RMS Titanic by MisterMeester - Trumpeter - 1/200 - PLASTIC

[MisterMeester]

I thought it's time to get my build log started, even though I haven't actually started the build yet. Soon. I've been quite busy with research, planning and start up. Essentially 50 years since I built scale models, so lots to do in preparing for this build. Start up is still in progress.

 

Before anything else, I first off just want to put out a big thanks to Evan, aka Force9, for his very detailed and resources rich Titanic 1/200 build log. I’ve learned so much from his thread, before I even begin my Titanic, and I would have missed so much without this information.

Thanks Evan.

 

Okay. Some preliminary stuff....

 

This was my work station for my Academy 1/400 Titanic. All building, and the limited painting I did, was here. Not exactly conducive to the Trumpeter 1/200 version.

 

My new workstation for the Trumpeter 1/200 Titanic. The pool table is being sequestered for a few years. That's fine. We didn't play much anyway. The son-in-law helped me carry the 4x8 plywood in yesterday. Originally purchased for the electrician to install the pool table light fixture. Stowed in the garage since. Spidey senses must have known there'd be a use for it again.

 

The task lamp is the same one as with the small table. I just drilled a 1/2" hole in the plywood for it. Now it's interchangeable, as I will still be using the small work station.

 

On the left, I put the binder together just yesterday and today. Some inspiration from Evan, again, on that, but I give myself credit as well for recognizing this need. Throughout my entire working career, I have always been about organization. It's half of it. Even as a Deckhand, organization was key. An organized and clean deck is a good working deck. Same goes for building models, I figure.

The book on the right was recently purchased online and just arrived today. I'm optimistic this will be a valuable resource toward my build.

 

A closer view of the "build binder". Not sure what else to call it. I'm an older salt, and thus somewhat old school. Digital pictures and screenshots are fine to a point. But, for the most part, I like the physical copy in my hand. Much (probably most) of what is in this binder are digital screenshots.

 

Anyhow, lots going on with startup. My new Airbrush Station.

 

The new airbrush kit just arrived today! 

 

And one more pic for now. One problem with the Spray Booth venting is insulating the gaps at the window. Been pondering this for days now (the Spray Booth arrived last week). Stuffing bubble wrap in the gaps proved to be a Mickey Mouse solution. Got the idea of foam in my head as a solution. Placed an order for some poly foam yesterday. It's coming from the US, however, so a solid resolution here might be awhile. Suggestions are welcome.

 

 

Anyhoo, that's it for now. Lots more to come. I've ordered five after market kits for the model, none of which have arrived as yet. 

 

My first approach to the model itself will be addressing the hull. No brainer there, I suppose, but in particular, how to approach the hull inaccuracies and porthole inaccuracies. Regarding the portholes, I came across a tip on Gene Davis' FB page (the title of which is too lengthy to repeat) that I most likely will go with. I like it. I don't plan on using the LED lighting kit for my model and this tip appears to me to be a great option for the portholes for those modelers not doing the LEDs. Stay tuned.

 

In the meantime....suggestions are welcome.

 

Thanks for looking and cheers,

Mark

 

 

[Kelp]

Looking forward to your build of the Titanic!

[RichieS]

Work station setup looks great. I'm interested to see how you get on with the model and will follow along for the build 

[richardhd]

Always excited to follow another Titanic build! Welcome!

[hamilton]

This looks like a really nicely detailed kit! Been watching a few of the Titanic logs and getting tempted....I'll follow here with interest.

 

I notice from your user ID that you're in SASK, but the background of your photos suggest some BC roots! My mother-in-law lives in Regina and if she saw your BC Lions memorabilia she would probably be on your lawn wearing a watermelon on her head and waving a pitchfork. How do Lions fans fare in the middle of all that Rider pride?

hamilton

[MisterMeester]

On 2/15/2024 at 7:46 PM, hamilton said:

This looks like a really nicely detailed kit! Been watching a few of the Titanic logs and getting tempted....I'll follow here with interest.

 

I notice from your user ID that you're in SASK, but the background of your photos suggest some BC roots! My mother-in-law lives in Regina and if she saw your BC Lions memorabilia she would probably be on your lawn wearing a watermelon on her head and waving a pitchfork. How do Lions fans fare in the middle of all that Rider pride?

hamilton

Thanks all.

 

Hamilton...haha....yes...born and raised in BC! Moved to Sask in 2016. Wife has family here. To answer your question...seems Rider fans are generally neutral toward Lions fans here. It's more Winnipeg, Calgary and Edmonton they have an aversion to. But mostly Winnipeg. That's been my observation. Side note: the step son-in-law was born and raised here, but he's a Stamps fan. Says he could never cheer for the Riders. I've met a few like that. I think it has to do with them growing up with a team that was generally very bad when they were kids.

 

Anyhoo....build update.....not much to say. I've still be doing a fair bit of research and planning. I can finally say, however, that I have physically actually started as of tonight. Did some scraping of the mold nubs on the bottom of the hull. Very minimal, so far, but it's a start. I've ordered a underhull plating kit from Maritime Models, so I'm going to leave the seam line on the bottom to help assist with getting that aligned right. I also have the stern counter plating kit from Midwest Model Shop. That arrived a few days ago. Still not sure about the seam line for where that gets laid down. I'll probably sand it down. For sure the seam line on the upper aft stern will get sanded, but not until after I plot the four missing portholes that go there.

 

Next up will be marking the hull for the many corrections identified on the Port side, as well as plotting which portholes get filled, which get drilled and which don't. I'm still not planning on using the LED set, but I have decided to drill the portholes anyway and go with a resin portholes/windows aftermarket kit. My original plan was to use a pencil on the portholes. That plan was based on a tip I came across on the "Trumpeter Titanic 1/200th Model Only Building Tips and Tricks" FB group (sheesh, that title is so long I still don't have it memorized). It's a cool way of simulating glass. Anyhoo, what changed my mind is the distorted portholes on the Port and Stbd Quarters. To fix those requires filling, then drilling. If I'd gone the pencil route, I would then need to back those portholes from the inside with styrene to "colour" them in. Problem with that is they would then be more recessed than all the other penciled in portholes that wouldn't have been drilled out. Hence, the decision to just drill them all and fit clear resin in each one, thus making it all uniform. The actual drilling won't happen until the aftermarket kit gets to me. I want to drill some test holes in styrene and then fit each of the different size resins so as to know the correct size drill bit to use for each of the various sizes.

 

So, that's were it's at. More to come soon.

 

Thanks for looking,

Mark   

[MisterMeester]

Airbrush station venting gaps issue resolved. Not pretty, but it works.

 

[MisterMeester]

I did a dry fit, last night, of an aftermarket frame kit I bought off eBay. It's about 2mm too long, longitudinally. Me thinks it will fit better once I clean it up. If not, will have to modify it a bit. Once that is done, I'll get a better idea of how the fit will be with the midship section of C Deck.

 

[Knocklouder]

Hi Mark, I see you still live close to The Hague lol.  My First  Mate used to live near by In PA. And she has a sister who lives in Warman  I think lol. Anyway  we all  called that town The  Hague lol For some reason I like to see this ship being built  I am A relatively newbie but will help if I can, or at least find somebody who knows lol. 

Good luck on your journey   

Edited March 11 by Knocklouder
Typos

[MisterMeester]

On 3/10/2024 at 3:35 PM, Knocklouder said:

Hi Mark, I see you still live close to The Hague lol.  My First  Mate used to live near by In PA. And she has a sister who lives in Warman  I think lol. Anyway  we all  called that town The  Hague lol For some reason I like to see this ship being built  I am A relatively newbie but will help if I can, or at least find somebody who knows lol. 

Good luck on your journey   

Haha! Yes! Hague, (The).  I called it that too, for the first few years that we lived here. Just 22 minutes to the North (I'm actually in Warman also).  

Thanks for the offer of help. Two newbies heads are likely better than one!

 

Cheers,

Mark 

[MisterMeester]

Time for an Update. Things are ramping up. Most items ordered have arrived. Just waiting for four more upgrade kits from two different suppliers, none of which have shipped yet. Not in a rush for those, however. Just a bit never-racking as they were all ordered quite sometime ago.

 

Anyway, a summary on what I have received, thus far....

 

Bulkhead/Framing kit already mentioned above. I've not gotten any further with that yet than the dry fit.

 

A few more items for reference...

 

Went with the KA detail kit, (vs Pontos). Most reviews favor this kit. "More bang for your buck", I heard a few times. Some suggest both kits, as Pontos has items this kit does not (and vice versa). This kit actually cost me more than the Trumpeter model kit itself, so I think I'll leave the Pontos on the shelf. Interestingly, one review said the KA kit is for advanced modelers and the Pontos is better suited to the newbie. Another reviewer said the exact opposite. I guess I'll never know for sure without the Pontos kit.

 

Purchased the Stern Plating kit from The Midwest Model Shop. 

 

A portholes/windows detail kit purchased through "Trumpeter Titanic 1/200th model ONLY building tips and tricks" Facebook group.

 

The distorted portholes at the stern (both sides) identified for filling. Distortion is the result of the mold process. To be drilled out again, later, to make them correct round.

 

Longitudinal view of the port side, with more portholes to be filled. These portholes don't exist. Source of this information is from the aforementioned FB group. I messaged the "author" of that info, for permission to post some of those images here, but never heard back. Anyway, including the distorted portholes, there are 47 to fill and sand. There are another 55 +/- portholes that are out of place and, for accuracy sake, should be filled and moved. I'm not brave enough to go that far. I figure the chances of me drilling 55 new portholes and get all 55 exactly aligned correctly are pretty slim.  Unfortunately, the vast majority of the porthole and hull errors and corrections are on the port side. The side of the model I want to display. The starboard side has only a few errors. Fingers crossed that any mistakes I make are few and minor.    

 

Just a closer example image of some of the portholes filled. I used Milliput Superfine White.

 

Image showing the distorted portholes, both sides, filled.

 

And so begins the sanding. 240 grit stick.

 

A finished porthole. Followed the 240 stick with a 400 grit stick. It went better than expected. I was concerned with botching up that rivet line.

 

Anyway, 20 more portholes still to sand.

 

Thanks for looking, Suggestions are welcome.

 

Cheers,

Mark 

Edited March 12 by MisterMeester
Adding text to the images.

[MisterMeester]

I’ve received permission from Graham Boyd, member participant of the Facebook group “Trumpeter TITANIC 1/200^th model ONLY building tips and tricks”, to reference his documents regarding kit inaccuracies to the hull and portholes and the associated corrections. Graham referenced the book “Titanic: The Ship Magnificent” for his detailed work. He created 37 images, for closer detail. Eighteen for the hull corrections and 19 for the porthole corrections. I intend to post only a few in this build log. This will, hopefully, explain what some of my decisions regarding the hull are based on.

 

Porthole Corrections - Port Side, Section 1

Regarding the portholes to “remove”….these portholes never existed. By my count, there are 30 total. Twenty-nine on the Port side and one on the Starboard side. As of this point, I have these all filled (hence, removed) and sanded.

 

Regarding the portholes to “add”….there are a few of these that Trumpeter just missed altogether, but the majority are portholes that are there…just in the wrong place, and need to be moved, so to speak. Considering the scale, I have no idea how Graham determined the precise distance to which a porthole needs to be moved, but I can’t help but think a bit of educated guesswork was involved with that. Regardless, I do not intend to do any of these. By my count there are 55 (+/-) of them. I figure the odds of me getting 55 new scratch portholes drilled perfectly in place are slim. There is bound to be at least one that would stick out like a red dot on a white cashmere sweater.

 

Upon researching this build I’ve learned that building an accurate Titanic model is next to impossible. Apparently even the original builder’s models aren’t accurate. For that reason, I have decided to give myself some leeway in the accuracy department and moving/adding portholes is one of those sacrifices.

Further, my skill level is limited. I’m just not willing to risk scarring an expensive kit with a procedure I don’t feel comfortable doing. I intend to make my 1/200 Titanic as accurate as I possibly can, within my skill set. This build is by no means intended to be a show model, or museum piece. It is very much solely for my own satisfaction.

But I digress. Back to the reference material…

 

Regarding the “hawseholes” (aka Hawser Port, Mooring Pipe or, as I know them, Fairlead) …. I will not be moving the foremost lead on either side of the bow. I’m fine with where they are. There are four more on the quarters (two either side) that Trumpeter missed. Those four need to be plotted. I do intend to do those.

 

Regarding the single and double “safety bars”…..I will be attempting to apply these using styrene strips. Five single and five double, each side, for a total of 20. Prior to that attempt, however, I’m researching if there is any photo etch available for these portholes. That would be much easier, as the styrene pieces to cut will be quite tiny.

 

Regarding the porthole sizes indicated…..these dimensions are the original sizes, in inches, reduced to 1/200 in millimeters. The mm sizes are not drill bit sizes. In fact, Trumpeter did not mold the portholes to 1/200 scale. They are all slightly smaller. Therefore, determining what size drill bits to use is ongoing.

 

The distorted portholes…..

Of the five distorted portholes (each side) to fill and re-drill, I’ve chosen an additional four (each side) that I think are distorted enough to warrant this fix as well. I believe the two aftermost portholes on the top row (bottom row in this pic, both sides) will be covered by the stern plating kit. I’ll hold off drilling those ones until after the plating has been applied.

I’ve measured where they should go….

 

The four missing stern portholes…..

I suppose Trumpeter didn’t even bother with these as they likely would not have shown on the mold at all, given their location.

 

Plotted and ready for the drill. I have not decided which drill bit to go with on these yet.

 

The first porthole drilled and first porthole “glass” dry fit. Starting with the lowest row, and consequently, the smallest. With the porthole “glass” aftermarket kit, and using my handy-dandy home made drill bit gauge I can take most of the guesswork out of which size to go with. For these portholes (0.031” aftermarket “glass”) I’ve decided on the 0.8mm Wowstick bit. Note to self: Styrene doesn't drill so well with the larger bits.

 

That's it for now. Got me some drilling to do.

Until next time, thanks for looking, and suggestions are welcome.

 

Cheers,

Mark

 

 

 

Edited March 22 by MisterMeester
Typos

[MisterMeester]

Stern portholes drilled. 1.2mm.

 

Trumpeter did not include the aft hawser leads in the mold. Port Aft hawser leads plotted and drilled here. 1.4mm. Graham's document does not have distances off any references, I assume because his resource materials did not provide any. I'm satisfied that he likely spent many hours researching it, to no avail. I wasn't about to spend many hours myself on it. I plotted my holes by simply eyeballing them based on his document and the Titanic references I have. There's a good picture of these, albeit Olympic, in "Titanic: Icon of an Age", pg 119. Looks like I messed up a bit. I plotted the forwardmost lead a little too far aft. 

 

For the starboard aft hawser leads I measured the location of the port aft leads from adjacent plate seams, in millimeters, and transposed.

 

Trumpeter DID include the forward hawser leads in the mold. However, the port forward mold depressions were 1.4mm, while the starboard forward depressions were molded at 2.0mm. I did not discover this until after I'd already drilled the other six leads. Regardless, I drilled these leads 2.0mm. Instead of drilling the other six leads again, at 2.0mm (which would be too large), I decided to plug these with 2.0mm styrene rod and will re-drill at 1.4mm. Still a work in progress, as I need to fill the cavities with putty.

 

Minor hiccup here. The largest bit for the Wowstick is 2.2mm. The next portholes in line to drill were the .094" holes, which require either a 2.4mm bit (which I don't have) or a 3/32" bit. The Wowstick chuck is not big enough to take a 3/32" so I used my Deko drill. Drilling these holes on the starboard side went pretty much hiccup free. However, on the port side, after only two holes drilled, the bit decided to start skating on me resulting in the next two holes to drill out of alignment. Time to stop and regroup. 

 

Green arrow shows the first two holes working out fine. Red arrows show the misaligned holes. If the styrene rod in the hawser leads above works out, I have a mind to do the same here, to correct these two holes.

 

New plan required pilot holes for the remaining. I chose to use a pin first, eyeballing as close to center as possible to mark the spot, and then use a push pin to enlarge the mark. Then I used a 0.8mm bit in the Wowstick for the pilot hole before finishing off with the 3/32" with the Deko. Everything went well from here.

 

So, all portholes are now drilled except for the .109" holes. I have an "Utley" portholes aftermarket kit on order from Scale Warships that require a 3.0mm hole. Upon arrival of that kit, I will then drill one 3.0mm hole and do a dry fit with an "Utley" porthole before proceeding with the rest.

 

Another little task required was this......

There are 12 of these deck supports on the inside of the hull that require cleanup for the porthole "glass" inserts. Somewhat surprised that Trumpeter did not position all the supports so as to not conflict with any portholes, but alas, I suppose that's part of model building.

 

Door removals. As per Graham's research as shown, and cross referencing appears to confirm, a number of doors have been incorrectly molded in and, for accuracy sake, need to be removed.

 

 

 

 

Still some cavity filling required for the above.

 

And the door removal I worked on today, on part P2, which also requires "continue ridge". 

 

For "continuing the ridge", I used 0.25 x 0.50mm styrene strip, attached with Tamiya Extra Thin cement. A work in progress. Letting it set overnight before sanding it down.

 

And to complete this post, it is a common opinion online among other builders of this model that, for a more accurate model, both the KA as well as the Pontos detail kits are beneficial, as each have their advantages. I recently came into a modest amount of unexpected retro pay from my previous work years so I decided to splurge on the Pontos kit. Quite excited to now have this kit as well as the KA kit. And an additional bonus is that I managed to find it in my home country so, no customs duty.

 

More to come. Thanks for looking. Suggestions are welcome.

 

Cheers,

Mark  

Edited April 9 by MisterMeester
Typos

[PvG Aussie]

I'm sure it will all be worth it later on.

[MisterMeester]

Update time.....

Part P2 "continue ridge" sanded down and complete.

 

Corrections to Part N2. Relocate two portholes; add porthole; remove door; add window; continue ridge.

 

Windows of the 1st Class Gangway Doors hollowed out. Two doors on each side.

 

I purchased an aftermarket kit for the Utley sidelights from ScaleWarships. Instructions say to drill these portholes 3.0mm for the acrylic insert, but I found that to be too small. 1/8" is more like it. Here's a dry fit of said sidelight.

 

I wasn't happy with 13 of the 2.4mm (3/32") portholes drilled so I filled them with 2.4mm styrene rod and re-drilled.

 

I'm still not happy with this one on the port side and one on the starboard side. So, I've drilled them out at 1/8" and awaiting the arrival of some 1/8" styrene rod to fill and re-drill at 3/32".

Note the damage to the rivets. I've ordered some HO scale 3D rivet decal sheets from Micro Mark that will, hopefully, address that. A tip picked up from Ben of The Midwest Model Shop.

 

Once all the portholes were drilled out, I figured I could go ahead and work on making the frame kit I purchased fit.

 

Not a good picture here. It's showing the third vertical modified to accommodate the porthole resin "glass" inserts.

 

All the frames modified for the resin porthole inserts.

 

I haven't figured out, yet, how parts N1 and 2, and P1 and 2 fit, but I expect I might have to modify the horizontals to accommodate the tabs on those parts.

 

Wash ports.

The forward Well Deck has 10 wash ports. Five each side. These come hollowed out already. The aft Well Deck has eight wash ports. Four each side. These wash ports are NOT hollowed out. I forgot to take a pic of them before adding the shutters.

 

Wash port shutters.

The wash ports had outward swinging hinged shutters. I used 0.25mm x 2.0mm styrene strip, cut to a length of 5.5mm each. Corners rounded using a sanding stick.

 

That's it for now. Thanks for looking.

 

Cheers,

Mark

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MisterMeester]

Update time, and update on the Hawser Leads.

At some point I determined I got the locations of the aftermost Hawser Leads wrong, so I filled and re-drilled them a tad further forward. Upon doing research on another matter, and while looking at photographs, I had another look at these locations and concluded that I had them right the first time. Ugh. So, filled and re-drilled them again.

I also decided to drill all eight of the Hawser Leads to 1.8mm. I had tried this earlier using a power drill, after having drilled them out to 1.4mm, but the bit just stuck. Drilling them out manually proved successful. 1.8mm for these leads is closer to scale.

 

Continued with the frame kit and did a dry fit with Part Q1, which is B Deck. Upon doing so, I determined that there was a fit issue. The forward Grand Staircase of Part Q1 conflicted with not only the frame kit, but also Part W1 as well. The issue with the frame kit was not surprising, but how could Trumpeter have allowed a fit issue with Q1 and W1? Anyhoo, modify I did.

 

Turns out I was missing a few parts in the dry fit. Oops. Honestly, I had a hard time understanding the instructions. Trumpeter has the modeler building the Superstructure primarily separate, before attaching the whole block to the hull. A few YouTube vids finally made it clear. The short of it is, I didn't have to modify Part W1, or the frame kit, for Part Q1 at all, as Parts N & P and A9 and A12 all raise Q1 higher than I had it during my first dry fit. Oh well. No harm done. As mentioned, I'm not lighting my model, so I expect the Grand Staircase interior area will not be visible much. Further, the frame kit should still function accordingly. Despite the cutouts, the horizontal frame is still solid with vertical frame.

Part A9, above.

 

Hard to make out in this pic, but the staircase is now above Part W1 and the frame kit. 

 

Port porthole fix, complete. Drilled out to 3.2mm and filled with 3.2mm styrene rod. Any cavities filled with Milliput. Sanded down and re-drilled again with 3/32" bit. I'm now happy with the results. I figure it will look better once paint is applied.

 

As above, for the final Stbd porthole I was not happy with. Again, should look better with paint on it.

 

More mods required for the frame kit. This time to accommodate Parts N1 & N2 and P1 & P2. This should complete modifying the aftermarket frame kit.

 

And yet another mistake admission. I inadvertently cut a stanchion off Part N1. My excuse is that I'd cut Part N2 off it's sprue a few days before I did the same to N1. Bottom line is carelessness. Red circle shows the corresponding stanchion of N2 intact. Green circle indicates the mistake. Blue circle indicates a sprue piece I used to fix.

 

Sprue piece filed and sanded square.

 

New stanchion in place. I'm happy with this result. I may have to sand down the height of it a smidge as I suspect it's too tall. Time will tell.

 

That's it for now. Applying the stern plating aftermarket kit, purchased from The Midwest Model Shop, will be next.

 

Thanks for looking.

 

Cheers,

Mark

 

[MisterMeester]

Stern plating has commenced.

 

Plate #1, on the stern counter, in place.

Curious to see how this plays out with the subsequent plates of this area of the stern. I'm envisioning the overlap of the subsequent plates to rise above the rub rails. Should this be the case, I suppose there are two options. Remove Plate #1 and disregard plating this area, thus going with it as molded....or....go ahead and plate it and build up the rub rails.

 

Removal from the template is delicate.

 

The template numbered, as per instructions.

 

Thanks for looking.

 

Cheers,

Mark

Edited May 27 by MisterMeester
Changed wording.

[Force9]

Ahoy Mark!

 

Catching up on your outstanding progress...

 

I bet you're thrilled to be past all of the portholes!  That guidance provided by Mr. Boyd is soooooooo helpful.

 

I'm excited to see this build log and especially interested in the MidWest Model Shop additions on the stern counter.  I think using Ben's styrene version makes a bit more sense than going with the Mini-Brass.  Hopefully you'll be pleased with the result.

 

Thank you also for the kind remarks in your intro - I do hope my build log helps others to get a running start. (as will yours!)

 

Cheers

Evan

[Winnie]

Go BOMBERS!

 

Anyway, from a fellow Canadian, I also have the kit, will get back to it in short order, I'm just finishing up a Sea King that fell into my lap from a local hobby shop in Winnipeg...

 

I managed to get myself kicked out of that facebook group, might have said something less than flattering about the owner... He is a curmudgeon for sure. 

 

I have the Mk.1 set, some China 3D print stuff, and bough Minibrass for the stern (bad mistake) and now Midwest Model Shop for the stern, the same Utley sidelights as you, and made my own acetate windows for the larger windows. I also have "fibre optic" for the portholes. I decided to go cheap, and only do 5 different sizes, we'll see if it's enough!

 

Best of luck with your build, and I look forward to seeing more, and perhaps playing along!

[MisterMeester]

Ahoy Evan!

 

Yes, very much content with the porthole drilling and repairs complete.

 

Regarding the stern counter plating options, if I had scratch build skills such as yourself, I likely would have gone that route as well, but alas, as essentially a beginner, I need help in some areas. Yes, I'm pleased with my decision to go with Ben's kit. A little more economically friendly than the Mini Brass kit and not as heavy as well.

 

As well, I'm hoping my build log will help others. Just to avoid my beginner mistakes, if nothing else.

 

Cheers,

Mark

 

 

[MisterMeester]

7 hours ago, Winnie said:

Go BOMBERS!

 

Anyway, from a fellow Canadian, I also have the kit, will get back to it in short order, I'm just finishing up a Sea King that fell into my lap from a local hobby shop in Winnipeg...

 

I managed to get myself kicked out of that facebook group, might have said something less than flattering about the owner... He is a curmudgeon for sure. 

 

I have the Mk.1 set, some China 3D print stuff, and bough Minibrass for the stern (bad mistake) and now Midwest Model Shop for the stern, the same Utley sidelights as you, and made my own acetate windows for the larger windows. I also have "fibre optic" for the portholes. I decided to go cheap, and only do 5 different sizes, we'll see if it's enough!

 

Best of luck with your build, and I look forward to seeing more, and perhaps playing along!

Hello Winnie!

 

Happy to see another CFL fan here!

 

Re: the FB group.... agreed, the owner definitely comes across that way, and I'm not sure why. Having communicated with him behind the scenes regarding my portholes/windows kit I found him to be actually a bit of a softy. I truly think he means well, but just has a unique way of communicating.

 

I'm curious to know what you didn't like about the Mini Brass stern kit.

 

Looking forward to seeing your build and thanks for looking in to my build log.

 

Cheers,

Mark 

[MisterMeester]

Progress report on the stern plating kit application....

 

Port side, adjacent plate #12, a portion of a molded plate seam remained exposed. I suppose I didn't quite lay each subsequent plate far enough along. 

 

So I made and applied an extra plate (#12a) to cover it. This also covered the next raised molded plate seam. The only downside is that I've created an inaccuracy. There were only three such plates forward of that hawser lead hole.

 

Same thing, starboard side. Plate #13 (yes, I know it looks like a 12, but it is a 13...pencil lead rubbed off) did not extend far enough. It's hard to say if this is the result of my application of the previous plates sequence or some other explanation.

 

I added an extra plate here as well (#13a). This plate would not completely cover the next raised molded plate seam, so I sanded that off (green circle).  

 

A photo in the instructions suggests that Ben did the same regarding sanding down the raised seams.

 

Now on to the lower section.

The placement of plate #14 is critical, so I decided to tape plates #14 - #18 together and do a dry fit.

I also cut out plate #21, which is the plate that extends from plate #18, to ensure that plate would lay right up to the rub rail.

 

Satisfied with my positioning, I glued these 5 plates in place. I'm using Tamiya Extra Thin cement for this. Tiny gap where plate #14 meets plate #18. I haven't decided yet if I'll fill this with putty. I suspect once painted black it will barely be noticeable. 

 

Slight alignment issue. Plate #18 is off to Port by 1mm. This should work out okay, however, as plate #21 will cover that point and I should be able to lay that plate in a manner that this misalignment will not be apparent.

 

And just a mention of cutting the plates from the template...I have gotten better at that and find cutting the plates out from this perspective....

 

....is easier than this perspective....

 

Until next time, thanks for looking.

 

Cheers,

Mark

Edited June 9 by MisterMeester
Fixed typos; Mention of added plates inaccuracy.

[Winnie]

4 hours ago, MisterMeester said:

I'm curious to know what you didn't like about the Mini Brass stern kit.

No, nothing wrong with the kit! Total operator error(s), didn't get the 2nd 3rd and 4th plates set accurately and it skewed everything. I removed it all and tried again, but it's almost impossible to straighten all the buckles you put in the plates, and they don't look good after, so I put it (the entire kit away), and now finally I have the MMS set in styrene. 

 

I'll use other elements from the set, like coaling ports, and maybe entrances, but nothing is set in stone yet.

Cheers

Harald

[MisterMeester]

Stern plating update. Not going so well.

 

I managed to address the alignment with the centerline issue, but that is about the only positive. It's moot anyway as, for a number of reasons, I've decided to strip off what I've already done and start over.

 

The overlaps here shown in the red circles seems way too much. I'm not sure if this is modeler error or manufactured error or a combination of both.

I don't see how piece #18 could have been put on any other way. I had issues with forward plates, lining up with longitudinal plate seams on the kit. This is perhaps why. I've observed a photo on Facebook of a Mini Brass application and this particular piece does not overlap as much as here. Again, not sure if it's me.

The blue circles indicate gaps and protrusions I'm not happy with. This plating is .010" (.25mm) thick styrene. Again on Facebook, I read a comment from a modeler who used .005" (.13mm) styrene as they thought it is closer to scale. I'm inclined to agree with that. My next attempt will be with .005" thick styrene.

 

This photo shows the plate seams of the aftermarket kit not lining up with the plate seams on the Trumpeter hull (red arrows). Green arrows show a huge gap between a plate edge and the rub rail. I cut another #33 plate to replace this one.

 

More of the same. Plates just not lining up for me.

 

Upon studying historical photos in trying to determine solutions to the above, I discovered another issue. The kit's portholes (aka sidelights) do not agree with how they actually were on this area of the ship.

Granted, the photograph is of the Olympic, but this photograph is basically accepted as the best representation of what the Titanic's stern area looked like, given that they were sister ships. No photograph of the Titanic's stern exists that is better than this one.

So, back to the issue....the portholes on the Olympic (and one can assume, the Titanic as well) are higher up and closer to the adjacent rub rail (blue arrows) than the Trumpeter kit portholes. I image when I get to this point again, with my 2nd attempt, I will not take the plates this far forward and just go with the Trumpeter's portholes locations. I just don't see how those can be adjusted upwards without messing with the alignment all the other portholes forward of there.

 

 Another issue.... I wasn't happy with my decision to add a 7th plate either side of the center plate of the transom area. It's just not accurate. So I removed them. That brings up the question again....why are these kit plate seams (circled in red) left exposed and what to do to rectify that?

 

Researching this indicates to me that these six plates do not go forward enough. Using the porthole circled in green as a reference supports this. The plates in the photograph appear to end further forward than the aftermarket kit's plates. 

 

By measurement I've concluded that if these six plates were just 1mm wider, each, that would leave a more accurate representation. Therefore, I'll be cutting these plates 1mm wider for my 2nd attempt.

 

As well, some of these plates are not high enough, it would appear (blue circle). Hopefully, I won't forget about that aspect as well, when cutting the new plates.

 

While studying the historical photographs for solutions to the above , I discovered another apparent anomaly.

The kit has three plate seams along the area indicated, whereas the photograph indicates there were five along here.

 

I rectified this with .010' x .020" styrene strip.

 

And here as well. Plate seams in the photograph, but not on the kit. Rectified.

 

That's it for now. I just had an angiogram on Thursday and had two stents implanted. Can't golf for 5 more days, so I'd like to get to my hobby store tomorrow and get some .005" styrene sheet and get started with my 2nd attempt at the stern plating. I'll be using the negative spaces of the aftermarket kit sheet as a template.

 

Thanks for looking.

 

Cheers,

Mark

 

 

Edited June 23 by MisterMeester
Typos

[MisterMeester]

Eureka! Modeler error discovered! Or perhaps oversight is a more appropriate word. Regardless, quite embarrassing, actually. I attribute this to my lack of experience as well as just plain stupidity. Simple as that. But instead of hiding it, it should be mentioned here for a couple of reasons. 1). To help explain how my stern plating application will be immaculate henceforth (ya, we'll see about that), and 2). hopefully prevent the next person using this aftermarket kit from making the same mistake, although I can't imagine anyone else being as dumb as me in this regard.

 

The oversight:

Midwest Model Shop's stern plating kit has instructions. They are available on their website in pdf format. Part of those instructions is a layout guide. The instructions say to print that layout guide at 100%, cut out the image, and lay it out on the hull to better understand where each plate will be located.

Done.

This was prior to my first attempt at applying plates:

As one can see, the guide does not line up with the kit seams (red arrow), and why is there a huge gap between the guide edge and the adjacent rub rail?

Although not mentioned in the instructions, a further advantage to doing this is from a tip I learned from a YouTube video. Take a hobby knife and cut through the paper at each plate seam line, thus leaving score marks on the hull and thus transposing the layout guide onto the hull itself.

But alas, due to the fit issue of the layout guide, I abandoned the use of that altogether and began laying the plates as described previously in this build log.

So, why did I do that? Why did I not use the layout guide? This is where the dumb part comes in.

 

After stripping all the plating of my first attempt off, I had another look at the layout guide. Here it is prior to cutting out the image:

As one can see, it says "Measure after printout to confirm the page printed out at 100%". First of all, measure what? Ohhhhhhhhh!!! Measure the SCALE!! I did not clue into this my first go around. How dumb is that? On a scale (no pun intended) of 1 to 10, I'd say 10.

Secondly, I had my printer set at 100%, so therefore, in my mind, how could my print job not be 100%? It appeared to me that there was something wrong with the instructions, rather than my misunderstandings.

Thirdly, I'm not a techy and it hadn't occurred to me that one could print something MORE than 100%. 100% is 100%. Period. Once I realized what I'm supposed to "measure", and actually measured it (clearly in the above picture, this 100% print job falls short of 5cm on the scale), it then dawned on me that perhaps printing at 100+% is possible. Turns out it is. Who knew? 

Further to "I'm not a techy".....I suppose all printers are not created equal? (insert shrugs shoulders emoji here). A 100% print job on one printer might be 95% on another? More specific instructions on this would have been beneficial for an idiot like me, but I don't not want to pass blame, and I digress.

 

So, I tried printing the page at 105% and that measured still too small by about 0.5mm.

 

So, I tried 106%. Pretty much bang on. Maybe 0.1mm too large. Maybe. Close enough.

 

And voila! Pics of the layout guide in place. That's better.

 

Next step will be scoring the plate seams through the guide and onto the hull. Not mentioned in the instructions, but learned from online...these lines will not be the gospel as to where the plates lay exactly. They are just a guide. But better than guessing free hand.

 

Regardless of all the above, I still disagree with the .010" thickness of the aftermarket kit provided styrene. I've obtained .005" and will be going with that, using the negative spaces of the kit sheet for tracing.

 

Until next time, thanks for looking and suggestions are welcome.

 

Cheers,

Mark  

 

 

   

Edited June 25 by MisterMeester
Typos

[Winnie]

I'm going to need those pictures from that other site if you can share... I have been banned from the titanic 1/200 scale ONLY...  Even IF you had stents put it, doesn't mean you can't buy golf balls... lol Get well soon, come to Winnipeg and I'll take you to my course. Just managed to get in 2 rounds before I went back on tour. New personal best and all! but also cutting into model bench time!

[Dan Poirier]

Great troubleshooting!

 

You've gotta watch those computers. They'll get you if they can.

[MisterMeester]

On 6/25/2024 at 2:31 PM, Winnie said:

I'm going to need those pictures from that other site if you can share... I have been banned from the titanic 1/200 scale ONLY...  Even IF you had stents put it, doesn't mean you can't buy golf balls... lol Get well soon, come to Winnipeg and I'll take you to my course. Just managed to get in 2 rounds before I went back on tour. New personal best and all! but also cutting into model bench time!

Sorry I haven't replied sooner. I'm supposed to get an email notification advising me of replies to this log. Not sure how I missed that. 

 

Pictures from that other site? Which pictures? The MiniBrass kit? There's a good video or two on YouTube on that one. 

 

I have an elderly aunt in Winnipeg. Hate to say it, but I might be out that way in a year or two for a funeral. She's 93.

 

Cheers,

Mark

Edited July 7 by MisterMeester
YouTube reference mentioned.

[Dr PR]

Mark,

 

It is pretty common for printers to not print at 1:1 scale, even if "Fit tp page" is disabled. Most people assume the printout is the "correct" size until they get burned as you did. If the actual size of a print is necessary you have to determine the actual error and correct for it as you did.

 

However, there is another problem. How do you know the ruler you are using is accurate? I have a collection of rulers from different manufacturers and they do not all agree! Some differ by as much as 0.1 inch in 12 inches (0.83%). The cheaper ones tend to be junk. But metal "shop" rulers may also be inaccurate - there is a lot of junk being marketed by worthless slimeballs who care more about how much money they can stuff in their pockets than the quality of the products they sell.

 

If you have calipers that can measure to 0.001 inch (0.0254 mm) you can check your rulers to determine which are most accurate.  

 

But how accurate are your calipers? There is always some error in measurement devices. It is just a question of how accurate is good enough? For modeling purposes an error of +/- 0.001 inch is good enough.

[MisterMeester]

Stern plating completed. As mentioned earlier, I decided to go with .005" thick styrene. So, essentially, I paid $70 CDN for a template and instructions, as, in the end, I did not actually use Midwest Model Shop's .010" styrene kit. .

.005" x 200 = 1".

According to “Titanic: The Ship Magnificent” (Vol 1, pg 145), the ship's shell plating was various sizes, but 1" thick at the most.

.010" is not to scale.

 

Here's a pic of the layout guide scribed onto the hull....

 

Here's the .005" styrene traced out using the .010" aftermarket kit's sheet....

I used the negative spaces of the original kit sheet. Most of the traced plates on the .005" sheet were smaller than needed. A lot of measuring was required, for most plates, to cut them a tad larger than traced and get them close to right.

 

I added 1mm to the width of each of plates 1 thru 6, indicated in this picture, to bring the whole sequence 6mm further forward and thus a more accurate representation, as indicated within the blue circles. Applied to the Stbd side as well.

 

Some pics of the final result. Immaculate? No. "Museum Quality"? No. But I'm pretty happy with it. The .010" styrene was just too thick and resulted in many gaps and protrusions along the rub rails. The .005" styrene, although maybe still not perfect, results in a cleaner finish, in my opinion.

 

Very happy that the aftermarket kit plate seams now line up with the Trumpeter kit plate seams, as indicated here.....

 

 

So far so good, right? Not quite. An unavoidable inaccuracy exists with this application. I mentioned a reference to it earlier in this build log and it didn't go away despite applying the correct scale layout guide. 

To repeat....the top row of portholes on Trumpeter's representation are not high enough. This results in a conflict with the location of portholes on a couple of the aftermarket kit's plates. Here's a pic, before trying to explain it in words.....

Contrary to Trumpeter's representation, the line of portholes indicated here on the Olympic, within the green rectangle, are actually in the upper 1/3rd of the row of shell plating they are respective with. Continuing this line with the aftermarket kit in place creates a problem. The aftermost 5 portholes would end up being on the wrong (lower) plate (blue arrow) and too close to the upper adjacent plate seam there. You're damned if you do and damned if you don't with this. The only way to REALLY correct this , that I can see, would be to fill the entire upper row of Trumpeter's porthole locations, bow to stern, and re-drill them higher. A task I'm not willing to do. The lesser of two evils for me was to offset the line of this row of portholes so that the aftermost five are represented accurately as per the shell plates they are associated with (red arrow).

 

A further aspect that had to be corrected, in my mind, was four portholes, (two each side), that needed to be relocated as a result of extending the upper plates by 6mm. The following is a more accurate representation, in my mind....

 

And finally, in all this, I had inadvertently sanded off a Trumpeter kit seam line on one side. So I purposely sanded the respective seam on the other side off and added styrene strips to rectify.

 

Super stoked that I've completed this step with relatively satisfactory results. I'm confident it will look good once painted.

 

Next up will be Woody's Model Works underhull plating aftermarket kit.

 

Thanks for looking and suggestions are welcome.

 

Cheers,

Mark

 

 

     

 

Edited July 7 by MisterMeester
Typos