Tigerdvr

The stacks can be a bit of a project if one looks at the various photo references long enough.
Because of the poor fit of the top piece of the stack I trimmed the sides flush and used a ½ round .08mm rod to simulate the joint between the top and body of the stack.
The plastic cross member on the rear stack is replaced with a brass rod structure. The inside of the tops of the stacks was cut out and replaced with a combination of paper and plastic.
A review I read pointed out that the ventilators on the kit stacks were too thick. Checking a number of photos proved that to be correct. The ventilators were removed and replaced with PE grills and framed by Plastruct .010 strips.
The plastic around the searchlight platform has been removed and will be replaced by canvas covered PE rail. Floater net baskets were added as were pipes up the front of the stack.
PE was borrowed to make up the railings around the top of the stacks. The PE ladders seem a bit massive and will be replaced.

The stacks can be a bit of a project if one looks at the various photo references long enough.
Because of the poor fit of the top piece of the stack I trimmed the sides flush and used a ½ round .08mm rod to simulate the joint between the top and body of the stack.
The plastic cross member on the rear stack is replaced with a brass rod structure. The inside of the tops of the stacks was cut out and replaced with a combination of paper and plastic.
A review I read pointed out that the ventilators on the kit stacks were too thick. Checking a number of photos proved that to be correct. The ventilators were removed and replaced with PE grills and framed by Plastruct .010 strips.
The plastic around the searchlight platform has been removed and will be replaced by canvas covered PE rail. Floater net baskets were added as were pipes up the front of the stack.
PE was borrowed to make up the railings around the top of the stacks. The PE ladders seem a bit massive and will be replaced.

The stacks can be a bit of a project if one looks at the various photo references long enough.
Because of the poor fit of the top piece of the stack I trimmed the sides flush and used a ½ round .08mm rod to simulate the joint between the top and body of the stack.
The plastic cross member on the rear stack is replaced with a brass rod structure. The inside of the tops of the stacks was cut out and replaced with a combination of paper and plastic.
A review I read pointed out that the ventilators on the kit stacks were too thick. Checking a number of photos proved that to be correct. The ventilators were removed and replaced with PE grills and framed by Plastruct .010 strips.
The plastic around the searchlight platform has been removed and will be replaced by canvas covered PE rail. Floater net baskets were added as were pipes up the front of the stack.
PE was borrowed to make up the railings around the top of the stacks. The PE ladders seem a bit massive and will be replaced.

A gallant project. May I ask where you acquired the explosion diagram or is that your own work?
Will watch with great interest.
Thanks, Harley

Last things to complete were to glue the rotor blades into the central control :


 
The blades could be a problem as time goes by. I'm not very happy with the way they are fitted - the control arms seem too weak for the weight of the blades, so I wiped CA glue over virtually all the control arms to try to stiffen them up a bit. It worked to a certain degree but time will tell.
 
Danny

To those who gave likes, thank you and thanks for stopping by.
 
Carl and Mark, thanks for your kind feedback.
 
Steve
 
Beneficial occupancy.

The port lifeboats are attached to the davits.
 

Port davit rigging started.  As with the starboard side the boat rigging includes the cargo blocks and hooks, and four manropes on a cable hung between each pair of davits.

All port boats are rigged.

The awning is permanently set in its deck shoes.  Lashing of the perimeter poles to the railings has started.

The ship has reached beneficial occupancy, an architecture term that signifies the point in construction when the building is not quite finished but is ready for use.  More pics below.  I’ll get better ones after the shipyard gets a major cleaning.  I’m turning my attention to the upcoming test sail.

To those who gave likes, thank you and thanks for stopping by.
 
Carl and Mark, thanks for your kind feedback.  Bubbly follows.
 
Steve
 
The launch.

The shipyard looks empty without the Vance which is on her way to test and launch.  Not yet clean, but empty.

I saw a PVC pipe carry rack in a Model Boats magazine article and thought that would be a good way to carry her while keeping away from the overhanging lifeboats.  I learned that the two part welding adhesive works extremely fast, and makes CA look slo-mo by comparison.
 

Not a very good pic of the smallest champagne bottle I could find.  Lead pellet ballast is at the left in jars, and bags in a box.

Grandson Legodude (see Skiff build) honored the upcoming voyage by creating great grandmother who took the Vance trip, and great grandfather who met her in New York City.

The carry rack, which had foam pipe insulation for a snug fit, was invaluable for moving the ship around and giving it a stable platform in the car.  With a few pillows and beach towels to eliminate sliding around the ship went to and from the launch site without incident.

The ship saw a perfectly clear day as she prepared for launch.  The first step was to remove the superstructure to tune the ballast.

The initial set up was close to the calculated ballast weight.  The ship settled well below the waterline.  Ballast was removed and repositioned until the waterline had a close match to water  level.  The final ballast was a mere fraction of the original load which makes me wonder if the waterline dimension in the instructions might have been a bit low.

After replacement of the superstructure and a christening by Legodude with a spritz of champagne the ship was launched.

Dryland testing of the driveline showed a buzz, probably due to the rigid anchoring of the prop tube to the hull, and the hollow area within the plastic motor support.  But underway the buzz disappeared and the only sound was a soft motor spin.  A video is below and a second video is in the next update.
 

IMG_0359.mp4  
All in all a successful voyage.  We looked at a nearby pond for a second voyage but it was weed infested right through the water surface, so it looks like one safe voyage may be it, which was the original goal.  There’s a little fitting out remaining, including the anchors, hawse lips, ship’s name and re-gluing three lifeboats that were bumped loose during the launch; before finding a permanent home for the Zebulon B. Vance.  Thanks again to everyone for your views, likes, comments and sticking with me for the build.
 
Steve
 
Stay tuned for the second video.
 
 

Module finished: 

The Radio equipment: 

The main lights: 

Radio and Sonar rooms lights: 

Batteries and Ammunition magazine lights: 

Yves
 
 
 

Post 9
Going off Piste - So to begin the next stage
At this point things start to get interesting.
I am departing from the kit arrangement of completing the second planking and then adding the wale.
I need to add the wale at this point because below this level the planking is Clinker built, above the wale it is carvel.
The lower hull planking will start at the garboard plank  because below the wale the planks overlap the one below.
 
If I sound confident and knowing what I'm talking about - always remember - appearances can be deceptive, and there will be plenty of time for me to bail out and revert to a carvel hull.
 
The Wale
According to the Goodwin book Alert had a single plank wale measuring 15" broad x 5" thick. (6mm x 2mm) This correlates pretty well with the kit dimensions of (2) 3mm x 1mm planks, which allowing for the second planking, is spot on.
 
Fixing the wales is one of the most critical parts of a build and it takes some time and adjustments to get it looking right to your eye.

1391
I used Tamiya tape to  initially mark the position of the lower line of the wale, this again correlates with measurements comparisons between the book and kit drawings.

1380
I then add a narrow strip at the lower edge of the wale position, to use as a guide to fit the wale. Actually this was the same strip as I used for my Cheerful build, pretty close for sheer but obviously shorter in length.
I am using 6mm x 1mm strips of Boxwood for the wales, each wale will consist of two layers to give a finished thickness of 1mm over the second planking layer.
The top layer will have the butt and hook scarphs scribed into the surface, but  these may not clearly show once the wale is blackened.

1377
The wales are shaped at the stern to allow for the lower stern side counter pieces.
These I cut out from some broad Boxwood Strip using the kit part (76) as a template.

1384
They are temporarily pinned into place until the upper bulwark top layer planking is completed.
I have followed the arrangement for these side timbers as indicated in the Alert Book.

1378
A funny angle but the photo shows the curve of the side counter pieces  to follow the wale line.

1383
Moving on...
 
B.E.
01/08/2019

Now I fitted the Gatling Gun turret which can swivel and elevate. The gun itself will come later - something easily caught on accidentally :

 
Both the opened rear compartment doors, the right side transmission door and the right side exhaust cooler have also been fitted. Again all parts can sustain handling, albeit carefully :





 
Danny

Finished the inner bulwarks, sanded them and now i only need to plank the stern at the inside and then painting it!

First build?....very nice planking job!
 
 

I'm starting to rig the dead eyes for both fore and main topmasts

Rudder. You start from the photoetched part that needs to be bent to create a "hook". I have then silversolder the edges and smooth it with file. Blackening and the irons are ready. 

I have added the eyebolts and decoration of the transom

And starting preparations of the deck furniture

Like the Yukikaze I am going to try to put in a couple hrs of work 5 days a week which I did this evening.I have been working on the SS tonight drilled out the all the portholes as well as what's on the hull.Till Thursday Kevin

Welcome to the crew. Confederacy is a great kit with instructions to match. 
Your Syren was just a warm up for the big time. I followed the same route..
Enjoy your quest for excellence.
 
Cheers, Harley

My small CVRT family

Remember, too, that USN scaled the size of flags used by a ship, by the ship's size.  This as by numeric designation, Size 1 through 7, largest to smallest.
This is why the locker (flag bag) dimensions varied.
 
The flags were made up wit ha toggle at the top, and a pendant that was at least the hoist of the flag, or five feet (152cm), whichever was longer.
 
The signal would come down from the bridge, and then be broken out into groups of four flags, which would be laid out in order on the correct side of the ship (occasionally both sides ).  When ready, the signal was hoisted up until only the last pendant was out of the box, so that the Signals LPO could check it.  It then went to half-mast, this was known as Preparatory,  The rest of the ships in the signal group (squadron, usually) would then match the flags they could see At the Half.  With all the ships answering, the lead vessel then hoists to two-block the signal indicating Execute.  The remaining ships repeat that, two-blocking the signal to indicate execution.
 
To really make the signalmen's day, just Dress Ship, where the signals are laid out (in a prescribed order) from jack to tore top to main top to aft to the flagstaff.  This emptied the lockers (mostly).  It also exposed all the signals to the XO's eye, who might call for extensive washing of the signals (since they are stored somewhat in the weather).  Although some larger ships had a stowed set of signals already made up to dress ship.

Thanks Chap.
A couple of photos with the most forward Frames attached. (I didn't get these, so, improvisation and "Hard" Solder.
There are some "Lugs" that need to be fabricated on the forward vertical frame for the Landing Gear to attach to.
Just hope it's accurate....
 
Cheers....HOF.

Hi Chap,
Just to prove the camera works, I thought I'd "Plug In" the Struts to see how it all looks....
Nothing affixed as yet....
Firewall is getting a bit of a reinforcement where the Longerons pass through it.
 
Cheers....HOF.

O.K Carl,
One for you!!
 
A few pictures, just to prove the Camera still works....😊
 
Tailplane and Rudder.
 
Need to clean these up a bit I guess when the Epoxy has gone off a little more, I can also offer up the Elevator bits....
 
Have an awesome weekend!!
 
Anyway....

Hi All,
Some photos for your viewing pleasure....
 
Fuselage as it stands at this particular moment....
Not fantastic, but getting there.
The bottom Longerons will need to be extended a few mm, no prob, 3.0 mm ID brass tube and 3.0 mm Brass wire so the Firewall is not left dangling in space.
 
The forward Cockpit braces were missing, as previously alluded to, so suitable Brass wire or Dowell, unsure as yet.
I finally have the length of the Longerons past the last Cockpit frame installed, (Top and bottom), so should be able to get some accuracy.
 
 
 

Small update,
Completed the second Spandau, Ammunition Box, Fuel Tank, Firewall, Fuel Pump, Wing Struts and started on the Fuselage.
The Fuselage has and is a bit of a mission, comprised of Brass Longerons and Muntz Metal Bulkheads. I've never constructed any model aircraft this way.... Normally, one would lay out the sides, once complete, the Bulkhead/Formers would be placed in situ. Not this....
One additional problem is the last of the Cockpit support frames are not there, Issue 55 shows what they look like but they packaged the wrong parts....
I got a Couple of Wingtip Skids, (I now have four of these....)
I'll just have to be resourceful and make my own components. 😊
 
(Trying to locate all of the parts after the Kittens had a "Mistake" in the Box where they were stored has also been an issue but coming together none the less.)
 
Photos will be posted soonish.
 
Cheers....HOF.

Here you go Chap....
Ailerons almost complete.... The Trailing Edges are a little fragile to say the least. I've had to repair more than once.
Reasonably happy with the Aileron "Tips." (Broke one of the Muntz Metal Hinges, so if I can't repair, I'll do 2 Hinges per side.
 
Engine back together, I'll need to "Wick" some good quality CA around the components and touch up. (Engine diameter 127mm (5"))
 
Cheers....HOF.

The rigging really sets the model off, well done.