Paddleducks
Paddler Modelling => Construction => Topic started by: Mike on June 30, 2015, 05:14:25 AM
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This is my build of the Paddle Tug Dromedary.
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This I started a few weeks ago, I used a hull by Marks model bits which came with a drawing. The hull is very nice with deck supports but a few areas that I have to look at later also I must have a very careful look at the drawing.
I started by giving the hull a good wash and light rub down with very fine wet and dry. Then the paddle shaft of 5mm stainless steel was drilled.
To be continued. Mike.
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Mike.....Dromedary will make a very nice model with plenty of detail....
Is the Drawing of the same tug?
Is Dromedary the same Class as HMS Volcano?
What scale will she be...or and what will the model dimensions be?
Derek :beer
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Hi Mike,
I am also interested about the dimensions of the model. You have a plan? If yes, where one can get plans of the vessel?
Thomas
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Hi all.
There was an earlier thread on this class http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/smf/index.php?topic=6636.msg37376#msg37376 (http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/smf/index.php?topic=6636.msg37376#msg37376), and plenty of photos of the class (but only one of Dromedary) on the RFA Ships website http://rfanostalgia.org/gallery3/index.php/RMAS/Tugs/Prewar/Dromedary-Class (http://rfanostalgia.org/gallery3/index.php/RMAS/Tugs/Prewar/Dromedary-Class)
Whilst Dromedary was sold out of service in 1923, her sister Volcano was renamed Volatile, remaining in service until scrapped in 1957. I have seen both 1914 and 1915 given as dates for the renaming, but as the W-class destroyer HMS Volcano was not ordered (and subsequently cancelled) until 1918, this seems the more likely date as there would have been no need to release her name four years earlier.
I must admit to being tempted by the idea of modelling Cracker. British Steam Tugs by P.N. Thomas has a GA and a set of profiles for Volcano but no lines or plate expansion, but with a hull as nice as that available it wouldn't be a problem. First I have to teach my son to build a suitable steam plant though :)
Brian
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Hi Thomas and Derek.
The drawing is from Marks model bits and comes with the hull.
The scale is 1 to 48. i.e. 1/4 inch to the foot.
There are a few areas on the hull not quite right and the drawing be careful of scaling from it.
there are a number of sister ships. The P T Restive has a lot of similarities.
All are a little different.
I hope to have a reasonable model as there are not many photo's of the deck areas so a good magnifying glass will be needed. And I think a lot of help due to my lack of knowledge on some parts of the ship.
The list I have of the sister ships.
Advice. Cracker. Diligent. Dromedary. Energetic. Escort. Industrious. ( Restless. ( Restive )) ( Volcano. (Volatile ))
Mike.
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Enjoy the build Mike I look forward to the progress and pic's pic's and more pic's as you go forward.
Damien
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I have started on the paddle wheels in 1 1/2 mm styrene sheet. cut to about 20mm over size on outside dia.
Screwed all 4 together with small ba screws and nuts.. marked out from a cross scratch in the centre and drilled with a small vee. over the next week to drill out, fine tooth coping saw and file. leaving the outside big until all inside is finished.
Mike.
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Good start Mike.
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Hi all.
Thanks Damien.
Next photo is of the Paddle wheel frames now cut out with all faces carefully smoothed over with a file. Also done are 2 pairs of brass centres for the wheels. Silver solder a washers onto a tube and an extra bush on one end. ( saves on brass ) All soldered up and fixed to a 5mm shaft with 3mm grub screws then lightly skim on the lathe. To true it all up.
Mike.
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:bravo :clap
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Hi All.
Next photo is of the brackets for the float in brass 1mm x 4mm made on a jig to get them all the same. Holes as well. And the second photo shows the wheels assembled with some spacer rods which can just be seen. To give it some strength. Ends of brass rods drilled 12BA slightly large tapping size to make it easier to tap. It has 4 off 8BA screws and nuts in central area to fix styrene to brass spindle which are completely hidden once assembled on the boat. otherwise 12BA screws used throughout.
With 1mm headed brass pins in various places which when covered with paint will look hopefully will pass as nuts and bolts. there is so many of them. Nuts and bolts still to trim to length.
These wheels will feather, But as I have used styrene sheet will wear so this boat will only be on the water very little.
Mike.
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Photo's of the Paddles made from 1 1/2mm styrene sheet marked out and drilled.
then. The arms that control the floats, one fixed and the others moveable. I made a lot of thick washers and silver soldered them together. Just to clean up now. Also shown some thin packing washers for when doing the assembly.
Mike.
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looking good. :terrific :terrific
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Yes Mike...that is good progress ....about the only good thing with brass 12 BA cheese head bolts is that a pair of flat face clippers makes a good end surface to :hammer lightly clean up with a file or, rub the multiplies of assembled bolt faces on a piece of course W&D paper ...
I think I count 192 of the 12 BA screws & nuts in the rims.....but :shhh
You also appear to have a pretty good handle on silver soldering too with all of the feathering spokes & bolt knuckles
Are they cosmetic, or will the wheels actually feather?.....................if so, will the assemblies be demountable as you will have a lot of radial running surfaces
I understand a long way off, but will you use red aerosol primer as the wheel colour finish/surface ?......
I do find these flat faced nippers extremely handy in modelling - brass - soldering work......Derek :beer
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Hi Derek.
The floats will be working ones.
Yes the nippers I use are similar as in the photo. they are ones I used many moons ago at work to trim flash and spews off plastic mouldings. I have found they come in very handy for the lots of things to trim when making bits and pieces.
Yes there are a LOT of screws and having to hold the nuts with tweezers makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
I have started to paint the floats to give a wood grain effect and the first primer on the wheel itself.
Photo's to follow.
Mike.
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A photo of wheel painted also the brass feathering spindle which has a shoulder on the inside ( not seen ). With 4mm tapped hole in the outside end. At the moment the length is scaled from MY drawing.
Mike.
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First 2 photo's show hull braced with crossovers.
3 photo is bearing housing.
4 is a gear on the 5mm dia. shaft for the drive.
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Next is bearing housing screwed to the hull. It is outside as there is no room inside due to the deck.
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Morning Mike.......that looks a robust drive :clap, however even at 5.0 diameter depending on the centre distance you could expect some in flex the shaft between the gear set
A simple bearing set similar to the outboard housings, & anchored down to the base of the hull via an angular plate could be made to look prototypical would cure any deflection
Is the 5.0 diameter paddle shaft stainless?.... & are those ZZ shielded ball races Grade 420?......they are available and cheap as chips......
I source mine from Small Parts & Bearings ...they are a world wide group...you will find them in the UK......Derek :beer
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Hi All.
Derek. Yes your idea to make a plate possibly with a bearing in it and screw it down I will do. As it will stiffen it all up. The stainless bearings are standard ones, magnets do not have much effect on them. I think they should last quite well. The covers can be taken off and replaced without to much trouble.
Next photo's. Bearings on a try out. Next a start on the paddle wheel covers. The oak hardwood bracing goes right through the hull to give strength to the assembly. The paddle covers made from styrene sheet is made double skinned to strengthen it and a piece of u plastic on the wood at an angle wedges it in place.
Last 2 photo's show how I made the ends of the wood frame pieces to take aluminium angle. 3mm screws in the brass plugs to give a tight and secure fitting.
Also the shaped wood triangular pieces fitted by pinning and epoxy glue.
Its taking shape!
Mike.
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More photo's on Paddle box build. And a start on the rudder area. I had to strengthen keel as was hollow in that area so filled with epoxy. And a brass plate silvered soldered u shaped with hole for bottom of rudder. All epoxied together. I hope its not to easy to see once its all painted.
Mike.
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The missing picture.
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Coming along nicely Mike. :clap :clap
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Thanks Damien.
A photo of rudder area.
Mike.
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A little more done. Shows the rudder and the port holes altered to suit the photo's of the many sister ships. Photos of the Dromedary are very thin on the ground.
This is one of the few points the hull is not quite right.
Mike.
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Coming along nicely Mike. :bravo :clap :bravo :clap
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Mike...as you mention, we see in your build, the two large roundish openings in the stern bulwark just like as shown in an image of HMS Lancaster
The confusing thing is all images of this vessel Class have the two athwart ship elliptical standard type hoops above the stern deck which is typical for a tug where these hoops keep the towing hawser from being caught on any deck fittings
So, what were the two large roundish openings in the stern bulwark used for?
You are doing a great job :hammer, keep the images coming....she is an interesting build........Derek :beer
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Hi Derek.
They are large. Probably for towing. The bollards are also huge and the strength of the hull built up inside and out. There are a lot of deck fittings so was not easy. The photo is of the sister ship Energetic. some towing ropes look quite impressive.
Mike.
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The footsteps up the side of the paddle boxes taking shape. I am making them like this as on the Paddle ship they had 3 small ribs holding each thread in place. Which could very easily get damaged when handled. The wood tread to be put on after all the painting is finished.
Mike.
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Looking really nice Mike. :bravo :clap :bravo :clap
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Mike...as you mention, we see in your build, the two large roundish openings in the stern bulwark just like as shown in an image of HMS Lancaster
The confusing thing is all images of this vessel Class have the two athwart ship elliptical standard type hoops above the stern deck which is typical for a tug where these hoops keep the towing hawser from being caught on any deck fittings
So, what were the two large roundish openings in the stern bulwark used for?
You are doing a great job :hammer, keep the images coming....she is an interesting build........Derek :beer
When I was reading up on Volcano/Volatile I was given to understand that the large elliptical fairleads were used when the object being towed was close aboard or lower than the rail height of the tug, things like lighters. barges or crane flats. The Towing hook and hoops were used when towing large ships that would be taller than the tug.
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A few more photo's of the build.
1st photo is of the deck, After a lot of head scratching I am making the whole of the deck removable except the ends ( not yet cut ) Deck just put in place to try out.
2nd photo is the grill platform at the stern.
3rd photo is the gear for paddle wheel drive.
4th photo is paddle wheel box taking shape, The brass pins that hold it together can be seen.
Mike.
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The start of painting.
First photo. Brass portholes with nylon inserts to be epoxied to the hull.
2 photo. Getting ready for painting.
3 photo. First spray.
4 photo. Black next.
5 photo. After finishing underside.
6 photo. Part view of hull.
7 photo. Paddle area.
The port holes face to be lightly rubbed with wet and dry to get the paint off the faces when all is dry.
The acrylic paint to be given plenty of time to dry.
After 3 weeks it was given 3 coats of a clear matt spray.
Mike.
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:bravo :clap :bravo :clap
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Now I have finished the engine room vent housing / skylights.
Showing various views.
Also photo's of the towing rails construction.
Several layers of thin ply glued together and on the top a brass rubbing strip pinned on.
The little corner brackets fixed to the hull. Made from brass and silver soldered holding the towing rails.
Above the rear towing port the flap and how I made the hinge. Last photo. Working hinge.
Mike.
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Looking really good Mike :clap :clap :clap
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A few more photo's of the build.
More photo's to follow and also of the captains cabin.
Mike.
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A few more photo's of the captain's cabin.
The last one showing the vents, next lot will show how I made them.
Mike.
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Hi Mike,
Is that one of Steve Pickering's captain figures?
Sandy
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Hi Sandy.
The captain is from the collection of www.chyldshallmodelshipyard.com they either buy or make them,
I thought they look very Victorian just right for my tug. I have a few others for the crew.
Mike.
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Hi All.
Some more photo's.
I shaped the vents by warming styrene sheet over a candle and pressed into a former with correct size ball.
Then cut out, epoxied onto aluminium tubes. Then blended with car body filler and sanded down.
Holes drilled out from inside. Extra tubing added for longer ones via a sleeve and painted.
I am quite pleases with them.
Mike.
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Very nice.
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Great job coming along nicely. :clap
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Hi Mike,
Yes, those are Steve's. He does them for his 48th scale steam picket boat. Excellent for old paddle steamers in that scale.
I have two on the bridge of the Columba, including the captain who is leaning into the wind ::)
All the best
Sandy
Hi Sandy.
The captain is from the collection of www.chyldshallmodelshipyard.com they either buy or make them,
I thought they look very Victorian just right for my tug. I have a few others for the crew.
Mike.
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:) Hello ;
A great adventure with a tour of its construction, bravo!
cordially
François
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Thanks Francois.
Mike.
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Hi All.
It is some time since I have put news of my build here. But I have been working at it from time to time.
It is nearly finished so will put some of the latest photo's here now.
1st. photo, Vent pipe and locker on rear deck. I am not sure what the locker should be used for
so I have put some rope in , I hope ok.
2nd. Mostly finished.
3rd. The crew on deck.
To be continued:
Mike.
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I want to be rude but I hope you'll take in good part The work you're doing on the boat is beautiful. Woodwork and brass is top notch. However (this is the rude bit) those crewmen could do with work. Royal Navy uniform from any distance except close up would appear to be black. It's a common fault that spoils so many models. I recently did two crew for a boat and started by painting the Jumper and Bell bottoms black with just a tiddy bit of blue added. I then "dry brushed" them with black with just a tiddy bit more blue added. The effect was a lot more realistic than the mid blues a lot of people use. Then give a coat of Matt varnish, people from any distane tend not to be shiney. Sorry for the niggling but I groan sometime when I see top flight model boats spoilt by figures.
I've attached a pic of the boat I mentioned. Sorry again!
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Hi Tailuk.
Sorry , Yes you are right. The photo's do show the crew very bright blue. Its mostly the colour of the photo , they are a reasonably quite a few shades darker when you look at them on the boat. But yours are superb and I am going to try and make them like yours as it is much more life like.
Thanks for bringing this up. It's made me look at other colours in the photo's.
Mike.
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Hi Tailuk.
I have been trying different camera settings, On this one colours are a little better.
Previous photo's did have a quite a blueish tinge.
Thank you for bringing it up.
More to follow when I have retaken them and hopefully some new overalls ? for the crew.
Mike.
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I'm so glad that my comment didn't offend to much. I tend to get a bit hyper about figures on boats. You see some many beautiful model boats let down by the figures. A few minutes looking at You Tube can make all the difference between a helmsman worthy of your magnum opus or a poor rendition of Popeye. My Steam Pinnace figures must be of a very similar size to your as both boats are 1/48th scale. The blue in the later photos is a darker shade but perhaps still just a bit bright. It doesn't help that accurate colour reference for uniforms of this era may be based on hand tinted "colour" postcards and heavens forbid that the Royal Navy should look funerial. I must have looked at dozens of old photos on google before approaching my figures. Good luck with yours.
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A new coat of paint on the crew. Now in grey with a little darker under the arms etc.
1st pic. from google search a Victorian crew.
Next one , My men. !!
To be continued with more photo's when I can get the colour balance right in my photo's.
Tailuk, You are right about colours being right. Thanks.
Mike.
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Very nice! The Bosun would be proud!
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Some more photo's.
More to follow.
Mike.
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A really nice model Mike I love it. :bravo :clap :bravo :clap
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Some more photo's.
Mike.
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Beautifully crisp detail Mike......she looks superb.....Derek :beer
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Beautiful - Well done Mike!
Regards,
Pete.
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Thanks Damien, Derek, Pete and TailUK. for your kind words.
I may not put a motor etc. in this ship as I want to keep it looking good.
But maybe one day I can make a small harbour paddle tug to pull it along
for a photo show.?
I am making a glass case with wood base to keep the dust off.
Regards.
Mike.
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:clap :no1b :clap
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You've built a beautifully detailed model, congratulations! Are you going to do a video on the water?
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Thanks Damien and Kno3.
At the moment I was thinking not to put a motor Etc. in it. To try to keep it good and clean.
I have made a glass case for it from toughened glass. But what I would like to do after I have finished my model of the Mersey ferry at Liverpool. ( non Paddler ) is to make a small Paddler just to pull it on the water and tow it.
Next Year ? Just 1 or 2 outings a year.
A few more photo's to show.
Mike.
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:clap :bravo :no1b :bravo :clap :clap
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;D Bien l'bonjour;
Digne d'un musé :clap
; D Good hello;
Worthy of a museum: clap
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Hi All.
Thank you for your kind messages.
This one photo I missed.
Mike.
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Very nice, Mike. The model does you credit!