Fifie by PJG - Amati - 1:32 - Scottish Motor Fishing Vessel

[BobG]

Beautiful work, PJG! I'm interested in your weathering techniques also.

[Ras Ambrioso]

PJG, you are amazing. I would also like to know your weather technique. Today spent some time making cran baskets using a technique I picked up in this forum. I have taken pictures of the fabrication sequence  and will publish them when I complete the task. My idea is to present my Fifie like if it had reached the dock and started the unloading. I got the idea from the following photo:

 

 

Also I have a question about the rings or the handles on the hold cover boards. In looking at a bunch of pictures I only found one boat with handle on the board and it was not a Fifie. All the boats seem to have just plain boards. It to me seems that the boards will stack better without any projections on their surface. I cannot figure out how do they take the first board off. On my boat I thought of just making a handhold embedded in the top of the board. Something that you see on work boats decks. I will make a sketch and publish it in my build. Your work is extraordinary

[PJG]

@Tim Moore @Ras Ambrioso @BobG

 

Thanks guys for the nice comments, they're appreciated! I wish I had something more concrete/specific to share on how I do weathering but it's mostly a trial and error process. A few things that I do consistently are:

 

1. Paint with multiple layers of heavily thinned washes (90/10 or 80/20 water to paint). It's much easier to slowly build your way up to a look you're after rather than trying to step back from going too far.

 

2. I use Vallejo Model Air acrylic paint...it's really versatile and forgiving to work with and cleans up easily with water. It brushes nicely on wood and works great with the air brush (thus the name). I'm sure there are other great products out there but this is the paint I use. You can do a lot of layering with this paint (properly thinned) without too much build up. 

 

3. I use ground up pastel to add subtle color/depth to areas where more weathering makes sense (heavy traffic areas, around door handles, etc.). It also works to bring out the grain in most woods. Tamiya makes a product that I think is essentially the same thing but much more expensive. I think they call their product "Weathering Master". 

 

Ras...as for my fish hold covers and the grab-handles I went with, I can almost guarantee there's very little historically accurate about them 😂 !
I've also seen photos that show what you describe (plain boards with nothing at all on them) but I'm willing to stretch the truth a bit in the service of an interesting presentation. I've been struggling with the idea of using figures in this build but the further I move along the less likely I am to do that. Ultimately,  I think adding details like grab-handles with signs of use/wear around them goes further to sell the realism of the build than figures I'd almost certainly do a bad job of pulling off. I also spent way too much time and energy on 300+ little herring that probably won't make the final cut either but don't hold me to that!

 

 

[Mike_In_RI]

On 2/15/2021 at 2:30 PM, PJG said:

'll be adding a few more details to this area in addition to a more appropriate wheel. I'd imagine there would be a binnacle and some kind of control for the motor. I may also add a light source here if I can find a way to do it convincingly. Stay tuned...

 

From all the wheelhouse pictures I've seen, they all look customized. Generally, I'd consider a small place for a chart as well. My guess is the wheel mechanism would be covered with a wooden cabinet/table which could also hold a small motor control and maybe even the binnacle depending on choice of it being cabinet mounted or on a pedestal.

 

 Spectacular as usual. Don't go too easy on the crew.. first coat hangers and seats... then leather cushions... pretty soon they'll want flotation devices and life preservers.. 🤔

 

Quick question... What did you use for window glass?

 

Thanks, Mike

 

Edited February 17, 2021 by Mike_In_RI

[PJG]

@Mike_In_RI Thanks for the wheelhouse hints/suggestions. It didn't occur to me that the wheel mechanism might be covered...that makes a lot of sense. I do plan to try the pedestal style binnacle and see how that looks. 

 

20 hours ago, Mike_In_RI said:

Don't go too easy on the crew.. first coat hangers and seats... then leather cushions... pretty soon they'll want flotation devices and life preservers.. 🤔

 

 

We'll see how profitable the boat is before I consider any more luxury items for the crew 😂

 

20 hours ago, Mike_In_RI said:

Quick question... What did you use for window glass?

 

I used clear plastic sheet (the thinnest I could find) with a 50/50 mix of Mod Podge (glossy) brushed on after it was glued into the frames.  

[Mike_In_RI]

I meant to mention most of the shots I've seen come from either the Scottish Fisheries Museum or the Swan Trust in the Galleries section.

https://www.swantrust.com/ .

 

 

[Ras Ambrioso]

PJG, you are amazing. I would also like to know your weather technique. Today spent some time making cran baskets. I will publish the pictures once I get good ones. The first one came to cylindrical. They should be slightly conical.

 

Also agree with the idea of a cover for the steering mechanism. It would be a place to locate the engine controls (gear shift and throttle) and the compass. I also read that they carried a barometer and a clock which could be placed in the walls.

I have been working on the planking and had a problem with butting of the short side before attaching to the hull. Seems that I didn't have a strong joint. I decided then to cut the long plank at a frame and butt the short plank there. Of course alternating  fwd. and aft.

I am also going to build the hold details before I complete the planking.

[PJG]

Thanks guys for the nice comments and great suggestions! I've been a bit distracted lately planning a scratch build that's become a bit of an obsession (now I  see why some of you call it the "dark side" 😂) but trying my best to stay focused on the task at hand. I'm not sure what's up with the USPS but I finally received the mini LEDs I ordered so long ago I almost forgot about them. Now that I have them I've started fooling around with where and how to use them to best effect...that's still a work in progress. Otherwise, building and rebuilding my wheelhouse interior has taken far too long and made me a little crazy. This will be a short update, but some progress is better than none...

 

 

 

I've got my wheelhouse door where I want it and added a step and grab handle to assist the older crew members when conditions are rough on the Scottish coast. 

 

 

My wheelhouse interior has gone through several changes, amongst them: 3 different attempts at a binnacle (still not happy), 3 throttle configurations (this was the first) and so many wheels I lost track. 

 

 

I finally arrived at a wheel I could live with after several attempts. The ring is paper and the rest metal. The wheel that came with the kit (mine was damaged) is so out of scale and seemingly inappropriate for this boat I never had any intention of using it. The Vanguard 1/64 kits have far more realistic wheels than what Amati offers here. 

 

 

 

This is pretty much the final configuration I'll be going with. When the wheelhouse roof is on a lot of this detail is hard to see clearly given the "wavy" glass in the windows. 

 

On to experiments with LEDs...

 

 

 

 

I was a little reluctant to attempt lighting on this build but with all the below deck detail I took the time to build it seemed like a waste to have it hidden in the shadows. I would have done things a little differently in terms of making accommodations for wiring, etc. but I think I can pull it off without too much backtracking. Thanks for checking in! 

[Ras Ambrioso]

Outstanding details. You keep building my interest to see what else can you think of. Great inspiration. Thanks

[Moab]

Love those details and photos...Moab

[BobG]

Spectacular work! You may have already covered this but how did you make the glass windows? They look great!

[PJG]

As always, thanks for the positive feedback guys!

 

@BobG The window glass is clear plastic (the thinnest stuff I could find) with a coat of glossy Mod Podge thinned to about 50/50 with water. The window frames are made of layered paper. The Mod Podge gives the glass the "wavy" look but also does a great job gluing the layers together. One of these days I'll remember to document this stuff as I do it rather than trying to explain it later 😂

[Mike_In_RI]

Great improvement of your wheel over the kit version. Also the weathering of the wheel house cabin, especially the table top, is perfect. I can almost see a stain there from a bottle of 12 year old  Glenfiddich.

 

The LED lighting was well worth doing. The color is perfect for the camera. 

[PJG]

On 3/12/2021 at 11:10 AM, Mike_In_RI said:

Great improvement of your wheel over the kit version. Also the weathering of the wheel house cabin, especially the table top, is perfect. I can almost see a stain there from a bottle of 12 year old  Glenfiddich.

 

The LED lighting was well worth doing. The color is perfect for the camera. 

 

Thanks Mike...this build is getting to the point where I think I may need the Glenfiddich soon! 😂

[PJG]

It's been too long since my last update but I think I've finally gotten enough done to make it worth while. I finally arrived at a binnacle I could live with (number 5 I believe 🤦🏻‍♂️). The wheelhouse roof is glued on now so there's no turning back!

 

 

I added a little support structure to the wheelhouse ceiling and made the light fixture the LED for this area will live in.

 

 

A final look at the wheelhouse interior before the roof goes on.

 

 

I added a loading hatch for the coal bin which will be visible below deck when the LEDs are installed. I have no idea where the coal was actually stored on any given boat but close to the stove and boiler seems like a reasonable guess. The weathering on the deck shows up better in this photo than others and is a pretty good representation of what it looks like in person.

 

 

I built my base from a good quality piece of 3/4" plywood to prevent warping when my plaster of Paris "water" is poured and trimmed the edges with scrap I had available. There are 2 access holes for my LED switches and future battery changes. After some test-fitting, the below-deck detail pieces were glued in place.

 

 

After fooling around with the position of the LEDs I found that this position worked best to light things enough to see but no so much that it was over the top. When the boat was in place I noticed areas visible through the coal hatch that I hadn't planned for initially. The addition of the back wall of the cabin and false "hall" solved that problem. I almost forgot to add the "real" coal to my bin before I closed the boat permanently but managed to avoid that senior moment 😂

 

 

 

Next, I added some weathering to the fish hold partition boards and net drying planks.

 

After a lot of changing my mind I ultimately decided to use plaster of paris to create my simulated sea. There are lots of epoxy/resin products out there to do the same thing but I just felt more comfortable working with something less complicated. Thanks to my old friend YouTube I was able to get some excellent information on getting a good, bubble and lump free mix (happy to share if anyone is interested). After a couple test pours I made a large enough batch to fill my base. 

 

 

 

 

 

The only major downside to plaster of paris, particularly in one big batch spread over a fairly large area, is its quick set time. Once you begin stirring your mix the clock starts to run. The instructions suggest a 30 minute workable period but my batch was too hard to manipulate in no more than 10 minutes. Because of this, I didn't get to finesse the surface as much as I would have liked, but ultimately, I don't think it really mattered. It would have been nice to be able to clean up overspill with a rag rather than a chisel but at least my mixing bucket can now be used as an anchor for an actual boat!

 

I was a little skeptical that the surface was very water-like but a little paint went a long way towards fixing that. 

 

 

 

After letting the plaster cure for several days (at least 72 hours is recommended to ensure no moisture is trapped) I did a base coat of flat black acrylic paint and added a 70/30 paint to water wash of deep green on top of that. This was a semi-gloss finish and starts to make the water look much more water-like. 

 

 

Next I made a 50/50 (approximately) wash of white acrylic paint and high gloss Mod Podge (I love this stuff) to give the water a bit of a foamy look around the hull. You can see from the practice piece in the upper right, the black undercoat saved me many layers of my "North Sea" green! Once I was satisfied my water was reasonably believable, two more heavy coats of the Mod Podge were added to really push the gloss.  

 

Once the lights were wired I took a few photos away from my disgracefully cluttered work bench to get a feel for my overall progress.

 

   

 

 

Lights on...

 

 

 

 

I still have a lot left to do but hopefully I'll have this one finished in the foreseeable future...as always, thanks for checking in!

[Moab]

At a loss for words. Congrats!!!! It's one beautiful model.  Thank you for the great photos and descriptions. I can't begin to tell you how much I've learned and enjoyed your build...Moab

[Mike_In_RI]

The water turned out great. Very realistic. It even looks cold.🥶 'Love the views into the hold.

 

You probably have this worked out but what LEDs are used? Typically, there is a current limiting resistor(s) somewhere in the circuit.

 

Mike

[Ras Ambrioso]

I feel like Moab. You have done a super job PJG. You are a great inspiration to all of us. Thanks.

[Tim Moore]

Unbelievable. Every aspect so well done. A treat to see your creative approach and masterful execution. 

[michael mott]

Just finished going through the entire build what a great looking model, I smiled at the school of fish on the deck. Good job you got then into the hold on ice before they started smelling. A love the details and the clean workmanship inside the cabin.

 

Michael

[James H]

Just outstanding 

 

The whole model, and that interior finish. Beautiful.

[BobG]

WOW...spectacular!!

[PJG]

Thanks guys for the nice comments and encouragement! 

 

On 3/29/2021 at 7:29 PM, Mike_In_RI said:

You probably have this worked out but what LEDs are used? Typically, there is a current limiting resistor(s) somewhere in the circuit.

 

Mike...the LEDs are the nanos (1.6mm) from Evan Designs. According to what I read on the the website you can run up to 9 of these on one 3V battery. I have a total of 8 on 2 batteries (4 per) so I think I should be ok. I'm sure there are better, more efficient ways to set this kind of thing up but the fact that they work and my boat hasn't burned to the waterline (yet) is about the best I could do given my complete lack of electronics expertise 😂. 

 

On 3/29/2021 at 10:27 PM, michael mott said:

I smiled at the school of fish on the deck. Good job you got then into the hold on ice before they started smelling.

 

Thanks Michael...the fish are still on the "maybe" list for the final display. If I can tuck them away somewhere in the hold where their unsettling flatness isn't so apparent they could still make the final cut. 

[bebopsteve]

Fabulous!!! Great Great work!

[bobandlucy]

This is just incredible work. I love the details, the cabin and the machinery. The simulated water is amazing. I don't think I'm ready to tackle this model yet, but I may buy it now as I'd like to know it is there waiting for me.

Edited May 16, 2021 by bobandlucy

[Helge Hafstad]

The amount of thought and detail here is amazing! Have a Caldercraft Fifie "Amaranth" kit that I'm thinking of building, but have to say your detailing is nearly disheartening! 😄 Well, it'll just take longer I guess. I'm sure I'll look here again to see things to consider. hope you do not mind that.