Wood Hull Screw Frigate USS Tennessee 1869 to 1886 by Keith Black - scale 1:120

[Keith Black]

5 hours ago, Talos said:

Those new guns look amazing. Great work!

 Thank you, Talos

 

28 minutes ago, FriedClams said:

I wasn’t aware of your stroke of a few years back, but it looks like you have made great progress in your recovery.

 Thank you, Gary. After my stroke my left hand was completely paralyzed. By the grace of God, long hours of outstanding physical therapy, and through dogged determination I've regained about 95% usage of my left hand. I am very fortunate and thankful. 

[BANYAN]

Nice work on those guns Keith, they look really good in situ.  Great to hear your hands are back to near full flexibility and use.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[FriedClams]

3 hours ago, Keith Black said:

By the grace of God, long hours of outstanding physical therapy, and through dogged determination I've regained about 95% usage of my left hand.

That’s wonderful Keith - so good to hear.

 

Gary

[KeithAug]

It’s wonderful what a taxing hobby and dogged determination can achieve. You are a credit to the forum Keith. Keep at it and continue to impress us all for many years to come.

[J11]

Finally catching up on some blogs. Keith she's looking beautiful, love those cannons!  

 

[Keith Black]

On 9/21/2020 at 7:09 PM, BANYAN said:

Nice work on those guns Keith, they look really good in situ.  Great to hear your hands are back to near full flexibility and use.

 

Thank you, Pat

 

On 9/23/2020 at 8:16 PM, KeithAug said:

It’s wonderful what a taxing hobby and dogged determination can achieve. You are a credit to the forum Keith. Keep at it and continue to impress us all for many years to come.

Keith, bless you for those kind words, I am truly humbled. They mean so much coming from someone I consider not only a mentor but also an ambassador of the hobby. 

On 11/5/2020 at 9:13 PM, Jonathan11 said:

Finally catching up on some blogs. Keith she's looking beautiful, love those cannons!  

 

Thank you, Jonathan. I so hope your wife is regaining her health. 

 

And a "thank you" to all who have checked in on my humble project and have hit the like button. 

[Keith Black]

 I struggled with the gun tracks (tracks, sweeps or traces) I spent countless hours viewing the H and H photographs trying to to make sure I wasn't missing something as I consider the tracks to be every bit as important as the guns. Years ago I thought about not adding the tracks because at the time I didn't have a clue has how I would go about making them. Even when I started trying to make them I doubted if I was going to be able to make a convincible representation. I think my attempt has accurately included all the elements, the tracks are not to scale due to the method I used to make them.

 I made a rough drawing of what I was seeing but the actual working layout had to made on the deck, consequently there a many compass point indents. Hopefully they'll disappear when the tape/tracks and deck get a coat of poly. The poly acts as a binder to keep the tape from lifting. 

 To make the tracks I used one inch masking tape and a compass cutter. I placed strips of masking tape on porous wood butting the long edges together for the large circles and a singe strip for the small circles. The porous wood allowed the masking tape to be removed without tearing but as I said, the tracks are not to scale. When I tried making them to scale (.06 inches) the tape would tear when removed. After may tries the best I could do without tearing was .09 inches. The deck planking isn't to scale, .1 inches vs what should be no more than .08 inches so the tracks don't look too ghastly out of proportion/scale. Before removing the circles they were painted black and allowed to dry. Once dry I had to pick gingerly at the edge till I could get a dull blade under both edges and continue to gently remove from the board. This was/is an exercise in patiences as haste makes for a lot of torn circles.

 The bigger circles being in two pieces made them easier to remove from the wood but harder to apply to the deck. Did you ever notice how masking tape wants to stick to everything except where you want it to stick? Well, I have. Another exercise in patiences.

 I'm sure you'll notice there is a difference between the two Dahlgren gun tracks. This due to the different relationship between the stowed position and gun port. The stern Dahlgren's port is more abreast where as the forward Dahlgren's port is to the rear of it's stowed position. I'm sure that in actuality the stowed position and their respective guns ports were the same for both guns. When I started this project I couldn't see this far ahead and work out a solution more accordingly. 

 The first photo is a work in progress photo, all the rest are of the completed work. 

Edited November 28, 2020 by Keith Black

[KeithAug]

The tracks look pretty good to me Keith, I don't think many would notice the slight scale issue. Were they black on the original? I am trying to remember my last visit to HMS Warrior where I think the tracks were brass. In any event I do like the way the intersecting circles decorate and add interest to the deck.

[Keith Black]

1 hour ago, KeithAug said:

Were they black on the original

 The carriage trucks were brass, I think the tracks were iron, note photograph. The two coal scuttles (at the end of the companionway) appear to be brass, the tracks beyond are darker. The Dahlgren guns plus carriage were 20,000 pound lumps, not sure how brass would have held up under that weight? 

 

Edited November 28, 2020 by Keith Black

[mtaylor]

Your tracks are beyond "wow", Keith.  Glad the hand is good.

[BANYAN]

Nice jobs on those tracks Keith, I think your research has paid dividends for you.  They look great, and if you hadn't pointed out the differences no one will have known.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[FriedClams]

Really nice work on those tracks Keith.  I agree with Keith and Pat - no one will ever know the tracks are a hair wider than prototype.  I certainly wouldn’t have known.  I bet that was time consuming laying them down and getting the all those curves to sweep naturally.  And they contrast nicely with the wood deck as well - great visual appeal.  I like it!

 

Gary

[Talos]

Those tracks came out really well! I agree with Gary, I don't think any difference in width is noticeable. I like the contrast with the deck and how they capture the look of tracks laid on top (like the real ones) without standing out too much.

[Keith Black]

Keith, Mark, Pat, Gary and Talos, thank you for your kind comments. To all that hit the like button, thank you. Without benefit of the encouraging comments, the likes plus the benefit of being able to look over the shoulders of the MSW community, I would not have had the wherewithal to make the progress that I have. A hearty "thank you" to my MSW community and friends!

 

Quick update on the tracks. These photos are of the tracks after poly coating less deck clutter. 

[wefalck]

Too much work going on the last couple of weeks or so and not much time to look at the progress of colleagues ... the tracks have come out well, though I was wondering, like the other Keith, whether they really have been (wrought) iron and not bronze. We had a discussion on this forum a short while back about exactly that subject. I agree, that the photographs are not very conclusive.

 

Personally, I would probably go over them with a soft pencil to give a kind of metallic look, but this depends on the intended style of the model.

[Roger Pellett]

I don’t remember all of the twists and turns of the discussion elsewhere on the forum but I believe that we concluded that American practice was to make the circles from iron.  The Smithsonian institution apparently agrees with this as the tracks in their Civil War warship models are black. 

[Keith Black]

 

On 11/30/2020 at 3:25 PM, wefalck said:

Personally, I would probably go over them with a soft pencil to give a kind of metallic look

Eberhard, thank you for your kind comment.

I tried soft pencil highlighting and I wasn't please with my efforts at all. You, Gary and others do that extremely well and make whatever the object is even that much more believable. I need more experience before being comfortable using that technique.

 

5 hours ago, Roger Pellett said:

I believe that we concluded that American practice was to make the circles from iron.  The Smithsonian institution apparently agrees with this as the tracks in their Civil War warship models are black

Thank you, Roger. 

I think I've seen pictures of lighter weight pivoting gun on yellow metal tracks but I'm at that stage I wouldn't bet money on it.

 

Quick update........I added 85 eyebolts to the deck and bulkheads, now I can start gluing down the deck pieces. 

[Roger Pellett]

During the 1800’s and as late as 1900 the US Navy refers to what we would call Brass, Composition Metal. 

[Keith Black]

Thank you to all for the likes.

 

All the completed deck elements are now permanently glued in place.  

 

 

I got the steam whistle turned and mounted. 

 

 Rear coal scuttles

 

 and forward coal scuttles completed

 

A couple of deck shots showing recently added eyebolts, steam whistle and coal scuttles.

 

The deck is starting to fill. I still need to add three chest, three water buckets and a couple of vent pipes.

Edited December 11, 2020 by Keith Black

[BANYAN]

Coming along really well Keith, finish line in sight!

 

cheers

 

Pat

[KeithAug]

Keith - I particularly like the way the crew have dug into the coal but feel they will need to repaint he deck white when they get a chance.

[FriedClams]

On 12/6/2020 at 6:35 PM, Keith Black said:

I added 85 eyebolts to the deck and bulkheads,

I bet that took a while!  And it’s a great eye catching detail.  She is progressing very nicely Keith.  Excellent work!

 

Gary

[Keith Black]

 Pat, Keith, and Gary, thank you for the kind words and thanks to all for the likes.

 

 I made the water casks from the following materials...

 1) Handles made from individual chain links. I tried making them from wire but the effort didn't look as good as the chain links. 

 2) Tops and bottoms punched from card.

 3) Cask body from turned dowel.

 4) Banding from masking tape. 

 Overall dimensions....Bottom diameter, .3 inches. Lid diameter, .2 inches. Height, .2 inches

 

 

 And the assembled bits. Because the cask in the H and H photos differ from one another making them was a lot simpler. 

 

 I am disappointed in the results. Each cask has three bands but because of the size I couldn't include the center band, there are just the top and bottom bands. I'm sure Eberhard and Keith ( and others) could work at this scale and make them look exactly like the originals but, It is what it is. 

 

 I'll get these poly coated and put them on the deck ( not glued down) in their assigned places and in time see if I can come to live with them. As I look at them in situ over the next week maybe I'll come up with a way of making them differently/better.

 

 Chest are next on the menu, hopefully they pass muster. 

Edited December 14, 2020 by Keith Black

[KeithAug]

2 hours ago, Keith Black said:

Each cask has three bands but because of the size I couldn't include the center band, there are just the top and bottom bands.

 

Keith, things do get difficult at this size and compromises do have to be made, My best suggestion would be to glue up a laminate of various discs - possibly 3 discs of black plastic separated by two discs of wood, then turn the bucket from this. by making the thicknesses to scale the result should look pretty convincing.  But then again what do I know and no-one will notice the compromise you have made once the model is finished.

 

 

[Keith Black]

2 minutes ago, KeithAug said:

glue up a laminate of various discs - possibly 3 discs of black plastic separated by two discs of wood, then turn the bucket

 

 That you, Keith! Marvelous idea, simply marvelous. 

[Keith Black]

 Normally I'd PM Keith and exchange ideas there but this is a build log. So, at the chance of boring some of you to tears, I'll bat this birdie back and forth here.  

 

 I too often go off, make something and come back with a couple of photos of the finished piece. Due to my own self doubts and lack of modeling experience and abilities I don't feel like I have much to contribute to the forum with a "how to" when most here have much more experience and talent than I do. But this may help someone like myself so........I went off and had a conjure.  

 

 A top, lid, and three bands all have to take place in two tenths of an inch vertical with a slight angle, widest point being at the bottom with a diameter of .3 inches. And the bottom, lid, and bands should stand proud of the cask body. 

 

 Thinking on Keith's idea of stacking three black plastic disk alternated by two pieces of wood.......how do you keep from painting the black plastic when you paint the cask body? How do you turn and make the black plastic representing the bands stand proud of the cask body? Using a profile cutter is the only way I see to make the black plastic stand proud  but how do you use a cutter when your lathe is a hand held drill? And use a cutter whose profile is just .2 inches in length. With the tools I have, I can't make this work. This would have to be turned on a lathe and that I don't have.

 

 I've thought that maybe the solution might be to just have the middle band and not the top and bottom bands. Let the card bottom and lid trick the viewers eye into seeing those as a combination of both bottom, lid, and bands. Then add the middle band and handles. I'm going to make a cask using this method and see how it looks.

 

 Keith, Eberhard, and anyone else (Pat, Gary) please join in and continue to share your thoughts and ideas, thank you.

Edited December 16, 2020 by Keith Black

[wefalck]

Are the cask natural wood or painted white ? If they are painted white, you could make a black-and-white styrene sandwich and turn this to shape on the drill. Otherwise it would be a wood-black styrene sandwich. It shouldn‘t be too difficult to reduce the wood or white styrene section with as small file so that the black sheets stand a tad proud.

 

Because of the conical shape, the bands would be curved, rather than straight. One could construct on a sheet of paper an enlarged version and reduce it on a copier to scale, to be cut out and painted black. Or do the whole operation in a drawing software and print it.

[Keith Black]

Eberhard, thank you for the suggestion. I'll keep this in mind as I pursue a solution. 

 

 I've positioned the 1.0 water cask on the deck. Seeing them in situ my disappointment has lessened, at this moment I have mixed feelings. Here are some deck photos showing the water cask. 

[KeithAug]

23 hours ago, Keith Black said:

how do you keep from painting the black plastic when you paint the cask body?

Keith, I hadn't realised the body was white, so I agree with Eberhard, use black and white plasticard and avoid having to paint. Do you need the banding to stand proud? In real life the banding is probably less than 1/8" so at your scale that means the banding is only .001" above the surface. If you want to exaggerate the banding I can think of an option but its bit difficult to explain without a sketch so I'll get back to you once I have found a pencil.

[KeithAug]

Keith

 

This should work, but feel free to ignore.