Jupiter, a Caledonian macBrayne Ferry

with almost all of the fittings now having been made I have turned my attentions on to the boat itself and today decided to fabricate the ramp closure brackets ( or door jambs for want of a better word )
These are basically the none water tight brackets that the ramps close up to when raised..

Using multiple pieces of 1.8mm birch ply, small sectional pieces of Obeche, cut to size on my band saw and plasticard to simulate the strengthening brackets, doubling up as shelves for oil cans etc, I made two pairs for the port and starboard side ramps today.

the totally different brackets for the stern ramp will be fabricated over the weekend, hopefully.

and this is where the ramp closure jambs go...........fit like a glove.

Coming along. 

ever so slowly, lol

I posted this on the US site the other night re; the possible colour for the bulwarks, etc when barry [aka footski] told me that there was a lot of painting to do..............my first problem is ACTUALLY CHOOSING which colour the major part of the vessel is.......the insides of the bulwarks, engine room ( supporting the funnels and all around the car deck...........

I can't make up my mind whether it is grey, light blue or what.........and haven't seen another colour like it......what do you guys all think.

neil.

I decided with the help of circlip and pioneer [ loch seaforth]that the nearest colour is duck egg green.








so then it was onto the next item.............being indecisive doesn't get the ol' gal built and so as promised I made the rear ramp jambs last night...........I now just have to make the locking clamps and hydraulic pistons for moulding and casting..............but can't do these until the jambs are fixed in place..........and can't do that until I have sanded all the insides of the bulwarks, filled them to get rid of any trace of grp and sanded down again

Got round to cleaning up the bulwarks today ready for painting..............using my trusty sonic sander, which has to be one of the best tools I have ever invested in, I cut away any excess grp on the bulwarks to give an even thickness all over.
The "blade" is a diamond studded abrasive metal "tongue " shaped cutter and makes short work of anything it comes into contact with except skin..........and has amazing power.

once I had smoothed all the bulwark insides off, I then skimmed it over with cellulose filler putty and have now left to set and harden

Hiya Neil,

Those sonic jobs are great eh  !!  I have discovered them and use it quite a lot as it's ideal for trimming the planking.

I did not know about the sanding effect with a flat un-toothed blade and am so glad you've shown us this  'extra' feature.  Are they easy to acquire please as I'd love one.

Cheers

ken

hi ken......depending on who made your sonic....they will be available.........mine was bought off QVC tv shopping....and it came with all the accessories including that one and a spare ...and also a velcro sanding pad with sanding papers, a semi circular and a flat saw and all have come in very useful........B & Q sell accessories for most fittings for them, and I have seen them for the WORX one like mine........but to tell you the truth that "blade" is amazing.....have had it on my sonic virtually permanently and it hasn't lost it's edge at all.

as for sanding with it, if yours is as well balanced as mine you can sand one handed whilst holding the model part with the other hand to get a decent finish ready for final sanding

I could see that it was the solution..............

I have been planking for a week now on my Seabex One.  Yes,  4 foot of wood and tailor made planks on  the circular saw, 2 mm thick. I now need to smooth off the high spots so your solution was a bolt out of the blue.

Unfortunately I ran my thumb through the blade yesterday and am now laid up and feeling stupid and unable to pay the piano for a while.  I daren't unwrap it and have a look as it's best to let it join back again.

I shall trip down to B & Q for that blade as these sonic cutters are nice and safe for idiots like me.
Cheers for now

ken

sorry to hear that ken..........easily done especially if distracted at the vital part.............I remember loosing the end of my left thumb in a circular saw accident in a class room in australia in 1977.........................only about a 4mm lopping but it was bloody sore.........they took a skin graft from my left arm where there were no hairs and layered it on to the thumb............I had to teach one handed with my other arm in a sling for a month, lol.....and the thumb still peels like a snake every now and then, 40 years on, lol.....take care....but you'll be able to sand one handed, 

AaaaaaaaaaaaaSo i'm not the only one that gets too wrapped up in what I'm doing and forgets SAFETY 

Wow Neil.  Sorry to hear that.

Haven't done anything today.  Finding it too sore for working.  I did some research on your  'blade' and having difficulty locating the sanding device.
Any suggestions of suppliers  please. 

Cheers


ken

what's the brand of your tool ken.......and can you post a pic of the head where it fixes on if it's like mine and others it has a hexagonal hole which fits a locating lug so that it can be turned in any direction and locked in with a washer nut

just been looking on ebay and it seems that most if not all the tools with the sanders will fit any other tool...........even the works one I found looks similar

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1311.R4.TR5.TRC0.A0.H1.Xoscilating.TRS0&_nkw=oscillating+multi+tool&_sacat=0

although it's not the same model as mine the worx one seems to have similar fittings.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Worx-WX668-Sonicrafter-Multi-tool-Oscillating-Tool-Sander-Cutter-Great-price-/251886849584?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item3aa5a04e30



and here's some tools that will fit universals I think.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Saxton-Blades-Accessory-Kit-Fein-Multimaster-Bosch-Makita-Oscillating-Multitool-/271192039113?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item3f244e1ec9

Thank you for pointers.     I shall go through the list later.

I've just checked my spare blades and although they only have a single hole in the centre for a bolt, they do have the 14 holes around the outside diameter for locating in positions so would appear to Ok for any new blades to fit my machine. 

I did take a picture but cannot find a way of getting it on here without a posting it to Photobucket first.

Not to worry as I'm on the right road now.

Cheers

ken

Sorry for side tracking your blog.  

Tug--Kenny wrote:

Sorry for side tracking your blog.  

you know me by now ken......don't mind a bit of banter at all, and if it's helpful to a member then it's all to the better good........i call a spade a  spade and be hanged the devil, lol

Just ordered one from Ebay.

Carbide coated costs £5.49 with free postage.

Cheers guys as I've got a lot of sanding ahead of me.     (when I can hold things again.  Humph!!!! )

ken

good on yer matey..glad I could help.........neil.

All of the insides of the bulwarks have now been sanded and so have the rubbing strakes on the hips of the hull...........sanded to a half round shape, and so I took the time today to measure and fit temporarily, the ramp jambs.

They have been pinned with brass 2mm rod to give a permanent fitting that won't come loose when the boat gets knocked. they will be glued in place tomorrow, but not before holes have been drilled in the decks to accommodate small gooseneck vents that slot into the bottom plates of the frames.

the ramp jambs are now fixed in place using 2 part epoxy.

whilst these were setting I also cut and glued in place some 0.9mm ply around the bulwarks of the 1st deck.

I have for a while pondered how to attach the main superstructure to the hull, where only the thin layers of grp would probably no but up to each other correctly and accurately.......unless they had support.......

so by adding the pieces of ply as a flange on the inside of the bulwarks the top can be mated up to the hull with some added strength.

I have already tried a dry fit and have found that I might have left too much overhang above the bulwarks, so when the epoxy has set in a couple of hours I will trim it down by around 5mm and retry fitting.

Coming along Neil. 

I am loving this!!!!!

I began work today on the area around the aft Car deck viewing window and forward of that which is mostly enclosed underneath the main deck, and as such has to be detailed before that upper deck is placed onto the model.

There are all sorts of fittings lockers and companionways to be added but firstly the hull plating has to be reinforced with strengtheners and brackets which I made today from plasticard.

Also the top plating has to go onto this side plating, and this was fabricated from 1.8mm birch ply which glued onto a capping rail I glued onto the side plating last night.

I also added longitudinal strengtheners as per photos ready for adding the bulwark stays and strengtheners tomorrow.....( once I have found my cyano which I will use to bond the plasticard to grp and ply.

I will also add the triangular brackets to the areas needed as well

also whilst doing this work I raised the lip on the top of the funnel casing using some 1.8mm ply, and drilled and sanded out the hawse holes using a piece of abrasive paper rolled into a tube to enlarge the holes already drilled.
this way the grp doesn't end up "chipped" around the edges by using a drill bit equivalent to the overall size....better to make a smaller hole and expand it when using a drill on grp.

not much verbally to say as the photos show the plating strengtheners and the end wall in place....might just have to cut a new one of those as I over sanded it to fit into the hull at the bottom of the two legs..........but a simple thing to rectify.......

am getting nearer to painting the underside of the car deck, adding fittings and then adding the upper deck..........

Just wondering though whether now is the time to sand, fill and paint the lower hull........

this model is like a Chinese puzzle.

Boy, am I glad I dont have to go to these lengths at 1:96.......it would drive me crackers!!!!

Excellent detailing there Neil.....going to be a bit of a bind trying to get paint in under the overhang though?

that'll be done very shortly chris, before i go any further so i can tip the model on it's side to do it.

before I can fit all the bulwark support brackets I have to fit the capping rails, and for this I have always added to the inside of the bulwarks a strip of card to support the top rail so that it aplenty of surface area to glue t
. the actual strip, although not true to the actual strip has never looked incongruous on the model when painted and so a little modellers licence is used now and then.

I have made all of it from 3 layers of 120 gram card glued to the grp with cyano, and then each consecutive layer added with aliphatic resin.

But the first job was to mark out with aid of a template, 2mm wide strips from the card with a steel rule and craft knife........cut out more than I needed but they'll all come in handy one day lol.

The quarter rounds just aft of the funnel casings were made from templates and then layered the same, but before adding to the bulwarks.

I  can then start to add the previously fabricated bulwark brackets, which will stiffen the whole bulwarks up which were weakened when the water shed reveals where cut out.

At least she'll shed the "watter" when she's shipping ruff stuff, lol

Coming along nicely Neil. 

aye, picking up a pace now Damien.

a couple of photos of the bulwark support brackets, and a photo of the array of adhesives I use and used to do the past few days work.

I just love working with plasticard.........

made the stern bollard stands last night and finished off the covers for all the hydraulic piping to the stern ramp this morning........it's just great how these parts go together with that wonderful material.

cheers matey,

and finally for tonight I have made some masters for the W/T doors to the engine rooms and the wooden single and double doors to the car deck  lounge.
W/T doors from plasticard and brass closure handles, ad will be moulded in resin, and the  lounge doors from 1/32 birch ply in to layers which will be mahogany stained eventually.

the above post is how to use heat, a rounded dowel rod and patience to make a Colborne type  fairlead..........forgot to add it to the photos. neil

and the finished product, having cut the fairlead to length with a "V" block and piercing saw.

also last night I made 7 liferaft canisters using dowel and 100 gram card.


I ground a lathe tool to cut the semi circle on each end and turned them down to that the ends would be exact.....I made 7 because after counting there are 14 visible liferafts on the boat, so two casts and I should, barr cockups have the right amount for each model.

fittings still to mould.......didn't realise I had amassed so many

Neil - with the 'single sided' (as opposed to split) moulds, how do prevent the parts from floating up into the rubber when it is poured?

I tried to cast the small window surrounds for the Free Enterprise and all of them floated off the base by a milimeter or so and ended up 'locked' into the mould.  Would it be better to glue them to the bottom of the mould box before pouring the rubber?

I've never had that happen to me before Carl, so can't comment on it at all..........what resin are using.
On mayhem there is a lady called Umi Ryuzuki...........she is a master moulder and has her own business producing fittings..........have a word with her as I honestly have never come across this.

neil.

Hi Carl, (sorry to hijack your thread Neil) glue them to piece of plastic sheet, then build the lego box around them & seal the bottom with plasticene. That's how I do mine...

PS, my offer still stands Carl if you want to come over & I will show you how I do it...


Mark..

Neil - thanks for that....I guess mine, at 1:96, are much lighter than yours in general so that wont help!!

Mark - I will take you up on your very kind offer, but it will have to be sometime in June if thats OK as I am on 'year end' here at work (house builder - everything happens now!!) and will be out of the country the last 2 weeks of May.  What I have produced so far is really only for the prototypes so that Dad can get on with them.  After I have seen how the 'Pro's' do it, I will then re-mould and re-cast what I have done - especially the skeg - to get it up to standard.  The rudder seems to have been a bit of a success!!!!!

Fun though isnt it!!!!!

Windy wrote:

Hi Carl, (sorry to hijack your thread Neil) glue them to piece of plastic sheet, then build the lego box around them & seal the bottom with plasticene. That's how I do mine...
Mark..

no probs at all mark..............we all learn from good input like yourself can give.

never heard of what carl was saying, but then again ly lifeboat stuff is a lot bigger and chunkier than at 1:96 scale. 

yes, carl.......I love it.especially when you have taken a while doing a small item for it to reappear from a mould, the exact repica of the original....great stuff indeed.
neil.

carlmt wrote:

Fun though isnt it!!!!!

Well it is sometimes, I am in the middle of making up moulds for an O gauge 1916 Hunslett 4-6-0 narrow gauge steam loco body. These ones are a real headache!!!!


Mark..

Windy wrote:

carlmt wrote:

Fun though isnt it!!!!!

Well it is sometimes, I am in the middle of making up moulds for an O gauge 1916 Hunslett 4-6-0 narrow gauge steam loco body. These ones are a real headache!!!!


Mark..

is it a static or a real STEAM DRIVEN one Mark.........either way, fascinating stuff.............post some pics when you have finished.

Hi Neil, no not live steam but it will be electric powered using a photo etched nickel silver chassis. I am only making the body/firebox, saddle tanks, cylinders coal bunker, boiler & chimney in resin. The rest will be supplied by the company I am making them for.... I will post some pics up when they are done... 

Mark..

well, just about finished all the fitting now with this last little array...........these are the hydraulic rams, brackets and locking clamp for the ramps[ none working as I don't..........so the ramps will be in the raised positton.........at least it'll stop the vehicles falling into the water, lol go in for gadgets on my models I'm afraid]

just when you think everything is done for moulding, you look at the photos of the ship and find small items that you have overlooked..............eperbs, fire extinguishers, brackets for them and the motor boxes for the lifeboat launching geer..............and now I have to go and turn a few pulleys for the rope gear for the lifeboats,.........ahh well, will get there in the end.

all the abouve bits were fabricated from scraps out of my spares box.

Incredible work Neil

But I can reassure you, I will NOT be casting 1:96 fire extinguishers

carlmt wrote:

but I can reassure you, I will NOT be casting 1:96 fire extinguishers

aughhhhh why not, lol