Pelican 1943 by FriedClams - 1:48 - Eastern-Rig Dragger

[FriedClams]

On 2/12/2025 at 8:48 AM, KeithAug said:

You need a teleporter. I have one and it works brilliantly on this type of problem.🙂

Hey Keith, now that's an idea!  Wonder if I can find a used one somewhere?

 

On 2/14/2025 at 11:59 AM, druxey said:

I might be persuaded to try FreeCAD.... Years ago I was exposed to a very early version of AutoCAD, which put me off completely!

Yes Druxey, AutoCAD has been known to have that effect on people.

 

I use DesignCAD for my 2D drawing and have for decades, but for 3D modeling I prefer FreeCAD over it and a number of other alternatives.  I think it's a very good solid modeler and a decent surface modeler.  There are many good "free to use" programs, but with FreeCAD you download it once and its yours forever; no logging on to a website, registering or having to use it in the cloud.  And no concerns that after investing the time to learn a program, the company granting you free access might change the rules and make you a subscriber or a previous user. FreeCAD certainly has its quirks and weaknesses, but so do the alternatives.  And I'm not a power user - I just want to make a few parts for my models.

 

 

Extensive online tutorials and help is available.  I found YouTuber MangoJelly Solutions to be a great help.

 

Be safe everyone and stay well.  Hope to have a Pelican update this week.

 

Gary

Edited February 16 by FriedClams

[Valeriy V]

Gary, some of the things you do are beyond my comprehension! Especially when it comes to technologies that bring details closer to reality.
Excellent continuation of excellent work!

[FriedClams]

Greetings Fellow Modelers,

 

Thank you Valeriy for your kind words, and thanks to all for the "likes."

 

 

Here’s an update on the Pelican’s whaleback.  First, the toerails along the P/S edges of the deck are cut to shape then heat bent.

 

 

 

 

Next, the ventilator and its mounting/rotation flange got some color.  I used a product on the cowl from AK Interactive that I’ve not tried before called True Metal.  This paint was recommended to me by @TOM G and it works great although I haven’t yet mastered how to apply and polish it for best results.  It’s a wax based colorant similar to Rub’n Buff, but whereas that product is more of an architectural hardware restorer, True Metal paint is produced for the model hobby and comes in a dozen or so colors that modelers can use.  An interesting product that so far, I like – thanks Tom.

 

The cowl below is a mixture of TM “steel” and “iron” applied with a colour shaper.  Almost looks galvanized.

 

 

 

A beveled coaming/plinth is added.

 

 

The “wave break” is a diverter whose purpose is to keep water coming over the bow from flowing aft onto the main deck. It’s made from .03” (.76mm) sheet styrene which scales to about 1.4” (36mm) thickness.

 

 

It’s dirtied up a bit and holes were drilled at each bolt-down location. The unit was temporarily located on the whaleback and selected bolt-down holes were drilled through into the deck.

 

 

Leaving some of the bolt shanks provided a foolproof way to affix it without concern of getting glue smear on the deck surface.  Bolts are Grandt Line 5113.

 

 

 

The stemhead fitting is brass with a scale thickness of about .5” (13mm) and the eyes are flattened wire.  One of the wires will be clipped flush on the backside and the other will penetrate the wood stem.

 

 

A port side deck ladder is made of .035” (.9mm) brass rod and finished with Jax Flemish Gray.

 

 

The ladder receives two styrene mounting brackets and weathering pigment.

 

 

Two 40” (102cm) tie off cleats will be primed then painted with True Metal on top.  I drilled into the bottoms and glued in stubs of brass wire for deck attachment.

 

 

Then all of the above was glued to the model.

 

 

 

 

 

Trim pieces were added here and there.  All of it is basswood except for the half-round styrene on the right.

 

 

A wider strip of half-round styrene was added as a rub rail just below the deck surface.  This strip also secures the rubber membrane flap that folds over the deck edge.

 

Thanks for stopping by for a look.

 

Be safe and stay well.

 

Gary

[Keith Black]

Fantastic tight work, Gary. Every piece fits exact, every paint line is razor straight, and every glue joint is clean, neat and tidy.  You never cease to amaze. 

Edited March 1 by Keith Black

[Paul Le Wol]

Wonderful update Gary. I realize that you did it a while ago but I’m still amazed at the effects that you applied to the doghouse and partition wall siding.

[ccoyle]

2 hours ago, FriedClams said:

Thanks for stopping by for a look.

 

I quit now.

 

But seriously, that is amazing work!

[druxey]

Very inspirational! And thanks for your comments on FreeCAD, Gary. I might just try it!

[bowwild]

Your creativity and "problem" solving is beyond genius!  Your photography is also terrific as we can clearly see what you've accomplished...every detail!

[Glen McGuire]

Stunning work, Gary.  As usual!

[KeithAug]

Excellent Gary

[FlyingFish]

Cracking progress, and such sharp details. Your great photography really makes it all pop. 

[Hubac's Historian]

I echo all complimentary sentiments above, Gary.  Great stuff!

[Rick310]

Amazing detail!!

Rick

[FriedClams]

Keith B, Paul, Chris, Druxey, Bowwild, Glen, Keith A, Andy, Marc and Rick - I thank you very much for the compliments and support.  And thanks for all the "thumbs up" and to those watching quietly. 

 

A brief update.

 

The wave break diverter that I installed in the last post has been removed and replaced with one of a different design.  The original one is something that might have been installed on a metal hull boat, but never on a wooden fishing vessel of this era.  The Pelican’s plan set shows a side view of the diverter, but no details or even a top view and what I ended up building was simply wrong.  Further research showed the wave breaks on these wooden draggers were built directly onto the deck and not constructed in a shop and then bolted on.

 

The images below show the before and after.

 

 

 

Creating the new wave break was the easy part.  Fixing the deck after tearing off the old one was the hard part because chunks of the “rubber membrane” tissue came off with it.  Heavy sigh.

 

Moving on, I built the galley stove stack and the only info I have on it is the outboard profile.  I lifted dimensions from the drawing but placed an alternative cap on top instead of the conical diamond shaped one shown on the drawing.  The lower half of the stack has a double wall which allows hot air to travel up between the two pipes and exit at the beveled cap where the outer wall terminates.  This helps protect the crew from burns when brushing against it.

 

 

It's made from brass and two modified plastic pieces from a Grandt Line boiler stack.

 

 

Solder and glue.

 

 

Once I knew how it would stand above the deck, I soldered on a deck collar.  Then blackened, oil paints and pigment powders.

 

 

A hole was cut through the deck and the stack inserted.  It still needs a support bracket off the doghouse and some butyl or tar at the deck.  But deck wear patterns around it and deck weathering in general will be done after all other objects and details are in place.  Meaning, not for a while.

 

 

 

Thanks for stopping and take care.

 

Gary

[KeithAug]

9 minutes ago, FriedClams said:

Fixing the deck after tearing off the old one was the hard part

😕 

 

Lovely little stove pipe Gary.

 

[Paul Le Wol]

Great job repairing the membrane Gary. The stove pipe is exceptional!

[JacquesCousteau]

1 hour ago, FriedClams said:

Fixing the deck after tearing off the old one was the hard part because chunks of the “rubber membrane” tissue came off with it

Great job on the repair!

[Keith Black]

 Fantastic recovery on replacing the wave break diverter, Gary. I looked hard and couldn't see any signs of replacement and repair and considering the textured surface, you did one heck of a job. Marvelous work on the stovepipe, great realism.  

[FriedClams]

Thank you, Keith A, Paul, Jacques, and Keith B, for your comments and support!  And thanks to all for the "thumbs up".

 

 

I’ve begun work on the Pelicans’ four gallows frames and this post describes some of the preliminary work.

 

The purpose of these frames is to hang the heavy tow blocks slightly over the side of the boat at about 4 to 5 feet above the main rail. The blocks function as tow points for the trawl and are also used to deploy and retrieve the gear with the main winch.

 

The screenshot below shows one of the frames outlined in blue. The green lines point out three braces that structurally secures the frame to the boat.

 

 

 

 

There are no details of these frames provided on the plans, so I drew up my own from a few basic dimensions I pulled from the plans and from photos of period boats.

 

 

I took the drawing apart to provide cutting templates for the individual components. The main legs are Evergreen styrene “H” columns, and the top plates were cut from .010”(.25mm) styrene sheet.

 

 

The pieces were arranged on the assembly templates and solvent cemented together.

 

 

 

 

 

There are several different types of brackets required for each frame and I made them all from brass. After drawing them in CAD, I began by slicing brass sheet into strips of the required widths. In the past I’ve made strips using shears (which curls and deforms them), or by scoring and bending until it fatigue breaks. I’ve even used a guillotine style paper cutter that in certain situations works fairly well. But these methods are not very precise and with some of these strips being quite narrow (.073”(1.8mm)), I wanted to try something a little different.

 

I used a stainless steel sheet (cutting surface), a carpet knife, a stout straight edge, and 2” wide double sided masking tape (sticky on both sides.)

 

The secret sauce is the heavy duty masking tape. One piece of tape holds the brass to the stainless and a second piece holds the straight edge to the brass. The tape holds everything very tightly in place to the extent that the straight edge is quite difficult to remove and reposition for the next cut. One could easily bend and ruin a thin metal straight edge doing this.

 

The setup below is ready for slicing off a quarter inch strip, and as you see from the score marks in the stainless, I’ve already cut several strips of various widths.

 

 

 

The carpet knife is sharp, hard and stands up to abuse like this far better than a hobby knife blade. And due to its geometry, the blade is less likely to chip off, but needless to say I wore proper eye protection. I found repeated light cuts produces a better edge than trying to blast through it with only a few. The brass here is .008” (.2mm) thick, so it only took about seven passes to free the strip from the sheet. The passes feel sticky until the stainless is reached at which time the blade glides easily through. This does leave a bur along the cut edge, but a few swipes with a fine flat diamond file licks them right off.

 

 

 

First to be made are the six bracket pairs (12 total) that secure the gallows frame bracing to the whaleback or pilothouse structures.

 

The strip is stuck to the template with two-sided cellophane tape and the fold and cut lines are scratched on.

 

 

The bracket is clipped from the strip with flush-cut diagonals and the edges are eased with a diamond file.

 

 

A bolt hole is drilled through with a pin vise.

 

 

The piece is placed into a photo etch bender.

 

 

Positioned and squared up.

 

 

Then bent.

 

 

 

The gallows have brackets at their feet to allow them to tilt out over the rail.

 

 

Eight pairs (16 total) of these will be needed.  Holes for the bolt shanks will be drilled later.

 

 

A pair of brace brackets on the back side of the frame.

 

 

A total of eight brackets are needed. 

 

 

Each frame gets two chain cleats.  Soldered phosphor bronze.

 

 

The rod that extends from the center of the cleat will be clipped to length once installed.

 

 

And the rod loop which the tow blocks will hang from.

 

More prep work to be done on these frames, but that's it for now.

 

Thanks for looking.  Stay well.

 

Gary

 

 

 

[Glen McGuire]

Exceptional metal work, Gary.

[Paul Le Wol]

Beautifully executed work Gary!. The photo etch bender looks like a nice device to have in the tool box.

[Keith Black]

 That's neat metal working, Gary. Great construction details and explanation.  

[Jim Lad]

Beautiful blacksmithing, Gary!

 

John

[Dr PR]

Nice work!

 

I usually cut thin (0.003 - 0.010 inch, 0.08 - 0.25 mm) brass sheets this way to get narrow strips. I normally clamp the sheet and a steel ruler to the bench edge but I think I will try the double sided tape. I save old #11 blades for cutting the brass. They usually have broken tips and the resulting point scores the brass easily.

 

I will have to make a lot of deck equipment for my MSI build and I can see I need to get a photo etch bending tool. What brand are you using?

[wefalck]

If you have a table saw, you can also tape/glue the sheet-metal to a piece of thick cardboard or thin plywood and run them together through the saw. That prevents distortions.

 

And of course, that is lovely construction work in metal and plastics. Very crisp!

 

[FriedClams]

Thank you, Glen, Paul, Keith, John, Phil and Wefalck for your comments and support.  It is so appreciated, and I thank all for the "thumbs up".

 

I want to clarify that when stripping the brass, both layers of the two-sided tape are being cut, and the strip remains taped to the stainless. The only way I know the cut is complete is when the blade glides smoothly across the stainless.  A single edged razor blade is then used to release it from the stainless plate.

 

16 hours ago, Paul Le Wol said:

The photo etch bender looks like a nice device to have in the tool box.

 

9 hours ago, Dr PR said:

I can see I need to get a photo etch bending tool.

 

Paul and Phil - they are indeed handy, and it provides precision when folding such parts.  It's great for making angle iron and such from aluminum beverage can sidewall.  But of course it is limited to thin, soft materials. 

 

9 hours ago, Dr PR said:

What brand are you using?

 

It is a DSPIAE model # AT-MPB - just shy of $30 US.  It's a quality tool that I've seen military modelers use.  They work with a lot of PE so I figure they must know.   The top clamp (red) can be lifted and turned as needed.

 

 

7 hours ago, wefalck said:

you can also tape/glue the sheet-metal to a piece of thick cardboard or thin plywood and run them together through the saw

 

Hmm, never thought of that.  Must give that a try sometime, especially with slightly thicker material. Thanks.

 

Gary