ERGENSTRASSE by Mirabell61 - FINISHED - 1:87 - steamship

[Mirabell61]

Thank you Andy and John,

 

the access doors to the wheelhouse and to the section underneath are in my planing, only that they will be fitted later on...

 

Nils

[wmherbert]

One rather late question about your hull plating. I'm starting a scratch 1914 paddle wheel steam tug at 1 to 48 that had a riveted steel hull. I've liked the way your plates came out. Are the individual sheets of your aluminum foil butted together at edges or are they overlapped?  And one other question. How did you make the half round rub rail running along the hull?

Thanks,

Bill

[Mirabell61]

Bill,

thanks for looking in, let me answer to your you questions.....

- the single foil sheets overlap about 1 - 1,5 mm, so that the ponced rivet side edge of the next plate comes to lay and overlap on the edge of the last plate.

-the rub rail is a beech profile 2 mm halfround, in those cases where there is a stronger curve, I submerge the curved ends of wooden profile for a minute or so in boiling hot water.

I wish you much fun and good success with your paddle steam tug

 

Nils

[Mirabell61]

Update

 

doors fitted to the superstructure, and funnel shortened and fitted with blow out tube, fastening points for the funnel stays and ships  steam-whistle/Horn

 

Nils

 

ready for painting...., funnel from 25mm dia brasstube

 

[Jim Lad]

Delightful work, Nils!

 

John

[Mirabell61]

Thank you very much John,

slowly I`m getting there, I think bridge and boatsdeck middle section with machine-room skylights, etc. will be next...

 

Nils

Edited November 2, 2023 by Mirabell61

[FriedClams]

Nice progress Nils - she is looking good!

 

Gary

[Mirabell61]

Thank you Gary,

I`ve been working on the engineroom skylight today...

 

Nils

 

 

 

[Jim Lad]

Nice skylight, Nils.

 

John

[Mirabell61]

Thank you John,

I first thought that I would`nt get all details fitted in line in that section, after my decision was to add the water tank on supports, 4 additional engineroom vents and the skylight, and in opposite to an earlier post of mine, there will also be a radio-opperaters cabin (where the card template is laying)

Therefore the skylight had to be created very compact, and with 3 light panels on each side, but after all I get everything brought in line, which I`m quite pleased with.

 

Nils

the two vents behind the skylight will still be shortend, the freshwater-tank will get some connection tubes

 

 

 

[Jim Lad]

All coming together very nicely, mate!

 

John

[Mirabell61]

thank you very much John

 

Nils

[Mirabell61]

Update

 

I`m doing the vertical ladders and have painted all 18 vents. I think the bridge with it`s wing cabs and the deck over the wheelhouse for taking bearings with landmarks will be next.

What I am a bit anxious about is for cutting out the scuppers into the welldeck bulwarks. A mess by doing so can ruin the whole hull appearence.

Still the cargo derricks-rigging, the funnelstays and the mast shrouds have to be fitted.

The 105 year old laker steamer is being built in the 1955 movie version and therefore quite compact

 

Nils

painting all 18 vents. Toothpics are helpfull here. The ladders are chemically blackened

The radio cabin has become 2 antenna connection terminals

the bridgedeck is held to the supports by means of 4 tiny spindles (through the hollow squarebar profiles) and M1,6 nuts and washers on the deck.

 

 

 

 

open and closed boat under the davits

the anchor windless and the chain stoppers are mounted

 

the upward stairs are for dry fit position check. Here the position for the radio-cabin can be seen

 

I think I`ll hang one boat in open version and the other (Stb) one closed with canvas decking. The third closed boat will settle upright on the aft hold #4

 

the aft portion of the boatsdeck as well as the davits must still be painted

 

[realworkingsailor]

Looks great Nils!

 

Instead of cutting out the scuppers (freeing ports is the term I think you mean), many of these ships had hinged flaps that covered the opening on the outside. The hinge was at the top so the flap would open to let the water out, and close to slow any water wanting to come in. Maybe an option to avoid risking damage to your hard work!

 

Andy

[Mirabell61]

Many thanks Andy,

 

I know what you mean, I built these "oneway Flaps" into the bulwarks of my tallships Gorch Fock and Pamir, for exactly your described reason. 

For the Corsicana and subsequently the Ergenstrasse I wish it were so, but there are permenant rectangular shape openings, each 3 in fore- and aft welldeck bulwarks, pls. see encl. pic.

I trust that these do not only drain overcoming water, but that they also are openings for the mooring ropes

 

Nils

 

these openings..... (here the Corsicana) under steam with the former masting arrangement, and without bridge wing cabs

 

[realworkingsailor]

The freeing ports would not used for mooring ropes as the edges would have been too sharp, and the shell plating would not have been inherently strong enough to handle the forces applied by the ropes. They would have simply been holes in the bulwark shell plating. If you look closely at your Corsicana picture, you can see a Panama fairlead (the name for the reinforced and faired edge casting) between the second and third openings, forward of the house, and between the fourth and fifth openings, aft of the house. 

Andy

 

[Mirabell61]

thank you very much Andy, good input,

 

I think I know what you are saying, I had also ordered these Panama fairleads metal-castings together with the cargo winches and strong deck-bollards already some time ago in scale 1:100.

Your confirmation on the usage of these devices gives me confidence to install them behind the smaller bulwark openings.

Googleing up Panama Fairleads I found this pic, which shows exactly this described arrangement......

 

Nils

 

the red casting fairlead here is directly behind the railing (resp. bulwark) to lead the mooring ropes from the bollard to the shore bollards

[KeithAug]

My you have been busy Nils. I love the way you press every day objects into service - i.e the vent cowls. Well done.

[Mirabell61]

thank you very much Keith,

 

Update

it took me several hours to find a way in doing the freeing ports with adequate size into the well-deck bulwarks. Finally I`ve chosen a version whereby a frame will be inserted and glued into a  cut out square opening (in a close fit as good as I can get it done), and soldered-in vertical bars prevent crew being washed through into rough seas. I used a scrap dummy piece of the bulwark 1,5mm ply for doing so

 

Nils

there will be 12 of these frames

the frame will probably be flush the outer skin

[Jim Lad]

Works well, Nils. many ships had hinged steel plates over the freeing ports that clanged annoyingly when the ship was rolling heavily.

 

John

[Mirabell61]

thank you John,

Andy already mentioned what you said, and I also have these hinged steel plates over the outside bulwarks fitted on my tallships . Those tallships used to have large amounts of overcoming sea on the lee side when sailing hard braced in strong winds.

The Corsicana aka Ergenstrasse only had openings though with steelbar slip-through protections.

 

Nils

each two hinges on the upper side of the flaps

Edited November 17, 2023 by Mirabell61

[Mirabell61]

Update

 

cutting out the bulwarks, the last three of 12 freeing ports, 8 mm square, inserting the frames and stiffening out of the inner bulwarks with stanchions.

This is what I was a bit anxious about, after all its just getting started, pulling through and now I`m pleased with the result. I had extra bought a new set of keyhole files and some carving chissels. The ship has to be tilted into the correct position on my knees, and carefully avoiding contact distortion with the fragile railing sections during the process. Al uneccessary, removable superstructure parts, masting and hold sections are layed aside for doing so.

Before filing out the roughf drilled holes to square close fit, the metal plating bits have to be removed from the outer bulwarks with a sharp chissel.

Next will be to cut the holes for the mooring ropes and to place the Panama-fairleads directly behind the bulwarks and place the deck-mooring bollards 

 

Nils

cutting through the plating metal, removing the small square parts, masking, taping and positioning  of the freeing ports.

inserting and glueing in the freeport-frames

stanchions for stiffening out the bulwarks. the freeports lower side is flush with the deck

 

Edited November 23, 2023 by Mirabell61

[Jim Lad]

Looking good, mate!

 

John

[Mirabell61]

many thanks John,

 

Nils

[Rick310]

Really well done!!!  I admire your courage cutting into your beautiful hull!

Rick

[Mirabell61]

thanks for your word Rick,

 

yes, I was much afraid that the cutting out could possibly spoil the sight. I also thought that it would have been of advantage to cut into the bulwarks before they get mounted, but it is not easy to predict exactly where the edge (bulwark to deck edge) will be laying, with freeing ports flush with the deck, at the time the bulwarks were made and mounted. I notice from many ship kits with laser cut panel-parts, that those cut-outs are exactly in place from the beginning onwards, provided the hull is built correctly.

 

Nils

Edited November 23, 2023 by Mirabell61

[KeithAug]

3 hours ago, Mirabell61 said:

but it is not easy to predict exactly where the edge (bulwark to deck edge) will be laying,

Nils - I find that the problem with scratch builds is that everyone is an experiment. I have often thought that it would-be better to build each model twice and eliminate all the inaccuacies that inevitably occur in the first version  - unfortunately life is too short.

[Mirabell61]

Keith,

that`s a good point, funny I was just thinking the same this morning.....

the common procedure is now to ask myself a) will the objection be looking at me for all times after ?

or b) can I live with it ? (nobody is perfect)

If the answer is "a" then it`s  a candidate for the bin, or to do it over again for a second run.

Much is stored in the box "experience", so that something likewise hopefully does`nt occur again, but I would`nt build the same ship twice.

 

Nils

[Mirabell61]

Update

 

today the stanchions for the hold-sides are done, the first fairlead for the mooring ropes and in combination with a heavy twin-bollard on deck

 

Nils

the guiderails for the rudder chain run alon the hold sides, behind the stanchions

the Panama fairlead is directly behind the through lead opening in the bulwark

bulwark outside view, will probably paint the fairlead black

in combination twin-bollard with Panama fairlead

 

mooring rope ( 2 mm polyester) for aft portside welldeck

 

 

 

[Jim Lad]

Very nice progress, Nils.

 

John