The Ship Model Forum

at last...

there seems to be an end in sight!--
I am rather looking forward to returning to a pre-dreadnought 1/700 model again!
( or even a scratch-built sailing ship .... ?)
meanwhile... I persist in this gigantic 1/350 scale.

3 inch 12 pdr Quick-Fire gun... 2 of required

the real thing looked a bit like this ( ths is one is at the Fort @ Newhaven near Brighton UK ) Northstar models do a 1/350 resin version-- but it looks like the wrong to me, wrong pedestal
and having having a number of accoutrements
that do not appear to be on the guns fitted to the Ascot class Minesweepers in this era. These 1/72 guns from shapeways look about right--apart from being 5 x larger !
I therefore elected to try and make them -- as I interpreted the look from the photos and also from images of the builders model

I used some NNT 1/700 15 cm german gun turned barrels that I had in stock
15 cm is roughly 6 inch in 1/700 ==> ergo a quite happy 3 inches in 1/350

The crux of the look was the flared ' sleeve' double around the mounting-- its swept curved shape is very distinctive
I made this of very thin brass wire as the rear outline, I then then made the 'sleeve'
simply by backing white glue up to the wire--which conveniently self-levels
I had briefly experimented with installing a gun barrel in the kit casting-- but it was not to my liking The finished article with bits of PE and brass shims added had the look I wanted


although... whilst in extreme close up it lacks sharpness.., I was happy enough with the outline and effect and at normal viewing distance it looks OK
more shortly... heading towards the rigging !

JIM B

Beautiful guns Jim

Thank you Miguel!

meanwhile--keeping the impetus in project moving now that she is nearing completion... I hope! )

on my Winston Churchill sailing schooner project
viewtopic.php?f=60&t=165003

I rather fell in love with the skinny line thickness of the 1/700 Alliance Modelworks ratlines,
however unable to find any for sale in UK or Europe
I bought from e-bay Australia (!) 10 x 1/350 ratline frets

( they might last me out for my planned 1/350 sailing ship projects ( ? )
The PE fret in the kit also contained some ratlines; however the PE line thickness was greater than I liked. especially when compared to the line thickness of the Alliance modelworks items
with careful painting the kit items might be OK--but alas they had a bigger flaw in my view;

when offering up a 1/350 crew member... who would be ordered to climb to the look-out 'crows-nest'

==> he would find it an arduous and overly athletic task due to the spacing of the footropes (!!)
( please note here I photographed the discarded lower parts- hence they are damaged and bent
I gave the rails an initial coat of black using a Permanent marker pen so as to keep it thin and unclogged,;
so as to prevent clogging of the very small holes I used the Permanent marker pen on soft kitchen towel-which immediately soaks up any
excess ink , helping to keep them light and airy!

Once installed I shall very lightly drybrush them very lightly downwards only -with watercolour mid grey
--this reduces the visual weight and apparent line thickness making them look thinner still

As the railings on the model are really quite delicate-- I used a piece of thin styrene strip as my measuring stick , as this would ,
when inevitably it would fall down -- not do any damage I have started to attach them-.. - photos next time..!


meanwhile-- as a distraction...

The ships carried these long poles stowed on the shroud with - I guess -floats- in the middle
I have not yet ascertained the purpose of these--anyone know? these 'float-poles-maybe' were carried on the foremast shrouds also


meanwhile how to make them was a dilemma...
I raided my daughters bead-box , alas with no joy -
-( beads would be ideal as they conveniently have a hole through the middle )

I visited the local handicrafts superstore with no result either...


( might be OK for 1: 100 scale....)

I ended up using small strips of wire, onto the centre of which I glued some 003.mm Albion alloys tube pieces

and then in-filled the steps with white glue and paint.

with practice I became better at it

once the timber (?) poles have been lightened --and the 'floats(?) have been painted they should look OK

Jim

Those are dan buoys used to mark the swept lanes.

Maurice

Aha!
I love this forum--there s such a font of knowledge freely shared!

Thank you very much-- though your answer immediately raises a new question...

(I did have a quick search around the web with inconclusive results and no real answers)
henec asking here;

as black and white photos in this instance tell me not enough alas!

Would the Dan buoy markers have been colour-coded port/ starboard ?

ie were they deployed to mark a channel ( red / green either side)
or do you think they were used at the edge of a known location of minefield?

The builders model of the Ascot class shows the dan buoy floats and their poles to be
a neutral grey-- the earlier posted image shows the floats to be distinctly different colour to the poles
( I had assumed they could be made of wood -- maybe not?--

Your thoughts and advice much appreciated

Regards
JIM B

Jim

Dan buoys in Royal Navy practice usually were not different colours but carried small distinguishing flags on top of the pole. These buoys were not permanent markers but were used while sweeping to mark the limit of the swept areas. When sweepers were clearing a very large minefield, separate vessels (usually trawlers adapted or temporarily fitted out) were used as dan layers so that the sweepers could concentrate on clearing mines. After channels were cleared more permanent markers could be set but quite often the limits of the safe areas were triangulated and charted and all markers removed so that an enemy could not come back and use the markers to determine where to mine apparently safe zones.

Maurice

small but steady steps...

the yard-arms ( tapered brass - Master models of Poland ) are up on the masts

The ratlines are now installed


and a significant detail..
It was mystery to me looking at the low res images how the unfortunate crew-member would get from the top of the ratline shrouds
into the look out -- as the shrouds stopped well short of the look-out .

zooming in and out of the available the images I found the answer--still must have a pretty scary pastime-
especially if pitching/rolling at sea....

Brave chaps ...!

I emulated something similar more soon
JB

The model is .... -- inexorably nearing completion !!

among other jobs before the rigging commenced in earnest was to add some detail to the main sweep winch.
A google and you-tube search gave an understanding of how this type of winch functioned.

I added some " wire cable" to the empty plain drums --made of copper wire 3/4 circles--spriung in place and glued
Winch brake operating wheels were added from PE AA 1/700 and 1/350 gun sights,

The cable guides were made of various brass PE scraps cut and adapted to shape
Whilst not perhaps a 'accurate' replica it gives the flavour of that ilk of winch

I also added the supporting struts add gussets to the cable deflecting frame
with paint it looked more subtle




The Davits for the ships boats had their falls rigged, the companionway had its hoists rigged--along with a spreader bar and the sea-boat was secured in its swung outboard position with tan-canvas straps made of flattened stretched beige sprue .

a gash shute on the stb aft side was added also

For a simple ship it had considerable amounts of riggings--
I added as much as I could that I was able to glean from the photographs
The aft sweep deployment gantry frame was also rigged as accurately as the photos and my understanding of its workings allowed



The ships overall is taking on shape-- and though not beautiful could be considered to be handsome!
more soon!

Jim Baumann

Stunning work, Jim! I am in awe!

Beautiful ship or not, certainly the model looks beautiful!
Fantastic work as always Jim!
Next to all the wonderful details, the rigging looks amazing, and really brings the model alive.

Which pre-dreadnought do you have in mind for your next model?

Cheers,

Marijn

That's a beautiful model you're making there Jim, very impressive and even more so when seeing your thumb in one of the pictures. You have captured the feel with lots of detail and fine rigging that defies the model's small scale.

Wonderful modelling sir

Pete

Hi JIm

Just caught up your latest work on this one...
I know what I am gooing to say now is a tad too late, but still... The crows nest, is it canvas covered?

Excellent craftsmanship as usual and great thinking out-of-the-box for problem solving!

Carry on, you're almost there!
Cheers
Rui

Beautiful work with stunning details the finest rigging as always. Miraculous transformation of a relatively plain model kit!

Really nice build Jim. The weathering and detailing is a nice reference.

@ Rui....... The crows nest, is it canvas covered?

SSHHHHhhhhhhusssssch.....
....

@Jim...




Cheers,
Rui

JIM BAUMANN wrote: zooming in and out of the available the images I found the answer--still must have a pretty scary pastime-
especially if pitching/rolling at sea....

Brave chaps ...!

They are called "futtock shrouds" and have been used since time immemorial to get into a man of war's fighting-top the way Real Men do it, around the outside edge, instead of through the perfectly convenient opening in the centre of the platform (called the "lubber's hole" just to rub it in).

Phenomenal work, as always! I can't believe how much detail you manage to get onto something so tiny. Masterful.

superb work Jim, think I'll sell my kit now lol

Hello Jim

always a exeptional skil a real modeling lesson
cheers
Nicolas