md1400cs

Smal update.
Started with the wooden parts of the wrought iron cannons
 
Base wooden blocks

Then drill holes

Saw through

The further finishing


Currently there are 10 made

The colors are striking on this fabulous build.
Michael D.

Made a second ladder
(writes the same in Dutch as in English (so the English language is derived from the Dutch language...😇)

And deck number2 is planked, so i started on "the rear" of the forecastle.

After a long break, we started again on Mary.
The fore castle is painted, but the upper part was not really successful I thought. Too high and too green.

So the height was adjusted.

And repainted.

Better, I think.

Time to start on the 2 cannons in the fore castle. With special thanks to @henrythestaffy for the 3D printed cannons,much appreciated.
(The brass cannons upper left are fore the Brandenburger yacht)

there will be little to see of the carriages. So spend i little time on the details.

Make wheels
Use the crosscut saw to saw thin pieces. so that you can then knock out wheels across the grain.

The barrels will  be glued on later.


A stair on both the sides is too much
Then the stair to the upper deck must be in the middle. And that is just before the entrance (arrow).

So from the lower deck a staircase on the starboard side. And to the upper deck a staircase on the port side.
The error in the planking will be invissible later

I can't wait for some paint to blend all these modifications into what will be the most precise and prototypical 1/200 Titanic hull on the market.
 
Yves

The after Well Deck (Starboard)
 
I moved aft and continued the thinning of the Well Deck bulwarks.

The drill was again put to work… I removed a section starting an inch or so behind the aft end of the break (where the kit molding changes thickness) and extending a bit forward of where the break ends (to give a bit of wiggle room to for a future modification).

A quick pass with the hand saw will finish the job.
 
I use a sturdy file to clean the jagged edge:

Finally, I’ll need to use a medium and fine file to get a clean opening:

Now to add the bulwark. 
 
This was similarly outlined on a small sheet of .020” styrene as we saw on the forward well deck.
 
I created a mockup to make sure everything fit in the opening.  I used the KA brass bulwark as a template to determine the gangway door locations.  I moved the wash port openings a bit higher to allow for the additional interior bulwark details to clear the Trumpeter decking with the added thickness of the wood deck veneer on top.  Details were added using thin .010” strip.

I installed the new bulwark and then etched the outlines of the gangway doors on the exterior.

It all looked good – until it didn’t.  Something was amiss…
 
Have a look at the aft Well Deck exterior detail extracted from Robert Read’s profile:

I really need to account for all the areas highlighted… The doubling strakes need to be added along with the strake below to give the correct dimension to the side.
 
Additionally, I need to reconsider the wash ports.  Many modelers complain that @#$@ Trumpeter did not completely open the aft well deck wash ports and they must put in the extra effort to open them up.  
 
The kit has an indentation to show their location, but they are molded with a solid interior.  
Ugh.  
 
or… maybe…they got that almost right…?
 
It seems to me that all the photos/representations showing these wash ports on the Titanic always have them with their covers closed over the openings. I can’t find an exception.  I suspect that Trumpeter was trying to compromise – show the wash ports, but represent a cover on the interior.
 
I ripped out the newly installed bulwark and started over.
 
I cut another bulwark using the template I had already made for the first pass.  This time I used .015” styrene for the main bulwark piece. 
 
 I then added a strip of .005” styrene that I cut using my new (and very masculine) Fiskar paper cutter.  I purchased this at a steep discount during an online sale a few months ago.

This is very useful for cutting strips of .005” up to .020” styrene sheet.
 
I shaped the gangway doors using .005” styrene and added them to the exterior.  Then I inserted filler strips shaped to match the curve of the doors (Circled below) and extended the strake across the bulwark piece - protruding a bit on each end.  This’ll help merge everything into the kit and keep it flush to the sides.

I drilled the mooring openings and added thin .005” styrene to represent the closed wash port covers. 

The result is ready to install.

The seams were filled with Tamiya putty diluted with Lacquer thinner and sanded smooth.

The doubling strake can now be added using more of the .005” styrene strips made using the Fiskar cutter.

More .005” strip was added to the lower strake to give additional dimension.  The ports were re-drilled from the inside.
 
New doubling straps were strategically placed to hide the ends of the new pieces.  These were fashioned from .005” strip with rivets added using another fun new tool:

This is a “corner” rivet tool that allows for accurate embossing of the parallel rivet pattern on small styrene strip:

Apply even pressure to get the indentations, then flip over and cement in place.

Finally, I did some careful filing to smooth the top edge.
 
I think this’ll work.
 
I’ll add the interior detail on the next post.
 
Cheers,
Evan

Evan,
By coincidence I found your log. Clicked and read your opening intro to this build. hahaha  -
So you are not a "fan" of this ship. I then went through your superbly explained and photographed log. Well - you have indeed become a Titanic fanatic (huge compliment) making sure that your example could arguably become the best possible example of this Trumpeter kit given your scratch work (love the rudder BTW) and then you removed incorrect kit castings fixing those with your custom work. Great work!!!.
Will also follow with much interest. PS: I did see the movie until the end haha.
Cheers,

Mike,
Yikes --- just catching up - 🙂 your work is so good!
 
Cheers,

Mike,
Yikes --- just catching up - 🙂 your work is so good!
 
Cheers,

Now it's time to build magazines and all sorts of decks and beams. For that phase an accurate depth gauge is essential, so I've let my brain overthink yet another tool 
 
The requirements are:
1) Soft plastic or wood to avoid scratching the model
2) Nice looking and pleasure to use, that tool would be in active service for at least a decade.
3) Ideally it should have a thumbwheel or a knob for fine adjustment. 
 
I have a cheap plastic vernier calliper that satisfies the first requirement, but it does not have an knob / thumbwheel.

Could not find any plastic callipers with a knob, unfortunately. The plastic ones are already rare enough, let alone with a wheel adjuster.
 
Then I spotted a Lego set with a container loader ("reach stacker", to be more precise) that has a worm gear and tried to make an abomination out of it. It is surprisingly challenging to build a compact functional tool out of random lego parts, a whole puzzle of its own. Respect to people who do it on a regular basis!

It kind of works, but the play and precision is not good enough for my needs. 
So I gave up on the wheel adjuster requirement and went back to the simple "calliper on a gantry" setup.
It was a nice warmup to recover some skills that I've lost over years of inactivity.
 

This time I even got help from my little helper! She enjoyed cranking the mill  

 
The resulting design has two parts - sliding gantry (no t-tracks, it is stable enough on its own) and a "calliper holder" that slides sideways on the gantry to allow the gantry keep contact with both sides of the baseboard.
The bottom edge of the caliper is trimmed to a flatter profile to avoid hitting the keelson. Both ends of the calliper can be used for a markup to allow for a comfortable pencil positioning.
The setup relies on three clamps to fix everything in position. These plastic clamps are a bit of an eyesore, maybe I will sidetrack again to build a nicer ones  


 
 

Patrick,
As always brilliant work. A pleasure following your work.
That said, Northern Lights awesome indeed. I had the luck of seeing them as well when I was working. But no fresh fish were offered for our meals during those drives. 🤪

Patrick,
As always brilliant work. A pleasure following your work.
That said, Northern Lights awesome indeed. I had the luck of seeing them as well when I was working. But no fresh fish were offered for our meals during those drives. 🤪

Patrick,
As always brilliant work. A pleasure following your work.
That said, Northern Lights awesome indeed. I had the luck of seeing them as well when I was working. But no fresh fish were offered for our meals during those drives. 🤪

Fore castle update

The general shape is ready, my own free interpretation. In the open parts on the middle deck shields still have to come

Current status

Progress was slow in decamber. because...
Went ice fishing in Lapland

Dreamed about a big (fish) catch... 😇

Actually I like cats more then dogs, but this was fun

And the aurora borealis was fantastic

And in between a new small project

Thanks for following

Exceptional work - very much enjoying following your log 

Exceptional work - very much enjoying following your log 

Fo’c’sle Railing Detail
 
Before proceeding I need to attend to another detail up forward… 
 
Around the Fo’c’sle there should be a lip that extends above the deck.  It serves as a wash plate and supports the base of the railings.  This is not accounted for in our kit, but I think KA or Pontos includes a solution in their photo etch offering.
 
We can see it in the detail of the Father Browne photo referenced earlier:

First, I’ll file down a bit of the existing edge of the Trumpeter kit -just down to the existing coping strip.  This will allow the new strip to be seated down a bit to be even with the deck.


Next, I’ll chisel away the kit coping strip.  This'll be added back later:



Everything is now prepped to add a strip of angle styrene:

I’ll extend it the length of the Fo’c’sle for now… I’ll eventually need to trim it back to allow for the details that affix to the very front of the bow.



 
Lastly, I’ll need to add the new coping strip to the very top outer edge of the angle strip. This should all align a bit better to the actual ship than what Trumpeter has in place.
 
Cheers,
Evan

I've had both of these for years - always perfect - I also, more recently, bought the large Proxxon Fet saw - probably "overkill" for my needs. Still mostly use the KS 115. But the larger saw is fabulous for angle cutting as the table swivels as well! 
Your work is so excellent you might also want to consider the Proxxon MF 70?? a very excellent addition.
 
Regards,

The issues with the SotS are that empirical data are not very informative, sketchy at best, and much of the ship's history have not been
well documented regarding how it actually looked throughout its long life no two artists have the same ideas - especially in comparison to, let's say, the Vasa of similar vintage (irrespective of its much later resurrection).  Though regarding Vasa accurate rigging requires some guessing according to Dr. Fred Hocker, whom I had the pleasure of spending an hour with at the Museum in 2018. He mentioned that for the running rigging of the 1/10th the English of the period were very helpful. Dutch information was/is sketchy at best during that period. And many nationals from other countries were hired during the build.
 
Many of us have seen stunning examples of the SotS in museum images and in scratch build logs. No two are the same in its infancy...  Given some "fog" that this ship owns, I for one have decided to add touches of artistic creative license to this current build. The Sergal, and the Deagostini being the only available kits from which to work also limit historically accurate work.
 
Regarding Deagostini I have read from a super accurate source who noted that the Deagostoni's images, from their listing, are NOT from their completed kit (stern) but, actually from a one-of scratch built project. Hmmm????
 
Build on - enjoy -  100% of my friends would have no idea of any errors of any kind... with the exception of my Admiral who seems to always find "something" that just doesn't look right. 🤣 😘 AND of course members here who so enjoy the intellectual and artistic foibles (accuracy) of this hobby. 
 
Regards,
 

And in the log from @djford we @Louie da fly had the question how to get to the lowest deck of the fore castle.
 
Exceptionally  images from the book. According to them it is possible that the ladder on cabin 4 continues to this deck on the fore castle

 

 
According to that explanation it could be something like this

Fore castle 1/50  drawing 1/100

Actually,this is not possible i think
If this staircase (yellow) continues at the back of cabin 4 (white area) further on the outside of the castle, you'll be stuck against the anti-boarding net (red).
The staircase(s) must therefore be in the castle

The Forward Well Deck Bulwark (Starboard)
 
Time now to install the starboard bulwark replacement… Let’s see how it fits.
 
I made the section a bit longer on the aft end so that I could carefully file the end a bit at a time to get a perfect fit.

Once satisfied, I first cemented down the forward upright side – paying particular attention to aligning the facing of the new section with the outboard hull edge.

Next, I cemented down three strips along the base and lined up the new piece with the hull across the bottom – again paying particular attention to exact alignment to the outer hull surface.  Since there is a slight curve to the hull along this edge, I divided the strip into three sections so that there wouldn’t be any tension pushing outward along the length of the new bulwark.

Lastly, I cemented the aft edge to align with the edge of the hull – paying particular attention… blah, blah.

The small gaps are fine… easily filled in and smoothed over at a later step.

You can see the significant improvement in the scale width of the bulwark.  Not to say it is exact to what the true scale would need to be – but close enough for me.  Using the .020” sheet gives enough stiffness to work without the risk of warping when the inner details are applied.

I did not add the inner stiffeners and other details “off the model” ahead of installation.  That would be wasted effort if for some reason I messed up the fit and alignment of the new section and had to start over.  (ask me how I know) Instead, I’ll add those details in situ after I’m satisfied with the fit.
 
The gap that is created with the thinner bulwark will be handled with filler pieces.  Once the Scaledecks piece is in place, the space will get filled with the “Limber Board” that overlays on top of the deck along the inboard edge of the bulwark.
 
I’ll follow up to show some of the detail in place, then move on to the aft well deck starboard bulwark.
 
Cheers,
Evan

Forecastle update.
 
All frames are placed

A temporary support is placed at the top.
And there are 2 cannon ports. To place 4 according to the Anthony roll, the fore castle is too small in my opinion.

The interior finish is in the same line as the rearcastle.

The higher planking is according to the clinker method

Thanks for following

Evan,
I am very much enjoying following your build You’re also doing some great extra detail work as well.
As a kid, and as a teenager I grew up, of course, with plastic cars and airplanes. Looking at your work in this medium is inspiring, and adding great personal memories.
 
Excellent work and log. Your Titanic will be awesome indeed.  
PS in my opinion this ship does need to be built from plastic — PS 2 are you going to install real wood decks that are available for this kit? 
 
Cheers

Hello @md1400cs - Thanks for your continued interest!  
 
I think that plastic kits have advantages for certain ships - particularly large scale representations like the Trumpeter Titanic.  However, they do generally have the associated disadvantage of the injection molding process - some contours just don't come out right.  
 
The level of detail that photo etch and 3d resin provides is next level - but has also bled over into high end wood kits as you well know.  I remember a note from Chris Watton on my Revell Constitution calling out the excellent detail that can be added with styrene scratch building.  All done in the interest of improving the interest and accuracy of our models!
 
And yes - I'll likely add a 3rd party wooden deck.  I have both the KA and Scaledecks at hand to choose from.
 
Thanks also to everyone for the LIKES.  Much appreciated.
 
Check back this weekend for new updates - thinning out the Well Deck bulwarks.
 
Cheers,
Evan

Evan,
I am very much enjoying following your build You’re also doing some great extra detail work as well.
As a kid, and as a teenager I grew up, of course, with plastic cars and airplanes. Looking at your work in this medium is inspiring, and adding great personal memories.
 
Excellent work and log. Your Titanic will be awesome indeed.  
PS in my opinion this ship does need to be built from plastic — PS 2 are you going to install real wood decks that are available for this kit? 
 
Cheers