Princess Elizabeth build...

[mjt60a]

Looks like a neat job, just out of interest what pen / ink / method did you use to make your lines?
Kim

just a black ballpoint pen, first I draw the margin plank lightly in pencil then the actual decking. I notice the planks never end with a point so I draw a line at right-angles to the plank from the centre of the plank where it intersects the edge of the margin, up to the next straight edge (hard to explain, hopefully it's clearer when looking at the previous pictures) When I'm happy with it, go over the bits I want with the pen

[Talisman]

Easy enough to follow Mick. I do like the weathered effect. I must admit i do tend to just seal and varnish to scared i will undo the hard work
Might have a play with your tea and poster paint idea, thanks
Kim

[mjt60a]

best thing is to try it on some leftover wood from making the deck and see how it looks and how thick/how many coats it needs to give the colour you want

[mjt60a]

I saw this article on 'All Model Railroad forum' about making weathered wood from styrene sheet, looks amazing to me and up to the point where he adds brown (to simulate where the roof has protected it to some degree) it looks perfect for well weathered decking in my opinion
http://www.all-model-railroading.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=6318

[Talisman]

Very interesting article - my problem is it takes me so long to build a model without weathering.
I think it might add years onto my build time, possibly be better leaving the wood outside and let it weather naturally in my case

[mjt60a]

Stuck them on with araldite, port side yesterday and stbd about two-and-a-half hours ago (it's not rapid epoxy)  There are still a couple of pieces right at the forward end to make and fit but need the first ones securely attached to get the exact dimensions and position  - they will be on the removable bow section. Next is to fit frames underneath, styrene I-beam around and some rods from the frames to the hull...

[mjt60a]

Next is to fit frames underneath, styrene I-beam around and some rods from the frames to the hull...

...also strips of black styrene sheet, roughly sanded to represent the wooden edging fitted into the I-beam...
The effect will look like this:

[Stuart Badger]

The sponsons are looking very neat!

Stuart

[mjt60a]

started on the frames last night using spring clamps, clothes pegs small magnets and a pin to hold the bits in place, should get some more done tonight - and maybe a bit more on the interior as the araldite takes so long to set!

[mjt60a]

well I didn't do any more on the interior yet, went to the 'shoeburyness model rail society' (?) show last weekend and bought one or two items....
1) gears for the gearbox. This is from a 1/35 tamiya remote control centurion tank I've had for decades and is one thing I'm considering to drive the model. Bought two 12v motors (at this show last year!) to replace the 3v ones originally fitted but due to its age (no doubt) the 8-tooth gears on the motors had split. I've been looking for replacements for about a year and can't find any (scalextric ones might have fitted?) bought two 10 tooth/40 tooth ones and cut away the 40 tooth part, these fitted the motors perfectly but \are a larger diameter and as the motors are touching together I can't move them to give clearance. Instead I removed the top cover and the shaft and filed down the ends of the brass gears by about half-a-millimetre so the crown wheels can move outward a bit. All seems OK now - though I have no idea yet how fast the output shaft will turn with these motors. Have to try them on 12v and see.....

[mjt60a]

2) paddlewheels...
I cut out 8 rings from styrene sheet of a suitable diameter for the inner and outer rims and stuck two on a piece of graph paper. then cut out from styrene, a spoke based roughly on the ones on the graupner paddlewheels (ie. straight with a lug for the feathering float bracket) and tried it on the wheel (first pic) it soon became apparent that at this scale at least, the bearing hole would be too near the outer rim. ways around this would be make the lug closer to the inner rim to start with, or make it curved? or angled inward toward the centre?...or.....
have a 'bend' in the spoke itself! (always wondered why real ones have that!) so I made another (second pic) with the inner half of the spoke straight out from the centre but the outer half parallel to the paddle float at bottom dead centre. looks better, now I just need to make 24 of them (it'll have six floats per wheel in an attempt to reduce cavitation (see the ivor bittle website)

[mjt60a]

...oh yes, the other item I bought at the show!
I've used 5mm and 3mm LEDs before but one of the trade stands had 1mm LEDs! with my eyesight they're almost too small to see and are quite expensive at £1 each but I'm sure the cost will come down as they become readily available from places like maplin and online stores (if they're not already) I bought a couple just to see how they look - and maybe to use on the model somewhere, bulkhead lights maybe....

[Talisman]

Quick question, what is the dia. of the outer rim of your paddlewheel?
Many thanks,
Kim

[mjt60a]

it's about 4-and-a-quarter inches, or 106mm...

[Eddy Matthews]

Hi Mick,

It's coming along very nicely.... I have to admit I didn't understand what you meant by the "bend" in the arm, and even after looking at the photos I just didn't get it - I went away, had a cuppa, and then looked at your post again - voila! All of a sudden it stood out like a sore thumb!

It's amazing how that small bend can make such a difference to the position of the float attachment point!

Regards
Eddy