Maersk Detroit by xken - 1:354 scale - Container ship

[Omega1234]

Hi Ken

 

Very nice!  Would you be able to post a full length photo of the hull with the bow attached; just to give an indication of the overall ship?

 

Other than that, pls keep the updates coming thick and fast.

 

Cheers

 

Patrick

Edited October 1, 2017 by Omega1234

[Mirabell61]

Interesting methode of joining the hull sections Ken,  

 

aswell as closing the gap afterwards....

 

Nils

[md1400cs]

Ken,

 

Indeed excellent work - very interesting topic as well. Brought my chair.

 

Regards,

[xken]

Patrick and Nils here are the results, Michael welcome aboard. I finished up closing the gap both outside and inside. Then sanded and blended the surfaces using 120 grit dry and then 320 using a block and sanding diagonally across the curves. Primed once again to seal the exposed wood then sanded with 320 grit avoiding to break the primed surfaces back to wood. Then a final prime coat. This will be a working surface until the balance of the construction is completed. This will allow normal scuffing while handling, but will really allow the primer to harden and the wood to set with the primer. Wood does expand and contract over time so hopefully it will set by the time I am ready for the final painting.

Here are various views of where the hull is now. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now to move on and start adding the bay hold openings with coaming, basically extending those that are in place on the bow section. Evan is on his way to the ship today and I am looking forward to getting pictures of many details as his schedule allows.

 

[reklein]

This model is a great eye opener as to modern marine architecture. Very interesting hull shape. All in the name of efficiency I suppose. Nice work as usual Ken.

 

[xken]

Next I added the individual bay framework of three bays across the hull. First I added the lateral support beams and then the shorter longitudinal beams. These form the deck support structure with each opening having coaming around them onto which the hatches were located. 

The short beams required notching into the cross beams to have a level surface.

 

 

 

I should mention that when adding the cross members care had to be taken to make sure they were level to each other as added.

 

 

 

Next I started adding the coaming using 1/32" x 1/16" doing the outboard ones first. I drew a pencil line aligning with the existing coaming on the bow section. I laid down 1/4" tape which provided an edge to "bump" the coaming against but also kept any excess glue from the finished surface.

 

 

Once the outboard coaming was set I added the lateral ones fist on one side of the frame surface and allowed the glue to set. This allowed using a spacer when adding the second side to the frame.

 

This shows the using of the spacer.

 

 

Once all the coaming was in place and the glue allowed to set after adding CA to all the outside perimeters the entire frame work was sanded smooth and even.

 

 

Next all the joint gaps were cut carefully with the tip of a #11 blade and filed with a needle file to make sure there was an even spacing. Here is an overall view showing all the bay openings.

 

 

Next will come the tedious process of cutting and fitting of all the hatches. The hatches will form the water tight decking for the containers stowed below them and the surface for the containers open above the deck. I may address some of the accommodation tower to break up the boredom of making over 50 hatches. 

 

 

[md1400cs]

Ken,

 

Excellent updated work. Your added notes within jpgs. is so appreciated as well.

 

Cheers,

[xken]

I have been doing a great deal of fussy work on the bay hatches coaming while waiting for more stock to come from Midwest.  A couple of hundred pieces cut and fitted on edge around the hatch openings. While doing this it came to me that given the tight tolerances needed that I better paint the interior and coaming before fabricating the hatch covers. So after priming, glazing and sanding and fussing I finally was able to paint a Gray in the holds, coaming  and bow mooring deck. At least this will be a working color coat for now and will have ample time to dry and set while waiting for the material to arrive on Wednesday. Tomorrow is my presentation to the local Rotary Club on Model Building which has also occupied some of my time as well.

Here is the first working coat of Gray.

 

 

 

 

Now back to the presentation for now and get ready to make hatches.

 

[xken]

The presentation went extremely well and some are now more informed about the various aspects of modelling.

In working on the hatches I first make the sidewalls fitting snugly on the coaming using Midwest #8006 Basswood strips. Then I glue a slightly over-sized 1/32" hatch cover to the sidewall frame while in place and set a small steel block weight on top until the glue sets. This assures a flat cover index to the coaming; the glue while drying can distort the the cover if not weighted down. Each cover is marked on the inside with B(bow) and S(stern) and location P (port) and hatch number from bow. There is enough slight variation in size to make each cover unique.

 

 

 

I bounce back and forth between making hatch covers and the accommodation tower. The tower is being built with individual decks so down the road details can be added much easier than if the tower were one piece. Things like door hatches, ladder ways and rails.

Here is deck "A" which will index on the main deck; the small locator rectangle will have glue added to the center while indexed into the deck and the glue will stick to the main deck and release the deck when the glue is dry providing a tight fitting locator. This will be the foundation for the tower.

 

 

I used a wood strip spacer against the bay wall and masking tape for centering and gluing Deck "A" locator to the main deck.

 

 

Here is a view of the in progress build up of the tower so far. The challenge is adding the indexing locators of each deck to each other with a tight fit. The tower decks will separate from each other to add details later on. Here is a front view.

 

 

 

Here is a rear view showing various ladder way openings. The individual height of each deck is .375" 

 

 

Here is an overall view of where I am at so far. Many more hatches to go.

 

 

Now back to making hatches and decks.   Bring a whole new meaning to "Down the hatch!" 

[Michiel]

Nice...

 

Did you consider putting lights in? It seems you don't plan tom but it may still be early enough ;-)

 

cheers,

 

[Mirabell61]

Amazing work Ken,

 

that hull looks wonderful !!

 

Nils

[vaddoc]

Dear Ken

You somehow managed to reveal a beauty that I never thought these enormous (and ugly) Maersk container ships had.

Very nice and interesting work.

What primer are you using?

[kees de mol]

looking very good. The hull is a true work of art and a promisse for the rest of the build.

[Jim Lad]

Just catching up after being away for a while, Ken.  She's really looking good.

 

John

[xken]

Michiel, not only lights but I even thought of RC controls. But since I know nothing about RC boats I moved on.

 

Vaddoc, the primer is Krylon Gray Primer out of a spray can, nothing exotic and sands nice and seals the wood. Also works well with the Glazing Putty in filling any gaps.

 

Thank you all for stopping by and words of encouragement.

 

[xken]

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.

[xken]

I finally finished up fabricating all the hatches and now they are ready for finishing. They will get painted grey like the main deck. I also have started adding details  to the various tower decks like the swimming pool and additional windows. I have emailed Tom's Modelworks for information regarding the sizes of their railing and inclined ladders and hopefully the will get back soon. Here are some pictures of the completed hatches and tower.

 

 

Here is a color test and I am pleased with the matches. The horizontal tower deck surfaces are Green.

 

 

Now back to hatch finishing and tower detailing. 

[Jim Lad]

She's really looking very impressive!

 

John

[Michiel]

Hi Ken,

 

lovely build. Just one thing I don't really get, maybe it's perspective but it looks as if your deck, in particular the line the hatch covers follow, is convex. Which would make a lot of sense on many ships but not if you want to stack containers on top of them.

 

cheers,

Michiel

[xken]

Michael, good eye! Yes the main deck has a slight arc side to side for water drainage. The containers actually set on structural framework that are leveled off for plume vertical stacking. I will be adding the framework down the road. 

[JohnReid]

Comin along nicely Ken.

[xken]

Added details to the various decks and then decided to apply the first working color coat of paint. Still no reply from Tom's Modelworks. Does anyone have a phone number for them? 

 

The tower will now be set aside to allow paint to set and wait for pictures of more details from Evan once in dry-dock. Here are some views.

 

 

 

 

 

Now to prime, sand and paint the hatch covers.

 

 

[reklein]

Ken , Beautiful work. Am wondering why you didn't use styrene for all that structure?

[xken]

Bill, just a matter of convenience of having the thin plywood sheets and wood stock in ample supply on hand. Polystyrene while white would still need to be painted to protect it from UV light since it yellows over time. Much for the same reason I used wood strips  for the bow decoration on my Constitution build.

 

Years ago when I worked for a living I was afforded many years of designing and building product prototypes using polystyrene for product models. Presently I live in a very beautiful part of California but it is a hobby wasteland with the closest hobby shop of sorts located 20 miles away that is mostly devoted to RC cars. Materials can be ordered on line some suppliers are very good; while others leave a great deal to be desired. 

 

Again, just a matter of convenience. 

 

[reklein]

I hear ya about what you got on hand. I was thinking that styrene would better simulate metal,but you're doing a fine job of getting the wood filled and painted. Knowing your work ,it will come out perfect. I got a lifetime supply of .030 styrene from a sign shop in Spokane and it wasn't all that expensive. Got it years ago so forgot what I actually paid. I also got a lifetime supply of 1/32 ply from a friend who abandoned an ultralight airplane project.  I prefer the styrene for simulating metal and the ply for under structure for model railroad structures. Just wondering was all ,no worries.

[md1400cs]

Ken,

 

Yes, lucky indeed. I do know Morro Bay (:-)  We have good friends in Paso. We sometimes drive up the coast, then cut over to the 41.

 

Oh - nice update as usual !

 

Regards,

[kurtvd19]

Ken:

In case you want to do a model for the son-in-law of a smaller "container ship" here's a prototype photo.

Kurt

[xken]

Kurt, I love it! Even better it is under tow; this has to be the world's smallest "Container ship". However, I think since it is riding high in the water it is empty and on it 's way to becoming someone's new modular home. 

[kurtvd19]

Ken:

Yeah, they use a lot of them for that in the Philippines.  Stacked about 5 high with rickety ladders to each level.  Nothing goes to waste there.

Kurt

[Roger Pellett]

Not just in the Phillippines!  A good friend of ours wanted a "no frills" cabin on her Minnesota lake property.  She contracted with someone in Ohio who transforms shipping containers into tiny houses.  When the cabin was finally delivered she was unhappy with what she felt was a sloppy job and had to hire someone local to redo it.

 

Roger