Model Boat Mayhem
The Shipyard ( Dry Dock ): Builds & Questions => Working Vessels => Topic started by: steve mahoney on November 28, 2020, 09:02:00 pm
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You know the saying about going from a feast to a famine – well this is just the opposite. After not touching a model project all year I now have 4 builds on the go at once. Two are personal: the Maui (a 1971 17m Voith harbour tug) and the Tui, a 46ft steam river tug from 1880.
And now I have 2 commissions: the 15m Busby and the 11.5m Mahi.
While trying to track down some reference on the Mahi for a personal project I contacted the current owner. After seeing some photos of my Tika model he asked if I would be interested in making models of his two tug boats: the Busby and the Mahi, for him (photos 1 & 2). Well, I’ve got time on my hands and I like building tugs – so yeah, it’s a no brainer. Here we go!
I'll do the Busby first as I have a GA and hull lines – 1/32, display only. The Maui and Tui are back in the cupboard.
Busby and, identical sister ship, Marsden (photo 3) were built in Auckland for the Northland Harbour Board, and launched in 1963. They were designed by Burness Corlett & Co and built by Mason Bros in Auckland. 13.7m LOA, 23 tons gross, powered by two 300hp diesels with a 3.6 ton bollard pull. They were designed as line handling tugs for the supertankers calling at the then new oil refinery in Whangarei’s deepwater port. The tugs were named after Marsden Head and Busby Point which stand on opposite sides of the harbour entrance.
Burness Corlett were notoriously protective of their drawings, much the same as Damen and Allen are today. These two little tugs were standard 2 chine hulls and not 'Hydroconic' hulls which were patented by Burness Corlett so that may explain why there are still basic hull lines in existence. Sure makes my job easier. The whole 'Hydroconic' thing seems like a lot of smoke and mirrors now. There really wasn't anything startlingly unique about the hull design and I doubt that the patent would stand up to scrutiny these days.
Marsden and Busby were the smallest of the 6 Northland Harbour Board tugs. Parahaki and Raumanga at 39.4m/27 ton BP, and Herekino and Waitangi at 35m/22ton BP were all built by Brookes of Lowestoft in the UK. All 6 tugs were delivered in the early 1960s and at the time Whangarei had the most up to date fleet in the country. The Parahaki and Raumanga also served as rescue tugs for the top of the North Island and up into the Pacific. They are big bruisers but dated looking even when they were new. I quite like the look of them and built a 1/50 Parahaki a couple of years ago. (photos 4-7)
Parahaki and Raumanga were found to be underpowered and not as manoeuvrable as they needed to be and were eventually replaced. Marsden and Busby were also soon surplus to requirements and sold off.
Busby went to Auckland to work on the Manukau Harbour. Unfortunately she was smaller and less powerful than the Ports of Auckland tug (Manukau) she replaced and was ‘the right tug in the wrong place’. She certainly wasn’t meant to be handling ships up to 6500 tons on her own. This was borne out in 2001, when she couldn’t single-handedly pull the ‘Spirit Of Enterprise’ off the Motukaraka Bank after the ship had grounded.
Ports of Auckland didn’t waste time waiting for the inquiry’s final report, within three months, Busby was back on light duty in the adjacent Waitemata Harbour, carrying out tasks better suited to her size. She was eventually sold off in to private hands and has been through several owners. She is now with STF Marine and does general inshore/harbour duties around the Auckland region, everything from barge work to towing a dead whale of a beach.
She’s still in pretty good nick and I was able to get onboard recently and get a stack of good reference photos.
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Now onto the project:
The owner sent me a GA and some very basic hull section drawings for the Busby which were easily transferred into a cutting template for the major components. The hull drawings are pretty rough but I've worked from worse.
I also have a few photos of her out of the water which show some of the rudder and propellor details. They will be very useful. I was also able to get onboard on a recent trip up to Auckland and get a heap of good detail photos. As luck would have it the Busby was moored right next to another tug on my wishlist – the Tauhine, and I got a lot of useful photos of that as well. Great day for photos if it wasn't for that knobhead in the hat.
The Busby drawings are not 'as built' – the wheelhouse windows are not angled. I'll make it as it is now, as in photo 4. The frame lines are basic but adequate. Better than I've had for some of my builds.
As usual the keel and hull frames will be 36mm ply, and the deck is 1.5mm. The hull sheeting and superstructure will all be 1mm ply. I haven't used 1mm for anything this large before so it will be interesting to see how it stacks up.
Everything has been laser cut and is all ready to go. So... on with the show.
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Are you covering the wood with paper when laser cutting?Is this to stop burning of the wood surface?
Jim
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Jim – it's actually to stop the parts falling way from the sheet during cutting. Both side of the sheet are covered, the bottom side 9away from the laser, has two layers. The laser doesn't cut through the second layer.
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Finally got started and it wasn't so bad after all. The hull framework slotted together pretty easily – with a lot of CA. The 6 packs it comes in also include a tube of CA de-bonding agent. That stuff is brilliant, unlike me who needed to unglue my fingers from the ply twice. Yes – twice. Doh!
Despite that the frame all seems straight and true, so far.
In hindsight I could have designed and laser cut a simpler, more elegant spacing/bracing system – but hindsight is always 20/20 – and you'll never see it once the deck goes on.
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I've managed to squeeze a few hours in at the bench between home maintenance, the usual pre-Christmas bedlam, and other tasks, and have installed the deck and stringers.
I haven't used stringers on any of my models before – always in too much of a hurry to get the hull finished. As this build is for a paying customer, I thought that I'd better approach it with a bit more of a professional manner and build it like some of the pros on this forum.
Turns out they are a good idea – the stringers, I mean. Really helps to get the curves nice and smooth and shows up any problems with the hull section alignment. Who knew?
Also attached the deck and covered it with Diamond Plate sheet. That hurt – US$30 for the sheet. Ow! It's a Plastruct product that is described as HO Diamond Plate 1/00. I'm pretty sure HO scale is 1/87 and this stuff looks perfect on a 1/32 boat so I think that the Plastruct description is a bit out. Strange type of styrene too, doesn't cut well. I think I'll stick to the tried and true Evergreen in the future.
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Really starting to take shape now.
I agree with you re the deck, looks spot on, to me anyway.
Will
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If feel your pain regarding other duties around the house etc. At least when the new year starts normal service can be resumed ;)
I like the look of the checker plate but not the price :o
But it's coming on well Steve
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Hi
with age it goes brittletry here a lot cheaper http://deansmarine.co.uk/shop/index.php/cPath/82_86
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Thanks Will and Dave.
Ron: Now you tell me!! I wish I had seen that $30 ago! I'll know better next time :-))
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So...
The hull sheeting went on OK. Working at 1/32 is all new for me and I'm surprised at how much glue I'm going through compared to 1/50.
This is the last section of the hull to go on. The next few photos show the work fairing out the bow and trying to get the chine lines smooth and sharp.
And the last few photos show the bulwarks and the aft capping rail attached. The bulwarks are 1mm ply and are surprisingly strong – even where I have sanded through a couple of layers of ply. The forward capping rail is steel tubing. I'll do this with styrene tubing but will need to pin it in place with some thin brass rod. Mañana.
Work on this one has now ground to a halt. I had ordered some props and shafts from The US in late November (none available in UK prior to Christmas) but they have been stuck in a US Post clearing depot in LA since December 8. Some rubdown lettering for a couple of completed models is suffering the same fate in Vancouver. Looks like the Maui and Tui will be getting a bit more attention.
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Well, this one is finally back on the bench after an 8 month break. We moved house at the beginning of the year and a couple of projects have been packed away until I was able to set up a workspace in our new place. As they say – it has been a long time between drinks.
Luckily nothing got damaged in transit or lost in storage although after such a long break I had to spend a few hours getting back up to speed with the build. Two other projects were finished just before we moved and they are still in storage. I'll unpack the Tui and Hikurangi in the next few days and post some completed photos. The Hikurangi has been a long time getting finished and it has become one of my favourites.
At the start of the build I had noticed that the basic drawings didn’t reconcile with the as-built photos. Some things were quite obvious – the real boat has flush wheelhouse windows – the plans have angled front windows. Same for the anchor wells – none, but they are shown on the drawings.
I had managed to miss a couple minor things. The original skeg has had a triangular extension added on between the shafts. The scuppers/freeing ports are not in the same position as on the drawings – there are still 5 but they are more forward. The change in bulwark height is also more forward than on the drawings.
And yes, the stern hawser holes are at different heights port and starboard. All issues easily fixed with some filler and a scalpel.
I’ve also added the engine cooling water outlets and the holes for the fender attachments along the bulwarks.
The propellor shaft footings have been attached so the next job is the shafts and rudders. The photos seem to show the rudders off-centre and inboard of the shafts – does that sound like a real thing?
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Not much progress today – the propeller shaft support struts should have been simple enough but ended up taking all day. The system is pretty simple: two angled struts attach to a couple of half round sections welded to a collar around the shaft. The outer struts have an short angled section at the hull end and an oiler tube running down them into the shaft collar. Easy enough – or so it would seem. Here’s how not to do it...
But first the props. The propellers are the single most expensive item on any of my builds. They’re never cheap and by the time you add freight to NZ they have doubled in price. These two were $64 for the pair. Ow! When I ordered them my usual suppliers in Europe were out of stock so I got them from the US. The boss shape is different from the Raboesch I’m used to. These one have a very extended rounded boss and the Busby’s props have shorter more sharply tapered bosses.
We are back in covid lockdown at the moment and I’m running low on quite a few basic materials so rather than order new props and wait 4 weeks I thought that I’d finally get to use the mini lathe I’ve had unopened for 10 years and re-shape the bosses. Mistake number 1.
I couldn’t get the chuck to get a grip on the prop so I screwed in the shaft as tight as possible and gave it a go. Sure enough the prop unscrewed itself in no time – even with Locktite. So I turned some brass rod to fit exactly into the propeller shaft hole and braised the shaft onto the prop. My first attempt on the lathe turned out fine. Very simple but the shafts fitted perfectly. Those props weren’t going anywhere. The rod was too soft to handle the lathe work and started to bend (mistake No 2).
After half an hour trying to hand shape the boss with a tiny file I realised that wasn’t going to work either (No3). Out came the hacksaw and off came the boss (No4). Cleaned up and shaped with filler. Making a symmetrical tapering cone isn’t a easy as it sounds (No5). Not perfect yet but I’ll get there. On the real boat the props are painted so the colour won’t be an issue although all of my other models have brass props.
The struts were also a headache. I’d decided to make them from styrene (easy, and on hand) around a brass rod core (for strength). It’s a method I’ve used successfully a few times before. Not this time – I ended up making a real hash of it (No6). I should have stopped and started again but I persisted and eventually have something that works. Lots of bad language and huffing and puffing. A bit more filler, sanding and some paint may hide the imperfections. They aren't attached yet.
After all these years I’m supposed to be getting better at this, not worse. Bummer!
The rudders on this one are more complex than they should be for such a small tug so I can see mistakes 7, 8 and 9 coming on tomorrow. Happy days!
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I've made a little progress over the last week. The shafts and rudders are pretty much finished and ready for painting. Due to the complex rudder arrangement I'll need to paint these items before final assembly. They'll be held in place with pins through the rudder posts and the rudder stocks but aren't glued in for these photos. Once the underside has been painted the shaft supports can go in, then the shafts and props, then the rudders.
From now on the hull won't be getting too much rough handling so I can start attaching some of the smaller items. I've already added some of the fender tie brackets and there are still 40 L shaped ties inboard of the fender eyes (.25mm brass), and 20 PE brass eyes/loops to go on the exterior hull – all very easily bent. At least the bow fender is as solid as a rock.
The real Busby has very pronounced welding seams along the hull so I've added these with 0.5mm half-round styrene. A 5 piece pack fitted almost exactly down to the last 5mm – more by good luck than good management! We are in the highest level lockdown at the moment so running out of materials means things will grind to a halt.
I haven't got enough paint on hand to do the hull (red oxide/dark blue) but I've got plenty of white so I can start with an undercoat – nothing like a nice coat of matt white to highlight any errors.
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It hasn't been good weather for painting the hull lately so that has been put aside for awhile. We moved town April and it has pretty much rained at some stage of every day since then. Not really what we had in mind!
I've made a start on the superstructure. The basic laser cut elements slotted together pretty easily and quickly. It's only 1mm ply so there is a lot of bracing hidden underneath to prevent any warping.
After putting it all together I realised that glazing the windows was going to be a problem so I cut out the door holes for easier access. The port and starboard doors are in different positions. Same with the aft wheelhouse windows. Sure enough I glued the aft bulkhead in the wrong way round and had to cut and flip the window section. Better spotted now rather than later.
The roof has gone on, and the towing bitt block, and the funnel with its angled top vent.
That's all of the major components built, everything else is smaller detail stuff now, and not too much of it: bitts, bollards, vents & intakes, engine room hatch and various other hatches, etc. Doesn't sound like too much work if you say it fast.
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Love your builds, not only because you're obvious talent, but also because of your humor and that you share the mishaps.
Just a pity you don't make them RC as they're crying to be put in the wet stuff, but that's obviously your choice.
As for the Busby, I don't think I've seen that kind of rudder arrangement before with the unsupported posts. Interesting!
Keep on building!
Hama
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Thank you Hama, it's nice to know that someone is enjoying the progress. I've also enjoyed your ferry builds very much. Local subjects are always closer to the heart.
This one is a commission for the owner so he doesn't require RC. Our old home was in the worlds' windiest city (officially) so RC runs were always rare and often tempting disaster. Our new town is much calmer so an RC version is my long-term plans – perhaps a 1/25 Damen 2411 in local colours – if I can ever afford the ASD units.
Steve
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Have you decided on the direction of prop rotation yet Steve?.......one day = LH......next day = RH.......next day = LH etc... :o ...or is it the owner who cannot make up their mind? {-)
Not really sure I understand the angular buffer on the bow....appears to be high impact <*< at the point of tangent/contact
Watching on as always
Derek
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The photos have them as clockwise/port, anticlockwise/starboard. Never sure which is inboard/outboard, LH/RH, different in Europe & UK from the US.
The bow fender roll seems to be belt and braces protection. There are also several truck tyres hanging from the bow. Maybe they've had a few bumps as that area is a blindspot from the wheel. Looks like it's had a few dings over the years.
And, no, I can't bring myself to paint the propellers that horrible yellow.
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...they're outward turning props by normal terms but it makes little difference. I balked at one user on a different forum insisting he fits "contra" rotating propellers on his models which is entirely different. I was intrigued by the rudders on this also -particularly with the heavy vertical post and leaving an unbalanced rudder blade behind. I wondered whether it was a conversion job or a change from original design -the pockets around the tops of the hull penetration look to be a corrosion hot spot.
Nevermind, it's a cracking job.
Rich
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OK......I see outboard turning propellers [gross {-) yellow].......
The hull plating appears :o to be rather highly and uniformly stressed <*< & stretched over the frames ...near appears to be a design issue in the thickness or the Grade of the hull-plate
[In Port Kemba, we have the BlueScope Steelworks who produce coil and plate..... a quantity goes to Bissaloy Steels who provide the heat treatment
So even with the Meturigical Certificate for the steel chemistry, every plate post Heat Treatment is subjected to NDT Certification to Lloyds 100A1 with the final Customer being the Australian Submarine Corporation
All of the steel for the Collins Class submarines builds was from our Port Kembla supply .....orders for the steel for the French design build now cancelled >>:-(
Sorry to go off the stretched steel view :embarrassed:
Derek
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The photos have them as clockwise/port, anticlockwise/starboard. Never sure which is inboard/outboard, LH/RH, different in Europe & UK from the US.
...sorry but just re-read this they're definitely CW starboard and CCW port which is "outward" turning. I wouldn't be surprised if the septic's had it backwards but it's the Germans I only ever had problems so far who can't tell left from right when it comes to rotation and model propellers.
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All of the steel for the Collins Class submarines builds was from our Port Kembla supply .....orders for the steel for the French design build now cancelled (https://www.modelboatmayhem.co.uk/forum/Smileys/Tug/tickedoff.gif)>:-(" title="Tickoff" class="smiley" style="vertical-align: bottom; font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12.92px; background-color: rgb(236, 237, 243);">
...what on earth has that to do with Steve's build blog for Busby ?? You should post that in "chit chat" and an admin should help Steve to tidy the post.
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..............."what on earth has that to do with Steve's build blog for Busby"?.......
Well it's simply a qualified reference for steel, where Steve's model prototype has suffered a hull plating defect
It offers an explanation as to the cause of the example defect. ...re-reading the vessel build history, it suggests that the hull steel plating was UK produced {-)
I am sure if Steve considers the comment text inappropriate %) , he would take action
Derek
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Spring has arrived all of a sudden and the wet weather has gone so I was able to get some paint onto the hull.
The running gear was pre-painted and attached in a specific order: A frame supports, then shafts/props, then rudder assemblies. Then any gaps were filled (fiddly) and the final braces attached to the rudder posts. These are slightly over scale but I wanted to add a bit more strength.
Everything below the waterline has had a final top coat. The propellers are not going to be yellow. That colour makes them look plastic and toy-like. Judges decision, no discussion will be entered into.
I've put a base coat over the hull before I attach some items that would make painting difficult. It will have a few light coats but this is a good start.
The colour is spot on. Busby has been Ports of Auckland blue (a much lighter mid blue) for many years (photo 5) but the latest repaint was much darker (6).
I'm a bit OCD when it comes to colour and it's hard to match a paint swatch to a photo on screen, so I figured that the real life colour needed to be close to the ice-cream container that the Busby's components are in, and close to the shoebox that my paints are stored in. I think I've nailed it (7). Still a few little things to fix.
This dark colour does hide a few details – the cleats for the fender ties are very hard to see. Well, at least I know they are there. A satin coat may help.
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Very smart Steve........did you change your mind on the hand of the propellers from image 447? ........or just confusing us O0
Running gear 2 = Outboard
Final Coat 1 = Inboard
Derek
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Mmm... I've made an error. Unfortunately it will be a major problem to remedy. I'll think it over.
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After my last progress report Derek pointed out that I had indeed put the propellors on the wrong sides. It was a rookie mistake and I'm very "xxxxx" off about it. Changing them now will be a very messy task and I've spent the last few days sulking.
I sent a progress photo to the Busby's owner and he is fine with them as they are. So, crisis averted.
Derek and his eagle eyes, however, are banned from this build log. ok2
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Is it OK for me to continue with my eyes closed {-) ............ & trap shut? :D .................. Derek :kiss:
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Well it would be a world first for an Aussie to keep his trap shut but one eye is acceptable.
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I've started adding bits and pieces of detail to the hull and superstructure. The superstructure has several plates and covers, the roof has a lip around the outer edge. The vents are not permanently attached yet, I'll need to give the superstructure a base top coat before anything gets glued on.
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Steve, All Aussies are one eyed! :}
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Now hold on >>:-( ....are you Sheep Farmers suggesting I am 1 eyed? :P
I've always eyed Stevens work with the greatest one-eyed respect...........
Derek O0
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and to be fair I may have generalised as I have always found your posts most informative.
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MLJ – We need to be patient with our cousins from the West Island as they are always a couple of hours behind. ok2
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Well, after saying that there wasn't too much deck equipment to make for this tug I went down the 'detail' rabbit-hole.
I probably spent more time on the hatches than needed.
The hatch on the left is made up from 24 pieces, the one on the right is 35. The engine room skylight has 35 components.
Yeah, I know, I didn't have to do it but you know how it is once you get started – it's a slippery slope.
At least my box of 'bits' is starting to fill up, albeit slowly. All of the bitts, vents and bollards are completed and attached.
Everything on the real boat is the same Royal Blue colour throughout, on the model it sure hides a lot of detail, as you can see in the photo of the bow deck.
I had matched the final paint colour to the Royal Blue of the plastic ice-cream container that stores all of the bits for the build. This now means that it's difficult to find any smaller items once they are painted and in the box – everything is the same colour. I may have to get a new, different coloured container. That would mean changing ice cream brands. That's a big decision, I've eaten the same brand all of my life. As a kid there were only 2 brands to choose from: Tip Top, which was made not too far from my home and gave free tours to kids – with a free ice-cream at the end; and the opposition brand: Gaytime (which is now long gone). I was never a Gaytime kind of guy.
The Tip Top factory even had its own Fire Brigade (I have one of their helmet badges). As a kid, the possibility of a fire at the ice-cream factory was a serious concern and being a Fireman at an ice-cream factory was the the ultimate job for a 7 year old. I never did get a job as cool as that.
However, I digress, back to the build. I can now base paint some of the items and then start to attach them. Still plenty to do.
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The hull is now all painted and pretty much completed. That can sit on the side for a while.
I've been slowly plugging away and my 'box of bits' is starting to fill up. The ER vents, ER skylight, hatches, ventilator, life buoys, funnel vents and fender tires are done and painted. 15 tires needed for this one. They are made with my usual method – laser cut ply doughnuts glued together, shaped and painted. Yes, I know that you can buy perfectly good scale tyres but I like to make as much as possible on each model. Saying that, I don't make the propellers – I might be crazy but I'm not an idiot.
The superstructure base is also finished and painted. The hatch base, life-buoy brackets, wheelhouse steps, ladder rungs, portholes, downpipes, and water pipes are all in place. I can now start to attach some bits that would have been difficult to paint if attached earlier. Hopefully there'll be more parts coming out of the box of bits than going into it.
The all-over blue is exactly as it is on the real boat but it does tend to make the model look very 'plastic toy-like'. Hopefully that will change when the railings, lights, mast and flying bridge equipment goes on.
The doors won't be attached until the glazing is done and that won't happen for a while – we are still in lockdown and I can't get any suitable plastic for the glass. Plenty more to do and I might dust off the Maui hull I started last year and get that back up to speed again.
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Well, it has been over 2 years since I last touched this boat. It has been packed away following a series of house moves and I only organised a workspace a few months ago. I could come up with numerous excuses (all valid) for the lack of progress: Covid, work, life, renovations, weather, even the bloody dog needs a 2 hour walk every day. However, the main reason is that because this boat is a commission and in a bigger scale than normal I’m wanting to make everything as perfect as possible – it’s a challenge. Daunting.
After such a long lay-off I lost my mojo and tried to shake off the rust with a couple of small, simple-ish projects: the Kapai and Ikatere. They didn’t inspire me with confidence.
It also doesn’t help that I’m a terrible procrastinator. My wife once gave me a book about confronting it but I never got around to reading it.
But, this model won’t make itself and I need to get a move on, I’ve told the owner it would be finished by Christmas – this Christmas – so it’s back on the bench. He has been very patient.
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I'd totally forgotten about this one !
Anyway, it will be good to follow again and, hopefully, to completion.
Cheers,
Ray.
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Thanks Podge – slow and steady.
I tried to ease my way back into this project with a couple of small, 'simple' builds to shake the rust off. Both of those are pretty much done and are waiting for some rub-downs and waterslide decals for their finishing touches. Those won't be arriving anytime soon so it's time to get the Busby back on track.
I've mixed up a batch of the blue paint and retouched a couple of little marks that happened during 2 years in transit/storage. It's been an unseasonably cold and windy spring so painting conditions haven't been ideal but I ended up with pretty much a perfect colour match so I'm happy about that.
All of the big items had already been completed and are awaiting assembly so it's only the detail elements left to do. First up is the flying bridge railing.
On the real boat this is 50mm steel tubing for the stanchions and cap rail, and 40mm for the mid and lower rails. Normally I would use PE stanchions with etched holes for the rails – super easy to assemble and everything lines up – or solder the rails onto the outer edge of the posts. Unfortunately this boat's rails are welded in the centre of the posts (pic 1) and are much more difficult to make at scale. Luckily a mix of imperial and metric K&S brass rod: 3/64 (which is 1.2mm) and 1.5mm scales out to be exactly the right size.
First job was to make up a soldering jig. Figuring it out and making it took most of a day. Complex and time consuming but worth it in the long run. And, yes, the sides are supposed to angle in at theta. The front and back are square.
From there it was a simple process of cutting the pieces to fit. The posts slot into holes in the jig base, the rails are taped onto the jig, and bingo! Easy peasy. Soldering heaven.
Until I ran out of the 1.2mm rod – only need one length to finish it. More is on the way but won't be here until Monday. I'll leave this as it is, no point taking it off the jig and cleaning it all up just yet. I'm sure I can find something else to do.
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While waiting of the brass rod to turn up I did an audit of all the bits of brass I have lying around and found a couple of 1.2mm off-cuts. Just enough to finish off the railings – with about 20mm to spare.
Turned out ok. Only one or two dodgy joins which were easily fixed. Made sure to use some heat sinks to protect the other joins. Someone on another forum put me onto heat sinks. They work!
Lastly the radar stand was attached to the rear top rail. Then cleaning up the excess solder with a series of small files – all very relaxing, and satisfying. So, the railings are all done, cleaned up and ready for some paint. Compared with what's left to do, these railings were piece of cake.
And I now have a small container of off-cuts (under 50mm) of all sizes of rod and tube – surprising how often you only need a small piece.
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I've made a start on the flying bridge console – again avoiding the hardest parts left to make.
It's all styrene, with a slice of aluminium tubing for the compass window housing, and a brass strip handle.
The bolts are hex rod but you'd never know.
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Very impressive railings Steve! :o :-))
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Thanks Martin, I usually do everything at 1/50 and railings at 1/32 seem so much easier – but I also can't skimp on the details – so more work all round.
I well and truly missed the Christmas deadline for finishing this project. Side-tracked by Christmas ham and summer holidays – again!
I'm back home now and have slowly started the build again. Yesterday I soldered various mounts and brackets onto the railing: 2 x aerial mounts, radar platform, loudespeaker, lifebuoy mount, solar panel brackets, and deck lights.
I'm building this as it was on the day I photographed it in 2019 so some of the mounts are now redundant and unused. The deck lights are little LED strip lights. All of this will be painted white.
And yes, the aerials are parallel.
The soldering should have been straightforward but it was very delicate work and a shakey hand didn't help. Took twice as long as it should have. Can't remember who on this forum put me onto heat sinks but he's a genius, whoever he was.
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More progress, albeit painfully slow. The amount of hours to make these 2 items is way out of whack with what they add to the build.
First up is the collar/brace that holds the mast in place against the top railing. Doesn't seem all that sensible to rely on the railing to secure the mast, but there you go. That's the final piece for the various mounts on the railing.
The engine controls were pretty straightforward but fiddly. This is made up from 60 components so far, still need to make the vinyl cover. The railings/mounts add up to 55 components, and the wheel console is another 40 – not including the wheel which is 7 pieces.
Slow and steady!
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Progress, but only minor.
This project has become an grind and nothing seems to be going according to plan.
This piece – the fire system pump/hydrant, just about drove me nuts. I keep dropping tiny components, losing things in plain sight, misplacing tools, spilling glue, paint, whatever, cutting things wrong – it was a lesson in 'how not to'. I won't bother to show some of the photos.
I think I spent more time on the floor with a torch looking for tiny bits of brass than I did at the bench.
I've spun this build out for 3.5 years through several house moves, stuff in storage, covid lockdowns, no workspace, several lengthy holidays and general procrastination. The main issue maybe that it's a boat (the real one) that I really don't have any interest in. It's just not particularly interesting or unique. Plus it is all one colour. Everything is dark blue. It's dull.
The commission will pay for everything (if I consider 50c an hour worthwhile) but I'm just not engaged and it shows in some of the work.
I've had to take a good long hard at myself and remake quite a few things.
I've finished most of the components – only the funnel nav light supports, and the exhaust pipes left to make. And a load of tyre fenders to attach – fiddly and complex. Luckily, I'm definitely in the home stretch now and can get this one done and dusted, soon.
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That is a lovely piece of work at such a small scale.
Ralph
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As good as real ! :-))
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Thanks Ralph, and Martin. I'm gradually getting on top of the builld again and slowly and steadily finishing small components that are almost ready to be assembled.
These are the mast components pre painting – and all completed.
The white nav lights on the real boat are the original lights, the red ones are a recent LED upgrade.
And yes, the white light lenses are slightly shorter than the casing.
Fairly simple construction: wooden mast, brass upper and light seats, styrene day shapes. The lights are aluminium tubing and clear styrene. It all slots into the collar on the top rail quite nicely – that's a bonus!
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Things are starting to move along pretty quickly now. The exhaust stacks were the last big item left to make. The came together without any drama. Using a simple jig made the process a whole lot easier.
Then the superstructure got a light coat overall and some of the finished components could be fixed in place. Once again using some simple jigs to align things correctly.
Another light coat of paint to cover any joins and glue marks, and now it's ready for glazing. The doors will come off to allow for the glazing.
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I've been steadily plugging away for the last 2 weeks and I've ended up going around in a big circle and pretty much ending up exactly where I was at the last update.
Last time I posted an update the superstructure was 95% completed and waiting for glazing.
On any build I hate making the nav lights (don't know why, but they bug me), but I dread glazing the windows. It's a delicate job than can make or break a model: fogged or scuffed windows, glue marks, and badly aligned frames can all ruin your day.
I usually (always) glaze the wheelhouse before attaching the roof. This time I put the roof on first. Well, there was a reason – the funnel top is built into the cabin roof, and I thought that I could glaze through the widows and open doors – at 1/32 they are much bigger than my normal 1/50 builds.
No such luck. I spent the best part of 3 days getting nowhere. Tried every trick in the book to no avail. Lots of bad language ensued.
Eventually I gave up and cut the roof off. This caused a bit of collateral damage: knocked off the bitt, engineroom vents, and all the ventilators, and damaged the funnel top, and paintwork in general.
It needed quite a bit of reworking but did make the glazing a breeze. The 'glass' slots into the PE brass frame from behind – there's a 0.5mm rebate for it
All good now, and everything is back in place, filled, tidied up and repainted. After a few large gins the stress levels have subsided.
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After the debacle with the glazing I had hoped that my next post would be all total victory about how I had rescued the project from the ashes. No chance!
While preparing to paint some bits and pieces I drained the compressor tank. This needs to be done every few months to get any condensation out. The valve is right under the tank, hard to get to and any dirty moisture inside comes out at 50psi so you need a rag strategically placed underneath to catch it. So I leaned the compressor over 20º and very gently rested in on a box so that I could get easy access to the valve.
Job done. Only, not quite – I had cracked the cast bronze exhaust elbow (part No BRC95EE) which disintergrated as soon as I turned the compressor back on. I know the part number because the distributor told me that particular part was very vulnerable and they redesigned the exhaust elbow several years ago – and no longer stock BRC95EE.
A new compressor later and I'm mixing up some paint when I drop a half full 1 litre tin of undercoat on the floor.
Do you know how far paint can bounce? All over the show! A 500mL paint grenade!
I jumped pretty quckly – not as quick as the dog, but it went everywhere – both legs, shoes, socks, sweatshirt, trousers, me, wall, floor. A*** hole to breakfast, as they say. And over one of our set of dining chairs that I had temporarily been using at my desk – against all advice from my wife.
Worst of all – there was paint all over her mountain bike – her pride and joy. I grabbed a handy bed sheet and started furiously wiping it up – I can make the sheet disappear.
After an hour on my knees it's all sorted. What sheet? My Nikes are in the bin and I can air out the chair for a few days to get rid of the stink of thinners. The bike looks OK but it will need a session on the chain and tyres with a toothbrush – hers, it's her bike.
At least I don't have to explain any bald spots on the dog.
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hello Steve
"oh dear" or its equivalent in Kiwi!
and I suppose you were too busy to take any pictures?
hope the recovery was successful!
cheers (and good luck)
btw love the model pictures.
Mike
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Just read your whole build and its a lovely job your doing there Steve :-))
Your episode with the paint had me laughing out loud - sorry {-)
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Thanks Mike. My reaction was a lot stronger than the usual ""xxxxx"!". My first thought was "can I command Z that?" – then panic.
No photos. It's bad enough me telling you about it, the last thing I need is hard evidence.
Thanks Mark. I've been following your build, it's a masterclass. Unlike mine, which is more like clown school.
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Things seem to be back on track – touch wood.
The list of things to do is rapidly reducing and I can definitely see light at then end of the tunnel.
I had made the exhaust stacks a few weeks ago, however, on closer inspection the stainless steel paint job just wasn't up to it. The color wasn't right and enamel metallics never look that good at scale. Too granulated.
I just about exclusively use Humbrol enamels but this time I got some advice and splashed out on some SMS metallic lacquer.
I'd seen it on a couple of youtube videos and it seemed to work well. Lacquer is as thin as water so goes through the airbrush really easily and after a few light coats gives a great finish. I got some chrome and stainless steel, and the gloss black base coat. I remade the exhaust stacks and sprayed them.
I'm happy with the result and the colour.
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I have been making steady progress over the last week or so – with no major mishaps, which is always a good thing.
Everything for the model has been made and now it's a matter of assembling everything in the right sequence.
I made the display stand posts out of several lengths of brass tube and rod. Usually I leave these as shiny brass and they are quite noticeable but this time I wanted the model to look like it was floating above the black base board, so they were sprayed gloss black. Got to use the little propane burner for the soldering. Now that was fun!
Next job were the tyre fenders. I have photos of Busby from over the last 30 years and the fendering is never the same in any two photos. I'm making the model as the boat was on the day I visited it in 2020 which is probably when they had the most complicated fendering arrangement ever. Truck tyres attached by a complex chain arrangement. At least I had some good reference photos.
I spent a morning trawling through some budget shops looking for some cheap jewellery chain in the right shape and size. Most jewellery chains are oval shaped links, real chains have straight sides and semi circle ends. Bingo! – found some that was just right, and only $3 each. Back in 2020 the galvanised chain had only recently been installed and was still very shiny. It dulls off with time so I gave my chain a light grey spray.
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I had made the tyre fenders a couple of years ago and had them stored away. When I unpacked them I was 2 short. I have a photo of the tyres being made and I had the correct number then. Simply disappeared. Gone. Luckily I had some extra ply discs in the right size to make a couple of new tyres. Pretty simple, although while I was cleaning them up on my little desktop disc sander I wasn't holding one tightly enough and it flicked up and away. So fast I didn't even see it go. I didn't hear it land anywhere and spent about 15 minutes on the floor and emptying shelves looking for it before I found it stuck in the collar of my jumper. Good catch, Steve!
Then the tyres all got another coat of paint and went through a jig to mark and drill the holes for the chains. Then a bunch of spacers were cut to uniform size on another jig. This scrap piece of ply has more jigs than an Irish pub.
Attaching the chains and tyres was a slow and fiddly job but it worked out ok. The chain slips into some PE brass eyes to hold everything in place.
Now for the starboard side...
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The starboard side wasn't too much trouble – only a couple of afternoons of fiddly work. Then the names went on – and just like – that the hull is all finished.
And look what was left over when I had all finished: 2 tyres and about 30mm of chain. No idea where the extra tyres came from. Magicked themselves back into existence.
As for the chain, some would say that I had meticulously planned exactly how much I would need, a masterpiece of 'just in time' production. Others might say it was judicious use of the material at hand. Some (less kindly) might say it was just dumb luck. I couldn't possibly comment.
If anyone can recognise the tool in the second to last photo, you're well and truly in the dinosaur league, with me.
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I've started attaching various bits and pieces that I had made earlier.
The PA speaker is not round – it has flattened sides so it was a little trickier to build. I made this over a month ago and can't remember why I had it clamped like this – maybe to attach the rim at the outer edge of the speaker? I'm going to have to learn a 3D drawing program, this would be an ideal subject, every build needs a PA speaker.
The radar is a mix of styrene tube segments and filler – lots of sanding, filling, sanding – rinse and repeat. Same for the horn. Both look OK when painted.
The wipers are PE brass – I was a bit too optomistic with the version at the top. The wiper arms are way too thin. The lower one is fine.
And here they are installed. The Raymarine logo and lifebuoy decals are from Bedlam.
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Looks really great. Did you photoetch the brass wipers yourself?
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Thanks.
No, I had the etching done by PPD Ltd in Scotland. I've used them many times and the quality, service and turnaround is always excellent. I usually gang up the items for several builds to make the postage costs economic.
Knowing my track record with paint, glue and flux, I couldn't be trusted with ferric chloride, the etching acid. It's quite corrosive. Also, you need a film negative to do etching and suppliers of those are getting rarer and rarer.
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Lifebuoys are another thing that would be ideal for 3D printing. Every boat has lots of them and they all look the same.
These are old school ply with a loth of sanding. I used a simple jig to attach the grab lines. The lines will get a trim and then a coat of diluted PVA to stop any fraying or loose threads. The 'Whangarei' text is about as small and fine as you can get with rubdowns. Applying it to a curved surface was tricky too, luckily I had a few spares.
The lifebuoys must be the originals as they have Busby's initial home port: Whanagei, while the stern hull markings have the current home port – Auckland. In real life they are quite faded, but I'm keeping this as it looked on the day I visited in 2020, not long after it had been surveyed and painted.
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Last few items to be attached.[/size]I made the consoles for the flying bridge awhile ago and now they are all painted and ready to install. Each of these items is made up from quite a few components: 67 for the throttle controls, 40 for the ER hatch, and 50 for the steering position. But only an obsessive compulsive would count them.Everything is now attached and the whole thing only needs a couple of little touch-ups to the paintwork.
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Well, it's all done – and delivered.
I'm glad to get that one out of the way, and the monkey off my back. Four years – a slow and difficult birth.
Here are a few photos of the finished article just prior to going into the glass case and being packed up for the trip up to Auckland.
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And a few more...
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Last few for the road.
Thanks for following.
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nice one Steve, I'm a sucker for detail and you give us detail in abundance :-))
Joe
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Thanks for posting the build - amazing detail!
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What a lovely build, and a very interesting read, :-))
Trucker
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Great work Steve looks like it's up to your normal high class standards, love the fiddle bits always a challenge to make really enjoy your builds tassie48
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Thanks Joe, and thanks Mike. Everything looks better at 72 pixels per inch. I think I'll have to invest in a proper camera rather than using my phone for everything. The photo quality never seems as good.
Thanks Trucker. After 30 years I still find builds challenging – slow learner, I guess.
Thanks Greg, how's your build coming along?
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Hi Steve,
I just want to join with everyone else on congratulating you a a very informative and entertaining build log and such a nice model.
Kind regards Mike
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Thanks Mike, very kind of you to say.
I've managed to clear my desk just in time to head off on Thursday for 6 weeks on the road – Silk Road.
Got a few projects lined up for my return – more NZ tugs. You can't have too much of a good thing!