robdurant

Hi Pat, the issue doesn't impact the axles as they work just fine, it only impacts the width of the interior dimension between the carriage walls - the impact being the provided part for at the front of the carriage (no idea what its called) is then too small.  If you look at the 3rd photo you can see how it is too small.  No big issue to make my own when I get there.  I'm just glad I saw it, because if I had mixed up all of the carriage walls, I would probably have mixed the different thicknesses and I think it would not have been noticeable until all of them were glued up.  At least I can now ensure the sides match to minimize and discrepancies.

Hello Albert,
Your model is an absolute masterpiece. This is model building in its best form.
I still have a lot to learn.

Good evening everyone
 
Funnels, two of them, quite different in shape but I built them both the same
tonight I will let the photo tell the story
 


the after funnel is cut into the hanger module, will be tidied up at a later date

the fwd funnel built the same

Nice work so far. Nice figurehead innovation. 
Steve

Very nice work.

For myself I would never use a water based varnish, it just does not have the warm and depth that solvent based finishes have. You might get a satisfactory look on a darker wood but with that beautiful boxwood you have used, in my opinion, a solvent based finish is the only way to go. As for painting over varnish it is best if you can avoid it, but if needed, a light sanding of the finished area is all that is required before painting.

Rob - personal opinions only.  The contemporary models at the Annapolis Museum consistently have a satin(ish) sheen to them, far from matte.  Its a fine line between too much and too little sheen it seems.  For example, I'd used the Admiralty recommended 'dull black' paint on my Snake build but its just a touch too shiny for the scale (in hindsight) in my view.  For that reason I'm using the 'matt (metal) black' for the wales and black paintwork.  It seems to look good next to the satin finish of the wipe on poly I'm using (oil based).  One option I used on the deck was to use a waterbased 'satin' finish to give a little richness to the colour, and then use a water based matt to finish (think again these are minwax products).  
 
Answering the question of varnish on paint, I've found that to be on a case by case basis.  The admiralty paints in my view don't need it, but the Tamiya flat blue paint I used is much to matt, but looks so much richer with poly on top.  All personal opinion and results from experimentation :-)

Thanks so much for the encouraging comments. I'm really pleased with the colour of the boxwood - it's really lovely stuff!
 
I've been wondering about the finish - I've noticed that Minwax wipe on poly seems to be a favourite with many, but it's hard to get hold of in the UK. Any suggestions of what I might use in its place? And have others used a Satin or Matt finish?... I've noticed there are water-based and solvent based versions, and I think someone had said the solvent version might give a more rich colour? (I guess a test is called for, but I can't run to buying every varnish in the shop just to try them out )
 
In the past, I've tended to go with a Matt finish, but it'd be nice to really show this wood off. Finally, should I only varnish the areas that won't have paint on them, or the whole...?
 
Lots of new questions tell me I'm heading for a new stage of the build!
 
Take care
 
Rob

A small update... I've finished planking the starboard side (all except for a tiny stealer, anyway).  The walnut below the waterline will be covered up with copper tiles.
 

 
 

Looking really nice Rob, the colour of the boxwood looks really nice even without a finish!

Very nice planking, well done

A small update... I've finished planking the starboard side (all except for a tiny stealer, anyway).  The walnut below the waterline will be covered up with copper tiles.
 

 
 

A small update... I've finished planking the starboard side (all except for a tiny stealer, anyway).  The walnut below the waterline will be covered up with copper tiles.
 

 
 

A small update... I've finished planking the starboard side (all except for a tiny stealer, anyway).  The walnut below the waterline will be covered up with copper tiles.
 

 
 

A small update... I've finished planking the starboard side (all except for a tiny stealer, anyway).  The walnut below the waterline will be covered up with copper tiles.
 

 
 

Slow going on the hatches and I have been working back and forth on the tower while waiting for glue to set on hatches. The tower is built up in deck layers that press fit together for now. Keeping them separate really helps as I add details as I discover them. Evan is taking the ship for a month in dry dock for refitting, upgrading, maintenance and paint for about a month. That is when he will be sending pictures of more details that are needed. Anyway here are some "In Progress" tower decks. So far the one big challenge was the NAV. deck and getting the windows angled forward using .0208" square framework. I also cut an access panel on the bottom of this deck to add the window glazing later on. The big challenge I see coming are the ladder ways and railing. I have checked Tom's Modelworks railing but they do not provide dimensions on height and stanchion distances. Has anyone out there used their 1:350 three rail railing?
 
Here are various "In Progress" views showing the tower stacked up and the individual decks. You can also see where I am at with the hatches, about 1/3 of the way complete.

 

 

 

 

 

 
Now back to hatches.

Glad to hear you were able to resolve it Danny; the model is looking very good.
 
cheers
 
Pat

Thanks for that Pat. As it happens I have a very good source of information (HERE) kindly supplied to me by Wiley in the other forum I posted to. It has everything I need, and the best thing is that it's almost exactly the same as the screws I'd glued together just before I saw the post . The pics clearly show the screws the way I'd figured they would be, two clockwise and one counter-clockwise. The only difference I could see was that I didn't give them quite enough pitch, but I can live with that :

 
Here are the parts for the outer housings. The "hourglass" shaped ends didn't have laser-cut bracing, so I cut a couple from scrap card. There's a fair bit of stress on the ends when the sides get glued on. As usual the kit design is inadequate :

 
I decided to see if I could roll the shafts from card instead of using styrene tubing or brass wire. I'm pretty happy with the result, even though they aren't quite perfect. I used some styrene clamps around the appropriate size drill bit to help with gluing them :


 
Some of the parts for the housing, shaft and screw assemblies :

 
The housings ready to fit to the hull. I think I'll leave the screws off until later in the build. I still need to do some other work on the hull first. Nothing has been painted yet :


 
  Danny

Hi Danny, you will get many conflicting results from google or similar searches as the direction was a design criteria and differed from ship Class to ship Class.  Even to this day,  ships have different propellor configurations to meet the design requirements, which are determined by the winning bidder/tender (and accepted by the Navy/Company) unless specifically detailed in the tender request/Contract.  There are arguments offered about fuel economy versus maneuverability etc etc. for the different configurations.  Also, as you have summised you need sufficient flow over the rudders to make them effective.  Even with twin rudders, if they were not big enough, or incorrectly placed, they may not have been effective with a particular screw configuration.
 
Unless you can find  a contract or authoritative document that states what the configuration was, I would recommend the best way to determine this would be to look at any photos of the screws if any exist.  The pitch of the blades (I think they were all fixed pitch in these days) will indicate which way they turned? For the central screw, I would not be surprised if it turned in the same direction as the motor output to minimise gearing and complication.   It may also be that this screw was only used if extra/the highest speed was needed.  That does not help you determine the direction, but apart from the pitch, if you know the motor/engine type, it may be possible to trace that back as well to find it's mechanical properties .....
 
I would be very surprised that a ship of this fame did not have propulsion information, including about the screws, published about it somewhere. 
 
cheers
 
Pat

I'm currently working on the Propellor Housings, Shafts and Screws. I'm a little undecided as to which way the screws should turn. I've Googled "Propellor Rotation" and come up with either conflicting opinions, or "it doesn't matter". Any thoughts? as (of course ) there is nothing in the kit instructions regarding this.
 
I'd guess that the Starboard screw should turn clockwise (viewed from the stern) and the Port screw anti-clockwise as per the usual twin-screw method. This could be open to conjecture, as I've found that Titanic's screws were the opposite to create more prop wash to attempt to assist the (undersize) rudder to work more efficiently - whether that contributed to the collision with the iceberg may have been a possibility but that's another story. In any case Bismarck has twin rudders, so that wouldn't have been a problem.
 
So the question is - which way did the central screw turn? I'm guessing it wouldn't have mattered either way, but if anyone has definitive information it would be appreciated before I glue on the blades.
 
BTW - I'm going to duplicate this post in "Ship's Plans and Project Research" in case someone who doesn't follow this thread has the info.
 
  Danny

FINISHED
 
I'll make better photo's for a gallery asap, but this is what it is....





Thanks for watching, thanks for the support, thanks Daniel Dusek, thanks to the Admiral for pretending she likes what I shown her during the build ..."look a 7 part rower seat!", "look! an oar!".
It was a joyful ride...I love this kit and I liked to do all the modifications. Daniel Dusek did a fantastic job...I gladly build another (but different)!
 
Thanks again guys...really, without this forum there wouldn't be a finished model!
 
More soon...but something else!
 
Robin 

First planking complete
 
After the first 3 planks I gave up on shaping and spilling.  There is another layer of planking so none of this going to be seen on the finished model.  I'm going to put lots of effort into the second planking at least until the water line as the coppering will cover bellow that point.  One thing to point out is that if I didn't put shims on bulkhead No9 and 12 it would have turned out really lumpy
 


 
the last picture is with a bit of sanding done. There is quite a lot more sanding to be done and I don't think I'll need very much filler.  I have to say working with 1.5 mm lime wood was a bit difficult but it makes for a strong hull.

Hi Toni, very beautiful work.

Ed, never apologize for your books.  They are bibles for many of us.
 
The covering boards and bill boards are an attempt to prevent injury to the hull and chain plates while hoisting the anchor.  Both of these structures are designed to be easily replaced.  On the Swan class the lining overlaps the main wale.  There are three of them and they are attached with nails whose heads stand proud for easier removal (I think).  There is a decorative groove near the lateral edges.  In order to get a smooth run for the groove, I made the lining off the model, gluing the the boards together on a piece of paper for extra support.  Then I cut the groove.  I removed them from the paper and glued and nailed them to the model.  The lower two boards required bending in two planes to fit the wale tightly.  After listening to everyone's advice I decided to paint them.  I found the appearance of the bright wood garish against the black wale and decided any commanding officer would feel the same way.  There is a molded platform on top of the lining is wide enough to allow a man to stand on it.  Access would be through the gun port.
 
  
 

 

 
The bill board has two vertical stanchions to which the boards are attached.  
 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 

Thanks Bob, I'm planning on giving this ship more attention, so hopefully more updates will be coming soon