AMAPÁ 1907 by Ras Ambrioso - FINISHED - scale 1:64 - Brazilian Customs Cruiser

[Ras Ambrioso]

I proceeded with the idea of making the ships boats out of reinforced resin. I made the molds and and finished them with three coats of shellac with fine sanding in between. When properly dried, I applied carnauba wax to the mold in two layers. Then using the hose stocking's material, provided by the Admiral, I applied the resin.

I tried to smooth it out the best I could and left it to dry 24 hours.

Then catastrophe!!!

As I tried to remove the hull from the mold parts of the hull where still adhering to the mold and I could nor get a clean casting.

I will rest for a while and figure it out. Initially I think that my mold release was not sufficient, that I should have trimmed the cloth more around the mold and that, perhaps should use two layers. I would appreciate your comments and suggestions.

 

But still more remains to be fabricated. The finished bollards need their fairleads. Following is the method I used:

 

After drilling two holes in line I carved the fairlead shape with jewelers files

And this is the result. Success 

All I need now is to make the other three I need, reduce their height a bit and glue them their bases. 

 

Now the cold beer is waiting. Another day in the life of a model boat builder.

[mcb]

Well, the fairlead turned out well.  Is that 1/4" x1/16" stock?

I'm sure you'll get the boat figured out.

 

Good Luck,

mcb

[Bob Cleek]

Have you tried covering your mold ("plug," actually) with kitchen plastic cling wrap ("Saran Wrap") to prevent sticking to the mold form. You should be able to lay up multiple layers of toilet paper or even paper towel material, wetted down with shellac, over the plastic wrapped mold. It will dry quickly as the alcohol evaporates fast. What results in a hard paper and shellac matrix which can be sanded and will take paint well. Epoxy resin will work as well, but it's nasty and messy, as you've probably discovered! 

[Valeriy V]

Ras, I'm sure this trouble won't stop you!  

 

As a separator, you can try using ordinary stationery tape.

Before applying the epoxy, tension must be applied to the stocking. I am posting a photo that I took on this forum, but, unfortunately, I do not remember its author.

[wefalck]

Only now read about your mishap with the boat. 

 

I would use a good coat of Teflon-spray as release agent or a coating with candle-wax. Personally I don't have much experience with epoxy-resin. I am not very fond of two-component materials actually due to their short time in which they have to be applied. I know that various German modellers successfully used the stockings-plus-epoxy technique to mold boats, ventilators and such stuff.

 

While I used a slightly different technique on my boats (the boats being clinker-built), I can confirm Bob's suggestion that paper soaked in shellac (or some other lacquer that dries hard) makes for a good composite material that can be almost treated like wood.

 

Another option in which you can recycle your plug would be something like vaccum-forming. Well not actually vacuum-forming, but quickly pulling a heated-up sheet of styrene over the plug. There should be some description to be found on the WWW. If not, I could give a quick run-down of the principle.

[Roger Pellett]

The boat below is a 1:96 scale US Navy Cutter that I built for a model of the Civil War Monitor USS Catskill. It was vacuum formed from styrene.  It was formed as two half models and glued together along the keel line using plastic model cement.  Frames, floorboards, thwarts, etc were made from styrene strip.

 

Vacuum forming is remarkably low tech and easy.  A shop vacuum provides plenty of vacuum.  Last January I provided a tutorial explaining the process.  You can easily find it by typing Vacuum Forming into the Search function on the Forum’s menu bar.

 

Roger

 

[Ras Ambrioso]

Well, well well. I am thrilled at the response that y'all had on my ships boat building. I want to thank each and everyone of you for your support.

 

To mcb: Yes, the material I used for the fairways was 1/4"X1/16" brass bar available at Ace's hardware stores. My biggest problem on this item was to get four of them the same size. Later I realize I could have made the fairways easier with an elliptical hole as shown in the photo.

To Bob: good advise. Will try the tissue paper route and the saran wrap ideas. As a matter of fact, my first thought for these boats was to make them out of "papier-mache". Besides, this, being my first scratch built, is a testing and learning project.

 

To Valeriy: again thanks for your comments. The photo of the stocking under tension is great.

 

To Wefalk: I have been following you "ships boat" building and found it fascinating. Your idea to show the boats under cover is very accurate in the real boats and saves innumerable hours of detailing for the interior at small scales. I will probably do it on the two large boats on Amapá and detail the little dinghy. 

 

To Roger: again thanks for you comments and I will be looking for your tutorial on NRG. Like I said before, this model is my scratch build education.

 

 

 

 

[Ras Ambrioso]

After I completed the fabrication of the ladders I was still trying to figure out how to transition the ladder handrails to the deck rails. The other night, while watching an old movie named "Away all Boats", I noted that the   ladder handrails were independent of the deck rails as seen on the following screen shot.

I made a jig to bend the wires and decided, again, to try my hand at soldering. I have read a lot of articles and suddenly had an epiphany. What I was doing wrong was to heat the joint and then tried to melt the solder into the joint. One of the comments I read was to set the solder on the tip of the welding gun and then transfer it to the fluxed joint. Worked like a charm.

The jig:

The finished product:

The same procedure was used to make the fantail flag staff.

 

 

 

[KeithAug]

Was - The brass work is all looking pretty smart - are you planning to paint it?

[Roger Pellett]

Away all boats is a GREAT movie.  The book is too.  If you are familiar with the movie, the ship’s captain finds the plans of a sailboat in a magazine and has the ship’s carpenter build him one.  He sails the boat around the fleet anchorages between invasions.

 

The back story-  The magazine that the captain is reading is a Rudder Magazine and the article describes a boat designed by “Sandy” Douglass who owned a boat building shop in the Portage Lakes area near Akron, Ohio.  My father was acquainted with him.  The boat in question is a Thistle Class sailboat, as is the boat shown sailing in the movie.  Thistles are are still an active racing class and Thistle #1 built of wood in the late 1940’s won the National Championship several years ago competing against newer fiberglass boats.

 

It would, however, been difficult for the ship’s carpenter to have built the Captain a wooden Thistle as their hulls were moulded plywood shells;  several plies layed up over a mould, then cured in an Autoclave.  Seats, rails, centerboard trunk, and transom were then installed within the shell.

 

Roger

[Ras Ambrioso]

Roger: I also think it was a great movie. The captain had the crew make the boat as unifying effect for the crew. But I aldo thought that the ships shop wouldn't be able to handle the boat building

[Roger Pellett]

Ras,

About the time that the movie came out, I helped my father build a wooden Thistle Class Sailboat from a kit that we bought from Douglass & McLoud. The same Douglass that designed the boat.  The kit included a moulded plywood hull, and bandsawed mahogany parts all requiring final fitting.  I did all of the sanding, painting, and varnishing.  It was a great boat but challenging to sail.  I sailed it for almost 10 years.

 

Roger

[Ras Ambrioso]

Talking about boat building, I went back to my ruined dinghy mold and refitted it for another try at resin molding. First I reworked the damaged mold.

Following Valeriy suggestion I formed the stocking under pressure using making tape. I placed a layer of resin and, while still sticky, added another layer of  stocking material and resin

24 hours later I tried the removal of the hull from the mold.

The results a beautiful strong small hull. 

I followed all the hints and suggestions by the forum: seal the mold with lacquer, cover the mold with saran (plastic) wrap, apply the stocking material over the plastic and lock it in place under pressure. Then I applied the resin and a second layer of stocking material and resin. I am more than pleased with the results. 

But, I have been advised by the art coordinator in our building that the displays in the lobby will be changed by the end of August. This will mean I will have my old Fifie back and an empty space in the display is available for new models . So, as it has been in my old career as a construction engineer, the deadline is on. 

Amapá is almost finished so I decided to use the other two ship boats molds as solid models and  presented them as covered boats in their respective supports.

The photo shows my intent. I got a lot of suggestions for the material to use on the cover and tried the tissue with no good result. Finally, I decided to use fine linen from one of my old handkerchiefs soaked in watered down PVA glue. I will post the result shortly. 

 

Continuing with the build, I completed the standing rigging on the mizzen mast.

And finished the work on the forecastle.

The work remaining now is to complete the ladders to the midship deck, the dinghy  details and the boat's davits. Finalizing the show with the remaining railings aft.

 

 

[Veszett Roka]

Briliant tiny boats Ras. The bridge will be covered with sunshade canvas too?

Edited July 28, 2022 by Veszett Roka

[KeithAug]

The small boats turned out rather well. i must remember that method.

[Ras Ambrioso]

Progress continue.Previously I have worked on the louvers for the skylights on opted to simply draw them up. This was shown in my post #98. I was not very happy with this and kept searching another solution. I found it while browsing a model RR web site and found HO scale clapped siding that at my scale fit perfectly for the louvers.

And here is the latest look of the skylights

Completed the ship's boat and installed in in their respective mounts.

Also finished the stern railings

 

The work left is the erection and rigging of the boat's davits. For this I ordered miniature wood blocks that arrived today. They are minuscule (2mm) and I am now trying to figure out how to thread the line through them. But that is the fun of this build.

 

That will complete this model on time for display at the end of the month in the lobby of my building. 

[Ras Ambrioso]

Work continues. The rigging of the davit for the small boats required a double block rig. I had purchased miniature blocks to keep the scale. These blocks were so tiny that I could not feed feed the lines through the sheave's holes. The plans called for a double line set up but I decided to simplify it to a single block. To this effect I stropped the mini block with very fine copper wire 

Then I made a jig to fabricate the hooks that worked perfectly

Then I fabricated miniature cleats

The results were satisfactory

Last but not least I tried to make a decent looking Brazilian flag. I found a source  that had the printed flag to the right size on a a very fine cloth (chiffon) which permitted seeing both sides of the flag. I tried several ways of making this flag to look alive but failed. Then I just just opted for the commonly shown rigid look. Please forgive me.

And that completed my presentation of the model of the Amapá, a 1907 Brazilian Customs cruiser. Following this post are the pictures that will also be posted in the gallery of finished models.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 17, 2022 by Ras Ambrioso
misspelled words

[Ras Ambrioso]

Following are the photos of the finished model.

[mtaylor]

That is a beautiful model, Ras.

[ccoyle]

Very nice -- congratulations!

[yvesvidal]

Superb model Ras !!! I love all the brass that you included on that ship. For a scratch built model, this is really a great achievement.

 

Yves

[Valeriy V]

Ras, congratulations!

You have successfully completed a difficult job, especially since this is your first DIY model.  

[GrandpaPhil]

Congratulations!  Very well done!

[Seahawk1313]

Very nice interesting ship model , well done ! - Hal

[Ras Ambrioso]

Thanks guys, I really appreciate your comments and, as I have said before, I couldn't have done it without you support and information. I have been building models since I was 8 years old, now I am 86 years old and still learning skills in this magnificent hobby. 

 

Now I am embarking in another challenge building HMS Mimi and I hope you keep me in line.

 

Thanks

[KeithAug]

The close up photo of the bridge helm position is particularly charming. What is next Ras?

[Ras Ambrioso]

Keith, I am now working on another WWI boat: the HMS Mimi that fought the Germans in Lake Tanganyika after a 3000 miles trek from Cape Town to the lake. I started a build log on it.