1/350 HMS Ark Royal, 1987 - sailing back from the Shelf of Doom

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

My first post for ages, and still no tangible modelling to show you - but I will be picking Ark back up again in the next few weeks (as soon as I have finished and delivered my Vixen; the deadline is my neighbour's birthday, which is at the end of August). So there really will be more soon.

I was away from home on business last night, though, with not a lot to do, so I started to design the scratch build of a Coles 315M crane to replace the one provided by Airfix (which, appropriately enough for Jumbo, is much too big - see discussions earlier in this thread).

I have not been able to get hold of any plans, but I do have the dimensions of the real thing (9.14m long x 2.15m wide x 3.5m tall) plus some excellent photographs that allow me to judge intermediate measurements using proportion of the whole. It's probably not going to be 100% accurate, but it certainly should be good enough at 1/350!

Anyway, here are the results: the two drawings at the top are plan and elevation of my design, and the sketch below them uses the Airfix measurements - which shows just how much it is too big:

This will probably be built in September, when I am on holiday. Just as last year when I did some experiments with Sea Harriers and Sea Kings (because they are portable enough to get away with taking on holiday without enraging my wife!), I think I could get away with building a crane or two and some tugs.

Ahem. More soon.

Crisp

Edited July 9, 2015 by Ex-FAAWAFU

[Okdoky]

A bit different taking 1/350 scale truck build on hols than a 1/24 th ha ha ha ha ha !!!!!!

Looking forward to seeing how you tackle the build !!!!!!!

Nige

[hendie]

Crisp - are you planning on scratching this or 3D printing ? I know there's a certain sense of masochism satisfaction in scratching, but you could pack a whack of detail into the crane with 3D printing (and flog a few into the bargain)

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

Scratching the crane, I think - I have yet to dip my toe into the world of 3D design / printing, and I am already pushing my learning envelope with all this scratch conversion work; before I started this build my experience of scratch conversion was essentially limited to a few lead brake lines and generic busying up cockpits. In 1/48, not 1/350!

Since I took up the hobby again in middle age (like so many of us), I have the princely total of 1 completed (pretty ordinary, though fun)1/48 Gazelle and a stalled Barracuda build (I mean the build is stalled, not the Barra) under my belt. Ark is my first ship of any kind since some Airfix 1/600 job (?Victorious) when I was about 12... so I am trying to teach myself to walk before I run, & selling any kind of work of mine to other people, even friends, would definitely count as running. If people like what I come up with, they are welcome to copy and improve on it.

I also have to do something with the flight deck tractors, though (Airfix's are pretty ordinary square blobs, complete with U-shaped "wheels"), and to build at least one "Giraffe" (see earlier in thread for details). I only have to have one crane, but 3 or 4 tractors & maybe 2 Giraffes - so for those I might do some casting (also a new skill...) to get consistency. Home-baked PE is also a possibility - though since I have more than one set of the WEM PE set for Illustrious (I inherited a second set, 90% unused, from a mate for the price of a pint), it's more likely that I will adapt some of that - e.g. for things like the crane hook.

Edited July 11, 2015 by Ex-FAAWAFU

[perdu]

Evergreen square section in about 1/16" for the boom

0.040" and 0.060" flat plasticard

Heat the ends of some Evergreen 1/8" diameter rod and plunge into a predrilled hole to cool down and set (4 times)

Hello unca Bobby

No seriously Crisp I'm glad you are going to have a go, that crane does look [a] doable fun and really satisfying

Holiday tasks? Didn't we get them at school?

Yours sounds better than declining great flipping passages out of my Latin primer

ad insulam

Oh boy I wish I hadn't gone THERE

far too much water under that bridge

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

Yours sounds better than declining great flipping passages out of my Latin primer

ad insulam

Oh boy I wish I hadn't gone THERE

far too much water under that bridge

I share your pain; you're talking to a man who has Latin A level. And no, I can't remember a bloody word of it!

[perdu]

Latin A level

I wish I had some A levels

or Os

all I have is my driving licence

And you got to drive aeroplanes/whirlychopters

All I got was recovery trucks

And bad knees from tramping the Beacons and Germany

Shoulda tried harder (should have tried something) at school

I coulda been a contender

I coulda be...

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

....and we're back in the room. Eyes re calibrated from 1/48 to 1/350, thinking along maritime rather than aviation lines.

I am on holiday in Devon, and though my wife is very happy for me to bring some modelling stuff with me, she draws the line (not unreasonably!) at a 1/48 Vixen that has reached the airbrushing stage. So instead I have brought the island of Ark (leaving the hull at home) and a fair amount of plastic sheet, rod etc. and some tools.

Even though I haven't been working on Ark for ages, I have continued to accumulate reference pictures for her during 1987-8, which was when I served in her and is therefore the era I am building. I already knew that the three CVSs varied considerably, both one from another and also over time within individual hulls, and gradually - reluctantly - I have come to the conclusion that Airfix's moulded detail on the side of the island just had to go completely, because almost all of it is wrong. (Edit: wrong for 1988 Ark Royal, I hasten to add - it's fine for Illustrious).

So...

Details removed (including filling the slots for Lusty's starboard CIWS deck, which is very different in Ark).

Then I started reinstating some detail. My darling Mrs has contributed yet more to this build by giving me the ?new Eduard PE set for Lusty; I already have the WEM set, and there is some overlap, but Eduard provide some details that WEM don't (and vice versa). The new grilles on the aft funnel are exquisitely done:

I also bought on a new toy at the Salisbury IPMS show in May, namely one of these:

It had been recommended by a mate who does lots of scratch building, and I am a total convert: brilliant for clean cuts, precise angles, and straight lines - I reckon over time (albeit a fairly long time!) it will pay for itself in saved card and brass.

First use in this build was in building this additional piece of deck (for the starboard SRBOC chaff launchers).

...and in place:

P.S. I have also started work on my scratch Jumbo (see discussion of how Airfix's is way overscale above), but no photos yet.

Usual horror at seeing close-up photos, but I'll clean it up over time

Edited September 15, 2015 by Ex-FAAWAFU

[Martian]

Nice work! Those grilles look great! Who does that Chopper tool? I think I need one of these.

Martin

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

The Chopper (which strictly is a Chopper 2 - there was an earlier version) is produced by a U.S. outfit called North West Short Line (www.nwsl.com). They're mostly model railway types, but some of their tools are amazing - I've also seen a thing called The Duplicutter in action, which looks pretty cool tool. For someone who does as much scratch work as you, Martin, highly recommended.

Their website lists UK suppliers, but I'm 90% sure I got mine on the Little Cars stand at Salisbury, tho I may be wrong.

[Forlornhope]

Nice to see you back at it mate , yuo got my attention with that chopper thing as well, looks something I could get a lot of use out of

All the best

Callum

[Fritag]

Nice work! Those grilles look great! Who does that Chopper tool? I think I need one of these.

Yes it is; yes they do; thanks for the info; I'm awfully tempted too

That little deck extension is wonderfully precise and neat - which in many ways is the holy grail of scratch building bits like that.

[hendie]

great to see this one back up and running - can't wait to see the jumbo

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

Starting to build up the aft part of the island, which needed complete reworking; 909 dome (my homemade pipette and milliput one, for which see much earlier in the thread), SCOT (satcom) aerials and a thin mizzen mast to support the aft 1006 radar aerial. The brass plate of the SCOT platform is from the Eduard PE set, suitably sanded to make it a bit smaller.

As you can see, the base of both sections is hollow and has arches built in, which meant I could only use solid square rod for the upper section of the mast - but as luck would have it 4 sections of Evergreen right angle section happen to be a perfect size.

None of it is glued onto the island yet - a little sanding to get sizes spot on is still needed. But you do at last get a feel for what the back end is going to look like.

More soon. Crisp

Edited September 16, 2015 by Ex-FAAWAFU

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

great to see this one back up and running - can't wait to see the jumbo

OK, you get some Jumbo.

My original vague plan was to re-use the Airfix chassis, but 2 seconds' thought put paid to that one; little point in building a scale crane on top of an out-of-scale chassis. Duuuhhhh. In particular, once I'd measured it all up the chassis was too wide (10% or more too big) and the wheels themselves were also too large.

So there followed a lot of carving and cutting to dismember the original into parts that could be used. Here's the original chassis:

Even there I had already started removing the rear wheels.

And here is where I have got to as of this morning. One set of wheels has been sanded smaller, and the axle replaced with a stunningly useful piece of Evergreen rod which has wire embedded in it (thus giving some strength). That's the stuff on the left, with a small residual piece of Airfix moulding next to it.

On the right is the Airfix cab and jib, with my early replacement. There is a distinct small step up on the baseplate of the original, and the back end is much more complex than Airifix pretended (hence my sticky-out bit).

Edited September 17, 2015 by Ex-FAAWAFU

[hendie]

ah.... the genesis of a jumbo! I like it

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

Holiday coming to an end tomorrow, so final pics from Devon; the back end of the island now pretty much done.

The central thing is the base of a bloody great whip aerial, by the way.

SCOT aerials still to be fitted, obviously, plus 1006 platform (& radar!) on top of the mizzen and assorted railings. None the less, I am pleased with progress. Next will be the modified CIWS (Phalanx) platform on the starboard side, plus the flight deck lights on that platform on the back.

And Jumbo, of course.

Edited September 18, 2015 by Ex-FAAWAFU

[perdu]

Paint too huh

kidding only kidding

The etch looks pretty useful and the island looks suitably

"Ready for business"

Not always a waste to leave the hobby room behind is it

Good work Crisp, very good going

[Foghorn Leghorn]

Nice to see this project back on track

[bootneck]

This pic (Invincible, 1985) shows it pretty well:

The Invince shot also proves that she had 4 tractors, not Airfix's 2 (the scratch build suggestion becomes more likely by the minute!), and also that there's a second crane (seen on the right here) as well as the fork lift that WEM provide.

With reference to the Fork lift trucks, there are some similar ones in the Gallery Models accessories set (#64006) for their LPH/LPD kits. Although they are not exactly the same, they could be a basis for some modifications.

Here's a scan of the front and back of the pack

Mike

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

I do love the generosity of this site. I have had lots of help coming in - and I am grateful for all of it. In no particular order, a while ago I received a letter from Richard (not sure of user name on here!), containing this:

...for a future scratch built machine on the flight deck (that Airfix didn't even attempt).

Then Bootneck sent me a PM on here, with an attachment - which I have duly printed at the right size (127%, for future reference) to match my calculations for 1/350 dimensions. I have pictured it below my own pencil attempt, and am somewhat chuffed to find that mine (drawn by eye from a photo) wasn't actually that bad. This means that the work I have done so far on Jumbo will still be OK even with better info.

[bootneck has subsequently told me that it comes from a Jecobin plan, and since I am a massive fan of Jecobin and would in no way wish to reduce their income, I shall purchase it forthwith; I already have a lot of their plans for this and other future ship builds, but it never occurred to me that they'd have messed about with Jumbo, so I hadn't even looked].

Some of you who are unfamiliar with the layout of the Invincible class in their early years might have been wondering what on Earth I have been trying to build in the past few days, so (now that I back home and reunited with my reference photos), here is a picture of Ark Royal taken in 1988 in Pompey, shortly before we sailed for Oz.

It clearly shows a lot of things (I have studied this picture for what feels like hours), but for today's purposes you can clearly see the platforms for the SCOT aerials (the 2 bulbous things just behind the nearer funnel), and the tall thin simple mizzen mast with a radar on it (you'll have to take my word for it, but it's an I-band navigation and aircraft control radar called Type 1006). [it also shows that almost all of the detail Airfix had moulded onto the island is wrong for Ark, so it's pretty much all been removed now - I'd started the process in Devon, but took a lot more off today.]

Having come close to committing to glue, something was bugging me about the platform a third of the way up the 1006 mast, and sure enough I had it wrong; on the right, the brass platform from the Eduard PE set, and on the left my replacement. Not a criticism of Eduard, because they are modelling a slightly different part - I had not adapted it correctly. The Eduard support pieces, however, fit perfectly:

The glue is Gator, so dead easy to clean up with a little water.

And here some shots of it all glued in place:

All going far too well, though, wasn't it? I didn't have the relevant sprue with me in Devon, but wasn't that surprised to find that Airfix's SCOT aerials (hastily put together without bothering to clean up) are nothing like the ones I need:

Again, not Airfix's fault; their aerials are indeed correct for the ship they are depicting - just not for the one I am converting it into!

I think I have a cunning plan, based around the nose of the torpedo from a 1/48 Tamiya Swordfish, but watch this space. To get two the same I might finally have to dip my toe into Perdu & Fritag's scary world of resin casting....

More soon - thanks, everyone, for all the help!

Crisp

P.S. Since several others have done this, I should also post a pic of my faithful assistant, Zebedee (taken yesterday as he complained he didn't have enough room in the back of our car!)

[perdu]

There's not enough room at the back of that car

Zebedee needs it

That crane drawing you did looks near enough in fairyfingers scale, you know the stupidly tiny scale that has massive ships reduced so small they would vanish in my 'very ancient man's shallow enough for safe bathing' bathtub

Bet you can tell I swore never to make another ship kit...

The sketch looks good enough anyway, but isn't it good to see just how close you got

Glad to have you back and not only modelling but looking, so easy to take stuff for granted

Looking saves us from doing that

oh yes

Hint and tip number 200654:

casting makes good copies, but resin is a sod to file and polish

Make the mould as close as poss to perfect, you know you need to

[hendie]

maybe it's my eyes but the airfix attempt certainly looks way off from the drawing - but does not look too bad at all compared to the photo's

... and what perdu said.... if you're using silicone for the mold - it picks up every teensy little minutiae of the master - so spend time getting the master up to scratch and you'll be rewarded in the end

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

maybe it's my eyes but the airfix attempt certainly looks way off from the drawing - but does not look too bad at all compared to the photo's

... and what perdu said.... if you're using silicone for the mold - it picks up every teensy little minutiae of the master - so spend time getting the master up to scratch and you'll be rewarded in the end

Assuming you mean the SCOT aerials, the photo is a bit compressed sideways (look at the Phalanx on the stern sponson; shows much too narrow), and the port aerial looks deceptively narrow because part of it is obscured by 1006 mast. Trust me, the drawings are right; the SCOT domes for this build need to be much fatter. Having not used Atlantic Pete's 909 domes (see earlier in thread for why not), I have a couple of them that might become involved in producing this master.

Watch this space.

[hendie]

ah... I see what you mean - told you it was my eyes