ZULU 1916 by Ras Ambrioso - 1/48 scale - sternwheeler

[yvesvidal]

On 7/6/2024 at 9:58 PM, Ras Ambrioso said:

Keith, I try to leave the brass shinny because it attracts the eye to the metal work. I enjoy working with brass specially the lathe work.

I think the metal work is taking over the modeler's work.... Just saying 🙂

 

Yves

[Ras Ambrioso]

Ives, I make these models for my own pleasure and to share it with friends. My fun is in the research and of the

planning. Then comes the challenge of the fabrication procedures and I am more a mechanic than a carpenter or a painter.  

[Ras Ambrioso]

The boiler deck completed. Continue work on engine piping.

 

Thank you for your comments and likes.

[Ras Ambrioso]

A little more progress. I worked on the stairs from the main deck to the boiler deck. I used a system that I learned from Kevin Kenny's building of the Naparima. The method uses the mini saw with a kerf that matches the material  for the steps, in this case, 1/32".

Then I used jig to insert the steps.

And this is the unfinished ladder.

The finished stair will have  handrails and a thinner profile.Then it will be painted

 

[KeithAug]

Good progress Ras. Here is a variation on the method of making steps if you are interested.

 

[Ras Ambrioso]

Keith, I when to looked at your Germania and I have to congratulate on that model The hull is exquisite. Regarding the ladders, Ken Kenny's system uses a long piece for the sides of the ladder and then sets the miter gage to the stair angle. The blade is set to half the thickness of the side strip. One side is cut and the miter angle is reversed and a new see of steps is done. The strip is advanced just like for making a box joint. This is the video:

 

 

I have used this method several times and for the Amapá, I used card stock for the steps.  Using Wefalk advise ,I shellac the  card stock.  In this scale I used 1/32 thick strips.

I did some more work on the model as shown in the following photos. 

The piping forward is completed and the stack painted dark grey as per the forum's advice. I wish I have done that for the boiler too.

The engine piping is complete.

I finally, my latest micro work: the anchor hawser pipes:

Thank you for your comments, advice and likes. I have learned so much watching you guy's work. Thanks.

 

 

 

 

[tmj]

Very nice, indeed!

[KeithAug]

10 hours ago, Ras Ambrioso said:

Regarding the ladders, Ken Kenny's system uses a long piece for the sides of the ladder and then sets the miter gage to the stair angle.

Ras - yes I had previously viewed that video. The main difference is that Mr Kenny's method has many more operational steps and hence more opportunities of errors to creep in. By attaching the side strips to a backing block at the correct angle and then setting the saw to half the depth of the side pieces both sides and be cut (identically) in one pass of the table saw. The only thing that then needs to be set for each cut is the moving the fence by the distance between the steps. 

 

Nice clean bends on the pipework. Well done.

[Ras Ambrioso]

Keith, I see, your jig actually carries the two  sides at the same time on the same setting of the fence. Outstanding! 

Your method is now in my list for future ladders. This why I enjoy this forum  so much. 

[Ras Ambrioso]

I may have missed something in Keith"s jig so, after a lot of thinking, I figured how to be able to cut the notches for the steps at the same time on both opposite sides.

Cutting the angled sides was a little troubling in my micro saw because of the extreme angle but I managed to do it using MicroMark's "taper jig". To change from right to left I disassembled the jig and turned it over. Pictures of the new ladder will follow soon.

BTW, the reason I was doing another ladder is because the first one (post #64)came out one step short when I tried it the model. Sorry, senior moment😪

[KeithAug]

Raz - yes that works. I tend to be a bit frugal with my use of wood so I use an MDF block with the pre cut side planks held on it (at the correct angle) with double sided tape. Once the step slots are cut I remove the side planks by brushing a bit of white spirit on to the MDF to break the bond.  Because the side planks are already the correct size I don't have to cut the shallow angles and therefore no need for a taper jig.

 

We all have senior moments, in fact mine are the dominant type of moment.

 

[Ras Ambrioso]

Keith, I did exactly the same process by setting the two opposing sides on the board with the double sided tape. But my tape was not that strong and it made a mess when trying to get it through the saw. By using a little more wood I managed to make the parallel cuts. Been very interesting to explore all these fabrication methods.

Edited July 26 by Ras Ambrioso

[Ras Ambrioso]

Zulu is almost complete. It is time to start the last big item: the paddlewheels. I have looked through the forum at different methods to fabricate these wheels and the one I like most was the one used by Cathead in his Peerless. But, Zulu was a ship made in England, then disassembled and shipped to India where it was put together. And the plans show the wheels made with metal rims. Thus, I decided to use a method similar to one I used to assemble my Bianchi motorcycle spoke wheels.

The rims will be made from 1 mm styrene sheets and I will use some 1 mm brass square tubing. Following is the jig and the first rim before cutting it through.

To be continued.

 

[wefalck]

There is a 90+ year old gentleman in Munich, who is really an artist in metal-work. The parts for the wheel are photo-etched.

Edited July 26 by wefalck

[KeithAug]

22 hours ago, wefalck said:

The parts for the wheel are photo-etched.

I have always thought it would be fun to make a large working model of a paddle wheel. I have often seen Waverley on my sailing trips around the Hebrides and watched her paddles with interest. Maybe after Cangarda is finished I will have a go. 

Edited July 27 by KeithAug

[Ras Ambrioso]

Wefalk, wow, those are paddles. But, unfortunately I am not at that level yet. Those wheels are absolutely perfect.

 

Keith, The plans I have been using are from an old issue of the Model Shipwright. If you look at the plans at the beginning of my post you will see that they were designed for R/C. It shows using an electric motor and a worm gear drive for the paddles. The plans could be enlarged to something like 1/35 or even larger 1/24. They would make a beautiful sight in the ponds. If you are interested, you could send me your address and I will mail a set to you.

[KeithAug]

R

1 hour ago, Ras Ambrioso said:

If you are interested, you could send me your address and I will mail a set to you.

Ras - thank you for your kind offer. If I am not mistaken Zulu has the simpler non feathering type of paddle wheel. The ones that Eberhard posted were feathering paddle wheels. You probably know the difference but this video explains it well - 

I was thinking about making the feathering type so unfortunately Zulu's plans don't help a lot, but thank you anyway.

[Ras Ambrioso]

I knew about the feather wheels and that's why those wheels presented by Wefalk are so incredible perfect at a small scale. Just figure out how many minuscule pieces need to be fabricated. And all these by a guy 90 years old. BTW, I am 88 years old.

[KeithAug]

3 hours ago, Ras Ambrioso said:

BTW, I am 88 years old.

A youngster then Ras. Many more modelling years left to add to your fleet.🙂

[Ras Ambrioso]

Continuing the paddle construction. I cut out the space between inner and outer circle. But, trying to maintain concentricity between both circles I left four radial pieces uncut. The spokes and wood hub were then added.

Once that was completed , the holding webs were cutout and replaced withe rest of the spokes.

And following is a rough look how the paddle wheel will look. 

What is shown above is a combination of port and starboard parts just for looks. The spokes on each side must be perfectly aligned in order to accept the paddle boards. I will be using the method that Cathead used in his Peerless build.

 

TO BE CONTINUED 

[KeithAug]

Good looking paddle wheel Ras.

[Ras Ambrioso]

Thank you guys. Your likes and comments keep me going 

[FriedClams]

Been reading through your log and have just caught up.  Wonderful work on this interesting vessel, Ras!  I admire your resourcefulness in both materials and construction technique.  Will be following along on your final steps.

 

Gary 

[Ras Ambrioso]

Work continues on the paddle wheels. Following is the first wheel assembled sans the paddles.

 

 

[KeithAug]

Ras, was the original red or is that detail. Lost in the mists of time?

[Ras Ambrioso]

Keith, The only information I had on this ship was an article in Model Boats in April 1982. I have tried to get the other two issues to no avail. The drawings from Ray Vine indicated that the paddles were gloss red and the frame gloss green but I decided to follow the USA practice of having the whole paddle wheel in red. 

[Ras Ambrioso]

The paddle wheels are done and we are now working on the assembly.

One of the the main bearings

And the assembly presented to the sponsons.

Now working on the eccentric cranks and the pitman connecting rods. Then finally add the paddles or what I have seen elsewhere called: the buckets. In September it will be one year since I started this model. It has  been a wonderful experience and big lessons have been learned. Most important is to plan the order of the assembly to avoid interferences. In this model I added the railing way ahead of the bulk of the deck furnitures and now I am faced with having to redo it after damaging the fragile wires.

 

 

[KeithAug]

Ras - It is funny what I miss in passing. I have only just realised Zulu has two paddle wheels. Are they on a common shaft or can they rotate independently?

[Ras Ambrioso]

My guess is that each wheel was independent which will be helpful in navigating the narrow Indian rivers. Making the wheels independent gets too complex to make in a static model. I opted to provide the wheels with independent hubs which makes them rotate independently but the eccentrics will be attached to the common shaft. This makes it easy in the static model. Furthermore, While building the hull, I fabricated the sponsons out of a solid piece of wood without taking in consideration the eccentric travel which required an open space below the deck surface. As I said before, poor planning. So now I have two wheels that will rotate independently from engines that will not be capable to complete a revolution. I plan to paint a dark space where the cranks are supposed to get below the deck surface. Again this is a static model going nowhere.😏

[KeithAug]

50 minutes ago, Ras Ambrioso said:

So now I have two wheels that will rotate independently from engines that will not be capable to complete a revolution.

Ras - I always think that I should build the same boat twice to correct all the mistakes in the first one. I never do of course.