Model Boat Mayhem
The Shipyard ( Dry Dock ): Builds & Questions => Working Vessels => Topic started by: oldiron on March 03, 2013, 11:44:21 am
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Well, I bit the bullet. I pulled my Joffre kit out the deep dark depths of the basement to start its build. I've had the kit for several years and never go and "Around tuit". Well an enquiry on another thread pushed me over the edge.
The Joffre is a Caldercraft kit to 1/48 scale. I like it because its small size allows me to get to the pond without breaking my back to get there. The kit appears to be straight forward for this range of kit. The castings are beautifully made and the fiberglass (yes, I know, the Brits call them GRP hulls) hull is well made., clean, sharp and neat. It has a little bit of an outward cant on the freeboard on one side. I may take this out later. If so, more details then.
I started by following the instructions (new for me) by drilling through the anchor and fair lead openings. This was opened up with a small diamond burr in my Dremel tool. The openings were finished with a rat tail file. There are a couple of things to note when doing this. The nice smooth finished surface on the hull is very brittle and will chip easily around the openings if you're not careful. (see the photos). These are easily fixed later on. Also test fit the anchors to make sure they will comfortably enter the openings in the hull. On my first shot, they were too small. I opened them up more and they fit fine now. The anchor holes should also go in at an angle (see photo of file in the opening). this allows the anchor to seat properly.
I've found one discrepancy in the instructions. There is a diagram "Y" for locating the freeing port covers (scuppers), part 131, however, I couldn't find any reference in the instructions as to the time to apply these nor whether one should open a hole to show up on the inside of the bulwarks when done. I will probably make the openings in the bulwark before I apply the covers.
The inside of the bulwarks a rather rough , particularly since they will be seen on the finished model. I'm going to fill and sand these smooth before painting the hull.
This gives us a start on the model. Hopefully I'll get some more done tomorrow.
John
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continuing:
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A little history about the protoype for this vessel may be gleaned from this web site:
http://www.tynetugs.co.uk/joffre1916.html (http://www.tynetugs.co.uk/joffre1916.html)
John
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Today we started to tackle the inside bulkheads. There are two on this vessel, one fore, one mid ships, made from supplied plywood. The basic shapes are already CNC routed out of the overall plywood sheet. However, they must be fitted to the particular hull shape. Since these hulls are GRP the inside surface finish is variable so a little bit of work to make them fit the hull better will pay off in a better looking job. To locate the bulkhead locations refer to the instruction sheet. The sheet gives the locations measure from the tip of the bow. How to get this measurement accurately to the hull? Using a square set upright inside the hull on the keel line, bring a measuring stick from the point of the bow to the square. Adjust the square until the desire 135 MM distance (as per the drawings, is achieved. Mark the hull at the keel center line and square intersection point. Now extend this line up to the top of the hull in a square fashion. If you have done it accurately, the bulkhead should sit square and vertical in the hull. The amidships bulkhead merely uses the forward bulkhead line as a reference point for measurement. When you are satisfied with the location, its time to fit the bulkhead to the hull. Set a light low into the hull on the opposite side to which you are viewing the bulkhead. This will show light through the gaps that don’t meet the hull properly. Sand, trim and tweak the bulkhead until the light gaps are as small as possible, or non existent. The bulkheads should slip into place easily and not push out or distort the hull. I wanted the centers of my bulkheads open for wiring, ballast access, and battery access if necessary. I decided to leave 5/8” material around the outside of the bulkhead. Now special reason for that number except it appeared to be right and should be plenty strong enough. I then used my jigsaw to cut out the center of the bulkheads. The burrs were sanded and cleaned up and the bulkheads are test fitted. All well I offered up the Decaperm motor I plan to use for the vessel. In the photo with the decaperm you will notice a pencil line across the keel of the hull. This is the position the prop shaft comes into the hull. I may well be shortening the prop tub and shaft to allow more room for a proper universal joint.
All looking well, I did a test fit of the sub deck. Here again a little sanding and tweaking was done to get the deck to fit comfortably. Now is time to epoxy the bulkheads into place. John
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.............the bulkheads continue.........
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The story continues. I epoxied the cut out and fitted bulkheads so they are now secure. I commenced prep to install the stern tube and rudder. Early on I decided to substitute a four bladed brass prop for the three bladed cast metal prop supplied. For the stern tube commence by marking, on the bulge for the stern tube hull exit, a center point. Us a small drill to make a pilot hole, something in the order of 1/8 inch should do. Follow through with a 5/16 drill (this matched the size of the stern tube provided with the kit. Even though I was very careful on drilling the hole I still chipped the raised portion on the hull around the stern tube penetration. After some consideration on how to fix the problem I decided to file off the broken bits and portion of the protrusion on the hull rather than fill them with filler. I turned up a brass flange to solder onto the prop shaft right at the over board bearing. This flange provided a convenient stop when installing the stern tub and a place to apply sealer to prevent water ingress to the hull. The other end of the stern tube was drilled on its circumference to allow the installation of an oil tube later. My stern tube came with the prop shaft, however, on inspection it looks like mild steel and will, therefore, rust. It was exhibiting signs of that already. I’m going to substitute a stainless steel prop shaft.
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To install the rudder post bearing I first offered up the skeg provided in the kit. This requires a hole be drilled, into the hull, along the keel line. A little filing may be required on the keel to allow the skeg casting to easily slip over it. Once installed drop a piece of brass rod or wood dowel down through the hole in the skeg, to the hull stern. When you’re satisfied the rudder post will be straight, mark the hull where you want the hole for the rudder post bearing. Drill the hole through the hull with the appropriate size drill for the tube provided. Before installing the tube, I offered up a brass washer to the tube. I filed the washer internal diameter to allow the washer to sit at an angle when the rudder shaft bearing was placed through it. A test fit was made in the hull and the rudder and skeg were installed and clamped in place. The washer was soldered to the bearing tube. When things had cooled down the bearing tube was epoxied to the hull.
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The stern tube was now installed. It needs a support near its forward end. The drawings don’ call for it, however, the amount of overhang will cause vibration and extra stress on the stern of the hull. Using cardboard I made a template for the support. When I was happy with the fit, I cut the shape out of plywood. The plywood was epoxied into place in the hull.
John
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Have to say John not only is this an interesting build, you present it in such a way that it becomes almost a tutorial - excellent! a great help to all and especially newcomers - 10 out of 10 to you O0
Regards, Tony. (Just another fan! :-)) )
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Thank you for doing it John as I have the kit but not started it yet but this will be a great help.
Regards Howard.
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Thank you Tony and Howard (blush). I'm glad you like the build. It'll have the failures and fixes as I go along.
thanks for watching
John
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Appreciate the way you present your builds John - I've saved a copy of your Smit Nederland build for when I get to refurbishing mine.
In the meantime, happy to watch your progress on this one :-))
Regards,
Ray.
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Appreciate the way you present your builds John - I've saved a copy of your Smit Nederland build for when I get to refurbishing mine.
In the meantime, happy to watch your progress on this one :-))
Regards,
Ray.
Thanks very much Ray, A pleasure to be of assistance.
John
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Well I'll tag along for the build too - nice subject. O0
Dave
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Now we have the stern tube and rudder post tube installed, I decided to look at the main deck . According to the drawings there is a very small opening, under the steering quadrant grill, to gain access to the steering gear on this vessel. I wasn’t happy with that so I took blade to wood and made a substantial opening in the aft of the main deck to allow access to the steering. I will use the grill casting that came with the kit, but set it higher off the deck. This wasn’t unusual as the steering quadrant was usually above deck anyway. To ease the access to the rod from the steering servo, I made a fitting to go on the steering post that has the appendage to accept the servo steering rod. The fitting set screw, that fastens the fitting to the steering post, is accessible from above the main deck. This makes adjustments and removal simple and easy rather than having to fight something under the deck.. The fitting is made of 1/4" dia. brass rod that has a .140” x ½” hole down its axis that slips over the rudder post tube. The hole continues at .120” for the remainder of the fitting length (about 7/8”). A 6-32 grub screw is let into the .120 dia hole. This acts as a pinch screw to hold the rudder in place. You now have an accessible steering gear that is easily removed or adjusted.
John
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Now we have the rudder sorted, its time to look at the deck and motor installation. Caldercraft doesn’t seem to make any arrangements for a “ledge” to sit the deck on inside the perimeter of the hull. This is typically done to add support to the deck and ensure a level installation of the deck in the hull. Makes the joint stronger too. To overcome this deficiency, I used some bass wood strip to make up the ledge. It ran inside the hull even with the top of the installed bulkheads. I epoxied them into place, ensuring they were securely clamped while the epoxy set. After the epoxy set and the clamps were removed, the deck was test fit. Looked really nice, except it was low on one side. After inspection with a ruler, I found that the bulkheads were low on one side. (see, I said you get all the mistakes and how to correct them). To over come the problem, I installed another bass wood strip on top of the first one to bring the level up correctly. The bulkheads also received a partial strip that was sanded down to match the correct deck curvature. Once the deck is in place, no one will know. I then turned to the motor mount. This is made from a block of pine cut to size. On top is a square of 1/8” plywood large enough to over hang the sides of the motor mount. This was epoxied to the top of the pine block. When that was set up, I epoxied two brass strips to the underside of the overhang. These were drilled for #10 machine screws. Take the mark off point for these holes from the base of the motor. After clean up, the brass screws were inserted through the holes from the bottom of the overhang. When the bolts were correctly lined up, they were soldered to the brass strip. The idea, here, is to prevent the screws from turning while you tighten down on the hold down nuts from above. If you follow this method, you may want to use a soldering iron rather than a small butane torch as I did. It makes a less burnt appearance. In boats I build I try and seal in the innards to prevent damage should water ingress. I usually accomplish this by painting on fiberglass resin over all the wooden parts. I did so in this application on the motor mount, bulkheads and around the prop shaft entry into the hull, and the underside of the deck. The motor mount was fastened to the hull with the resin at this time too. You may notice a misalignment of the universal joint. That’s because the motor mount shifted while the resin was hardening. It was hard when I noticed it. Shouldn’t be a problem, just doesn’t look very good. There is another thread that shows how I made the universal joint:
http://www.modelboatmayhem.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,42205.70.html (http://www.modelboatmayhem.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,42205.70.html)
John
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.....motor mount:
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Super build, coming along very nice. I love the 'building by pictures' gives so much more involvement and tips.
Thank you very much.
Si:)
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I think you gave motor mount a real fright there with the torch, you know you can't watch TV and solder at the same time, at least I can't, you are moving fast on this build John, Mick B...
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I think you gave motor mount a real fright there with the torch, you know you can't watch TV and solder at the same time, at least I can't, you are moving fast on this build John, Mick B...
It's a small butane torch Mick. The trick is to work fast and blow hard (to put the flames out).
John
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Holy smoke! - hope it was white John {-)
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Holy smoke! - hope it was white John {-)
LOL..we gave it an appropriate blessing
John
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It is because of things like that you never have enough fire extinguishers around. LOL. Mick B...
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It is because of things like that you never have enough fire extinguishers around. LOL. Mick B...
I'm well equipped with dry chemical extinguishers.
John
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The saga continues. In this installment we’ll look at the installation of the rudder servo. I took a look at the arrangement in the bottom of the hull where the motor and such are. I felt putting the rudder servo down there could make things a bit cramped, particularly when there was so much space right under the deck. I’d mounted the rudder servo under the deck on my Smit Nederland build. It worked well….no reason why it shouldn’t, so why not here.
Instead of the aluminum mount I used on the Neddy, I elected to use a plywood mount on the Joffre. I made the mount so it was well supported and fastened it together and to the underside of the deck with epoxy. The small slot in the mounting plate for the servo allows the servo control wire to pass through easily when installing the servo. It was positioned under the deck in such a way as to allow relatively easy access for removal should that be necessary.
I’ve found doing this “in hull” laying out is much easier with the deck left off until all the planning and installation is complete. When doing it this way, however, one must periodically reinstall the deck to ensure they haven’t built themselves into a corner they can’t get access to.
John
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Now the rudder servo is installed we move over to the electrics. I’m using a 6 volt system in this boat as that is the rating on the Decaperm I’m using. I cut out a piece of 1/8” plywood to fit into the forward hold of the hull. I curved the forward ends of it slightly, to accommodate the shape of the hull. From there I layed out the battery, speed controller and fuse block to determine fit and access. I’ve laid the battery on its side to keep the center of gravity as low as possible. At this rate all the battery will be below water level.
When I was happy I cut some pine to give me ¼” square sections to form a fence around the battery location and servo location. This will trap them in place so they don’t move around. The battery will eventually be tied down.
The underside of the plywood was supported with some scrap plywood. This supports the weight of the battery and spreads the weight over the hull. When all this glue is dry, tomorrow, I’ll coat the whole wood assembly with fiberglass resin and glue to the inside of the hull. What about the receiver etc? I’m looking at making a tray to sit on top of the battery to carry that lot. Again see the Neddy build for a similar set up. It makes for easy access and removal if necessary. The lot can be built on the bench, and even transferred to another vessel if desired.
John
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You are making great strides John, & I like the way you think outside the box as well. Mick B. PS = for those watching this have a good look at John's Smit Nederland. It is well worth a peek. Mick.
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You are making great strides John, & I like the way you think outside the box as well. Mick B. PS = for those watching this have a good look at John's Smit Nederland. It is well worth a peek. Mick.
Thanks Mick. We're pottering along as best we can. It seems to be making progress.
John
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With the battery support resined to the hull, I commenced with the installation of the deck. I resined the underside of the deck to begin with. When that was done I tested for fit to the hull. I made sure all the supports for the deck that I’d installed earlier were clean smooth and ready for use. I mixed a batch of 15 minute epoxy and liberally applied same to the tops of the bulkheads and the side supports and also the extreme for and aft section soft the deck. The deck was then slipped into place taking care it fit properly all round and sat squarely. I installed weights and clamps where appropriate to hold the deck down until the epoxy set.John
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With the deck installed I went back to the bulwarks. As I’d mentioned earlier, the bulwarks a rather rough on the inside . They could be sanded smooth, but I felt the remaining material would have been to thin for safety. Instead I mixed a batch of car body putty and troweled it smoothly along the inside of the bulwarks. I made sure it came right down to the newly installed deck. When it was set I sanded it smooth all around the inside of the bulwark. The bulwarks will be finished off with supports and other structural members. The deck installed replicates the steel deck typically put onto ships. On earlier vessels the decks were covered in wood. This one appears to follow that line, except, there is no wood right to the bulwarks or right to the steering quadrant area. These places have been left free for water to run clear. Instead of making an individually planked deck, I’m trying something on the printed deck. I have a small cutting tool (see pics) that I use to groove wood. Lay a straight edge along the marked lines on the wood decking. Draw the tool (in the pics) down the groove, first with the blade straight up and down, then one pull with the blade laying slightly to the left then to the right. A thin strip of wood can be lifted from the groove leaving the effect of two planks side by side. When done, sand the planks gently to get rid of any fuzz. To finish, stain the wood decking. I use grey as wood in the sun weathers wood to grey. Unless it’s a Royal Navy vessel the decks will most certainly be a silvery gray colour of sun bleached wood. When done, draw a thin marking pencil down the groves in the wood to simulate the caulking between the planks. There you have your fauxe planked deck. John
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Lovely work John & a very good tip as well, Mick B.
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Lovely work John & a very good tip as well, Mick B.
thanks Mick. Work has slowed down a bit for the moment. I've got a number of other projects on the go and they're taking priority at the moment.
To our viewers
This thread was started because someone else was about to start a Joffre and needed some guidance along the way. Has that person started and how are they making out? Would like to compare notes.
John
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Moving on. This time I’m sorting the holes in the bulwarks for the scuppers. As originally built, and as supplied in the kit, this tug had scupper doors on all the openings. I guess that was the style of the time I suppose. The picture of the prototype shown above in this thread, shows the scuppers rearranged and the size of the openings modified. Just to be different I elected to build mine in this later configuration. First off, mark out the center line of the scupper openings as per the drawings. Using the center lines as a guide, mark out the full width of the scupper openings. You’ll notice from the photo of the prototype that only two scuppers have full height openings. Mark the height of these two, and mark the shorter openings half that height. Using a 1/16 drill, drill a series of holes around the perimeter of the scupper openings being sure not to cross the line and take out more of the bulwark than you intended. With this done, you can either use a round file, followed up by a flat file to clean out the openings nice and square, or you can move things along a bit with the use of a Dremel, or similar, tool. I started with the later and finished with the former. The drawings don’t show bulwark braces or rib extensions for same. I thought I’d add these as they are a bit of obvious detail on a vessel of this vintage. I started by cutting out strips of styrene about .090 wide (just because I had it to hand). These were cut the height of the bulwark. I cut enough to space out the supports about 6 scale feet around the perimeter of the bulwarks. T o fasten them to the bulwarks I used CA (cyano) as a glue. When they were set up, I took ¼” x .020” styrene strips and cut them into angles. These were glued with styrene cement to the previously installed uprights. It takes a little while to do, but I think the effect is worth it. John
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..........bulwark supports
John
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Hi John, great tutorial and build log as ever - :-)) I've also been wondering as to whether the chap who initially asked for advice re the Joffre managed to start his build, it was a chap called Bart I think but not noticed any further postings.
Keep up the good work! regards, Tony.
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This is coming on a treat, excellent work and progress, pictures are superb. Keep up the good work.
Si:)
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Thanks Tony and Eddie. We'll keep soldiering along.
I was curious as to how the other chap was making out. Would be good to compare notes.
John
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Yeah, he seams to have gone silent, hope the build hasn't been a pain and he has given up :((
Si:)
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I've completed the bulwark supports on the Joffre. Bit of tedious work, but I like the effect.
Now its on to painting the hull and deck. As mentioned earlier, I prefer the sun bleached look of silver grey wood on a working tug such as the Joffre. In order to try and accomplish that end I gathered together a 1/2" paint brush (fairly stiff), grey model paint, black model paint and some laquer thinners. A bit of each was put into separate containers.
i dip the brush into the grey to begin with and take quick light strokes over the deck material. I then dip the brush into the laquer thinner and run the brush back over the grey. this will dissolve the grey and thin it out and allow it to soak into the wood better. You should end up with an appearance of stained and mottled appearance.
I periodically then dip the brush into black and quickly skim over the deck material. Do this lightly and quickly, dry brush style. Try and get more black in areas of high traffic or where materials have been laid down or oil has dispersed from machinery (the windlass for example). This should give you the appearance of a deck that is maintained, but has been subject to the traffic and use of a working tug.
Do the same to the work boats. These will be on and off the tug frequently, moving equipment, hausers, fittings etc, from the tug to the tows and the dock. They will be well used and the wood won't be a pristine varnished finish.
I also painted the hull with red oxide primer to approximate the anti fouling paint typically used. Before painting the hull, I roughed it up with 600 grit sand paper, then cleaned it with acetone on a rag. Don't touch it with your bare fingers after that, but go straight to paint.
Next session I'll show how to mark it out for the satin black above the water line.
John
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We continue with painting the hull. The primer has now hardened, we can mark and tape off the water line to apply the black to the upper part of the hull.
Begin by setting the hull in your stand and make sure its level and even from side to side and end to end. Using a block of wood, or a DTI holder as I have done, clamp a pencil into position to mark the hull at the correct level for the water line. Place the hull/stand and marker on a flat surface and pull the pencil around the outside of the hull. Don't press too hard and use an HB pencil when doing the marking.
When you have completely circled the hull break out the masking tape. I place a strip of it across a peice of plate glass I use for this technique. Using a ruler and a sharp knife slice the masking tape end to end down the center. Lift one peice of masking tape from the glass and place the cut edge against the hull lining it up with the pencil mark. Moving from one end to the other, press the tape down against the hull being careful to be sure it stays in line with the pencil mark. To be sure the tape is pressed against the surface where the black paint is to be sprayed use small dental spoon or similar to press the edge of the masking tape down.
After the hull is ringed in masking tape, cover the rest of the underside of the hull with paper to mask it against the black spray. Spray the black paint ( I used a satin black) starting at one end and working to the other. Do light coats so you don't get a large build up against the masking tape. After the first coat, wait for the paint to flash then apply another coat from a different angle to be sure you've covered the whole area. before the paint hardens remove the masking and check for over spray. Any over spray can easily be removed with a pain brush dipped in mineral spirits.
Hull painting complete. Next, the upper works.
John
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looking good. keep it up. we are eagerly watching
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looking good. keep it up. we are eagerly watching
Thanks very much. I've got more done, just haven't had time to write it up.
John
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i don't get much time to do my model. Do the occasional bits. But with a lil 16month child running around its a lil hard.
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i don't get much time to do my model. Do the occasional bits. But with a lil 16month child running around its a lil hard.
I agree, it can be difficult getting everything in with a growing family. You can only do what you can. Are you building the Joffre too?
John
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no. i got a billings banckert. also building a lil springer tug as my backup.
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I'm working away on the super structure right now. the words and music will follow shortly. In the meantime, I've painted the inside of the bulwarks and installed the supplied decking material.
Painting the inside of the bulwarks was straight forward. I used an airbrush and Model Master paints. i blended an earth brown with a bit of yellow to come up with the colour. I'm not sure what colour the inner bulwarks are on the prototype, so I settled for this. It doesn't look too bad to me, others may think otherwise. When painting the inner bulwarks be sure to mask the scupper openings on the outside. It eliminates the embaressment of having inner paint on an outer surface and having to explain its your version of weathering.
After the paint has suitably dried, install the comings into the deck holes. This can be done before the paint, I just did it afterward.
Lay the provided deck material, with the large holes cut into it, over the deck. Make sure it fits comfortably around the comings. You don't want any hang ups for what comes next. When you're satisfied with location trace around the outside of the deck material with a soft pencil. Remove the deck material. Paint, inside the pencil line, with contact cement and the underside of the decking material. You can use the new water based stuff or the old traditional stinky type. When the contact cement has set up as per instruction, lay the deck material over the sub deck. It will stick on contact. Press it down to be sure it's seated in all the right areas.
You are now ready for the super structure or the deck fittings, which ever takes your fancy. More on that next.
John
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That looks very impressive. beautiful job Sir. :-))
ken
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That looks very impressive. beautiful job Sir. :-))
ken
Thanks very much Ken.
John
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We are making slow progress on the main superstructure or deck house. Initially, when consulting Caldercraft construction notes I found all the pieces to assemble the main deck house were solely number in the book. However, in actual fact the cut wood parts were alphabetical and numerically numbered. There was an seperate paper insert into the construction booklet that showed an exploded diagram of the aplha numeric parts and their relationship. Fine.............however, when it came to parts L7, L8, L9 they didn't show exactly what their relationship was inside the structure. It took a bit of second guessing where to put them, but i think I got it. Also, the above pieces are cut too long to clear the combing around the battery and motor openings. You must cut the internal spacers in order for them to clear the coming.
i did this by putting the walls over the coming then traced the coming height onto the inside of the cabin walls. The internal seperators were then cut short to clear that traced line (see photo).
I used Cyano to fasten all the wooden bits together. I cut 90 deg triangles to fit into the inside corners of a couple of the walls to strengthen the structure and eliminate any racking of the structure that may occur.
When the structure was offered to the deck, there was a lot of clearance between the deck house and the coming. i'm going to have to fill in the gaps to make the structure fit better and not slop around.
John
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I took a look at the castings for one of the deck detail parts. They are numerous in this kit with little flash and quite detailed.
I started with the aft steam driven capstan by cleaning the minimal flash from the bits. It was here I noticed the steam supply to the cylinders was upside down. I gently turned the pipe 180 deg without it breaking. I couldn't believe my luck. Looks like someone put the patterns together wrong.
This mini kit also came with a wooden base for the hardware. However, the base is far to small and I'll have to make another one to suite.
John
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oldiron.....with this model is there a steam return line from the winch?.....or in real life back then was the steam just exhausted onto the deck?...................Derek
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oldiron.....with this model is there a steam return line from the winch?.....or in real life back then was the steam just exhausted onto the deck?...................Derek
Derek
There's no steam to condensor modeled. It could be under the engine valve casting and under the capstan base. You're thinking this could be the exhaust. I'm doubtfull since the drawing shows the steam pipe the other way around so it emerges from the deck, also, I would tend to think the exhaust pipe would be kept lower down to the deck and out of the way so it didn't spray exhaust steam and hot water onto the deck crew when in operation. I agree, from a prototype perspective, the capstan could be a once through system though.
John
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As I mentioned at the start of this exercise I said i would include all mistakes and foibles. Well I'm sure anyone who has built this model will recognize one mistake I did in the deck house that shows up in one of the pictures above.
One of the internal bulwarks that separate the side walls of the deck house, projects substantially above the back house. It didn't phase me at first as I thought it was the back wall for the wheel house. Not so. When I came to install the fiddly deck (that the stack sits on) the piece I had left over was too short. Ah ha, there's my second clue. I cut the projecting "pilot house back wall" off and spliced it with my too short fiddly deck wanna be and glued the lot into place as the fiddly deck. Now no one will know the difference.
I continued on with the boiler room coverings that extend to the side of the deck house. This is pretty well straight forward. In order to get a good match to the deck house, sand the upper edge of the addition to an angle to match its location against the deck house. Doing this will offer a better fit and can be better disguised later.
Her's also a shot of what we have to this point.
John
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i like building with plywood, however, when done and painted you can see the grain in the wood which doesn't look to good when the model is of a steel vessel. There are various ways to seal the grain so it doesn't show up. My favourite is to use car body icing to fill the grain. Its a two part mix that applies extremely smoothly, sands well, takes paint and looks great when done.
Mix the cream as per instruction. Working fast, apply it to the model in a thin layer. When it hardens, sand until smooth and apply a primer, then paint of your choice. the effect is of a metal surface with no grain showing through.
John
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I cut a larger piece of bass wood to go underneath the steam powered capstan for the aft deck. Its ready for paint and installation.
John
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Lovely work John & you are getting so much done so fast. I have just had two great weeks without an ache or a pain then just when all seems o/k my wrist feels like it has a real bad sprain. I can't remember doing anything to hurt it , but right now it is driving me up the wall the pain is so bad. Tomorrow I was hoping to finish off the TR6 engine I have been building but if my hand/wrist don't improve it is dead stop I am afraid.Keep up the posts & pictures, Mick B.
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Lovely work John & you are getting so much done so fast. I have just had two great weeks without an ache or a pain then just when all seems o/k my wrist feels like it has a real bad sprain. I can't remember doing anything to hurt it , but right now it is driving me up the wall the pain is so bad. Tomorrow I was hoping to finish off the TR6 engine I have been building but if my hand/wrist don't improve it is dead stop I am afraid.Keep up the posts & pictures, Mick B.
Sorry to hear of the agro Mick.. Try some Tylanol. It works for me to get rid of the inflamation.
Funny you say I'm going fast on the model. I was feeling like I was moving at a lathargic pace.
John
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She's coming on a treat there John :-))
I have a question for you - do you varnish the hull to protect the paintwork while carrying on with the superstructure etc..?
Regards,
Ray.
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She's coming on a treat there John :-))
I have a question for you - do you varnish the hull to protect the paintwork while carrying on with the superstructure etc..?
Regards,
Ray.
Ray
Thanks for the comments.
No, i don't think I've ever varnished a hull on any vessel I've built when I think about it. About the only time I put something over is to protect the decals and lettering if its a wet transfer type lettering. Can't say I've ever had problems with the paint lifting.
John
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Oke doke, thanks John - I've always varnished mine but that's to try and stop the paint surface getting too grubby 'coz I'm a bit of the messy type, especially where glues are concerned :embarrassed:
Regards,
Ray.
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The nice weather is finally here. I've been taking time doing outdoors spring chores, so haven't had much time in the workshop lately.
We take this opportunity to continue. i last left the deck house covered in body icining. this was to fill the grain in the wood deck house structure to give it a more "steel" appearance when the assembly is painted. Using high build primer alone will not completely do the job. The icing was sanded down to smooth and glazing putty used to pick out any nicks and scratches from my less than adequate handy work. this was again sanded, then the deck house sprayed in high build primer. When dry it was sanded again and a close inspection made for any flaws.
During the drying process's I started to put together some of the cast metal bits. the castings on this model are a real treat. They have little flash and the detail is excellent. I started with the windlass. Its fairly straight forward, but be careful, there are some very small bits in the kit. I used cyano and epoxy to fasten the components together.
When you have finished the windlass, place it on the deck and mark the holes in the windlass base onto the deck. These are the areas where the anchor chain will have to pass through. Remove the windlass and drill then file the four holes to the appropriate size.
With that complete, i started on the towing hooks attached to the main deck house. Here again the construction is quite straight forward. I used epoxy to fasten these components together. Make sure the parts are quite clean and the matting surfaces are roughened up a little.
when that was complete I started installing the cast metal doors on the deck structure. Put a small piece of 1/8" plywood under the door to give the correct spacing off the deck. I used thick cyano to fasten the doors the structure.
John
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Hi John, the castings look first class & as usual you are doing a great job with the build. As for weather, we went from Winter to Summer in a couple of days, would you believe 30c on Friday.It has been one strange year so far.When are you heading west, hope to see you soon. Mick B.
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Hi John, the castings look first class & as usual you are doing a great job with the build. As for weather, we went from Winter to Summer in a couple of days, would you believe 30c on Friday.It has been one strange year so far.When are you heading west, hope to see you soon. Mick B.
Mick
Well I just got up this morning to snow on the ground. We've had 20+ deg weather the flowers are coming up, the crops are being planted, now we're back to winter again.
We're leaving a week today. I expect we'll be your way about two weeks after that. Will PM you.
John
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You are doing a fine job of this John. I look forward to seeing it in person.
Cheers,
Tom
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If anyone wants to use the same stuff as Oldirpn and lives in the UK to seal wood then use either Easy light or Top stop it is EXACTLY the same stuff albeit in a tin and is available form Halfords
Dave
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G’day all. Well the frost is on the pumpkin again, so its time to retire to the basement and pick up where I left off on this build last spring.
I started work on the engine room ventilators. The kit provides two wooden dowels for the riser pipes, two mushroom head castings and two sets of castings for the handle and gear train for turning the ventilator (in full size). All the castings a pretty clean requiring only minimal clean up.
The things I didn’t like? The wood dowel is oversize…..and its wood. Work would be required to hide the wood grain. The ventilator openings are solid inside. Normally not a problem, but I felt I had the opportunity to kill two problems in one throw. Get rid of the wood risers and open up the ventilators for a more realistic touch.
John
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I selected an appropriate diameter brass tube to match the round bottom of the ventilator. This was cut to length and cleaned up. How to match and fasten it to the ventilator casting? I got another short length of brass tube that telescoped into the larger diameter piece. This was to go inside the ventilator for fastening purposes.
The ventilator was very carefully, and in stages, drilled out to the diameter of the smaller piece of brass tube. This allowed that piece of tube to slide inside the ventilator. At the same time the ventilator was opened all the way through to give a proper open ventilator. Looks much better
John
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The ventilator casting was cleaned up and the short bit of brass tube was epoxied inside the ventilator with a short bit projecting below the ventilator. The larger diameter brass tube was epoxied to the short projecting bit and all was set to one side to set up.
John
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When the epoxy had hardened I slipped over the gear train casting and slid it up to the joint between the ventilator casting and the brass tube. It effectively hides the joint. The gear train was held in place with a few dabs of cyano adhesive.
In order to properly fasten the ventilator riser to the deck, I turned up some ½” diameter brass rod with a step the inside diameter of the larger brass tube. At the same time I drilled a 1/8” hole in the center of the brass rod to accept a short piece of 1/8” diameter brass rod. The turning was pressed inside the larger brass tube at the base of the ventilator assembly. A 1/8” diameter hole was drilled in the appropriate location in the deck and the whole assembly will, ultimately after painting, be glued to the deck.
John
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You have achieved a great conversion here oldiron........many years ago I attempted a similar quest however soldered the white metal mushroom heads to the brass tube <*<
Whilst waving a miniature gas torch over the joint to flash or smooth the solder >:-o the entire circumference of the mushroom head joint disappeared into a glob of dust O0 ......Derek :embarrassed:
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You have achieved a great conversion here oldiron........many years ago I attempted a similar quest however soldered the white metal mushroom heads to the brass tube <*<
Whilst waving a miniature gas torch over the joint to flash or smooth the solder >:-o the entire circumference of the mushroom head joint disappeared into a glob of dust O0 ......Derek :embarrassed:
Derek
Thanks. Yes I know what you mean about the low evaporative temperature of white metal castings. They go in the blink of an eye. I learned the hard way too. I did, years ago, a Wills kit for a great Western King class steam loco. It seems to me it was made of similar material. I used a low melt point soldering pencil with some degree of success soldering the parts together, but had to be very very careful. I didn't even want to attempt it on this. Epoxy and cyano work quite well for the stress these parts are under.
John
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A little off track John...in all of the images with the exception of 'ventilators5' the white metal component's appear to have a copperish tinge......is this a camera filter or have you washed the components with a copper fluid?........from memory, CuSO4 turned white metal blackish <*< ?..............Derek
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A little off track John...in all of the images with the exception of 'ventilators5' the white metal component's appear to have a copperish tinge......is this a camera filter or have you washed the components with a copper fluid?........from memory, CuSO4 turned white metal blackish <*< ?..............Derek
The castings are just as they came, however, I took the pictures under a combination of incandesant light and flourescent light. Both can do funny things to picture colour and I didn't bother to correct it before I posted the pics.
John
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Its nice to see you back on the build John, I know you were not sitting around though. Since you were here Dave & Jenny have also spent a few weeks here with us. It was nice to sit around with another boat person like yourself, they are scarce animals in this neck of the woods. How is your truck project coming, I won't mention the steam engine.Regards, Mick & Phyllis.
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in this installment we put togehter the wheel house. the structure is a basic 6 sided item of printed wood. The sides have to be cut from ply sheet and the windows cut from the sides. That's the tricky bit, cutting out the windows. I used a sharp utility knife (the kind you can break the and of the blade off to get a fresh sharp tip) to do the cutting. Triming and finishing was done with small files.
A base and a roof are supplied for the wheel house. Cut these out and sand them smooth along the edges. PLace the lower (floor) on the work bench and offer up each the sides of the wheel house. I started with the stern wall then went to the port and starboard walls, finishing up with the "pointy" front bits of the wheel house.
I added an internal wall to the wheel house where supposed the real wheel house had an internal wall. I did this to add extra strength to the unit and help keep everything square during construction.
All the pieces were glued together with Cyano
John
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With the basic wheel house constructed I stained the outside and inside with a dark maple stain as that's what i had on hand. I didn't bother detailing the interior although could have been done too. I'm going to use brass pin heads to emulate the brass door knobs.
John
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The wheels of progress some times slowly grind. However, back at the Joffre again.
I noticed, on a photo of the prototype, the side panels of the boiler house and bunker show some degree of rivet detail. I wanted to attempt to simulate this detail if possible. Remember these components are built from wood. It can be difficult, in this scale, to do a respectable lay over of rivet detail. Maintaining a conistancy of size is the most difficult part.
In order to overcome this conundrum I fell back to an old model railroading trick of using a pounce wheel to impress rivets into styrene sheet. My wife, fortunately, had a pounce wheel she was willing to contribute to the cause. I decided to just cover the coal bunker sides since that was the most obvious part of the deck house to have rivets. I cut out some .010" styrene sheet to the correct size to cover the area desired. On the back of the sheet I penciled in, with a ruler, the lines I wished to "rivet".
I placed the piece to be "riveted" on some scrap wood, to provide a soft back to the styrene to allow the pounce wheel to work. The ruler was used to guide the pounce wheel down the pencil lines. Some degree of pressure must be applied to the pounce wheel to get the impression to work.
When the work was turned over a reasonable impression of rivet detail was attained.
In order to apply the styrene to the bunker sides I used water based contact cement. I use this type of contact cement quite often for this application. It doesn't distort the plastic and the aroma is to a minimum. Follow the directions and apply the styrene sides to the bunker.
The work was then primered. I think the result is acceptable for what it is. It probably won't be to a rivet counter standard, but it'll certainly be acceptable on the water and to most of the viewing public.
John
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Continuing.......
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Did the Joffre get completed?
Tug Hercules
Fireman Rick
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Did the Joffre get completed?
Tug Hercules
Fireman Rick
Its just about done. I stopped working on it last winter so I could get some work done on a live steam loco I'm building. I got back at the Joffre a couple of months ago and its coming along. I'll post some more pictures tonight. thanks for shaking me up about it.
John
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John,
It is a great model and a great build.
I was hoping I didn't miss the completion of it.
I have one of the shelf. I just need to get started at it.
Tug Hercules
Fireman Rick
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To those following this build log, the Joffre build has continued, but I've been rather remiss in keeping up to date on the build in writing. I'm going to try and play alittle catch up here, for those interested. On the over all photo of the bow of the Joffre, you'll notice I've installed the decks on both the wheel house deck, and the upper open steering deck. Beware. There is an avenue for a mistake here, which i made and didn't realize it until it was too late.
You can see the grey decking material, on the deck above the wheel house, is on a lower plywood piece cut from the premarked wood supplied in the kit. I cut the plywood to size as per the markings done by the manufacturer, I then primed it and painted it white. I then placed the decking material on top of the painted plywood and installed the handrails. In actual fact, most of the (white in the picture) should be removed and the handrail posts should be installed directly through the gray decking and not through the white plywood. If you do what I've done, you end up with an over hang over the wheel house which doens't look nearly right when compared to the photo of the prototype. I don't know why the plywood underlay was marked to such an excessive dimension, but it was . y the time I realized it it was too late and I would have had to remove and redo all the upper handrails. Something I wasn't keen on doing.
John
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The deck fittings, previously made, where painted and weathered to give amore interesting model. I'm not one who likes a pristine model, I prefer it to be in a well kept, but used condition.
I used enamel paints to paint the deck fittings, then when dry, I used a very waytered down acrylic paint, apllied with a brush, to give me th edark "greassy" weathering to the fittings. This a applied as a wash over the fittings and allowed the dark brown and black to accumulate where it will. It seems to give a more natural effect to the weathering.
John
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great looking model built one for a friend when it first came out ....bill....
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great looking model built one for a friend when it first came out ....bill....
Thanks Bill. It does make a nice product when done. There are a ton of casting to do on it though.
John
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The railings are cetainly phinicky peices to deal with. The cast handrail posts need cleaning to begin with. It appears as though the molds on many of my castings were slightly offset, one side from the other. This resulted in the holes in the balls on the posts becoming plugged for the most part. I had to file the posts to shape (be careful, they will bend very easily) and drilling the holes out to clear with a 0.032 " drill. Mounting holes were then drilled into the deck to take the spigot on the bottom of the posts.
Using the handrail wire provided, use the holes you have drilled into the deck to act as a template for bending the wire. Don't try and bend the whole length at once. but do it in managable sections. When you have two rail formed, thread the appropriate number of posts onto the two wires. Make sure there is some wire over hang at each end of the string. Install the posts into the holes you've made. Now continue on with the next string on either side of those you have just installed. When all the strings are made and installed, use ACC (cyano) on the bottom of each post to secure the handrail posts to the deck. Where the ends of the handrails meet the neighbour next to it, trim both sides so the ends meet happily together. Then using a hot fine soldering iron, qquickly solder the ends of the rails together where they meet the neighbour. If carefully done, the railings should look as one piece all the way around the enclosure. (see photo above for complete railing)
John
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With the handrails and posts installed, its a good time to make and install the wood rail caps, both for the rails at the wheel house level and along the bulwarks around the perimeter of the vessel. The kit comes with a pine that is grooved in the back side to fit over the bulwarks. However, the bulwarks curve and here in lies the conundrum. You can make a steam bosx to bend the pine rail cap (messy), soak the rail cap in hot water for as long as necessary to allow it to bend freely, then clamp it in the desired position until dries, or you can do, as I did, make entirely new caps to measure and shape.
I feel this gives a far better looking cap with less fuss muss, and eliminates the tacky plywood pit on the stern cap.
I used bass wood to make my caps because it was on hand. You could use any soft wood equally well. Cut the strip of wood down to th ethcikness of the finished rail cap. Set it down on top of the bulwark, or railing, and using a pencil, mark a line on the underside of the wood follwing the bulwark as a guide. Turn the wood over to reveal your pencil line. Draw two other lines, one on either side of the guide line you just made. These are your cut lines to cut out the rail cap from your wood. When you have cut the cap out, use a fine cut off wheel in a Dremel type tool, and cut a slot along the center line of the rail cap (the guide line you originally made). be careful not to go all the way through the rail cap. This slot is what the bulwark is going to fit into when you are finished here.
With the slot cut, test fit the cap on the bulwark. Adjust as necessary. the bulwark should fit into the slot you have just routed out. When you are happy with the fit. mix up some 5 or 15 minute epoxy and drizzle same into the slot in the wood. Place the wood over the bulwark ensuring the bulwark fits into the slot again and place a small weight on top of the cap until the epoxy sets. Since you won't be able get the entire cap made out of one peice of wood, you can go a ahead and make the next peice while the first is setting up.
Finish sand the wood rail cap and give it a rounded top to soften its edges a bit.
When finished, I used a furniture stain to colour my caps.
For the hand rail posts, do the same up to the slot. Instead, place the cap against the posts and transfer the location of the tops of the posts to the cap. Drill through the cap at the post locations with a 0.032" drill . Offer uou the cap to the posts and ensure each post upper pin fis into the holes you just drilled. If they do, Cyano the cap to the posts and stain after sanding.
John
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The engine room cover is to be made from balsa wood provided. This is a pretty straight forward operation. When the assembly is done, sand the upper edges of the wooden block to give a curved shape to the top of the cover.
As I've done before, I covered the outside of the cover with body icing. When this was set I sanded it until it appeared smooth enough. On mine, the odd "dent" would be in keeping withs its work a day lifestyle. Spray with a coat of high fill primer (sandable primer). Mark out where the engine room lights are to go. I drilled the holes with a brad point bit. It saved a lot of teearing of the balsa wood block and generally made a cleaner hole. Sand and clean up the holes as necessary. Install the window castings with Cyano. Apply another quick coat of primer, then paint in your desired finish colour. Job done.
John
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Finished getting the smoke stack painted today. I cyanoed the cast metal rings onto the smoke stack along with teh whistle mounting bracket. When set, i washed the stack in soap and water and went over it with a cloth dampened in a paint prep degreaser. I first sprayed the stack with a primer, last night, then air brushed the yellow ( a mix of yellow, white and a touch of brown) from the Master paints line. When the yellow was dry, I masked off for the black and sprayed it with Master paints black.
The vessel is close to finished. i have to fasten down the towing bows, steering quadrant grate, life boats and supports and rigging.
These shots will give an idea what its like in its finished state.
John
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Very smart. :-)) I like the finish.
Cheers
ken
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It is a great build John, you are a master craftsman. PM me your phone # & I will chat with you , cheers, Mick.
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Thanks Mick. you may be interested in seeing how that King project is coming.
http://www.kawarthasteam.com/412792183 (http://www.kawarthasteam.com/412792183)
John
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I made up the deck supports today. i found a discrepancy in the instructions on this one. The instruction sheet in materials, calls for item #5: 0.8 mm steel rod. This works out to about .032" which is pretty small and wouldn't look at all correct as a deck support. I found, in the kit's box, some copper plated steel rod about .064" diameter. i used this instead for the supports. I have the feeling this is what was supposed to be used.
i drilled .062" holes into the upper and middle deck as per the drawings, and pressed the supports into the deck wood. I roced it down until the support touched the deck below then Cyanoed the rod into place. When all is done, the will get a coat of white paint to match the railings.
John
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I made an addition to the boiler room that I should have done in the early build stages. I should have done this part of the build early on in the construction sequence rather than at the near finish stage. However, it got done with minimum hassel. The instructions call for using the provided 1/8" pine square sections. Make holes at the correct locations (see the drawings) in the upper portion of the boiler room and pass the pine sections trhough from side to side. Not a bad idea, but I had this fear of the sections getting damaged over time with the deck house removal for internal service of the vessel, so I made mine from steel and brass.
The steel is coat hanger wire, easily obtainable and soft enough to work with. Cut the wire to length as per the drawings. Drill four 1/8" holes in four postitions near the top of the boiler room (here again, see the drawings for location). Pass the wire through the holes from side to side and glue in place. Ensure you have equal over hang from side to side. I used epoxy to fasten mine. I then cut out square section brass to the same cross section dimension as the provided pine square section. The length of each of these peices of square brass matches the over hanging peice of wire. Wet the wire with epoxy and slide the square section brass over the wire. Set aside until hard.
Use the wood provided for the decking. Castings provided are for the supports under the square section . These supports go down to the gunnals and are removable with the deck house assembly.
Another thing I did at this point that i should have done earlier was drill a hole through the boiler room below the stack. This provides me the opportunity to put in a smoke unit at a later date without having to damage the stack to drill the hole later. I found the best wway to do it at this point was to use a step drill. Although designed for sheet steel, it worked very well on the plywood of the deck house.
John
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I next installed the steering quadrant grating. The grating comes as very nice casting that needs a little clean up. The instructions are thin on how tto go about mounting this to the stern of the vessel. The criteria for the mounting was that it had to be removable for access to the steering post, I also had to leave enough clearance for thesteering post as mine sits somewhat higher than would be normal.
I needed about 3/8" between the bottom of the grating and surface of the deck in order to clear the steering post. To do this I cut out a piece of scrap 3/8" plywood to an arc that fit the inside of the stern bulwarks. Whne the wood fit, I painted it blac to hide it in the shadows beneath the grate. I then glued it onto the deck under the stern bulwarks. The grating fits nicely on top of the wood arc and nestle under the stern bulwarks. Painting the inside of the hull around the steering post will further enhance the final image.
John
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Continuing with the grate over the steering quadrant. There is nothing to lock the grate in place once you have installed the spacer as a bove. The grate must be removable for service of the steering post. to accomplish this, and fill in the space below the grate, I bent up a piece of brass ( about 0.032") so that it has a 1/8" lip on one side. I made it a depth of 1/2" on the other side. I epoxied this to the bottom forward side of the grate. Now when the grate is installed, the longer side of the brass drops below deck level and prvents the grate from sliding forward out of its home. The grate can be lifted straight up for intended removal.
I haven't painted before I took the pictures, but I'm going to paint it black. This will hide the piece and provide "shadow" under the grate.
John
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As the vessel is nearing completion, I felt it was a good time to prepare the crew. The kit comes with a captain, deck hand, a cabin boy and a dog. I painted these as appropriate. Since I'm partial to Border Collies, I painted the dog to look like my Bess.
John
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Now that is simply amazing :-)
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Now that is simply amazing :-)
Thanks very much Mark.
John
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Congratulations 'youngfella' ....a beautifully detailed build :-)) ....[but you are only a few more days of wisdom over me] {-) ...... Derek
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Congratulations 'youngfella' ....a beautifully detailed build :-)) ....[but you are only a few more days of wisdom over me] {-) ...... Derek
LOL, thanks Derek, just a tad over. :-))
Happy New Year.
John
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Happy New to all & a special thank to John who was thoughtful enough to give me a call & ask how I was doing. That is one beautiful build you have done there but your train engine out shines most things we get to see on here. I guess I will have to be patient to see it finished, it is a work of art. Mick B.
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Happy New to all & a special thank to John who was thoughtful enough to give me a call & ask how I was doing. That is one beautiful build you have done there but your train engine out shines most things we get to see on here. I guess I will have to be patient to see it finished, it is a work of art. Mick B.
Happy New Year to you and Phylis , Mick. The King will get done. The Joffre is just about done (got some more done on it yesterday) then I'll go back to the King. I want to see it air tested before winter is over
John
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More progress, after getting the rigging done, I went on to do the lifeboats. The kit provides vacuum formed lifeboats with intrenal components of plywood.
The vacuum formed hull has to be cut from the overall sheet. You can do the basic cutting with a knife for the removal from the sheet, however, I found scissors were better for getting the final cut to the shape of the hull. A knife tended to suddenly cut fast, and not necessarily where you wanted it to cut (i.e. lack of control).
Next cut the internal formers out of the marked plywood sheet using a sharp hobby knife. Clean them up with sandpaper to get a uniform shape. I started by fitting the seat peice into the uhull. This required a bit of sanding and trimming to get a good fit. Don't glue it in place at this point. Next trim the dcuk boards to fit. Using some scrpa 1/16 square (or similar wood) make three cross brases for the duck boards. These serve to hold the duck boards together, and provide a means of gluing them into the hull. When set, fit them into the hull and glue into place. I used 5 minute epoxy to hold mine.
When set, insert the seat frame and use Cyano to fasten into place. The railing cap comes next. Turn the cap upside down on the bench and place the lifeboat, upside down, over the cap. Run cyano along the under side of the cap where it meets the lifeboat. When set, do a final sand of the cap to clean up its over hang on the lifeboat.
Finally stain or paint the wooden bits to suit. I weathered the inside of the hulls a bit to give them a more used look.
John
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The last thing I did was paint a liberal black wash over the vessel using heavily diluted acrylic paint (Ebony Black) with a spot of soap detergent to make it flow.. It gives a certain shading, weathering and appearance of use about the vessel that I find satisfying.
I think , at this point, I'm going to call the Joffre complete, at least as far as the kit instructions are concerned. I have to add the rigging to the lifeboat davits. I want to add some further detail such as the canvas wind guard around the steering deck railings, hausers and assorted tools and bits on the deck, that can alll add life to the vessel. I may put pictures up of those additions some point in the future, but for now I'm calling the build complete.
Thankyou for following along. Its been an interesting build, with a fine prodcut for a tug fan like myself.
John
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Hi John,
Nice build. I am in the middle of building a Joffre myself, and have followed your build log with great interest. My father built one many years ago. After his death I had to find a home for his boats, so some, including the Joffre, where donated to the model boat museum at Beale Park in the UK. The stand he had made for the Joffre was a conventional design just like yours and I saw that the Hull had some serious dents in it from where it had been on it's stand, perhaps stored with the SLA battery in situ. Consequently I have made my stand so that the weight of the boat is entirely supported by the keel, like a real boat would be in dry dock. Just a suggestion.
Cheers, Terry.
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Hi John,
Nice build. I am in the middle of building a Joffre myself, and have followed your build log with great interest. My father built one many years ago. After his death I had to find a home for his boats, so some, including the Joffre, where donated to the model boat museum at Beale Park in the UK. The stand he had made for the Joffre was a conventional design just like yours and I saw that the Hull had some serious dents in it from where it had been on it's stand, perhaps stored with the SLA battery in situ. Consequently I have made my stand so that the weight of the boat is entirely supported by the keel, like a real boat would be in dry dock. Just a suggestion.
Cheers, Terry.
Terry: Thanks for your observation and suggestion. I intended this for a build cradle actually. For my heavy vessels I build something along the lines of what you have recommended (see pic of my Master). that will be the next project.
cheers
John
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Nice one John :-))
A good build, along with some useful tips / info - and a pleasant log too - well done :-))
Regards,
Ray.
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Nice one John :-))
A good build, along with some useful tips / info - and a pleasant log too - well done :-))
Regards,
Ray.
Thanks very much Ray, Greatly appreciated. Its always nice to hear when something is appreciated, and I'm happy you found this one worthwhile.
all the best
John
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Hi John just caught up with your build great job and useful tips I have the plans for this and may scratch build it ,just wondering about the navigation lights maybe my old eyes but can,t see them have to look at my plans
Cheers
John
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Hi John just caught up with your build great job and useful tips I have the plans for this and may scratch build it ,just wondering about the navigation lights maybe my old eyes but can,t see them have to look at my plans
Cheers
John
Hi John
No, your eyes aren't deceiving you. I'm going to make a set from scratch so the lights will work. I have to add those and the lifeboat tackle yet. I stopped because of other projects and the local hobby store wanted it for display in the store. I will finish it off.
John