Schooner Germania (Nova) by KeithAug - FINISHED - Scale 1:36 - 1908 / 2011

[Retired guy]

Beautifully executed Keith 👍 love it.

 

Regards

Richard

[allanyed]

Regarding the port holes, based on the fact that you could machine away the outermost surface of the square brass tube, it is apparent that the soft soldering was sufficiently strong.   Which soft solder and method  did you use for these delicate parts?   

As above, very clever solution to making these pieces!!

 

Allan

[KeithAug]

9 hours ago, allanyed said:

Which soft solder and method  did you use for these delicate parts

Allan - just common o garden electrical lead free solder with fluxed core. I find soft solder works well for all jobs of this type. I apply a film of flux, wire or clamp the attachment parts in place, apply a small length of solder on the joint and then heat with a small propane torch. I rarely find it necessary to resort to silver solder and soft soldering is much easier and does not carry the risk of melting delicate brass parts.

[KeithAug]

Thank you Steve, Geert, John, Richard and Allan, and everyone else who has looked in or left a like. I hope to catch up with your respective builds over the next few days. But In the mean time a little more progress.

 

I put coat of poly around the porthole cut outs before gluing the brass surrounds in place.

 

 

I also made and attached the brass catch bars around the small shelves before starting to glue the deckhouse sides on to the previously constructed internal base which included the chart tables / cupboards etc. Its difficult to see but I also attached the between window recessed planks that the curtains partially sit behind. The walls were glued with PVA glue and held by elastic bands until dry.

The forward wall of the deckhouse is heavily instrumented and the above table bulkheads, into which the instruments fit, were also added at this stage.

 

 

 

I then started on the instruments. I think the builders had a job lot of computer screens because Germania has more than I can imagine a use for - at lease 4 large screens plus 2 laptop sized screens so far as i can tell.

 

 

I did a bit of head scratching as to how to simulate the screens before I found a couple of inserts for holding CD's in long dead printers. These had some nice profiled ribbed sections of about the right size.

 

 

I started by slitting off the appropriate strip before cutting out the holes for the screens on the mill using a .080" diameter end mill.

 

 

The cut outs had to be spaced to avoid unwanted profiles / features.

 

 

The screen surrounds measure a half inch square.

 

 

I printed off screen images of the computer screens and instruments and manipulated them using photoshop.

 

 

I also created a pattern for the seat covers and curtains using powerpoint and printed this on paper.

 

 

I then started assembling the various screens into the screen surrounds and mounted the instrument images on backing pieces as appropriate.

 

 

The instrument panel and keyboards were then installed.

 

 

I tried making curtains from fabric but it was too bulky so I eventually settled for paper.

 

 

The couch seat and back cushions were made from softwood and covered with paper.

 

 

And that is all the progress I made this week.

[yvesvidal]

Great work with the computer screens.

 

Yves

[wefalck]

Fantastic work - as usual !

 

I think you were lucky that they didn't fit her with deep-buttoned cushions - which is kind of a pity on such classy boat.

[KeithAug]

2 hours ago, wefalck said:

I think you were lucky that they didn't fit her with deep-buttoned cushions

Eberhard. I agree. If you look carefully at the interior photo the seat isn’t the same as the back. The seat being in a brown coloured material which I think looks rather second rate. My guess is that the white and blue material proved to be impractical for the application and had to be replaced. If I were the owner I really wouldn’t have been prepared to accept this. As I have commented previously there are aspects of Germania where I think corners have been cut, presumably to save money.

[Keith Black]

Keith, just when I think you can't possibly top yourself, you do.  It's just amazing detail down to the certificate (?) hanging above the computer on the photo's right. 

[KeithAug]

42 minutes ago, Keith Black said:

It's just amazing detail down to the certificate (?)

Really not sure how you could see that Level detail Keith. It is actually a real ships registration certificate, although not for Germania. 

[mtaylor]

Mr. Black has great eyesight.  I saw those and didn't have a clue what they were..

 

I think this level of detail goes beyond amazing...

[BANYAN]

Another stunning update; your workmanship is first class Keith and I always enjoy seeing your updates.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[Keith Black]

3 hours ago, KeithAug said:

Really not sure how you could see that Level detail Keith

It was a guess that it was Germania's registration certificate that hung above the computer, I had no idea you went to the trouble of shrinking a real ships registration certificate. See, it's that level of detail that's so mind blowing.

 

[Retired guy]

Totally mind blowing and very impressive Keith 👍

 

Regards

Richard

[FriedClams]

Terrific modeling as we have all come to expect Keith!  I particularly like the recycled use of the disk tray - resourceful and clever. 

 

Gary

[KeithAug]

Well that's another week gone by with only modest progress. Much of the country is experiencing high Covid restrictions but our area is only on the lowest level of alert. Unfortunately the children and grandchild are still in London where more significant restrictions apply which means that we are again isolated from them. You would think this would be good for productivity but alas this is not the case.

 

Mark, Pat, Keith, Richard and Gary, thank you for tearing yourselves away from your builds to leave supportive comments, they are much appreciated. Also thanks to everyone for all the likes and visits.

 

The last week has been directed towards roofing, the roof of the deckhouse actually. I wanted to get the internal and external features reasonably representing the real thing. I include a couple of images as a reminder of what I am roughly aiming at.

 

 

 

Rather than try and build onto the fragile deckhouse walls I decided to create a much more substantial building jig.

 

 

I then cut the frieze planks that fit internally above the side windows. The two were cut together joined by double sided tape. There frieze planks were cut from 1/32" ply and to prevent splintering were drilled while attached to a backing plank.

 

 

The friezes sits in a slot in the jig and to prevent the roof sticking to the jig it is covered where necessary with sellotape.

 

 

The cross beams were then installed and glued to the frieze at each end, The top of the jig is sloped to match the deckhouse sides but the beams are mounted vertically, so lie at a small angle to the frieze. The cross beams were installed extra wide and then sanded back to match the curved profiles of the front and rear faces of the deckhouse.

 

 

The ceiling of the deckhouse is painted white but has a planked appearance. This was crated by slotting a piece of 1/32" ply on the Byrnes saw using a .020" width slitting saw.

 

 

On the reverse side of the ply the roof was planked in the same manner as the deck.

 

 

This was then glued to the roof frame on the jig. Once dry the roof was removed from the jig and additional beam detail was added.

 

 

The edges were then trimmed.

 

 

Before the roof was placed back on the jig and sanded to a smooth curved finish.

 

 

The roof edge is made from a substantial piece of profiled mahogany and I wanted the profile to be reasonably representative.  The sketch shows the profile which is 0.2" high.

 

 

To create the profile I made myself a scraper from an old boxcutter blade.

 

 

Making the long edge planks was then a fairly straightforward scraping job.

 

 

Once made these were glued to the roof.

 

 

I now have to make the equivalent pieces for the front and rear of the roof but these will be curved and will therefore be a bit trickier.

[allanyed]

Keith,

I usually make my molding scrapers by chucking the grinding wheel in the lathe then hand hold the stiff back razor on the tool holder to grind the grooves in the blade.   It appears you have the grinding wheel chucked in a drill press and have the blade in a vice.   I can see this being much easier to control and safer assuming the vice is on an X-Y table/movement set up.  Is this the case in your set up?  I am going to go this route in the future for the precise control and safety it offers.

 

Allan

[wefalck]

Sometimes I have feeling that there is a competition out there for who makes the most complicated and intricate designs 

 

I gather this internal frieze is actually hiding the duct for the aeration for which are these turquoise shaped vents on the roof ?  The colour of these vents doesn't look terribly nice in my eyes - brass would be more stylish ...

 

 

[KeithAug]

35 minutes ago, allanyed said:

 It appears you have the grinding wheel chucked in a drill press and have the blade in a vice.

Allan - basically yes - I'm using the mill which of course has a x,y table and of course I also have z axis control on the grinding wheel. All very controllable.

 

37 minutes ago, wefalck said:

I gather this internal frieze is actually hiding the duct for the aeration for which are these turquoise shaped vents on the roof ?

Eberhard - yes I believe the deckhouse is vented via the frieze and mushroom vents. My guess is that the vents are brass but the crew seem to have run out of brass polish. I will make them from polished brass.

[Keith Black]

Keith, beautiful detailed work as always. Are you going to add the light fixture in the deckhouse ceiling even though there's no apparent means to see it? 

 

"Unfortunately the children and grandchild are still in London where more significant restrictions apply which means that we are again isolated from them."

 

Hopefully a safe and reliable vaccine will soon be made available worldwide where everyone on earth can once again be with those they love and return to their normal lives. 

[druxey]

Beautifully detailed, Keith. Nice scratch moldings. My preference is to use pieces of old hacksaw blades, tempered, and file the profile in using watchmakers' screw slotting files and escapement files. Slower, but find I have more control and safety! 

[Jim Lad]

She continues to impress, Keith.

 

John

[Bedford]

"Reasonably representing the real thing" he says while making the most beautifully detailed model!

[Retired guy]

For the front and rear pieces could you make flat then soak in water and bend to the shape in a jig 🤔

 

Watching and learning thanks very much Keith 👍

 

Regards

Richard

[KeithAug]

2 hours ago, Retired guy said:

For the front and rear pieces could you make flat then soak in water and bend to the shape in a jig

Richard, might work but at 0.2" thick I think it would have some memory and would flex back to a larger curve. I could over bend but this might be a bit hit and miss. I have worked out a plan to machine the planks to the desired radius. I'll try it some time this week and report on my success or failure later this week.

[KeithAug]

On 10/24/2020 at 11:45 PM, Keith Black said:

Are you going to add the light fixture in the deckhouse ceiling

Keith - You are right to suggest it won't be possible to see them so it is somewhat pointless....................... but of course I will.

[KeithAug]

Druxey, Steve, John - thank you for the compliments, they keep me warm as the workshop starts to cool - only 9 weeks to Christmas.

[Keith Black]

3 minutes ago, KeithAug said:

but of course I will

Of course you will, I shouldn't have bothered you asking the obvious. 

[PoulD]

12 hours ago, KeithAug said:

Keith - You are right to suggest it won't be possible to see them so it is somewhat pointless....................... but of course I will.

Well, since you are super detailing you could put a SMD-LED in each . . .  too late though to hide the wires in between the layers of the roof

BTW, I'm blown away by ingenuity and craftsmanship in this build

[KeithAug]

10 hours ago, PoulD said:

Well, since you are super detailing you could put a SMD-LED in each

 

PoulD - Early on I did toy with putting LED's inside the hull but I knew that after the first few months I would never turn them on again. Thank you for your kind comments about my craftsmanship, I keep trying but have a lot of room for improvement.

 

 

[michael mott]

I go away for a few weeks and come back to more incredible workmanship. The parting off of those porthole rings must have been a tad nerve wracking with a very slow feed in. the shots of the interior with the computer screens etc. are a joy to behold. Lovely work Sir!

 

Michael