Irish Royal Mail Steamer Connaught build

[Eddy Matthews]

Phew! 

You won't believe how relieved I am that the gear ratio seems to be okay! 

Tell the beautiful assistant to get the victorian bathing costume ready - the on the water trials are looming!

Regards
Eddy

[mjt60a]

Looks good in those photos, quite realistic, I can just imagine how the real thing must have been...
I like to make some of the 'detail' parts from time to time even when there are more important things to do, it makes a nice change after doing something time consuming with little or no apparent difference being made to the model, to build a complete item such as a skylight or companionway...

[Stuart Badger]

Thanks Mick - and I agree, it's good to 'change the pace' occasionally and get a second wind on the build!

All the best

stuart

[Eddy Matthews]

RMS Connaught Auction

The end date of the auction has been changed to 28th February 2010 - That's the end of THIS MONTH!!

The reason for this is quite simple, Stuart needs to make arrangements to transport the model to England, and that cannot be done at the last minute hoping that there will be a buyer!

Bear in mind it is going to cost a lot of money to ship, and that is at Stuarts expense. So the extremely modest starting price bears no relationship to the cost of building the model or it' s transportation to England!

Of course it will be September before the model is available for collection, and payment would be expected either in cash when collecting, or via PayPal 14 days before...

If no bids are received it would be pointless in Stuart going to huge expense to ship it, so GET YOUR BIDS IN EARLY - OR MISS OUT ON THE OPPORTUNITY OF A LIFETIME!

Don't blame me or Stuart, if you leave things until the last minute and find the model has been withdrawn from sale!

Regards
Eddy

[Stuart Badger]

Hi PDs

I'm still waiting for ply and stuff from the UK! This has REALLY slowed the build - BUT - I have managed quite a few jobs that, although may not be visually exciting have at least moved the build on a bit.
I have planked the sponsons, extended the benches on the rear deck, made the bollards for the sponsons, varnished the odds and ends that were waiting till other jobs were completed.

I have also made a start on the rudder assembly. I decided NOT to use a clip or bolt-on extension to enlarge the rudder, but to make a rudder with a permanent but transparant addition. The rudder is made of two half rudders of 3mm ply with a piece of 2mm polycarbonate to increase the area. The clear polycarbonate is sandwiched and epoxied into a slot. I shall finish and paint the wooden (scale) portion of the rudder and hope that the whole thing will give the model a turning circle slightly less than the diameter of the M25!~ - We shall see.

As soon as my stuff arrives from the Old Country - I shall crack on. More later PS I have included a photo of where her trials will take place - taken today - the weather here is REALLY awful!

All the best

Stuart

more later

[Eddy Matthews]

Progressing nicely Stuart, though it must be annoying constantly having to wait for stuff to arrive! Definitely a case for a lot of forward planning to keep delays to a minimum!

I've just noticed that the paddleboxes don't appear to have any vents in them - Is that correct?

Regards
Eddy

[Stuart Badger]

Hi PDs
Eddy - Yes, we have no vents! (white faced and trembling!) BUT I have got to modify the boxes. I have made them too narrow (don't ask) The wheels only occupy less than 2/3 of the width of the box so I think we'll be OK.

I got on with more of the fiddly bits today. I have produced the 2 capstans (the rear one is enormous!) and fitted them. I have also fitted the stern capstan deck and all of the bollards and fairleads. I've managed to get a coat of paint on the rudder after fitting the tube and bearings (more of this later).
Finally I have made the two forward access hatches in the turtledeck and varnished and fitted them in place. Tomorrow I shall have a relaxing day painting about 50 Victorian ladies and gentlemen - Oh! and a young girl with a dog!

All the best

stuart

[PeeWee]

Hi Stuart,
thats a nice rudder solution, i was wondering how you were going to turn this monster with direct paddle drives.

the rear capstan looks great,  do you use a lathe for items like these?
looking forward to the next instalment and hope your materials turn up soon before all the smaller jobs run out. and as for your seemingly poor weahter hmmm

[Stuart Badger]

Hi PeeWee

yes I use the lathe for things like the capstan. But I make them in PVC which means you can turn them like wood using gouges and chisels. Turning curves trying to use the lathe handwheels is a nightmare. So I turn all the 'square edges' using the lathe in a conventional way and then add the curved bits using an old chisel ground to a half round shape. The ribs on the capstan body are just strips of plasticard glued in place with PVC cement.

All the best
Stuart

[Stuart Badger]

Hi PDs!

Well I have 3 whole weeks before I go to Athens again so I can crack on - AND the ply arrived from the UK at last.

The first job I've tackled is the railings on the bow of Connaught.
Just to prove that not everything is smooth sailing I have had to widen the paddle boxes due to an inability to multiply by 2.5 efficiently! This wasn't a problem as they were to be planked anyway - and I wasn't going to admit the mistake, but hey we've all done it Umm - haven't we?
Any way just a couple of pics to show the build is still moving on - more later

All the best
Stuart

[Eddy Matthews]

A simple enough mistake to make on the paddleboxes Stuart, and YES, I've done similar things myself in the past!

Look on the bright side, you only have to multiply by 2.5, on my SRN1 hovercraft I have to multiply by 9.076

Eddy

[Stuart Badger]

Hi PDs!

Well - after gazing at the paddle boxes for some time trying to work out how to widen them without rebuilding I decided to do the right thing and remake from scratch. rather than use thin ply again for the boxes I decided to use 4mm X 1.5mm planking. I was going to have to plank over the ply anyway, so at least I've saved some weight and  I think have sorted a slight misalignment that I hadn't noticed. I have also made a start on the sponson houses.

I completed the grating at the stern and have been fettling the rudder tube area in preparation for mounting the rudder. It's a bit like wading through treacle at the moment! - but I am getting back to achieving some progress -  lots of sanding tomorrow!
All the best

stuart

[Bob Golder]

A truly magnificent model Stuart    Sadly I will miss its first appearance on English water as my son has decided to get married on the day before paddler day and some 260 miles away.  I did try to back out but my beloved insisted I have to be there.  I look forward to the photos and/or video taken on the day.

[Stuart Badger]

Hi PDs

and thanks for following this build log and your comments- they keep me going!

When I started this build I was so inspired by the Connaught that I was determined to do it justice and try to produce a miniature version of a piece of history. The fact that there was only one other model in existance at the time also gave me a sort of unique thrill to make the second. I have to admit it was the interest of others in the ship that got me started - and many thanks to them. As the build has progressed I have experienced ups and downs due to inadequate information. innacurate information and my own errors and assumptions.
Today I reached the point where I could see that the model was starting to assume its own character - but then pride comes before a fall!

For some time I've had this niggling disquiet about the side profile of the ship. In Mick's photos she is long, low and elegant and Walden models little card gem displays the same character. MY model seemed somehow 'chunky' in the centre and not somehow quite right. As I sat looking at the paddle boxes today in preparation for fitting the bargeboards I realised the problem. I had somehow made the paddle box decoration twice as high as it shold be AND assumed that the barge board was the same height as the handrail - whereas in fact it is the same height as the sponson house roofs!. This is a MAJOR error and is going to take some time to correct and means redoing the decoration - a job that took several days in the first place.
Why I made these mistakes I don't know - Conaught is certainly one of the most challanging models I have attempted - and maybe I've not been relaxed enough about it.
So bear with me please - I'll sort the problem, but I somehow felt I owed it to you all to come clean!

Any way - a couple of photos to show you the error. In the second the top edge of the bottom yellow tape is where I THOUGHT the bargeboard top should be and the top edge of the upper piece of tape is where it should actually be - out with the wrecking iron and back to the shipyard!
All the best

stuart

[R.G.Y.]

The man who never made a mistake never made anything, as the saying goes. I can simpathize with you I made feathering rods to short yesterday. Two sets! It is a confort to know even the best slip up some times. R.G.Y.