scratch-building 1/350 '1915-1920' Dutch-generic-tugboat

[JIM BAUMANN]

I may be wrong....

but if it had the covered walkways--the it was usually an ex-Dutch tug...

the German tugs look more like this ( I think!)

link https://www.papermodel.com/103424-tugbo ... ulkan.html

hopefully Maarten can chime in ...?

cheers and HTH

JB

[pascalemod]

I may be wring

but if it had the covered walkways--the it was usually an ex-Dutch tug...

the German tugs look more like this ( I think!)

link https://www.papermodel.com/103424-tugbo ... ulkan.html

hopefully Maarten can chime in ...?

cheers and HTH

JB

Indeed Jim, this may be true, yet I referred to Hermes when I mentioned that design feature. Was Hermes Dutch at some point? Here it is depicted as German.

https://www.papermodel.com/103312-motor ... ermes.html

[Harpy]

Really nice.

[Maarten Sch�nfeld]

I may be wrong

but if it had the covered walkways--the it was usually an ex-Dutch tug...

the German tugs look more like this ( I think!)

link https://www.papermodel.com/103424-tugbo ... ulkan.html

hopefully Maarten can chime in ...?

cheers and HTH

JB

Indeed Jim, this may be true, yet I referred to Hermes when I mentioned that design feature. Was Hermes Dutch at some point? Here it is depicted as German.

https://www.papermodel.com/103312-motor ... ermes.html

Hi Pascalemod,

The tug 'Hermes' of 1923 was never Dutch: she was German through WW2 and became French thereafter, until 1974.

Die Hermes war der erste Motor-Schlepper der Bugsier-Reederei in Hamburg. Zu beginn des 2. Weltkrieges ging sie an die Kriegsmarine als Bergungsschlepper. Am 19. Juli 1944 sank die Hermes nach Bombentreffer in St. Malo, Frankreich. Nach dem Krieg wurde sie von den Franzosen gehoben und repariert. Als Teanace wurde sie f�r die franz�sische Marine wieder in Fahrt gebracht. Ab 1974 ist sie aus dem Flottenhandbuch gestrichen.


Her side galleries are much shorter and of different contour than those of the typical Dutch tugs of the period. Also many detail differences, most notably the towing hook, this was never used on Dutch tugs that had the samson post instead.

[Maarten Sch�nfeld]

....Dutch tugs that had the samson post instead.

I have looked into it: I think the word 'towing bitt' or 'towing bollard' should be more correct, a samson post is always a single post with a crossbar. These towing bollards are always heavy double posts.

The Dutch word is 'beting' and is derived from similar posts on wooden sailing ships near the masts, to which the tackle to hoist the sails is attached, or even the foot tackle itself. These were originally called 'knecht' (literally: servant, origin of the word 'knight' in English incidentally!). Later these were also used for attaching the anchor cable or a towing line when the sailing ship had to be towed by rowing or steam power, then the word 'beting' became more used.

Only on other ships (yachts for instance) small towing bitts are used, sometimes in cruciform, or on secondary places like the bow onboard tugs. These are indeed often called samson posts.

[Iceman 29]

Amazing scratch Jim .

I like old tugs in general, I'm thinking of printing one of them in 3D one day when the precise plans are available, I have several candidates with plan: Hermes, Hercules, Actif, Boris, Frederic Mistral (Danube)...

[Maarten Sch�nfeld]

Amazing scratch Jim .

I like old tugs in general, I'm thinking of printing one of them in 3D one day when the precise plans are available, I have several candidates with plan: Hermes, Hercules, Actif, Boris, Frederic Mistral (Danube)...

Hi Iceman 29,

If you are able to create such a ship in 3D, I'm highly interested! What scale do you think of?

I have in fact quite a few in drawings, but I lack the 3D skills. Most drawings I have are from Dutch tugs, but also quite a few German, and a few French and American ones.

Are you looking for a specific type or period? It starts really with the mid 19th century paddle tugs, ending with the modern ASD tugs and everything in between!

[Iceman 29]

I don't know what scale yet. Could be 1/150 or 1/100 depending on the original size.

But I have 3 projects to finish before, two of them in 3D.

[JIM BAUMANN]

Good evening all !

A quick update today; but important!
My Tug has been set upon her water!

I was quite surprised--but even at slow-moderate speeds ...
these little vessels " pushed" a small 'bone-in -their-teeth' ahead of them

so to a lesser amount--now does mine

the crew and officers are being shaped,( arms and legs moved about! )
posed and painted

Outside-on the bridge

and the first of 4 or 5 deckhands

onwards to the finish line...

and then.... back to the Normandie ....

and then back to tugs and Vulkan!

[MartinJQuinn]

Very nice work. That looks great!

[wefalck]

Nice rendering. Also the sea captures well the greenish-grey aspect of the North Sea on an overcast day.

[marijn van gils]

She's coming alive!

Great colour of the seascape indeed, and wonderful wake patterns.
The colours of the ship and the sea are balanced very well too; the total image looks like a unity.

[JIM BAUMANN]

Hello Modelfriends;

predictably this time of the year business has been becoming increasingly demanding again;
nevertheless I managed to push the tug to near-completion.
Rigging is virtually complete,-- enclosed a few quick images shot at the workbench this evening.

I took the opportunity to practice... ( in anticipation of the final big push towards Normandie completion)
with the 0.047 mm modelkasten Ninitol wire--with --where applicable--pleasing results.

Though I did resort to my favourite --stretched sprue--for making the halyards as well as some of the lifeboat rigging.

In addition the Tug received a few more deckhands-

one of whom has been directed to
finish the coiling on deck of the large rope hawser-with a spliced eye in it...

next will be the name--more on that later-- along with a clean and flat varnish.

best wishes to all --

Jim B

[marijn van gils]

The master of rigging returns...

Beautiful work!
The attachment points with their tensioners look particularly realistic.
I love the guy coiling the rope too!

What do you feel are the advantages and disadvantages of the Modelkasten wire, compared to stretched sprue?
Did you paint the Modelkasten wire?

[pascalemod]

Nice to see Modelkasten wire used. Ive done 20 models or so with them, and I could never achieve the level of finesse with stretched sprue that you seem to deliver. Modelkasten though - easy stuff in comparison. I could see where you applied it. It has that fine shine quality that makes it look thinner than it is, and the color is correct to me (steel, dark).

The tug looks splendid overall. Really cool results!

[Quincy]

A very inspiring build, Jim!!



Bob Pink.

[JIM BAUMANN]

Thank you gents!
@ Marjinn

I had the choice on the bench of both 0.047 mm stainless steel wire (from Shelf Oddity )
as well as the 0.047mm Modell-kasten Nitinol wire.

Nitinol... interesting stuff, an alloy of Nickel and Titanium

quote from the net;
Nitinol is a metal alloy of nickel and titanium with unique properties,
including superelasticity or pseudoelasticity and �shape memory� properties.
That means Nitinol can remember its original shape and return to it when heated.

more here ;
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickel_titanium

in our modelship-making rigging instance, it means that although it arrives with us in a small diameter roll,
when released it straightens out again. ( Bizarre! )

It is also very strong and stiff pro-rata for its diminutive diameter ,
and is quite hard to cut --I use baby Fiskar scissors, which cuts in a shearing motion,
more successfully I found than scalpel and Stanley blades.

Its main advantage is that for the use in for example Funnel stays, it can be 'propped' up,
and is very resistant to kinking whilst handling.

However... I can stretch 'Sprue' easily and reliably - to about half of the Nitinol wire, useful for halyards
and antenna.

@ Pascalmod... I do quite like the Nitinol wire from MK ... but don't like the shininess.....(!)

I colour it black --without paint build up -- using a 'Pentel' Permanent markers,
drawing the pen along the wire ( secured with tape at one end) on a piece of Kitchen towel--
==> the paper towel soaks up the excess ink and transfers it to the' underside' .

( warning--don't use Sharpie pens for this--they bleed with adhesive, thinners and / or varnish)
==========================================================================================

anyhow-- the Tug was almost finished-- but it still needed a name-

-as this Tug is an ' amalgam' of Dutch type tugs of that era .
rather than a specific vessel--I could also make up an amalgam name.

Someone at home commented to me that it was Lunacy to spend so much time on a fictitious vessel. ...( Ha!
Lunacy was a bit strong as an observation,-- but hmnnn.... LunaR-SEA was fun,
LUNARZEE was more Dutch..!-- but too obvious....
However ... LUNAR SEA in Dutch... = MOONSEA-- turns into a neat name ... MAANZEE.

So as to be able to make a home-brew , home-printed white decal-- The lettering was on the PC reversed as a black negative outline
that way when printed on white decal sheet in various sizes varying +/- by 0.01 mm I got my chosen white lettering

Once applied, and the letters separated and blended with a fine brush--
and the brightness ' knocked back 'somewhat , the overall effect was quite pleasing to the eye

The ship also needed an Ensign, surprisingly there are many images of Dutch Tugs of this era without any flags at all !!

I took advice from Dutch Tug Maestro Maarten Schoenfeld, , he found that the Ensign is often flown aft off a ( stowable) flag-staff,
when the vessel is towing , the ensign moves to a gaff|(if fitted) or a suitable aft halyard .

This was made by masking the white portion with vinyl tape, then using ( water-paintable ) Caran d'Ache coloured pencils.

The flag was the wrapped in paper and creased brutally using point tweezers to simulate movement;
--the secondary benefit was that it removed some of the colour and took away the intensity of of the colours

A staff was made of Fuse wire, a sprue halyard fitted and the effect was quite pleasing

an almost final inspection of the vessel led me to surmise that the PE " balls " omn the stanchions of the railings
( very thin and nice old WEM PE Koenig rails)
were just a bit too flat for my liking when viewed really close-up

I added some small droplets of thickish white ( enamel ) paint onto each 'ball'
, this gave it some 3-D plasticity.

I added the third lamp on the Fore-mast ( as advised...by MS..! )
and then decided that enough was enough....

( apart from adding the abrasion from the contact areas of the towing hawser on the cross-spans ..!)

A coat of matt varnish , ==> my preferred type being the Windsor and Newton Galeria Artists Matt varnish
cut 50/50 with distilled water...

Really pulled the model together, removing all shiny bits ( Ninitol rigging as well ) and homogenising the surfaces.

even really close in it all looks quite acceptable on a 5 inch loa model ( 125 mm )

some ' proper ' photos, with proper depth of field ( SLR and tripod!)

will be taken in daylight in the near future

some pics here and they will also appear--in due course--in the permanent Gallery.

all in all is was VERY instructive, and a great practice primer for scratch-buiding the 2 x tugs Retter and Schelde
( using plans!) to be able to complete the Vulkan -picking-up-the-tow project.

More soon

JIM B

[MartinJQuinn]

Fantastic stuff! Love the name you came up with too!

[wefalck]

Yep, turned out very nice I like these unspectacular working craft.

[pascalemod]

Wonderful build! Congrats on finishing it.

Looking at it I can just hear this thing chugging along at a modest clip.

And the name story is cool also. An amalgam build is the best kind - it truly is your own.