HMCS Bonaventure by NavyShooter - 1/96 scale - an RCN fitting out

[NavyShooter]

7 layers of resin later...I think I'm pleased with the outcome.  Considering where it started, and where it's at now, this is a night and day improvement. 

 

In this image, you can see all the red splotches - those are the low points that I was trying to fill out.  

 

 

In this image, you can see the end result after the 7 layers of resin, and 2 layers of primer.  

 

I'm quite pleased. 

 

[AON]

I think she's water tight now!

[NavyShooter]

And....my OCD kicked in, and there were a couple of spots up at the bow that needed a bit more work.  And I had to tidy up the rear parts of the skegs with a dremel...and...so....more fiberglass.  

 

What doesn't show well in these 'during' images is the way the hull was sunk in between the frames, so a couple of layers of fiberglass cloth were added to each of them.  Hopefully it smoothes things out a bit.  Probably need another layer or two of resin.  Such is life....

[NavyShooter]

A little bit more work...one final touch up with spot putty, applied, sanded, and primed again.  I think I'm going to call this complete.

 

Shafts are fixed, hull is smooth(er) and I'm quite pleased with how she looks now.

 

Almost time to flip her over and scribe some lines for the water line again.

 

[NavyShooter]

OK, I flipped her over this afternoon, and figured I should show off the motor mount too. 

 

Then I decided to spin the shafts - so, a couple of AA batteries made me momentarily happy...which led to digging out the ESC's and receiver - a few minutes later, I ended up spinning the props under proper power!  

 

I added a short video of that to the RC Aircraft Carriers face book page.

[NavyShooter]

OK, so, next step is the Deck Access Plan....to start this, I started with cutting the existing flight deck piece which I have into 3 segments to work with. 

 

[NavyShooter]

Here's the chopped up deck.

 

I have to center the hangar properly in the hull, then I'll start cutting things a bit more for the insets.

 

NS
 

[NavyShooter]

OK, a bit more work this evening and I've got the hangar deck resting on blocks at the correct height within the hull so that it sits flush with the deck.  

 

Quite pleased with how things look at the end of the day.  This is, literally, a year in the making.

One year ago last week, I posted this (back on page 4) and as of today, I am pretty much where I want to be. with this.   

 

 

[NavyShooter]

A bit more progress this evening, and a comparison between the inspiration from last year, and what I've got going on as of this evening:

 

I've got the main center piece of the flight deck sliced up and fitted between the elevator risers.

 

[NavyShooter]

So, I had a couple of buddies over last evening and we had a chat about the flight deck.

 

The wooden boards of the existing deck were always a bit wavy.  Well, when I sectioned it last week, things really went wonky, and at this point, I think it's beyond recovery.  30+ year old plywood is not reacting the way it should...I don't know if it's moisture or what, but it's gone completely whacky.  The stern section has a 2 inch warp in it now - previously it was about 1/2 inch or so, which I thought would tame down and be workable.  

 

So.

 

A new flight deck is in order - the question being - what's the right material?  My buddy suggested plexiglass for the whole deck.  And that's actually tempting, except for the weight.

 

Do I go with plywood again?

Thoughts from the hive mind of modelers?

NS
 

[Keith Black]

3 hours ago, NavyShooter said:

A new flight deck is in order - the question being - what's the right material

I was thinking styrene and came across Mfg Duco. They several product but their site isn't user friendly, IMHO. Amazon is also a source

 

https://www.ducoplasticsandsupply.com

 

https://www.ducoplasticsandsupply.com/hips-polystyrene

 

Also

https://www.acmeplastics.com/styrene?st-t=adwords&vt-k=&vt-mt=&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI4IDcvuz1gQMV5iGzAB03Rg8XEAMYASAAEgKSvvD_BwE

Edited October 14, 2023 by Keith Black

[realworkingsailor]

Try here too:

 

https://plasticworld.ca

 

They have a large selection of various types of plastic sheets in a variety of thicknesses. Looks like they offer custom cutting too. They’re in Toronto, but if they don’t ship your way, maybe they know of something in your area.

 

Andy

[Canute]

You may want to contact a sign shop. They use stryene sheets for a lot of their work. We have one just across the street from our club and we've gotten sheets from them. And they may have off cuts/remnants, too.

[NavyShooter]

OK, I'm pursuing the plastic solution.  I bought another 1/4 sheet of plywood, just to see what it'd look like, and while it was straight-ish in the store, it was not by the time it got home...so...one of those companies listed offer a sheet of 1/8" styrene for $100 - I think I'll be buying that when I get home from vacation (going away with the family for a few days next week.)

 

In the meantime, I identified ANOTHER problem...the upper surface of the hull where the flight deck sits on is...well...not flat.  So...here's a few images of me doing a bit of sanding to sort that out. 

 

Once I finished up with the sanding, I gave it a quick shot coat of clear coat to seal things up.  Way too much warpage going on....

 

[NavyShooter]

And, one last problem...here's the flight deck overhang...

 

You can see that it's sagging quite a bit.  

 

I visited the old Carrier Builder's website, and referenced the photo of Don Linton's beautiful model to see what his looked like underneath the overhang.

 

I think my solution is going to be to add a wedge underneath that lifts it up whilst pressing on the hull side...that looks 'right'.  Ish.

 

We'll see.  

 

This one's going to take some thought to figure out. 

[mtaylor]

With the wood going in all directions with bending, it sounds to me like either the wood is going from a controlled environment to un-controlled one or vise-versa.    Just seems weird you're have so many warpage issues.

[NavyShooter]

OK, so, with a bit of a delay in production due to...well...life...(Austin for F1 racing with the family, plus a couple of weekends working with the Army Reserves) I'm starting to line up to get things on track again.

 

Piedmont Plastics in Dartmouth NS has 2 and 3mm thick Styrene plastic sheets (4x8 feet) in stock, at $48 and $96 each respectively.

 

So.  I've ordered a sheet of each to bring home.  

 

I am thinking that the 2mm might work, but might be subject to some warpage.  

 

I'm thinking that the 3mm would probably work, but might be too heavy. 

 

So.  I'm buying both and they'll have them cut to 'size' for me early next week.   

 

Good news is that I've got a pick-me-up-truck so I'll be able to carry them home easily. 

 

[NavyShooter]

That is 2 sheets of styrene - a 2mm and a 3mm, each one 8 feet by 15 inches.

 

When I get time next week, we'll see if the 2mm is going to be stiff enough...or if the 3mm will be light enough.

[NavyShooter]

HMCS Bonaventure is on the shelf for a few weeks - I'm working on the RMS Titanic for the Guild - my goal is to get the Titanic done over the winter and then switch back to the Bonnie again once my workbench is cleared. 

[NavyShooter]

After a hiatus, the Bonnie came down off the wall today for a little visit.  A friend of my wife had her dad along for a visit today, and he sailed on the Bonnie, he was an Electrician's Mate and had some great stories to tell.  He really enjoyed going through the ship with me.

 

Turns out he slept in 5D2 Mess....so...I spent a bit of time looking at the plans, then dug into DSM and did some 3D design work.

 

I'm going to try out 'organic' supports as I 3D print his former mess deck.

 

Here's what the model looks like:

 

 

[NavyShooter]

Rabbit holes are fun...here's where I'm at now...I have to print the bunks as separate items that I'll end up gluing into place, but I can do the lockers in situ.

 

Here you have 4 deck on the left, and 5 deck on the right.  

[NavyShooter]

OK, here's the draft version of 4 and 5 decks, with some bunks and the diesels in place.

 

Lots of printing left to do, and I've still got to test fit the 4 deck module in place to see how it fits in the hull.  It will get re-printed after the test.

 

 

[NavyShooter]

OK, so, sometimes one thing leads to another....and I got a request for assistance from staff at a local museum.  They're having to adjust their internal aircraft layout, and I have offered them a complete set of the aircraft they have in their collection 3D printed in 1/96 scale, assembled, wings folded as necessary, and primed with a layer of grey paint.

 

I'm almost half done - I expect I'll probably have them ready to drop off to the museum later in the week.

 

This is related to the Bonnie because they're mostly aircraft that flew from Bonnie in the museum. 

[NavyShooter]

As of last evening, the Bonnie is back on the work-bench.  I made a list of what I need to get done in the next month (before the hobby show in April) and I'm going to have some work to do!!!

 

 

[NavyShooter]

OK, one of the problems noted above was the deck overhang that was, well, hanging low.  

 

So.  A bit of cardboard as a template, a bit of pine, a bit of saw work, some sanding, and some epoxy, and I think I've got the problem solved.

 

We'll see how she looks later today. 

[NavyShooter]

And here we go with the flight deck.  2mm sheet styrene.

 

Flipped the ship up to get a rough profile, cut out with a set of tin-snips, then clamped in place and started trimming.  Got about half done - taking a break for lunch and I'll see if I can get this finished up this afternoon.  I was thinking this would take a LOT more time than it is.  

 

Still need to sand it, but I'm generally pleased with how it's cutting.  A sharp/new blade is making quick work of things!

[AON]

you certainly made that look easy.

[NavyShooter]

14 minutes ago, AON said:

you certainly made that look easy.

It's not done yet....and I am still vaguely concerned about how many fingers I'm actually going to end up with at the end of it.  

 

 

[NavyShooter]

And...there's how she looks at the end of the day!

 

Trimmed to fit, sanded, ready to think about cutting out the inserts tomorrow maybe. 

[AON]

Great job. Looks amazing!

BZ

How many fingers were sacrificed?