G
I'm afraid I've been at home very little this year, which is why progress has been very slow. I am now however home for a couple of months and hope to progress the Ben Ain a bit.
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G
Thanks Paul, I'm looking forward to doing a bit more to it.
G
Hi Richard, nice to see a ship on the forum for a change, you obviously have tons of patience to be able to include all that fine detail. Superb work. Cheers Derek
G
I'm not always sure if the line between patience and insanity gets a bit blurred!! I have just spent the last three days putting together a 1/35th scale pushbike to add a bit of detail to the boat deck, which i could have just have easily simply left off. Still if you are going to put everything into your model you may as well go the whole way.
Thanks for your comments Derek
Thanks for your comments Derek
Nice touch. Are you building the push bike from scratch or did you get hold of the tamiya ones, I think there are two in a pack with a couple of German mobile infantry soldiers.
I think the most amazing thing with what you are building is the fact that its not just going to sit in a cabinet and look fantastic but is actually built to run on live steam.
Had any thoughts as to the next project.
Ian M
I think the most amazing thing with what you are building is the fact that its not just going to sit in a cabinet and look fantastic but is actually built to run on live steam.
Had any thoughts as to the next project.
Ian M
G
Hi Ian, the pushbike is an old Hornet kit which I found on eBay in the United States. The frame, handlebars, tires and some bits were white metal and the wheels and a lot of the detail was a PE fret. I looked at the Tamiya kit you refer to but the thing that put me off was the fact that the spokes were out of scale and spoiled the whole effect. The Hornet model has much more realistic spokes and so looks a lot better.
Next project is an Engle Type VII U-Boat. The attraction is not only the fact that I love Type VII's but the Engle one is a masterpiece of engineering, is a complete kit with all the electronics, engineering and model built to fit together and it is the same scale as the steam coaster so they should look good together on the water. I've been saving up for the last few years for the kit and by the time I finish the Ben Ain I hope to have enough together to be able to buy it.
Next project is an Engle Type VII U-Boat. The attraction is not only the fact that I love Type VII's but the Engle one is a masterpiece of engineering, is a complete kit with all the electronics, engineering and model built to fit together and it is the same scale as the steam coaster so they should look good together on the water. I've been saving up for the last few years for the kit and by the time I finish the Ben Ain I hope to have enough together to be able to buy it.
Sounds Like a photo worthy project that bike. I had no idea of the quality of the Tamiya ones, I just knew they are out there.
That Type VII sounds a cracker, hope you do the build progress on here.
Any particular sub you will be basing it on?
Ian M
That Type VII sounds a cracker, hope you do the build progress on here.
Any particular sub you will be basing it on?
Ian M
G
I'll write an update on the Ben Ain soon and include a couple of shots of the bike. Most of it has been fiddly detail which is very time consuming and doesn't seem to progress you very much but I did feel like I got quite a bit done during my last stay at home.
The type VII will be U-203, the same as the Revell one I built
The type VII will be U-203, the same as the Revell one I built
G
A bit of life on the Quarterdeck
Having completed the structure and fittings of the quarterdeck accommodation it was time to add a bit of detail and life to the area and the best way to do that was to start with a couple of figures. I always think that figures in the process of moving can look odd and a bit frozen so I like to go for figures in a more relaxed pose, which would not look out of place as the model passes by again a few minutes after the first time. Consequently it was time to try to find some suitable figures and see what I could do with them.
There are quite literally hundreds of 1/35th scale plastic figures out there but 99% of them are of a military nature. There are very few civilians and even fewer that are specifically steam coaster crew so I had to search a lot and get creative in my thinking. Luckily we are one of the few towns left in the country with a well stocked model shop so I could spend an hour or so browsing through the available figures and decide on what possibilities were there. The first one that caught my eye was a Russian tank crew. One of the crew had his jacket off and was sewing some repairs to it so he was dressed in just combat trousers, boots and a vest, so could easily be painted to look like a ship’s crew. The second one was one of the figures in the old Tamiya Field Kitchen kit who again could easily be painted up to look like a civilian and I liked the idea of the two crewmembers having a chat on the top deck of the accommodation. Probably a favorite spot for a bit of easy going maintenance as it would be warm from the machinery space casing and out in the fresh air and sun, assuming they found some sun in the Irish Sea.
The Russian Tank crew figure with the jacket was supplied with the jacket as a separate piece so that was a simple enough job of leaving it off. I planned to have him repairing a sail or rope or something so I would add that later. The German cook was basically going to be built as supplied but his cap would be white with the insignia removed and his clothing would be more neutral civilian colouring. Both figures were prepared by first gluing together and then drilling holes in the bases to take a copper peg made from the core of domestic cable. The pegs were glued in and the figures mounted on wooden coffee stirrers for handling. After a coat of white acrylic primer the figures were painted up in civilian colours with Vallejo acrylics, their boots weathered and the details picked out. The figures were then fitted to drilled holes in the model and a coil of rope was made up with a loop for the Russian Tank man to be ‘repairing’. They were then positioned on the top of the quarterdeck casing in a relatively relaxed pose as though having a bit of a chat about the day’s events, life at sea, when they were going home etc..etc..
The other thing I picked up on my travels through the internet was a 1/35th bike. Bikes were actually quite common on this type of vessel as food was purchased locally, usually from farms, and had to be carried back to the ship. A bike was almost essential to enable this and the whole ship’s crew would use it to go and get the ‘groceries’. I had a look around for a bike but could only come up with the Tamiya ones, which I didn’t like because the spokes were quite over scale and unrealistic. I did however find a white metal kit from a manufacturer called Hornet and picked one up on eBay in the United States. The kit comprised of white metal parts and a PE fret, all of which was a bit on the fiddly side but after a degree of perseverance I managed to get it all glued together and not looking too bad. I left off the gun rack but kept the ammo box as I figured if this ever got into civilian hands the box would quite possibly be left in place and used. The bike was also put onto a coffee stirrer, primed with acrylic grey and then detail picked out. A bit of weathering and a dirty wash brought out the detail and it was ready to put in place.
A common storage place was also on top of the casing where it was out of the way but it could be quickly and easily passed down to the deck so simply tying it to a fixed item such as the galley vent seemed like an appropriate spot so I stuck it onto the casing and tied it to the galley vent with a suitable ‘rope’.
Apart from a bit more detail and some weathering, both of which I would complete after the model is finished, I decided it was time to move on from the quarterdeck casing.
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Having completed the structure and fittings of the quarterdeck accommodation it was time to add a bit of detail and life to the area and the best way to do that was to start with a couple of figures. I always think that figures in the process of moving can look odd and a bit frozen so I like to go for figures in a more relaxed pose, which would not look out of place as the model passes by again a few minutes after the first time. Consequently it was time to try to find some suitable figures and see what I could do with them.
There are quite literally hundreds of 1/35th scale plastic figures out there but 99% of them are of a military nature. There are very few civilians and even fewer that are specifically steam coaster crew so I had to search a lot and get creative in my thinking. Luckily we are one of the few towns left in the country with a well stocked model shop so I could spend an hour or so browsing through the available figures and decide on what possibilities were there. The first one that caught my eye was a Russian tank crew. One of the crew had his jacket off and was sewing some repairs to it so he was dressed in just combat trousers, boots and a vest, so could easily be painted to look like a ship’s crew. The second one was one of the figures in the old Tamiya Field Kitchen kit who again could easily be painted up to look like a civilian and I liked the idea of the two crewmembers having a chat on the top deck of the accommodation. Probably a favorite spot for a bit of easy going maintenance as it would be warm from the machinery space casing and out in the fresh air and sun, assuming they found some sun in the Irish Sea.
The Russian Tank crew figure with the jacket was supplied with the jacket as a separate piece so that was a simple enough job of leaving it off. I planned to have him repairing a sail or rope or something so I would add that later. The German cook was basically going to be built as supplied but his cap would be white with the insignia removed and his clothing would be more neutral civilian colouring. Both figures were prepared by first gluing together and then drilling holes in the bases to take a copper peg made from the core of domestic cable. The pegs were glued in and the figures mounted on wooden coffee stirrers for handling. After a coat of white acrylic primer the figures were painted up in civilian colours with Vallejo acrylics, their boots weathered and the details picked out. The figures were then fitted to drilled holes in the model and a coil of rope was made up with a loop for the Russian Tank man to be ‘repairing’. They were then positioned on the top of the quarterdeck casing in a relatively relaxed pose as though having a bit of a chat about the day’s events, life at sea, when they were going home etc..etc..
The other thing I picked up on my travels through the internet was a 1/35th bike. Bikes were actually quite common on this type of vessel as food was purchased locally, usually from farms, and had to be carried back to the ship. A bike was almost essential to enable this and the whole ship’s crew would use it to go and get the ‘groceries’. I had a look around for a bike but could only come up with the Tamiya ones, which I didn’t like because the spokes were quite over scale and unrealistic. I did however find a white metal kit from a manufacturer called Hornet and picked one up on eBay in the United States. The kit comprised of white metal parts and a PE fret, all of which was a bit on the fiddly side but after a degree of perseverance I managed to get it all glued together and not looking too bad. I left off the gun rack but kept the ammo box as I figured if this ever got into civilian hands the box would quite possibly be left in place and used. The bike was also put onto a coffee stirrer, primed with acrylic grey and then detail picked out. A bit of weathering and a dirty wash brought out the detail and it was ready to put in place.
A common storage place was also on top of the casing where it was out of the way but it could be quickly and easily passed down to the deck so simply tying it to a fixed item such as the galley vent seemed like an appropriate spot so I stuck it onto the casing and tied it to the galley vent with a suitable ‘rope’.
Apart from a bit more detail and some weathering, both of which I would complete after the model is finished, I decided it was time to move on from the quarterdeck casing.
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Hi Richard
Stunning progress - this will be very impressive when finished. The bike looks cool. You can get an etch set for the Tamiya bikes mentioned earlier by Ian (these include better scaled spokes) but that's only as a side note as your white metal kit looks real quality.
The steamer's looking real good so far Richard.
Keep up the great work
Paul
Stunning progress - this will be very impressive when finished. The bike looks cool. You can get an etch set for the Tamiya bikes mentioned earlier by Ian (these include better scaled spokes) but that's only as a side note as your white metal kit looks real quality.
The steamer's looking real good so far Richard.
Keep up the great work
Paul
G
I wasn't aware of the PE set for the Tamiya bikes. They would have been a lot easier to put together than the Hornet one!
I might keep my eye open just in case I want one in the future. Thanks for the idea.
I might keep my eye open just in case I want one in the future. Thanks for the idea.
G
Final Touches to the Bridge
The bridge has been in a state of almost completion for a while so I decided to get on with it and finish of the building. All that remained to add was the hand rails and the canvas dodger so first job was to put the handrails together. I made some simple brackets to hold the lower end from fine aluminium tube and a base of litho plate and glued them to the lower outer edge of the steps. The top of the hand rail was glued into a hole drilled in the bulwarks. There is only a single handrail on the upper sets of steps and I decided that they would quite possibly not even be fitted to the short aft steps so I only needed to make six handrails and glue them in place. They were painted matt white and the top surface of them was scuffed up with a soft pencil to simulate worn away paint. The steps were painted black and the tread given a worn away look with some dry brushed gunmetal enamel. Again weathering would be left to the end of the model when it would all be done at the same time to ensure consistency.
The final item of the bridge was the canvas dodger. I wanted to try to recreate a picture I have of the Ben Ain where the dodger is only fitted on one side, a normal situation for these ships when a view was required in one direction but a sheltered area was desired to get out of the wind for periods of time. I first prepared myself a piece of metallic air conditioning duct tape, removed the gum and cut it to an approximate shape and size for the dodger. I created some stitching runs with the pounce wheel then started to fold the dodger carefully into a shape whereby it would be if it was hanging on only two stanchions. When I was happy with the final shape I carefully removed it from the model and mounted it onto a wooden base with some blu tac and sprayed it with white acrylic primer. When that was dry I used white acrylics to create shadow shades and highlight shades, gave the dodger a wash with a light filter then painted on some highlights and shadows to give the dodger some depth. When I was finished I was actually quite pleased with the effect so went through the whole process again for the aft bridge dodger, which I wanted folded up on top of the taff rail. When the two dodgers were dry I carefully applied some epoxy to the taff rail and put them in place. Basically that was about as far as I wanted to take the bridge before final weathering at the end of the model.
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The bridge has been in a state of almost completion for a while so I decided to get on with it and finish of the building. All that remained to add was the hand rails and the canvas dodger so first job was to put the handrails together. I made some simple brackets to hold the lower end from fine aluminium tube and a base of litho plate and glued them to the lower outer edge of the steps. The top of the hand rail was glued into a hole drilled in the bulwarks. There is only a single handrail on the upper sets of steps and I decided that they would quite possibly not even be fitted to the short aft steps so I only needed to make six handrails and glue them in place. They were painted matt white and the top surface of them was scuffed up with a soft pencil to simulate worn away paint. The steps were painted black and the tread given a worn away look with some dry brushed gunmetal enamel. Again weathering would be left to the end of the model when it would all be done at the same time to ensure consistency.
The final item of the bridge was the canvas dodger. I wanted to try to recreate a picture I have of the Ben Ain where the dodger is only fitted on one side, a normal situation for these ships when a view was required in one direction but a sheltered area was desired to get out of the wind for periods of time. I first prepared myself a piece of metallic air conditioning duct tape, removed the gum and cut it to an approximate shape and size for the dodger. I created some stitching runs with the pounce wheel then started to fold the dodger carefully into a shape whereby it would be if it was hanging on only two stanchions. When I was happy with the final shape I carefully removed it from the model and mounted it onto a wooden base with some blu tac and sprayed it with white acrylic primer. When that was dry I used white acrylics to create shadow shades and highlight shades, gave the dodger a wash with a light filter then painted on some highlights and shadows to give the dodger some depth. When I was finished I was actually quite pleased with the effect so went through the whole process again for the aft bridge dodger, which I wanted folded up on top of the taff rail. When the two dodgers were dry I carefully applied some epoxy to the taff rail and put them in place. Basically that was about as far as I wanted to take the bridge before final weathering at the end of the model.
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G
The Hull
There is not a great deal of detail to add to the hull apart from some wash port covers but I did notice some boat guides in a photo so I added them from scraps of wood cut to shape and glued to the hull and I also decided to improve the rubbing strake.
I took a few shots of a coastal vessel in the basin at Ellesmere Port a few years ago and had a good look at the rubbing strake on her. It was obvious that ships of this era used large baulks of timber as rubbing strakes, held onto the hull by large bolts deeply counter bored to leave only the wooden surface proud. I was sure the Ben Ain would have been fitted with a similar arrangement, particularly as the model hull has something similar moulded into the surface. All examples of the model I have seen elsewhere have simply been painted in the same colour as the hull but in reality the surface of the rubbing strakes would be exposed scuffed wood. I didn’t really want to get into trying to remove the moulded in strakes at this stage so I decided to add the required surface. I rubbed down the outer edge of the moulded in rubbing strakes and glued on planking strips of 5mm x 1mm strips with epoxy. When the epoxy was set I rubbed down the top and bottom edge of the plank until it matched the edge of the moulded in strake and then applied p-38 filler to the gap. This was then also rubbed down and hull black applied to the top and bottom surface of the strake, Finally the surface was cleaned off with a fine sanding block before adding a wash and to finish off sealing it all in with a couple of coats of matt varnish. It now looks like a proper wooden rubbing strake and so much better than simply painting it over.
The wash ports were all added and the edging to the bulwark capping was completed before touching up some of the paintwork. I deliberately used a semi gloss enamel of a slightly different mix to the one I had used originally as this will all help to build up different textures and give an impression of a hull that has been painted over many times over the years and in patches as the ship has aged. I then applied some roman draught markings, which I did think looked a bit big to start with but I doi have a clear photo of this vessel at the time of modeling which clearly shows quite big forward draught marks so I went ahead with applying them. I also applied the kit supplied name and port of registry, which all worked very well with a bit of heat gun used to help the sticky backing to settle to the detail. Again weathering is the only thing left to do with the hull so time to move on again.
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There is not a great deal of detail to add to the hull apart from some wash port covers but I did notice some boat guides in a photo so I added them from scraps of wood cut to shape and glued to the hull and I also decided to improve the rubbing strake.
I took a few shots of a coastal vessel in the basin at Ellesmere Port a few years ago and had a good look at the rubbing strake on her. It was obvious that ships of this era used large baulks of timber as rubbing strakes, held onto the hull by large bolts deeply counter bored to leave only the wooden surface proud. I was sure the Ben Ain would have been fitted with a similar arrangement, particularly as the model hull has something similar moulded into the surface. All examples of the model I have seen elsewhere have simply been painted in the same colour as the hull but in reality the surface of the rubbing strakes would be exposed scuffed wood. I didn’t really want to get into trying to remove the moulded in strakes at this stage so I decided to add the required surface. I rubbed down the outer edge of the moulded in rubbing strakes and glued on planking strips of 5mm x 1mm strips with epoxy. When the epoxy was set I rubbed down the top and bottom edge of the plank until it matched the edge of the moulded in strake and then applied p-38 filler to the gap. This was then also rubbed down and hull black applied to the top and bottom surface of the strake, Finally the surface was cleaned off with a fine sanding block before adding a wash and to finish off sealing it all in with a couple of coats of matt varnish. It now looks like a proper wooden rubbing strake and so much better than simply painting it over.
The wash ports were all added and the edging to the bulwark capping was completed before touching up some of the paintwork. I deliberately used a semi gloss enamel of a slightly different mix to the one I had used originally as this will all help to build up different textures and give an impression of a hull that has been painted over many times over the years and in patches as the ship has aged. I then applied some roman draught markings, which I did think looked a bit big to start with but I doi have a clear photo of this vessel at the time of modeling which clearly shows quite big forward draught marks so I went ahead with applying them. I also applied the kit supplied name and port of registry, which all worked very well with a bit of heat gun used to help the sticky backing to settle to the detail. Again weathering is the only thing left to do with the hull so time to move on again.
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G
Hi Richard, as I said before your work is to museum standard. Just been going through all of your postings on this one, and all the extras you have added is amazing, thanks also for sharing some of your techniques with us, I cannot believe the amount of work on the hull rivets. Cheers Derek
G
Thanks Derek, I'm not sure whether this has become a labour of love or a testament to my tenacity but it is certainly absorbing some time. I had a look back through this recently and amazed myself at how I thought in 2006 that I would be at it for a couple more years. Here I am in 2011 still thinking the same!!
I still do something every time I get home but working away so much does slow things down. I usually set myself a target for what I want to achieve during my time at home and never make it! I have to say though I only have the foredeck and the foc's'le to do so the end really is in sight. I can't imagine what is left to make more work out of though but I'll probably find something. Weathering is going to be a lengthy process as well not to mention those little details such as oil drums, packing cases and a couple more figures.
Watch this space!
I still do something every time I get home but working away so much does slow things down. I usually set myself a target for what I want to achieve during my time at home and never make it! I have to say though I only have the foredeck and the foc's'le to do so the end really is in sight. I can't imagine what is left to make more work out of though but I'll probably find something. Weathering is going to be a lengthy process as well not to mention those little details such as oil drums, packing cases and a couple more figures.
Watch this space!
That looks really effective Richard, Nice work.
I must say that Ben is looking really good and by the sounds of it almost done.
Ian M
I must say that Ben is looking really good and by the sounds of it almost done.
Ian M
G
Just a couple more years should do it!! :laughing:
G
I've just dug this out to have a look at where I got to and cannot believe it was two years ago since I last added anything. Time really does get faster as you get older. I have been away from home now for best part of seven months with only a three week period in the middle, during which we moved house, so not surprising not much has progressed. When I get homne I won't have a workshop so I don't know when I'm going to get any more done. Still you can't rush these things.
I'll add a few of my latest pictures though and get around to writing someting one day!
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I'll add a few of my latest pictures though and get around to writing someting one day!
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G
Looking fantastic Richard, where did you get your figures from?
Cheers
Andy
Cheers
Andy
- Status
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