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PostPosted: Sun Mar 18, 2007 2:25 pm 
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Waterlining large resin hulls

Many of you will have bought a full hull resin larger scale kit from the likes of YS Masterpieces, Iron Shipwright , Rhino models etc and have built them as full hull models—even though you may have in some instances preferred a waterline format.

I have built a number of 1/350 kits from the above manufacturers—and always as a waterline model.

I hereby illustrate the removal of lower hulls of ISW 1/192 HMS Victoria and the very deep lower hull of the Axis Models 1/350 RM ROMA

I have always removed pesky lower hull's by using an old-but-good bench-mounted beltsander-outdoors!
Recently I added to my beltsander quiver a new wider bed model from Clarkes tools(via Machinemart in the UK) for a remarkably cheap £ 64.99.

OK—so it is a bit of a toy—it will not stand for continuous high pressure sanding and is therefore un-suitable for professional use—but for us amateur occasional waterliners it is perfect.




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But first a little preparation.

It is important to be absolutely sure of the desired waterline-unlike injection moulded kits the waterline is not marked—so whether one builds full hull or removes the underwater part the waterline need to be located correctly and in a straight line!

I used plans, a digital calliper gauge ( £ 14.99 –Hobby expo ) and a calculator to convert the 1:100 plan of Roma ( nearly 8 ft long!) to 1/350 and marked these dimensions onto the hull using a sharp pencil. I used 6 x measurements—at the bow/stern, the barbettes and midships.

I then joined up the dots using Tamiya masking tape and that most accurate tool of all—the eyeball --to sight up for truly fair line.
I double-checked with photos of the real ship to ensure that the position relative to the armour belt was correct.

The HMS Victoria from ISW was cast as a ‘reduced’ full hull—nevertheless a lot of material was set to go! The model is in 1/192-as were the drawings I had-after a quick check that they both were true it was an easy matter to mark the waterline with the callipers.




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Thereafter it was outside in to the fresh air! Using my old trusty beltsander I cut a series of arches into the lower hulls using the curve of the turnwheel-the advantage of this is that there is less surface area of the hull in contact with the sandpaper—therefore less friction and thereby less likelihood of stalling the motor-not really an issue with the belt driven sander—but worth noting with a directdrive unit like the new ‘toy’sander. Having cut a series of arches to within ½ inch of the masking tape I then proceeded to remove these highpoints –for the same reasons as above.

Once the worst is removed I them moved over to the new wider bed machine and holding the hull diagonally across the sandpaper levelled the lower hull to within 1/8 inch of the marks, frequently removing the hull to remove dust and allow the hull to cool - sanding resin produces heat!

Care is required at the bow and stern—the sander will remove these areas-due to lack of surface area—with astonishing speed…

After a final check, remove tape, remove all dust with a paintbrush and afterwards an airline/airbrush or good old Mk1 Lungpower—do not make wetthe dust is cloying and will be hard to remove once wetted.

Now the safety notice.
Resin dust in these quantities is at worst very harmful and at best an irritant to nose, eyes and lungs.
I wear a good quality dust mask and eye protection—and prefer a windy day so that the airborne dust goes to leeward…. I do vacuum up the huge piles of non-eco friendly dust intermittently during the process.
Avoid prolonged exposure and never carry out this operation without the aforementioned protection


Total time taken to sand 2 large hulls- 2 hours. A bath is essential afterwards…the dusty clothing is best removed outdoors—to keep domestic harmony intact!!!



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PostPosted: Tue Mar 20, 2007 8:26 am 
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Beautiful Snow! :lol_4:

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PostPosted: Tue Mar 20, 2007 6:11 pm 
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A sad waste of a beautiful hull :rolf_3:

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PostPosted: Wed Mar 21, 2007 7:18 pm 
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Jim, please keep the how-to's coming! I admire you and your work immensely.

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PostPosted: Sat Aug 11, 2007 12:54 am 
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jackyoung wrote:
Beautiful Snow! :lol_4:


Oh my i was just gonna say that, thats a TON of resin!


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PostPosted: Thu Feb 07, 2008 2:08 pm 
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an update....!


All that resin dust- ... does not go to waster.

I experimented the other day...

It works SUPREMELY well as a filler paste when mixed with CA (super) glue

I apply it, spray it with ZAP Kicker--and 30 second later I can start sanding!

usual safety precautions apply--wear a dust mask--and ideally sand out-of-doors...

JIM Baumann :thumbs_up_1: :thumbs_up_1:

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PostPosted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 7:05 am 
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JIM BAUMANN wrote:
usual safety precautions apply--wear a dust mask--and ideally sand out-of-doors...


...like this.... :big_grin: :big_grin: :big_grin:

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PostPosted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 7:17 am 
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HAHAHAHEHEHEH!! :heh: :heh:

Note... that hull--( Brooklyn!) was sanded off in the dark( WITH FLOODLIGHT!), light drizzle around midnight-

-PERFECT!- :thumbs_up_1: :thumbs_up_1:



WOT A LOT A DUST!!!!
Image

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PostPosted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 9:21 am 
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JIM BAUMANN wrote:
HAHAHAHEHEHEH!! :heh: :heh:

Note... that hull--( Brooklyn!) was sanded off in the dark( WITH FLOODLIGHT!), light drizzle around midnight-

-PERFECT!


And my wife thinks that I'm nuts... :big_grin:

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PostPosted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 11:27 am 
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Jim- your neighbours muste be deaf!
Didn't even Alexandra complain?
Guido

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PostPosted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 11:40 am 
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JIM BAUMANN wrote:
HAHAHAHEHEHEH!! :heh: :heh:

Note... that hull--( Brooklyn!) was sanded off in the dark( WITH FLOODLIGHT!), light drizzle around midnight-

-PERFECT!- :thumbs_up_1: :thumbs_up_1:



WOT A LOT A DUST!!!!


Ha... I was there I can confirm it :)

Vladimir


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PostPosted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 11:55 am 
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Note the small Amount of Dust a the first Picture. The Man is motivated and he stands right next to the Machine.
At the Second Pic the Amount of Dust is larger, and a Chair went into the Picture... ....right next to the Machine :big_grin: :big_grin: :big_grin: :big_grin: :big_grin: :big_grin: :big_grin: :big_grin:
ROFL....

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PostPosted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 12:47 pm 
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So, does anyone have any suggestions for doing this without access to such a sander, or a band or jig saw? I've got a 1/350th scale DD I want to cut down. I have a few ideas, but wanted to hear if anyone else has any.

Anyone ever use a Roto-Zip saw "blade" in a Dremel tool to cut down a ship?

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PostPosted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 1:24 pm 
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Not on a resin hull - plastic yes: tricky to keep it in a straight line to avoid getting stuck...
Guido

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PostPosted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 5:03 am 
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In plastic i once used a electric soldering iron. Then i chopped/sanded around a bit...was ok..
In Resin: How about a Electric Drill with a cutting Disk for the crude Work? Finished with some sanding it should be ok.
In worst Case a Drill and Disk should be to lend somewhere..... DIY Superstore...?

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PostPosted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 2:42 pm 
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Jim,
have you ever tried a band saw to cut most of the hull off then the belt sander to finish as thats what i do as its quicker and less dust,

Peter :thumbs_up_1:


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PostPosted: Sun Feb 24, 2008 10:12 pm 
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My god Jim, you better ensure that you have a large number of dust masks with all that dust - you may need to get a breathing mask. Take care.

Interesting article. I enjoy your work very much.

Bill :wave_1:

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PostPosted: Wed Aug 20, 2008 9:17 am 
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modelmanuk wrote:
Jim,
have you ever tried a band saw to cut most of the hull off then the belt sander to finish as thats what i do as its quicker and less dust,

Peter :thumbs_up_1:

That's what I did with my America cup racer "Endeavor". great big hunk of resin! See my gallery here. It was a beautifuly cast full hull but I wanted to show her under sail with the wind off her quarter, hull listing over... I attached a wood 2x4 to her lower hull with drywall screws..pre-drilled holes in the lower hull to acept these screws..We had already marked the hull with a waterline gauge where we wanted her to list.. Ive a good friend with a complete machine and woodworking shop..We set up his band saw to the correct angle with a fence in place...We could then slide her through in one pass with the 2x4 against the fence..scary as you dont know how the resin will react to being cut...She didnt melt and went through as pretty as you please.. My friend chuck Smith who also has a gallery here has also called on our friend to cut his plastic ships in the same manner.. takes a little work to set up but your hull is good to go in one pass... cheers BC


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PostPosted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 5:34 pm 
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I keep trying to convince people, use a jig on a 10" tablesaw with an 80 tooth carbide blade and just use the built in ripfence. Even better with a dust collector running, little muss, no fuss.

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PostPosted: Sat Aug 23, 2008 8:09 am 
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This makes no sense to me, why not make the hull two part with a hollow centre? It uses way less resin (resin varies between £8-15 per kilo, that's got to be at least 3 or 4) and gives modellers more options. Kudos for your initiative here, but IMHO you shouldn't have to do it. Everyone wins like that, yeh, it's a little extra work during master making but surely customer satisfaction is worth the extra time?


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