Scratch building Lifeboats

[Dirkpitt289]

I'm building a 1:570 scale ship and need to build more lifeboats for the project. Any ideas on the best way to approach this? I can figure out the davits and racks and all the other happy stuff but am lost on how to build more LBs? I figure this is the place to come ask. Any ideas?

[David Griffith]

Dear Dirk,

I'd think that resin casting is probably the way to go. If you are scratchbuilding the boats, this means you'll only have to make a single master. If you are using a kit but just need more of them you will get exact copies.

If you are talking about ordinary open lifeboats, they would presumably be stowed with canvas covers over them, so that would make carving a master much easier.

To do the casting you will need two part mould rubber, two part polyurethane resin and some mould release agent.

Make a small open topped box out of cardboard or plastic card about half an inch larger all round than your boat. Put a rectangular or sausage shaped piece of Blu-Tack, Plasticine or Silly Putty into the base of the box and mount your master on this, right way up.

Spray the inside of the box with mould release. Mix up enough of the mould rubber to cover the boat to a depth of half an inch and pour it into the mould, brushing some carefully all over the master to avoid air bubbles. Leave it to set for 24 hours.

Remove the mould from the box and the boat and Blu-Tack from the mould.

Mix up just enough of the polyurethane resin to fill the mould. Don't do more than you need as it'll set straightaway and be wasted. I tend to use a flexible polythene medicine cup for the mixing. Work quickly. A spray of mould release and pour it into the mould. Give the mould a squeeze or furkle around with a cocktail stick to remove air bubbles.

After five or ten minutes the resin should have gone opaque and hardened and you can pop it out of the mould and it'll be ready for you to mix up your next lot of resin.

Have fun.

David Griffith

[Dirkpitt289]

I saw a demo of that on you tube and was thinking that may be the way to go. Is the kits for this expensive?

Thanks for your reply.

[David Griffith]

Dear Dirk,

I looked on www.micromark.com and a starter kit is going to cost you a bit more than $70. That's a heck of a lot cheaper that I had to pay this side of the pond, I can tell you!

Have fun,

David Griffith

[Pieter]

Before you start investing in to much gooey stuff, here's a trick I learned from an old 1/1200 builder. It only works for reasonably straight lifeboats with a canvas cover. You will need wood or styrene strips, files, sandpaper, a razor saw and a nailcutter. First measure your lifeboat and work out its maximum height (draft + freeboard + canvas) and width. Get a square strip of wood or styrene, whichever you're most comfortable with, and make sure it's this height and width are those of your lifeboat (or slightly more). Using a file or sandpaper shape the cross section of the bilge and the canvas cover. Your stick is now slightly rounded on one side an has a distinctive 'fold line' on the other side. Use the nailcutter to cut off the horizontal and vertical outline of one side of the lifeboat. Use the razor saw to make a straight cut at he length of the lifeboat, and shape the other side of the lifeboat using the nailcutter. Refine the shape with sandpaper, or carefully work in sheer with the file, Use the nailcutter for one side of the next lifeboat and repeat...and repeat ...and repeat until you have enough boats. Once you get the hang of it this allows you to produce about one lifeboat every 5 minutes.