Intro to Card Models Part VII: Building V108 - Armament

[ccoyle]

The first armament to be installed will be the torpedo launchers, two seemingly complex and fiddly structures consisting of 16 parts each.

 

The parts for these are conveniently located together on the parts sheet.  Believe it or not, I have built models where this wasn't the case - go figure.

 

There are two launchers on the model, one forward of the bridge, and the other aft of the superstructure.  The launchers are identical, and on assemblies like this I prefer to build them simultaneously instead of first one, then the other.

 

This is another construction sequence where it makes more sense to me to assemble the parts out of sequence.  We'll start with the pedestal.  Cut, color, roll, and glue the pedestals (52g), then add the caps (52f).  Glue these down to the deck.  Next, add the triangular support brackets (52i); these are tiny right triangles, and the long leg of the triangle goes on the deck.  The finished pedestals look like this:

 

Next comes the ring-shaped structure that I'm presuming is a kind of track that the tube support brackets (52k) travel around when the tube is aimed.  This consists of two parts, the ring (52e) and the circular track (52d)(the upper parts in the picture below).  The inside of 52e needs to be colored, because it will be visible on the finished launcher.

 

The ring, when closed, will be rather flimsy, and mating the track to it will be difficult.  To fix this, we're going to use the spare deck printed on 20# bond.  Remove two small squares containing the launcher locations from the spare deck, then laminate these to a couple of sheets of card.  When dry, cut out the circular mount location, being careful to cut inside the line.  Presto!  Now you have a circular former to help you get the ring (52e) nice and round before adding the track (52d) (the temporary former is in the lower left of the previous photo).  Work the ring carefully around the former and be sure it is seated at the bottom of the ring - we don't want to accidentally glue these two parts together.  Next, cut out and add the track (52d); remember to remove the inner circle first, color the inner edge while the part is still on the sheet, then cut the outer circle.  After the ring and track are glued together, the temporary former can be removed.  The finished ring/track is in the lower right of the previous photo. 

 

Here's the forward ring glued down to the deck.

 

Return to Part VI: The Superstructure

[ccoyle]

On to the tubes!

 

The torpedo tubes (52a) need to be rolled into tubes.  They also need to be colored on the reverse side.  On narrow tubes, it helps to roll the tube around a series of forming tools of increasingly smaller diameters.  It also helps on this particular part to remove about half the joiner tab.  Sometimes, in spite of one's efforts not to squish the tube, it gets a little squished anyways.  My scribing tool works well in such instances for rounding the deformed tube end.

 

A tiny former (52b) gets inserted into the breech end of the tube.  Cut inside the line to ensure the former will fit. 

 

Next comes the conical breech door (52c).  The joiner tab on this part is actually more trouble than it's worth, so remove it.  Form the door until the edges will meet, then seal the seam with a bead of CA.  Add the door to the breech end of the tube.

 

A series of four reinforcing bands (52h) are then added.  Don't try to make these into rings first - there's a much easier way.  Remove the joiner tabs from the rings.  Tack one end of the band to the launcher tube at the tube's seam.

 

When that's dry, brush a small amount of glue to the remaining band, then roll the band onto the tube.  Add part 52j between the second and third rings.  The finished tube looks like this:

 

Gluing the finished tube to the pedestal is easier if the tube is pinned.  Drill a small hole in the pedestal and tube; glue a short piece of wire into the tube.  While that dries, you can work on the track support brackets (52k).  Carefully remove the tiny panels from within the brackets, then color the insides and reverse sides of the brackets.  Next, cut out the brackets and color the edges. 

 

You'll need to decide which direction you want your tubes aimed prior to gluing down the support brackets; the forward tube cannot point directly forward because the forecastle support column is in the way.  I mounted the aft launcher fore-and-aft, and the forward launcher is aimed slightly to starboard.  The finished launchers look so:

 

V108 now has some teeth!

 

[ianmajor]

Chris,

 

Excellent stuff - thanks. You must have the eyes of the proverbial s*** house rat to be able to work on those tubes.

[ccoyle]

I'm not familiar with the proverbial "s***-house rat," but I gather that's a compliment.    Actually, I have the eyes of the proverbial cheap headband magnifier, without which this work would be impossible for me.

[ccoyle]

A pair of deck guns will complete V108's armament.  From what I can find on-line, these were likely 8.8 cm guns.  Whatever their caliber, one thing you can be certain of is that the kit guns are highly simplified; it is simply impossible, in this scale, to replicate all the parts of even a simple gun mount in paper.  There's lots of possibilities here for the super-detailers among us, but for the purposes of this tutorial, we'll build the guns as-designed.

 

The gun parts are numbers 57a-57g.  Part 57g, the barrel, can actually be used in its paper form, but it should really be replaced with wire or styrene rod.  I prefer styrene rod simply because it cuts cleaner than wire and doesn't require grinding to get a flat face at each end.  The rod is sprayed gray prior to cutting, and 57g is used as a template for the length.

 

57f is a wrapper that will produce the stepped-down taper of the barrel.  Use the 20# bond version of this part.  Start by tacking the wide side of 57f to the end of a barrel.

 

When that's dry, coat the remainder of 57f lightly with glue and wrap it around the barrel.  Finished barrels look like this:

[ccoyle]

Building the guns is straightforward, albeit another exercise in handling tiny parts.  Start with the mount base plates (57a).

 

The stand (57b) is another conic section.  Glue the finished cones to the base plates.  Set these aside for now.

 

The carriage consists of three parts, the carriage slide (57d), a wheel (57e) (Traverse? Elevation?  Your guess is as good as mine.), and a mounting bracket (57c).

 

Fold up the carriage slides carefully, then attach the barrels, wheels, and brackets.

 

Glue the guns to the mounts...

 

...and the mounts to the aft deck and forecastle.

 

Now you're done with the armament!

 

Go to Part VIII: Building V108 - Miscellaneous Bits

[Reg]

Hi Chris,

 

Superbly done!

 

Reg