Calling all ocean liner RMS Lusitania & RMS Mauretania fans

[Dan K]

I thought this photo might be of interest here. I found it while surfing one of those way-back type sites. This is a real color photo via the Autochrome process, not colorized, from a National Geographic collection. Note the floating drydock.

[herrmill]

Great photo! Haven't come across that one before. Thanks!

[ijnfleetadmiral]

Here's another from the same series...and a competitor appears to be photobombing. Probably the only original color photo of an Olympic-class liner.

[drdoom1337]

Can anyone recommend some good photo etch bits for a WWI Mauretania. I know the obvious Tom's/GMM liner sets. I'm talking more for the equipment that would be on the ship during the war.

[MartinJQuinn]

I thought this photo might be of interest here. I found it while surfing one of those way-back type sites. This is a real color photo via the Autochrome process, not colorized, from a National Geographic collection. Note the floating drydock.

Wow - how did I miss this before? What a great photo.

[Dan K]

Isn't it, though. I completely forgot about that post until this thread popped up again.

PE-wise, I believe either Five Star, Flyhawk and/or Rainbow make 1/700 crates, boxes, ropes, and the like.

[drdoom1337]

Isn't it, though. I completely forgot about that post until this thread popped up again.

PE-wise, I believe either Five Star, Flyhawk and/or Rainbow make 1/700 crates, boxes, ropes, and the like.

Unfortunately I'm working on the 350th scale kit of the Lusitania. I'll look into the same brands for the larger scale.

[Maarten Sch�nfeld]

Well, Lucy and Maury fans,

I've completed the first phase of my conversion of the Mr. Hobby (Gunze Sangyo) 1:350 kit into a credible Mauretania. He're some pictures included.

The most prominent changes are:

reshaped stern (poop is the better word I believe)
new scratch rudder
reshaped stem (sharper, more angular at bottom)
reshaped anchor wells (triangular, Lucy's are D-shaped)
larger bow bulwark

and completely replaced all decks, with Evergreen 2020 V-grooved plate, backed with 1 mm sheet for the Shelter Deck and 0.5 mm sheet for the decks above. I corrected and increased the width where necessary, this giving a considerable difference with the kit parts.

I used the sidewalls supplied in the kit, with suitable modifications along the way. As I don't have detailed plans about the window layout I accepted this for the time being, but all the decks are still accessible and I can change the windows as more info becomes available.

Further I scratchbuilt some parts: the larger and middle sized ventilator cowls, to be cast in quantity by a commercial resin casting company. The small ventilators with the slant necks at the front of the 2nd class Boat deck (unique to Maury, Lucy had no vents there) I made too but I'm not sure yet to have them cast. Also made the deckhouses over the engine room ventilation shafts, slightly different from Lucy's (smaller and rounded).

Well I'm looking forward to your comments and suggestions!

Maarten

An update to my Lusitania to Mauretania conversion is long overdue! But here it is.
After my friend Jan cast scores of ventilators in two sizes the project got shelved, but now I have restarted it.

The big changes since last time:
- Installed all the ventilators
- carved out the funnel bases from the Gunze sundeck, modified them suitably to fit
- added the funnels for show: details on the whistle platforms started (they sit 3 feet higher on the funnels that on Lusitania)
- made a new bridge/wheelhouse, the one on Mauretania being two frames longer than on Lusitania
- made the front walls on the boat deck and promenade deck, below the bridge
- constructed all the domes on the sundeck from scratch, these being fundamentally different from Lucy's
- started painting in earnest
- carved correct 4-bladed propellers LH and RH from scratch, to be cast in resin

I welcome your comments!

[Maarten Sch�nfeld]

Two more update photos.

[Thomas E. Johnson]

Really nice conversion.

[Maarten Sch�nfeld]

Really nice conversion.

Thanks Thomas! I will add more photos soon.

[ModelMonkey]

Yes, yes, really nice!

[jdingwall]

Looking to get one of these for my collection in my WW1 museum. My great grandfather was also aboard so means that much more to me. Any help would be much appreciated

[Grant Goodale]

Does anyone have any information about armament on the Mauretania as a troop ship? I see lots of photos of her in battledress but no information on armament.

[Iceman 29]

This photograph is taken in Canada Dock in Liverpool, 1909.

The gentleman in uniform is �Mauretania�s� first Chief Engineer, John Currie.

RMS Mauretania was one of the most famous ships ever built on Tyneside.

[Maarten Sch�nfeld]

Does anyone have any information about armament on the Mauretania as a troop ship? I see lots of photos of her in battledress but no information on armament.

On her Shelter Deck there were eight emplacents for 6 inch Q.F. guns, plus four 6 inch B.L guns on the Foredeck. These were already present at her completion in 1908 and are drawn in on her deck plans. These were intended for her role as 'Armed Merchant Cruiser' in the event of war.

When WW1 broke out she (and her sister Lusitania) were considered too large for this AMC role. She was converted later to hospital ship and troop transport, and in the latter role she received only six of the intended 12 guns. You may study Jim Baumann's model of her and find these guns: four on the Foredeck and two on the Quarterdeck. http://www.modelwarships.com/reviews/sh ... eview.html

[Maarten Sch�nfeld]

This photograph is taken in Canada Dock in Liverpool, 1909.

The gentleman in uniform is �Mauretania�s� first Chief Engineer, John Currie.

RMS Mauretania was one of the most famous ships ever built on Tyneside.

Interesting picture, eh? The two outboard propellers have already been replaced by four-blade inward turning screws, the two inboard propellers still have the original three-bladers turning outward! These would be replaced later by four-bladers as well (also turning outward).

[Iceman 29]

May be replaced soon..

[Maarten Sch�nfeld]

May be replaced soon...

Here's the eye of the ship's engineer at work... Mmmm, that knick shouldn't be there, maybe we hit that rock when we turned close inshore?

[drdoom1337]

Does anybody know how often Mauretania was drydocked, or how often steamships were drydocked in general during their service runs?