The Ship Model Forum

Fliger747 wrote:

hull scribe .jpg

A very useful tool for scribing waterlines on the hull. Normally this tool can hold such measuring devices such as a dial indicator and attaches to any metal base with a strong magnet. Mechanical pencil works well as a scribe.

Hi,Tom!
That's true,The magnetic base is very useful for waterline and very cheap too.
Song

Reading your reply it all of a sudden occurred to me that with a small jaw like an alligator clip it could be very useful for holding small parts in position for glueing etc!

I think I bought mine in Shanghai. There was a small part of the city near the Huang Pu (River) about 1 sq km that had many hundreds of shops, tools, small to large.

Thank you Song!

To maybe answer my own question, maybe. Here is a post war photo of an APA in dry dock. All "blackish" below the waterline. However my ship is late WWII so was this also the case in during that time period?

If I look at the picture of the ship in drydock, moving at different angles to the screen, it appears that the bottom of the hull might be red - very dark in the shadows. It certainly did have a very wide boot topping, but that wasn't unusual for cargo ships that could offload very large amounts of cargo (boats, weapons, supplies and troops).

Here is a photo of an almost empty oiler (early 1970s) with a very wide black boot topping. Below that it appears to be gray, or possibly just badly fouled.

Phil

I also have a stern shot showing the prop and rudder and no red. However then there is this Black and White, off Iwo, I think, probably taken with a red filter, showing maybe a 6' boot top?

You have to be careful about interpreting photos of ships that have been at sea a long time. Salt builds up above the load water line leaving a white streak. You can see some of this is the photo of the oiler I posted. That may be what you see in the APA photo.

Phil

Or barnacles... Still investigating. Thanks!

On these pics, it seems the the black boot toppin is VERY LARGE

Thank you!

The top photo seems to be a tanker? The middle is probably Measure 22 Camouflage? The dark blue extends to the main deck level.

Bottom is very interesting as ship is evidencing a bilge keel, which I have not seen on other plans or photos. Big hole!

All information is appreciated and is further revealing previously unknown (to me) things about auxiliary boot toppings.

Cheers: Tom

Nice photo of the USS Fairfield. Big swells running, the kind where you see destroyers with their forefoot out of water.

Here is another photo of her with what appears to be (maybe) hull red below the very wide boot top. Interesting that the various outboard discharge pipes extend below the boot top.

Thank you everyone for the input. It looks mostly like a very wide Boot top. I have a pretty good idea where the top (waterline) is and may be able to divine where the bottom is. I have been painting the upper hull, but ran out of the white to mix another batch of paint. I use the "Golden" acrylics which I can get in basic colors for mixing at the local arts store. Thin with alcohol or distilled water and add a retarder and flow aid for air brush.

Current progress on the bow. Waterline is scribed again for the top of the boot topping. Note the diagonal piece below the hawse pipe. Made from heavy Strathmore paper, scribed, a large symmetrical arc drawn, cut, folded and reinforced on the inside with CA before attachment to the hull.

Also plate and hole at the base of the forefoot for streaming paravanes.

Bow, small progress! I decided on a 12' base to boot top bottom and 10' boot top. Anchor winch added and 40 mm twin tubs.

Tom,

Really looking nice! Winch looks very detailed, also!

Hank

Thanks Hank! As the winch hides under the forward quad 40 I didn't have a detailed photos of it so went with a somewhat generic merchant ship version. A whole bunch of small aluminum turnings in there! I made an anchor chain using the same methods Song has used on his ships, but in plastic. It's not flexible enough so I'll try making one from wood again. At least the chain runs are short on this ship!

Bow Anchors, carved out of single pieces of basswood.

The small item with the handles is a "Sounding Machine" which uses a heavy weight on a cable to measure water depth while ship is underway.

Current progress on the foredeck. Almost all of this stuff will be obscured by the Forward 40 mm quad deckhouse overhang.

Anchor chain is of individual links made from plastic using the "Song" method. Not as nice as his in wood, but a couple of more ships and maybe I'll get it down.

Very nice detail work, Tom! Yeah, it's a shame that the 40mm tub will obscure most of your work. Such is modeling, right?

Hank

Oh, That's nice winch and chain. Congrats Tom!
Reguards; Song