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[Tafelspitz]

Rigged up the funnel and the davits today.
I guess the lifeboats are next. But I have no idea where to start. Cutting them free from their vacuum forms, I guess.


Dom

[Capt Podge]

Your model is turning out to be a beauty - absolutely stunning 
I'm sure you will make a great job of her lifeboats.


Regards,
Ray.

[Colin Bishop]

Looking absolutely superb Dom. The lifeboats offer an opportunity to take the model to new heights.

As I mentioned in my original review, the boats are steel and therefore flush sided so no need to plank them. I chose to leave both of mine open to give the opportunity to provide internal detail and fittings (not very good photo below - you will do better).

There is lots of information online about ships lifeboats and the way they were rigged and handled.

Colin

[Tafelspitz]

Thank you, guys! 
Colin, your model is still a sight to behold. And your review is also still plenty helpful 

[Colin Bishop]

It's nowhere near as good as yours though Dom!

Colin

[Tafelspitz]

Nonsense, Colin.

Anyway, lifeboats: Let's dig right in. The ABS vacuum forms are quite thin and light, which makes them easy to cut. After I figured out what goes where, I cut everything free and put it tentatively together.
After the glue cured, I used a sharp knife to remove excess plastic and then sanded it down.
Some car body filler and a couple of hours of rubbing down later, this left me with two smooth lifeboats. Who would have thought 
I cut the sitting boards from plasticard. I cut the small holes that will later hold the supports for the grab lines.
The orange supports are 3D printed and make work quite a bit easier

[Tafelspitz]

I didn't want the lifeboats to be white, so I mixed some buff / light sand color into the white for the hull. The interior was supposed to be a bit darker, so I used the light sand right from the bottle, but I think the whole thing looks a bit odd.
I sanded the plasticard benches with coarse sand paper to simulate wood grain and then applied some wood color magic courtesy of Vallejo.
But today was a bad day for painting. After airbrushing the green top color, the masking tape ripped the base color and varnish right off   
I will sleep over this (maybe a couple of nights) and then decide whether to try to repair the damage or start over with a different color altogether.

[Tafelspitz]

I finally found the courage to repair and rectify the damage done by the three times cursed masking tape.
Airbrushed the interior with a fresh coat of light sand and then patched the dark green with a very small brush and a somewhat steady hand. I think it turned out well considering the circumstances.
After this has cured properly I'm gonna apply a couple coats of varnish before carrying on with the grab lines, oars and stuff.

[Capt Podge]

Disaster averted - leaving it alone for a while is half the battle - looking good again


Regards,
Ray.

[Tafelspitz]

Thanks, Ray. Yes, you're absolutely right - sometimes it's best to forget it for a while and then look at it with fresh energy from a different angle. This sure helped in this case.
On with the boats, manufacturing about 40 tiny lugs from 0,3 mm copper wire for the grab lines. Bending the wire around a piece of 1 mm brass rod. Glued them in place with slow curing super glue.


Dom

[Capt Podge]

On with the boats, manufacturing about 40 tiny lugs from 0,3 mm copper wire for the grab lines. Bending the wire around a piece of 1 mm brass rod. Glued them in place with slow curing super glue.


Dom

Great solution! That one is definitely going in my 'good ideas' book 


Regards,
Ray.