USCG FRC Emlen Tunnell by highlanderburial - Dumas - 1:48 scale

[highlanderburial]

I finally got the courage to cut out the anchor chain tube in the forecastle. The diagrams on where to put the hole in the deck.

Use a small bit first and go slow. Move up to a 1/4 inch bit. Slide the 1/4 inch tune up into the hole and cut flush. The boat door was glued up on the stern.

The back deck was also cut to fit as a slide in.

[Jim Lad]

Cutting the hawse pipe opening is always a mental challenge, mate! 

 

John

[highlanderburial]

I decided to try and make the stern more accurate based on the original design. The stern has defined tunnels which house the rudders. I do not totally have the basis of the structure lined up, but I wanted to get this set prior to putting on forming putty.

[Jim Lad]

Forming those wash tunnels will be a big improvement.

 

John

[Nautical 1]

7 hours ago, highlanderburial said:

I decided to try and make the stern more accurate based on the original design. The stern has defined tunnels which house the rudders. I do not totally have the basis of the structure lined up, but I wanted to get this set prior to putting on forming putty.

Very nice work you have created! To me your model looks as the real deal! Man, you are doing well!!! 

John

[highlanderburial]

There was a lot of thought and fiddling that went into this one but I decided to use scrap Abs strips that were part of the pars spruces. I built the stern up then added strips. Tomorrow I will be hitting the area with epoxy filler and sanding. The shape came out how I wanted it so that was a win.

[Jim Lad]

Very neatly done.

 

John

[highlanderburial]

I used a lot of epoxy putty and sanding to get the tunnels complete. So far I am glad I did it because the stern will look sharp once the anti fouling paint and draft marks are on. I slapped some black paint on the stern to look for high spots when I sand it a final time. A shipmate sent me a photo of the stern of another FRC soon to be launched. This helped me out so I will post it here. I also started building the roof of the 01 deck and installing bulkheads. These are super tricky and the port and starboard structure rails are different sizes. The instructions are a bit ambiguous with the markings but just got slow and make sure you test fit a few if the basswood "C" bulkheads prior to gluing in the rear C9 flat panel guides.

Edited September 11, 2021 by highlanderburial

[Jim Lad]

Coming along beautifully.  The stern is such a feature of the ship it will pay to spend the time getting it just right.

 

John

[highlanderburial]

Progress on the cabin today. Sheeted and framed. It will need putty and touch up.

[Jim Lad]

You're really racing ahead with her.

 

John

[highlanderburial]

Today I puttied up some more low spots. The real ship has a bow thruster but the model makes no call out for this. I measured back about 4.25 inches from the hawser hole in deck and drew a circle around the boat to find the placement. I never like cutting a hole in a perfectly good hull. I used a small starter drill bit as a starter. I then moved up to 3/8ths then 5/8ths. The plastruct tube in inserted was larger than that one the outside diameter. MAKE SURE you glue one side prior to cutting the tube flush or it will pop out.

[yvesvidal]

A nerves wracking operation..... You did well.

 

Yves

[Jim Lad]

Always a job that requires taking a deep breath first.  Nicely done.

 

John

[highlanderburial]

Still moving forward. I did a lot of design work in the computer to get the props and rudder correct. So far here as the first round of attempts on counter 5 bladed prints.

[Jim Lad]

They look nice.  make sure they go on the correct sides! 

 

John

[highlanderburial]

Skegs complete. Test fit of the props and shafts.

[Jim Lad]

A very nice fit, mate!

 

John

[highlanderburial]

First layer of bottom paint applied. 

More putty added and deck attached. The bridge wing bulwarks and stringers were added. 

Construction started on the pilot house. The kit has solid bulkheads which the real ship does not. I opened up the frames so I could add details to the interior.

[Jim Lad]

You're making good progress there.

 

John

[Old Collingwood]

Very nice work.

 

OC.

[highlanderburial]

More work on the pilot house tonight. 

[Jim Lad]

A complex structure there!

 

John

[highlanderburial]

A lot more filling and sanding and priming. I pulled out the bag of deck hardware "goodies" that were metal fittings and primed ahead if their use

[Dutch builder]

Very nice build and a beautiful vessel. The kit came too late for me but it looks great. I have build this model also but did not have plans so did a best effort. I could not post the image but here is a link to a photo in my blog (don't really know if permitted?).

 

https://www.modelbouwforum.nl/media/3_dsc_0104_small.257905/

 

I really like your build quality and blog and going to follow.

Frank

 

[Jim Lad]

That wheelhouse looks very professional.

 

John

[highlanderburial]

I started working on hatches and scuttles. As a note to all those attempting this build should note that there are 3 different sizes of doors. I spent 40 minutes figuring out which ones were which when I could have simply held them up to the parts sheet. See photo. You will need to use a 3/16 drill bit to cut port holes in the water tight doors. You also need to do this with 2 different doors each with hinges both left and right.

[highlanderburial]

Hatches and hand rails added to the main deck. Pilot house interior details scratch built and added.

[Jim Lad]

Wow! She's really coming along.

 

John

[Dutch builder]

Hi, I don't know if you want to make the model radio controlled but then you may consider to enlarge the access space to the hull using the large size of the upper deck to cover. It makes the access to the hull easier and in my vessel it came in handy to be able to install motor, servo, esc and batteries. 

Frank