albergman Posted June 19, 2017 Share #1 Posted June 19, 2017 Hello again ... my second model posting. About 40 years ago my wife bought this kit for me and I put it together as well as I could. This was all pre-internet and I had nothing more to guide me than the instructions in the box. We were sailors ourselves so I had a pretty good idea how it should work! Anyway, I just assembled the hull, made a backing board for it and hung it on the wall where it stayed for about 35 years collecting dust. A few years after I retired I started scratch building as a hobby and decided to tart her up a bit. Here's how she looked when I started stage 2 ... By now we had the internet and I looked at many Dragons there and just chose what features I liked best and incorporated them into mine. I decided first to plank the deck as it just had the sheet of wood that came with the kit. Haven't a clue now what I used as caulking in case anyone wants to know. Have a feeling I scored the tiny gap i left between the planks with a fine triangular file and rubbed something in as caulk. Cut mahogany strips for a deck edge coaming and as a king plank of sorts. Made a little dog-house from a scrap of mahogany and added a raised coaming with scaled quarter-round around the cockpit and added some nice bases for the winches. I have a healthy supply of wood scraps so of many varieties so I included them whenever possible. This floor grating is from cocobolo strips ... Tiller uses alternating mahogany and "something else" ... pine maybe? bent and glued around pins on a board. Metal fittings scratch made from aluminum scraps. .... Winches and traveller are scratch built too ... Likewise a few deck fittings ... This was as far as I wanted to take the project as I had no interest in making it into a sailing model. Oh yes, I finished up the keel, made fittings to support a rudder then ran a tube through to which I attached the tiller ... sorry no pictures. However, good friends of ours make boat cradles for a living so I had to make something they'd approve of so some nice mahogany scraps were selected for the purpose. I had to make proper tilting supports too so they were scratched from small bolts. So that's where she stands today and has resumed her duties as an excellent dust collector!! Thanks for looking in. Frank Mirabell61, hexnut, Omega1234 and 10 others 13 Quote Finished Builds: Half Hulls of Alberg 37, Thunderbird 26, Contessa 26, Beneteau 51 Idylle : Billings Dragon kit Revisited : Trojan 36 Sport Fishing boat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shipmodel Posted June 19, 2017 Share #2 Posted June 19, 2017 Frank - Welcome to the MSW family. No need to feel in any way intimidated by this collection of in-laws and outlaws. Your beautiful work speaks for you. What machines and techniques do you use to get such precise aluminum fittings? Congratulations on the successful models and thanks for sharing them with us. Be well Dan Omega1234, Jack12477 and mtaylor 3 Quote Current build -SS Mayaguez (c.1975) scale 1/16" = 1' (1:192) by Dan Pariser Prior scratch builds - Royal yacht Henrietta, USS Monitor, USS Maine, HMS Pelican, SS America, SS Rex, SS Uruguay, Viking knarr, Gokstad ship, Thames River Skiff , USS Oneida, Swan 42 racing yacht, Queen Anne's Revenge (1710), SS Andrea Doria (1952), SS Michelangelo (1962) , Queen Anne's Revenge (2nd model) USS/SS Leviathan (1914), James B Colgate (1892), POW bone model (circa 1800) restoration Prior kit builds - AL Dallas, Mamoli Bounty. Bluejacket America, North River Diligence, Airfix Sovereign of the Seas "Take big bites. Moderation is for monks." Robert A. Heinlein Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack12477 Posted June 19, 2017 Share #3 Posted June 19, 2017 Welcome to MSW Frank. I have to concur with Dan. Your work is impressive and beautiful. What scale are you working from ? mtaylor and Omega1234 2 Quote Jack "No one is as smart as all of us" - Is ón cheann a thagann an cheird The craft comes from the head --------------------------------------------- Current build: US Constellation Non-ship builds: USCG UH-65A Dolphin M16 Multi-gun motor carriage diorama M4A3 Sherman Tanks dioramas 1936-1939 Mercedes Benz 540K 1934 Rolls-Royce Phantom II JSDF Light Armor Vehicle Figures: The Last Bridge: Raider Reaper Edge of Universe: Ianis The Last Bridge: Vadim with cart Completed build log(s): 18th Century Longboat , Marie Jeanne, Willie L Bennett 1888 50 ft Gaff-rigged Ice Yacht Scratch Build The Sullivans (DD 537) Liberty Ship SS John W Brown USS England (DE 635), Artesania Latina Titanic Lifeboat Gallery: Swift , Armed Virginia Sloop, Santisima Trinidad Captain's Launch , 18th Century Longboat , Marie Jeanne Other: Rhinebeck Aerodrome Tour Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albergman Posted June 19, 2017 Author Share #4 Posted June 19, 2017 Hi Dan and thanks for the warm welcome and kind words. You're right on that I do feel a bit "out-of-place" maybe with my choice of subjects and my approach to model building. This is all something I just started in the last few years since I retired so I'm honing all new skills. Re: machinery and techniques ... I have a band saw and a collection (8 I think) of Dremels (Chinese knock-offs) all with flex-shafts and different tool-bits. In the last 6 months I bought a hobbyist metal lathe but that has only made some wire wheels for my latest racing car model. So, to answer your question it's all done with hacksaw and files ... maybe 200 by now, then wet-sanding the aluminium and working up to 1000 grit then metal polish. I dismantle and save all kinds of machinery ... old computers, hard drives, VCR's etc so I have a stash to sift through for something appropriate to make a part. Computer hard drives are a favourite as they are cast in a reasonably soft alloy that's nice to work with and polishes well. Here's a selection of pics showing how I made a pair of fairleads for a friend's half-hull Beneteau 51 using a hard drive chassis ... Dremeled out the rough shape with a rasp-type tool ... File to shape further ... Hacksaw the piece out ... Tiny pieces I usually Crazy Glue to an arborite sample so I can fine finish it These fittings aren't needed to be finely polished but enough to replicate the real part. Hope this is helpful Dan. Frank Jack12477, hexnut, WBlakeny and 4 others 7 Quote Finished Builds: Half Hulls of Alberg 37, Thunderbird 26, Contessa 26, Beneteau 51 Idylle : Billings Dragon kit Revisited : Trojan 36 Sport Fishing boat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mirabell61 Posted June 19, 2017 Share #5 Posted June 19, 2017 53 minutes ago, albergman said: Hello again ... my second model posting. About 40 years ago my wife bought this kit for me and I put it together as well as I could. This was all pre-internet and I had nothing more to guide me than the instructions in the box. We were sailors ourselves so I had a pretty good idea how it should work! Anyway, I just assembled the hull, made a backing board for it and hung it on the wall where it stayed for about 35 years collecting dust. A few years after I retired I started scratch building as a hobby and decided to tart her up a bit. Here's how she looked when I started stage 2 ... By now we had the internet and I looked at many Dragons there and just chose what features I liked best and incorporated them into mine. I decided first to plank the deck as it just had the sheet of wood that came with the kit. Haven't a clue now what I used as caulking in case anyone wants to know. Have a feeling I scored the tiny gap i left between the planks with a fine triangular file and rubbed something in as caulk. Cut mahogany strips for a deck edge coaming and as a king plank of sorts. Made a little dog-house from a scrap of mahogany and added a raised coaming with scaled quarter-round around the cockpit and added some nice bases for the winches. I have a healthy supply of wood scraps so of many varieties so I included them whenever possible. This floor grating is from cocobolo strips ... Tiller uses alternating mahogany and "something else" ... pine maybe? bent and glued around pins on a board. Metal fittings scratch made from aluminum scraps. .... Winches and traveller are scratch built too ... Likewise a few deck fittings ... This was as far as I wanted to take the project as I had no interest in making it into a sailing model. Oh yes, I finished up the keel, made fittings to support a rudder then ran a tube through to which I attached the tiller ... sorry no pictures. However, good friends of ours make boat cradles for a living so I had to make something they'd approve of so some nice mahogany scraps were selected for the purpose. I had to make proper tilting supports too so they were scratched from small bolts. So that's where she stands today and has resumed her duties as an excellent dust collector!! Thanks for looking in. Frank Hi Frank, your "Dragon" looks beautiful ! Nils mtaylor, Omega1234 and Jack12477 3 Quote Current builds -Lightship Elbe 1 Completed - Steamship Ergenstrasse ex Laker Corsicana 1918- scale 1:87 scratchbuild - "Zeesboot" heritage wooden fishing small craft around 1870, POB clinker scratch build scale 1:24 - Pilot Schooner # 5 ELBE ex Wanderbird, scale 1:50 scratchbuild - Mississippi Sterwheelsteamer built as christmapresent for grandson modified kit build - Chebec "Eagle of Algier" 1753--scale 1:48-POB-(scratchbuild) "SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse" four stacker passenger liner of 1897, blue ribbond awarded, 1:144 (scratchbuild) "HMS Pegasus" , 16 gun sloop, Swan-Class 1776-1777 scale 1:64 from Amati plan -"Pamir" 4-mast barque, P-liner, 1:96 (scratchbuild) -"Gorch Fock 2" German Navy cadet training 3-mast barque, 1:95 (scratchbuild) "Heinrich Kayser" heritage Merchant Steamship, 1:96 (scratchbuild) original was my grandfathers ship -"Bohuslän" , heritage ,live Swedish museum passenger steamer (Billings kit), 1:50 "Lorbas", river tug, steam driven for RC, fictive design (scratchbuild), scale appr. 1:32 under restoration / restoration finished "Hjejlen" steam paddlewheeler, 1861, Billings Boats rare old kit, scale 1:50 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albergman Posted June 19, 2017 Author Share #6 Posted June 19, 2017 27 minutes ago, Jack12477 said: Welcome to MSW Frank. I have to concur with Dan. Your work is impressive and beautiful. What scale are you working from ? Hi Jack Appreciate the complement. As far as scale goes ... hmmm ... well the Dragon was a kit so I don't know what that was. I do always build to scale but not necessarily one you would have heard of LOL!! The choice is usually determined by whomever I'm building for ... "how long do you want it Dave?" kind of approach then I scale my drawings accordingly on the computer and print them. The Trojan powerboat was about 26" long and had an odd genesis. I knew I'd have to find stainless metal rod to do all of the one-inch railings required and until then I couldn't proceed. I finally found stainless welding rods at a decent size so their diameter (1.2 mm I think) became the requisite 1" rails and that decided the scale of the entire model. Frank Jack12477, Omega1234 and mtaylor 3 Quote Finished Builds: Half Hulls of Alberg 37, Thunderbird 26, Contessa 26, Beneteau 51 Idylle : Billings Dragon kit Revisited : Trojan 36 Sport Fishing boat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dvm27 Posted June 20, 2017 Share #7 Posted June 20, 2017 That's a beautiful model, Frank, and I equally love the innovative yacht display stand. Omega1234 and mtaylor 2 Quote GregwebsiteAdmiralty Modelsmoderator Echo Cross-section buildAdmiralty Models Cross-section BuildFinished buildPegasus, 1776, cross-sectionCurrent buildSpeedwell, 1752 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juhu Posted June 20, 2017 Share #8 Posted June 20, 2017 Hi Frank this is beautiful build. I admire your eye for "functional" detail. Those winches and all the hardware returns me couple of months back when sailing in Netherlands and spotted one of Johan Anker's design: Iduna laying in our harbor. Although different class of boat, wooden beauty and graceful lines are so similar and appealing! Will keep an eye on this build! mtaylor and Omega1234 2 Quote "A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor." Completed: Smuggler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcpwilk Posted June 20, 2017 Share #9 Posted June 20, 2017 Absolutely stunningly beautiful. I use black cartridge paper strips for caulking. Mike mtaylor and Omega1234 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albergman Posted June 20, 2017 Author Share #10 Posted June 20, 2017 5 hours ago, dvm27 said: That's a beautiful model, Frank, and I equally love the innovative yacht display stand. Thanks Greg. It's actually just a miniature replica of the style used for real yachts here in Ontario. I don't think anyone ever finished one to this level though! LOL. 4 hours ago, juhu said: Hi Frank this is beautiful build. I admire your eye for "functional" detail. Those winches and all the hardware returns me couple of months back when sailing in Netherlands and spotted one of Johan Anker's design: Iduna laying in our harbor. Although different class of boat, wooden beauty and graceful lines are so similar and appealing! Will keep an eye on this build! Juhu ... thanks too. It was fun to look at many of the beautiful Dragons still maintained in pristine condition and choose what features to include. We should all be eternally grateful to Mr Ankers and others of that era for their purity of design. Great to some of those aesthetics coming back to modern yachts albeit in the super high end. 3 hours ago, mcpwilk said: Absolutely stunningly beautiful. I use black cartridge paper strips for caulking. Mike Mike ... thanks. Not sure what you mean by cartridge paper? Could you expand on this for me? Frank mtaylor and Omega1234 2 Quote Finished Builds: Half Hulls of Alberg 37, Thunderbird 26, Contessa 26, Beneteau 51 Idylle : Billings Dragon kit Revisited : Trojan 36 Sport Fishing boat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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