RMS Titanic 1912 by Paul Jarman - Amati - 1/250

[Paul Jarman]

Next project is the Amati Titanic. This is a museum quality model. The kit is very good quality. Will build into a very nice model of the Titanic.

The instructions are very good. There is an 40 page colour booklet to go with the 10 pages of written instructions, which are very extensive. Plus there are 8 plan sheets.

The down sides are the way the second planking of the hull needs to be cut from two sheets of ply using paper templets. The colour card cut outs to represent the windows and doors on the various cabin parts. Also the plastic benches are a let down.

I will however replace all the card and benches with photo etch from Minibrass. 

I will start the build by cutting all the second planking parts out. I will then plank the decks before starting to put the kit together. 

I am unsure with the discrepancy with the 6 bulkheads. I have the template, but when I lay the bulkheads on it they are to small if I increase the size and to large a fit if I decrease the size. Will have to put them in place loose and see how the first planking sits on them.

Have started by cutting the second planking out.

 

[Paul Jarman]

The bulkheads and keel dry fitted. it is now fairly obvious how far out bulkheads 3-8 actually are. I don't have the tools or the skills to build new bulkheads. I do however have plenty of spare planks from unfinished kits. I should be able to build the bulkheads to their correct size by gluing strips along the edges and so build them to the correct size. 

All the strips have been cut out and trimmed ready for the second planking.

Real shame that Amati allowed this to happen and never corrected it. At the very least they could have recut the bulkheads to the correct size and offered them to builders of this kit. 

 

Edited March 21, 2022 by Paul Jarman

[Paul Jarman]

Bulkhead 8 extended. Sanded down with the Dremel and covered with wood-filler for extra strength. not bothered about how untidy the sanding is it wont show once planked. 7 started. Looks like I will be able to make the correct alterations to the 6 needing to be altered.

Bulkhead 8 now runs neatly in line with 9 give or take a few areas. I will do some more altering once I start the planking.

[Titanicphile]

Nice recovery.  Goes to show how important it is to check all parts before gluing.  Looking forward to more.

[Paul Jarman]

7 hours ago, Titanicphile said:

Nice recovery.  Goes to show how important it is to check all parts before gluing.  Looking forward to more.

Thanks, just a shame Amati have never fixed the problem.

The instructions call for a lot of the decks and fittings to be put in place before planking. But I might plank the hull before doing the decks.

Paul

[Paul Jarman]

Frames corrected. Photos don't do them justice. still look a bit out here and there. Although the alterations do line up with the templates.

Maybe they will look better once they are glued in place and the straighteners are in place along with the decks. 

[GGibson]

Hi Paul! Following this build log with great interest.  I purchased the Occre 1:300 Titanic several months ago, and it is waiting for shipyard clearance among others.  Not sure how soon I will tackle it, but am quite interested in following your progress!

 

Frustrating to see your bulkhead issues, but looks like you are managing it well.  Good work!  Thanks for letting me peek in...

 

Gregg

[Paul Jarman]

Thanks Gregg,

Looks like a good model you have there. I have seen built logs for it on You Tube. Look forward to seeing you start a build log when you get started.

 

This is the first set of PE that replaces all the coloured card and some of the other details. There is still a fair bit more to buy yet. This will of course add a lot more work to the kit. But will look a lot better then the card. 

Only downside to this is that there no instructions or code numbers to indicate what replaces what. Hopefully wont be to hard to work out. 

also some of the decks planked. Did consider making them a bit darker, but I like the way they look. 

 

 

Edited July 29, 2022 by Paul Jarman

[CaptnBirdseye]

😲Interesting build! Can't wait to see how this one turns out 👍

[Paul Jarman]

Had time to look through it all and compare it to the coloured card. And it dosen't replace all of the card only the main areas on the boat decks.

So will still have to use some of the card. 

[richardhd]

Hi Paul! Awesome work so far, especially on handling the incorrect bulkheads. I believe the Amati Titanic kit is either based on or is a repurposing of a subscription titanic kit that I recall poring over as a child in the early 2000’s. I was absolutely taken with it and a museum quality Titanic kit is one of my dream builds so I’m excited to follow this log.

[Paul Jarman]

Thanks Richardhd,

Yes it was a subscription kit,but not sure myself if it was based on the subscription or not. It is a high quality kit.

Such a shame Amati never corrected the bulkhead issue. The only other parts that let it down are the plastic lifeboats and benches.

But the benches can be replaced with PE and there  is PE for the lifeboat covers and rails.

Paul.

Edited July 31, 2022 by Paul Jarman

[Roger Pellett]

Hopefully those 100’s of flanged brass portholes in the bag shown above are not going to find their way into your finished model.  In real steel hulled ships the portholes are cut into the shell plating.  The cast brass/bronze frame that holds the glass is fastened to the inside of the hull so is not visible from the outside.

 

Roger

[BobG]

I just found your build of this interesting model and will follow along too. Good luck, Paul!

[Paul Jarman]

12 hours ago, Roger Pellett said:

Hopefully those 100’s of flanged brass portholes in the bag shown above are not going to find their way into your finished model.  In real steel hulled ships the portholes are cut into the shell plating.  The cast brass/bronze frame that holds the glass is fastened to the inside of the hull so is not visible from the outside.

 

Roger

I know,and I did serously think about adding them from inside but soon realized it would be to cramped to manage it.

I then considered filing them flat,but that would take an age as well. I could leave them out for better realism,but that would seem like a waste.

Paul

[Westy02]

Hi,

 

I was just wondering what you received in terms of instructions for this kit? I recently brought this kit and with it I received the colour photo album and the 8 pages of plans, but no written instructions. I have been struggling on with what I was given, but reading your post I see you mentioned 10 pages of written instructions and I’m now wondering if something got missed out of my kit. Thanks for your help, Matt.

[Paul Jarman]

you should have the photo album, plans and the building instructions with the parts list on the back. there are a total of 94 written steps most of which refer to the photo album and the plans.

You should have these instructions.

 

Edited September 27, 2022 by Paul Jarman

[Paul Jarman]

Next set of PE from Mini Brass. I now have replacement PE for the plastic benches, plastic steps and ladders, extra railings and replacements for the ships boat covers instead of needing to cut out said covers from the sheet of plywood. Only the two sets of PE to replace the longitudinals instead of the flimsy laser cut ones and I have all the upgrades. Just a case now of cleaning all that PE.

 

[Paul Jarman]

Well deck details and cabins under bow and stern deck. Mostly went together OK. Ignore the bow deck, have not clamped it down yet. The cabin walls how they would look with the coloured card. And the end result using the Mini Brass PE. Looks a lot better. 

• I am using this web site for the colour references: Titanic Paint and Color Reference (archive.org) 

Also using RMS Titanic: A model makers manual by Peter Davies-Garner. And the book Titanic in Photographs by various authors. 

Paul

 

Edited October 18, 2022 by Paul Jarman

[Paul Jarman]

Starting the first planking.

[Paul Jarman]

I can now take photos with the camera and transfer then to the tablet to upload. Not as good as using a PC. But it will do until I can afford a new PC. 

These are the photo Etched Windows that replace the coloured card that comes with the kit. Very small and time consuming to paint,especially with my shaky hands. I painted the background with a blue mix. Looks better when seen with the naked eye as you don't see the imperfections the camera shows.

[Paul Jarman]

Starting the first planking. Considering the work that had to be done on the bulkheads, it is looking OK. 

 

[Paul Jarman]

First planking complete. Ignore the stern still needs a bit of sanding and filling to get it right. The hull has come out well considering how it could have looked had I built it straight out of the box. 

Now onto the hull profiles. And all the port holes to be drilled out. 

 

[Paul Jarman]

Templates in place ready to add the hull profiles. 

 

[Paul Jarman]

Profiles complete on one side. Stern needs a bit of work but should be ok once sanded. Would have have been far better if the plan sheet had been to scale rather than half scale. Not a brilliant way to do this. Would have been so much better with laser cut parts. Not to bad though, once all the port holes are drilled out and it is tidied up it should look alright. If I had followed the instructions to the letter the anchor would have overlapped the bow. 

I used the book Titanic in pictures to get an idea of where the port holes should be. There are some very good photos of her hull and port holes. Certain port holes line up with areas above especially around the well decks. So hopefully they are looking more like they should. 

 

[Paul Jarman]

All profiles done. Just got to drill out 900+ port holes. 

Nearly made a bit of a mistake. I had not put the profile guides in the same place as the first side I did. If I had glued them on they would have been slightly out. Now after a bit of measuring each side is as close to identical as possible. 

Just got to decide whether to add the port hole flanges. I know that the port holes where flat on the hull. But at this scale they will be fairly small in diameter and may become invisible once the hull is painted. With over 900 being drilled out it would be a shame not to see the work that has gone into it. Therefore I may use artistic licence and add them for the effect. Maybe sand them down a bit so they are not so pronounced. But so that you can tell there are port holes on the hull. 

It is a lot neater then the photos make it look.

Once all the port holes are drilled out and the paper removed and the hull is sanded and maybe filled in a few areas it should look alright.

 

[Paul Jarman]

Start of the port holes. The flanges are not that bad. They sit very close to the hull. 

Viewing the model from a few feet away I can see the port holes with flanges. Those without disappear. Will probably use them for the effect. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Paul Jarman]

Port holes drilled out on one side. Still a fair not of work to do on tidying up the hull. Some sanding down and filling to do. 

Have to make a decision on the flanges. I have painted one small area as a test. Even close up they disappear. Would probably get away with leaving the top line as is. But then it would look silly having the smaller diameter ones flanged. 

The trouble is, because of the scale it looks like the hull has wood worm in it. And anyone seeing the final model displayed would question what would appear to be the absence of port holes. 

So I will almost certainly use the flanges so that all that hard work can be seen. 

 

[Paul Jarman]

Don't really want to waste 900+ port hole flanges. Also want  the port holes to look as they should. I have decided to add them and file/sand them down. Adds a huge amount of extra work but they will file down as close to the level of the hull as possible. They are not noticeable when looking along the side of the hull. On the plus side they make the port holes stand out a lot better and once painted will not be to noticeable. And more importantly they can be seen from a distance. And the hull will look neater. Now just got to add them all and start reducing them down. Then all the photo etch doors and bits to add. You have to think a few steps ahead with this kit as the instructions have the photo etch added after painting. The propeller blades are just held on with blue tac so I could get the orientation correct. I think they look alright. 

 

[Paul Jarman]

First coat of undercoat. Don't see the point of building all the decks and funnels before painting. So will paint it before The next stage. The added photo etch stands out well. Good job I looked ahead of I would have added the cutwater strip after undercoating which would have made gluing harder than on bare wood. It doesn't actually look all wavey when seen normally. Photos never do these things justice.  The smaller port holes look just fine.