Banshee II by Glen McGuire - FINISHED - 1/700 - BOTTLE

[Keith Black]

 I've said before that the Kraken was my favorite till you built the Lost Jenny but now I think I'll be changing my favorite yet again. That's some great stuff right there, Glen. 

[Glen McGuire]

4 hours ago, Keith Black said:

 I've said before that the Kraken was my favorite till you built the Lost Jenny but now I think I'll be changing my favorite yet again. That's some great stuff right there, Glen. 

Thanks, Keith.  I hope you think the same thing when this beast is finished!  It is proving to be a much more challenging build that I originally thought it would be.  So much so, in fact, that I have placed my friend that wanted me to do a paddlewheel boat on SIB probation.  She is not allowed to suggest any new project ideas for the remainder of the year!  🤐🤐🤐

[Keith Black]

10 minutes ago, Glen McGuire said:

I have placed my friend that wanted me to do a paddlewheel boat on SIB probation.  She is not allowed to suggest any new project ideas for the remainder of the year!  🤐🤐🤐

 Please tell her 'welcome to SIBSPC'  (SIB Suggestion Probationary Club) and that 2025 isn't that far off. 

[BANYAN]

That's a lot of detail in a very small space Glen.  It's inspiring watching you sort through all of the sequencing issues to get it right.  

 

cheers

 

Pat

[rwiederrich]

Good job…..but those added cowlings taper back to the hull . Not squared off like you have then.   Look closely at the model you posted.    
 

Rob

[Glen McGuire]

26 minutes ago, rwiederrich said:

Good job…..but those added cowlings taper back to the hull . Not squared off like you have then.   Look closely at the model you posted.    

Good eye, Rob.  More (delicate) modifications on the way...  

Edited June 26 by Glen McGuire

[FriedClams]

Clever solution to cut the subassembly in half and then adding the tapered locating pins to each.  Sometimes it seems we modelers spend more time mitigating problems than moving forward.  But that's part of the fun, right?   Glen?

 

Anyway, she's looking great, and I very much enjoy watching your process in this subatomic scale.  You're inspiring me to try a SIB myself someday, but I'll start out with a mason jar.

 

Gary

[Glen McGuire]

1 hour ago, FriedClams said:

Sometimes it seems we modelers spend more time mitigating problems than moving forward.  But that's part of the fun, right? 

Sooooo true!!  And I hope you do try a SIB one of these days.  With the remarkable work I've seen on your models and shadowboxes, I have no doubt it would be a masterpiece.

Edited June 26 by Glen McGuire

[Glen McGuire]

I’m heading to Philly tomorrow for a wedding so I’m trying to jam in a lot of work before I go.  But as Gary (aka @FriedClams) alluded to, it’s 2 always steps forward and one back!  The focus the last couple of days was adding a layer of “steel” to my hull for authenticity since the Banshee II was reportedly the first steel hulled vessel to cross the Atlantic.  

 

I really got a lot of help from @Landlubber Mike in this area.  First, I ordered some sheets of the Bare-metal aluminum foil he suggested (typically used to add chrome effects to car and plane models).  He also gave me some great advice on metal primers and painting.  Here’s what the package of Bare-metal foil looks like ($12 on Amazon).   "The answer to a modeler's prayers"!

 

 

 

The foil is incredibly thin and a bit difficult to get the peel started.  I wadded up a bunch of the edges before finally getting the knack.  Fortunately, there was plenty of material to spare.  Once I got the peel going, it was pretty easy to work with.  Despite it’s razor thinness, it had enough rigidity to hold its shape fairly well while putting it in place.  The only thing that did not work well for me was the adhesive backing on the foil.  It did not stick to wood very well (probably because it’s made for plastic).  So I spread a thin layer of low viscosity CA glue on my hull surface and applied the foil.  It created a solid bond.  As you can see below, the foil is so thin that every slight variation in the wood grain shows through.  But I figured I could smooth that out during the painting process.  

 

 

 

As for painting the foil, Mike recommended using a metal primer first.  I use Tamiya paints, so I got some Tamiya Metal Primer.  On my test pieces, I used 3 coats of primer then 2 coats of paint.  It provided a solid adhesion for the paint to the foil.  Here’s my “steel” hull painted gray.  I know the picture of the Banshee II that I’ve been using as a reference shows a blue hull.  But most everything I’ve read about the blockade runners says they were painted gray for better camouflage.  So I decided to follow that line of reasoning.  Huge thank you to Mike for his guidance and help making my “steel” hull a reality.

 

 

 

While waiting for various coats of primer and paint to dry, I circled back on a couple of things.  First, I revisited the funnel assemblies because I wanted to add the guy wires that are prominent in the painting.  However, since they are being inserted after the ship is in the bottle, I don’t have a reasonable way to run the wires from the funnels and attach them to the bulwarks.  So my alternate solution was to use 1/64” (.33mm) music wire and run it from near the top of the funnel to the funnel assembly base.  This allows each funnel assembly to still be inserted and installed as a single unit.  I think the look came out ok. 

 

 

 

The next thing I wanted to address was the comment from Rob (aka @rwiederrich) that my wheel cowlings needed to be tapered back to the hull.  So I took care of that with some delicate sanding and filing.  Here’s what the ship looks like so far with everything in place (dry-fitted) except the ship’s boats.  

 

Huge thank you to Rob for his comment on the cowling as I think the ship’s profile looks much better than before.  However, Mini-Dimples the ship inspector remains unimpressed until she sees everything in the bottle.

 

 

Up next is @Knocklouder's favorite chore – rigging and ratlines!      

 

Edited June 27 by Glen McGuire

[rwiederrich]

She’s looking real smart.  I’m assuming the shrouds will be string so they can flex back when you collapse the masts?

 

Rob

[Glen McGuire]

17 minutes ago, rwiederrich said:

 I’m assuming the shrouds will be string so they can flex back when you collapse the masts?

You are correct.  I will string the shrouds tight with the masts in their full upright position.  Then collapse the masts to the stern for insertion into the bottle.  If I've done a good job, the shrouds will be nice and tight and the masts straight all the way thru the hinge to the deck when I raise the masts inside the bottle. 

[Ian_Grant]

Glen, Banshee is truly beautiful......going to be a magnificent display when bottled.

[Landlubber Mike]

Looking really great Glen, wow!  That wheel is incredible.  Glad the BMF worked!

[Glen McGuire]

Finally back at work after a week in Philadelphia and the south Jersey shore.  Had my very first Philly cheesesteak.  Wow!  It was soooo good.

 

The shrouds and ratlines were patiently awaiting my return.  Before I left, I had inserted tiny eye pins into the bulwarks and drilled small holes in the masts just below the mast and top mast junctions.  The shrouds are tied off to the eye pins, run thru the holes, and tied off to the eye pins on the opposite side.  I use a temporary stay to keep tension on the mast, holding it at the desired rake.

 

 

 

 

For the ratlines, I take black fly tying thread and snip off a few dozen little pieces that are about 1/4" in length.  Then I grab 'em with tweezers, drag them thru some Aleene's fabric glue, and lay them across the shrouds.  Rinse and repeat...

 

 

 

After the fabric glue dries, I brush all the connections with a thin coat of diluted white glue.  Then I very carefully snip the ends with cuticle trimmers, trying not to accidently cut one of the shrouds which would cause immediate loud cursing and throwing of tools across the room (in theory of course since that's never happened before...AHEM...Cough...Cough).

 

As an aside to @Keith Black, I know you just got a pair of 6x glasses for your Tennessee ratline work.  That's what I use for this exercise as well.

 

 

 

Here's what she looks like with the shrouds and ratlines complete.  And also a pic of the collapsed masts and the shrouds flexing backwards as @rwiederrich mentioned above.  This is where the fabric glue works so well as it maintains it's bond while being folded, spindled, and mutilated.

 

 

 

 

  

 

Edited July 5 by Glen McGuire

[Keith Black]

3 minutes ago, Glen McGuire said:

trying not to accidently cut one of the shrouds

 My very worst nightmare. 

 

 I got the 6X glasses specifically to paint the figures but now I use them all the time when working on the Tennessee. The ole 2.75 reading glasses don't hack it anymore.  The 6X work so well I'm considering buying a pair of 8X.

 

 Glen, great job on the shrouds and ratlines.  

[Canute]

Lots of light helps, too.  I use readers for modeling, but sometimes the teenier parts must be viewed under my magnifier/desk lamp. Impressive work rigging this vessel, Glen. 👍

 

Since you visited near where I once lived, did you get your cheese steak sandwich at Pat's or Gino's? Philly and the Jersey Shore are a bastion of authentic Italian-American cuisine, in my humble half-Italian opinion. 😁

[Glen McGuire]

2 hours ago, Canute said:

Since you visited near where I once lived, did you get your cheese steak sandwich at Pat's or Gino's?

Hey Ken!  Everyone I talked to up there had a different recommendation for where to get the best cheesesteak sandwich.  I found it interesting that all the places had a single name (Pat's, Gino's, Max's, Angelo's, Jim's, Rossi's, etc).  What a dilemma!!  My friend who was the bride at the wedding insisted on Angelo's, so that's where I went.  It was in an old downtown neighborhood.  No indoor seating.  You order at a counter then go stand on the sidewalk for an hour and wait for your food.  And it was worth every minute of the wait!!  When I drove up and saw the crowd, I figured it had to be good.  Not only was there a large crowd, they all looked like locals, not tourists.  The pic below was about 2:00 on a Sunday afternoon.  The remainder of the trip I spent in Ocean City, NJ which was a really picturesque beach town.

[BANYAN]

Glad to hear you had a great trip Glen, even if you put on a couple of extra pounds (sounds so delicious - envious).

 

Looking forward to seeing how you put all those parts together in that bottle; you're making great progress mate.

 

cheers

 

Pat

 

 

[Knocklouder]

So cheesestake is ok but cheese Burger is a taboo, are you fixen to tell Dimpels, she will use another B word on you, Burdizzo lol. Glad your back, your SIB is so awesome I almost want to do another one. Almost . 

Bob M.

[Glen McGuire]

6 hours ago, Knocklouder said:

So cheesestake is ok but cheese Burger is a taboo, are you fixen to tell Dimpels, she will use another B word on you, Burdizzo lol.

Shhhhhh!  I won't tell her if you won't!  

[PvG Aussie]

Glen, this build is truly awesome to watch. It lives up to my expectations of a 'master at work'. Good luck with the fitting! 😟

[KeithAug]

A lovely looking little ship and thank you for the tip re the aluminium foil.

[Glen McGuire]

@PvG Aussie - Thank you for the kind words.  We'll see soon whether you are right or if I'm really just the master of disaster!

@KeithAug - Thanks, Keith.  As for the aluminum foil, @Landlubber Mike gets all the credit for that tip!

 

On to the next step, which is the sails.  I don't have any pics of the Banshee II with sails deployed.  So with a little more artistic license, I'm going to go with a sail configuration based on pics of other sidewheel steamers that had theirs deployed.  My sail plan consists of 6 sails:  A jib and a stay sail hanging from the fore mast.  A main sail and top sail hanging from the fore mast and the mizzen mast.  The first thing I did was cut out little paper templates of each sail.

       

 

 

The sails are made from off-white shirt cloth.  Using some fabric ink (washes out easily when done), I drew out the sails on the cloth.  Next, using kindergarten-level sewing skills, I sewed on the bolt ropes.

   

 

 

After the sewing was complete, I brushed fabric glue onto the outer edges of the bolt ropes.  The fabric glue let me cut the sails out right along the edge of the bolt ropes without worrying about threads unraveling or fraying.

 

 

The next step was threading the sails with fly-tying thread at the points where they will attach to the masts/gaffs/booms or the stays.

 

 

And here she is with all sails raised.  And then a pic of the other pieces of this puzzle in place for a photo-op.

 

 

Nearing the home stretch now.  Next up is figuring out how to manage the running rigging.  

 

 

Edited July 8 by Glen McGuire

[Keith Black]

46 minutes ago, Glen McGuire said:

Next up is figuring out how to manage the running rigging. 

 And the smoke. 

[Ian_Grant]

But with sails raised, they wouldn't have the engine(s) active because of the fire danger!  Right, Glen?  😉🤙

 

Seriously, she looks fantastic!  I'm taking notes for my coming attempt at sails for my galley.

 

"Kindergarten-level sewing skills".....LOL !!

[Knocklouder]

I know how to make smoke. lol. Glen your ship is amazing , like I knew it would be, but this is amazing, gobsmaked,hats off, fantastic and ever thing else that says awesome.     

Bob M.

[Javelin]

Great job again Glen! Very instructive.

 

Continue like this and you'll create a whole horde of SIB builders over here!

[KeithAug]

Excellent work

 

[Glen McGuire]

10 hours ago, Ian_Grant said:

But with sails raised, they wouldn't have the engine(s) active because of the fire danger!  Right, Glen?  😉🤙

THANK YOU, Ian!!  You just made my life a little easier!

 

5 hours ago, Javelin said:

Continue like this and you'll create a whole horde of SIB builders over here!

That would be so awesome!!!

[BANYAN]

Hi Glen, she's coming along beautifully mate.  I am heading off on a three week holiday in a couple of days so will probably not get to see her completion as I will be on the road with only the occasional chance to catch-up.

 

Loved following yet another of your wonderful SIB logs.

 

cheers

 

Pat