Germania Nova 1911 by KeithAug - FINISHED - Scale 1:36 - replica of schooner Germania 1908

[KeithAug]

34 minutes ago, wefalck said:

These bilge-keels are rather large for a motor-launch,

 

Eberhard - I tend to agree. I am not sure what the rationale is for their design. They may be a little deep but they need to be deeper than the keel.

 

37 minutes ago, wefalck said:

I also wonder, what will happen to the prop-shaft, when you hit something with the 'protective' pin

 

I guess it that is more to protect against floating debris than rocks.

 

[TBlack]

Keith,

You zipped passed the manufacture of the prop pretty quickly. I would imagine the machining of the basic shape is a little tricky.

 

Wefalk,

wouldn't the keels provide some protection for the shaft/prop assembly?

Tom

[Mark Pearse]

Hi Keith

 

Possibly the large bilge keels are to reduce wallowing. For this launch, drying on a mud or sand bank doesn't seem as likely.

 

Thanks for the ongoing detailed posts on how you make things.

[KeithAug]

On 4/4/2022 at 8:59 PM, TBlack said:

You zipped passed the manufacture of the prop pretty quickly. I would imagine the machining of the basic shape is a little tricky.

Tom - I kept the machining fairly simple and finished the shape with a needle file before twisting the blades. Not too professional a job but sufficient at the size.

 

On 4/5/2022 at 2:04 AM, Mark Pearse said:

drying on a mud or sand bank doesn't seem as likely.

 

I agree Mark - Germania has a RIB for that. 

 

Thank you Michael and Keith for your comments.

 

I haven't been doing much of late - other issues have been distracting me from model making. However here is a modest update.

 

A pair of rubbing strips are mounted at the stern. These were held in place with rubber bands before being glued with CA.

3 holes were drilled in the stern - one for the exhaust and 2 for the swimming platform step

I then cut the hull from the building board.

Then came the delicate task of removing the frames. Some had been "caught" by the planking glue but with a little delicate persuasion they came free. The hull by this stage was very delicate and light as a feather.

 

I needed to do a bit of internal clean up and I did this with a scraper. In the next photo i have just made a start.

I then needed to start adding some of the internal detail such as the forward bulkhead (with locker cut out).

Then the seating on either side of the central bulkhead. I also added thin reinforcing strips on the inside of the hull at deck level. This made the hull feel much stronger and gave me a bit more surface for gluing on the deck edge planks. Finally I thickened the stern bulkhead and cut out the access way to the swimming step.

The next job was the deck planking. I used my now (much preferred) method of making the planks. I cut a strip of wood with a thickness equal to desired plank width. I then glue card to the wood and when dry slit off the deck planks - already with the caulking attached to one side. The planks are then glued together. This is a very simple neat and quick planking method.

I then spent a bit of time making the templates for the decks. I also sanded the balsa blocks at the bow ready for the planking.

I then started to think about the engine. It needed to sit within a engine box measuring .650" x .650" x .950". The real launch probably has a small Volvo Penta diesel but my launch is going to get something which looks a bit more traditional. I decided on a twin pot petrol engine of 1930's vintage. It has an air filter and caburettor which sits abreast the inlet manifold. The engine is cross flow with the exhaust manifold on the opposite side. The reduction gear box is at the rear and this is attached directly to the prop shaft. A large flywheel sits at the opposite end.  This of course is a complete flight of fancy.

The crank case is made for a piece of 1/4" brass rod. It is slotted to take the engine mounting flanges and two holes are machined to mount the piston sleeves. A central hole (right hand side) is drilled to take the prop shaft.

The mounting flanges and the piston sleeves are then soldered in place. The inlet and exhaust holes are then drilled in the piston sleeve.

The block is then parted off from the bar stock and a flywheel is attached before fitting the spark plugs.

More to follow.

 

 

[Keith Black]

Lovely detail work on the engine, Keith. The little launch is going to be another jewel among the many.  

[FriedClams]

Nice progress on the launch Keith.  The engine is an unexpected detail.

 

Gary

[Jim Lad]

A very nice little engine coming together there, Keith.

 

John

[BANYAN]

10 hours ago, KeithAug said:

I haven't been doing much of late - other issues have been distracting me from model making.

I know that feeling only too well Keith.  Very nice details to your launch, I particularly like that little engine/power derive.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[Wintergreen]

Keith, good to see you back at the yard with some progress to show 🙂

[FlyingFish]

Good to see the work resuming... delightful engine details.

[KeithAug]

Thank you Keith, Gary, John, Pat, Hakan and Andy. Also thanks to everyone for the likes.

 

I continued work on the launch - firstly by completing the engine.

 

The inlet manifold with carburettor was made from brass rod.

 

The air filter housing was then made from a piece of aluminium rod.

 

I then mounted the inlet and outlet manifolds and painted the body.

The engine support was made from a piece of mahogany cut to a taper to align the engine with the prop shaft. The spark plugs are also installed.

Edited April 26, 2022 by KeithAug

[Keith Black]

 That is so cool.

[wefalck]

Talking about cool, how was the engine actually cooled? Did the cylinders have a water-jacket? In this case you will also need a water-pump ...

[FriedClams]

Excellent Keith!  That body color really makes the brass and aluminum pop. 

 

Gary

[KeithAug]

On 4/26/2022 at 11:03 AM, wefalck said:

In this case you will also need a water-pump ...

Eberhard - yes it is water cooled - the water pump is hidden behind the flywheel and the distributor is buried beneath the exhaust manifold. I forgot the oil filter though. 😁

 

Gary / Keith - thank you.

 

Having finished the engine and its base I started to build the engine box in the hull - firstly installing the central bulkhead bench seats.

The forward well deck was installed and the  engine box was then built with the engine temporarily put in place.

The engine was hidden by the box cover which provided a bit of additional seating.

The frames on the actual launch are quite widely spaced and this was repeated on the model launch. The frames were made from mahogany which was steamed, bent to shape and then glued in position.

The seating in the front well was then installed.

The aft well deck was then installed.

 

 

 

Edited April 27, 2022 by KeithAug

[wefalck]

The engine-box would be a hot-seat (in spite of the water-cooling) on a warm day. I suppose you will leave the cover open for the final display?

 

[TBlack]

I'm with Eberhard. It would be a shame to hide that beautiful work of art.

Tom

[KeithAug]

5 hours ago, wefalck said:

The engine-box would be a hot-seat (in spite of the water-cooling) on a warm day. I suppose you will leave the cover open for the final display?

 

Eberhard / Tom - I think I will insulate the underside of the cover. I may leave the cover loose and do the big reveal it when showing people around.

Edited April 27, 2022 by KeithAug

[Keith Black]

Keith, if you wanted to suggest both seating and being able to view the engine you could have a wide board frame inset with a piece of acetate. 

[Dr PR]

Make a tool box and put it beside the engine compartment with the cover off. It will look like the engine was being serviced.

 

Whatever you do it will be a beautiful model!

[KeithAug]

2 hours ago, Dr PR said:

Make a tool box and put it beside the engine compartment

I like that idea.

[Mark Pearse]

Hi Keith

 

The putt putt engine is beautiful. 

[Roger Pellett]

Put the missing oil filter next to the tool box on top of a rag. 😁

[Bedford]

Keith, you're like me. You built the engine which will be hidden because you can and you know it's there.

So do we and it's brilliant.

[KeithAug]

Thank you to all of you who have left recent comments and suggestions and thanks to everyone who has visited and liked my work. 

I will pick up some of the suggestions in a later post.

 

I have been doing a bit more work on the launch.

I installed the aft well deck floor and then made card templates of the aft seating. The templates were used to shape the seats and then these were glued in place with PVA glue.

I then moved on to making the cap rails. these could have been cut from solid but I thought it would look better if they were laminated.

 

To get the correct shape I taped a card to the top of the hull and then marked out  the shape using the hull as a template.

Before mounting the cap rails I decided to install the throttle lever together with the fuel gauge and rev counter.. These were mounted in the location vacated by the boats wheel.

Each cap rail was laminated from 3 strips of mahogany, formed to shape over the template and held in place with pins until the PVA glue dried.  The rails in the next photo are being checked for shape prior to gluing.

Once satisfied with the shape I sanded the surfaces of the rails and then glued them in place using "Starbucks stick clamps" and elastic bands. Starbucks sticks are of variable quality - note the fracture. 

Once the first rail was dry the second was glued in place.

Both rails are now in place so I will move on to the ships wheel next.

 

 

 

 

 

[KenW]

I'm becoming more and more impressed with your metal working skills.

Great model.

 

[BANYAN]

All I can say Keith is WOW!  but even that did not sound right beccause my lower jaw is still dragging on the ground.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[KeithAug]

Thank you Ken and Pat for your comments. Thanks to everyone for the likes.

 

I had a bit of fun making the boats wheel.

 

I sized the wheel at .44" outside diameter with a .16" hub (15.8" OD at full size)

 

I started with .5" brass rod which I reduced in diameter to .44". The bore was then drilled out to .375" leaving an annulus .032" thick.  6 equi-spaced .027" dia holes were then drilled round the annulus. The hub was drilled with 6 more holes and then parted off from a .160" dia rod.

5 stainless steel pins were then inserted to support the hub (one through pin and 4 further pins) these were glued in place with CA.

The pins were then cut off prior to the .5" rod being re mounted in the lathe chuck.

The pins were then machined flush and hub bore was re drilled and a shaft inserted.

The edges of the annulus were then rounded before the wheel was parted off. The wheel was then flipped round and held by the shaft for the reverse of the annulus to be carefully profiled.

A fun little job😀

[druxey]

Brilliant!

[FlyingFish]

Just getting caught up - that wheel is so clever! Brilliant idea!