forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com
WW1 Aircraft Modeling => Under Construction => Scratch builds => Topic started by: lone modeller on December 14, 2023, 07:05:18 AM
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Evening All,
Now that my modelling sanity has returned and I am back to building models of real aeroplanes, I have started on my next project, which, like the Gordon Bennett racers, was another pioneering type for a number of reasons, the most important of which was that it was the first aeroplane to take off from a ship in the UK, and only the second anywhere in the world. In addition the same feat was performed shortly afterwards when it took off from a moving ship: these events took place in 1912. The aircraft in question was the Short S 27 Improved: it was also known as the S 38. The original S 27 looked like this:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53396051368_15bc018fd6.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2pmqHMj)
(published with kind permission of Eastchurch Aviation Museum, copyright reserved).
A replica of the S 38 is in the Fleet Air Arm Museum at Yeovilton:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53396301855_4cd9365138_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2pms1f4)
(photo: Wikimedia Commons)
It was a design based on the Farman MF 7 so it consists mainly of struts and wires with a spare wing, engine and elevators - in other words an ideal subject. I will use a Barracuda wicker seat for the pilot (although the pattern is not strictly correct), and a Small Stuff engine. I intend to show the aircraft on a wooden platform above the front turret of HMS Africa and HMS Hibernia - the two warships from which the aircraft took off in 1912. There are no kits of King Edward VII class battleship main gun turrets in 1/72 scale so I will scratch build one of those and the wooden platform and part of the wooden runway. There are many photographs of the platform and runway, the aircraft being loaded on to and sitting on the platform on HMS Hibernia, and of the aircraft after take off. This is one source among many:
https://www.maritimequest.com/warship_directory/great_britain/battleships/hibernia/hms_hibernia.htm
This is a photograph of the aircraft at the start of the take-off run on the platform:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53395005622_b78153f385_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2pmkmVd)
The flying surfaces are easy to make on these types: just some 30 thou plastic card cut and sanded to aerofoil section:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53396288690_44000b8f01_5k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2pmrWk5)
The booms and fore-booms on these aircraft were square section, so I used brass bar for these parts. They were CA'd to the wings and held by my highly sophisticated and expensive method of jigging as I have described in other builds of pushers:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53396288695_d81cd5c604_5k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2pmrWka)
When the CA had set I soldered the horizontal bars to the rear of the booms:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53396163034_535c35c31a_5k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2pmrhYA)
I made the flotation bags from some 1/4 inch (6mm) dowel. I turned the dowel in an electric drill and sanded the ends with coarse grade glass-paper, and finished by hand with fine grade glass-paper. I do not have drawings or the exact dimensions of the floatation bags so these are a best guess:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53396163044_e5e0a0fa94_5k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2pmrhYL)
They will be treated with talcum powder and dope grain filler/sealant later.
Thanks for looking.
Stephen.
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Great project in small scale!
Would not have dared to solder, would have expected to crack the glue and melt the plastic.
Greetings Joachim
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Great project, and a great start!
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Brilliant project choice Stephen
Did you use heat sinks on the booms when you soldered the tie bar in place or do you not find it affecting the superglue joint?
Paul
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An excellent subject to scratch build. Very nice start. The idea of scratching the gun turret and launch is very ambitious. You have my every confidence though. Looking forward to this one!
Tim
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Stephen - fascinating project, I'm going to be following along closely. I remember years ago in the old Fine Scale Modeler someone built a WWII subject that included a gun turret, it was pretty imposing!
Dutch
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Real modelling!
You start with some bits of wing, some struts and wire and you transform it into.... some bits of wing, some struts and wire!!!
Seriously though, great to see scratch building alive and well and flourishing in these pages.
Great stuff
Sandy
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Another interesting subject Stephen. I'll be watching this!
Ian
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Thank you gentlemen for your encouraging comments. I will be putting this project on one side until after the holiday break as I am now in a position to complete the Gordon Bennett project and I will report on that next time.
Joachim and Paul: I did not need to use a heat sink when soldering these parts because the brass bar is so thin and the joints were far enough away that the heat did not travel to the plastic. If the joints had been closer I would have used a heat sink.
Stephen.
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Add my voice to the encouragement and excitement. The aircraft alone is an attractive subject, but the idea of having the full turret "runway" setup adds even more interest...and no doubt significant work on your part. I'm very excited to follow progress as your plans allow.
A great start!
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".....The flying surfaces are easy to make on these types...."
That may be so, but still I think you are a master in the craft Stephen!
Cheers,
Willem
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Stephen,
A daunting project to most but "routine" to your talents! With the turret as a base this will be spectacular, and I'm looking forward to following your progress.
Cheers,
Lance
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Evening All
Thanks Zac, Willem and Lance for your encouraging comments - I really appreciate them.
I have been working on this while working on the GB dio. Now that the latter is finished, (well almost - as I will explain later, I have decided to make two new Bleriot XXIII's because I have finally sorted out the wing problem), I will focus on this subject.
Having made most of the major parts I painted them: CDL for the flying surfaces, and Revell semi-matt 382 tan for the struts:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53481096183_8b0ebe97fc_5k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2ptWADe)
The engine was mounted on a block on the trailing edge of the lower wing: I made a mounting from plastic card and inserted a piece of rod to represent the shaft which connected the fuel and oil tanks to the engine. The fuel/oil tanks were cut from 60 thou rod and mounted on a frame made from plastic strip. There was a passenger seat in front of the fuel/oil tanks - that was cut from 20 thou card and after all had been painted, the sub-assemblies were fixed to the lower wing:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53481259874_b4babcedbe_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2ptXriu)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53481095988_4316eff775_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2ptWAzS)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53480048367_f30dc607fe_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2ptRear)
NB the pilot's seat and frame are only placed on the model - they will be attached permanently later.
All was now ready to attach the upper wing. I followed my usual procedure for making the process easy: select 4 wing struts and the two rear boom struts. Place drops of cement into the holes on the ends of the lower wing and place the struts into the holes. While the cement is still soft put small drops of cement into the relevant holes in the upper wing and gently place the lower wing and struts into the 4 holes in the inverted upper wing. I had paint pots handy to keep the wing edges square and supported while I put super glue on to one corner of the rear of the booms. I inserted one of the rear struts, followed by the second, and I had a square structure. I set this aside and allowed the cement to set:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53481362245_d01cb03d55_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2ptXXJv)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53481362200_f8f01fb737_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2ptXXHJ)
When the cement had set I had a rigid structure which can be handled so that the remaining struts can be fixed at leisure:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53481095868_eacecdf657_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2ptWAxN)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53480952631_d5b7d99629_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2ptVRYc)
The next step will be to add the interplane and boom struts and then the undercarriage.
Thanks for looking.
Stephen.
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Excellent work, this will make a fascinating piece when done.
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Great progress with this fascinating build, love to watch!
Joachim
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Excellent progress Stephen, she’s shaping up very nicely!
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Wonderful work thus far, Steve -
Going to look fantastic on your ship turret display when complete.
Regards
Dave
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Evening All,
Thanks Nigel, Joachim, Zac and Dave for dropping by and leaving encouraging comments - they are very much appreciated.
I have made some progress with this project, but did have a case of two steps forward and one back, which meant that I had to dissemble and re-assemble some parts. I completed the addition of the interplane and boom struts after the initial assembly had dried out: this was a straightforward task as it involved gently placing the ends of the struts into the pre-drilled holes in the wings after I had place a small drop of glue into the relevant holes. The boom struts were cut to exact length and fixed in place with CA:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53515552086_bf2dbb6066_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2pwZcbw)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53515984935_7b90bd1054_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2px2pRr)
When I added the supporting struts for the upper wing overhang I did not cut them to the correct length and as a consequence I distorted the wing and boom structures. It took me a whole evening of fiddling and thinking before I realised the cause of the problem, by which time I had partially dissembled the top wing. Fortunately as soon as I removed the outermost interplane struts the problem was resolved: the wing was re-assembled and new outer struts cut and glued into place and all was square again.
I made the front booms from brass bar as the originals were square section. I measured the gap between the wings using a pair of dividers and marked the where the ends of the booms needed to be with a pencil on a piece of paper. I could then lay the brass bar on the paper to form two V's which I was able to solder:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53515552061_adca43b808_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2pwZcb6)
After the joints had been cleaned with a file I was able to CA the repective booms to each side of the front of the model. I started rigging the model at this stage because some areas will be difficult to reach later. The wings and boom bracing was rigged using rolled copper wire held with CA:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53515720273_9b9e12c23f_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2px14bi)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53515720278_79c679ed93_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2px14bo)
I have now reached a snag: the undercarriage was a simple structure consisting of two struts on each side supporting two skids. The axle ran across the skids. This will be an inherently weak part of the model which will require careful handling, especially when rigging. In addition if I finish the aircraft before I make the turret and foredeck on which I intend to mount it, I will have to be very careful in storing the aircraft model to stop it being accidentally damaged, so I have put it to one side for the moment while I concentrate on the base.
I have made a small start on the base but am still in the process of studying photos of the deck and turret to work out some of the smaller details. I am not a ship modeller so I am on a very steep (vertical?) learning curve at the moment, but in the last couple of days I have had access to some very helpful information with the help of a fellow modeller and I hope to be able to present the results of my research in model form before too long.
Thanks for looking.
Stephen.
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Great project - planes on ships are my favourite type of planes. Of course, that runway covers the entire forecastle, not just the turret. Can we goad you into building the whole thing? ;D
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What a pain and trial for you, Steve over the wing and struts.
Still, at least you have sorted it now and it is showing great promise.
Regards
Dave
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Thank you Tjorborn and Dave for the kind comments.
Tjorborn: if I were to construct the whole of the foredeck of the ship the aeroplane would be a tiny feature at one end! It would also take me a very long time because of the anchor chains and associated equipment, not to mention the other paraphernalia on the sharp end of a battleship!
Stephen.
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Nice progress! Will watch with great interest.
Joachim
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Top notch work Stephen - I can't believe how thin that rigging is!!
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Evening All
Thanks Joachim and Zac for your kind comments - they are very much appreciated. The wire looks so thin Zac because it is copper wire which is actually incredibly thin and IMHO does look realistic despite the colour.
Many thanks for your (too) kind comments - they are greatly appreciated. I have given a lot of thought to the undercarriage problem but cannot drill holes under the wing because in the front there is a strut in the way, and at the rear the boom is where the undercarriage leg is to be attached. I will probably have to use butt joints which are not the strongest attachment, but I am hoping that if the model is secured to the launch platform it will have sufficient strength to hold properly.
I have become a ship modeller recently: usually I make aeroplanes so I am learning fast. When I dropped into my LMS and asked for a kit of the front turret and foredeck of an Edwaed VII class battleship of 1912 in 1/72 scale I just received a blank stare! I started by downloading a plan and side elevation of the foredeck of HMS Africa/Hibernia and enlarged it until 1mm represents 1 foot. I could then draw a plan at 1/72 scale where 1 inch represents 6 feet.
I have made a base which is 12 inches (30 cm) x 11 inches (28cm) from hardboard and painted the edges which will not be covered by the deck white. I used white rather than sea blue because this will not be a waterline model: only the top of the ship sides above the portholes of the crew accommodation will be represented. Three supports from 1 inch x 1 inch (2.5cm x 2.5 cm) wood were glued to the top of the hardboard - these will hold the deck. I shaped 2 pieces of 1 inch square wood to represent the sides of the ship immediately below the deck line and covered the outer faces with 10 thou plastic sheet. These will be painted battleship grey later. The small fillets at the rear of the sides represent the curve of the ship sides above a 9.2 inch gun mounted low down in the hull:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53529578533_e545e0f866_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2pye5KP)
The gaps at the front and rear of the model between deck and base will be covered with plastic card later. The deck was cut form 1/8th inch (2mm) basswood (lime) sheet: 2 pieces were cut and shaped to represent the deck forward of the bridge to a point approximately 30 feet (8.2m) forward of the forward barbette breakwater. The edges were rounded with glass paper and sealed with a mixture of talcum powder and dope:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53529393181_1bea9e3373_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2pyd8E6)
The circle and arc represent where the barbette and breakwater will be positioned later. The curved rear covered the 9.2 inch guns in the hull and will have 60th plastic sheet CA'd underneath to represent the armoured deck.The top of the deck will be covered with 1/8 inch (2mm) square pine strip to represent the wood planking on the real ships. The barbette was cut form 4 pieces of 1/4 inch (0.5mm) basswood sheet: 2 pieces were joined to form a square sheet and the two sheets glued so that the joints were at 90 degrees. When the glue had set I cut off the waste wood around the circle that I had drawn on one surface, and the final rounding was achieved with a wood file:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53529149055_f495840b77_5k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2pybT62)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53529148450_ea3a4a2fa9_5k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2pybSUA)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53529578528_aae5ce39c2_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2pye5KJ)
I made a block for the turret from 2 inch (5cm) square basswood: I cut a length of wood into two and glued the two pieces together and then added two more pieces of 1/4 inch sheet to the rear of the sides to allow for the wider rear of the turret. The top of the block was removed with a saw:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53529032439_aae1a5f4da_5k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2pybhqp)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53528717306_cac59991b7_5k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2py9EK5)
The front of the turret has also been trimmed to save filing the front face later. I filed/shaped the top of the turret first. I traced the upper and lower surfaces of the turret plan and the faces of the turret sides from the drawing and transferred these to the wood block and cut the sides of the block so that they were almost in alignment with the lower outline:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53527816762_6e5e421616_5k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2py543s)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53529148725_200b010da8_5k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2pybSZk)
Starting at the rear I could now file the individual faces of one side of the turret using the lines as a guide:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53528717011_bc5791069d_5k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2py9EDZ)
The above operation was repeated for the other half of the turret and the front surface was also completed:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53529031884_ff3a95d17c_5k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2pybhfQ)
The rear of the turret had the recesses cut with a saw. I drilled two holes in the front of the turret to take the gun barrels. The barrels of the guns were made from pine dowel which had been turned in an electric drill and sanded to shape with coarse, and polished with fine, glasspaper. The ends were shaped to fit into the holes in the turret.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53528652477_53148c34c6_5k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2py9ktk)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53528898983_dbfab54aa8_5k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2pyaAKr)
The turret, gun barrels and barbette were sealed with my go to wood sealant - talcum powder and dope mixture - and sanded smooth:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53529148435_04d6180919_5k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2pybSUk)
The gun barrels, turret and barbette have only been placed together for photos and checking fit and position. They will be permanently glued together later.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53529393191_6f94cf89a6_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2pyd8Eg)
Thanks for looking.
Stephen.
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This one is truly fun to follow, Stephen, any part of a battleship in 1:72 is automatically going to be awesome, let alone with an aeroplane sitting on top of it.
And your comment about the clerk in your LMS reminded me of the gun-store scene in the original Terminator where Arnold asks for a “phased plasma rifle in the 40-watt range” and the guy tells him “Hey, buddy, just what you see!”
Dutch
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Dutch: that's a great call!
Wonderful work Stephen and I appreciate you taking the time to show us each step of the process. It demystifies a level of modelmaking that to many - like myself - seems out of reach.
Regarding the copper wire: I was going to ask if you could paint it, but I get the feeling the colour ultimately won't matter when one sees the whole diorama!
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Wow. Just wow. Amazing work, especially on the base. This will be such a unique model when it's done that it will be worth the effort.
When I dropped into my LMS and asked for a kit of the front turret and foredeck of an Edward VII class battleship of 1912 in 1/72 scale I just received a blank stare!
Now that made me laugh!
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Ah the smell of sanding talcum powder and dope - Now that really does take me back ;D
Lovely work so far and great to see soldered brass being used for struts
Paul
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Hi Stephen,
great progress with your gun turret!
Too late for this project but here is my suggestion for the undercarriage problem.
I solder the booms in "side view" and lengthen the interplane struts down to the skid, with a bent angle if necessary.
For the S 38 one could even include the blue strut. Strange that it is attached forward of the boom strut.
The top wing of the S 38 has a convenient cut-out for the rear booms, for my Farman project a three piece wing is needed, Inpact style.
I used this method for my 48th Boxkite but lenghtened one boom at the upper side and wondered why the rear ends were in different heights!!
Maybe this will be usefull for a future project.
Best whishes Joachim
(https://www.flickr.com/photos/98580188@N03/shares/HqQ6Kc1882) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/98580188@N03/shares/f0H9v72M7L)
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Incredible work. Kind of looks like a plunge mold for vaccuform at this stage.
Tim
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Well that was an interesting "catchup"!
Lovely work, as usual, but be careful, you don't want to get too involved in these floaty things!
Ian
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Evening All
Thanks to all of you for those very kind comments which I really appreciate.
Zac: I try to explain each stage in my builds as I am aware that scratch building can seem to many to be a black art - it certainly was to me before I started. In reality it is not as difficult as many think (and as I most certainly did). The most difficult part is writing the instructions: they have to be sequenced in the correct order or things can go pear shaped, so some long walks or time spent in the bath, (or if you have a shower in your bathroom, try the seat in the same room!) are in order. The other important step is to overcome your fear of not being able to make something - it is amazing what can be done if a little time and effort is taken.
Joachim: many thanks for your suggestion concerning the undercarriage legs: it is so obvious when you see it! I have another project in mind where that idea could be very useful.
Ian: I certainly do not want to get too involved in floaty things but I am having to get to grips with this part of the ship in order to represent a landmark in aviation history
I have been studying the many photographs that were taken in early May 1912 on and of HMS Hibernia to try to get to grips with the details of the deck and fittings. In one of the photos and on the scale drawings there are some oblongs in front of the turre, and I could not work out what they were. A friend helped me to solve the problem when he showed me a photograph of another pre-WW1 battleship foredeck: they were ventilator openings to the focsle (crew quarters) in the front end of the ship. Having solved that problem I felt able to proceed with the basic deck/barbette assembly.
I covered the edges of the pieces of wood which will represent the ship sides with thin plastic sheet and painted them Tamiya Dark Sea Grey as I have been advised that this is probably close to the grey of RN ships of that era: these were glued to the base. I glued strips of 20 x 30 Evergreen strip to to represent the metal step on the edges of the deck and painted these and the wood grey as above:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53547988918_38ed099bf9_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2pzRrwf)
I decided that the basswood needed more support underneath, so before I attached the decking I reinforced the base with some more support:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53547988928_1be60ed59b_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2pzRrwq)
When the deck pieces were well set I added the barbette, which had also been painted, and the breakwater in front of the barbette. The latter was cut form 15 thou card with holes drilled as observed on a photograph, and the bracing pieces also as observed on a photograph and ship plans. The vents for the crew quarters were also made from 15 thou card and painted grey, except the bottoms which are black as I have no intention of trying to replicate the internals of the ship! The covers will be added later in the open position.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53547988908_a45d81c6eb_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2pzRrw5)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53547988913_3e82aaa35d_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2pzRrwa)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53548237120_b82995d432_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2pzSHiA)
The next part will be to add the deck planking and start on the bridge which will form the rear of the model and support for the rear of the launch ramp.
Thanks for looking.
Stephen.
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EXcellent work. This is going to be a really interesting piece when it's done, and all credit to you for going above and beyond with the scratchbuilding.
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The deck's coming along very nicely!
Ian
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Incredible work Stephen!
I am following your build with great interest and my notebook at the ready...
Learning all the time!
Cheers,
Willem
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Stephen, I've long admired your scratchbuilding and modelling skills (and your writing - your difficulty in getting the info down does not come across) but this is on a whole new level. Wow.
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Evening All,
Many thanks indeed to all who left such positive comments at the end of my last post: I have been seriously distracted in the last month and have not had a great deal of time either to comment or to do a great deal on the current project. Added to which what I have done has been time consuming and laborious, so what follows is not a great deal but did take a lot of time and effort, both of which have been in short supply of late.
I used 1/16 x 1/16 inch (2mm x 2mm) pine strip to make the deck planking. For those who like me know little or nothing about the construction of armoured warships, the decks were covered in wood: teak in the case of British warships. This was because these ships operated in oceans and seas around the world, which meant that in the tropics and sub-tropical waters a bare steel deck would become so hot during the day that sailors would not be able to walk on it. In addition the crew quarters below the decks would have been unbearably hot. In Arctic and Southern Ocean waters in winter, ice would rapidly build up on the very cold bare steel decks and rapidly make the ship top heavy and unstable. Wood acts as an insulator and thus helps to keep the ship cool in the tropics and slows the build-up of ice on the ship in high latitude seas and oceans.
After that lesson in marine construction I glued the strips of pine to the lime base, starting at the front centre and working outwards:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53596392561_e69bd348f2_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2pE8weP)
After several sessions and what seemed at the time like an eternity I had managed to cover the whole of the deck area:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53596602848_63e99decaf_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2pE9AKs)
Making the strip fit the different curves of the barbette, edge of the deck and fill the gaps between the ventilation hatches involved another steep learning curve for me.
The decks of those old warships were teak as stated above, but the wood rapidly discoloured in the salt air and under the influence of the sun. In addition sailors were expected to scrub the decks with honeystone, an abrasive stone which was supposed to make the decks white: an affectation of senior naval officers, some of whom seemed to think that they were still living in the age of sail. Indeed it could be said that if the Royal Navy prior to 1914 had spent more time practising gunnery and other military activity than burnishing the brass and decks of the warships, they may have been more effective, even successful, when they finally engaged the enemy. However that may have been, the decks of warships were not the colour of pine strip, so I had to find a way of representing discoloured teak. Colour photographs of modern preserved battleship wood decks show that they are a dull grey.
I stained the pine with a dark red wood stain (Peruvian mahogony), to try to represent the teak deck when new:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53596712229_04048e8770_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2pEaagk)
In the process I managed to remove several areas of the acryllic grey on the barbette and ventilation covers, so these will need to be repainted later. When the woodstain was dry I used a wash of Revell Hellgrau(76) mixed with white: I applied many coats of this until I had something close to the grey in my reference photographs:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53595514627_7ce26f7b0b_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2pE42g2)
The slightly uneven colours are what I wanted to achieve: the deck areas of these ships was huge and the variation in colour on the originals was considerable. Now all I have to do is to repaint the barbette and ventilation covers before I attach the turret and guns and start to make the bridge structure which will form the rear of the display.
Thanks for looking.
Stephen.
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That looks very effective, and very time-consuming. Well done for putting in all that effort, I think it's going to be worth it.
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Well worth the time and effort, I'd say!
Ian
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Oh, what a nice surprise to come back to. Lovely work on the ship! Maybe it is too late, but did you plan to make the nibbling in the bow? It is relatively easy to do and looks impressive (ie the impression/work ratio is high)?
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Lovely progress, Steve -
I really love your your weathered wooden decking effect - very well done indeed, mate.
Regards
Dave
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Bravo Steve, it just keeps getting better!
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Beautiful work on the deck Stephen. I'd often wondered about the wooden decks and was interested to read your explanation (Makes perfect sense when you describe it)
Paul
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Incredible work Stephen! Thank you for the quick tutorial on the wooden decking on ships. Very informative. Looking forward to the next post.
Tim
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Great work as always! I suppose that many of us have had, or has, the same idea of building a gun turret base for a model... most of us don''t realise the idea though, so thank you for doing it for the rest of us. :)
/F
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Evening All,
Many thanks to you all for the very kind and encouraging comments: I really do appreciate them all. Frederik: well someone has to turn an idea into reality, and as nobody else has come forward to do so, I suppose that I might as well have a try!
Progress on the S38 Africa/Hibernia project has been delayed again, this time by my error of judgement. When I made the block for the barbette I laminated three pieces of wood, but then thought that it would be too deep so I removed one of them. After I had installed the wood strip for the decking I realised that I should have left the three wood laminates, so I had to add the third after the decking had been laid. I also had to remove the vents on the foredeck and replace them with larger ones when the barbette was finished. This meant cutting and shaping a piece of wood to almost the correct dimensions, gluing it to the top of the existing barbette and finishing it in place. That required some careful filing and sanding, plus a little filler, and then repainting. I also had to protect the wood decking form the dust from the wood grain filler. In all a right fiddle which had I thought more carefully at an earlier stage of construction I could have avoided. When the barbette was complete I added new vents.
A new part of the structure was the forward superstructure and flying bridge, on to which the ramp was fixed. I am only representing the front faces of those structures - I am not building a model of a warship! The bridge was set about three feet (1 meter) ahead of the flying bridge, so I cut out both as a single piece from 60 thou card, and then separated them. I used a small block of wood to join them together with a scale gap between. On the Africa and Hibernia two small guns were mounted on each side of a central observation post: I have deliberately left these out as they had nothing to do with the launch ramp and would only add unnecessary complexity to the model. Instead I added some smaller details to the front face of the forward superstructure and cut out the windows in the section between flying bridge, and cemented the observation platform on the front superstructure:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53673627890_c7908441d8_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2pLXnBq)
After this had been painted I screwed it to the rear of the base: I did think about using epoxy but decided that a stronger attachment was desirable given the small area of contact. The turret was painted and placed on the barbette. The sailor figure gives an idea of the size of the 12 inch gun turret and foredeck of the ship:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53673174896_8a291c2dd1_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2pLV3Xb)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53673174891_f138b75bf9_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2pLV3X6)
I made a paper template for part of the launch ramp and placed it and the part completed S38 on to the turret just to check alignments and sizes:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53672291312_2bc0a394c6_k.jpg)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53673174916_077ac99f4f_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2pLQwhY)
I made up the ramp from basswood (lime) strip with a strip of beech for part of the runway. The difference in colour of the wood can be clearly seen on one of the contemporary photographs taken on the runway. The gaps and solid platform sections are based on photographic evidence but I cannot be certain that the dimensions are 100% accurate, but at least it looks proportional when I tried it for fit on the model:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53673174886_748a891712_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2pLV3X1)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53673174901_c8f099fff3_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2pLV3Xg)
I have still to give the wood platform a wash with light grey to tone down the lime wood. The next step will be to make the supports for the ramp and attach them to the top of the turret and foredeck. The canvass screens which were draped to protect the superstructure of the ship and which covered the observation platform will be made from paper and glued in place when ready. I will post more when I have completed that part of the model.
Thanks for looking.
Stephen.
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I was wondering what had happened to your project, Steve -
What a nightmare for you having to keep starting over again to correct errors ......!
I feel your pain as I think we have all been here with a build at some point.
Really starting to come to life now and looks blooming great.
Regards
Dave
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Nice to see this back.
Why do we always seem to make decisions that make more work? At least I know it's not just me!
Great update too and the ramp is coming along nicely!
Ian
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Marvelous work, Stephen, this is going to be an awesome display when it's completed!
Dutch
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this it great.
you can still see the wright flyer influence on the shorts design
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Glad to see more progress here on an amazing and unique model. Keep going!!
I am not building a model of a warship!
Aw go on, you've started so you might as well finish...... ;) ;D
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Evening All,
Thanks to all who left your very constructive comments - they are all greatly appreciated.
Nigel: I have foud building this small section of a battleship trying enough so in future I will stick to building real aeroplanes (ie pushers), instead!
I have been back at the Short S38/Hibernia project this week as I do want to get this one moving again. For a number of reasons it seems to have slowed to a crawl recently, so I have focussed some time and attention and have almost completed the ship part of the project, although there are still details to add before it will be ready to take the model aeroplane.
The first item was to weather the ramp: photographs show that it was not badly weathered at all as the wood had probably been bought and used for the ramp from new. I used a grey wash but dd not apply too many coats - just enough to take the brightness out of the lime strip.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53714264699_05d6c8f105_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2pQxDw4)
I also gave a couple of coats to the other stripwood that I used to make up the supports. There are three cross supports on the top of the turret but they can hardly be seen when in place. These were made from beech with some very thin strips for the cross pieces around the gun barrels from lime. I also added eyes from thin copper wire under the cross beams of the ramp above the turret: later they had thread passed through them to represent the rope bracing which is clearly visible in photographs.
The turret was glued to the barbette using wood glue and when that had set put the ramp supports over the turret on to the underside of the ramp. I also glued the two outer (thicker) front supports on either side of the guns and the attached the ramp structure to the turret and deck. When this was dry I could add the remaining upright supports and cross members around the gun barrels.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53714264704_87c9d3c5fd_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2pQxDw9)
Brackets were made from plastic card and rod and attached to the top of the barbette with CA. I made ropes using cotton thread and copied the pattern from the photographs: when pulling the threads tight on two of the threads the copper wire eyes pulled out of the wood of the ramp. After much bad language and gnashing of teeth I managed to retrieve the situation - just.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53714264709_81b36f1fec_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2pQxDwe)
On the port (left) side of the turret a large brace was fixed from the top of the bridge to the base of the turret above the barbette. I used 80 thou rod for this - on the ship I think that it was a boom used to hold the anti-torpedo nets, but the photographs are not completely clear so that is only a guess.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53714357620_93da05e560_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2pQy899)
I added the tops to the vent shafts for the crew quarters - these are in the open position.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53714139728_1a2a8785fe_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2pQx1no)
On the sides of the hull there were two sets of steel brackets which the crew used to gain access to the torpedo net booms: I added some of these from 30 thou rod to the hull sides. I have made two gangways from wood: these will be added when I put on the post and rails around the edges of the deck. I have not photographed them yet because they have not been washed and weathered.
Sadly I have been quite unable to find any suitable navy figures to put on the deck and ramp: does anyone know of a possible suitable source of figures which I could adapt and modify? They must be 1/72 or 1/76 scale and not metal if possible. Any guidance would be gratefully received.
Thanks for looking.
Stephen.
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Stephen, this is top-shelf modeling. I'm a closet wooden ship modeler so I can appreciate the difficulty of every step you've accomplished so beautifully... looking forward to seeing that flimsy little aeroplane mounted atop all those tons of Sheffield steel!
Dutch
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Hello Steven! Your diorama will be a stunner when finished !
Nikolai (distributed by Germania Figuren) offers very nice sets of Resin Navy Sailors and Officers,those are supposed to be Austrians,but I think they look the part when painted up accordingly.
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Good to see this progressing. This type of modelling is beyond me, so it's fascinating to see how you do this.
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This really is coming together nicely Steve -
I also agree with you regarding the wood tones of the aircraft ramp which would have looked very different from the ship decking.
Regards
Dave
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They really didn't think they'd have to use the guns, did they?! You can see why this wasn't the end solution. 🙂
Very nice colours on the different kinds of timber. The supports really have the feel of some much more solid and coarse.
/Fredrik
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Evening All,
Many thanks for the kind comments and suggestions for figures - they are all much appreciated.
I have completed the S38 part of the Africa/Hibernia project: the S 38 will be set on the launch ramp over the turret when that part of the project is finished. Here is how the last parts of the aircraft were put together and then the remaining rigging finished. I started by fitting the front elevator to the front booms and added the control horns to the sides:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53750740308_510b297820_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2pTLArS)
I fixed the pilot's seat and the small platform which extended in front of the pilot, plus the rudder bar and control stick, to the leading edge of the lower wing. The undercarriage was next. This consisted of two horizontal skids held by two legs on each side of the centre line, with a single axle and two wheels mounted inside the skids. I expected this to be weak, (which is why I had been putting it off for a long time), as the undercarriage legs are only set in very shallow pits on the underside of the wing. However once the axle and wheels were in place the structure seemed to gain strength so provided that I handle the model carefully, it seems to hold up well. I rigged this part of the model straight away as it was easily accessible at this stage:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53750740323_052e0daecd_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2pTLAs8)
The engine and propellor followed: before I could fit the engine I had to add the push rods. Those supplied in the kit were just too thin for me to handle, and in addition some of the locating holes in the crank case had become filled with paint, so I made some alternatives from stretched sprue instead. I did not bother with the spark plugs: they are so small that they are impossible for me to handle and nobody would ever see them anyway. With the engine in place the wood propellor was added to finish that part of the model. Rigging of the lower boom arms followed so that I could fit the rear float. That sat on two arms suspended between the tail skids. The arms were made from 20 thou styrene rod and the skids from thin strip. I also fitted the horizontal tail surfaces and ailerons which completed almost all of the sub-assemblies except the floats and rudders:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53750876024_25efb3be5f_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2pTMhMN)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53750876004_76d77161a2_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2pTMhMs)
I superglued two pieces of stripwood to the main undercarraige struts - they form the attachment points for the forward floats when they were fitted later. Final rigging now took place - I used rolled 40 SWG copper wire held with superglue to finish the booms and add the control wires to the elevator and rudders. Before I could fit the rudders to the rudder post the bracing had to be attached first - 6 wires per side on two rudders:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53750876034_73bdebfd7e_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2pTMhMY)
With the rudders attached and rigging complete it only needed the fixing of the undercarriage floats to complete the aircraft.
I will show more photographs of the completed S38 when I have finished the whole project and can put the aeroplane permanently on to the platform. However that will not be for a few days so in the meantime here is a teaser shot of the S38:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53750876019_489d786bdf_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2pTMhMH)
Thanks for looking.
Stephen.
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Beautiful work. It looks so fragile I don't know how you manage to pick it up, let alone build it!!
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Oh that is indeed beautiful. Your S38 is perfect!
Just wanted to say how enjoyable it is to watch this project.
A great tribute too, Shorts aircraft were central to the Navy's pioneering efforts in aviation.
Looking forward to the finish on the Hibernia!
Cheers
Mark
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Wonderful progress, this is clearly going to be a huge success when it's done.
Dutch
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Fantastic work on your S38, Steve -
I really like the look of this machine.
I assume you are now getting close to the finish line with this current project?
Looking forward to seeing this one completed.
Regards
Dave
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Sadly I have been quite unable to find any suitable navy figures to put on the deck and ramp: does anyone know of a possible suitable source of figures which I could adapt and modify? They must be 1/72 or 1/76 scale and not metal if possible. Any guidance would be gratefully received.
Stephen.
Check these out:
https://www.shapeways.com/shops/panzer-vs-tanks-3?section=1%2F72+Scale+Figures&s=0
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It looks really amazing! Great work!
/Fredrik
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Evening All,
PJF: many thanks for the link to the sailors - I have bought a set and almost finished painting them. They were a bit expensive but the quality is second to none and they fit the bill very nicely indeed.
Many thanks to all for the very kind comments re-the S 37. I can now report that bit behind the pointy end of HMS Hibernia is now finished too. All I have to do to complete the project is to put the S 37 on to the ramp and add some sailors - but that will have to wait. Here is the ship part.
The front of the bridge was covered in canvas shrouds presumably to protect it against the oil and exhaust from the rotary engine. These caused me many headaches as I tried several types of paper: tissue, crepe, kitchen roll, etc. All of them crinkled or tore when I tried to apply paint - none of them worked at all well. In the end I used printing paper and painted that - not the best effect either but the best that I can do for the moment. I may ask for help from members of my modelling club later, but for now I am leaving things alone. I also put on the supports for the deck wires - they were from Cornwall Model Boats and are brass fittings primed and painted. The wires are clear monofilament thread painted with Revell Eisen (91). The gangways were made from strip wood.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53807280920_07323ed6e5_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2pYLo11)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53805906342_6d14120810_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2pYDkoo)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53807168274_89a40b3711_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2pYKNvQ)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53807168269_fb926ef1f8_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2pYKNvK)
I hope to finish this in the next couple of days: more when it is finished.
Thanks for looking.
Stephen.
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Well done for getting this far, really looking forward to seeing this one finished.
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Beautiful work., can't wait to see it done! And RE: the tarp, as anyone who's read the O'Brian books will tell you, burnt castor oil being spattered hither and yon would have been highly offensive to the sailor's sense of cleanliness, I’m sure they stripped everything down and scoured the whole forecastle as soon as the newfangled object departed the ship.
Dutch
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Evening All
Thanks Nigel and Dutch for you kind comments.
Dutch: I am sure modellers on this forum are well aware of the ability of aircraft rotary engines to spew their oil and exhausts over everything and anything behind them - including of course the faces and goggles of the pilots. I too am sure that the poor sailors on board Africa and Hibernia had a few choice words to say as they scrubbed and cleaned away the mess from this experiment.
After a few more ups and downs I have finished the S 38/Hibernia project. I made the last of the canvas covers which protected the bridge from painted paper - I am still not sure about soaking tissue/crepe paper in PVA, but may try later. In the meantime I CA'd the S 38 to the launch ramp and held it in place with cotton thread - that represents the lines which were secured to stop the machine running down the ramp until the pilot was ready to take off.......:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53813669153_146acb411e_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2pZk7ZX)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53813427431_3050e7090b_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2pZiT9k)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53813669093_a8bdcc9a1f_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2pZk7YV)
....... and to finsh the model I added some sailors to give viewers some idea of the size of the original:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53813762899_1dac1111c3_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2pZkASg)
I will post a brief account of the experiments that this model represents and more photographs shortly in the completed models section.
Thanks for looking.
Stephen.
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Superb work! Adding the sailors is a really nice finishing touch and the whole piece looks really impressive. This is a really good way of using models to bring to life a fascinating historical event, well done!
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I commented in the completed models section but will say here that this has to be one of Your Absolute best works of Art!
RAGIII