hello all--I am back at the Bench
1 weeks holiday in Madeira and then 14 days plus suffering with food poisoning and its consequence( airport food?)
as well as general malaise have conspired to slow progress--
but not completely!!!
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Sailing ships( and steamers !) in rough weather and big seas could ship lots wateriin main deck-
( note the lifelines spanning that deck--crew can clip on whilst transiting fore and aft...(!!)
-this tonnage of water must be gotten rid of quickly -- or stability can be impaired --hence ships are fitted with scupper drain lids
This top hinged lids allow the water to escape from both sides--important in a rolling sea
I had carved off the moulded lids off my hull along with everything else right at the start
( they were too small-- and at the wrong angles! )
Replacement was harder--I searched through my entire stash of PE for something suitable ==> x 14 !
( plus spares for mis-cuts and, dropped etc)
Nothing and more of Nothing !!
except ........
a 20 + year old PE fret- 1/350 -L'Arseneal Liberty ship--- the somewhat overscale treads of
the boarding companionway were perfect --and plenty of them
These will be affixed shortly!
the gargantuan " Big Vent" above the engine room flummoxed me
Not owning a lathe I was unable to create the right shape and be sharp and edgey( its only ca 5.5 mm high) ****
I had these designed and 3-D printed for me by a kind French friend....
seen here under-coated.
**** They were printed in steps of 5% and 10 % so as to give latitude in exact size!
I subsequently drilled out the centres on my mini-pillar drill
The figure head also again flummoxed me!
carving or adapting a ' proper ' figure ( as on 1/700 Bretagne ) was easier than
trying to make a stylised and semi-abstract figure--which has in its right-hand a rolled scroll !!
I had this figure-head designed and 3-D printed for me-again- by a kind French friend....
it is seen here attached with test fitting of the bowsprit
It till needs a bit more work to fair it in
T 2 x he anchors were large 1/700 PE items--fattened with sprue and white glue. T
The hawse-pipe opening surrounds were made of wire and slightly ' ovalled'
I stared work on the 2 x 27 ft whalers. these are broadly RN pattern
The best I could buy wee from Micromaster of New Zealand.
But these very fine 3-D prints have a different fit to those aboard rge Sagres ;
so needed work to adapt successfully !
More soon..... ( PE and decals et al! )