Just thought that I’d write down the “bought-in”, helped with items on this model. (so far).
Raw materials excluded….we all have to buy stuff.
All the rest, mistakes and all are all my own efforts….
1. The brass funnel. Kindly made and donated by Jake Kelso of TMBC.
2. Scuttle rims and glasses are by RM Models (still Polish?).
3. Boathooks. The brass ends were made for me by Barry McKay.
4. Stanchions are bought from James Lane.
5. Brass “Dolphins” made and cast by a local Jeweller.
6. Hull. A joint effort. I made the original “plug” and Kim McLean of Clyde Models made the mould and laid up the final hull.
7. Cowl Vents. Another joint effort. I made the master plugs and Jim Lane used his big vac-former to produce the shells. Then I had to get them both to look presentable.
“Stuff” has been progressing. Although not quite as slow as a “snails-pace”, certainly not as fast as that of a cockroach. As you might have gathered, I’ve been a bit discombobulated (always wanted to use that word, but never really had the opportunity!) due to the unexpected recovery of “Hunan” after her 11 year voyage into parts unknown.
But, as always, cost has escalated. That was £20 for a HiTec “Half Height”“Retract” servo for the rudder. The space and hull form beneath the area aft of the cabin is very restricted. But this gizmo seems to fit OK.
So now up to £580.
As of the 20th Oct. I’m now well into the 2nd week of trying to get the stern gratings to look and fit as I’d like. There are 4 of them covering an area of 5.5” x 5.5”. And shaped to fit into the odd shaped stern area. And the whole caboodle has to be removable to allow access to the steering gear. All very interesting but so time consuming.
More expense…only £13 this time ( just sundries like a new razor-saw blade, sanding discs and the like)…but that’s now £595 (I round up or down to the nearest £5).
I don’t for one moment expect that you will, but if you check back on where the money went you’ll probably find that a fair proportion of it was spent on “sundries”, “stuff” you need to buy to keep you going. This is partly the reason for this exercise.
Over the years I’ve spoken to many modellers who massively underestimate just how much a model has actually cost to build. And this includes Kit builders.
After many days of cogitation I began to realise that there was no “easy” way to get the stern gratings to fit and also be removable. The actual construction of the gratings was simple enough given that all the bits were “pre-made”. But, naturally enough, they were made to be made into a regular square cornered shape. Mine aren’t. So each slat had to be glued in place to avoid them lifting when being cut and shaped. Then came the problem of getting the completed unit to fit into the deck without simply dropping through into the hull. So a secondary “landing” had to be made but fixed at a level that would allow the gratings to stand proud of the unplanked deck by 1/16”. What a fiddle that was.
Then the edge trim surround had to be addressed. In no way could I get non-ply timber to go around the curve at the aft end. Nothing for it but to cut the side pieces out of the solid. The 3 enclosed pics should show you my solution to the problem. Final rubbing down and blending in will be done once the deck is planked.