Zebulon B Vance by ESF - FINISHED - Dean's Marine - 1:96 - PLASTIC - RADIO

[ouizel]

 One thing you might want to try is the tissue paper used for stuffing gift bags (not the Kleenex kind).  Place a square over your boat as you did with the handkerchief, spritz it lightly with water to dampen it and then drape it as desired.  You can paint on a thinned mixture of white glue and water to help it keep its shape as it dries.  When try remove and paint.  I think you'll find the results much more 'to scale' than the heavy texture on the cloth or the rigidity of the duct tape.

[ESF]

Ouizel, thanks for the suggestion.  I read about using tissue paper but had not seen how to actually do it.  I was thinking this morning that the handkerchief still looked too heavy.

 

Steve

[Roger Pellett]

Steve,

 

An unusual and massive project well done!

 

I’d like to weigh in on a couple of points raised above.

 

Spare prop:  Up here on the Great Lakes where mishaps in narrow, shallow channels are not uncommon ships are often fitted with propellers with bolt on blades, and often carried spare blades on their fantail. Even today, propeller work is performed without dry docking in the Duluth Harbor by trimming the ship by the bow to expose the screw.  Although replacing a large heavy screw might require dry docking, US Navy advanced bases included floating dry docks so a ship carrying its own spare could be quickly repaired.  The location near the bow of the vessel probably has to do with maintaining her longitudinal trim.

 

Lifeboats:  I personally think that your model would be more interesting if you show the boats uncovered.  Vacuum forming is a technique easily mastered with a minimum of equipment that you probably have around the house.  If you are unhappy with the kit provided boats you could vacuum form a whole fleet of new ones in an evening.

 

Roger

[ouizel]

1 hour ago, ESF said:

Ouizel, thanks for the suggestion.  I read about using tissue paper but had not seen how to actually do it.  I was thinking this morning that the handkerchief still looked too heavy.

 

Steve

One thing I forgot to mention:  Make sure that the paper is WHITE.  It is not colorfast and if you use a color, then spray it with water you will soon have a stained ship's boat.  Voice of experience.  Google 'tarps for scale models' or similar and you'll find videos of people demonstrating the technique.  It's used widely in armor modeling.

[ESF]

For those who gave likes, thank you and thanks for stopping by.

 

Roger, I truly appreciate your kind words and for sharing your knowledge of propellor replacements.  I wouldn't have thought it possible to do it without a dry dock but your explanation makes perfect sense.  I'm leaning toward open boats - the kit pieces are pretty decent once all the flash is trimmed off, which I did in a burst of enthusiasm this evening.  I also did a bit of sanding cleanup but stopped when the leftover bronchitis gave me a coughing fit.  Wet sanding is the way I'll go tomorrow - I've noticed that styrene dust is much more irritating than sawdust.

 

Ouizel, thanks for the extra guidance.  I tried a tissue this evening - for the boat, as well as the nose.  It gave a nice, taught finish with just a hint of grain.  A single layer is quite fragile, and I split the tissue in a few places when I did a test removal.  I'm a little concerned about durability, particularly since I plan to sail the ship in spring or early summer (it's fitted out with RC), but I may try doubling up tissues if I go that route.  I might even mix and match, with mostly open boats and a few covered.

 

Now that prompts another thought.  Perhaps I should put a few drain holes in each lifeboat so water from the sailing doesn't collect in them.  Once they are mounted there will be no practical way to drain them, short of trying to insert a teeny weeny wet vac nozzle in each one!  Decisions, decisions.

[lmagna]

Hi Steve

 

Been following your work and enjoying every post.

 

When you put your "Sunday-Go-To-Pond" kit together get a turkey baster next  time you go to the supermarket and throw it in with the rest of your boating gear you will want. Then if needed stick the tip anywhere you need it and suck the bad stuff out. You can use an old windshield washer pump from a parts store or junk yard but they are kind of over kill.

 

Looking forward to more progress. I am kind of in the some boats covered and some not camp.

[cog]

5 hours ago, ESF said:

Now that prompts another thought.  Perhaps I should put a few drain holes in each lifeboat so water from the sailing doesn't collect in them.  Once they are mounted there will be no practical way to drain them, short of trying to insert a teeny weeny wet vac nozzle in each one!  Decisions, decisions

Turn the entire ship upside down ... I missed some out of the box thinking there Steve, must be the bronchitis ... or clogged brains by now  

[ESF]

To those who gave likes, thank you and thanks for stopping by.

 

Lou, a turkey baster - seems so obvious in hindsight - gobble gobble.  I’ve got a lot to learn about RC sailing.

 

Carl, all my problems (and all the upper decks) will go away if I turn her upside down.  If sailing proves a disaster I may just try it

 

Steve

 

I cut all the remaining ship’s boats off the molding sheet and trimmed them to size.  I had a post-bronchitis coughing fit after dry sanding a few, so I’ll put them aside for a few days until I fully recover, then use wet sanding and a mask.  In the meantime I started wall railings which I have been dreading.

The technique I’m using is to stretch/straighten a piece of 0.020 wire (I’m saving the straight wire for the perimeter railings), measure the available space, bend one end around a nail, mark the wire from outside bend to the available length, bend the other end at the mark, drill one hole, set one end of the wire in the hole, mark the other hole where the other end of the wire lays, drill the second hole and set the other end.  Then I will remove the wire for paint and reinstall.

For longer railings the instructions suggest cutting up stanchions into three pieces each.  Talk about fiddly, and this is only 1:96.  I have nothing but admiration for all of you doing the tiny scales.

 

Once the pieces are cut up I trim the bottom of each at an angle so it slides into the drill hole better.  Then I place the brackets onto the railing, adjust the spacing and drill, and then add a drop of CA to fix the brackets to the railing.  Hopefully when I remove the railings for paint they will reinstall without further adjusting of the brackets.

With the process worked out the longer piece across the end wall went a good bit quicker.  For some reason the porthole in the end wall was laser-marked lower than the others which now creates an overlap with the railing unless I cut the railing short.  If I was on the ship during a storm I’d rather have the railing and I wouldn’t give a hoot about where the porthole was.  Maybe it's for someone sitting down in the radio room.  I guess I’ll live with it.  I also noticed that the railing is straighter than the roof edge.  Too bad the "raised eyebrow" doesn't line up over the errant porthole.  Then I could call it the "curiosity corner".

[lmagna]

Just   call it the "Kilroy was here" porthole.

[cog]

Steve,

In general I could say that you would best take the top off before turning her over and let the flow go. However, with regards to the upper decks when sailing, you do not really need them, since the helmsman is onshore - there is a Dutch proverb which accentuates the prowes of those onshore fanatics: The best helmsmen are onshore (figures with RC)

 

You could make it a safety porthole .. a few more bars and you've got "a view from the brig" ...

Edited March 8, 2019 by cog

[ESF]

To those who gave likes, thank you and thanks for stopping by.

 

Lou, if I could draw small enough I might do that.  After all, the ship was nearing the end of its life by the time it did war bride duty and I imagine Kilroy might have popped up here and there.

 

Carl, a few more bars and I could call it a tune….maybe Jailhouse Rock with a nod to the King, Elvis Presley.

 

Steve

 

I did more work on wall railings for the top deck cabins.

I tackled the compass platform perimeter railing which I had also been dreading since it’s a small piece and the railing runs all around it.  Each railing is a continuous piece around the four sides.  I slid all the stanchions on the three rails first, then gradually worked my way around, first setting the stanchions in place without gluing, then fixing stanchions to rails with drops of CA.  At the corners I bent the three rails around the tweezer nose pliers so I could progress without removing what had already been installed.  I’ll remove and paint the assembly before gluing the stanchions in place.

I’d like to install single handrails on both sides of the little stair, but I need to figure a way to anchor it in place first.  I’m not sure if just CA’ing the top edges of the stair stringers to the platform will hold them well enough while working on the railings.  Another learning opportunity.  Or maybe the stair is small enough it wouldn't need a railing since someone could grab a stanchion.

[lmagna]

2 minutes ago, ESF said:

After all, the ship was nearing the end of its life by the time it did war bride duty and I imagine Kilroy might have popped1 up here and there.

It would be hard to believe that Kilroy didn't appear somewhere with a ship full of troops who are all done and going home!

[ESF]

And 550 brides.  Maybe I could make a little decal after shrinking a drawing....

[Rcboater Bill]

Steve,

 

I wouldn’t worry about de-watering the open boats.  You aren’t going  to be sailing her on a rainy day, after all- it isn’t much fun, nor is it good for the transmitter!  If you do get a little water in there, I think you’ll find a turkey baster  is overkill for those small boats. An eye dropper or a small syringe might be small enough to reach into the bilges more easily.  But the easiest way to get water out is to wick it out with the corner of a dry paper towel.  (Evaporation works, too!)

 

The turkey baster or a large syringe is handy to have if you get some water in the hull, but that should be an unusual condition. If something is leaking, fix it.

 

Regarding the misplaced porthole:   I think it looks a bit odd there. If it were my model, I’d just cover it up with a thin square of plastic - like a patch or a doubler for a mount for some long-since-removed piece of gear.  Ships are constantly changing throughout their lifetimes- no ship 100% matches the “official” plans or any of her sisters.

 

-Bill

[cog]

I would prefer to hear the Blues Brothers' version ...

 

Soft solder Steve. That should do the trick. You only need the top bar soldered on 4 points, the remainder you can do with CA.

[ESF]

To those who gave likes, thank you and thanks for stopping by.

 

Bill, thanks for the dewatering suggestions.  I have a lot to learn about RC sailing and I guess I have been overthinking it and missing the obvious.  It could also be what happens when I wait until late in the evening to write.  A patch is a good idea too.  I’ll let the different suggestions percolate a while before I take any steps.

 

Carl, thanks for the stair railing suggestion.  Of course I threw the primer on the compass platform railing before I read it so some sanding will be in order before fitting and soldering the stair rail.  it’s interesting you mentioned the Blues Brothers.  Just last week I watched a bit of the movie (again) and it’s just as great as I remembered it.

 

Steve

The railing construction at the top deck cabin walls is finished.  The effort doesn't seem to match the  few bits of brass on the paper towel.  I gave them a bath in paint thinner followed by a water rinse, set them aside to air dry, and tonight gave one side a shot of primer.  I’ll be enthusiastically watching paint dry over the next few evenings.

I started fabricating the bridge deck cabin wall railings.  Boy, I can’t do much of this with all those intermediate brackets before going bug-eyed.  The picture is about 8 inches worth.  I’m dotting the railing/bracket intersections with CA as I go, rather than trying to get all the brackets in place first (I tried it).  Once all the railings are fitted I'll remove the sections so I can enjoy more paint drying enthusiasm.  Sorry there's not more diversity at the moment but there's a lot of repetition.

[Rcboater Bill]

Steve,

 

Another  RC tip:   Build your model so that it can roll 60 degrees (or more) and nothing moves or shifts- especially batteries and ballast!   

 

Story time:   Many years ago, at a club sailing event, I saw a 3+ foot long steam- style tug almost founder on a flat calm pond.  The model was sailing along fine, when it was “T-boned” amidships by an inattentive skipper’s model.  The collision did no damage to the Tug’s sturdy hull.  But the force of the impact rolled the tug to port a good 45 degrees or so. This caused the (unsecured) main battery, a big 12volt gel cell, to fall over against the side of the hull.  The shift of the weight caused the tug to not recover- it continued to list a good 35-40 degrees to port.  

This extreme list put the seam where the removeable cabin met the deck under water.  Water started to seep in, and the flooding made the list worse.   The model made it back close enough to shore that the skipper was able to grab it in thigh-deep water just as it foundered.

 

I know you still have a lot work ahead of you, but do make time to install some method of keeping the heavy stuff secured!  

 

-Bill

[cog]

5 hours ago, ESF said:

Sorry there's not more diversity at the moment but there's a lot of repetition.

Better than an appartment building15 stories high ... water tight doors turned out rather spiffy

[ESF]

To all who gave likes, thank you and thanks for stopping by.

 

Bill, thanks for another good suggestion.  The ship is fitted with two 6-volt gel cells like they use in kids power toys, one for power and one as a spare and for ballast.  Each one has a velcro strip on the bottom, as does the ESC unit.  The gel cells are also surrounded by wood curbs to help hold them in position.  My concerns at the moment are the reaction the ship may receive from the large flock of geese that spend the good weather in the pond near our house, and the two pond aerators that create big sprays and small waves.  I may have to move the maiden voyage to a quieter pond farther away where the local RC sailboat club operates.  Of course they may not like a long lumbering lump in their midst either.  Beaks or boats, decisions decisions.

 

Carl, thanks for the spiffy.  I couldn't have done it without your guidance to tone them down.  I actually worked on several apartment buildings doing electrical design, when the architecture business was in the slumps, and gained lots of experience with repetition (outlets, switches, lights, stoves - when would it end).  No watertight doors, although one resident surrounded her door with bug powder to stave off a potential attack from an army that had invaded the slovenly apartment next door.

[lmagna]

Just stay out of the way of the geese when the goslings are young.

 

We once had a guy who used to chase the ducks with his 40 pound RC tug. Got a real kick out of it. He would even occasionally chase the two mated pair of geese as well. But one day he chose to chase the geese  after their goslings had hatched. The geese went NUTS! They not only pecked his boat but raised up on the water until their legs were just touching the water and beat the boat to death with their wings. They ended up breaking the mast and some of the railings, almost knocked the main cabin off and there was a bunch of water inside by the time he got it in. Much more than a turkey baster worth! We gave him a bad time about the "Battle of Goose Island" for years but he never tried chasing them again.   

[Kevin]

WOW 

 

she has come on in leaps and bounds since i last looked in, (lol it wasnt that long ago)

 

lovely work

[BenF89]

Just discovered this log, and I’m glad I haven’t missed the whole adventure! I’ve got my sights set on (eventually) designing and building an RC workboat/commercial craft of some type, and so I’m taking lots of mental notes.

 

Looks like a great project so far, and I’m going to enjoy following along!

Edited March 15, 2019 by BenF89

[ESF]

To those who gave likes, thank you and thanks for stopping by.

 

Lou, I know what you mean by aggressive.  There’s a walking path around the pond.  The geese have been coming back for so many years they are unflustered by passersby, nestling in the grass  next to the path with their goslings.  If you keep your head pointed straight, make no eye contact and stride purposefully along (remember Seinfeld - "No Soup for You!") they leave you alone, but if you stop to turn and look at the babies there is much harrumphing, hissing and charging by goose and gander alike.

 

Kevin, thanks for checking in and for your kind remarks.

 

BenF89, welcome and thanks for stopping by.  I’m an RC newbie and am already benefitting from the experience of other members.

 

Steve

 

How not to paint tiny brass wires

 

On my previous build, and parts of this one, I’ve had good luck painting smallish parts by sticking them to a reversed piece of blue tape and giving a quick rattle can spray.  For multi-sided parts like small metal blocks, I would paint one side, wait to dry, flip and repeat.

 

What led me to believe this would work for 0.020 wire railings I don’t know.  When I started to peel the railings many were surrounded by paint flash, bent when I tried to take them off, or both.  I resorted to a small X-acto chisel blade to break them loose.  Now I have the pleasant task of cleaning all the flash before painting the other side.

 

A friend who used to work in an auto body shop said they painted small pieces by hanging them off a wire or string.  I’m not sure how this works with wire this small but I suppose it is worth a try if I use small clips mounted over a horizontal wire and clipped to the ends of the railings.  If anyone has a different  suggestion, short of buying an air brush which is not in the cards, feel free to chime in.

 

By the way (I live with acronyms at work, but refuse to use them at home), the light makes the railings look orange yellow but they are actually white.  Makes it easier to see the flash. 

 

[lmagna]

Just find some old foam packing from the last electronic gadget you unboxed and stick them into that to hold them while painting. You can also do like some here do and use putty or clay and do the same thing. If you don't have foam available, my last laptop came with no foam packing at all! just shrink wrap and cardboard, then go to your nearest house construction or similar location and pick up a small scrap of preferably the blue foam they use in house insulation. The pink works as well bit is not quite as dense it seems. As a last resort you can buy a sheet at your local home store or go around back and pick up scrap white foam that hey are throwing away. A little dumpster diving at some locations but they normally have a BUNCH to get rid of. I have built entire hulls that way in the past so picking up what you need should not be much of a problem.

 

I think that after I got the foam, I would just throw the railings in solvent and strip off what is there and after sticking them in the foam just spray them with a rattle can. You can even pick that up at the home store when you are getting the foam. You don't really need model paint at the scale you are working at.    

Edited March 15, 2019 by lmagna

[ESF]

To those who gave likes, thank you and thanks for stopping by.

 

Steve

 

Hanging by a thread

I had some time this afternoon so I scraped and sanded (sanded worked better) the paint flash off all the railings.  I decided to try hanging the railing wires from plain white thread suspended between two clips.  Certainly not original but new to me.  The clips have holes that conveniently fit a piece of ground wire scavenged from a roll of house wiring.  Not wanting to waste time on an elaborate gallows I wrapped the ground wire around some spare lumber (timber for those so inclined) so it hung across the corner of my paint area in the unfinished basement, the idea being to confine the spray a bit since I don't have a paint booth exhaust.

 

The overall view shows the paint corner, which consists of an old Black & Decker Workmate, a piece of drywall covered in changeable paper for a work surface, and a light stand with two 1000 watt halogen lamps.  An overhead light bulb provides some fill light to soften shadows.  Crude but bright.  The closer view is below.  I found I needed to squeeze into the corner to finish all sides - the wires hanging by a thread were quite spinney but wouldn’t stay in position long enough when I tried twisting them so I could paint the back side from the front.

 

Seemed to work - the proof will be in the drying.  They'll all need touch-up but it's only a thread widths amount - it's a small price to pay if this gets the entire bunch painted in one go.

[ESF]

Lou, thanks for the suggestion.  It may be easier for the next bunch than the gymnastics above.

 

Steve

[lmagna]

32 minutes ago, ESF said:

It may be easier for the next bunch than the gymnastics above.

 

Can't complain too much, it worked.

[cog]

3 hours ago, lmagna said:

You can also do like some here do and use putty or clay and do the same thing.

bluetack and tooth picks ... you still need the foam though.. Tape on a small plank, sticky side up, even bluetack on plank/lat works like a charm. With railings I'd go for the blue tack on a lat.

[cog]

3 hours ago, ESF said:

Lou, thanks for the suggestion.  It may be easier for the next bunch than the gymnastics above.

 

Steve

hanging by a thread ... it gets a whole new meaning ...

[ESF]

To those who gave likes, thank you and thanks for stopping by.

 

Carl, I looked up blue tack so now I know what that is, but what is a lat?

 

Steve

 

Foamy progress.

The small railings hanging by a thread painted up okay, but the threads spun from the force of the spray, leaving a few bare spots, and there was a bunch of fiddling to get the thread knot off each railing.  I also lost the smallest rail to that great parts heap in the ether.  But…

 

Thanks Lou for the rigid foam board suggestion.  Works great and the railing stays in place nicely while spraying.

The railing paint pic showed the intermediate brackets.  I need about 200 of them for the bridge and boat decks, in addition to the ones I used on the small top deck cabins.  The starting point is the railing stanchion, shown below, which is snipped into three pieces.  Then each piece gets another trim to angle the bottom, which makes it easier to install.

The bridge deck port wall railings are fabricated, and now painted.

 

But enough with the small stuff.  It’s time for an overview of progress.  It’s cold and windy today, so no outdoor pics, and the shipyard is occupied with railing fab, so the pics are in the best available room.  Not much glued yet except some railings.  And yes, the Kilroy porthole is still hanging in there hoping to make the final cut.