drawing.    Now the first cutting
 
6     Here are the bulkhead templates cut out   
7     In this view we see the raised portion to support bulwark planking up to the rail.   I struggled with this detail on my last build [ it was at smaller 1:96 scale] to remove these “tabs” after the planking.   Since these must be removed to allow continuous stanchions at each frame[ 4 per bulkhead], as seen in the in the photo I found,  I have decided to remove these tabs now and then add stanchions later. We’ll see if it’s a better way to go .   
8     here I am doing something new as well.  I chose to laminate the keelson assemble with three layers of basswood.  I used solid maple last time.  My reason was here there is more sheer to the assembly, so there will be three full joints. The overlapping allows a stronger joint both forward and aft.  
9    Here after cutting out the keelson assembly one can see the considerable shear in this design. A butt joint would not have worked well.  The other reason is the width of the keel in the section drawing is only 3/16 [10in} where other heavy fishing schooner keels were ¼ “ [12-14 inches.]. this keel projectys further below the hull than other schooners.  We will address again later.  
10-11   
 
 
 Here are progress images of a rough first dry fit as I approach the end of this phase. 
Next up will be to complete the frame and get the first planking installed.  
 
All for now
 

Been a while again, but there's no messing with the 2-piece quotum. 
 
Although it doesn't look like much, I'm busy with a critical pipe. One that scared me a bit (= stopped at that point in the past) due to its complex shape. 
It's the bunker manifolds. 2 pipes are there, an HFO (Heavy Fuel Oil) system and a Diesel Oil system. They are shaped very strangely, but I assume they did it that way to make sure that the line can be drained properly to the tank, so in case of a leak on the manifold, there would only be a limited amount of oil that could possibly leak to the flange side (that is at least my theory for this odd shape). 
 
A long while back I made preparations for this system since I put a 1.5mm rod with a 90° bend already in that manifold. I would not be able to place such a pipe afterwards. I was a bit obsessed with having as little joints in those pipes as possible and always tried to make things from 1 piece. In the end, the installed pipe didn't have a good 90° bend and didn't want to go in place, so I clipped it near the bend. Made a proper 90° bend. I also could remove both pieces of the pipe that way and adjust their lengths properly without risk of damage to the rest of the construction. 
Having decided to do this, it allowed me to take the next step more easily. 
As you can see, it goes over the edge of the hatch, complicating things a bit more, as the pipe has to be properly sized and fitted, there's no way I could bend and glue the aft piece to the drip tray. 
Flanges and valves were dry fitted for testing. 

 

 
Here, handwheels are already fitted to the valves. I used 0.3mm thick styrene discs which I drilled out in the center and later on in the 4 corners.  This pipe had to be painted and fixed in order to proceed with the transverse beams above them. 

 
Here it is painted and fixed in place. The forward transverse beams are in place, since the DO system only goes to the aft drip tray. DO system (Smaller capacity and diameter of pipe) is dry fitted here. The whole process involves a lot of bending, fitting, bending, mounting the hatch back on the ship to see for the drip trays, then removing it again to work on the piping etc. 

 
Once the DO system is in place, I'm ready to continue with the transverse beams and then I can proceed 1 level up with the actual transverse cargo pipes. 

So, time to continue. 
I do have plans now, but still I need to think about the sequence of construction. I also had some hesitation regarding 2 small pipes coming from the compressor room towards the manifold. I had made provisions for those pipes in way of making large supports on the big pipe to accommodate them, but I was never sure if I'd place them after all. 
Eventually I decided to place the pipes. I had put part of a pipe below that manifold. It didn't look right, so I removed it and built those pipes in different sections. The joints next to tank dome 2 will mostly be covered by the platform shown in previous posts. In below picture you can see the brass pipes running parallel to the big pipe. The joints are hidden in the shadows.

 
The reason I had to put them now was of course that they were also a bottleneck for construction of the manifold. I wouldn't be able to place them if I continued further on the manifold. 

 
And I've started the structure of the manifold on portside. All beams in place here. 

 

thanks Michel,
 
I`ve started with the long deck house today with 16 positions for portholes on each side
 
Nils

 

 

 
 

Latest status.  Note the small round port.  This port (and its mate on the starboard side) are shown nowhere in any of the “instructions” or illustrations of the model.  Moreover, the blue lens is significantly smaller than the marked cut-out and required careful application of black marker to blend in.  Finally, the internal circular support is too large for the actual diameter of this mid section.  I think it is about time to assemble the stand, rather than balancing her on a coffee mug. 

The instructions did not say how one was supposed to use the circular pieces that look like internal supports.  They weren’t even to be printed on card stock.   Eventually I decided to glue them to 1/32 thick bass wood and cut them out.  I inserted the first few after having assembled 4 of the sections.  Now I do them as I proceed. Also if one cuts the windows out as printed there is no gluing surface.  ( discovered the hard way). Reprinted the windows and cut them leaving extra  card around the windows so there was something to glue to.  Hopefully the attached pictures will may some of this clear.  Also to get a better fit, rather than gluing the cylinders and then attaching, I wrapped them around the glue edge to get a perfect fit. 

Post 5 Rough work to get through planning and into production for masts, rigging and the stack[ funnel].
 
Unlike many of the modelers on this forum I am a neophyte in most of our tasks.  Soldering is one of them.    I will share my struggle and persevere as to do the metal work at the top of the steel mast for me is a chore. Making the mast from a dowel allows drilling a few holes and things, but platforms?   Also, the yards are clearly hollow pipes in the photos.  There are many photographs to follow, so here we go… I hope I can pull it off.
 
Mast lights and platform
1    here is a photo of the top of the foremast from Columbia.  
2   here is a photo of the top of the main mast also from Columbia.  
3   here is the first attempt to take the components from the Nantucket kit and apply them.  Our mast is I take from drawings is 1/8” vs Nantucket 3/16”.  A hidden washer is glued to the dowel to hold up the brass platform….I hope.  I soldered the handrails and added the radio mast in copper. I find using Tix solder and normal paste flux works for me though it’s a bit crude.  The lights are wood , shaped on a lathe, and I used the mill to drill a 1/8” hole so it can rest on the top of the mast.  I hope paint does the trick.   I am not ready to attach all the rails at this point.   I may want to a paint first and I may change the mast to copper tube.   I am still thinking about itat this point.    
4.   vhere is a rough foremast frame loosely resting on the top of the mast.   I need to add a plate for the little triangle holding the aircraft warning light and some form of decking for the upper platform.  It is a short mast too for the radio aerial.  
Rigging 
5   here in a photo of Columbia we see the size for turnbuckles.  They are roughly 4 feet and open.  The connection to the deck is a compilation of plates and shackles. 2 of them are smaller on top of the aft deck house. For now, I will attach to eye.  I will try to cover that with a tiny plate later.  
6   here are the standard cross connection for short sections of shroud. I have laid out in an attempt to replicate their locations.  
7   here I plumbed up the main mast and its platform and soldered it in place.  I tried that combo solder paste but got nowhere.  Doing the rigging is fun. I am using 2.5mm bullseyes, grey thread to replicate the steel cable in the photos and white tread to replicate the white tape in the photos.   Stack
Based on advice from a friendly guild member, I ordered a bunch of styrene including sheets.
 
8.   I cut a styrene strip, and after soaking it in boiling water I clamped it around a plug.  
9   after a short while I took it and welded it to itself as I rewrapped it around the plug for two layers.  I then trimmed it back to size and laid out the slots.  Then using a drill, knives and mini files eventually got 10 slots in.   
10   In this progress view, you can see the first styrene stack on the table.  It was too big, so the second one is now sitting in place partially painted.    
11   I was unsatisfied with the wood dowel masts and decided that to replicate steel masts I should use copper.  Here is the fore mast rebuilt.  
12   here we have the new main mast.   The paint for masts and deck furniture just came in from Bluejacket, so that work comes next.  
All for now
 

And this is the only Part of Metall that will be look well from this Kit 

Yesterday i made this parts.
It was very special to drill the hole in the brass, cause i work everything without electric Tools.

My greatest achievement of the day, the headlight. Height 25mm/1inch!

 
Cheers, Peter

Thanks for all the likes and 'Wows!'
 
Had a good day today. I managed to paint, weather and attach the hathes and torpedo doors to the bow.

 
Built the rear machine gun and hatches and added them to deck.

 
Also finished and attached the conning tower. (I have the tower crew to add later)

Still didn't find out what the red knobs are or how to present a decal flag so it looks real. (See previous post for details.)
 
Have a good weekend folks.
Cheers, Peter

Little time so little progress yesterday. Today has been better.
 
Managed to repair, paint and weather a join on the aft deck, also installed diving planes fore and aft. (Forgive the terminology. I'm no submariner by any means.)

Added the propellors, stays, flag pole and bollards.

I have two questions where I need help:
What are these red things on the deck, and What is the best way to display a decal flag? (I read that using tin foil allows for good shaping.)
 
Cheers, Peter

The PE are good but they don't have instructions.
The fit the heli deck properly I had to remove the hangar. I removed the side deck pieces and worked on them. Added doors, handrails and removed moulded  life raft barrels. I will replace them with my own one. Sided pieces were joined together. Need to add boat facilities and other minor details. Main deck was painted with faded dark grey and hull sides with primer

 

Preparations for painting:
I set up the spraybooth in the garage

 
Placed the most vulnerable photo-etch parte and placed all parte up to and including build step 29 with dubble sided tape on wooden slats.

 
Untill next update, enjoy modelling.

However, some more preparations are needed prior to painting.
 
I did a test soldering coated copper wire to the LED-strip, which went perfectly when the temperature was high enough to burn the lacker away, but I doubt if the 0,08 mm diameter wire is heavy enough to put 4 LED's in a row. According to my calculations I need at least 0,2 mm thick wire.

 
As multiple LED's will be installed in the superstructure, holes must be drilled in the deck.
It would also be nice to be able to remove the deck in 1 piece, so I used some syrene to glue the 3 pieces together.

 
a perfect fit

 
and after buffing the sides, it can be taken out without too much force.

 
Until next update, enjoy modelling.

I'm still working on the Jenny, I got her all planked, putted, sanded, sealed the interior, working on the deck cabins now. Just waiting on a low humid day to glass the hull.

This is my next project and my last.

To start, I painted the hull black, and painstakingly did some aircraft-type pre-shading on the individual hull plates with white. These helped to get a good baseline of colour differentiation, adding shadows, and the additional layers of paint made the hull extra matte (just what I like). 
 

 
The hull colour was consequently put on with light layers of Tamiya XF-9 hull colour – it seems to fit the bill nicely given distance and general lighting conditions:
 

 
Then added XF-1 black in a similar fashion, making sure to keep lots of the white showing through, and then adding the white strip which was a bit interesting with the white pre-shading (not recommended but didn't want to experiment when white is also so easily weathered with washes and oils):
 


 
This last photo looks promising for a base colour coat – and I hope the ideas I spoke of earlier make more sense with this. If anyone has sympathies towards these ideas please be sure to share, I could use all the tips I can get.

This is as good as modeling gets, an incredibly stunning  image. It's like you hit the pause button on a video. I am in awe.  
 

Actually finished this time 

Now a gloss still water over the top 

So today some
more foam 

And I’m back, a bloke made up a box for her. Still got some gaps which I used acrylic water, once it sets clear I can start in the waves proper

A quick update, as I have not had much time to work on this model, due to multiple side activities.
 
I completed the chimney for the oven. All parts are made of copper tubes and aluminum tubes, soldered and glued together. The shape is inspired from the Anatomy of the Ship book.
 

 

 
On the deck:
 

 

 

 
Hmmm... after seeing these pictures, I think I need to paint it darker....
Yves