Building SMS Vulkan (sub-rescue ship )and its tugs in 1/350

[PetrolGator]

Great, great work, Jim.

[wefalck]

I really appreciate your attention to detail and your sustained research !

BTW, I know (not very well though) the guy who made the model in the Tamm collection and would not trust him too much re. authenticity. He is a reasonably good craftsman, but doesn't spend much too effort on historical research - judging from his comments in another forum.

wefalck

[JIM BAUMANN]

I am back!

My modelroom has been graced by my presence once again as the pre-Easter rush at my Buisness has at long last subsided a little ...

With the glass case at long last being built it was time to mount the ship as I now had the baseplate...

To portray the scene of Vulkan taking up the two to be broken up in Harwich UK I needed 2 x tugs...

Thanks to Lars and a lot of time spent on the ' net I believe I have some useful images of models and the real thing to commence the building of the tugs

I used the lines plan in the PN Thomas book of the Dutch tug Oceana to give a generically correct basis...

I carved the roughs of the hulls using the fine tool of a 'Stanley knife....

( I also made some card half templates to guide me--not completely by eye!! )

one long foredeck; one with short foredeck

with the use of styrene and a lot of filler ...progress was quite rapid...

a guide coat of paint showed more work required--but it looks I may be back in the swing of it at last!!

Hopefully more soon over the remainder of the Easter break....



Jim Baumann

[biggles2]

I really admire your skills, patience, and perserverance in building this ship. If this had been an armor model, on another forum, some modellers would whine and cry that it's the worst model ever, and blacklist the company! I have this model in my stash, but haven't started it. I bought it because I thought it looked really unique (what was I thinking!). Although I have plenty of experience with PE, this model looks like a real challenge. As I have none of your talents I wonder if this model can be built OOB even with it's issues, and still have a good looking ship, or are there issues that just can't be ignored?

[Maarten Sch�nfeld]

Hi Jim,

To portray the scene of Vulkan taking up the two to be broken up in Harwich UK I needed 2 x tugs...

Thanks to Lars and a lot of time spent on the ' net I believe I have some useful images of models and the real thing to commence the building of the tugs

I used the lines plan in the PN Thomas book of the Dutch tug Oceana to give a generically correct basis...


Attachment:

tugboats-.jpg [ 195.79 KiB | Viewed 101 times ]




Attachment:

avulkan.jpgoceaan.jpg [ 120.34 KiB | Viewed 101 times ]

The two Dutch tugs shown were the sisters 'Zwarte Zee' (2) and 'Roode Zee' (2) of 1906. I have detailed drawings and measurents of these if you like, plus a few more picures.

Maarten

[modellmariner]

Great Work, Jim!


J�rg

[Allan McBeath]

Very quiet year from you Jim. I need some 700 scale inspiration. Too many 350 scale threads on the boards nowadays.

[JIM BAUMANN]

Thank you all for your interest..

I am indeed a bit slow this year.... alas business have somewhat overwhelmed me these last 4-5 months with my modelmaking slowing rather dramatically...

There has been SOME progress... but it has not been at the usual frenetic pace

@ Marteen--thank you for the offer--alas my tugs are a bit of mish-0mash amalgam ...

Neither of the tugs that towed the Vulkan were actually any of the tugs pictured earlier -- but they both are of that ilk...

the images were more for inspiration and general layout

Lars supplied me with some images of a model of one of the relevant tugs-( Retter )-not a good model alas but enough to give an idea

If you had some additional images of tugs of that era I would be a grateful recipient!

at this stage I just have to get through my business induced modelmaking flux and get the project to completion....


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

here is about the current status quo

not terribly impressive for such a long time but a bit of progress nonetheless...

[Fuzzy]

Hello,
I have landed by a link from a German forum here.
Unfortunately, I speak nobody in English to be able to talk well to them.
Therefore, I use a translation programme.

In a contribution further in front it was maintained I do not investigate well for my models.


OK.Die I have built volcano 17 years ago. Without Internet and forums in those one can read up or exchange himself.

Basis for his construction was the sketch from a newspaper VDI of 1908 many photos helpfully were must not be specially mentioned.



If I I remind surely I have exchanged years ago once with Jim Baumann Unterlagen, the coloured admiralty plan, e.g., him did not know yet.

Seems to judge by the pictures of the Bausatzt to have become quite good. However, some details have been forgotten or been mounted not yet

1. The girders are absent


2. The bridge is absent as a working platform and as a way from Vol. to Stb.




Modell in Hamburg






Boats, hoists, davits ect.werden probably still tilled.

[Olaf Held]

I love it when things come together ...

Happy modelling ~ Olaf!

[Daniele]

look like some of this ships are still operating
http://www.warhistoryonline.com/war-art ... ender.html

[Maarten Sch�nfeld]

Hi Jim,

Nice speaking to you at the Telford show about your Vulkan project! I will look in earnest now of creating a resin kit of these two steam tugs you need for the project, as these are clearly the sister ships 'Zwarte Zee' (2) and 'Roode Zee' (2) of 1906 vintage. I include the general plan here:

I have the line plan and some detail plans too, like the front of the bridge and lower deckhouse. If you need these please let me know in a private mail.

Cheers, Maarten

[Maarten Sch�nfeld]

...
I used the lines plan in the PN Thomas book of the Dutch tug Oceana to give a generically correct basis...

The attachment avulkan.jpgoceaan.jpg is no longer available

.....


Jim Baumann

Hi Jim,

Just picking up the thread after several years: the picture showing 'Oceaan' has a wrong caption, in fact it is showing 'Zwarte Zee' (II, 1906).

'Oceaan' (I, 1895) looked like this:

Smit Oceaan 1895.jpg (8.24 KiB) Viewed 2524 times

Similar, but smaller and differing in the details. So I would focus on Zwarte Zee and sister Roode Zee instead.

[Iceman 29]

Original subject, it felt good, and beautiful realization, bravo Jim!

It is not finished?

[JIM BAUMANN]

Hello all!

a short 6 years later eh...
I am just awaiting some very fine wire for some of the rigging on Normandie- which then will be finished.. !
so in the meantime exhumed the Vulkan.

--despite being mothballed in her glass case all those years ago -- the model still stands up well,
in the intervening years I have gained some new skills
which means I can now add extra detail -- and finish the tugs ( thank you Maarten for the plans and images ! )

I did have one issue back then--
the searchlight platform railing....which I think with the benefit of better magnification,
--and a more lateral approach I can solve..
herewith the ' problem'

( I have already made the platform -- in readiness - back then ! )

how to make that railing...

any ideas how ?

and... how did they access the platform ?

I have not seen ANY sign of a ladder on any of the ( many!) images I have of this ship! )

[JIM BAUMANN]

well-=.... - still awaiting my wire for Normandie rigging...
so make some tangible progress on Vulkan !

the aforementioned searchlight platform with its angled and curved stanchions!

==> was beyond the remit of any PE rail in the conventional sense
for my liking, ...

The original PE designer had solved the issue cleverly --albeit it in a somewhat heavy way overscale way

But it did serve to inspire me to carry out , the more satisfactory -- to my eyes-anyhow--- solution!

I made 4 x shaped stanchions , made of PE longitudinals from some 1/350 railing ,
to my previously ( 2013!) constructed platform...

I then drew some very thin stainless steel wire straight, and rolled this with a series of tubes and round bar on a pad of 'post-it notes'

( the pad allows the wire to deflect under the pressure of the tubes / bar being rolled back and forth)

until they curled - so that I could then form them into circles -- of differing diameters....(#!!!! )


gluing wire ends butt-end to butt end together is a tricky business...!!

much failure, cursing and failed attempts etc

but success in the end ...

compare the rail thickness to the the intended PE rails to go with the platform and integral stanchions of the PE in previous image

the end result was more pleasing to my eyes, although to make and assemble the platform rails sitting
on the stanchions , level and solid --took in excess of 5 hours...(!!)

just needs paint!

I shall recommence the 2 x tug--boat builds next



JB

[Fliger747]

Probably rungs on either side of a leg? Much like a telephone pole. Patience has been rewarded!

Tom

[JIM BAUMANN]

This project is still a goer;

but it is the 2 x tugs that proved to require quite degree some research ; with many a blind alley pursued.

FORTUNATELY... Maarten Schoenfeld and Lars Scharff (maxim) was instrumental in this research, using his/their extensive tug-boat knowledge
in identifying the actual vessels and locating some supporting images some drawings !!

The conclusion is: the 2 x Tugs that were to tow VULKAN to Harwich were called RETTER and SCHELDE

Retter was German built in 1885 and the Schelde ( 1) was Dutch built in 1906 (not to be confused with similar(ish) looking Schelde (2)
Infos and images for both of these tugs were quite well hidden in internet-land... and latest news is that a 'proper' plan pfr schelde has been located and we have a drawing of Retter as well as 2 x photos of the real ship and images of a builders model .

so far so good.

alas... back in 2014 when I started making the 2 x tugs for this project-
viewtopic.php?f=59&t=154091&start=60#p623567

-I was going to settle( pah! --settle...!!_ )for generic-sort-of-that-kind-of-tug...

I was working off photos--of the wrong tugs- of the wrong era


a but tooooo much guess-work resulted in my 2 x tug hulls being quite tug-like ( phew!_)

-- but with too much beam and


--for that era of tug-- not enough sheerline ( deckspring ) fwd and a bit too much fordeck...





move on 6 short years and 'generic tugs 'won't do--and with my chums Maarten and Lars we are now on the correct track !

More on the construction of these correct shaped tugs shortly--

but I reckoned that some practice at scratch- building this type and tugs would be useful - so as to proceed armed with info and techniques.
so decided to recycle the more likely one of the 2 hulls into a ' generic-dutch-style-tug-of-that-era ' and try and make a stand-alone model.

so as not to clutter up this ( seeking accuracy etc ) thread tooo much...

here is the link to the rather fictional tug stand-alone build thread in the WIP forum here at Modelwarships.com!

viewtopic.php?f=59&t=314432&p=927583#p927583

[drasticplastic]

Meanwhile, my Vulkan is still still sitting mint-in-box...the amount of PE is a little intimidating. Hope to tackle it while my eyes are still working!

[Maarten Sch�nfeld]

Meanwhile, my Vulkan is still still sitting mint-in-box...the amount of PE is a little intimidating. Hope to tackle it while my eyes are still working!

Hi Drasticplastic,

I really hope you pick up the courage to build this lovely model! But if you don't, please let me know, I am very willing to take over your kit! Through the coop with Jim on the matter of the tugs, I got very interested to build the beast myself too, one day (I have other subjects on the slipway now...)

Maarten