ERGENSTRASSE by Mirabell61 - FINISHED - 1:87 - steamship

[yvesvidal]

Nils,

 

are you making your own decals? If yes, could you elaborate on which software tool you are using and how you print them?

 

Thanks

Yves

[Mirabell61]

Yves,

I do`nt make my own decals, but use Excel i.e. for doing the depth markings and printing out on glossy photopaper and cutting out. The encl. pic is showing the bow depth-marking of my Pamir.

For the Ergenstrasse I did`nt find any decal for the plysmoll marking in scale 1:87, but in 1:100. which I used in this case. And this little decal sheet it was on, had also depth markings on it. The pics are in my post. I would have made them with Excel also but here I bought them. Maybe I`ll change them out if I find appropriate decals in 1:87 one day.

With Excel its possible to follow the bottom bow-rounding quite well and even to choose the right color on the red white black Hull

 

Nils

Pamir bow-markings

 

 

[Mirabell61]

Update

 

After making two trial dummies as covers for two of the 3 boats I decided to use the card-made version, when varnished in silk appeal it looks like weathered canvas. The open boat will have no cover.....

 

Nils

 

[Mirabell61]

Update

 

I`ve completed the boats so far.

Special thanks go to Andy who kindly helped me with the number of portholes, and where they should be on the hull. After "glassing" them I put them on the hull already today.

 

Nils

here is a 1:87 (H0) sailor figure for size comparison

the name and numbers on the boats are printed with incjet on transparent self adhesive foil

sorry for the rather bad pic quality. The portholes "glassing" is made from 3 mm round silicon bar and glued in place with a drop of CA. The portholes housing is a brass hollow rivet with flange

[realworkingsailor]

Looks great Nils!

 

I’m sorry I couldn’t show you these earlier, but I have some photos of the Sylvan Scale Models kit that shows the porthole arrangements:

 

 

 

They’re cast into the hull and crudely painted in (I started on this kit many, many years ago)

 

Andy

[Mirabell61]

17 minutes ago, realworkingsailor said:

 

Many thanks for Your pics Andy,

did you issue your Sylvan Laker at any time on MSW, its worth it....

 

Nils

[Mirabell61]

Update

 

I made the 2 masts and the 4 loading derricks.

For the frontmast I`m planing to fit the crows nest with an access ladder from deck to it

 

Nils

the 4 derricks with fastening pionts for the blocks and angle pivot, also the 2 "tapered" masts with fastening eyes for rigging- blocks and shrouds

the counter-points for the derrick pivot pins

"tapered" masts

the long aft derricks reach over the entire welldeck area with the 2 holds

 

 

 

[FlyingFish]

Great work Nils. The 'taper' works well. Not aware of any tapered brass tubes, and tapering a rod would be expensive on that scale.

[Mirabell61]

many thanks Andy,

I experienced the tapering of the masts and yards in this way already with my tallships Gorck Fock and Pamir and am quite pleased with it. Most viewers did`nt even recognize the stepped tapering.

Of course I need to stock an amount of certain sized brass tubes from time to time

Nils

[Jim Lad]

That tapering looks very effective, Nils.

 

John

[Mirabell61]

11 hours ago, Jim Lad said:

That tapering looks very effective, Nils.

 

John

Thank you very much John

 

Nils

[Mirabell61]

Update

 

the midship deck houses with portholes and doors are added .....

 

Nils

 

 

 

 

[realworkingsailor]

Hi Nils,

 

Looks great!

I have a few observations, you can do with them as you will. 😁

The upper deck layout on my model is a little different than what you’ve got. It looks more like this:

 

 

The “T” structure incorporates the officers’ cabins in the forward part with the balance down the middle being the upper engine room casing. The two long “galleries” also comprise cabins opening inwards onto the covered passageways. They are also flush with the ship’s sides.

 

I’m also wondering about your winch locations. As you’ve got them, the platforms obstruct the #2 and #3 hatch openings considerably, also the layout you have forward would put all the running lines across the hatches as well.
 

Your poor crew and stevedores would be cursing for every pallet they’d have to lift! 😜

 

I would try to fit the forward winches in the area between #1 and #2 hatches, athwartships at the base of the foremast.

If you rebuild your superstructure closer to my rough diagram, it might also give you some room to pivot your after winches clear of the #3 hatch.

Again, these are just my own observations, feel free to ignore them as you see fit.  
 

Keep up the good work,

 

Andy

[Keith Black]

 Nils, this is such a lovely build. I'm totally impressed. 

[Mirabell61]

52 minutes ago, Keith Black said:

 Nils, this is such a lovely build. I'm totally impressed. 

Thank you very much Keith,

 

Nils

[Mirabell61]

Hi Andy,

thanks for your good comments, much appreciated, let me explain why I did so....

I looked up the haulted video pics several times over and over, to understand why this ship was so strange in fitting out.

 

you mentioned in one of your earlier posts that the owners of these laker ships changed several features regarding to the needs they had. The Corsicana originaly used to carry 4 masts (8 winches necessary, one per derrick).

The  poop mast fell away, so those winches were not concidered here anymore. The aft welldeck with 2 long derricks required 2 winches, and these stood exactly where I put them, also in reality, allthough the mounting bracket is hanging a bit over Hatch 3. That was so in real.

 

The  forecastle mast was cut and taken away, but the 2 winches there left on the forecastle-deck. I left one away because the second would only be unused and therefore unnecessary ballast, One derrick to be attended to.

The  mast of the front mid-island was taken out, but the two winches left still standing on the bracket, partiell covering hatch two. I removed one dead-ballast winch. Thats the reason I did not place the winches around the foremast, and taking the handicap in account that the leads are above the front welldeck.

 

One handicap the model has, is that the front welldeck area could have been a little longer, this resulting in the rather short #2 derrick. This depends on the "Ferris type" frameplan and lines I used.

 

Thanks for your scetch with t-shape arrangement of the mid-island housings. Of course my model does not exclude this, especially in respect to the "gallaries" and to the engine room-shaft, (inside not visable on the model), up to the next deck with eng. room skylights etc..... 

 

The main mid Island deck-housing is not flush with the hull sides because the backstep flat takes up the davit sockets, (one deck below the boatsdeck)

 

I know that crew members and harbour stevedores would be cursing due to the rigging arrangement, but I guess that the movie makers did not even understand what the one or other misallignment would cause in real action, and the model is to be showing the "movie ship" after all.

 

What the pics do not show, is if there is a radio operator booth, perhaps on the boats deck aftwards of the engine room skylights ?

 

regards,

Nils

Edited August 27, 2023 by Mirabell61

[realworkingsailor]

Probably the captain’s cabin and radio operator’s cabin shared the small structure below the wheelhouse, on the forward end of the boat deck.
 

I’ll check my model when I get home, but pretty sure the coal bunker hatch was located between this part of the superstructure and the funnel. It would be hard to see as there is no coaming. Aft of the funnel is the engine room skylight. 
 

Andy

[Mirabell61]

many thanks Andy,

 

right, I intended to place the coal bunker hatch on the boats deck, next to the funnel but there between front housing and coal hatch is a tall vent tube upwards as well.

There is an awning on the boats deck after bridge area and funnel sides which may interfere with coal hatch when loading coal from above. will have to think out a solution.

Also the aft mast front shrouds will have to be fastened as far as possible spread outwards to fit between the lifeboats on the boats deck, to allow swinging out of the boats

 

What makes me curious about an radio operator booth is this pic.....

 

Nils

 

 

 

[Mirabell61]

Update 

started with the vents in different airscoop diameters and appr. tubes.

The foremast now carries a crow`s nest with sidewise opening to allow access from the (not yet) made ladder from deck

 

Nils

the air intake scoops are made from different sized nickel plated steel bagfeet, then soldered with the brass tubes

 

 

 

Edited August 28, 2023 by Mirabell61

[realworkingsailor]

On 8/27/2023 at 4:36 AM, Mirabell61 said:

 

 

What makes me curious about an radio operator booth is this pic.....

 

Nils

 

 

 

 

Hi Nils!

 

Your latest post about the crow’s nest got me thinking about your mystery cabin. I’m fairly certain both might be elements of Hollywood-isms (where the movie plot overrides reality). The crows nest definitely fits in that category, by the 1950’s period of the movie, that feature was laughably obsolete on most ships, but in the vein of Moby Dick, or Titanic, a “crew member” high up in his crows nest lookout on the lookout for the MacGuffin sure helps the plot (a MacGuffin is a device or contrivance that drives a movie plot).

 

I was looking also at your picture of the “radio cabin” and the construction doesn’t really look proper for a steel ship. It looks a little “wooden”. The corner seem to looks like nothing more than thin metal flashing nailed to some plywood to give an appearance of being part of the ship. The roof also looks a little plywood-y too (with a valance of 2x4s. Again there may have been some plot point in the movie that required a crew member to be seen banging away on some piece of radio equipment or some such, and Hollywood being what it is, there are typically multiple takes from multiple angles (and all the other nonsense that goes with making a film).

 

If you’re modelling the ship as it appears in the film, you’re likely going to run into many of these questions. Hollywood is a great manipulator of reality in its quest for “the perfect shot”

 

Andy

[Mirabell61]

Good comments Andy, and many thanks for your much appreciated expertise,

I`ll leave away the radio cabin, you convince me that I`m running into some questions, but its for the sake of the film ship model that inspired me to start the project after I read  Andrew Geer`s pocket edition of The Sea Chase. I hope no one takes it too seriously. I was wondering why I could never find a model of the ship elsewhere, (Probably it was not known that the laker Corsicana aka Margarethe Shafer was utelized for the mövie, and no modeling plans available there), as Geer`s story was a runner in 1938 already and the film in 1955 was published in many countries and languages. I think its like with the ship from "King Kong" movie of which I understand there is also no model on the market.

 

Nils

[Mirabell61]

Update

 

Railing and vents are under way, ....

 

Nils

 

vent tubes  7mm for the 18mm diam. scoops and 6 mm for the 14,5 diam. scoops. The soldering goes quite well

 

 

the etchd brass railing is 11 mm high and very fragile. The lettering had been damaged through tape to hold down the railing. It needs some touch up

 

the stairways were all fitted with "mahaghoni" handrails

 

Edited September 4, 2023 by Mirabell61

[Jim Lad]

Just back from some time away, Nils. She's really coming on!

 

John

[Mirabell61]

Hi John,

thanks for your word,

I`m experimenting with the best way of fastening the railing to the decks, looks like thixotrope viscosity-conditioned CA does a good job after its cured out....

 

Nils

Edited September 5, 2023 by Mirabell61

[michael mott]

Hi Nils just finished going through your build, wonderful creative work. I’m amazed by how fast you get the work done. 
Michael

[Mirabell61]

Hi Michael,

I`m pleased to see you on board, many thanks for looking in, we have`nt exchanged thoughts for rather a long time, welcome and enjoy  the build.

I often think it could go even faster, but there are so many little details where I first have to find a way how to do, for example: I`m trying to get the rudder chain to the poop deck using a guide rail (U-profile) and some appropriate tube guiding for the chain lead curves and onto / over a horizontal installed chain wheel beneath the wood cladded containment of the emergency rudder steering wheel device. I spent two  to three days to find a solution. Now i think i`ve found a solution and am working on it..... 

I was just looking for a suitable  thin walled brass tube ca. 28 mm OD to make  the funnel from. I found something in copper, which will also do.

 

Nils

Edited September 8, 2023 by Mirabell61

[GrandpaPhil]

Very cool!

[michael mott]

Hi Nils one method I have found for creating curved U channels is to first anneal some thin wall brass tube then fill it with the appropriate diameter of styrene rod then bend it to the curve with finger’s then use a torch to burn out the styrene the file away the top slowly. And it would also work by just filing the top without the burning anyway.

 

Michael

[Mirabell61]

14 hours ago, GrandpaPhil said:

Very cool!

Thanks Phil,

 

Nils

9 hours ago, michael mott said:

Hi Nils one method I have found for creating curved U channels is to first anneal some thin wall brass tube then fill it with the appropriate diameter of styrene rod then bend it to the curve with finger’s then use a torch to burn out the styrene the file away the top slowly. And it would also work by just filing the top without the burning anyway.

 

Michael

Michael,

thank you very much for your tip. I`ll remember this and try for the next ocasion to come....

 

Nils

[Mirabell61]

Update

 

under work : anchor- and rudderchains, emergency rudderstand, stairways, railings, etc....

 

Nils

 

 

 

rudderchain U-guides and lead tubes

anchor chains brought to forecastle-deck

 

 

 

 

 

emergency rudder device connected to main ruddershaft