Steve D

New Year's Eve update Steady progress, just running through stuff really, there is a lot to get through I decided to fit the portholes (scuttles) from my 3d resin printed model. These are hard to photograph but to help explain here is an image of the model I printed. These slide in the pre-drilled holes and being clear resign will act as portholes. I just have a lot of liquid masking to do Following this easy job, I turned to the deck lights. These are a combination of a resin plug and an etched frame. Easier to glue the frame in place before cutting them from the sprue Here are 12 ready to install. There are 50 odd of these on this ship.... They are also used to plug the holes in the armoured bridge. Below the 4th version of the large cowl vent cover resting in place. I think this one works After working on the cowl bases, I ended up adjusting all three cowls for final size, here is the print job for the 15 cowls needed. They all sit on etched bases I also got around to making up the second funnel, giving the ship a more complete appearance. Clear on this image is the white printed inner sleeve on both funnels (I didn't have the right size brass tube), All coal funnels are sleeved, I believe to assist the draft, prevent the funnels getting cold. Watch for this detail, don't make un-sleeved funnels. Most large vessel funnels also had framing to help support the funnel rain covers but I can find no detail of this on these TBD's Pulling together, note the deck-lights on the foc's'le and the scuttles installed On the GA this is only shown on the section, not the elevation or plan so its easy to miss. You can see I've printed a torus fillet to model that slight flair to the deck. The next job is to make a start on the hatches. There are two types, round and square base. These are some of the parts for the first 4 The top is domed so those flat tops were heated up and gently domed in a wooden doming block. The hinge bar has a spring which I can wind from wine bottle wire (.25mm dia). Hopefully this will be visible Here is the first completed round base hatch And here are the first two installed. Note how the deck is covered in deck-lights, trip hazard if you ask me. I've also installed the short return to the armour wings and the diagonal brace near to the gun mounts. The 4 plugs are cowl vent bases Work has begun on the square base hatched which will be modelled open so needed holes cut in the deck, more on that later Meanwhile let me wish you all a very happy and healthy new year, and thanks once again for your interest in this project Steve

Thanks for the kind comments Sam. I have displayed at the Model Engineer Exhibition in the past but its been cancelled since covid, not sure its ever coming back. Now I am fully retired, I have decided to look into other shows in 2024, so if anyone has any suggestions of ones with a strong marine section, please let me know Cheers Steve

Nicely finished Beefy, you've certainly done a very interesting subject justice. Looks very modern for a WW2 boat, one to add to the ever increasing list if the drawings exist Cheers Steve

Thanks David, your kind comments mean a lot given your skill on display with Victorious. More fun details and some interesting challenges coming.... Cheers Steve Thanks Rob,

Merry Christmas Pascal, and happy modelling in the New Year! Cheers Steve

Firstly, and most importantly, let me wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a peaceful New Year. And also a big thanks for following this build and the kind comments, it makes a huge difference to my solitary hobby. Now back to the build. Honestly, I've been struggling with this etching. It may be the fact that this is my first A3 sheet, but it seems to be slightly over-etched. Some items I thought I had right are really quite frail and going to be a real challenge to use. It's probably my fault for pushing my luck on true scale, 25 years and I'm still making this mistake I don't think I will need to do a second version, but some if the pieces are really tough for my decrepit hands to manage Still, the first thing to include is scratch-built and doesn't use any etchings, the anchor cranes. These are mounted on the bridge wings and used to handle the 600lb halls anchors, must have been a real challenge on such a narrow and rolling hull I started with some sections of brass and some turned sheaves Hard-soldered assembly, sheaves in the watchmakers jewel tray. The sheaves are installed with 16ba nuts and bolts, thank goodness for my large angle-poise magnifier Some time later, ready to fit to the copper wing structure. The tabs are bent round the corner of the wing to anchor the hinge. There is a second sheave on the top of the hinge to pass the line down to the capstan A less than wonderful shot of them installed. I also fitted the capstan platform wings, but didn't take any pictures, sorry. These are super thin and fragile, the planking will help strengthen them. The pillars that support these platfroms are 1mm thin wall tubing that the stanchions will slide into, well that is the plan anyway Originally, I'd intended to model the armoured bridge doors open with the interior modelled. Unfortunately, the frame etched away at the hinge points, so that plan had to be abandoned. The doors are soldered shut.... Here they are fitted Next to the armoured bridge is a strange elevated steering platform serving an angled ships wheel that pokes up through the 12pdr gun platform. This is all very weird, I've not seen anything like it on any other vessel. It is accessed by a short ladder. This bit of the GA shows it 3rd attempt at soldering these 7 pieces, clearer if you zoom in. I've 5 platforms that all have an etched frame with an upstand soldered round the edge, this is the smallest, some swearing forms an essential part of the build process The planking was laser-cut from .5mm ply, it makes the platform stronger, I'll probably remove the central plank, looks wrong. Here it is resting in place. this shot shows the two WC doors and the bridge in place. The capstan wing platform planking is resting (badly) in place, gives and indication. I've cut 3 versions, still not happy. Behind the capstan is a sheave in this shot Continuing the fo'c's'le detaining, I made up 4 ring bolts from some spare stanchions, washers and wire And stuck them in place My 3d modelled halls anchor rests on the base. I plan to attempt to cast this in low temp casting metal, more on that future disaster later... Overall, it slowly makes progress The 12 pdr elevated gun platform comes next, a super challenging structure, but before that 3 days of eating too much Merry Christmas Steve

Beautiful windlass Pascal, that's a product, I'd buy one... Cheers Steve

No, I've not used clay, might be worth a try sometime. I just hold stuff with pins in a soft firebrick or using sprung tweezers, sometimes held in an adjustable block. Setting up items to solder is all the work, the soldering takes a couple of seconds. As you rightly point out, the skill (such as it is....) is in the set-up Cheers Steve

The next few updates are going to be quite similar I'm afraid as I work my way around the etching sheet. One of the things I like about these vessels is the curved anchor bed, needed to take the anchor's weight as the plating is so light. There are four curved beams, two different sizes, the forward one on each side being a slightly smaller radius. The flanges have a locating slot etched in them (4 of the 8 flanges shown above) Soldering them at right-angles proved harder than I expected, below how I held them to solder, 3rd attempt (paste used here). The soldering was in two stages, one flanges then the second They are glued in place with epoxy The anchor bed has a sort of chain roller arrangement to tighten the chain that secures the anchor to the bed. This was etched with wire and a roller added, very delicate wheels, zoom in to see more clearly, they are 10 mm long These sit at the top of the beams, resting in place in this picture. Also seen here is the capstan, which for once is something I'm actually very happy with. The square slots were formed by soldering three etchings together and adding it to the top of a lathe turned base. The capstan bars are stored on racks inside the forward 6pdr deck edge shield, I'll get to them later Next on the fo'c's'le is the chain stoppers. These were made up from etched sides, a base with a groove and a locking leaver scratch-made. They work and will secure the chain in place These allowed me to decide the size of the anchor chain from the selection I've purchased from AliExpress. Quick aside for those who don't know. This phone app (and website) allows you to order direct from the manufacturer in China and they send light stuff by airmail. They have a full range of stud-link chain sized for a couple of £'s a foot. I've bought all the sizes at once, save on shipping and I'm sure I will find a use for them... The stud-link chain is very prominent on these vessels, as it is stored looped along both sides of the fo'c's'le, important detail. This area of the model is full of fun detail. Next came the cable nipper, shown in outline on the GA, better picture here of a later version of a nipper That's all a bit small, even at this scale, but below is my attempt, you will need to zoom in. The tiny wheel and threaded rod were cut from a grab rail stanchion, don't know it anyone will see the thread, but I know its there Here it is in place behind the chain stoppers Last piece of equipment to add to this area is the chain pipes, for another day Lastly, as promised, a start was made on the cowl-vent bases, these are set into the deck so the flange is flush. The resin cowl is then added right at the end of the project after painting. One prototype shown here Tomorrow, if I get the time, I'll have a go at the platform framing that surrounds the capstan, interesting little challenge Warning, this stage is always a little repetitive, hope it is not too boring. I want to show how each piece has been broken down and designed for making up in metal. Each piece ends up a mix of etch, wire, turned pieces and just scratch bits of brass. Cheers and thanks for the kind comments Steve

So many years a go, at University, I used to play a lot of snooker. 3 years of devoting too much time to perfecting my skills, I reckoned I was OK. Then I got the opportunity to play someone who actually knew how to play,. Not only did I not sink anything, most of my shots were blocked. I assume the maker is @Val_Ukraine on our forum.. Wonderful

The resin can be electo-plated, there are videos on line showing this, though I've never done it, I am temped You start by spraying the resin piece with graphite spray. This creates a conductive layer and so will take copper plating. For a shiny finish, you would then go to zinc, which is actually very shiny if not oxidised. Clear varnish will keep the shine. I'm going to be painting this model so its not worth the hassle. But one day, I will try this. it needs a steady 12 volt power source and the right electrolyte. In one of the old ship modelling books I have, I've read about about copper-plating ship's boat moulds to create perfect and strong tiny ship's boats in solid copper, how cool would that be? Cheers Steve

Thanks Jon, I'm just trying to show a different way to build these models. Hopefully of interest and sharing of techniques Cheers Steve

Thanks, but this is only a small start, so much more on the way... Cheers Steve

The etching arrived This is my largest and most complex etching yet. If I have it right, it's the only one I need for this project. The observant will see in the top left corner I inserted the etching I'd prepared for the ASR Buoy. I considered this too expensive to have made on its own, but it was sort of free with this big sheet and will allow me to complete the buoy. I have an idea for a different diorama, in the dim and distant future... This is now a target rich environment, but to be logical, I decided to start with the core hull and deck fittings and work my way up so to speak First thing to attach was the cooling water intake grills. These are slightly too fine really, but I had included 4 on the sheet and two worked The outlet is to the left in this image The next piece is the torpedo tube mount ring. This is actually 1.5mm thick and consists of three rings soldered together forming a "C" cross section. I had etched alignment holes for 0.5mm wired to keep it all in shape The central plate raised the edges about the deck, so these two round packing plates were added. The pin in the centre is the central pivot, it tapers to allow centring the mount when lifting it on and off Here it is resting in place. The mount runs on bogies that run around the outer ring Next, I wanted to see how the large cowl vents would work out. These sit on square plates and because the vents are so large, they need to penetrate the deck or looking in, you would see the deck and that's not good Here it the forward one in place after cutting the hole in the deck. The white cowl is a test only, it's not the final version, but gives some idea of where I going... These large vents need a debris grid to prevent items being sucked into the fans and blocking them. After a review of the scrap etched grids I have, I decided none were right and as I'd forgotten to add this to the etch sheet, I decided to make then up. First I drew and cut out a grid frame in 2mm ply (love that xtool). This version had the wires too close together The second version is much better, 0.25mm wire used (from sparkling wine bottle wire, don't throw this away...). Its not perfect, but you will only glimpse it and hopefully it will add depth to the realism. Soldered in place, the cowl top will slot over this and allow the cowl to rotate as per full size The rear vent (there are only two of these large vents) has a rear air take-off pipe that curves down through the deck. This calls for a lobster-back bend, three 30 degree sections soldered together and filed smooth. Bit of fun, its years since I made one of these Soldering this to the vent tube will probably cause the soft solder of the bend to unstick, so I soldered an inner tube to the vent tube first that this will slide over and be glued in place Here it is all finished Next job will be the other cowl vent bases, easy work Cheers Steve

My grandad was, he was in hospital having been badly scolded as a hole was blown in the engine room, the ship was nearly lost. He also managed to get to Dunkirk as the ship he was working on at Woolwich was commandeered. Regrettably, I never knew him, he died when I was 3. Jutland marked the end of black ships in the RN. From what I've read, the night battle showed them that black was much easier to spot at night than previously supposed. Destroyers were all repainted grey in the following months. So, if you're building a WW1 destroyer, the date you model it at matters. Also, in late 1916, destroyers midships searchlights were mostly replaced with a high-angle single Vickers 2pdrsfor anti-airship service. Thanks for your kind comments Cheers Steve

Yes, Stuart, I've got doming blocks etc, both wood and metal. I have made cowl vents in brass, see the polished vents on my Admirals barge for example The issue here is the sheer number of small vents and in particular the two very large engine room vents. I did have a go at that one but decided the results would draw the eye to a feature that let the model down. One of the key challenges scratch-building, I as know you appreciate, is the model is only as good as the worst part, if that part is large enough to notice. The 3d printed large cowls (at the 3rd attempt) have worked out really well and contain the right rivet detail, they will not let the model down and I can live with the compromise. The tube and base will be brass, you will see them come together later in the thread. Ha, Dmitriy, the jury is out on which is the cheapest, but the latter is the more rewarding as I can attest after 47 years... Thanks Will. I built HMS Medea because my maternal grandfather served on her as an ERA from her commissioning until he was demobbed in 1919. The ship is modelled in black as she would have been in early 1916, though she missed Jutland due to striking a mine a month before. I have some items he turned into household ornaments that come from the ship. She sits in my study in a 6' case of armour glass. The model took me 4,000 hours to build over 3 years and contains ~30,000 metal components. It won a gold medal at the 2000 Model Engineer Exhibition. I intend to celebrate completing Havock with a joint picture shoot Cheers Steve

This might help explain. These are the bits, drawn in 3D for printing (1mm rod to run through the hole. Quite complicated, handed and on a curved deck I just finished the first one in brass, seen here compared to the resin one Fussy to make, but I know which I prefer Cheers Steve

Thanks Jeff, you are right, I could have printed that part in a fraction of the time, and painted, I'm sure it would have looked better. I learnt to model ships this way 20 years ago before resin printers existed. Recently, I think I've been relying on them too much, something to do with if its worth doing, its worth doing right. Although the brass items will in some instances be less detailed than I could achieve in resin, I wanted this model to be as close as I could get to Victorian shipyard model practice, something to do with authenticity. For instance, I just printed the Bits on the fo'c'sle and while they are perfect scale, they are just wrong in plastic, I'm remaking them in brass... I did give up on the cowl vents however, there are always limits Hopefully the result will justify the extra effort and thanks for your (and others) kind comments Cheers Steve

Very impressive

I reckon the ratio is at least 3 - 2 - 1, thinking to drawing to making. When I'm in the middle of these projects, my mind is permanently (and annoyingly for my wife) thinking of ways to make stuff. Cheers Steve

Nice but of kit bashing there Jeff, problem is, now the deck won't fit.... I don't really follow kit threads, but you've done such a nice job on that extension, I may drop in again Cheers Steve

Every once in a while, its nice to just make something from bits laying around the workbench. I had a few hours spare this afternoon so I thought I'd make the bow tube cover. I've been considering how to make this for a while, its sort of the face of the ship, so it needs to be reasonable. Its actually two half cones joined by a short half cylinder. I started with the offcut of 20mm brass tube and cut this shape out. Actually, the triangular slots where a little too wide, but brass is very forgiving when you hit it with a hammer a lot Heating it to soften it, I almost closed the slots up in the doming block and then silver soldered then up. Lots more hammering and filing produced this. See the crack, didn't quite close, still it won't be seen, The cover is hinged and held with two curved arms. Here is the hinge (working at this stage) roughly shaped. I've said before, always make long and then cut back Set up for soft soldering the arms to the cover. Not too critical, soft solder fills gaps Then cleaned up, arms filed to their curved tapering shape and a little wire wool cleaning And finally, fitted in place with a little epoxy resin, its OK I think. Will still need some fine filler, but that will do Nice afternoon Cheers Steve

Thanks Pascal, I sincerely hope it will be something that was worth making. I've got lots of little insights to discuss as I make up the many parts, hopefully signposting for others who may be interested in these transitional vessels The whole period from Warrior to Dreadnaught was one of constant change, technical innovation, threat and counter measure to take navies from ships Nelson would recognise to more or less modern warfare. I love the period, but the models would mostly be too large at my scale. This is just one token, and it nicely leads to my model of HMS Medea of 1916, 20 years later (shown here during construction ~20 years ago) One day I'll get around to photographing it outside its case, perhaps as a comparison picture to Havock, would be worth the effort, the case takes two-three people to manoeuvre, its a beast Cheers Steve

actually not so, my avatar image was taken using a box brownie....

The great debate once again. Just wait a few weeks until the deck is covered in shiny brass set off by the aluminium....