The Ship Model Forum

Hi Guys, The ribs are cut out and glued in position.


You may notice an extra rib 15A, this is to give me a better shape at the stern


enjoy, ARH

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Simple but effective.

Well Dan, That's HMS IRON DUKE.


The ply is just standard ply, all this work you are seeing at the moment will be going in the trash can, it will not be used for any part of the ship. It is the male plug for making the fibreglass hull. The hull will be cast over it and the inner discarded, you will see as the thread continues. Thanks for posting, ARH

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Simple but effective.

Hi Guys, just a start of the filling of the timber work with polystryne and plaster.
1 bucket
2 sharp knife
3 plaster
4 polystyrene.
5 brush
6 water, not in the picture, but in the bucket,

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Hi Guys, Let me explain, I have never liked spending a lot of money on models, I work to hard to give it away, so I think of ways in my modelling to be able to use some of the materials I work with.

The stage we are at we could easily use thin ply or balsa or expensive timbers but I choose to use block styrene and plaster. Both are cheap and I usually have some hanging around, this plug will be discarded when I mould off it what I need.

Up to now it has cost.

ply £11.00 ----------- $17.00

styrene £0 ----------- $0

Plaster £2.45 ------- $4.00


It could get a bit messy around here for awhile, but it will turn out OK in the end, you will have to bare with me for awhile. ARH

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Simple but effective.

Hi Guys, I make a start by roughly cutting the styrene and placing it in between the rib sections.


Then I mix the plaster with the water in to a semi stiff paste and trowel it over the styrene level with the ribs. You do not have to mix a lot at a time just enough for what your going to do.


Carrying on you do the sides and the top, as it begins to set you can put some water on it with a brush and run the trowel over it for a slight finish, it does not have to be perfect at this stage.


The hull on its side showing the round of the hull below the water line.


Two sides nearly complete, they need scrapping down with a blade, this helps to get a more flowing shape.


Enjoy. ARH

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Simple but effective.

Really really instructive photos Ron-- could not be any clearer!!

wet brush is good tip--duh!!--that how our plaster got a nice smooth finish on the ceiling and walls.

My only concern in the whole excercise would be ....

Is there not a way in which your fine Iron Duke can be protected from dust/ new modelling project debris/flying matter...?

Perhaps hang a polythene screen from the ceiling-that way avoiding any potential damage to rig....

This is coming of course from a dust/glass case prima dona..!!

ID makes a nice back-drop for the in-progress photos though!!

Great stuff!

Cheers

JIM BAUMANN

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....I buy them at three times the speed I build 'em.... will I live long enough to empty my stash...?
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Hi Guys, As you can see I am getting there with the shape, just a little more work to be done on this side of the hull.


This bow shot shows the nice lines of the Porter hull, when dry I will turn it round and finish off the starboard side.


enjoy, ARH

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Hi Guys I have turned the plug around and nearly finished off this side.


Viewed from the stern, still a little work to be done in this section.


This is the deck layout, just trying it for fit, everything lines up nicely


The stern section, a little work to be done here.


The stern section needed to be made a little rounder on the outer edges, which I have corrected.



enjoy, ARH

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Simple but effective.

The mix of plaster is semi stiff, just a little thicker than ice cream.

The trowel is called a Gauging trowel, it has one end with a round section on, its better for this type of work.

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Hi Ron Now I see how it's done!
Dave Wooley

I have turned the plug upside down to tidy up a few sections.


The yellow section I have drawn in will be added to the hull when the fibre paste is being applied, this is the end of the Keel.


enjoy, ARH

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Hi Guys, I have covered the PLUG with a tin foil, I first painted PVA glue to the plug and then laid the foil on top and smoothed it out. The idea of this is to stop the resin sticking to the plug, it will come away and be stuck to the new hull, leaving me the plug if I want to cast another one.

Starboard side Bow


Starboard side Stern


This is the Port side, looking from the Bow.


Now I am ready to mould the Hull.

enjoy, ARH

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Simple but effective.

Hi Guys, This is the material I am using to cover the plug, also a paint brush and a pair of scissors, there should be a catalyst to add to the resin and a tin to mix it up in.



The matting was cut over size and taped on to the opposite side of the hull to hold it in place, bow section.


Same again on the stern section, always give it a good overlap on any joins.


On any awkward sections like round the stern, just cut the matting at intervals with the scissors and let it overlap each other, the same goes for along the hull.


enjoy, ARH

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Simple but effective.

Hi Guys, The resin was mixed, 1/2 a tin and the small amount of catylist was added, the first coat was applied over the matting with a brush, dabbing the resin into the matting.

Bow shot, Port side


Stern shot, Port side.


Over all view of Hull.


Bow trimmed to deck level.


Stern trimmed to deck level.


enjoy, ARH

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Simple but effective.

I can smell it! Cracking stuff!

Hi Guys, As you can see the hull is off the plug, this was no easy task, because the hull is very narrow mainly at the bow, I had to cut down the bow with a blade to open it up to be able to release it.


At this stage you can repair the bow by adding some more tissue and resin. Note we still have the plug intact, also the tin foil is stuck to the hull and not the plug, this can be peeled off and sand papered.


The bow after clean up.


The stern after clean up.


I weighed the hull and it came out at 1lb, that is a big weight saving.

I am now placing the hull back over the plug ready for the next stage, the filler paste.


enjoy, ARH

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Simple but effective.

Hi Guys, This is the filler I use on top of the matting.


Use it in small amounts, add the small amount of hardener, mix it well in.


I work on one side at a time, spread a very thin coat over the hull, leave to set, then give it a quick sanding with rough sand paper.


Bow shot.


After sanding, give it another thin coat and leave to harden. Then sand with a slightly finer grade of sand paper, we will be adding another coat later.


enjoy, ARH

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Simple but effective.

Hi Guys, A second thin coat applied.


A Bow shot.


You can see the hull beginning to get a better shape and getting stronger.


The keel section put in with filler holding it firmly in place.


A shot from the bow, beginning to take shape. Both sides have had 2 coats and the bow shape looks better.


enjoy. ARH.

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Simple but effective.

Hi Guys, As you can see the very thin layers and the sanding is beginning to show in some nice lines of the hull.


From the stern, still needs a little sanding.


A nice stern view.


The bow is looking better now, after it was cut down the middle.


Cross members fitted.


I have started to put in the hull strengtheners. First I cut the cross sections and then I added the camber of the deck. These sections were filler pasted in position first, then I added the side pieces, again these had filler paste applied to them and fixed in place.


In the photo above you can see the filler on the far side timbers have not been sanded. The last photo shows both sides fitted and sanded. The hull is now getting even stronger.


Enjoy, ARH

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Simple but effective.

Hi Guys, When doing the side sections I usually do 2 at a time, I brace them to the side with a thin piece of plywood.


When set you can take out the ply and sand the filler to clean up the joints.


On the stern I used a piece of 1/4 inch plywood, marked and cut to shape.


As you can see, with all this work we have increased the weight to 2lbs


At the Bow I did the same as the stern, cut from one piece of plywood.


A view from the Bow, all sections fitted and ready for the deck.


Midships view.


A view from the stern, looking better each day. What you have to remember is at this stage every thing looks a little rough, as we go on things begin to get tided up a bit more.


enjoy, ARH

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Simple but effective.