Portland by jbelwood and norm1116 - BlueJacket Shipcrafters - abandoned

[jbelwood]

Well, this blasted COVID19 got me back to the Portland again. I decided to tackle the skylight after agonizing about it

for some time. We start out with a 1/2 x 3 x 10 inch piece of basswood. I first roughly cut out the top view contour with 

my bench saw and then finished the outline with my Allwin Disc/Belt Sander.  Next you cut a 3/16 high x 1/8 deep

rabbet completely around the entire structure. Not having a router, I was able to adjust my bench saw to do the same

thing. Cleaned up the curf marks with a sanding stick.

 

Contouring the the roof with gentle curves is not adequately discussed in the instructions. Their instruction manual from

the original kit is much more specific. I quote "Draw a centerline on top of the skylight. Measure up 1/16"from the top of

the rabbet. Draw a line from the side of the skylight at its widest point (just before the forward curve) to the centerline 1-1/2"

from the front edge. Draw another line from the narrowest point of the side (just before the after curve) to the centerline 1-1/4"

from the after edge. This double "Y" is the shape of the ridge line. Carve the roof using these lines to the line 1/16" above the

rabbet". Page 14 of the new manual give you a sketch of what they are talking about. NOTE: Instead of carving I used 1" wide

sanding sticks to create the roof contour.

 

Have yet to figure out how I want to do the windows. My next post will show how I installed the aft mast atop the skylight.

 

John Elwood

 

 

[norm1116]

John,

 

The skylight looks great!  I've been reading the manual that came with the new model, but after reading your post, I'm going to check out the manual from the original kit.

 

I set out all of my stuff to get back to building, but needed to be sure I wouldn't have to put it away for any Easter family gatherings.  I plan on starting up again next week!

 

I have been tying up a lot of time with a 3d printer I bought for my birthday last November!  Way too much fun!

 

I may use this printer to produce some parts for the engine.

 

 

Edited March 27, 2020 by norm1116

[jbelwood]

Nice to see you back Norm. Very few modelers are apparently interested in the Portland. Will try to post the mast installation

this evening. Not sure where I am going from here. Need to install the crew quarters and get the hurricane deck in place.

 

John

[norm1116]

John,

 

I'm looking at your window trim work.  It's incredible!  I hope mine comes out that clean.

 

You are right about the Portland, but it is one of the best looking paddlewheelers I've ever seen.  I'm going to be one proud dad when this one is completed!

 

Maybe this log will attract others to the Portland and BlueJacket.

[jbelwood]

Over the centuries many thousands of ship modelers have had to step many masts. There must be endless 

ways of doing this. I my case this is a first. As a life long model railroader I have few tools to address this. I

do however have a 50 year old Dremmel  drill press. I had to step the mast atop the skylight at 90 degrees

to the deck and raked back at 5 degrees.

 

I first cut a piece of black foam core to a 5 degree angle and used it as reference to afix  a piece of scrap wood 

to the drill press base. I slid a piece of scrap under that to get the proper angle.  Then held it in place by hand

and drilled a few holes until I got it right.

 

Then inserted the 1/8" dowel to determine if my measurements were correct. They apparently were.

 

 

The next step was a challenge. Took me an hour to clamp the skylight to the base correctly so that the

bit wouldn't wander. Had to be correct at first shot.

 

 

The end result was perfect. The mast lined up exactly with the center line of the ship. 

 

John Elwood

Stratford, CT

 

[jbelwood]

Finished the Portlands skylight. I started by making a pattern of the rabbeted base on a piece of manila folder.

Decided to have the vertical window framing 1/2" apart. Measured around the perimeter of the pattern and 

drew a line every 1/2" and place a blue dot on each for identification.

 

 

Here you can more readily see the idea. At this point I painted the window wall with Floquil Engine Black. When dry,

I burnished it with a soft cloth which produced a nice sheen.

 

Fastened the pattern to the base with double sided tape and added the frame work. Used 1/32" x 1/16" bass wood strip along the base

and uprights. Used 1/32" square where the window wall meets under the roof.

 

Painted the roof Floquil CN Gray with a white stripe around the edge. Not glued down yet but here it is finished.

 

John Elwood

Stratford, CT

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MrBlueJacket]

Very nice looking, John.

 

Nic

[jbelwood]

Thanks Nic. Next up is either the walking beam or the officers quarters. 

 

John

[norm1116]

John,

 

Your work looks really great!

[norm1116]

All,

 

I have truly slacked this year.  I let the Portland intimidate me.  Every time I looked at it, I thought of how many ways I could screw it up.

 

Everything has been on the table all year, and is getting packed up again tomorrow.  I promise to get back to it in 2021 (Thanks VTHokiEE for noticing that error!).

 

Have a great AND SAFE holiday season!

Edited November 29, 2020 by norm1116

[VTHokiEE]

42 minutes ago, norm1116 said:

I promise to get back to it in 2022.

I’m hoping this is a typo, or wow you are really good at planning ahead 😁.

 

Looks like a really neat build and I look forward to seeing how you finish it up!

[Rail and Tie]

Wow, what a great build. I have been away from this forum for a while and have missed a lot!  I too hope you meant 2021 and not all the way to 2022!!

[norm1116]

Main deck to saloon deck

 

Sorry I was gone so long.  2020 was a drag.  I hope everyone made it through the year successfully!

 

I installed the main deck back in this post.

 

I followed the directions to paint the outer edge of the main deck aft grey, then install the Ladies Saloon Profile, Lower.

 

So, the first thing I did getting back to the model...  I missed the center mark by a 16th or so.  Glued it down off center and all.

 

I will (hopefully) be able to make corrections if needed, so no big deal.

 

 

 

 

I checked/read the manual for the 1000th time, and it said "Other structures that you may want to build at this time are..."   So, I decided to take care of the 3 or 4 smaller sub assemblies then return to the decks.  These decks are scaring me a bit I guess.

 

Will return soon!

 

 

 

Edited February 28, 2021 by norm1116

[norm1116]

Walking Beam

 

While reading the manual, I was thinking how I was going to handle this piece.  I decided to incorporate 3D printed parts to simplify a couple of parts, so here's what I have so far.

 

I printed the triangular piece where the 2 beams meet and glued them in place.

 

 

 

 

 

I printed the cross beams and supports and glued all of that together.

 

 

I think the two outer segments came out fairly well.

 

 

I set one of the parts on the plans.  The manual says that a lot of the engine is below the main deck level, which we do not have access to because of the solid hull.  I thought about removing some of the material, but with my luck, I'd have to buy another kit to fix a major error.

 

So, my engine will be my representation of whatever is above that line.  I'm currently a bit confused by the cross bars on the end views, and will have something figured out in a few days.  I'd love any thoughts/ideas you might have.  I'm also going to take another look at Dan's engine.  He did a nice job with his.

 

 

Edited March 1, 2021 by norm1116

[norm1116]

I found a couple of really interesting YouTube videos of walking beam engines.  These two you have to see!

 

Video 1

Video 2

 

Another really nice pdf on walking beams here.

 

 

Edited April 23, 2021 by norm1116

[norm1116]

Hello all!

 

After a lot of time, I have decided to abandon the Portland project.  I lost all motivation and desire to complete it.  I gave away the Portland to someone who may complete the ship.  They have visited this log before and are familiar with the status of the boat.

 

It's been great!  Thanks for all of the support and I apologize for not seeing this through.

 

 

 

 

Edited July 14, 2023 by norm1116

[Rick Abramson]

I have to agree with norm1116. This model is a horror show! The book of instructions is basically useless. A great model builder friend of mine began building it in 2016 and recently threw in the towel. A thick London fog is easier than the instructions. My friend completed about 80% of the model and gave it to me if I wanted to take it from where he left off. I did accept it and will try my best to complete it. I think it was easier for our code breakers in 1940 to decipher JN25, the Japanese naval code.

 

MODERATOR'S NOTE: To see Rick's finished Portland, click here.