ELBE 1 1948 by Mirabell61 - scale 1:87 - Lightship

[Mirabell61]

Thank you Rick,

I am pleased that you are following and that you like it.

Yesterday I mounted the boatdeck supports on stb. side, it will take some minor paint touch up, also the underside of the deck at the glueing points after also the port side supports are on

Nils

 

 

 

[Jim Lad]

Looking better and better, Nils!

 

John

[Veszett Roka]

Hi Nils,

 

you know i'm following your build in great interest and admiration. Now however, considering the original i must draw your attention that the long deckhouse is higher than it must be. The deckhouse top must met the rear deck cover like this photo:

 

 

[Mirabell61]

You`re right Veszett,

thanks for your input ....

unfortunately I had no oportunity to vist the real ship yet and take my own photos, so that my orientation comes from other models built by other skilled modelers. I`m pleased with my own version.

There is a white skirt outside around the decks length, that would  incorporate the decks hight with the aft section, in fact it would narrow the sight on to the decks house from the side

I`m including 3 pics from other well built models from master builders

 

Nils

this is a model of Horst Henryschowski (the deck is laying on the aft section

model of Helmut Thomas, which is my favorite benchmark

Model of Helmut Thomas

the real thing moored at Cuxhaven. The white tent on top is for visiting guests only, since the ship is out of duty

[Veszett Roka]

Hi Nils,

 

Helmut's model is definitely wrong, unfortunately. The 'skirt' must be in line with the rear cover, his model has taller deckhouse and the skirt is taller too. For me it looks like the rear deck cover is too low, it hasn't the same curve - but it could be because the different viewpoints too.

The original: and the model:

After all, we can live with it. You will need to made that skirt to abit thicker (taller) to match to the real ship then.

Still a beautiful model.

[Oboship]

--I`m pleased with my own version. --

This is the most important aspect and that's what really counts! Your "Elbe 1" is an excellently -scratch(!!!)- built model, whether "the long deckhouse is higher than it must be" or not, and I'm really looking forward to the point when it is completed. I guess only few people have similar skills, particularly when it comes to soldering at this scale.

Uwe

[Mirabell61]

Thanks for your words Uwe,

all the coming items are being built from pictures as good as I can

I found a solution for finding the "lost" anchor cable in the closed hull, and to secure it. I`m currently trying my luck with the wheel- and nav house from 0,8 mm ply, I´ll try to do the square windowframes like already done once for the "Ergenstrasse", which has the same scale. Its a bit more tricky and fragile here in order to bring 8 windows over the limited wheelhouse breadth

 

Nils

a hole was drilled into the forecastle bulkhead, the "lost" achorcable of the hall anchor fished through this hole and secured with a wooden stopper. This lays between bulkhead and its cover item.

Paint touchups pending later on

the arrangement for the waistdeck fastenings of the mooring cable

 

made a little framework for the wheelhouse sides. A wooden spacebar provides for the right height afterwards

there are panama fairleads to prevent dammage to the railing

the framework is fastend to the boats deck with screws so that it follows the decks sheer

a card template for making the front window front, the other sidewalls will be done likewise

the windowframes will be made from brass square tube, the glassing done later with square extruded semitransparent silicone bar

 

[Rick310]

 Beautiful work!!

Rick

[Mirabell61]

Thank you very much Rick,

 

Nils

[Veszett Roka]

7 hours ago, Mirabell61 said:

the glassing done later with square extruded semitransparent silicone bar

Thats a great idea Nils. Usually i do the glassing from transparent vacuum-formed cookie packaging, this is thin enough but not too rigid - need to sand the inner side of the window quite flat, otherwise the 'glass' will be wavy.

[Mirabell61]

Hi Veszett,

I refrained from using flat transparent polysterol or food containment packages because its too messy with the glueing in, and CA leaves sometimes leaves a nasty stain.

I`m quite happy with the methode I described, also the silicone is translacent (semi transparent), so I need not worry what the inside of the appropriate superstructure looks like, I do`nt have to fit it out

 

Nils

square silicone bar 6 x 6 inside a 8 x 8 square brass tube, sorry for the rather poor photo quality

mounted it would look like this (second from left window )

 

[Jim Lad]

Some more nice progress, Nils.

 

John

[Mirabell61]

thank you very much John,

I`ll take off the wheelhouse now (screws) and do the remaining sides. The six preliminary pillars of the frame will stay in place until the sides are all closed and then cut away.

 

Nils

[Veszett Roka]

14 hours ago, Mirabell61 said:

I refrained from using flat transparent polysterol or food containment packages because its too messy with the glueing in, and CA leaves sometimes leaves a nasty stain.

Yes, i encountered this also. So i'm using very thin two sided adheshive tapes at the windows edges, or Revell Contacta Professional glue (butylacetate)  - depends on the scale and material. If i don't want the interior be visible i cover the inner side with matte adheshive tape (Cellux). Now i will try the silicone rod.

[Mirabell61]

Veszett,

The brass square tube was easy to get, but it looks that my supplier for 6 x 6 mm silicone rod has run out of stocked material. Fortunately I still have enough left from my Ergenstrasse.

The other flat sides with theire window outcuts will be easier to make

 

Nils

[KeithAug]

Nils, Veszett - I am probably missing something re the discussion of window material but I use acetate sheet which can be had in a range of thicknesses or if i want something thicker I use the cases for music CD's. Is there a particular reason for the alternatives you suggest?

[Mirabell61]

Hi Keith,

there is no particular reason, the reason is just, that I was looking for a way to do the window frames. Using squarebar tube it worked well with my Ergenstrasse, The brass squarebar is 1 mm thickness, in scale that would simulate the windowframe dimensions so here it goes again ......

for small scale ( etc 1:160) an alternative is to fix approriate slide guides on the inside of a window front and then slide in one an acrylic stripe that covers all windows simultainiously That is completely without any glue and a clean job. I used that version on my "Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse" model

 

Nils

[Veszett Roka]

No any special reason Keith, just exchanging techniques and experiences. My particular reason is the Pamir 1:150 model, which has the polystyrene (cookie box) windows, but i'm unsatisfied the result due the thickness of the portholes. You can see the 'glass' only when looking into portholes dead straight. At least i know they are in... And Nils' approach with solid transparent rod insert would be better for me too. However, my 1:350 Titanic bridge had same transparent windows with suitable results - that one has full strip inside the bridge and the borders, storm boards etc. are printed/cutout on a paper strip and that paper strip covers the inner side of the bridge.

[Mirabell61]

Update

 

this sequence is dedicated to the build of the wheelhouse, nav- and controlroom. Also the planked deck for the "monkey platform" is ready for mounting. The nav. light containments will be integrated in to the wheelhouse railing panels

 

Nils

brass windowframes ( square-tube) are fitted in, tight fit

the wheelhouse walls are from 0,8mm ply mounted to the framework

section is painted and the monkey plattform deck has dryfit

The "glassing" of 18 windows

silicone glassing bits pressed in, tight fit into the window frames

the "monkey plattform" deck will be permanently glued on, when the wheelhouse section is screwed down to the boats deck

 

 

[Jim Lad]

She continues to progress very nicely, Nils.

 

John

[Javelin]

Great progress again Nils. 

Although an old vessel, I do believe she would follow Colreg regulations, which stipulate that the background of navigation lights should be matt black. Only the glass of the lights is coloured red/green/yellow. This is to avoid reflections in unwanted directions. 

I believe you can still correct it, although it will hardly be visible in the end result, going by the magazine cover in your first post in this topic. 

Not sure when that rule came into effect though. 

 

[Mirabell61]

Thank you very much Roel,

I never heard of "Colreg regulations) before, . Good to learn something further and especialy with resp. to Nav .lights housng dull black backround. Good to learn something new for my modeling. You`re right, at this stage I can easily correct that.

I looked up Colreg regulations in Google and found a listing of these regulations, but unfortunately not the passage where it stipulates the matt black neccesity to nav. lights containment background.

Please could you kindly copy me that passage, if you found it there. Many thanks. I believe this is also of interest for fellow modelers as well.

 

Nils

[Javelin]

Hi Nils, 

 

here you go, Colregs Annex 1.5

Colregs Annex 1

 

In point 5 it says:

"

5. Screens for sidelights

The sidelights of vessels of 20 m or more in length shall be fitted with inboard screens painted matt black, and meeting the requirements of section 9 of this annex. On vessels of less than 20 m in length the sidelights, if necessary to meet the requirements of section 9 of this annex, shall be fitted with inboard matt black screens. With a combined lantern, using a single vertical filament and a very narrow division between the green and red sections, external screens need not be fitted."

 

As mentioned, I do not know when this particular requirement was written in the rules or where it originated before that. On the other side, your light vessel did operate until well after the Colreg implementation, so I do believe they would retroactively adapt to these rules. 

 

[Mirabell61]

Roel,

Many thanks for the explaination of the appropriate Colregs chapter.

I`m looking for my little can of Humbrol matt black already

 

Nils

[Oboship]

"As mentioned, I do not know when this particular requirement was written in the rules or where it originated before that."

 

This requirement was implemented some time around 1969 / 1972. When I started my seafaring training in 1973 this regulation was still fairly fresh.
In 1972 the "Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGs) was adopted by IMO and replaced the Collision Regulations of 1960 (also known as Rules of the Road). The COLREGs entered into force in 1977. (IMO = International Maritime Organisation = sub-organisation to the United Nations)

 

As a side note (no offence intended):

ELBE 1 was commissioned in 1948 and remained in service for 40 years; to call her a historic ship would therefore be most appropriate. For most of her service years she would have shown the port and starboard light casings in the "traditional" colour scheme red and green.
Since Nils currently builds the model of this historic light vessel I think it should be his decision only as to which period he wants to depict her in; whether he wants coloured light casings or matt black. If I had to decide I opted for the traditional red / green colouring as it can still be seen on some museum ships.
As I pointed out some postings further up the main thing with modelling is -in my opinion- that the modeller is happy with his result.

 

Best regards
Uwe

 

 

 

 

[Mirabell61]

Uwe,

many thanks for your input and your words

Relating to the lightscreens I asume that during its duty the ship was updated acc. to Colregs, and after Roels comment I looked up the color of the sheets (photos) on the real thing, it looks like they are realy matt black, and the ship was on duty and on position until 1988.

for me it was always clear that the lightscreens would be red /green because I thought the color would increase the illumination of the nav. lights, also I never heard of the Colregs regulations before. Now my decision is to go for matt black.

 

Nils

Edited June 11 by Mirabell61

[Mirabell61]

Update

 

the walls of the bridge deck pending some rails etc. and the 6 stairways are under process. The nav.light screens are now matt black and the port nav.light is dry fitted, to check the dimensions

 

Nils

 

 

 

port nav. light

forward stair to the boatsdeck

aft stair to the boats deck

 

 

[Jim Lad]

Continues to look really good, Nils.

 

John

[Mirabell61]

John,

thank you very much. I am evaluating to make the davit-mechanism workable and trying to find right suitable function in scale 1:87.

Here a preliminary (not scaled ) scetch, of which I think it may work. The boats would have to be handmade with help of wooden model, silicone mold, inner plug,  and resin outforming. I intend to show one boat lowerd to the main deck and the other resting secured in fastening position. What do you think about it?

 

Nils

Edited June 20 by Mirabell61

[Michel Bénard]

It's a good idea to emphasize realism.