P/S Britannia (P&A Campbell, 1894) in 1/64 scale from "Model Boats" plan

[E Pinniger]

This is a build log for my model of P&A Campbell's passenger paddle steamer Britannia - built in 1896 (by S. McKnight & Co of Ayr) and scrapped in 1956. You can see some very interesting colour video footage of Britannia here on YouTube from user "HeritageSteamers":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TM-zMvWwDVk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sawH9FPe3NQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TliPpx7-5s (Misidentified as Bristol Queen, but "Britannia" is clearly visible on the bow)

My model is built from the plan sheet published by "Model Boats" magazine years ago (and still available I think), which represents the ship in its post-war fit with two funnels and no after deckhouse. The plans are to 1/64 scale giving a model of about 43"/110cm length and 10"/25cm maximum beam (including the paddle boxes). The hull is of straightforward plywood/balsa box construction, and the paddles are made from folded up brass sheet with a brass Meccano wheel as the hub.

Though the Britannia plans have been around for quite a while, I've only ever seen one model built from them - a static model shown in Scott Robertson's book "Historic Model Ships from Scratch". I can't find any other references to P/S Britannia models, working or otherwise, online. I'd be interested to hear if anyone else has attempted, or contemplated, building a model from these plans!

I started the build in April this year and so far it is progressing well with the hull and paddle boxes complete and painted along with the basic superstructure components. I will be starting from square one with the build log (as I took photos of all the build stages), so updates will slow down once the log catches up with the model's progress - but I hope to have the model finished within a few months.

As I can't currently access my webspace (I've signed up for a new web host, but they still haven't got round to transferring my domain name from the previous one) I'm using Photobucket to host the images. This is the first time I've done this - if it works OK I'll use it for all my future build logs, as it avoids the problem of images going "dead" when/if the link is no longer valid.

[E Pinniger]

I didn't start completely from scratch with my model - I bought the part-built hull and the paddle wheels, along with the plan sheet, from a friend a few years ago. Here are some photos of the hull as I got it:




The hull was built with a keel and stern block carved from solid pine (rather than balsa as suggested in the plan) and a stem from mahogany or similar, with the rest built up from thin balsa sheet.




A motor mounting block was already installed and a space cut in the stern block for the tiller arm and connecting rod.



The paddle wheels are quite nicely made and probably better than I could manage myself, as my model engineering (as opposed to straightforward modelling) skills aren't up to much!

[E Pinniger]

The hull has been sitting in my garage for the last couple of years, but this year I finally decided to make a start on it (build started early April 2012). The first task was to make the hull more robust and waterproof. I really didn't trust the thin balsa hull sides to be strong enough even with a resin/fibreglass or tissue/dope covering, so I covered most of the hull (from deck level to about 1" below the waterline) with a skin of thin plywood, glued in place with waterproof aliphatic wood glue. The edges of the plywood (especially at the bow) were planed and sanded to blend them into the lines of the hull.
After this, I painted the lower interior of the hull with epoxy resin, to strengthen and waterproof the joins between the keel, hull sides and bulkheads. I then put a couple of coats of sanding sealer on the hull exterior and sanded everything thoroughly.

The deck (which will later be covered up with planking) is made from 1.5mm plywood, and is attached (with waterproof wood glue and small brass pins) to strips of spruce wood glued along the inner edge of the hull sides. The deck is cambered, as a result of the curved bulkhead tops underneath - a detail which I might have overlooked if I'd built the hull framework myself! On a large-scale model like this it makes a real difference to the model's realism, so I'm definitely going to attempt adding deck camber to my future scratchbuilds.

The large central access hatch will be covered by a removable deck section including the wheelhouse and funnels. The two small hatches aft are for the rudder servo and arm, and will also be covered by removable deck pieces, held in place with mini magnets.
Here are some photos of the hull with the deck fitted, along with some structural details (plus the gearbox + rudder, which will be described in the next post)










After attaching the deck, I then added the rubbing strake at the top of the hull, using spruce strip filed and sanded down to give a rounded cross-section. There is another strake lower down around the stern, which I made using the same materials. I also glued sheets of 1mm styrene sheet to the sides of the hull at the location of the paddle boxes and sponsons. These provide a foundation to glue the paddle boxes and sponsons to (these will be made from styrene), and also protect the wooden hull sides from water splashed by the paddles.

[E Pinniger]

The model's "powerplant" is this gearbox and twin motor assembly, taken from a Tamiya R/C tank (a 1/24 scale Panther, to be precise). It has an output speed which is ideal for a paddler, and runs quite smoothly and without overheating or draining the battery too quickly. Unfortunately, it is also very noisy - which doesn't matter so much in a tank! - and, due to the metal gears, generates a lot of radio "noise" which results in servo interference when running at higher speeds.

I replaced the shafts with longer ones made from brass rod, and put Meccano brass collars on the inner ends to hold them in place. As my model is steered with the rudder only, I wired up both motors to use the same power input, but it would be easy to wire them up to seperate ESCs to give separate paddle control.








The gearbox is mounted (using heavy-duty wood screws) to a block of pine wood glued to the keel.





I painted the paddle wheels with red enamel primer, which gives a fairly good approximation of the real colour (not that you see much of them anyway once they're installed) So far this paint has stood up very well to use with no wear/flaking. Unfortunately I forgot to take a photo of the paddles in place on the model before I attached the paddle boxes!

[R.G.Y.]

Having sailed on Campbells White Funnel fleet in the 1950's. I am pleased to see a model of one of their ships being built. Being young I can't remember if I had a ride on Britannia or Glen Gower. I always wanted a ship with two funnels, but usually went on the Glen Usk, one funnel. that is why I chose to build her. Five feet long of 1/16 balsa covered with aluminium plates from drinks cans. Twelve years old and still going strong. So don't worry about strength be worried about weight .
The first video in your post shows a small coaster. This is the SS Crowpill, a model of which I have also built. See below. The GlenUsk appears above my name on the side of this post. In the third video It could not be be the Bristol or Cardiff queen, as you say as they had ttheir paddel boxes plated over with port holes included. Geoff

[Talisman]

So don't worry about strength be worried about weight .
 Geoff

As Geoff said don't worry so much about strength, balsa even with surface tissue to 450gms fiberglass will give you strength as soon as you add weight above the waterline your asking for problems.
Just my 2p's worth.
Regards,
Kim

[mjt60a]

Interesting project, that looks like the same motor/gearbox I'm using (tamiya centurion tank with wired remote control in my case) Mine had 3 volt motors so I replaced them with 12v ones and fitted capacitors to counter radio interferrence. they turned out to be slower than with the 3 volt so I also took one of the gears out on each side and moved the others across to speed it up a bit. any further changes must be with the pulleys to the paddleshaft (starting with 1:1 - see how it goes) I also made some silicon blocks (bath sealant in a wooden case with a piece of meccano embedded inside) to try to reduce the mechanical noise - it does help a bit!

[E Pinniger]

Thanks for the replies! Regarding the weight issue, I wasn't too concerned by this as the hull has a very heavy solid pine keel, rather than the balsa one recommended in the plans - so even without batteries + ballast it has a lot of weight below the waterline. The ply skin is very thin, it mainly adds strength by being a lot more rigid, less grainy and less brittle than the balsa it covers. The main problem with the original balsa hull is that there are no bulkheads in the centre section (to accommodate the gearbox and the suggested Mamod steam plant!)
I will be putting suppressor capacitors on the motors as soon as I manage to find some (don't have any suitable ones in my bits box at the minute), this should help with the rudder servo "chatter" although I suspect the metal gears are also responsible for this.

To R.G.Y - I was wondering about the identity of the small coaster in the first YouTube clip, interesting to see you've actually made a model of it! What scale is it, and is it a working model? I have the book "Steam Coasters and Short Sea Traders" which has many plans and drawings of ships of this type, and hope to build a R/C model of one of them one day.

Back to the build log:

[E Pinniger]

As the basis of the rudder, I used this commercial brass item which has just the right rudder height and shaft/tube length. I got it in a box of old boat bits bought on eBay last year - I think it's a "Web Model Fittings" product as it looks very similar to one pictured in old adverts of theirs.





The rudder tube was glued into a hole drilled in the solid stern block. The rudder skeg (which the rudder isn't actually attached to) is built up from pine/spruce offcuts.



To get the final shape of the rudder, I made a 3-piece "sandwich" of styrene sheet which fits over the ready-made brass rudder.



Here's the completed rudder. It's about twice scale size (the plan sheet gives dimensions for both a scale rudder and this enlarged one for a working model) but doesn't look noticeably overscale, and I'd say is more or less essential if you're building this model with rudder steering only - my model has a fairly reasonable turning circle (not much different to a screw-driven model of the same size and power output) but I wouldn't like to attempt steering it with a rudder of scale dimensions!



The rudder is operated by a standard Hitec servo and tiller arm.

[E Pinniger]

The portholes (which are 6mm in diameter) were drilled out with a DIY-type electric drill after first drilling pilot holes with a Dremel.



I decided not to add the lower row of portholes (these are in line with the bottom of the paddle boxes) as these are only 10mm above the waterline - which seemed to me to be risking leaks on any model, let alone a paddler. Sailing the model proved this to have been a wise decision, as water regularly came up to this level when the model was turning or heeled over by the wind. The anchor hawse holes go straight through the solid mahogany stem piece, so don't endanger the model's watertightness!



Porthole surrounds (thin copper wire) were added later, after the hull plating. The portholes will eventually be "glazed" using clear epoxy glue. Hawse pipe surrounds are made from brass eyelets.

[E Pinniger]

Next, I added plating detail to the hull, using self-adhesive aluminium tape. I cut the tape into rectangular plates and applied them to the hull in an overlapping pattern matching the plans. Below the waterline, I used a single wide strip of tape to cover the edge of the plywood hull skin.









Here's the completed hull, with an overall coat of gloss enamel varnish which, along with the coats of primer, paint and varnish which will follow, will help to seal and protect the plating. The plating does look rather rough close-up, but once plated black it gives (to my eye) a quite effective representation of the rather pitted, battered surface of an old steel-hulled ship (at the time represented by my model, Britannia was already around 50 years old!)

[derekwarner_decoy]

Hi PD's.....  ......EPIN......aluminium can be painted however must be primed first

The following WEB site below talks about prepartory mechanical abrasion with 1200 W&D paper, however I think with the tape being so thin ...any undulations would simply result in removal of the metal and result in an irregular hole

I would go down the path & experiment on a small section of  aluminium tape covered test piece & trial some of the degreasing followed by chemical etching

Finally when you get a good etched surface, trial motor vehicle rattle gun paint [enamels] ....they are high strength and will bond to any metal surface...they will also allow a high build up and also most importantly a water PROOF seal joint between the plates 

Good luck....keep us posted  on your progress  Derek.....

 
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=etching%20aluminium&source=web&cd=3&ved=0CGsQFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.billchambers.org%2Fimages%2Fartists%2520notes%2Fetching_with_copper_sulphate.pdf&ei=Fh7VT5f6KqiRiQfJrrymAw&usg=AFQjCNHS5NUAFTITPyeA-BzsaZZk36WUfQ

[E Pinniger]

Thanks for the advice on metal preparation/priming (I'll definitely keep this in mind for future projects) - however I maybe should have made it clearer in the first post, these photos were taken in previous weeks -the model now has a complete and painted hull + paddle boxes, and is at the stage of deck planking! (which is why progress seems to fast).

To paint the aluminium hull plating, I first rubbed down the surface with fine abrasive sponge sanders (which are flexible and conform to the surface of what you're sanding, so are much less likely to wear away raised areas) then sprayed the whole thing with two coats of Halfords matt grey primer. After a few hours this had set to give a very hard finish (I tested it with a wooden toothpick but couldn't manage to scrape any off).  The hull was then painted with acrylic paint (2-3 coats) and finally with satin enamel varnish.

[R.G.Y.]

S.S. CROWPILL built to 1/2" =1ft  (24th scale)making it 24" long. Yes it is a working model, electric.  Although I have only sailed it 2 or 3 times. Only built as a test ( as little information is available.) for a steam powered 1" =1ft  model which is still on the things to do list. Plying between Barry & Bridgwater with coal. When the local factory converted to oil she was scraped 1966. Originally named Tynsider 1911. Geoff

[mogogear]

Nice work E!!