H.M.S. Crane flatiron gun boat 1872

H.M.S CRANE  flatiron gun boat 1872


I have finally made my mined up to build this model H.M.S. CRANE.  it is a contemporary gun boat ant class built from iron. the length of 85ft, beam 26 ft, and draught of 6-6.5 ft, (mine will be 23 inches x 61/2 inches) it has twin prop shafts driven by two steam (cylinder reciprocating engines) mine will be electric motors. the armament was single 10 inch  mlr (muzzle loaded , rifled). it had a speed of 81/2 knots and built of iron. this is a photo of it. I will be using all my scrap ply wood and other bits and pieces as you can see there is a ready made pack available. the plan no is MAR3524 from October 2011 marine modelling international now out of business sadly . I will be adding photos as I go along.

david

Looks more like a 19th century ironclad.

Looking forward to your build add plenty of photos!

I'm pleased to see you've started modelling again David. I look forward to seeing the progress. #

Barrie

Ditto the above David, looking forward to your start.

 I hope to get back to one of mine at some point, just too busy with the challenges of life.

I agree gents, and a fascinating project too.

I am very glad to see and say that at the present time there are so many builds going on, within this forum, it is so refreshing to see such diversity.....

thank you all for supporting the forum so much with your postings.........it is easy to overlook such support, but it is you all who make this forum work, and I speak for us all, ........thank you and keep at it. 

neil.

hi, finally made some progress with this model, I cut out all the bulkheads on paper. then I stuck them down with watered down p.v.a. on some 3mm ply. then i cut them out to shape with my jig saw, finishing them of on the sander. next I fixed all bulkheads with some 4mm x4mm square timber  I cut on my table saw. next job I fixed all bulkheads on building blocks held with clamps as seen in photos. next job will be planking.  













more to follow   david

Good start

i have been doing some planking over the past week, not much done but progressing. the wood I have cut down on my table saw. not sure what it is, it looks like some sort of Brazilian hard red wood a bit brittle but doing the job so far, so will continue with it.




first 2 planks secured using pins




a few more planks laid




it is very slow going only seem to be doing about 4 planks each day, also I have been using clamps to keep them tight together as well as pins. I will update as I progress.

david

Hi David,

Good to see your progress.

Barrie

hi david................just come across this on ebay...........worth taking the photos off for reference,    


https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RC-MODEL-BOAT-HMS-KITE-FLATIRON-GUNBOAT/173247567957?hash=item28565c1855:g:OuYAAOSw7GNawL7E

hi neil, 
thanks for showing me that link , very interesting model , I will watch to see if it is sold. the wife said she will put all my boats up for sale if that's what they get for one    and go on a cruise    I keep saying that they arnt worth much .



david

hi neil ,
do you think that your link has sold our has it been taken of. cant tell the wife because she said all my boats can go if it sold for that amount
 

david

latest update, I have now finished all the planking and it all went very easy as you can see from photos.




final stages of planking





all planking now complete and just had a quick rub down by hand before I use electric sander to remove any that have been proud




it all seems to have fitted well, just needs some bits of filler on some joints before I give it all a coat of resin. next job is fixing the stern and bow with balsa.


david

  Progressing nicely David. 

more work done on my build. I have cut out the front bow and stern from some 2mm ply using template. I fixed them on with p.v.a  glue held with clamps



bow cut out from 2mm ply












I had to make a curve so cut  down slots at 5mm apart then gently teased it round the shape of boat then glued down with super glue. 





I then put some 5x5 mm strips to support the tops of bow and stern ready for building up . to be continued later


david

hi all ,

can any body help me sort out what lengths I need for plating this boat I am building . the scale is at 1- 48 the model length being 23 inches x 6 inches wide. the true length of the  full size boat is 85 feet x 26 feet. what length and width do they come in and how much overlap do I need. my brain wont work at the moment

thanks for any help you can give me     david.

I’m guessing the plan didn’t give you that detail in plating.

As for the real boat, very little info out there on it other than it’s dinensions and what it was,
In fact after an hour of searching around I’ve found more model related builds and kits than I did actual info on the real boat.
Even those models I’ve found gave basically zero info on the hull plating, I fact going of your plan it looks that most were build as smooth hulls and just painted, making this in fact a semi scale model rather than a rivet counters obsession.

Without any real info on the boat it’s hard to judge what you would need....

On that note as a suggestion I would make up some lengths of card as plating in various sizes and just sticky tape them to the hull and see what plating sizes look best.

Obviously this isnt entirely accurate but I also belive the plan your working from also isn’t 100% either so using best guess when doing some detailing jobs would put the model under artistic licence!

On the other hand I see no reason why you can’t just plate the model as a smooth hull and paint, now I know that may not be what you wanted to hear however unless someone has any facts I couldn’t find them your options are limited to smooth hull and paint, or best guess and template the plating until you found a size that suits.

Remember that’s what a lot of kits are likeexclusing some of the more premium range kits), they generally don’t have plating effects simply due to either lack of info or just didn’t want to mess around with that feature for build simplicity.

If going for the plating I would look around for boats of that period and how big a plate was compared to an avarage man, and scale that down to your models size. Not 100% accurate but good enough without going over the top.

thanks for your reply aron,

  it has some detail of plating but not sizes as you can see in photo.  I wanted to try some thing new to me I have looked and looked but
found nothing of any use . I think I might try doing it my self and experiment like you said. also I have been looking at neils build of the duke of northhumberland lifeboat, I will read it again and see if he says what size he used for a guide






david

hi ,
since my last post I have found out what they call cutting slots every 5 mm or so to form a bend with out steaming. I must say I use this a lot it is called KERF CUTS into timber to form bends it takes a bit longer but the result is good. progress with the plating is at a stand still while I still study it. I have now fixed the bow and stern with balsa, but as I have very little I have cheated a bit some of you wont like it but the finish has turned out good I think and that's all that matters.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

this is the stern done with balsa then sanded down




you can see where I have used the KERF CUTTING method where you cut at 5 mm intervals



this is how I did the bows using odd bits of balsa, as I said I had very little and didn't want to get any more in stock that . it will look good in the end promise




then I filled the inside with polystyrene and no more nails to hold it in place then a thin piece of balsa over it using p.v.a glue.




as promised here it is all finished and rubbed down. its great balsa for this type of work. I have given it a quick coat of resin just to harden the balsa and a bit of filler.
I found about KERF CUTTING  on another site by accident,  when I could not explain earlier when I said what I was doing and find it very interesting subject. 


david

Coming on well David...........look forward to your progress.

That's looking good David.

Barrie

Indeed looking good David.

Kurf cuttings a great way to go on tight curves with larger materials. Used it many times before on adding deck supports, the slots also give a decent amount of glue surface for anything being stuck down to them!

I tend to avoid doing these slotted cuts nowadays having moved on to steaming laminations into the curvatures I want but early years of boating it was a go to method with great results.

the next job has been fixing the deck down I have used 2mm ply and p.v.a. glue. at the bow I have put some 1/4 inch thick balsa then sanded down to make it have a bit of a slope and round edge.





this is the deck before  being glued down.







 you can see where I have given the inside a coat of resin.
next job is the bulwarks.

david

next job has been the bulwarks I have used card again as I am a big believer in this product, it works well for me and have used it for most of
my builds. the thickness is 1.50 mm, I have also used corn flake box card as well, here we go.






bent this round with steam from kettle



fixed to the bow with super glue




tried to show the thickness of card here



final piece goes on it wants supports fitting all round next



all done now 


david

You make it look so easy David - I will have to try card when I re-start the Guardsman build. The existing bulwarks are too low, so will have to be replaced.

Barrie

next job has been cutting all bulwark supports with cardboard, the fixing with super glue






the picture above is of the card I use, I was lucky, my wife spotted it in the waste bin at her works and thought I could use it, how right she was there was to packs of 25 sheets 2feet x 2 feet its brilliant stuff.





these are them cut to size



here I fixed in place also I used p.v.a glue as well as the super glue went of to quick before I could fix in place





showing them all in place


the supports on the outside may have to be changed, as the front bulwark is meant to fold down on hinges to allow the cannon to fire at water level. but I don't no if I will do that yet  it all makes the brain work thinking .


david

I have been doing the access coaming  with 2 mm ply strips and p.v.a. glue on the removable deck.





all marked out for cutting with sharp disposable cutting blade.





you can see the yellow type of knife I use above, they have the snap off blades,  I find them much better than Stanley knifes





this is it all clamped together waiting for  p.v.a glue to dry .


david

I have been making the cannon frame work out of card and some wood. the cannon will sit on this and move from each side.





this was all cut out from card





this is the under side not seen



I will be planking the top  next then fixing the wooden frame work for the cannon.


david

over the past day or so, I have now planked the plinth for the cannon. I have used the good old tea stirring wood. they worked out just right. I used p.v.a. to fix them down with. then rubbed down and given a coat of sealer.




wooden tea stirring planks










that's that bit done .


david

Keep it coming bud

I have been making the cannon out of some dowel I had. I used my lath for this which made the job simple .

I used an old wood chisel for ease.








david

( Photos all fixed, you had the photo host scaling set to “no” it should be set to “800x(for forums)” during your upload to scale them correctly. No biggy fixed, Admin)

sorry for miss hap on last post seem to be having problems today. this is the frame work for cannon made from 2mm ply








the pictuers above are the start of this

david

That looks impressive David.

Barrie

Good job

Looks great. 

thanks roadrunner for fixing photos.

here is the frame that the cannon is fixed onto made from some pine cut down to size










the two white strips are for the rollers to run on to move it from left to right. 
sorry its a bit back to front, and hope you can follow what I have made.

david

I do love some nice neat woodwork on a model boat...………….not enough visible on boats these days.

I have been making some of the fittings that will go on later. this is the light boxes made from card and  bamboo.






I used bamboo because I had no dowel that size, but they have turned out ok more money saved.



I will paint them when I have made other bits. red for left and green for right, not sure if I will make them work yet.
that's all today we are just having a nice thunder storm now so come in from garage.


david

after a lot of thinking I have decided to do some plating . I have never done this before but have enjoed it for a change. I used some thin card and p.v.a. glue.




here is the card cut to size






progress is slow but getting there



more done 




getting there not much more to do.








that's it all complete its not the best plating but I am happy with it for a first attempt. I have given it two coats of p.v.a. and left it to dry. I will then give it a few coats of some blue I have before any water touches it   



david

Looks good David. 

Plating looks good bud, I see the card method worked well for you too.

I wouldn’t get to worked up on not being perfect for your first attempt as by the photos that looks damn good, with a few coats of paint, maybe some weathing it’s inaccuracys will never be noticed to the uninitiated.

Great job, I’m enjoying your build and looking forward to more!

exactly how I plate my models...………..and after a few coats of sanding sealer and then some paint...………...never had a problem...………..its how I also plate when taking a grp mould from a plug.

sorry I am a bit behind posting this build, I am getting on well with it now we have this nice weather.
I have given the plating three coats of blue paint that wanted using and thought it would seal it well, I am a bit disappointed with the plating as I have overlapped to much in places, but it will have to stay like that  but not to worry.



this is the paint I use £1.00 from pound shop, I think it is good and the finish is good



you can see that I forgot to put the bilge keel on and the wooden top rail  after panting but has stuck well with super glue. you can see where the plateing has been overlapped to much but when finished you wont see it that much.

next I made the rudder from some 1/4 inch ply then made some hinges to fix it the shaft.



I used some copper sheet I had then shaped round the shaft for tight fit



I used some 14 BA nuts and bolts but boy  they are really tiny for my hands to fit the bolts.

more to come soon 

david

Looking really good David. 

continuing on with the rudder I have linked it all up.



I have used an old plug with the brass fittings, then filed it down so its not to thick, i drilled some 1.5 mm holes for the link to connect to

 

it is now connected to the rudder shaft



here I have used my servo tester which I recommend, they are £1.00 on ebay well worth it, so I  no it is all set wright you can use them for esc as well.



the servo is acoms which I have used in most of my boat builds with no problems



you can see where I have made a brass support for the rudder shaft to turn in screwed on with some counter sink screws.


david