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[radiojoe]

I have been dabbling with the 2 pounder gun that is mounted on the foredeck as I have been going along, and now will focus on that to get that completed before doing much more on the hull or superstructure.  One of those “model within a model” projects.  I hope all the tiny pieces provided don't vanish through that miniature black hole in the workshop floor!

 
Happy building folks.
 
Greg

Good to know you have a black hole in the workshop floor, cos I've got one of those as well, that little things fall into and I can never find trouble is I can't find the darn black hole either 


boats looking very tidy Greg'


Joe

[Pauli]

Hi Greg,

Thanks for the clarification on the LiPo batteries together with the recommendations for the on board alarms and battery tester.

I was initially reluctant to go along the route of LiPos as a power source due to what I have read about their pecularities regarding both charging and discharging, but they certainly seem to be a popular choice for powering small to medium high speed models like the MGB 77.

Thanks again for your guidance and recommendations - looking forward to the next update to your build log.



- Pauli

[ballastanksian]

When dropping things one can become quite the ninja from picking up what a piece hit as it fell, and so working out where the part might have landed. I dropped a howitzer and shield designed In 1:300th scale that fit neatly on my little finger nail the other day, and I could tell by the dink as it hit the tube that holds my work desk together where it fell. That saved me from losing an hour's work 

[SailorGreg]

Just noticed that the battery tester I linked to in Reply 24 is REALLY expensive!       


Don't buy that one, they are available for a little over a fiver.

Greg

[SailorGreg]

 The 2-pounder gun on the foredeck is obviously a focal point for this model and I was keen to make a decent job of it as it will be one of the first things most people examine.  The kit provides a fairly comprehensive bunch of bits for this gun, a mixture of resin and white metal castings and a few laser cut plastic pieces. The gun itself comes in two parts, breech and barrel.  One bit of drilling I took great care with was the hole to join the barrel to the breech.  I clamped the breech vertical in the drill press and drilled gently.  I really didn’t want the barrel pointing off to one side.
 

 
The barrel has the characteristic flare at the end which in the resin part is solid.  I wanted it to be hollow but Ron Dean advised against trying to drill it out.  Given my later experiences with the resin parts I can quite understand that.
 

 
It was suggested that the “business end” of a pen might replace the resin flare.  Initially I thought a biro cap would do, and started to put together a new barrel on that basis.  I found a piece of arrow shaft in my bits box that was the right diameter for the barrel jacket and ended up with this.
 

 
(It’s just as well I made a new barrel, as around this time I knocked the kit piece on the floor and it broke.  Delicate stuff this resin!)  I looked at that piece of biro cap and it really wasn’t right, so I did a hunt on Amazon for a pen that had the “right” shape.  I found one (the Papermate FlexGrip Ultra if you’re interested) and bought one.  Well, actually I bought 5 as that was way cheaper than buying one, so if anyone else wants a 1/24 2 pounder barrel end….?  I chopped the end off one and replaced the blue bit with the proper conical shaped piece.
 

 
That’s better.  One lesson I learnt again was about the brittleness of resin castings.  I have always used a spring loaded centre punch to mark where I am going to drill to make sure the drill doesn’t wander. On wood, plastic, metal it has always been fine.  But I used it on the base plate of the gun mount and ended up with a jigsaw puzzle to put back together.  Fortunately I had all the pieces and 10 minutes with the superglue and I was back in business.  But I didn’t use the centre punch on resin pieces again. 
A little fettling of the resin parts and the gun mount begins to take shape. You can just make out some of the cracks where I glued the base back together!
 

 
Then it’s putting the gunner’s cab together.  Just take the laser cut parts and glue them in place.  Did that, but something looked odd.  Took some parts off and checked –
 

 
No wonder the cab looked skew whiff.  I tried cutting this piece to the same angle as the resin part behind but then it was too short, so I made up a new piece. Then the cab came together OK.  Just because a part is laser cut doesn’t mean it’s right!  In the picture above you can also see the ring that is the mount for the gunner’s seat.  There is precious little surface to glue to so I cut that off and replaced it with a thick washer (actually a propeller mounting washer from one of the brushless motors).  And talking of the gunner’s seat (another resin casting), the backrest was quite deformed on the one I had, so I thought I would try some gentle heat to square it up.  All that happened was a piece of the backrest broke off.  Probably my fault, but I decided it was easier to make a new plastic  version than try and mend the deformed one.
 

 
I added a few details and ended up with this.
 

 
The gun sits on a cylindrical base that is a vacform in the kit parts.  I fancied something a little more robust, so had a go at making up my own base from 1.5mm card.  By good fortune, the inside of a 2” water pipe was just the right size, so after cutting carefully to length, a piece of card was rolled up and popped inside the tube.  I gave it a quick blast with a hot air gun to help it stay curved, then glued a piece across the join. 
 

 
I also glued a second strip inside the base to give a good gluing surface onto the deck.  Here is the new base with the white metal rim alongside the vacformed piece.
 

 
There are still some details to add but they look like they will be quite vulnerable, so I will leave them off for the time being and only add them when the unit is pretty well complete.  I am waiting for a delivery of Ford Polar Grey paint (the recommended colour for this boat), so after a couple of coats of primer, this is where I am at the moment (just sitting there, nothing glued in place yet).
 

 

 
At least the weather looks good for spraying.  I hope my paint arrives soon!
 
Happy modelling folks
 
Greg

[radiojoe]

Nice Greg you got there in the end and it looks the biz, it's just as well you made a new barrel it would have only been a matter of time before it got knocked off,   now to look for those flash eliminator pens   


Joe

[Pauli]

Just noticed that the battery tester I linked to in Reply 24 is REALLY expensive!       


Don't buy that one, they are available for a little over a fiver.

Greg

Thanks Greg - duly noted.


Great work on the 2 pounder gun with some nice improvements made to the kit supplied components. I took note of what you wrote about the brittle nature of the resin parts for when I eventually start my build.

You are probably aware that Battlecrafts make 1/24 parts for coastal defence craft and I seem to remember seeing a 2 pounder gun in his inventory. This might be a route I may take, although swapping out many of the kit supplied components for third party ones could prove expensive and feels like cheating!

By the way, might I ask what motor mounts you used with the Leopard Hobby motors or were they supplied with them?

Thanks for the update on your build log - coming along nicely 


- Pauli

 

[SailorGreg]

Pauli, the mounts are standard 360-400 size motor mounts like these.  I can't remember where I bought mine (probably Cornwall Model Boats), but they are widely available.

Yes, I think I looked at Battlecraft's website (although it seems to be down at the moment).  Can't remember seeing this gun there, but I could easily have missed it.  I don't consider it cheating to replace kit parts if you feel the new ones are better, or easier.  It's your model, only you can choose the degree of difficulty you want to embrace and the amount of time you can spare.  If the Battlecraft one is available you could have a bash at the kit one and if it turns out a bit wonky you always have a fall back!


Greg

[Pauli]

Hi Greg,

Thanks for the link to the motor mounts - another item to add to my shopping list!

Yes, I may have been mistaken about the 2 pounder on the Battlecrafts web site and it looks as though he has suspended trading until the pandemic subsides. I remember seeing some nice parts which would suit the MGB 77, however, and I will have another look at his site when its open for business again.

- Pauli

[ballastanksian]

If the resin used is Polyester then it has a tendency to be brittle, though some polyurethanes are as well. It becomes worse when mineral filler is used as I have found the surface to be inferior as well.


Your 2pounder is gorgeous  That whole mount shows you had fun making it, and a little challenge here or there livens a project up ( as long as it doesn't become a nightmare.

[gra2]

Hi Greg a photo of my MGB.
Hull from Mouldeans remainder scratch built.

Graham

[gra2]

This book has some great colour profiles of MGB.

Graham

[SailorGreg]

Lovely model Graham, well done.  And thanks for the heads up on the book.   

And thanks Joe and Ian for the compliments. 

Greg

[Pauli]

Hi Greg a photo of my MGB.
Hull from Mouldeans remainder scratch built.

Graham

Hi Graham,

You have done a lovely job on your MGB - looks great on the water.

Might I ask what motors and batteries you are using and also what is the cylindrical shaped device to the rear of the Holman projector?

- Pauli

[gra2]

Hi Pauli,
The item on the stern is a smoke generator.
I built this boat many years ago the motors are two brushed 545 motors and I presently use a 2s lipo for each motor.

Graham

[Pauli]

Hi Pauli,
The item on the stern is a smoke generator.
I built this boat many years ago the motors are two brushed 545 motors and I presently use a 2s lipo for each motor.

Graham

Hi Graham,

Thanks for the reply.

Ah! a smoke generator - that would make sense. There is a molding in the kit which looks similar to the item on your model, but doesn't seem as tall.

I haven't started building my kit yet,  but garnering useful information  from others about power options, construction methods and scale details.

The photo of your splendid model should inspire me to get started 


- Pauli

[SailorGreg]

Finished off the gun.  I had a couple of parts in the fittings tray compartment for the gun that I couldn't place at all.  In the end I sent this photo to Deans and asked where they should go.



I'm sure Ron Dean won't mind me quoting his reply - made me laugh!
"No idea at all, these are not part of the gun kit ? or part of the MGB77,  put them in the spares box, I can only assume that they got them mixed up in packing and checking, but with only one staff the packing room, and the older staff in lockdown, at present it is all a bit disjoined.  If you find our craft knife and cutting ruler ? we are sure that has gone in a kit with the marker pens as well."
So if you've had a kit from Deans recently and there are a few extras, you know why!

Here's the gun pretty well complete.










 It's turned out OK I think (although I've just noticed from the pics that I've missed off a small piece).  Time to put it away somewhere safe and crack on with the superstructure.

Happy modelling folks.

Greg

[ballastanksian]

Now that does look fine 

[Pauli]

Hi Greg,

Excellent work on the "two pounder", your efforts in modelling the open barrel using the end of a ball point pen have paid off and the whole unit looks very realistic.

You mentioned earlier in the build log that you intended to use Ford Polar Grey paint on this model, but what type of black paint did you use for the breech and barrel of the gun?

Also it appears you have applied some sort of wash or top coat on top of the base colours - am I correct?

Great progress - thanks for the updates. 



- Pauli

[SailorGreg]

Very observant!  The gun is painted with Tamiya gunmetal acrylic.  To be honest I am not delighted with the finish and might have another go later.  It looks OK, but is a bit streaky.  And I used a very thinned black to highlight the nooks and crannies to make the detail more evident, and everything had a coat of matt clear to take the gloss away from the Polar Grey.  I plan to make this model look a little careworn rather than fresh from the paint shop, although I have never really done weathering.  I can see a few practice sessions in my future!

Greg

[Pauli]

Hi Greg,

Thanks for your reply - looking at your photos I thought you must have used some kind of wash in order to show a slightly weathered appearance. It seems to have worked quite well, but weathering seems to be a bit of a "black art" - to me anyway.

I am unsure whether to attempt that with my build - I will have to research it a bit more.

Perversely I am going to some pains in order to achieve a highly polished paint surface on my current build (Robbe Najade) which entails wet sanding and polishing with automotive scratch removers and polishes. Ah, well all part of the fun!

- Pauli

[SailorGreg]

 I seem to have been going at a snail’s pace just recently.  Still, better than rushing things I suppose.  I started on the superstructure, cutting the vacformed piece out of the sheet.  I followed the instruction’s advice and sawed into the corners to make sure they didn’t crack, then ran along the line between the cuts with a scalpel.
 

 
Then glued a couple of strips around the bottom inside for greater gluing area.
 

 
The picture above shows the pencilled lines to remove the bridge area.  I was unclear initially how much of this to cut out, but looking at plans and photos it is clear that the bridge is hard up against the vertical side to starboard.  Here is my final hole. 
 

 
You can see the parts of the bridge taped together alongside the hole. The box seems to be a bit too big for the aperture cut out of the superstructure.  I wasn’t sure at this stage whether the sides of the box should coincide exactly with the aperture or whether there should be some overhang.  This was resolved by a combination of the video of the restored MGB 81 and some plans provided in response to my query on the “Spitfires of the Seas” Facebook group.  There is no overhang, the laser cut pieces need cutting down to fit exactly into the aperture. Not glued in yet - need to complete bridge details before that.

 

 
Then it was a rather tedious rubbing down until I had removed the last bit of lip around the edge and had a nice straight edge to glue onto the hull.  I put a sheet of 180 wet and dry on a piece of glass and rubbed away.  There were still a couple of spots at the front and rear which had a small gap, but I have a bit of filler lined up for them.  I made sure I was taking equal amounts off each side with a spirit level
 

 

 
The kit provides a wheel and a compass, and that’s it for the details of the bridge.  I wanted to add more, but struggled to find any views of the internals.  However, the FB responses provided this diagram
 

 
 and I began to put together my interpretation of that picture. 
 

 
If anyone has better information on the bridge layout (what are those rectangles on the bulkhead representing and where is the flag locker for example?), please do let me know.
 
Incidentally, the FB group also provided me with a picture of the actual MGB77 –
 

 
which differs in some details from the kit (no smoke dispenser on the stern, no twin Lewis mountings that I can see), although I guess the fit of these vessels varied a lot over time.  I will probably stick with the kit configuration.
 
Happy modelling all.
 
Greg

[Chris Preston]

'Afternoon All,
[/size]
[/size]I'm currently building Deans 24th scale BPB Co. 71'6" MTB - MTB 466 - mainly using the kit as "guide" as it seems to have been simplified in many areas. If anyone's  interested in photos of what I've done to date, particularly for the 2 Pdr Pom-Pom Mk VII on the Mk XVI Mtg, and the 20mm Oerlikons, PM me and I'll send you an e-mail with photos.
[/size]
[/size]What I've done so far with the Pom-Pom is use the kit-supplied base-plate and trunnions, all cleaned up and reshaped where necessary (especially the trunnions), and completely scratch-built the Pom-Pom itself, the gunner's cab, and the control unit that sits inside the cab, using more accurate drawings from John Lambert. The wheelhouse/cabin is also completely scratch-built with a more accurate shape, using a plan set for the BPB Co 71'6" MTB from Model Boats, backed up with detailed drawings from the Manitoba Naval Museum here in Canada.
[/size]
[/size]Cheers,
[/size]
[/size]Chris Preston,
[/size]Victoria, BC

[Pauli]

Hi Greg,

Thanks for the update to your build.

Cutting the aperture in the vac formed moulding looks tricky as I imagine any mistake would be difficult to correct, but you appear to have made a very neat job of it.

The video of the restored MGB81 is very interesting and a good source of reference material for anyone attempting to model this class of boat.

By the way have you seen the Haynes manual for the MGB81 which is available from Amazon on 7th September?


- Pauli

[SailorGreg]

Yes, cutting the vacform is one of those "get it right first time" jobs.  I took it very gradually and kept checking that I hadn't gone too far.  The trick is to end up with a feather edge at the sides and back so that it blends into the sides of the box.  And you need to finish the edges of the aperture before you cut the pieces of the box to size.  I haven't done the windows yet, they are my next "take a deep breath" job. 

I have seen the Haynes manual advertised.  As it is based on MGB 81 it might not have very much contemporary detail.  For example, MGB 81's bridge is fitted with modern navigation, communications and safety gear, as it has to be, and is entirely unrepresentative of a wartime boat.  But I will certainly see what transpires in September, although I hope to be pretty well advanced with the kit by then.

And Chris, if you are able to post some pictures here I am sure they would be most welcome. 

Greg