building a newspaper boat!

[mjt60a]

This is two pages long, too large to post here, so I put it on my own server, here's the link - http://www.btinternet.com/~mjt60a/models/paperboat01.html

(Paintshop Pro - enhanced simulation!)

[mjt60a]

Seems I'm not the only person to try building a newspaper hull! See under 'Model Shows' - Model engineering ex for a brief description of the coaster seen here...

[brian1982]

I was looking around on the web and found this site about making a papier mache narrowboat.

http://www.papiermache.co.uk/exec/cms-documents/s-articles/p-view/id-45/

[mjt60a]

Good stuff! the pic of the hull in the bath shows this boat to be much bigger than any of my efforts - and a little bigger than the coaster I mentioned....
....by the way, check out his sternwheeler too - http://homepage.ntlworld.com/christopher.shilling/patience.htm

[brian1982]

Very nice sternwheeler, looks like it would be easy to build.

[mjt60a]

I thought I'd try a couple more experiments with paper strip hulls, inspired by those I saw at the model engineer exhibition....
Tried one using only two layers of newspaper on a balsa frame then adding a 'skin' of glass matting and several layers of resin, sanding the lumpy bits away between each to give a reasonably smooth finish.
Also tried using card (from packs of paper for my printer) on a balsa frame, then covered with glass tissue and resin.
Second method produced quite a firm hull with nice smooth finish - but virtually impossible to make the stern unless it's to be square like a modern warship...
First method produced a very solid hull but quite a lumpy finish requiring much sanding/recoating to fill the areas between strands of glass cloth. In the end, I was using so much resin (and waiting so long for each coat to set enough to sand it) that I tried coating with P38 - The result was excellent! - except that the surface still comes out slightly concave.
Still, I've started on a 'bigger' one using part sheets of card and part paper strip (on a balse frame) and covered with glass cloth/resin and finished using P38, it's of a size and shape that can be used for a 1/32 scale MENNA/ALUMCHINE. There's a way to go yet (plus I'm out of P38) but it looks quite promising...
Pictures to follow

[Eddy Matthews]

Sounds very interesting Mick - I'm certainly looking forward to some pictures and more info.

[PJ]

Menna/Alumchine would be a great little paddler to model, Mick..

Still, I've started on a 'bigger' one using part sheets of card
 and part paper strip (on a balse frame) and covered with glass
 cloth/resin and finished using P38, it's of a size and shape that
 can be used for a 1/32 scale MENNA/ALUMCHINE. There's a way to go
 yet (plus I'm out of P38) but it looks quite promising...
 Pictures to follow
 
 --------
 Posted by Mick.
 (.....gonna need a bigger boat.....)

[mjt60a]

Here's what the hulls look like;

the top one is the cardboard/tissue one and the second is the paper/glasscloth, that one is primer coated (funny how it looked perfect after sanding but the first coat of primer shows up dozens of bits that need more work!) it also has some paddles fitted...

[mjt60a]

Update - the newspaper strip/glasscloth hull, now with styrene paddleboxes taped temporarily in place and 1/48th scale figures on deck...
...and the new larger part card, part paper strip (the complex curved area at the rear) covered with glasscloth/resin, P38 (half the usual price when bought in wilkinsons) and with the first coat of primer;-

[Eddy Matthews]

Both hulls look like they've turned out pretty well Mick. It's definately a method I'm going to have a go at, maybe for the Glen Sannox when I make a start on her?

Not so sure about the 1:48 figures though, they look far too small compared to the paddleboxes to me.... Maybe 1:24 would be better?

[PJ]

Well done Mick.  These are turning out rather  well.  I recently did a 1:24 tugboat hull using paper towels and  urethane varnish.  Unfortunately this method is not rigid enough and the  hull surface ends of slightly soft which makes finishing sanding a bit of a  nightmare. To save the hull,  I was eventually forced to cover it with  a couple of layers of 3/4 ounce glass cloth and West system epoxy.  This  leads me to a compromise which is to use Epoxy resin over paper hand  towels which is fairly smooth and has excellent absorbency, which is almost  exactly what you're doing.  So again well done.
 

  ----- Original Message -----
   From:    mjt60a (construction@paddleducks.co.uk)
   To: construction@paddleducks.co.uk (construction@paddleducks.co.uk)    
   Sent: Saturday, March 04, 2006 3:07    PM
   Subject: RE: building a newspaper    boat!
   

   
Update - the newspaper strip/glasscloth hull, now with    styrene paddleboxes taped temporarily in place and 1/48th scale figures on    deck...
...and the new larger part card, part paper strip (the complex    curved area at the rear) covered with glasscloth/resin, P38 (half the usual    price when bought in wilkinsons) and with the first coat of  primer;-

[mjt60a]

Both hulls look like they've turned out pretty well Mick. It's definately a method I'm going to have a go at, maybe for the Glen Sannox when I make a start on her?

Not so sure about the 1:48 figures though, they look far too small compared to the paddleboxes to me.... Maybe 1:24 would be better?

I think it should work OK but you might want to try making a small hull for practice first just to see how best to make the full size model, which is pretty much what I've been doing here and have learned of some limitations to using card (only works on flat surfaces, can be curved but only in one plane) and using paper (can build more complex curves but it does dry to a 'sunken' shape if not supported well enough) and also different ways to seal it (glass cloth gives the strongest result and is fairly easy to get laying flat, glass tissue gives a smoother finish but the stuff I tried won't cover a convex surface unless cut into strips - which defeats the object somewhat....)

...as to the 1/48th figures, they should be OK for the hull but those wheels and padlleboxes are not really designed for a hull that small, they're big enough for the larger one which would be 1/32nd. I might make some smaller ones for the small hull