Princess Elizabeth build...

[derekwarner_decoy]

....Hi PD's......  most nickel plated components have an electroless plating depth of a few micron [1 micron= a millionith of a meter]

I [unsucessfully] attempted to chemically remove nickle plating from 6 mm hex brass standoffs....with a number of dilute acids &   .......in the end I had to flat them with 1200 wet & dry

So Mick you were very lucky to convert the studded chain to a look a like article..... ......Derek

[mjt60a]

I thought it might work as I'd found a length of chain while tidying up weeds in a car park (at work) it had been kicked around and had cars drive over it and left in the rain for a couple of weeks and looked ideal for a 32nd scale model, so I tried to simulate the process on a smaller chain, under controlled conditions, as it were....
Today I made up one of the connectors for the power socket in the bow section and tried the lighting on 12 volts. as the cable only goes into the superstructure above, I had to temporarily put the battery on the main deck so it could reach.... all seems OK and it looks quite pleasing     difficult to get a good picture though, with flash the lights don't show up, without it the exposure time is lengthened, maybe if I used a tripod.......

[mjt60a]

Been examining pictures to try to decide what parts to make for the forward deck and where they go, I had already made (and fitted) the companionway and mostly finished the mast and the steam winch/capstan (just need to make the chain pulleys) but it still looked short on detail so I decided to try and make all the stanchions that support the bulwarks. There seems to be eight on each side and they look a bit randomly placed - though I suppose they're where they're needed ie. close to the mast stays and the hinged edges of the freight doors, I think I've got the most likely positions on the model now all I have to do is make them 

[derekwarner_decoy]

Hi PD's......Mick....would the stanchions that support the bulwarks be in line with the vessel hull frames?.........Derek

[mjt60a]

they could be, probably are but if so there isn't one for every frame as the spaces between them vary so much, I suspect they are only where there is most force against the bulwark... for example, the curved part near the front has only one but the (more-or-less) flat part going up to the superstructure has several quite close together - but this is also where the mast stays are attached and, further back, where the loading gates are.
I've constructed something I hope is close enough in appearance to the large frame supporting the bollards/bitts (I'm sure I read somewhere that bollards are mooring posts fixed on a pier or on land whereas bitts are on a vessel) I was going to make the cylindrical parts myself but as luck would have it I had four 'billing boats' ones of suitable size in the spares box so used those. The actual stanchions proved to be a bit trickier.... if I just had the upright rod it'd solve half the problem but I see they have a short length in the middle welded between the upright and the bulwark... so tried soldering pieces of brass wire together, seems to work most of the time and only two fell apart soon as I started bending them 
It would have been good if I'd thought about this part earlier, I'd have fitted them before painting by drilling through the hull, glueing them in then cut off and file the excess on the outside but as it's already done and I don't want to destroy the paintwork I'm fitting them to a thin strip of styrene and glueing that to the hull...
I'm sure it will look OK when it's all painted the same colour (brown, not that 'Co-op' green in some of the later photos!)

[mjt60a]

made and fitted 2 more stanchions plus the six 'rings' that the mast stays attach to. would have finished all of them if it wasn't for having to do the garden today 

[mjt60a]

  ....when it's all painted the same colour (brown, not that 'Co-op' green in some of the later photos!)

....I'd assumed it was brown but had only seen black and white photos showing that area .... after watching the PSPS video 'Paddle Parade vol 1, I now see the inside of the bulwarks was painted cream colour, only the edges are brown!

[mjt60a]

It does look much better painted    I'm not bothering with the triangular webs on the supports for the 'bollards' or the hooks welded onto the edges of them though.
I notice there's a thin brown border between the deck and the bulwark but am finding it virtually impossible to paint it straight enough, may leave it out or possibly purchase lining tape later on - if they make it in that colour....

[mjt60a]

still need to make and fit the mooring posts, anchor davit and finish the winch/capstan plus all the 'loose items' that seem to be scattered around on the real ship - seats, what looks like pallets with coiled ropes on them, passengers and crew.... plus the brown capping needs a second coat - but apart from that it's not looking too bad I think 

[mjt60a]

they're not all identical or completely straight for that matter...then again, the ones on the real ship aren't always perfect either!

[mjt60a]

came home from work yesterday after a third-in-a-row unusually warm day and found something 'unexpected and unfortunate' had happened to the promenade deck... it's acting like a bi-metal strip (or plywood thermostat)
I'll have to think on this and decide wether it'll be OK once glued down, or if I'll have to make another one using better quality wood!

[Harold H. Duncan]

Mick, that's a bit of a blow.
Will be looking forward to what solution you find, as I've had a similar occurrence in the past.
cheers
kiwi

[mjt60a]

saturday morning it had returned almost to it's original shape (flat) but by the evening when the whole house was hot again (I was out all day so windows were closed) it had bent upwards again, even worse than before! this time it didn't go flat overnight but retained quite a severe curve. It doesn't take much pressure to push it down and would probably be OK glued down - except for the part just behind the paddle drum (over the sponson) which, because of the position of the lifeboats, has to come off with the main superstructure. I could always stick some bracing to the bottom of the deck - it would be inside the sponson house when put together and with the railings above it should be enough to keep it straight - otherwise it'd need some screws in the deck in not-too-obvious places with threaded holes below.
Why, I wonder does it do this? possible reasons could be;
1. it was cut from an old piece of ply I bought about 25 years ago when I started on the 32nd scale tattershall castle and left it leaning against the wall behind a cabinet. when I 'rediscovered it' it had that curved shape but I levelled it using a steam iron thinking that would soften the glue between the ply which would then re-set and be OK.
2. as the superstructure is styrene and I didn't want to get araldite all over it I stuck it to a sheet of styrene so it can be fitted using styrene cement. maybe styrene sheet expands in the heat - or ply shrinks. in the past I've only glued ply onto a completed s/s with styrene sub deck - and never such a long single piece so have never had this happen before...  I'll leave attaching it until the last moment and decide if it'd be better to just buy a new piece of ply

[R.G.Y.]

I think I would try epoxying strips of aluminium to the under side of the offending deck. Wile holding it flat of course. Nothing to lose. Just one question has the under side been treated with the same varnish or paint as the top, as you suspect surface tension is the cause. Geoff

[Spankbucket]

I reckon your steam ironing injected moisture into the ply and so the straightening was only going to last as long as the ply took to de-humidify back to it's original state. The tension it was under at that point produced the pronounced bend.

I have the same problem when I use .6mm veneer glued to .8mm balsa for my decks. I endeavour to put the balsa grain at right angles to the veneer grain but I still get warping and I have to add extra stiffeners under the balsa. Obviously these comments won't apply to ply (no pun intended!) but the principle might.