TWILIGHT 2007-2009 by MAGIC's Craig - Scale 1:16 - RADIO - Pacific Northwest cruising powerboat

[MAGIC's Craig]

Thanks, Keith.

I spent a bunch of time thinking about carefully framing and then building each unit as if I were building them full-size... however, eventually, the back brain hammered on the door to the front brain to say that carving and gouging out some blocks of wood would be far simpler and quicker. When I woke up that morning, it just seemed like a better idea when working at this scale.

[mtaylor]

Wow.... beautiful work.

[MAGIC's Craig]

1 hour ago, mtaylor said:

Wow.... beautiful work.

Thank you for the compliment, Mark.  It is fun to have something one thought about, eventually drew up (and had to shelve) begin to take a more physical presence in the "shop".  And I am also pleased that this sort of work earns praise. It is an enjoyable hobby with much still to learn by doing.

 

Craig

 

[Jim Lad]

Just catching up, Craig. You're making a fine job of that!

 

John

[MAGIC's Craig]

Thank you, John. I'm honored that this sort of craft has caught your eye (and the eyes of others as well.)  

 

Will endeavor to keep up the standard.  😉

 

Craig

 

 

[FriedClams]

Just read through your log, Craig and enjoying your process and craftsmanship!  The model is looking great and your informational and clearly expressed narration is appreciated. 

 

Gary

[Keith Black]

 Craig, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your family. 

[MAGIC's Craig]

1 hour ago, Keith Black said:

 Craig, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your family. 

And to you, Keith. Thank you for for following along.

I have been doing a variety of little, mostly-non-visible projects on TWILIGHT, however I will post progress in the next week or so.

[MAGIC's Craig]

January 10th, 2025 update:

 

It has been an interesting first year to be building this model and I am delighted to have the opportunity to continue the work into a second year.

As noted back in November, I began by working on the construction of the cabin structures. I decided to continue working from aft to forward since I feel that the pilothouse area will be more demanding.

Card panels were first mocked up to check fits before cutting the 1/16" baltic birch ply for the actual sides. the aft face of the cabin was gotten out of some 3/16" thick meranti ply. Another bulkhead was to be located at the aft end of the main cabin. The main cabin sole stretches forward to a step-up at the aft end of the pilot house and to hold the house sides out against the curved edge of the deck, this sole needed to be fitted prior to gluing the sides in place.  It was fortunate that when dry-fitting the sole in place, I realized that the batteries below, as mounted, might become rather difficult to replace if needed.

Trying to wrestle a battery out revealed the need to redo the battery mounts to bring the batteries closer to the centerline.  After removing the batteries, I softened the epoxy with a heat gun and removed the previous set-up.

A new arrangement was bonded in place and a more tidy wiring harness was developed.

The construction of the house then resumed. The house sides camber inwards by 3 degrees to provide a bit more shoulder room  when moving on the side decks and this design feature - easy to draw, not so easy to build - meant that the vertical bulkheads all had to incorporate the camber in the appropriate locations. This also necessitated ensuring that whatever structures which needed to span full width be at sole level in the cabin either were inserted prior to final glue-up of the cabin sides to the hull/deck or were to be pieced into place.

In the above image, large-ish clamps are being used to pull the upper portion of the house sides inward to check fit and angles for the partial bulkheads. Once the cabin pieces could be dry-fitted together, window and door location measurements from the drawings were transferred to the sides. Holes were drilled to permit access by my fret saw and then the house was once again disassembled to accomplish the needed work.

 

The main cabin subfloor was cut out from some light 1/4" thick ply, carefully fitted to provide a sturdy horizontal support to the hull at the deck level, and then an access hatch was cut in it to permit servicing the "motor/battery room". As a note, the temporary bulkhead spacer on the right side of the picture below helps keep the forward ends of these cabin side portions stable.

I will break this update into portions to keep the size reasonable.

 

Craig

 

[Keith Black]

 That looks terrific, Craig. I can visualize all the preplanning you did to do the cabin structures. 

[MAGIC's Craig]

37 minutes ago, Keith Black said:

 That looks terrific, Craig. I can visualize all the preplanning you did to do the cabin structures. 

Thanks for the praise, Keith.  I hope that I am able to "stay ahead of the curve" with the preplanning. I note that I cannot fit the inner window moldings to the main cabin until the sole is permanently in place because of the tight clearance and the camber of the sides.

[MAGIC's Craig]

To continue the tale:

The cabin panels were laid out and the exterior sides covered with light FG cloth set is epoxy as in other portions of this build. The weave of the cloth was then filled with another coat of clear, followed by the fairing coat which is an easy-leveling mix.

Once the fairing coat is sanded smooth, a couple of coats of primer were sprayed on, sanded between and then finished with the color coats.  Once again, the panels were dry-fitted in place.

 

The stern cabin has a few items to fit which will be easier done before the cabin sides are permanently glued in place. One of these is the creation and fitting of the steps from the main cabin down to the aft cabin. These were built up from a nice plank of teak and a scrap of the 1/16" thick birch ply.

The first beams for the aft cabin roof were fitted and then set aside until the cabin side glue-up time.

The beam crossing above the location of the steps will be cut for the opening to permit the crew to go below without clonking their noggins. There will be an angled "trunk" cover from the aft side of the main cabin down to the top of aft cabin to keep the wet out.

 

 I will finish this update with a couple of photos of the planking of the cabin sole. The sole hatch is held in place with a pair of magnets. (not shown).

Thanks to all for your support and sound advice.  I greatly appreciate your comments and guidance.

 

Until again,

Craig

 

[FriedClams]

Nice update on Twilight, Craig!  Quite a bit of progress has been made on her and she's looking great.  Coming along nicely!

 

Gary

[Jim Lad]

Lovely work, Craig.

 

John

[MAGIC's Craig]

6 hours ago, FriedClams said:

Nice update on Twilight, Craig!  Quite a bit of progress has been made on her and she's looking great.  Coming along nicely!

 

Gary

Thank you, Gary.  I very much appreciate your kind words.

[MAGIC's Craig]

1 hour ago, Jim Lad said:

Lovely work, Craig.

 

John

Thank you, John. Just trying to match the "standards" I see on this supportive site.