The Shipyard ( Dry Dock ): Builds & Questions > Any Other Builds

Bridge and Boat Diorama

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Tinny:

Currently 2/3 through a maritime based diorama.
There are many photographs, so I plan to download some everyday until I catch up to where I am in the project.


Last year the Ballina Naval & Maritime Museum (NSW, Australia) acquired the original console (1964-1995) for the nearby Wardell Lift-Span Bridge. They wanted someone to convert the console to operate a model bridge. To cut the long story short, I was requested to do the conversion, scratch build the Wardell Bridge, and build a boat to traverse under it. All to be done for an allocated space of 4 x 8 foot display table. In other words, a diorama.


I have never built a model before this project. Have done the electronics side via RAAF Avionics, but that was 30 years ago. At first I could not fathom why they requested me. Then I discovered that the whole museum is run by volunteers and they had nobody silly enough to do it for free. Someone told them I was already a volunteer for another organisation. I guess volunteers don't have trouble volunteering.


There are no available plans or schematics for both bridge and console. So the console had to be reverse engineered, and the bridge was mostly measured by extrapolating photographs. The end result is that the whole bridge can fit across the 8 feet display by using the 1/72 scale.


I am currently building the boat for this project, and it is in the sub-forum _ Beginners start here... Symmetrical Boat

derekwarner:
Peter.....we read of your volunteer work in the Symetrical Hull Build thread.....[I have some extended family of similar age group living in Ballina]

[my greatest Ballina joy was entering the huge new Coles Supermarket some 35 years ago with wife & 3 young daughters in toe.....when the eldest daughter says Dad....Dad....."it's Libby....Libby is around the freezer corner" ...... ....so I continued pushing the now over grown large Coles trolley wondering who Libby is  :o....& there in front of my eyes was Libby.... in all her glory & short shorts ....yes our own  Ms Newton-John..... :kiss:............]

So back to volunteer work.......I found myself engaged in a dis-similar role.....fixing baby micro-switches, sub micro pneumatic cylinders and 12 V DC solenoids on point systems on a rather large 5" track until my back advised me to find alternate activities ...

So this is where I sit/stand...in a semi quasi management role {-) ...the most difficult part is getting 1 or 2 people from that endless group of Coffee talkers to do something ................

So we wish you well in the Bridge Diorama Project [a Bridge Too Far? :o] and will await further postings

Derek

Tinny:
Derek, I got a few laughs from your post, thank you.

I have to admit that our curator, and president, are very busy men, (shhh, I think they might be workaholics). If it was not for them the museum would not be as great as it is today. The rest of the crew generally wait for someone else to do something, but in all honesty they are a conscientious lot.

Anybody who becomes a bit over expecting of others quickly gets reminded that everybody is a volunteer.

Thanks for your well wishes for this project.

Tinny:
Here is my proposed design and plan for the display area.


The Table top has to rest on a steel frame of given height.


The boat will have a vane attached to the keel, which goes through the display table. The boat traverses back and forth via a pulley cable system.



I spent a good month  designing and drawing plans before any construction work.
Below is a montage of several drawings made for the project.

Above you can see a control box area under the tabletop. This is to house the pulley cable systems and various electronics.

The pulley cable systems.
This system does not need the counterweights, so they are false (balsa). I am relying on the weight of the span to lower it back onto the road.


For those unfamiliar with a lift-span bridge operation.

Tinny:
Layout drawing of the console's control panel.



Pulling the console apart.



Reverse engineering the switches used in the console.







All this was needed to be done so I can start designing the electronics, and wiring, around what is available from the console.

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