RMS Titanic by NavyShooter - 1/100 - 3D Print - Pond Float display - Halifax Public Gardens

[NavyShooter]

Ahoy Gents!

 

The other ongoing RMS Titanic build has me inspired to start a concurrent thread...

 

The Maritime Ship Modellers Guild in Halifax NS has, for many years, had a good relationship with the city parks folks, and you can see the image below of the RMS Titanic Model that spent many years in pond at the Halifax Public Gardens.

That model was retired about 5 years ago, and a replacement was slapped together.  The replacement was not built as well as the original.  The original lasted 15+ years, the replacement sank last fall, and spent the winter on the bottom of the pond.  You can see the image of the model as recovered (after having the duck poop rinsed off) and a well meaning member of the Guild did some quick repairs on her to get her back in the pond this summer.  Alas, the repairs did not take, and she started sinking again. and was pulled out of the pond and put back in storage.

 

As a group, we decided at our March meeting to go ahead and build another Titanic.  I offered to investigate 3D printing one, and that is the path that we chose. 

 

I engaged with a designer, and he modified one of his 1/1000 scale files to suit our needs in 1/100 scale.  

 

The printing started in April, and finished in May.  Ish.

 

 

[NavyShooter]

This is NOT destined to be a highly detailed model.  The Guild built one of those a few years ago which is on display at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax.  Here you see some finishing touches being applied to that model.  I think it was about 1/200.  

 

This model will be a slightly better than stand-off scale model, with some detail, but most of that will be invisible due to the model being in the middle of the pond, rather than behind glass.

It must first and foremost be durable, reasonably accurate, and able to survive hopefully many years of immersion in a duck pond, with it being launched in May, and pulled out in October.  It must be black/red/white/tan, and must be a good visual representation of the RMS Titanic.  

 

It does not need rigging, or super detailing.  It needs to be able to survive a duck landing on it.

 

I intend to include a small interior water pump, in case there is any leakage.  (Solar powered) 

 

I also intend to include an LED flashing element, signaling SOS.  (Battery powered, solar charged.)

 

The hull is printed of PLA, will be covered in Bondo Fiberglass Resin on the outside, epoxy paint inside, and will have a metal keel strike plate both inside and outside to support, and act as ballast.  Our estimate is that this model will need to weigh close to 200 pounds to sit at a scale waterline.

 

 

[NavyShooter]

Here you can see some images of the hull - some of the modules took up to 50 hours to print.  

 

If you recall my build of the HMCS St Thomas, I used the same printer, so there are some of the same minor print flaws in the hull.  I'm not stressed about it, that's what putty and fiberglass resin will hide.

 

The superstructure was originally sent with all the windows open, so I asked that the designer re-do it with the windows sealed up inside.  That took him 10 minutes of work...it would have taken me hours to seal those from the inside if I'd had to do it on the model itself.

 

You can see the level of detail is quite good.  It will far exceed that of the current model, and I think it will meet the goal.

 

For reference, the cost of the PLA to print this was about $475 Cdn.

 

 

[NavyShooter]

The plan for the build was that I was to do the printing, and would pass it on to another guild member who would do the assembly and painting.  He started by assembling some of the modules into basically 4 larger sections. 

 

Alas, the best laid plans seldom work out, and that member took a year long contract in another province, and dropped the model back to me to work on over the winter.  The time has come to start that work.  The Guild has a model show in a couple of weeks, and I'd like to have something on display to show off.

 

So, step 1 is to get some putty on the sections, and smooth some surfaces. 

 

Next will be to add a layer of fiberglass resin and start sealing things up. 

[NavyShooter]

Of note, this was a picture of the original model a few years back.  You can see that the original was quite detailed, had rigging, and was a favoured spot for at least one gull to hang out.

 

Also, if you zoom in on this link in G Maps, and turn on the satellite imagery, you can see the spot amidst the lily pads where the Titanic model usually floats.

 

https://maps.app.goo.gl/gFegbovZY3Ttc5ne9

[scrubbyj427]

Always interested in anything Olympic class. Looking forward to seeing this develop.

[NavyShooter]

OK, a bit of progress to report...the 3 forward 'module assemblies' have now been glued together.

[NavyShooter]

Here's how things look tonight after some putty, some fiberglass, and some more glue.

 

Recall, this model is destined for a pond, so it's got to be resilient.  Fiberglass layers will do that...I hope.

 

Here we see the first layers of fiberglass mat applied.  I used the mat instead of the regular weave because...well...I had some on hand and wanted to use it up as a base layer.  

 

In this image, you can see the roughness of the base layer which you get from the fiberglass mat - the center of the keel area has now received 2 layers of resin.  This is a....BIG....ship.

 

NS
 

 

[GGibson]

On 11/7/2023 at 3:22 PM, NavyShooter said:

Of note, this was a picture of the original model a few years back.  You can see that the original was quite detailed, had rigging, and was a favoured spot for at least one gull to hang out.

 

Also, if you zoom in on this link in G Maps, and turn on the satellite imagery, you can see the spot amidst the lily pads where the Titanic model usually floats.

 

https://maps.app.goo.gl/gFegbovZY3Ttc5ne9

 

Very neat project, Brad!  Thanks for sharing!  I have the OcCre 1:300 scale kit in my shipyard to work on "sometime in my lifetime".  In the meantime, it's fun (and educational and entertaining) to look at others' builds!

 

And, unlike the very original vessel, it appears from this picture that, no matter how many passengers it carried, your original model didn't sink! 👍Great work by your N.S. team! Will watch the new build with interest!

[NavyShooter]

The plan for this one involves having a solar powered bilge pump installed as a 'just in case', and once the ballast is in and sorted out, the intent is to have the rest of the volume of the hull filled with Styrofoam to prevent the ship from 'going down' even if the worst case happened and she did spring a leak.

 

 This is, as I think I explained, version 3 that our Guild is providing to the Public Gardens.  Version 1 lasted about 15 years, and was retired to a Guild member's backyard.  Version 2 lasted about 4.5 years, having sank last fall, and spending the winter on the bottom of the pond.  Version 2 is the one you see in the first post with the plumbing pipe at the bow. 

 

My hope is that this one stays afloat for a few more years once I get her finished!

[NavyShooter]

A few more minutes out in the garage, and the full hull is now glued together, a quick sanding was done over the last layer of resin, and a full layer of resin was applied over the sanded section - the rough parts over the mat is now looking pretty smooth.

 

Goal for tomorrow (I'm off work) is to get both sides of the hull coated with at least 2 layers of resin to seal them in.

 

Then, maybe Wednesday evening, I'll have time to shoot a layer of red paint over the hull to see how it looks.

 

Goal is to have *something* worthy of showing at the craft/hobby show this weekend.  The Guild will be represented at a table or two, and I've promised some...stuff...

 

 

[Canute]

Interesting build, Chief. With all your efforts here, if this sinks, there's mischief afoot. 👍

[NavyShooter]

Here's how she looks this afternoon.  My hope is to get another layer on this side today, and maybe a couple of layers on the other side as well.  She won't be water-tight (shaft line holes to fill first) but damn near. 

[NavyShooter]

Second Layer applied to the port side.

 

It's drying now, and I think I'm going to head out to the garage again after my coffee and see if I can get a layer on the Stbd Side too. 

[NavyShooter]

The Stbd Layer got added....needs another though.  We'll see what gets done between now and the show on Friday. 

 

NS
 

[NavyShooter]

Got the 2nd layer on the Stbd side yesterday, I need to do some quick sanding, then I'm going to spray on a layer of red primer tonight.  Tomorrow evening, she gets dropped off at the show.

 

[NavyShooter]

She's got a layer of red oxide primer laid up now.

 

We'll go with what we have here for the show this weekend.  Now to fit an 8.5 foot model into a 6 foot bed for a 30km drive into downtown without damage....wish me luck.

 

NS
 

[GGibson]

1 hour ago, NavyShooter said:

Now to fit an 8.5 foot model into a 6 foot bed for a 30km drive into downtown without damage....

 

How do you do it?  You tie Tanic down well. 👍 

[KeithAug]

An unusual and interesting project. I hope she has a longer life than the original. The giant seagull attack wasn't mentioned in the film!!!!

[NavyShooter]

We've got her out on display for the weekend!  Here she is with Guild President Iain hanging onto the stern!  We dropped in early tonight to get some of the big pieces in place.  This really gives a good idea of how huge this model is!!!

[GGibson]

Impressive, gentlemen!  And a nice looking HMCS St Thomas, as well!  

[NavyShooter]

Here's the whole setup:

 

 

[WizardOfOs]

Wonderful project and glad to see Griffin's Pond is getting a new model again. I've always enjoyed seeing the previous one there when walking through the Gardens. 

[NavyShooter]

Well, life is...life.  5 days after my last post, I had to head up to see Dad as he was admitted and intubated at the hospital.  He passed on the 29th.  I got to see him, he recognized me, and family, and he passed surrounded by those he loved.  So.  Suffice to say there's been a pause in the build whilst dealing with the immediacy of that.

 

For those of us who are over a certain age, I will strongly suggest that you make sure your plans are in order.  You never know when things will go wrong, and it's extremely unlikely that you'll have a family that actually gets along enough not to fight over the inheritance.  

 

That said, I got home and have been getting caught up on things here, and finally have had time now to head out to the garage to get things going again on this project. 

 

Over the past few days, I realized that I needed to have a raised coaming around each of the 5 holes on the upper hull.  Having the superstructure sit down on them for alignment is good...but having a coaming to route water away is more important.   So.  

 

I took some measurements, and made a 'draft' copy.  It was 14mm high, and that wasn't enough...but it gave me a good idea of what right should look like, so here's the draft. 

 

This one is in the rear-most hole, and it's small enough to print in a single piece on my printer, so I did that.  It's got a lip that locks up underneath, and basically is a press-fit in from below.

 

[NavyShooter]

Here are the final versions.  I had to reprint the test one at 20mm height, and the other 4 were split into halves which I had to glue together before I glued them in from below.  

 

Once they were glued in place, I put a layer of fiberglass resin overtop to seal them, and fill the holes/gaps.

 

I'm generally pleased.  Needs one more layer I think then it'll be good to go.

 

[Canute]

My condolences on your Dad's passing, Brad. And you're spot on about dispositions of your "estate".

 

Nice save on your "holes". Gotta keep the water away from the electrons. 😉

[ccoyle]

On 12/19/2023 at 9:36 PM, NavyShooter said:

I got to see him, he recognized me, and family, and he passed surrounded by those he loved.

 

I'm happy you got to have that moment with your Dad.

[NavyShooter]

Thanks gents.  Dad had a brain bleed last year which he recovered from - I looked at every day we had him since that time as a bonus.  We got an extra year with him, and he ended up recovering almost 90% from the brain bleed (Subdural hematoma...he got it when he fell off his bicycle during a 10km ride he did one day.)

 

In terms of additional progress on the Titanic...she's now got 3 layers of resin on the coamings sealing them up, which looks pretty good.  I decided to put on a shot coat of black on the hull to see how she looks. 

 

I LIKE IT.

 

 

[NavyShooter]

I picked up some tan (sand) paint to use for the decks.  We'll see how that works.  I laid on the superstructure and the funnels...just to see how things look.

 

She's massive!

[GrandpaPhil]

My condolences about your dad.

 

Titanic is looking amazing!