The Ship Model Forum

Great to hear from you again, Ron, and those are great details. The paravanes were common to all the ships; a pic of one is posted below in the lower left corner, below the davit. The depth charge rack is new to me. While not uncommon to many of the merchants as a late war addition, I was unaware that it might be true here. Did you actually come across it on a dive? The current location of the searchlight/platform makes perfect sense to me.

For that matter, can you confirm that her bridge face is solid at the base, as I have described and as it seems to appear?

Hello Dan
I think your right about the base of the bridge being solid, I do not remember noticing it on my dive but a picture I have from a book about Truk, looks like the base is solid at least in the middle(I will send you a copy). I never came across the depth charge rack on either of my two dives on her but ship is so big that you need mutable dives to see everything. Because we only made single dives on her before we moved on to another wreck I was always in a hurry to see as much as I could in a single dive.
Ron Wolford

Hello Dan,

These tankers are interesting subjects, and you have done a fantastic job representing them. I do have a question regarding the purpose of the platforms on the bow and at the stern on the Port side. Were these to run out transfer hoses? Or depth charges

Regards,
Scott

Thx, Scott.

Were these to run out transfer hoses?

Exactly right, for fore and aft refueling. No photo of any of the sisters doing so, save of Kyokuto Maru, which did not have a bow sponson.

I suppose an update on Shinkoku Maru is due. Just puttering along when I feel like it. The kit funnel needed to be raised with some scratch additions, then details added to both the funnel and ship, hull (for plating) and decks taped off, railings added, then ready for main coat paint.

These kits really need a deck mask.

Nice work on the funnel extension! You are right about a deck mask. That sure is a lot of tape!



Bob Pink

Thx.

You are right about a deck mask. That sure is a lot of tape!

And, this is with me streamlining the deck preparation. This time, I purposely left off deck equipment like the anchor winch, mooring bitts, some of the hatches and many of the skylights so as to require less gyrations in the taping of the deck. That equipment was constructed and painted separately. Some pieces have subsequently been attached as seen in the overhead photo (though I brilliantly watched one mooring bit fly off into the sunset. It's gone. Sigh.)

The first new photo shows interim painting to allow for hull plating. The hull plating can be seen to decent effect in the 4th photo. I also installed the main steam pipe on the main deck, seen in the overhead.

The current goal is to complete and install the basic bridge structure prior to leaving for the NATS. It's a good stopping point if I start something else upon my return.

Glad to see you back on this one Dan!

The funnel extension and paintjob look excellent!

Were the mooring bits kit items or scratchbuilt? When scratchbuilding items like that, I usually make a couple extra, because I know there is a good chance I will loose or damage one or two during painting. And if I don't loose any, I get to select the best ones!
It's only little extra work when constructing, and virtually no extra work when painting.

Cheers,

Marijn

Thx, Marijn.

Were the mooring bits kit items or scratchbuilt? When scratchbuilding items like that, I usually make a couple extra, because I know there is a good chance I will loose or damage one or two during painting. And if I don't loose any, I get to select the best ones!

That's exactly what I do. In this case, these bitts were leftovers from the original builds. Sadly, there were no extra extras. Maybe it will turn up. Not gonna get to a building a replacement for a while.

I lose WAY too many of these small parts. It's so annoying.

My long-term observation: Of those parts that I do find after dropping them or watching them launch off into the stratosphere, the place that they land and where I find them is always far, far removed from where I think they might be, based on their observable trajectories. I just don't understand it. I've no choice but to rationalize these circumstances as due to micro wormholes. Nothing else makes sense.

And, at best, I only recover 25% of them.

Dan K wrote:I lose WAY too many of these small parts. It's so annoying.

I feel you! Like probably most modellers...
A tidy and rather small workplace and a hardwooden floor help, but still...

Dan K wrote:My long-term observation: Of those parts that I do find after dropping them or watching them launch off into the stratosphere, the place that they land and where I find them is always far, far removed from where I think they might be, based on their observable trajectories. I just don't understand it. I've no choice but to rationalize these circumstances as due to micro wormholes. Nothing else makes sense.

I have exactly the same experience! I often wonder how parts end up so far from where I though I saw it fly. Some special laws of physics must be at work here indeed...

Cheers,

Marijn

Dan K wrote:
My long-term observation: Of those parts that I do find after dropping them or watching them launch off into the stratosphere, the place that they land and where I find them is always far, far removed from where I think they might be, based on their observable trajectories. I just don't understand it. I've no choice but to rationalize these circumstances as due to micro wormholes. Nothing else makes sense.

And, at best, I only recover 25% of them.

Yes - Clearly 1/700 scale is small enough to be affected by some bizarre quantum mechanics effects. A little known fact is that German physicist Werner Heisenberg, was an avid ship model builder, and the "lost parts phenomena" actually led directly to his famous "Heisenberg's uncertainty principle" which earned him a Nobel Prize in Physics!

Nah, that's not what happens, but thankfully, I've got the straight dope.

When a model part, no matter what it is made of, slips from our fingers or tweezers, it becomes made of rubber, and anything it comes in contact with also assumes the properties of rubber, and thus the part will make several (dozen) bounces in random directions, only coming to rest once you have lost complete track of its track and trajectory.

I mean really, why dream up some convoluted physics theory, when magic explains everything?

3 weeks, good time for an update:

1) The mooring bit has not yet reappeared. I remain hopeful.............

2) The major portions of deck piping were installed, the bridge completed to the point where it could be mated to the hull, the aft tripod was installed, and a host of small details, including ladders and small vents were added. The build has continued to be straightforward and far more satisfying than frustrating. At this point, I've only spent 10% of the time that i did on the originals. Ya gotta love spare parts.

Goodwood wrote:Nah, that's not what happens, but thankfully, I've got the straight dope.

When a model part, no matter what it is made of, slips from our fingers or tweezers, it becomes made of rubber, and anything it comes in contact with also assumes the properties of rubber, and thus the part will make several (dozen) bounces in random directions, only coming to rest once you have lost complete track of its track and trajectory.

I mean really, why dream up some convoluted physics theory, when magic explains everything?

The super polymer rubber the part becomes, weigh less so the mass defect is converted to kinetic energy propelling the part further than imagined. It then normal rubber. Then it converts back. I never knew my bachelors in nuclear engineering degree could be used to explain any of this before.

hello Dan
an usual very good work superb
cheers
Nicolas

6 weeks later, it has become apparent that my modeling area is far out of phase with whatever dimension the mooring bit ended up in. So, I finally caved in and made a new one.

I then decided to focus on the mid and aft portions of the ship. The following have been added since the last update:

Inner vertical ribbing for midship and aft bulwarks
Large davits and large life boats
Bridge mounted life rings
Rear maneuvering signal mast
Aft catwalk with additional piping
More access ladders
Midships deck washing pipes
Midship kingposts, booms, boom supports, and refueling hoses

This time around, I wanted to add a slightly more dynamic sense of activity onboard ship, as opposed to the more buttoned up appearance of the first two tankers. I envisioned the initial layout of a refueling hose for UNREP use and eventually put one together. One end is hooked up to the head of an oil transfer pipe, though that may be hard to see. The hose is made from copper wire.

So far, everything has remained enjoyable. The new Tom�s PE has eased a lot of things. The pulley cables need a bit of straightening.

Great work Dan! Glad to see you back at the bench!
Next to the sharpness of the detailing, I especially like the hang of the copper wire hoses. It is not easy to get this to look so lifelike.

Next to straightening the pulley cables, will you also still paint them a different colour? A dark dirty brown or black would set them of nicely and make them appear even thinner I feel.

Cheers,

Marijn

Thx, Marijn. I do like the way the hose turned out.

will you also still paint them a different colour?

You know what, I forgot to do so. Thanks for the reminder.

Your attention to detail and flawless execution never ceases to astound, Dan.