SS Michelangelo 1962 by shipmodel - FINISHED - 1/350 scale

[cog]

I have enjoyed the journey tremendously. I love the detail you've managed to get into the parts of the ship like the ensign post ... the thin brass rod, the PE used for the antennas, the 3D printed grating around the funnels ... marvelous. A pitty it has ended. Hope to see another new superb build by you. Thank you for sharing

[mtaylor]

To paraphrase the old TV commercial ad: "Is it the real ship or is it Memorx?"

 

Seems like every build you do raises the bar, Dan.   And they also show how to raise our own bars.

[BANYAN]

An interesting and enjoyable build to follow Dan; you can be justifiably proud of your efforts - she looks great!

 

cheers

 

Pat

[hexnut]

This was so much fun to watch, and the results are terrific.  Thanks for sharing!

 

[shipmodel]

 

Hello again to all, and thank you all for staying with me on this journey of the SS Michelangelo project which ends with this final segment.   My efforts are now focused on the next project, the USS/SS Leviathan, which you can follow by clicking on the new link in my signature, below.

 

As the last segment ended I had made up and installed the three types of lights around the ship.  The final detail was the rigging.  This was fairly simple and consisted of only two types, the stays and the radio antenna. 

The stays were of three different weights, but all were made up in the same way.  The lowest shrouds for the two masts and their forestays were done with Accu-Flex stainless steel beading wire in 0.0095” diameter, while the middle backstays were done in the slightly smaller 0.007” diameter.  Despite these small sizes they are each laid up from 7 strands of stainless steel wire wrapped in a clear plastic coating.  They look like metal because they are metal.  The uppermost backstays and the lifts for the spars are made from silver fly tying line, about 0.005”. 

 

Each line was secured with a scale turnbuckle made from a small piece of brass tubing.  The line was fed through the body of the turnbuckle, then through a small eyebolt twisted up from iron wire, then back through the turnbuckle tube.  After the shaft of the eyebolt is glued in place the wire is pulled taut and the tube slid down to lock it in place.  Then it is simply glued and the excess line clipped off and the turnbuckle painted silver.  For size comparison, the background is a normal paper towel with its embossed pattern.

Here is the finished model with the stays installed.  The radio lines are black so they do not show up here.

Taking a tour of the ship, here is the forward half with the winches, hatches, and cargo cranes of the bow working deck.

The midships area has the main pool, the boats, and those 3-D printed cages for the funnels.

And the stern, with the two smaller pools and the numerous complicated light poles.

Viewed from dead astern I can see just a little wobble in the upper green stripe, but overall I am quite happy with her.

And of course, the obligatory shot from low on the bow.

The final decision was how to display and case her.  I located a nice mahogany case on line and had it shipped from Vietnam.  The shiny aluminum pedestals nicely set off the colors of the model, but the light maple wood base that I first selected just did not go.  It did not match any of the colors, and made the model look too high in the case.

Instead, I refinished the base to match the mahogany case and the results were, I think, a significant improvement.

So now it is ready to motor off to someone else’s collection.  I will be contacting brokers who deal in ship models to see if there is any interest.  Frankly, my wife will not mind if it does not sell.  She thinks it looks perfect on our sideboard.  I have to agree, though I say it who shouldn’t.

Meanwhile, I will be posting my progress on the Leviathan project.  If you enjoyed this journey with me, I invite your participation, comments and suggestions on that one, as always.

 

And as always, be well.

 

Dan

[Louie da fly]

Beautiful work, Dan. A project and a finished result to be proud of.

 

Steven

[ccoyle]

Great job! She's a beaut!

[gjdale]

Another outstanding model Dan. Congratulations and well done Sir!

[druxey]

Congratulations, Dan. I agree that the light maple base drew the eye too much away from the model. A good decision to stain it. Well done all round.

[Hubac's Historian]

I really like your solution to the base, Dan.  Understatement, there, is best because it really allows the model to shine, and shine she does!  

 

I am sure that you will not have any difficulty finding a buyer for her.  Congratulations on a job well done!

Edited September 25, 2018 by Hubac's Historian

[BANYAN]

A beautiful model well executed Dan.  you can be justifiably proud of this one; not to imply your other work is any less well deserving.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[prutser]

A beautiful model. Congratulations! Richard

[usedtosail]

Just stunning Dan. The display case finishes the model beautifully. Great job!

[Jim Lad]

Congratulations, Dan.  A beautifully executed model of a classic passenger liner.  I agree with your wife that she really looks good on your sideboard.

John

[xken]

Dan, Great job and it really came out exquisite with all the details! Ken

[shipmodel]

Thank you all.  Your appreciation is highly appreciated and treasured.

 

I am happy to have entertained you and perhaps added one or two tricks to your toolbox.  I know that I learned a great deal during this project, both from the subject herself, the technical puzzles, and from the great friends that I have here.

 

See you at the Leviathan drydock.

 

Be well

 

Dan

[michael mott]

Congratulation Dan, I concur that the dark colour of the base works better than the light colour. A superb model and display case all round.

 

Michael

[KeithAug]

Hi Dan

 

One of the high priorities on my catch up list was to see how Michelangelo turned out. I have to say she is beautiful and only bettered by you detailed log of the build, very well done. I'm now heading off to have a look at Leviathan.