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

[marijn van gils]

Now that's a collection...

De tug would be a more than worthy addition to it on its own. It looks great!

[JIM BAUMANN]

Hello Gentlemen!

ref the model shipping on display-- yep!
I am a happy fellow well blessed with female tolerance!

The Schelde is now completed == aside from a few additional crew-members and warps when the model will
be in her diorama with RETTER and the tow subject the down at heel ( and despondent looking! )VULKAN

The eagle eyed among you will spot the ( current ) absent boat-falls on the davits...

that is because I have not made them yet --
because the falls --- unusually- do not appear to go through the cover,
but seem draped inboard of the boat --

==> makes sense to me-- that would make the cover quicker to remove (and less complicated to apply !) ... -- ergo strip the cover, clip on the falls and launch!





anyhow--herewith some pics of the completed model...

I am storing Schelde in a seperate case until RETTER is completed.
Then its a big push onwards to finish off the VULKAN....-marry up the tugs and Vulkan into the pre-towage setting....

and at then-- at last... start something else!!!

[MartinJQuinn]

Incredible work, as always, Jim!!

[marijn van gils]

Beautiful!

Looking forward to the next chapter...

[Iceman 29]

Beautiful displays, I have not seen the Mary Rose... Bacteria?

https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/11 ... oden-hull/

This tug is beautiful live.

I don't understand how this davit works to bring the boat away from the hull. These a lot of distance.

[JIM BAUMANN]

It fooled me too... surprisingly complex and over thought !

The davits are on a rotating platforms on wheels and the davits articulate half- way up the shafts
hence the bracing bars to keep the parallel and in column!

see the explanation of how it works
....and the modelmaking of it ...

here earlier in this thread!

viewtopic.php?f=59&t=154091&start=120#p960194

if you are in a in a hurry with no time to read the above link and you squint
here are the small versions of the plan excerpts
that are enlargeable to full size in above link

[Iceman 29]

I had seen it, but it wasn't clear to me.

Ok, it implies that the top of the davit arms stay perpendicular to the axis of the ship thanks to the two arms. Complicated and ingenious at the same time.

[JIM BAUMANN]

picked up RETTER again....
she was mmade and started here

viewtopic.php?f=59&t=154091&start=80#p937714
==========================================================


status quo last time was the I had installed the 'cigarette-wrapper-foil-treadplate deck'
you may wonder about the cigarette connection...
viewtopic.php?f=59&t=154091&start=100#p942506

anyhow... despite the undoubted finesse of this foil--I was dissatisfied with the look when painted.
( which is why Schelde was finished first! )

Normal PE treadplate in 1/700 is vaaaastly overscale-and --as fars as I can ascertaion only as small parts of PE sets - and while sheets of tread-plate in brass are available in larger scales...( and lovely they are !)

I sought something with more definition and pattern tahn the cigarrte foil.
herewith...

Butter wrapper !

the texture is slightly coarser that the cigarette foil

but when coloured-- more pleasing to the ( my! ) eyes

I set it again at a diagonal to the ships fwd/aft axis

whilst the ( white glue ) adhesive was hardening slowly underneath the Butter-Wrapper decking....

I started to add the edge of the capping rail by wrapping thin wire around the perimeter

I shall start the construction of the deckhouses etc this week-end.

unusually ( I think...)! this vessel features 2 sets of towing hooks at differing heights

I first noticed it on the builders model-

-as well as on the drawings.

More soon

JB

[JIM BAUMANN]

Hello again all!

some more bits of progress on RETTER ( saviour/ rescuer in English )

study of the plan ( not really--more a ( sketch) drawing... and analysis of the 2x photos that exist ( so far...!)
along with study of the fine ( but simplified ) Builders model...

showed that all sources concur on the position, shape and number of mooring fairlead apertures !

these were shaped as squared-round-ended-flattened-ovals
alas ...( I have no better description ! ") in shape

These on the real vessel had large reinforced beaded edges--

to simulate these I needed to make the aforementioned shapes..(!)

I used 2 x same sized drill bits and wound some thin gunmetal wire round them as a ' ovaloid ' spiral

once cut and squeezed to shape

the discarding process began

Once in place....

there are rather a lot

I then started to make the main superstructure blocks, using large lumps of styrene square bonded together
On the real thing these were painted steel structures

I test fitted them onto their allocated pencil marks
...( and was not displeased with the look of the 'butter-paper'-tread-plate decking

I was fortunate in having some suitable left overs from years of buying
and collecting potentially useful PE sheets ...
Cutting and shutting to sizes to suit I was able to achieve a reasonably sharp
hollow and correct sized, doored and and windowed wheelhouse!
The fwd face was veeeery slightly angled to allow for the up-sweep of the sheer line

The wheelhouse roof was cut from the bamboo planking sheet

and then a fine wire beading was installed.

the same thing for the top of the funnel deck and bridge deck

The beading was glued on at the HALFWAY height of the decking sheet ( which is quite thin anyhow..(!)

The excess adhesive was sanded of the bottom-- this fragile deck was a difficult thing to hold to sand
-until I used a lump of Blu-Tack to move the deck around on my sanding block..( simples! )

the reason for the half height gluing of the beading wire ...
is so that I can install the railing level with the deck
and at the same time achieve a very clean demarcation line of metal to wood



this should illustrate what I am trying for ...

(we shall see ! )





More progress shortly!

JIM b

[SG1]

Amazing as usual, Mr Baumann. A few questions:
- Is the wire used for the beading 0.06 mm nickel wire? CA or white glue for gluing it to the decking sheet?
- Any filler needed between the wire ovals and the hull fairlead apertures? if so, white glue?

Using the beading wire as a guide/track for the railings and gluing them at half height of the decking sheet profile is most clever.

I've been learning so much from your threads all over the years and I wish to thank you for that!

SG

[JIM BAUMANN]

Thank you SG1 !

The o,o6 nickel titanium wire is faaar to thin for that...

The wire I use is a 1960's( !!) reel of tinned copper wire of 38 swg ( in metric that is 0.1524 mm ( or 0.0060 in )
( its quite a multi-purpose size of wire I have been using it for years

I draw it in 12 inch or so lengths between two small pliers to straighten, and then apply

I normally use CA adhesive for this--but occasionally temporary fix on with tacky matt varnish in spots
and the infill/ backfill with CA

(... and I think there are another 30 models worth of wire on the reel! )
==============================================================

Th hawser reinforcing of ovals are faired with thickish matt enamel paint paint....( it self-levels )
--I lay the hull on is side when doing so an ensure that the relevant aperture are level.

More progress soon !

JIB

[Dan K]

That's real scratch-building. Truly wonderful work, Jim.

[marijn van gils]

Great work again Jim!

The wire under the (future) railings is very clever, as is the lump of blu tack as a sanding handle. I will certainly remember those for future use!

[zs180]

Spectacular work, as ever!
I follow it with great interest and cannot wait to see whole composition!!

[PetrolGator]

Jim, do you mind if I ping you on working with generic wood decking?

[Maarten Sch�nfeld]

Chris,

Why do you fully quote a post of half a year ago, asking only this final question to Jim?

[PetrolGator]

Chris,

Why do you fully quote a post of half a year ago, asking only this final question to Jim?

Good question. I was just messing about on another forum where it doesn't do that. I'm... rusty on the MW platform? Edited. Thanks!

[Maarten Sch�nfeld]

Thanks, Chris!

[JIM BAUMANN]

Ahoi Chris petrolgator !

of course ping away- message or e-mail

or...==> ask the question(s) here--it may be interesting and . or relevant for other readers....

cheers

JIM B from the UK-- currently at chilly 0 C degrees

[PetrolGator]

Thanks, Jim. I don't want to pollute your awesome thread. I do have a WIP here: viewtopic.php?f=59&t=340800