Another 'Presto'

[Talisman]

Hi Bernie,

I thought in a previous post you said progress might slow ....

She is loooking good and probably not far away from getting her bum wet .. good work!

Keep going and allready looking forward to whatever is next on the blocks.
Regards,
Kim

[Spankbucket]

Hi Kim

Thanks for your usual positive and encouraging feedback!

Yes it's about time for the flotation test but as my wife is in hospital at the moment I haven't got round to doing it...I have been doing smaller jobs to maintain progress.

I have made the paddle boxes from cardboard tube of which I have a stock (My wife always quickly pulls me past carpet shops!)..and...I had some of exactly the right diameter. This has been copiously doped so it's waterproof and I'll probably cover it with a thin layer of styrene or directly apply the steps. Here again I am using my Craft cutter to make a 'concertina' in thin styrene that will drape over the paddle boxes to create the 14 steps in each quadrant. I'm currently experimenting with a paper model but no pics to post yet.

Cheers.....Bernie

[Spankbucket]

Hi All

More slow progress as having to be out half the day to visit my wife in hospital.

I have done a lot of computer work on the deck house patterns etc. Photo 1 shows my clumsy attempt to do the paddlebox steps. Need to do more work on this and phase the size of the step supports as they go from the top down to the bottom.

After trying various woods I finally chose some utile ( utily? ) veneer for the deck. Nice long straight-ish grain lines to emulate planking. See what you think.

Cheers...Bernie

[Spankbucket]

Hi All

Just computer modelling work in the last couple of days.

The pictures show my 1st attempt paper model of the Wheel Houses...as you can see I need to do some work on the curvature properly to match the paddle boxes.

Next I'm going back to the paddle steps model to change the supports to be phased lengths and to include the wheel house cutout!...which I had forgotten!

Cheers...Bernie

[Don]

Bernie,
First the name "Presto" caught my attention, then the familiar lines.  It made me proud when I read on your post that my Presto was your inspiration.  I can't wait to see how she comes out.  She is a beautiful ship! 

Don 

[Spankbucket]

Hi Don and thanks for your comments...I have replied on your 'end-of-job' posting.

Yes...she is an impressive and beautiful ship...in any scale!

Cheers...Bernie

[Spankbucket]

Hi All

Let me first take this opportunity to wish everyone a Merry Xmas and a prosperous New Year.

Slow progress recently but today's pictures show the bath flotation test and work-in-progress on the deck fittings including the boiler casings bases. The paddle rotation speed achieved seems to drive her at a reasonable scale speed but the bath isn't capable of allowing one to assess this properly!

I have fitted the main deck all the way to the bow and will do the turtleback later once all it's fittings are ready or in place.

Getting the steering servo link to fit under the deck proved impossible so I have had to carve some of the deck away to provide clearance. I'm hoping that this will be partially disguised by the grill that fits over the rudder.

I will fabricate a removable deck section forward of the fore-funnel in order to allow plenty of easy access to the speed controller and the main drive battery. Once I am happy with this I will fix the decks and start work on the main deck-house and funnels.

Cheers and have a good one!!!.....Bernie

[PeeWee]

Hi Bernie,

her lines are coming along nicely, and looking good on the water.  you are making far better progress then i am 

[Spankbucket]

Thanks for your kind comments Ian.

Forgive me but I cant recall exactly what your are working on without doing a search. Hopefully you'll be able to focus on your project over the holidays and in the New Year.

I am lucky enough to be able to spend as much time as I want on my projects! I'm tasked next to do Georgian dolls house furniture for my wife's latest acquisition!

Cheers...Bernie

[Spankbucket]

Hi All

Just to let you know I'm still here! Progress on the boat has been zilch since just before Xmas but I have just got back to it.

The attached picture shows the Funnels and Casings which I have made. I still have to fit the condensers and I have now  realised that I have put the steam pipes on the rear side of the funnels rather than the fore. I'll have to live with it!

Cheers....Bernie

[mogogear]

Very nice work--I so respect modelling on smaller scale- my fingers would just not cooperate!!

If someone comments on the steam pipes- smack 'em in the head and ask them to move along 

[Spankbucket]

Hi all,

Some further progress to report.

I've fitted the rear deck half and installed the bulwark supports along with tidying up the rear deck houses. The R/C receiver and battery are under the grey house with the switch under the skylight.

The funnels definitely look the part when sitting on deck but I have decided to do some significant mods on the central deck-house to achieve a better fit...at this scale everything is tight! I have made the 'tween paddles roof/upper deck and have veneered it in utile to match the main deck.

The forward hatch will cover the main battery/controller switch. You can see the switch roughly fitted in the 2nd picture forward of the for funnel. I have also started to make the masts.

I am not entirely happy with the motors/drive system I have installed but it's too late now to change them so....next time....

Cheers...Bernie

[PeeWee]

looking nice Bernie.  What aren't you happy with the motor setup out of intrest?  me being a little intrigued   

[Spankbucket]

Hi Ian

I used 2 x cheapo 6v motors in a plastic frame where a worm gear drives a shaft. (Please see earlier pictures). The shaft, in turn, chain drives the paddle shaft. I glued the plastic frames in using ZapGoo so they aren't easily removable but I did this as there is no deep base for screws.

The whole arrangement is a bit Heath-Robinson and probably not of great longevity. However I picked these motors so they would fit in the hull so back to the small-scale challenge again!!!

I'm also having endless trouble in getting the speed controller to work consistently/properly. I may decide to ditch it and go for a good old 'Bob's board' PCB mechanical one. I have one that works well in my 'Affondatore' model (See powered non-paddlers section) but there's still a fit problem as they are a bit big for this boat.

As I am by nature a 'botch-as-you-go' person I'm always susceptible to problems!!!!

Cheers...Bernie

[Spankbucket]

Hi all

A little bit of progress with a couple of photos of the Forward Deck and its fittings in a slightly raw state.

I can't put the foredeck down permanently until I have got satisfactory drive control installed so this is all trial fit until that's achieved. I have made a blank for the turtleback but it too has to wait for the foredeck.

I decided to rebuild the central cabin/deck to get a better fit into the actual gap between the paddle boxes due to the motor fittings. This involved some slight resizing of the cabin and now there is no deck access to it's sides. No photo yet.

You may notice the coal hole tops made from paper discs and rings cut on my Craftrobo.

Cheers......Bernie