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Author Topic: First time builder tackles HMS Amethyst (Deans)  (Read 17266 times)

kamus

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First time builder tackles HMS Amethyst (Deans)
« on: September 03, 2013, 05:29:40 pm »

Just saying hello!


I'm 58 years old, originally from Glasgow but I've been in the US for many decades now. My aging Dad served aboard HMS Magpie in 1946 and I thought about building Magpie for him as a surprise. I started with the White Ensign HMS Starling but the 1/350 scale was too much for my failing eyes and clumsy hands so I decided to go with Dean's HMS Amethyst. Opening the box was a shock as I hadn't previously realised that some serious skills (practically none that I possessed) were required for this type of kit. After the shock wore off, I decided "what the hell" and committed to doing the kit -otherwise I'd be out a serious amount of change  :(( . My dream of completing the boat quickly is gone forever- now I just hope my Dad lives long enough- I figure he has to hang in there for a year, minimum- he's 86.


I've been getting useful advice from some generous and experienced builders over at Dean's forum but otherwise, it's pretty quiet over there and I figured I should stick my nose in the door over here. I will be documenting my build and I will share it here once underway (I'm just prepping the hull now) and perhaps that will benefit some other poor beginner that finds themselves way over their head like me! :-)


Dave
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Big Ada

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Re: First time builder tackles HMS Amethyst (Deans)
« Reply #1 on: September 03, 2013, 06:20:18 pm »

Welcome Dave,
Lots of clever boat builders on here to help you on your way.
 
Len.
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Tug-Kenny RIP

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Re: First time builder tackles HMS Amethyst (Deans)
« Reply #2 on: September 03, 2013, 08:27:45 pm »


Hi Dave and welcome to Mayhem.

We would be very interested to see your build so please get posting pictures as you go along.

Everyone will help you with any queries and hopefully speed your progress down to a few months.   :} We'll all pull together to make your Dad proud.

Cheers

ken


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kamus

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Re: First time builder tackles HMS Amethyst (Deans)
« Reply #3 on: September 03, 2013, 09:07:45 pm »

Thanks guys! I really appreciate the warm welcome! :-)
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kamus

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Re: First time builder tackles HMS Amethyst (Deans)
« Reply #4 on: September 03, 2013, 10:44:30 pm »


First step- opening the box and inventory.
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kamus

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Re: First time builder tackles HMS Amethyst (Deans)
« Reply #5 on: September 03, 2013, 10:45:44 pm »

Inventory cont'd
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kamus

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Re: First time builder tackles HMS Amethyst (Deans)
« Reply #6 on: September 03, 2013, 10:47:27 pm »

Last set of box content photos.
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hmsantrim

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Re: First time builder tackles HMS Amethyst (Deans)
« Reply #7 on: September 04, 2013, 03:28:45 am »

Hi Dave.
 Plenty of "wegies" on here to cheer you on.  O0  Tools required to cut the plastic with some scalpel handles with a selection of sharp pointy bits for the other end, a 12in steel rule,  a selection of joiners / engineers squares a cutting board and the ubiquitous cutting mat.
  frank
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kamus

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Re: First time builder tackles HMS Amethyst (Deans)
« Reply #8 on: September 04, 2013, 09:50:53 pm »

The next step is sanding the hull- the instructions say to sand above the top line of the hull plating but because of the funkiness of the moulding process I'm a little fuzzy on where that top line is in some places. In the first picture you can see that the blue arrow points towards where I think that top line is however, I suppose one could make a case for the line indicated by the red arrow. The other pictures show similarly ambiguous places where there are two apparent "top" lines. Any of you veterans care to opine on this?


TIA,


Dave
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Liverbudgie2

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Re: First time builder tackles HMS Amethyst (Deans)
« Reply #9 on: September 05, 2013, 12:25:49 am »

I would surmise that the correct line to follow is the one you have marked with the blue arrow. I would also run a piece of masking tape along this line to ensure that it runs straight and when you are satisfied sand down to the top of the tape.
I also note that the quality appears to be the same as it has always been.
LB
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kamus

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Re: First time builder tackles HMS Amethyst (Deans)
« Reply #10 on: September 05, 2013, 12:39:33 am »

Thanks LB!- I take it my experience with this hull is not a one-off from Dean's?
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John R Haynes

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Re: First time builder tackles HMS Amethyst (Deans)
« Reply #11 on: September 05, 2013, 03:40:26 pm »

It may help with your build to see my Starling build in my portfolio section on my site www.johnrhaynes.com/portfolio . This was a scratch build many years ago now
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kamus

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Re: First time builder tackles HMS Amethyst (Deans)
« Reply #12 on: September 05, 2013, 04:24:59 pm »

Thanks John- I've already been admiring your build and plan on referring to it as I continue. As I mentioned earlier, I'm building the HMS Magpie ca 1946 which was also Modified Black Swan. My Dad (who served aboard her) mentioned that Magpie had steel decks (as it appears Starling does) and they were thus constrained from entering Suez and points south of the Mediterranean for that reason.
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John R Haynes

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Re: First time builder tackles HMS Amethyst (Deans)
« Reply #13 on: September 05, 2013, 06:10:05 pm »

My Dad was on Peacock with Walker towards the end of the War after serving on Hood in B turret[ pre-war] and Warspite later before being drafted onto the Russian Convoys. Later in the war he was with  the 2nd Escort Group in the Atlantic and then Keil post-war on armament clearing since the Germans booby-trapped a lot of their buildings etc
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kamus

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Re: First time builder tackles HMS Amethyst (Deans)
« Reply #14 on: September 05, 2013, 06:24:49 pm »

It sounds like your Dad was in the thick of it! My Dad by, contrast, was involved in the Mediterranean clean-up operations in 1946- mainly clearing mines. His description of those days sounds much more vacation-like than your Dad's experience! :-)
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Liverbudgie2

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Re: First time builder tackles HMS Amethyst (Deans)
« Reply #15 on: September 05, 2013, 08:15:32 pm »

So was he on-board when Prince Philip was the CO?
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kamus

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Re: First time builder tackles HMS Amethyst (Deans)
« Reply #16 on: September 05, 2013, 08:19:07 pm »

Sadly no, he served aboard in 1946- Prince Philip was CO in 1950.
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Seacommander

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Re: First time builder tackles HMS Amethyst (Deans)
« Reply #17 on: September 05, 2013, 08:45:19 pm »



 :-)

Hi Dave

I like you attitude 'to hell with it lets do it' Thats the way to go !

I'll be watching & best of luck

Cheers

Mark  :-))
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TailUK

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Re: First time builder tackles HMS Amethyst (Deans)
« Reply #18 on: September 06, 2013, 12:37:11 pm »

The next step is sanding the hull- the instructions say to sand above the top line of the hull plating but because of the funkiness of the moulding process I'm a little fuzzy on where that top line is in some places. In the first picture you can see that the blue arrow points towards where I think that top line is however, I suppose one could make a case for the line indicated by the red arrow. The other pictures show similarly ambiguous places where there are two apparent "top" lines. Any of you veterans care to opine on this?


TIA,


Dave

    I've found similar problems wirh hulls from other companies to, I even had it on hulls I've made myself.
2 things to remember; Don't breath in the dust! Secondly, Don't breath in the dust!
 
As for sanding an offcut of ply or mdf with abrasive stuck to it can really help keep things straight.
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kamus

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Re: First time builder tackles HMS Amethyst (Deans)
« Reply #19 on: October 11, 2013, 08:57:50 pm »

After a long break due to work travel, I made some progress: I sanded the hull down to just above the top plate- I left a little bit for wiggle room. I then photocopied the styrene deck template sheet onto some cardstock and cut out the shapes (taking care to cut outside the black lines). Next, I'll transfer the card outline to plywood and cut the templates with my new Dremel Moto-Saw. One thing I observed was that the bow template is too large for the actual hull at that point which will necessitate some fussing around.


Dave
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mark w

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Re: First time builder tackles HMS Amethyst (Deans)
« Reply #20 on: October 16, 2013, 05:06:43 pm »

 
Lookin' good  :-))  Keep at it, and post pic's.
 
Mark
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John R Haynes

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Re: First time builder tackles HMS Amethyst (Deans)
« Reply #21 on: October 16, 2013, 07:08:25 pm »

Modellers can always buy my hull from Fleetscale. I always have a deck edge return which eliminates trying to pick up the sheerline . Just a thought
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kamus

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Re: First time builder tackles HMS Amethyst (Deans)
« Reply #22 on: October 16, 2013, 09:11:23 pm »

Thank you, Mark and John!
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kamus

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Re: First time builder tackles HMS Amethyst (Deans)
« Reply #23 on: October 31, 2013, 04:44:27 pm »



More (small) progress. The plan had been badly "accordioned" in shipment and would not lie flat at all so I bought a foam board and stuck the plan to it using a repositionable adhesive. The nice thing about this glue is that, at any point, I can take the plan off the board and the tackiness stays on the board, not the plan. Now it's much easier to deal with and I was able to follow Radio Joe's advice and marked "stations" on the plan at 10cm intervals. I then transferred the markings to the hull, double checking each measurement as I went along. Next, installing the deck bearers and templates.


One question: in the 3rd photo, you can see a long strip of fabric glued to the bottom side of the hull (on both sides). I've searched the instructions but they seem to make no mention of it. I obtained some plans of the Starling from John Lambert and they show some sort of marking/structure at a similar point but I have no idea what they are or what to do about them. Any clues?


As always, TIA!
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Shipmate60

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Re: First time builder tackles HMS Amethyst (Deans)
« Reply #24 on: October 31, 2013, 04:58:15 pm »

That is the plating for the "Bilge Keels".
They should be on the plan if not a bit more research will be required.


Bob
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