Rene
Private
- Joined
- Nov 11, 2014
Hi there,
From this moment on the whole thing has changed significantly. Until now, the model had an almost toy-like appearance most of all because of the lack of any details. So my main objective for the rest of the entire project is simply “details nothing but details”. Since this ship has no real superstructure to speak of, only 2 small cabins a few skylights and a smokestack and of course a rather big gun in the front, I have to concentrate on these small parts to bring in as much details as possible. So here we go, now we start the really serious model –building.
One of the first such small details I had to build was that propeller. It may have ruined the entire career of this ship but it certainly is much more interesting than an ordinary screw. Fortunately I found a very good and clear photo which was obviously taken when the vessel was still under construction. This photo showed all I needed to know, what more could I ask for. Anyhow it took me 2 attempts to get the whole thing correct but finally I had a partly functional miniature of that “Fowler Wheel” which consists of no less than 71 pcs! Sure I could have made it much easier but as I already said I want as much details as possible even when this means to completely overdo. The only reason which kept me from building a fully functional propeller was the fact that no one would ever notice and definitely would I never, ever allow someone else to try if that thing spins and that the blades are changing their deflection too.
One of the first details I had to build for the main deck was the small wheelhouse in the front of the smokestack. I made a small structure out of plastic sheet, which was completely covered with real wooden veneer in two different colors. I had to add 3 windows in the front and 2 more to the sides. Now in some photos of a cardboard model one can see that someone build town ordinary hinged doors to the side of this wheel house. I’m in doubt if this is correct. Since such ships are serving under harsh conditions which include strong winds, you have to consider that opening a door like this in a heavy weather with the wind coming from the front could easily become impossible. Put the hinges to the rear of the door and even the attempt to open that door under the same condition could become suicidal. So I opted for sliding doors and that’s what I’ve build as you can see. Inside the little cabin is the steering wheel, a machine telegraph, some speaking tubes and since the wall looked a bit too empty for me, I added a large map to it. Even the ceiling received some wood too and a lamp too. Door handles and similar things were made from brass wire and after a whole day of fiddling around that cabin is finally finished.
Onto the smokestack, the largest piece to be builds, with the exception of the hull. It may be big but it’s fairly simple, just a few parts made from plastic sheet, the stack itself is rolled from thick lead-foil. A few more details like grab handles, a steam pipe and so on and within a few hours to whole thing was ready to be attached to the rest of the ship.
Did I say I wanted to put as much details in this model as possible?, well here we go: I had to build 2 of those hatchways which when not in use, are closed with canvas, which is attached to the frame with the help of some rope. That’s exactly what I wanted to recreate, literally! I built the hatchway out of plastic sheet and a small wooden frame at its base. So far so good, but then came the tricky part, I had to insert 24 pins around the frame where that rope is being wrapped. After that was done I made the “canvas” out of some tin foil from a bottle of wine, unfortunately I could not taste the wine, or otherwise I would not been able to do what I did next: I stitched a fine rope through the canvas and around those pins. That lasted about 30 minutes and I cannot remember if I dared to breathe during that work, but boy was I exhausted when I was finished!
Here are the pics of what I have done so far...
Cheers
René
From this moment on the whole thing has changed significantly. Until now, the model had an almost toy-like appearance most of all because of the lack of any details. So my main objective for the rest of the entire project is simply “details nothing but details”. Since this ship has no real superstructure to speak of, only 2 small cabins a few skylights and a smokestack and of course a rather big gun in the front, I have to concentrate on these small parts to bring in as much details as possible. So here we go, now we start the really serious model –building.
One of the first such small details I had to build was that propeller. It may have ruined the entire career of this ship but it certainly is much more interesting than an ordinary screw. Fortunately I found a very good and clear photo which was obviously taken when the vessel was still under construction. This photo showed all I needed to know, what more could I ask for. Anyhow it took me 2 attempts to get the whole thing correct but finally I had a partly functional miniature of that “Fowler Wheel” which consists of no less than 71 pcs! Sure I could have made it much easier but as I already said I want as much details as possible even when this means to completely overdo. The only reason which kept me from building a fully functional propeller was the fact that no one would ever notice and definitely would I never, ever allow someone else to try if that thing spins and that the blades are changing their deflection too.
One of the first details I had to build for the main deck was the small wheelhouse in the front of the smokestack. I made a small structure out of plastic sheet, which was completely covered with real wooden veneer in two different colors. I had to add 3 windows in the front and 2 more to the sides. Now in some photos of a cardboard model one can see that someone build town ordinary hinged doors to the side of this wheel house. I’m in doubt if this is correct. Since such ships are serving under harsh conditions which include strong winds, you have to consider that opening a door like this in a heavy weather with the wind coming from the front could easily become impossible. Put the hinges to the rear of the door and even the attempt to open that door under the same condition could become suicidal. So I opted for sliding doors and that’s what I’ve build as you can see. Inside the little cabin is the steering wheel, a machine telegraph, some speaking tubes and since the wall looked a bit too empty for me, I added a large map to it. Even the ceiling received some wood too and a lamp too. Door handles and similar things were made from brass wire and after a whole day of fiddling around that cabin is finally finished.
Onto the smokestack, the largest piece to be builds, with the exception of the hull. It may be big but it’s fairly simple, just a few parts made from plastic sheet, the stack itself is rolled from thick lead-foil. A few more details like grab handles, a steam pipe and so on and within a few hours to whole thing was ready to be attached to the rest of the ship.
Did I say I wanted to put as much details in this model as possible?, well here we go: I had to build 2 of those hatchways which when not in use, are closed with canvas, which is attached to the frame with the help of some rope. That’s exactly what I wanted to recreate, literally! I built the hatchway out of plastic sheet and a small wooden frame at its base. So far so good, but then came the tricky part, I had to insert 24 pins around the frame where that rope is being wrapped. After that was done I made the “canvas” out of some tin foil from a bottle of wine, unfortunately I could not taste the wine, or otherwise I would not been able to do what I did next: I stitched a fine rope through the canvas and around those pins. That lasted about 30 minutes and I cannot remember if I dared to breathe during that work, but boy was I exhausted when I was finished!
Here are the pics of what I have done so far...
Cheers
René