Project X by ir3 - Martin, Howes, & Baylis - Baylis Steam Plant - RADIO

[BobG]

You're moving along quickly, ir3, and she's looking good.

 

2 hours ago, ir3 said:

Any suggestions?

I'm afraid I can't help with your finishing question but you will probably get more specific advice if you post your question in Painting and Finishing topics section.  

[ir3]

Thanks Bob, will do.

 

The top of the aft cabin door is almost finished. It still needs contouring at the top but I will not do this until it is glued to the cabin top. The hatch sides are in place. I have a spare piece of Pear that I need to make the hatch covers with. Then it is adding finish and installing the hardware.

 

Till next time,

 

IR3

[ir3]

I have not been idle. I started getting some color on her. Painting and staining are my worst nightmares. My first application of the Oak stain was not good. To borrow a phrase from James Bond and a bit of juxtaposition, "Stirred but not shaken". I shook the can of Oak stain instead of stirring and had to sand out all of the bubbles and start over. It is a bit better now. I am not too happy about the stain on the aft cockpit paneling. It is a bit too dark and I might sand it out and try again. I was trying for the look of the bottom paneled skirt below the seat. The instructions called for pencil lining the aft cockpit floor and then some Satin clear coat. It is passable. The bulkhead paneling also needs coloring and hopefully I can keep it close to the skirt below the seat.

 

I also started fitting the forward deck and the buildup of the front cabin door and hatchway. The deck is a laminate of aluminum and plywood. The forward area gets a bit warm and the the laminate will keep the deck from warping. There is still a bit of fitting to do.

 

Till next time,

 

IR3

[ir3]

The fore cabin door has been assembled and the first coating of the Oak stain. The forward cockpit decks are finished. There are simulated grills to vent heat from the engine bay. First step is to paint an area black. Once that is done, two sided tape is laid down and mesh cut to size is laid on the tape and pressed to make a solid contact. Once that is done, various pieces of aluminum are cut and shaped to form a surround for the simulated grill.

 

Next up, getting the fore cabin door in place and the deck next to the aft cabin needs to be installed. Also some details to finish up the rear cabin.

 

Until next time,

 

IR3

[ir3]

The aft cabin is just about finished. The brass work is on and just a few minor fixes on the staining. The front cabin door has the second coating of stain and next task will be to finish up the front cabin, hatch, and stain the front deck paneling.

 

Till next time,

 

IR3

[BobG]

That a beautiful finish you got on the wood, ir3, and those fittings look like they are very high quality.

[gjdale]

I have to agree with Bob - that looks fabulous. Well done!

[ir3]

Thanks for the comments. I am not trying to make this a commercial for MHB but the comments are very well deserved. Marten, Howes & Bayliss kits were produced with very high quality in mind. The fittings, wood selection, and steam plant design are tops. The best of everything. I have three other kits, the Vigilant, Topaz, and Seekadett and the quality of workmanship is tops in all three as I assume in all of the 10 kits that the produced. Project X is the tenth from Brian Marten and Liz Howes. Martin Bayliss makes custom steam plants for each kit. For the other three kits that I have I also have the steam plants so no headaches. Just plug and play. At my age, fitting steam plants would try my patience although I do have a Mountfleet St. Nectan but the hull is so big installing a steam plant would be quite simple.

 

If you ever have an opportunity to acquire a MHB product I am sure it will be pricey but well worth it. I am looking forward to the other three kits. They will be just as enjoyable as this one.

 

Cheers,

 

IR3

[BobG]

14 minutes ago, ir3 said:

 

If you ever have an opportunity to acquire a MHB product I am sure it will be pricey but well worth it.

I've looked online a little bit and have only seen the Project X available. Do you have any recommendations of where to look?

[ir3]

They are quite rare. If one does show up it is gone almost immediately. There are just not very many kits left in the world. I purchased the Vigilant when it was still available. The Topaz and Seekadett were a stroke of luck as I was able to get to the sellers pretty quickly. I do a Marten Howes Bayliss search of the net every day.

[BobG]

38 minutes ago, ir3 said:

I do a Marten Howes Bayliss search of the net every day.

Let me know if you get more than you can handle!! 😄

[ir3]

I'm still here. The kits are keepers but I just might reach the point where I can no longer do any building. Hopefully it is a long way off. The weather here has been brutally hot and no work in the shop for several days. We are finally getting back to semi normal weather here and I have started painting. It does not good to complete the forward door and hatchway until the hull is painted. I have put on and sanded several layers of primer. They take some time to cure. I just painted the top of the fore and aft turtle deck and there will be a good half day drying time. A very time consuming process to do what I hate the most "Painting AAAAAAArgh". I think by tomorrow afternoon, the painting of the hull should be complete.

 

Until next time,

 

IR3

[ir3]

The weather has been very cooperative lately and I managed to get some work done. The hull is painted, a real nightmare for me (just showing the good side LOL). Not my strong suit. The forward cabin portholes are in and the forward cabin door/hatchway have been installed. The forward cockpit has been stained. The next items to install are the cockpit trims.

 

Till next time,

 

IR3

[ir3]

The installation of the cap strips has started. I did the forward cockpit first as the curves at the turtle deck are not too difficult to follow. The aft cockpit is a lot more difficult. The curves for the aft cockpit caps are compound and very difficult to form. With the forward strips in I can get the decking around the rear cabin lined and installed. Then it will be the aft caps. The varnish will need some fine sanding and a bit of touch up.

 

Until next time,

 

IR3

[ir3]

It's been a while since the last update. The weather has not been very friendly and so shop time has been limited. I managed to finish the cap strips and get some nice trim strips on the hull just below the capping. All of this was not without it's problems. This is actually the first model I have built where the woodwork needed staining and varnishing. I am not 100 percent happy with the results and so I must treat it as a very steep learning curve. Only so because the Vigilant, Topaz, and Seekadett have a lot of woodwork associated with the builds. I need to pay closer attention to making sure any joints are flush and nearly seamless. I also need to be a lot more careful on applying the varnish stain. I did not brush on multiple light coats and ended up with a lot of fine bubbling (as can be seen in one of the above photos). I will take greater care on the next few projects now that I have some idea of the rights and wrongs.

 

There is still a bit of work finishing the interior and applying some exterior fittings. Getting close to the finish line.

 

Until next time,

 

IR3 

[gjdale]

Looks pretty darn good from this distance!😉

[ir3]

Nearing the finish line. I struggled with the cockpit capping and did the best I could. I could not seem to get the Pear capping to conform entirely but enough time spent.  All of the details are on except for the binnacle which needs to be assembled and attached to the floor in the forward cockpit. Next step is to install the radio gear.

 

Until next time,

 

IR3

[ir3]

The rudder servo just arrived and has been installed. Preliminary radio installation has been laid out. I will be spending the weekend running the steam plant and familiarizing myself with its operation. Then it will be installed and the project will be near the finish line.

 

Pictures show initial installation of radio gear.

 

Until next time,

 

IR3

[ir3]

It has been too long since the last update. I finally have the steam plant running. This is my first run outside the boat. I need to get more experience on running the plant as there is a gas pressure regulator which needs adjusting and I need to know how open the steam valve from the boiler should be for efficient running. Hopefully the video of the first steam run will come out OK.

 

More to follow.

[Nirvana]

IR3,

That's a very beautiful model and you sure have made justice to her.

Besides, if it hasn't been mentioned these kits does not have any white metal. Only brass and aluminium.

 

[allanyed]

IR3,   your workmanship is spectacular and to make it better, she will have the  gear to be a working piece.   We live on a small lake and I have thought about a small RC boat project but the gators here get to well over 10 feet and if one of them happened by while I was at play with the boat, it might think this an easy meal, both the boat or me, so I will stick with static models for now.  The photo on the right side of the equation below was taken on our community golf course.  Fun times!!

 

Allan

Edited June 7, 2021 by allanyed

[ir3]

I love the MHB products. They are of the highest quality throughout. Allan, along with a surface fleet on your small lake, I recommend a submarine with live torpedoes LOL. 

[gogiantks]

Hi ir3, Beautiful work.  I too had trouble with bubble.  I must have varnished and sanded  6 times before I was happy.  That was on my Krick Victoria.  I’m actually building the Chiba Star I purchased from you on eBay maybe 5 years ago. I’m also scratch building the Eppleton Hall with Saito power.  The MH&B kits are second to none.  I was lucky enough to purchase a completed Topaz with Anton engine from a gentleman in England.  He built it and never floated it.  I have been running her every weekend on Spreckle’s Lake.   We are having our Annual Steam Up , October 24, 2021.  If you’re so inclined to visit San Francisco and join us it’s a good day.  My email is gogiantks@aol.com.

Ken

[BobG]

3 hours ago, gogiantks said:

We are having our Annual Steam Up , October 24, 2021.  If you’re so inclined to visit San Francisco and join us it’s a good day.

 

Beautiful steam launch, gogiantsks! I would love to build one one of these. It so happens that my wife and I will be in San Francisco on October 24th. Our son lives in Noe Valley and we're going to the Eagles concert at the Chase Center that evening. I think we'll plan to go over to Spreckels Lake and to see the Annual Steam up. That would be fun.

 

We're huge Giants fans as well. We were at two games last week and we lost them both...bummer! As long as we win the division and send the Dodgers to the Wild Card Game, we'll be happy. Go Giants!!