Libertad 1925 by Valeriy V - Scale 1:100 - Spanish Type F Light Cruiser

[Valeriy V]

Thank you all for your feedback and likes!  

And I have a small continuation of brass soldering.  These are the upper tiers of the bow superstructure.

[wefalck]

Excellent metal work as usual.

 

What do you use as heat-sink to prevent parts already soldered from falling apart?

[Valeriy V]

Everything shown in the photos is soldered without using a radiator. I very rarely use a radiator.
In this process, you need to determine the correct soldering sequence. First, the most massive parts are soldered and only after that the small parts are soldered. In this case, you can do without a radiator.

[Dr PR]

Valeriy,

 

Nice work. I notice that you brush the metal. I usually do this with a motor tool and wire brush to remove excess solder. But does it also give enough "tooth" or roughness for paint to adhere?

 

Or do you etch the brass before painting?

[Valeriy V]

Thanks Phil!

For painting, the degreasing process is of primary importance. Surface roughness is secondary.
I degrease surfaces with caustic soda (NaOH).

[Dr PR]

Thanks.

 

I know some people "pickle" brass with Sodium Bisulfate (SPAREX NO. 2) to clean the surface and provide a bit of roughness. It is an acidic solution. This is usually done before using a blackening solution.

 

Caustic soda (Sodium Hydroxide) is a strong base and has been a component of soaps for a long time. Concentrated sodium hydroxide will cause chemical burns on the skin.

[Valeriy V]

Hello everyone!

I am making progress on the cruiser model. And it is time to solder the smoke pipes.
1. The pipe frames are soldered.

[Valeriy V]

2. soldering of end panels.

[Valeriy V]

3. soldering side panels

[Valeriy V]

4. soldering the ventilation visor in the lower part of the pipe casing

[Valeriy V]

5. soldering the ventilation visor in the upper part of the pipe casing

[Valeriy V]

6. and now I am putting all the parts of the chimney together

[wefalck]

Silence over the several weeks make one worry a bit in these disturbed days - however, high-quality sheet-metal work as usual! 

[Bedford]

Absolutely beautiful workmanship

[Tony Hunt]

Spectacular work, Valeriy.  As we've come to expect!

[Valeriy V]

Thank you all for your kind comments and likes!!!  

[Valeriy V]

The contours of the model gradually take shape.

[yvesvidal]

I am amazed at how you get that brass polished, especially in the locations of the soldering.

You are so good at metal work that it is not surprising that your model would be made of metal, like the prototypes.

 

Yves

[FriedClams]

How have I missed this build until today?  Another great subject and masterful craftsmanship at every step.  Once again, Valeriy, your brass work is a tour de force and so instructive to follow.  The geometry of the ventilator visors realized as a flat strip of brass (even if pieced) strikes me as rather tricky.  Fantastic work!

 

Gary

[Valeriy V]

Thanks, Gary!
There's really nothing particularly complicated about it.

The main condition is to maintain the manufacturing accuracy of the parts within 0.1-0.2 mm. And then their assembly by soldering is not difficult.

[amateur]

Which reads a bit as ‘for a gifted modelbuilder like me, it is not as difficult as you think it is’

You can tell us that it is not as difficult as we think it is, but we keep looking in astonishment and awe, and tell you your work looks / is perfect.

 

Jan

[Valeriy V]

Jan, thank you for your feedback!  

 

And I will allow myself to comment on it a little.
What you called "gifted" I still put in third place in importance. Experience and skills definitely claim second place. But in first place should be the necessary high-quality machines and tools, because without them the necessary experience cannot appear and no gifted can help with this.  

[Dr PR]

Valeriy is too modest - he is obviously one of the most talented ship modelers on the planet! All of the great tools will not build a model, not even in the hands of an untalented modeler.

 

The geometry of the "ventilator visors" is not trivial. It looks like he made them from four pieces - two curved ends and two straight sides. Those curved ends are halves of a conic section, and anyone who has tried to figure out the correct "flat" layout for a conic section knows it isn't trivial. Try cutting a truncated cone with specific angles from a piece of paper and you will see it isn't easy!

 

I designed this single piece "visor" in 3D CAD and that takes a lot of patience. In this case the smoke pipe had different radii fore and aft.

 

I had to flatten the 3D model into a 2D plane, one facet at a time (the program didn't have a "flatten" function). That was very tedious!

 

Then I photo etched the part (sorry for the blurry picture).

 

It was a lengthy and non-trivial process that took several days.

 

Valeriy is very good at this sort of thing and makes it look all too easy!

Edited 9 hours ago by Dr PR

[Valeriy V]

Phil, thank you for your kind words, I am flattered! 

 

In this situation with the manufacture of a sloping visor, everything is also quite simple.

 

If the part is of a rather complex configuration, then I try to apply the following principle:
- divide the complex part into several very simple ones in configuration
- concentrate your efforts not on the manufacture of one very complex part, but on the assembly of several simple ones into one single and complex part.

[Valeriy V]

Two parts #2 are a truncated cone with previously known parameters.

Using a calculator (online) to calculate the dimensions of the truncated cone scan, I get the dimensions I need.

https://stanok74.ru/klientam/poleznye-formuly-i-dannye/kalkuljator-rascheta-razvertki-konusa-iz

 

 

[Valeriy V]

And now all that remains for me is to make the parts of the required sizes and solder them together.

[amateur]

That is what makes you what you are: the ability to reduce complicated stuff into relatively easy parts. Most people get stuck at that point (at least, I do )

 

Thanks for explaining.

 

Jan

[Dr PR]

Valeriy,

 

I am aware that the calculations for creating truncated cones are on line - I even have them in an ancient printed analytic geometry text book. But the Internet takes the fun of doing the trigonometry out of it, doesn't it?

 

But where your experience comes into the story is that you know how to do it, and know what to look for to do the calculations. And of course you do excellent work with brass and soldering! That is part of your talent.