USS Cape (MSI-2) by Dr PR - 1:48 - Inshore Minesweeper

[Dr PR]

It had an open bridge, but with a windshield on the bulwark and a canvas awning overhead. But it was cold and windy, and pretty wet when it rained. In heavy seas we could take water over the bulwark -  once I had several inches of water sloshing back and forth on the deck, and wet feet. When it got really nasty I would step into the pilot house to warm up.

 

Many (most?) US Navy ships had open bridges until after WWII. I guess it was supposed to "build character" for the watch standers. In the 1950s many ships had the bridges enclosed, with open wings.

[Jim Lad]

Were open bridges 'character building', or were they merely preferred because they gave a much better, uninterrupted, view of what was going on around the ship? Maybe once navies turned electronic, such considerations weren't so important.

 

John

[Dr PR]

Jim,

 

I am sure the open exposed bridge did give better views of what was happening. This was especially critical before radar and sonar when all eyes on watch was very important.

 

On the USS Oklahoma City CG/CLG-5 most of the open bridge had been enclosed, and the bulkhead between the enclosed bridge and pilot house had been removed (the USS Little Rock CG-4 museum ship still has the bulkhead between the bridge and pilot house). However, we always stepped out to the open wing of the bridge to look around before executing a turn, and all maneuvering for UNREPS was done from the open bridge wing.

 

Still, I would like to think standing on an open bridge with freezing water sloshing over your feet for four hours did build character!

[Jim Lad]

Merchant ships of my day had an enclosed wheelhouse and almost invariably a chartroom and radio room abaft it. Definitely a need to do the bridge wing thing before doing anything rash.

 

"Look astern before you turn."

 

John

[Dr PR]

Still working on the small details for the O1 deck house.

 

 

The bell bracket was made from 0.030 inch (8 mm) brass. The bell is from Bluejacket Ship Crafters (1/4 inch, part F0483). I have made bells from scratch, but it was much easier to order the bell while I was also ordering the propeller. The parts on the right are brackets to belay signal halliards.

 

 

Here are a couple of photos of the signal bridge. the flag bag (flag locker) has a "canvas" cover. It was made from some of the scrap silkspan I had left over from the topsail schooner build. It was painted off-white for the schooner sails so I brushed on some Tamiya "German Grey" (XF-63). This is what I will use for the O1 and O2 level decks.

 

A board with cleats for securing halliards is above the flag bag, with the halliard belays on either side. The thing with the red top is the shore connection box where the ship was "plugged in" to shore power while docked. There are three vent hoods from the fan room at the aft end of the O1 level house.

[Jim Lad]

It's amazing just how much detail there is on even a small ship!

 

John

[Nirvana]

I like the super detailing! Yes, it is the details that makes the models.

[Dr PR]

I am fortunate to have some close-up photos that show the details. The blueprints are good for showing the equipment, but they don't show the small details such as the wiring or notices/instructions attached to bulkheads. And often the equipment is different in the photos, or in the positions. For example, on the starboard interior bulkhead of the pilot house the blueprints show two AM-215/U amplifiers below the windows. However, I found the data sheet for this amplifier and the dimensions were larger than shown in the blueprints. They were too large to fit two as shown in the blueprints. And the pilot house photo shows only one, in the position I placed it in the model.

 

I don't have enough photos of the Cape as it was in 1969 when I was aboard. For example, I don't know what was attached to the exterior of the pilot house forward bulkhead, in the open bridge. One photo does show a phone handset cradle and a box (for a sound powered phone headset?) on the starboard side, but it doesn't show what else might be on the center or starboard side of that bulkhead, such as a speaker, light, etc. I haven't found those details in the blueprints.

 

While I was on the USS Oklahoma City CLG-5 I took thousands of photos. I even thought that I might someday make a model of that ship so I went around photographing almost every exterior surface, plus the bridge and pilot house. Even so, there were two places (under the port and starboard boat decks) that I did not have pictures. Those photos were invaluable for creating the CAD model as the ship was in the summer 1971. I have the 1959 blueprints, but the ship had undergone many modifications by 1971 - some pretty extreme - that weren't shown in the drawings.

 

Just about any photos are good. They may be of sailors working or goofing off, but in the background are details.

Edited October 8 by Dr PR

[Dr PR]

More details on the deck houses. I have put the "lid" on the O1 deckhouse. I still haven't attached the O1 level house to the main deck house.

 

 

 

I have been adding some deck edge trim around the sides of the deck houses. While it adds some nice detail it also serves a very good modelling purpose. The house sides and decks are made of 1/16 inch (1.6 mm) plywood, with the decks resting on the top edges of the sides. Finishing the edges of plywood is trickier than the surfaces, with multiple porous layers to fill.

 

The upper horizontal trim is 5/32 x 1/32 inch (4 x 0.8 mm), and the lower vertical piece is 3/32 x 1/32 inch (2.4 mm x 0.8 mm). These dimensions are pretty close  to scale. The vertical piece conveniently hides the edges of the plywood deck.

 

The real ship was built with 3/4 inch (19 mm) plywood house sides and deck. The trim served to seal the edges of the plywood from the weather.

 

 

The main deck house has the same type trim as the O1 level house. There is also another 3/32 x 1/32 trim piece at the bottom of the deck house sides. The houses fit pretty tightly to the decks, but there are some slight gaps. These bottom trim pieces allow me to cover any gaps and seal the houses tightly to the decks.

 

A vent trunk fits to the rear of the main deck house. Inside was a large fan that ventilated the engine room below.

 

The blueprints and early photos of the MSIs show deck edge trim like on the house sides, and a hawser reel on top of the vent trunk. However, when I was aboard in 1969 both of the MSIs had an inclined ladder from the main deck to the top of the vent trunk. Steps had been added up to the O1 level. I will be adding the ladder and steps.

 

Originally, if you were on the O1 level and wanted to get to the main deck you had two choices. There was a vertical ladder on the starboard aft side of the main deckhouse. Or you could go through the pilot house to the radio room, and down an inclined ladder in a companionway. Then you could go through the mess decks and passageway to the door at the port rear of the deckhouse (shown in this picture).

 

I guess they got tired of taking the long way around and added the inclined ladder. The hawser reel was moved to the port rear corner of the O1 level, above the door.

 

There was another addition to both MSIs inside a recess in the main deckhouse port side. There was a scuttle in the deck at the bottom of this recess. It was an escape scuttle from the mine sweeping generator room.

 

Originally there was nothing in the recess. But somewhere along the line a locker was added at the top of the recess. I do not recall what was stowed in the locker. The recess was 3 feet (about 1 meter) wide, and the locker was about the same height. It would have been about 18 inches (about half a meter) deep.

 

I'll be adding more small details to the main deckhouse sides, and planning for the life rails on the O2 level. I have also started on the mast. Conveniently, it was 12 inches (305 mm) square, and that is 1/4 inch (6.4 mm) at 1:48 scale. I used a 1/4 inch square dowel and rounded the edges slightly like the real mast.

 

Edited October 13 by Dr PR

[Nirvana]

Phil, that is amazing! Love the detail you are putting in.

[Coyote_6]

That vent for the engine room is very very very nice!  Wow.  The slats are so uniform.

Edited October 13 by Coyote_6

[SaltyScot]

I agree, Phil, the detail you are adding here is quality stuff. Very inspirational indeed.

[Dr PR]

Thanks for the complements fellows!

 

For the vent there are supposed to be eleven "slats." I used 1/64 inch (0.4 mm) plywood for the slats and started out with them at a 45 degree angle. I prepared a spacer to set them at a uniform spacing. "The best laid plans ..." I only got eight to fit, and the upper slats are not at exactly 45 degrees. But the spacing is pretty good so it looks OK. Besides, it will be hidden under a ladder.

[Jim Lad]

Delightful work, Phil. Such fun to build one of your old ships (I've built two of mine)!

 

John

[Dr PR]

These are deck drains. The flat metal parts are 0.005 inch (0.13 mm) brass sheet. The drain pipes are 0.038 inch (0.097 mm) aluminum. The drain funnels were made from 0.062 inch (1.6 mm) and 0.092 inch (2.3 mm) telescoping brass tubing. The drain channels are 0.1 inch (2.5 mm) wide, to provide a size reference.

 

Assembly was tricky. I soldered the brass tubing first, and then turned the end to create the "funnel" shape. The "U" shaped channels were then soldered together, using a wooden dowel to bend the brass strips and align the sides and bottom while soldering. These two steps weren't much of a problem.

 

Then the "funnels" were soldered into the channel. This had to be done quickly, with a minimum of heat, to avoid unsoldering the parts of the channels and funnels. I had to repeat this a couple of times for each piece to get things aligned properly.

 

The aluminum drain pipes were glued into the funnels with super glue (cyanoacrylate or CA). I made tiny "U" brackets from 0.005 inch (0.13 mm) brass strips to fasten the pipes to the deckhouse bulkheads. Here are some photos of the drains on the aft end of the O1 superstructure.

 

 

The main deckhouse also has drains on the aft end port and starboard, and the O1 level bridge wing decks have drains port and starboard.

 

I used aluminum wire because 1) i don't have brass rod the correct scale diameter, and 2) it is much easier to form the curves with the soft aluminum than with harder brass. But that meant I had to glue the aluminum and brass pieces instead of soldering. Epoxy would have been better for bonding aluminum to brass, and the brass parts to the wood superstructure. But little mechanical strength is needed in this application so CA should work OK.

 

After the glue sets overnight I will brush the drains to clean them up and then paint them.

 

The entire O1 level superstructure needs another light coat of paint, and then some satin acrylic varnish.

[vaddoc]

This is such a fun project to follow Phil! Quick question, why do you sand the superstructure between paint coats?

 

Vaddoc

[wefalck]

Doesn't one normally sand between paint coats?

[Dr PR]

Vaddoc,

 

I normally sand between paint coats because I use a brush and that can leave some brush marks. It also helps to make a smoother final finish.

 

However, I used plywood for the deck house sides and tops on the Cape model, and it has some significant visible grain features even after I had sanded it smooth. Each coat of paint fills in a bit more, until the graininess is hidden. I used one or two coats of acrylic sealer, but this wasn't enough. You can see this on the lower deckhouse that hasn't been painted grey.

 

With all the small details that have been added I won't be able to sand it anymore, so the final paint coat will be pretty thin, just to cover the scuff marks from the prior sanding and handling. Then a final coat of satin acrylic varnish will finish the paint job. I have already done this on the hull and main deck.

 

In hindsight I suppose I should have used sheets of basswood for the deckhouses. The basswood I have has a much less grainy surface than the plywood.

[Dr PR]

Today I added the "visor" or sun shade over the windows at the front of the O1 deckhouse.

 

The parts were made from thin brass sheet. I used a new Photo Etched Parts Bender AB-4553 from joystarttools.com (China). I saw a smaller version of this tool recommended in another thread on the Forum. I got the larger version because I will need to bend some longer pieces when I get to the equipment on the after deck of the Cape. The tool is 5.52 inches (140 mm) on the long side, and the upper part can be rotated to use the long straight edge to bend parts almost 5.5 inches long.

 

This was my first time using the tool and it worked as advertised. I made bends that were only about 1 mm (0.039 inches) wide. It was easy to use.

 

 

The small triangular support pieces were made from 0.003 inch (0.09 mm) brass sheet. For the larger surface I wanted something a bit stiffer so I used 0.0065 inch (0.14 mm) brass. This was a bit less than the scale 3/8 inch plywood used on the ship - that would b 0.0078 inch (0.2 mm). The supports were soldered to the bottom side of the visor as shown on the photo right below. The 1 mm (0.039 inch) lip along the front edges of the visor stiffened the piece. On the real ship this was a strip of wood attached to the bottom front edge of the plywood visor.

 

 

Here are a couple of photos showing the visor in place on the deckhouse.

 

 

I have been looking forward to making this piece. It was practice using the bending tool. When I get around to making all of the minesweeping gear on the after part of the ship I will be bending a lot more small parts.

Edited October 17 by Dr PR

[wefalck]

Nice metalwork !

 

These bending tools are useful, I made one mysel.

Edited October 17 by wefalck

[Dr PR]

Wefalck,

 

Thanks! I am learning.

[Dr PR]

I have been making some of the small detail parts. Some of these were fire hose racks.

 

Drawings for these are in the blueprint set, so I didn't have to guess at the dimensions. Still, as I converted the 1:1 dimensions to 1:48 the actual size of these parts didn't sink in. It was only when I started cutting the tiny pieces out of sheet brass that I realized this would be a bit more challenging than I had anticipated.

 

The plans call for 3/8 inch (9.5 mm) metal plate. That comes out to 0.008 inches (0.2 mm) at 1:48 scale. I decided to use 0.005 inch (0.13 mm) brass for the front "D" shaped pieces. But that stuff is pretty flexible, so I made the rectangular back plates from 0.010 inch (0.25 mm) brass.

 

The part the hoses hang over was made from 0.091 inch (2.3 mm) brass tubing. This is a bit over the true scale 0.083 inch, but the 0.091 inch tubing was what I had to work with.

 

 

Here are the finished hose racks. The 0.91 inch brass tubing was sawn down the middle to create "C" cross section half tubes. Four of them have 0.146 inch (3.7 mm) long pieces of half tubing. One has a shorter 0.094 inch (2.4 mm) hose support. The longer parts are for fire hoses, and the shorter one is for the fresh water connection hose to a shore supply.

 

These things were a test of my patience! Getting one end piece soldered to the tubing was fairly simple, but I had to reheat each of them several times to reposition the tubing in the correct position on the end plate.

 

But when I tried to solder the other end piece to the tubing the whole thing unsoldered and came apart. The wet solder stuck the parts to the tweezers and everything was a mess! But if first you don't succeed ... and as you can see I finally got them done.

 

The key to success was using an ancient aluminum tweezer-type heat sink dating back to the days (1960s) when we soldered individual long lead TO-5 package transistors onto circuit boards. I had the old Radio Shack part in my tool box. When I clamped it to the tubing close to the already soldered end piece it absorbed the heat and prevented that solder joint from melting. Still, I had to work quickly, and had to repeat the process several times to get the second end piece in the correct position. It was slow tedious work.

 

These things are ridiculously small!

 

I have a partially assembled 1:96 scale model of the USS Oklahoma City CLG-5. Someday I want to resume that build. But it has dozens of small parts like these hose racks - but half the size! I think I will have to use 3D printing for that build, and I will need a much better printer that the one I currently have!

Edited Sunday at 03:25 AM by Dr PR

[Jim Lad]

Beautifully made, Phil Now all you have to do is add the hoses! 🙂

 

John

[Coyote_6]

Shame to have to paint those hose racks Phil - the silver and gold looks awesome on your finger there.   Nice. Work soldering those up!

Edited October 19 by Coyote_6

[Dr PR]

John,

 

I think I will use thin cardboard for the hoses. It should fold easily and the somewhat fuzzy surface will resemble the hoses.

 

Steve,

 

Most of it will be hidden by the hoses.

[Iceman 29]

Very nice job, Phil! Love it! ❤️

[Dr PR]

The parts on the left are a "kit" to make one of these things (on the right).

 

 

This is a 1:48 scale shipboard fire hydrant. I made the 3D model for my USS Oklahoma City 3D CAD model. I rescaled it to 1:48 for the Cape model and added a dual 1-1/2" hose attachment to the outlet as shown on the Cape blueprints.

 

Once again this is pretty small stuff! I made all of the parts out of brass rod, tube and sheet. I count 22 individual pieces in all.

 

At the top is a globe valve to shut off the flow of water. Then there is the larger strainer and collection part at lower right. Ships use sea water to fight fires, and barnacles and other marine growth form in the water intakes.  This debris can clog the fire fighting nozzles, so a strainer diverts the garbage to the large collection part. The long handle opens a valve at the end of the strainer to flush out all of the debris onto the deck.

 

 

The most difficult part was the conical strainer body. I thought about different ways to make it and decided to "machine" it out of a piece of 0.188 inch (4.8 mm) brass rod. While I was at it I decided to carve the globe valve discharge outlet and a couple of flanges from the same piece instead of trying to piece together multiple parts.

 

 

 

 

I used my 3/8 inch (9.5 mm) "hand lathe" to make the part. This is an ancient 3/8 inch electric drill I purchased in 1972 after leaving the Navy. The bushings are shot but it is still useful as a poor man's lathe. This would have been a LOT easier with a real lathe!!!!! I used files and a thin curf saw blade to carve out the piece.

 

You might think I was crazy to attempt to make this complex part using a hand drill instead of a real lathe. I would not disagree with that assessment! OK, I am crazy. But hey, it worked!!

 

 

 

 

The rest of the assembly was made of 0.039 inch (1mm) brass rod, 0.0625 inch (1,6 mm), 0.091 inch (2,3 mm), and 0/125 inch (3,2 mm) brass tubing and 0.005 (0,127 mm), 0.010 (0,25 mm) and 0.015 inch (0,38 mm) brass sheet.

 

I used an ordinary soldering iron and a resistance soldering station to assemble the parts. The resistance soldering tool has the advantage of focusing the heat in the places that the pieces fit together, and not heating the entire piece. Nevertheless, each of the 17 solder joints was reheated up to six times to allow the parts to be repositioned. 

 

This is the final assembly. It looks so good at arms length, and then I look at the macro photos and it looks like it was dredged up from the Titanic!

 

 

This is the first finished assembly. Tomorrow I will make the second piece from the kit of pieces shown in the first photo. It took a day and a half to make this assembly, but that included making the parts for the second assembly. The second part should go faster. The entire thing was made by hand using a collection of drills and files to shape the brass.

 

 

Edited October 24 by Dr PR

[Jim Lad]

Beautiful piece of work, Phil.

 

John

[Nirvana]

22 small pieces on your fingertip.... that is impressive!

[wefalck]

Excellent ‘lathe’-work!