USS Maine by ERSRich - FINISHED - BlueJacket Shipcrafters - 3/32

[ERS Rich]

6” Turret Splinter Shield

Spent time reviewing the instructions and plan to understand how to make this piece.  Seems harder at first than it really is.

 

Starting with the fore/aft width of the opening, cut a piece of material slightly longer on the paper cutter and cut a 45 degree angle at each end.  The outboard sill is 3/32” high, the rise of the shield outboard to inboard is 1/16”, so the inboard height is 5/32”, the brass bar is 5/32” (part of a Standard set from Micro Mark).  Marked a line underneath the shield along the edge of the bulwark, and trimmed the piece. 

Next secured the pieces with tape and used the turret cover as a template to mark the opening in the splinter shield.

Next drilled a series of relief holes and cutout the waste.  Started with larger sweep gouge.

Used a the smaller gouge to approach the line, and a fine file to meet the line.

 

The shield installed.

[ERS Rich]

Progress Photos

 

Not as much time for the shop the past few weeks - spring projects, trouble with the house boiler, amongst other things.  Should have more time for the shop in the weeks ahead.  Hoping to wrap this up by the end of May.

 

Working on completing the mid and aft superstructures.  Same processes used for the fore superstructure.

 

And beginning to build the sub assemblies for the run up to final assembly.  Ahead is the PE for the catwalks, cranes, etc.  

 

Here is the mid superstructure in the tail vise, with a plastic  piece on the left acting as a caul, to apply pressure on the curved forward end plywood skin.

Next is the mid superstructure with plywood installation around the perimeter complete.

 

This picture shows applying the 3/16” half round.  A spacer block is used to position the middle piece.

A few of the sub assemblies - 6 pounder gun tubs note the tiny hand wheels, and the deck winch.

Mid and aft superstructures dry fitted.

Have a great weekend!

[Rick310]

Really nice!!  Great description of your technique!!

[ERS Rich]

15 hours ago, Rick310 said:

Really nice!!  Great description of your technique!!

Thanks Rick, hope to show simple ways to do the work.  And for the next project, have a reference to refer to, when I forget how I did it….

 

Have a good weekend.

[ERS Rich]

Working with Metal Parts

 

Start by filing the mold parting lines with fine file, they leave a smooth polished surface.

A board is used to help build the gun bases, and a holder for painting.  Holes were drilled into the bottom of the four 1 pounders to accommodate the mount pin.

Mr Primer is used to prime the parts.  A wood board is used to hold the vents and davits for priming and painting.

 

Edited May 4, 2023 by ERS Rich

[ERS Rich]

Progress Photos

 

At this point the superstructures are mostly finished and the guns finished, up to page 24 in the instruction manual.  
 

Ahead is the interesting cat walk and other photo etch work.
 

Bow view looking aft.

Amidships looking aft.

Amidships looking forward.

Stern View

Stern view looking forward.  Thanks for your thoughts and comments.

Edited May 4, 2023 by ERS Rich

[alross2]

You're doing a great job!  I really enjoyed developing that kit and wish we still had the original display model.  It's at the Naval War College in RI.  The catwalks/torpedo boat skids are a fun detail.

Edited May 4, 2023 by alross2

[ERS Rich]

13 hours ago, alross2 said:

You're doing a great job!

Thank you Al, much appreciated.  The kit is fun to build and the instructions are easy to follow.  Have a great day,

 

-Rich

[ERS Rich]

Boat Cranes

 

Cut the main parts from the fret and assembled.  Had to file down the tabs, as mentioned in the instructions, so they fit in the slots.  Clamped the parts together dry.  1/32” wire through the tabs holds the top part in place.

Next the bottom piece needs to be glued.  Removed one clamp and applied thin CA in the gap along the side pieces, then replaced the clamp.

Next assembled the winch and glued to the crane.  Used a tool from Small Shop to form the winch handle.

A piece of aluminum rod inserted into the crane bottom is a pin for attaching the crane to the base.  Made the rod oversized, then cut to exact length with a saw, with the crane in a wooden block.

Made the U shaped traveler, then drilled the holes with the piece in a wooden block.

Cranes ready for panting.

 

 

 

Edited May 4, 2023 by ERS Rich

[Rick310]

Beautiful work!!!

Rick

 

[ERS Rich]

Aft Boat Skids and Cat Walks

 

This work was a challenge and had to think of some ways to do the work and get the desired results.

 

First cut the parts off the frets and cleaned up the nubs with a diamond file.  

 

For the skids taped a square edge to the bench and used the metal clips at the rail ends to hold the rails down against the bench.  The horizontal girders have slots to accommodate the rails.  Had to scrape the slots slightly with an Xacto spade blade to get an easy fit.

 

The rails were butted against the straight edge for alignment, and dividers help to establish the girder location.

The catwalk railings are a challenge.  Squareness and positioning are essential.
 

First glued the deck to the rails.  Then masked the top side of the deck with Tamiya tape.
 

Used wax paper, a wood block, and a ruler to help with assembly.  
 

Swiped the bottom of the railing with liquid CA, laid the rail on wax paper, then used the wooden block to slide the rail deck assembly to the railing already up against the ruler to apply pressure.  

Followed the same process for the second railing.  But added a brass rod to hold the railing flat - it was slightly curled.  

Ready for paint.  

 

 

 

Edited May 12, 2023 by ERS Rich
Grammar

[ERS Rich]

Reels, Masts, Ships Wheel, Skylights and Searchlight Platforms

 

A productive week building sub assemblies.  Let’s see if all can be completed by the end of next week, then on to Final Assembly.  Driving to finish by the end of May.

 

Reels

 

Used a block of wood to help with the assembly, built the reel first, then added the legs.

Masts

 

Filed the metal parts, tapered the top masts and spars.  It was important to spare the top of the masts to get a nice fighting top fit.  Bands fixed with liquid CA and good old capillary action.

Ships Wheel

 

Again a block helps with assembly.

Skylights

 

Byrnes saw with the tilt table was essential.  Used the skylight frame PE to get the tilt table angle.

 

Skylights ready for finishing.

 

Forward Searchlight Base 

 

Mini vise with flat jaws used to get the bends.

Evening up the legs.

Forward base.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 19, 2023 by ERS Rich

[ERS Rich]

Railings

 

Began working with railings.  Found, after several tools, this one from Small Shop worked best for me.  Railing shown on top of forward search light platform.  Dividers help with spacing, take a measurement off the platform, and use them to establish the length of the railing section on the tool.

Forward mast platform railing.  Set the railing back from the forward edge, and used right angles, trying to curve the railing around the platform a little to ambitious for me.

[ERS Rich]

Navigation Bridge Decking

 

Woodworking is about measuring, marking, and cutting away the waste.

 

Several of the brass decks need glued up decking cut to shape and fitted in a recess formed by a border along the outside edge.  So far, this was trivial for the rectangular searchlight platforms.  The navigation bridge, a polygon, is a different situation.

 

Start by making a template.  A piece of vellum is taped to the plate.  A toothpick is run along the edge of the recess.  Next cutout the template with a razor knife, this one is easy to get into the corners.

 

Cutout the template and tape it to the stock and mark the template outline, a straight edge helps.

 

Use a flat chisel to cut along the lines, right on the pencil line, to remove the waste..  Drill relief holes as necessary - see the previous post on making the splinter shields.  It’s important to stay on the line or keep the line visible - so the whole piece is slightly over sized.

 

The next part, fitting, is an example of the art of craftsmanship.  Start by fitting the aft edge, then work in one direction, say counterclockwise and fit each edge with fine chisel cuts, the razor knife for the corners, and the file for the curved forward edge - I left that for last.

 

Edited May 23, 2023 by ERS Rich

[Rick310]

Beautiful work!!

Rick

[ERS Rich]

Pilot House

 

Sorry photos of this step are rather incomplete, since I was doing several things simultaneously.

 

Started by clamping the house around the former, and let it sit for a few days.

 

Here the house is in a clamp from Micromark.  The house needs to fit exactly the width of its roof, the flying bridge  - 3/4”.  Also the aft end of the sides need to be trimmed and bent in such away that the joint is located in the middle.

 

I trimmed 1/64” off each side of the former so the width of the former, plus the thickness of the sides totaled 3/4”.  Therefore when clamped the pilot house sides were flush with the flying bridge.  Now I could mark the location for the bends on the aft ends pilot house sides.

 

Front view showing the roof fit.  Not shown are the final steps of bending and trimming the sides.  CA was used for the joint.

[ERS Rich]

Stacks

 

Here most of the work is done and built on a wood block..  I made a mistake with the hand holds, should have been a smaller diameter wire - of course noticed at the end.

An aluminum rod is used for support between the stack and its base.  Here a Foredom press is used to drill a 1/16” hole through the wood base and its top brass plate.  The corresponding hole in the stack as drilled by hand.

Another view.

Edited June 8, 2023 by ERS Rich

[ERS Rich]

Sub Assembly Finishing

 

At this point all of the sub assemblies are built.  
 

Here the paint booth is shown, and prior to a color coat, assemblies have received a primer coat of Tamiya White Primer.  

At this point we are on page 48 of the instructions and beginning Final Assembly.

 

 

 

[ERS Rich]

Coal Scuttles and Deck Lights

 

Note:  the Deck Lights were later rebuilt with a different method shown in another post below.
 

The PE scuttles need the frames painted and the center discs left brass.

 

So the center discs need masks.  Tried to find adhesive 1/8” diameter labels.  Thought about a liquid mask.  Settled on cutting Tamiya tape with an x-acto.  Did a few and realized a burnishing tool could be used along the rim of the disc to cut the tape.

Then lift off the waste.

 

Then prime, Rustoleum White this time.

 

Taped the deck lights down on a piece of wax paper, then filled the rings with Testors Clear Parts Cement and Window Maker.

 

Coal scuttles painted and ready for use.  In the background, dry fitting the forward catwalk.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 13, 2023 by ERS Rich
grammar!

[ERS Rich]

Amidships Superstructure Buildup

 

Spacer blocks are important construction aids.  Building up the amidships superstructure is a good application.

 

Here we need to find the height of the deck forward of the conning tower and between the amidships 01 level, the deck where the conning sits, and the 02 level, the Navigating bridge, where the pilot house sits.  And to correctly position the Pilot House fore and aft.

 

First Spacer Block

From the plan the conning tower deck is 1/16” below the viewing ports, added this to the thickness of the deck, and subtracted this sub-total from the total height from the man deck to get a block height of 1 1/32”.  Cut the block on the Byrnes table saw.  

 

This block will be used as a table for attaching the deck to the conning tower.  Apply adhesive to the deck edge then slide it on the block to the tower, for a level fit.

 

Second Block

 

This block establishes the height between the 01 and 02 levels and will be used as a reference for cutting the 02 deck support stanchions.  First dry fit a 1/16” bar on top of the conning tower.  Through measuring, and trial and error cutting blocks, found a block height of 47/64” made my 02 deck level and the deck support stanchions will be cut to this length.

 

Last Block

 

Next is a block to help with fore/aft positioning the Pilot House on the 02 level.  On the plan measured the distance from the aft edge of the pilot house, to the edge of the waterway on the aft end of the 02 deck, and found it to be 9/16”, and cut a block to that size.

 

Here are several pictures of the ship, with the blocks in position.

 

First Block

 

Second and Third Blocks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 12, 2023 by ERS Rich

[ERS Rich]

Coal Scuttle Installation

 

A “story stick” is commonly used in cabinet making.  In this case we can use the plan to make marks on a stick to help with locating the scuttles on the deck.

 

Here the stick, of the correct width between the superstructure and the scuttles, is shown on the plan, with a pencil mark at the aft end of the superstructure and marks at each scuttle.

Then it’s a simple matter of positioning the stick on the deck and installing the scuttles with CA. 

 

[ERS Rich]

Deck Lights Revisited.

 

The deck light rings filled with clear glue did not turn out very well, so decided to do something else.

 

A picture of Maine on page 53 of the instructions shows the light housings protrude above the deck.

 

So I decided to simulate this by using a rhinestone on the brass base ring.  The rhinestone are from Walmart, and have a flat top and bottom.  Glued the rhinestone to the ring, gave it a wash to cutdown on the shine, then painted the top brass.

The first attempt on the left, with the new on the right.

 

Edited June 13, 2023 by ERS Rich

[Rick310]

Your doing a magnificent job!!

Rick

[ERS Rich]

On 6/13/2023 at 8:32 PM, Rick310 said:

Your doing a magnificent job!!

Rick

Thanks a lot Rick, appreciate the encouragement.  

[ERS Rich]

Installing the Catwalks

 

Inevitably both catwalk legs are not entirely level, fore and aft, and side to side, and the deck is slightly uneven as well, so need to level the assembly on the deck.  This assembly is fragile to say the least.  
 

Decided to tackle the problem by making a groove in the deck and recessing the legs.

 

Practiced with a couple of pieces of scrap deck.

 

First made a dimple in the deck on the outboard side of each leg.

Then set the dividers to the leg width and made a second dimple.

Then drilled out the dimples with a 1/64” bit, drilled several other holes in between and cleaned out the waste.

 

Nice fit!

 

 

Edited June 15, 2023 by ERS Rich
Grammar

[Rick310]

Well done!!!  Nice solution!

Rick

[ERS Rich]

Forward and Conning Tower Catwalks

 

It turns out I was too aggressive when flattening the conning tower.  So during the dry fit found, rather than the two catwalks being flush, the catwalk deck was about 3/32” higher than the conning tower catwalk. 
 

I was able to reduce, but not eliminate the step, by making the grooves to accept the catwalk girders, as shown in the previous post deep.  
 

Here is the setup to check the dry fit.  The long board in the catwalk is to square up the rail.  And the block under the conning tower catwalk establishes the height, where the deck is 1/16” below the conning tower portals.

 

It took many iterations of deepening the grooves, fitting the catwalks, and trimming the conning tower catwalk railing to get it nice.

Blocks removed.

Slight gap where the railings meet.  Will try to close it up, but hardly noticeable and don’t want to snap off the catwalk railing, since that glue joint is hard to work with.

 

Decided to use this brass bar to apply pressure to close the gap, then hit the joint with liquid CA.

 

 

Edited June 17, 2023 by ERS Rich
Grammar

[ERS Rich]

Progress Photos

 

Almost in the home stretch.  Navigation and Flying Bridge assembly are major bits left….

 

Edited June 20, 2023 by ERS Rich

[Rick310]

Beautiful!!  I’ve really enjoyed learning how you solve the inevitable problems that arise during a build.  I know Nic and Al at Bluejacket will be impressed with your build.

Rick

 

[ERS Rich]

20 hours ago, Rick310 said:

Beautiful!!  I’ve really enjoyed learning how you solve the inevitable problems that arise during a build.  I know Nic and Al at Bluejacket will be impressed with your build.

Rick

Thank you Rick, tried to gear the information to show that ship modeling is doable.  Cheers!