Mystic 1928 by Omega1234 - FINISHED - 1:278 scale - 66' Motor Yacht

[Omega1234]

Hi everyone. I've decided to build a micro-scale motor cruiser at 1:278 scale because these ships ooze olde- world charm. Just looking at these types of ships evoke images of wealthy folks cruising in luxury from a bygone era. My ship will be loosely based on the ship pictured in the plans below. I'll make my own version using my own ideas.

 

The hull consists of wooden planks formed over a waxed wooden plug. The interior will be fully detailed, as is the norm in all my models, eg Ingomar ( see my other build log).

 

Anyhow, hope you enjoy the photos and will join me on this boat's journey.

[michael mott]

Omega that is a sweet looking hull, could easily be a launch for a bigger three master ya know!

[Omega1234]

Thanks Mike. This will be a really fun build. In fact, it's the first time I've ever built a motor launch. So much so, that building a boat witout masts and rigging will be a bit strange, initially, but I'll definitely enjoy it.

 

All the best!

[ccoyle]

Classic motor yachts and cruisers are very classy vessels.  There should be more models of them!

[captainbob]

Nice boat, sweet hull.  How thick is the veneer you used for the planking?

 

Bob

[Omega1234]

Hi Chris, Bob, Michael and Bob and everyone else.

 

Many thanks for your likes and comments!

 

Bob, the veneer is .60 mm thick. The challenge with a hull that thin is to keep the sanding to a minimum, because it doesn't take much to sand it too much! I also strengthen the veneer by saturating it with liquid super glue. That way, it has strength and rigidity.

 

All the best!

Edited October 26, 2014 by Omega1234

[Twister]

A beautiful boat and with your re-working of her lines I'm sure you'll produce yet another quite exceptional model.

 

A similar boat that may be of interest to you is this one http://www.gularis.co.uk

She's of a similar overall size & the only reason I know of her was that my wife & I considered purchasing her approximately 10-12 years ago - I'd then reached the stage where health issues were leading to an increased inability to carry on sailing 'proper' yachts and she seemed like a good compromise... If memory serves, at that time she was being kept on a canal somewhere in Nottinghamshire (it's pretty much in the middle of England in a place where you probably couldn't get much further from the sea. Also, scraping the bottom of the barrel that is my memory, I believe she may have been used at Dunkirk.

 

I will certainly try to call in on this thread as and when time permits - I'm intrigued as to how you'll manage the cabin detail at such a small scale.

 

Best of luck,

 

Regards,

 

Row

[Omega1234]

Hi Row. Thank you so much for the link to Gularis! I can't tell you just how useful these photos are going to be, especially in terms of the interior and superstructure.

 

I also understand why you would have wanted to purchase her, because Gularis is a real beauty! I also sympathise that you were unable to go through with it.

 

Thanks again and all the best.

[Omega1234]

Hi everyone.  An update for you.  I was trying to figure out what the modified superstructure could look like if I added a full height covered awning leading all the way aft from the wheelhouse, so I figured the easiest way to do this was to do a mockup.  So, the following photos show the rough balsa and cardboard mockup of the superstructure.  I don't think it looks too bad as a rough mockup, but, I'll probably think of other possible options before deciding on the final design.

 

Comments welcomed, as always. 

[Omega1234]

Hi all. I've done a little bit more work on Mystic's tiny hull. The work includes adding the internal ribs. On the outside of the hull, I've added additional planks at the bow and shaped them into the a nice flare. The hull's certainly a lot more shapely now. Lastly, I've added the rubbing strakes onto the external hull above the waterline and a bilge stringer under the waterline.

 

Still a lot more work to go, but, it should be lots of fun.

 

All the best.

[Omega1234]

Hi everyone. Mystic's hull and superstructure has undergone some changes. The new superstructure is different and looks a bit sportier than the initial design, as can be seen by the cardboard mockup.

 

Importantly, inside the hull, I've built the floors and cabin bulkheads, in readiness for the cabin furniture to be installed. I've also built the two diesel engines. These, along with the propeller shafts can be seen in the photos as well.

 

A large cutout in the side of the hull has also been done to enable viewing of the interior.

 

Here go the photos. Hope you enjoy.

[mtaylor]

 Cutouts in the hull?  Diesel engines?   All that on 3" long model...?    :im Not Worthy:

[michael mott]

My Goodness Omega you need to take the blue protective wrapping off those engines or the melting plastic will smell up the whole cabin

 

Lovely work as usual, Now those are tiny details.

 

Michael

[tarbrush]

you continue to amaze me Omega!

[Twister]

Utterly speechless - would never have believed it possible to include such detail in something so small!!

 

What next? Individual instrument panels for each engine?!!

 

I look forward to seeing what you'll do next with her...

 

 

Row

[geoff]

lovely little model Omega. It reminds me of vessels like "Bluebird of Chelsea" one of the" Dunkirk Little Ships" . Hope you have the space to display it when finished!  All the best, Geoff

[Vivian Galad]

That´s a corageous model making - can´t imagine the care for so small a scale. Great work, Omega!!

[Omega1234]

Hi everyone! Many, many thanks for all your compliments and comments. Greatly appreciated.

 

Here are the latest photos so far. I've added some more detail to the engine room, eg fuel tank, exhaust pipe from one of the motors, etc. In the cabins, I've started on the cupboards in the galley.

 

Still more work to go, but it's heaps of fun.

 

All the best!

[yamsterman]

Hi omega

Out with the magnifying glass again!!!!

Looking good , enjoyed following your ingomar log, but this is even smaller!!

Cheers.....(somewhat boggle eyed!) .......mick

[Omega1234]

Hi everyone. Thanks for all your Likes and comments; all of which are greatly appreciated.

 

Tonight I realised that I couldn't really do too much of the interior because I needed to get the correct heights of the superstructure to build the cupboards, etc. So, I set about building the superstructure out of tiny strips of jarrah veneer. Tricky, to say the least, but I don't think it looks too bad. It's still very rough and will definitely require internal stiffening to get rigidity to the structure; not to mention sanding and finishing. It's a start anyway.

 

Hope you enjoy the photos.

 

All the best!

Edited November 8, 2014 by Omega1234

[captainbob]

Now it is beginning to look like a boat and a beautiful boat at that.  Thanks for the pictures.

 

Bob

[Omega1234]

Now it is beginning to look like a boat and a beautiful boat at that.  Thanks for the pictures.

 

Bob

Hi Bob. It's interesting that you say that, becauseI totally agree with you. The addition of the superstructure made of wood, with the windiws and doorways, etc, has miraculously made the ship 'come to life'. Before I built the superstructure last night, I was kinda struggling to 'bond' with this boat. But then, voila! All of a sudden, as you've said..."now it looks like a boat"!

 

This poses a question. Do other modellers experience the same thing with their models? Is there typically a point at which the pile of raw materials seemingly transforms itself physically and emotionally into something that we can bond with? Afterall, it's important that we bond with the model because without that, it's hard to put your whole heart and soul, time and energy into the boat.

 

Hope I'm making sense...

[michael mott]

 

Do other modellers experience the same thing with their models? Is there typically a point at which the pile of raw materials seemingly transforms itself physically and emotionally into something that we can bond with? Afterall, it's important that we bond with the model because without that, it's hard to put your whole heart and soul, time and energy into the boat.

I think that you are absolutely right, and all the unfinished work out there is when this bond is broken.

 

Stunning work on the cabin, It is hard getting my head around how small this little gem is.

 

Michael

[mtaylor]

I think Michael is correct...  Correction, make that I know he's correct. 

[Omega1234]

Hi all

 

I've done some more work on Mystic's cabin, principally the long awning that stretches all the way from the wheelhouse to the stern. The awning and cabin roofs are cutout as well to enable the viewing of the interior.

 

Have a great week, everyone!

[captainbob]

All of this in 15 days.  Wow!

 

Bob

[Omega1234]

HI Bob! I didn't realise that it's only 15 days since I started. It seems a lot longer, for some reason. I guess that's what happens when it's such a tiny model, because things can be done so much quicker than in a larger model.

 

For what it's worth, this was only ever meant to be a side-line project while I prepare to move onto building the larger yacht, Symphony (as per my other build log). As it turns out, this has been a welcomed diversion because I've never built one of these motor yachts before.

 

All the best!

Edited November 11, 2014 by Omega1234

[yvesvidal]

 I guess that's what happens when it's such a tiny model, because things can be done so much quicker than in a larger model.

 

Is that true? It seems to me that the constant use of tweezers, grabbers and microscopes would slow down the building..... But what do I know...

 

Your work is amazing but I could not do it.

 

Yves

[Omega1234]

Hi Yves. Many thanks for the compliments, but, anyone can do what I do. If you can build a larger scale model, then, a smaller one is really not that much different. The biggest challenge is to try to make the bulkheads thin enough so as to simulate scale thickness.That's hard! It doesn't take much to go over scale and spoil the effect. Oh well....

 

All the best!

[Omega1234]

Hi all. Mystic now has has her decks installed. Now that that's been done, I think I can return to the interior details. The following photos show the progress so far. The superstructure is temporarily inserted into the hull. Inside, I've also started on the interior of the wheelhouse, whilst the outside has had its first coat of varnish.

 

Anyhow, here goes: