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HMAS/m AE2, Scratchbuild


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23 hours ago, Bandsaw Steve said:

Oh - I'm off for a look!

 

it's all there now in all it's glory for the whole world to see.

 

 

take some hankies - you'll need them to wipe the tears (of raucous laughter that is!) from your eyes

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  • 4 weeks later...

Nahhh,.. recovered long ago! Van Roon can't handle his liquor! 🙃

 

The real reason that nothing much is happening on the submarine front is because the shed refit continues apace. In fact the project has now been re-scoped - it's no longer a refit, it's a conversion. By the time I'm finished the shed will no-longer be a shed; it'll be a factory! A submarine, aircraft, tank, car, spaceship, railway locomotive - whatever factory!

 

Aiming to post before-and-after photos about this time next week. Once that's done, we start manufacturing!  🔨🔧🔩🛠👌😁

 

Steve - Bandsaw Steve! 😎

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:hmmm: Reading between the lines from the other side of the world I see two possibilities here.

 

1. You've been kicked out of the house because of a drink problem !

 

2. In line with your moniker you've had a rush on power tools and needed to expand to accommodate said power tools / power station !

 

:winkgrin:

 

Looking forward to your return to the bench

 

Kev

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  • 2 weeks later...

Factory - Before and After

 

As noted above there has been a fairly long intermission with regards to the AE2 project. This has been caused by me deciding that I'd had enough of working in a shed that was actually something of a hovel (In fact saying that is probably an insult to hovels) and deciding that it was time to do something about it.

 

Here is an annotated 'before' shot of the shed taken on 14 July 2017,  just so you get the idea.

 

Annotated Before Photo

 

1.  Lot's of 'important' junk being stored. You know the deal 'just stick it in the shed for now - we'll sort it out latter!'

2.  Stalled projects awaiting resurrection.

3.  Narrow shelving

4.  Crappy peg board for hand tools - layout never really designed at all and each peg wobbly in it's little bung-hole.

5.  Semi-derelict second-hand Ikea draw set containing God knows what because the draws don't open properly any more.

6.  Rickety old work bench.

7.  University notes - lots of university notes - because 'you never know when you might need them'.  (Note - in the 25 years since finishing university, I have never once needed them).

 

I did not annotate the mouldy bit of carpet on the floor but it's probably worth a mention.  From this view you can't see various spots of rust starting to attack the walls but that needed to be dealt with also.

 

Here's the same view, before the renovation - but without the distracting coloured numbers.

 

IMG_7030 - Copy

 

So this was the starting point

 

OK - wait for it....

 

wait for it....

 

Here's the same photo taken from the same spot earlier this afternoon. 16 Sept 2017.

 

No longer a shed my friends - it's a factory!

 

IMG_7501

This is what I've been up to for the last two months.  This is what has been ruining Hendie's weekends. (Just a thought Hendie - perhaps you need to get out and meet some more people or something :P)

 

Here's the replacement for the peg board - wall to wall - 18mm particle board - most frequently used tools in the centre and then tools and equipment grouped by type.  No wobbly pegs any more - all tools either hung on nails or on their own custom-made hanging whatchamacallits.

IMG_7503

 

Workstation Alpha - Bandsaw (of course) - Flagship of the fleet.

IMG_7506

 

Workstation Bravo - Bench Sander. Newest addition to the fleet.

IMG_7507

 

Workstation Charlie - Drill press and Dremmel tool.

IMG_7508

 

Workstation Delta - Reference and Detailing. Oh-look, there goes AE2 ready for some work and an extremely cool-looking 'Sundowner's' F4 Phantom.

IMG_7509

 

Workstation Echo - Airbrushing compressor

IMG_7511

 

 

Workstation 'Foxtrot' - Wood carving and general manufacturing operations. High tech aluminium alloy reconfigurable Swiss-manufactured vice. 

IMG_7512

 

 

Storage Facility 'Golf' - Triple stacked under-bench storage facility.

IMG_7513

 

 

Storage facility 'Hotel' - As per facility Golf but twice as long (this photo only shows half of the total bench length). Note extensive use of plastic tubs - just like the workshop in Mythbusters! :penguin:

IMG_7515

 

Facility overview - again.  I'm happy with this!

IMG_7501

 

There is some further work required though:

  • Extend permanent power supply to Storage Facility 'Hotel' and associated workstations
  • Build a PPE stand at the door (I'm not kidding I'm actually going to do that!) 
  • Improve ambient and workstation lighting
  • Upgrade sound-system. That little radio you can see can pick-up one radio station - fortunately it's the station with the 'Best Variedy' (yes 'Variedy' with a d) as they like to tell me over and over and over again...
  • Actually build something - anything - in this place!

Next post will be back to the submarine - I'm going to try streamlining the conning tower with that cute little bench sander at workstation Bravo.  Should take about 5 minutes all going well. B)

 

I know that this post hasn't strictly been 'AE2' or even 'Maritime Modelling' for that matter - but I trust you will find some of this of interest and maybe that I've saved Hendie's weekend.

 

Bandsaw Steve

Factory Manager

 

 

 

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2 hours ago, Bandsaw Steve said:

but I trust you will find some of this of interest and maybe that I've saved Hendie's weekend.

 

okay, I shall accept that posting as 'progress' though I think we're on the edge of stretching the limits.

 

I do like the workshop though - very nice set up.  I thought my workshop was big when I built it, but I'm really struggling for space (being a right messy booger doesn't really help much)

 

I look forward to commencement of wood butchery (and having my weekends back in order).  This is only Saturday so there's still time for a Sunday Morning update

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On 23/05/2017 at 12:30 AM, Bandsaw Steve said:

A fair question. I decided on waterline After a fair bit of thought for the following reasons:

 

- I generally prefer the appearance of waterline models, they look more natural to me.

- I am keen to try making an ocean-scape for her to sit in.

- This is my first maritime model so I want to keep it simple.

- I am lazy! 😀

 

If this his project goes well I might be building more ships and subs, so might try full-hull in future.

When you think about it, waterline depictions of submarines has potential for some very lazy modelling indeed...

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4 hours ago, Churchill said:

waterline depictions of submarines has potential for some very lazy modelling indeed...

 

 

A more positive outlook would be that it leaves more time to get the top looking right and the water looking its best .....

 

Kev

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19 hours ago, Churchill said:

When you think about it, waterline depictions of submarines has potential for some very lazy modelling indeed...

Inspired by Churchill's comment above I've decided to explore this concept in greater depth. 

 

Here is my recently completed model of the USS Nautilus. It's a scratch-built 1 : 200 scale, periscope-depth waterline model.  USS Nautilus was the world's first nuclear submarine and the first submarine to ever reach the North pole.

 

The first shot is an overview of the completed model,  while the second shot is a close-up so you can appreciate all of the skill, detail and effort that has gone into this project.

 

IMG_7571

 

The wake trailing behind the periscope is PVA glue.

 

IMG_7572

 

I'm happy with this effort - it's the best submarine model I've finished so far. :wink:

 

I have however, decided not to post it on the RFI thread.

 

Best Regards,

Bandsaw Steve

 

 

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Saving Hendie's Weekend

 

OK - for the first time in a long time,  and the first time ever from 'the factory' I have an actual  AE2 update.  Hopefully this will be enough to save Hendie's weekend.

 

So far the conning tower is just a squared off block of wood. Streamlining this was the job that I had in mind when I bought the bench sander. Let's see how it works out...

IMG_7516

 

Oh - nice.! Much quicker and easier than chisels. The platform that the workpiece rests on is adjustable so that the tilt angle of the sanding can be very closely controlled. In this case of course it's set to 90 degrees because the conning tower sits bolt upright.

IMG_7517

 

The front of the tower is done the same way.  The whole job took about 5 minutes. Sweet!  As Longshanks suggested I could not be without this tool now.  I now consider it a necessity.

IMG_7520

 

It's also very good for sharpening pencils.

IMG_7522

 

See what I mean...

IMG_7524

 

The rear of the centre bit on the submarine also needs to be sharpened and streamlined. I've intentionally left this as a separate piece, it needs to be shaped first and then glued into place.

IMG_7533

 

Same drill as for the conning tower.

IMG_7534

 

Yep - exactly the same deal.

IMG_7537

 

And it fits on there beautifully. This is about to get glued in place with PVA. This is the first piece of actual assembly on this project - prior to this nothing has been glued together.

IMG_7538

 

And here we are. A nice streamlined conning tower, just sitting there at this point and a nice streamlined 'tail bit' stuck onto the end of the 'middle bit'. 

IMG_7540

As you can see I have also smothered all of those bothersome flood-vent holes that I drilled in the wrong spots in with plastic-wood.

 

I like to tell everyone that this model is made of wood,  but I think that by the time I have finished it will mostly be plastic-wood.:smile:

 

Hope everyone, including Hendie, has a good weekend. It's a long weekend here in W.A. so perhaps I'll get that conning tower attached.

 

Best Regards,

Steve

 

 

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Nice work.     I'm not sure about the sander though - it's not quite as dangerous and cavalier as whopping chunks of timber off with a chisel now is it?

 

40 minutes ago, Bandsaw Steve said:

It's also very good for sharpening pencils.

 

so definitely a worthwhile buy then.

 

I have to say that your bits are looking good.  Though I think my favorite bit so far is the periscope.  I'm sure the rest of the submarine will turn out just as impressive, if not more so.

 

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10 hours ago, Bandsaw Steve said:

 

It's also very good for sharpening pencils.

 

I have an idea that they make a tool specifically for that task, but given that you're clearly acheiving excellent results with the bench sander you're probably wise to avoid investing in specialist equipment for now.

 

Really enjoying this build, its the kind of modelling that I'd like to be doing myself, if I could sort myself out and make the time.

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