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HMS Ark Royal IV (or Eagle perhaps)


bootneck

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I was impressed by Kevin Aris' large-scale SD-14 card model and thought perhaps I could have a go at something like that.  The SD-14 kit is too expensive for me though, so I am going to attempt doing something of my own.  The plan is that this will hopefully build into an aircraft carrier.

 

Initial drawings have been done and the first frames have been cut out.

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These frames are for the bow section and in this area the gap between each frame is 3 feet.  At this scale that works out at 6.35mm betwen each frame.

This means I need to put spacers in between each frame and the best way (I think) is to separator strips to each piece.  This should also help to strengthen each frame piece, which is only 0.5mm thick.

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The plastic strips have been cut and then glued around the edge of each frame section, plus a strengthener piece down the centre.  The first frame has been glued into place.  It is not the front frame, but No.8 frame and I placed this one first as it gave me room to place a try square either side to ensure the piece was vertical.  All the other frames can be formed around this one.

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These strips are 5.75mm wide which, when added to the 0.5mm frame piece, gives a frame gap of 6.25mm which is near enough for me.

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So far so good, the tops of the frames are all to a uniform height, it is just the positions of the separator strips that make it all look uneven.

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I've just made some more calculations and realise that this is going to take a lot of plastic, which invariably is going to work out quite expensive.............

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However, I have found an alternative which is to use card from cereal boxes rather than plastic.  I know where I can get an endless supply of card like this!   All I then need is to strenghten the edges with thin strips of plastic and this will reduce the amount of plastic I need to buy for this project.

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It doesn't look much at the moment, and working with white plastic is not the best for photographing progress however, this is just a start, and is really just an experiment but, hopefully, it will give me the incentive to get back into building again.

 

cheers
Mike

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Darn it! the secret is out.  Actually, looking back through my post, I realise that I had not mentioned what I was building. :doh:  Apologies for that and yes, it is an aircraft carrier.  Only time, and a fair amount of trial and error, will decide whether this turns out to be a detailed model or a Boaty McBoatface.

 

Mike

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Just a little update.  Here is a view of a single frame with spacers added. 

Photographing white plastic doesn't show well, therefore I've painted this for clarity

 

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The first 24 frames were cut only up to the cable (anchor) deck which is two decks below the flight deck level.  Frames 25 onward are full-height frames as can be seen here

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Whilst continuing with constructing the frames, I am also working on making parts for the cable deck.  Difficult to see in this view but all the planking has been scored into the deck.

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There's still quite a bit to do with the cable deck, fit capstans, winches, fairleads and cables (chains) etc., and this is just a test-fit view.

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Once the cable deck has been completed and painted then the remaining bulkheads will be built up to the flight deck level.  This will mean virtually the whole internals will be lost from view, due to the very small apertures in the sides to view anything.

 

Mike

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For suffering a 'no-mojo' condition...this strikes me as the sort of ambition that conquers mountain peaks, and rediscovers lost civilizations!

 

I am frankly in awe of your effort, and fascinated, and following along most eagerly! :popcorn:

 

Cheers, and a hearty salute!

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  • 2 weeks later...

It's probably about time I gave an update on this build, although there's still not much to show of the actual model yet.

 

Much of the last two weeks has been spent checking and correcting dimensions in the spreadsheet before drawing the frames.

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The data is then transferred to drawing software to design each individual frame.

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Eeach frame is then printed, cut out and then spacers (plastic strips of specific widths) are glued into place for strength.

Each frame takes about an hour to draw, and another half hour to cut and glue all the spacers on to the cut out sheet. 

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The actual task of glueing each frame into position on the model takes only a few minutes.

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It's just that there's a lot of them!

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Looking ahead, watertight doors will need to be produced. The doors are only 13mm high x 6mm wide and cutting each of these would be a real pain; so I've invested in some 3D printed ones.

The translucent plastic doesn't photograph well, therefore I've given one a light wash to highlight the design. There are 52 doors on this strip.

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That is it for now,  don't forget to come back next time for another thrilling installment..........  

 

will Lassie get back to the ranch to alert the Flying Doctor in time? :hmmm: can they reach Skippy who is hanging from a cliff by clinging on to a daisy?  :shrug:  sorry, wrong installment :doh:

 

Mike

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I've finally reached a stage that is a bit more interesting, rather than endless frame pieces being constructed, and that is the forward hangar build.  This is a small hangar that was situated in front of the forward lift, and only had room for one or two helos plus some storage shelving. 

 

Here is a view showing this deck, it is a pre-conversion view and the only image I could find; however, this forward hangar didn't change post refit. The 'white wall' on the right is a drawbridge style ramp for loading/unloading items onto the upper shelf from the lift.  As can be seen, there is plenty of scope for detailing here.

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This is the section of the build where the forward hangar starts.  The cutouts in the tops of the frames are to enable me to get my big mitts in there to do the detailing work!

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I've searched all over the place for various images of the ship, in order to find detailed views but am still short of decent stuff.  If anyone has any photo's of the ship, that could be scanned so that I can use them for my build, perhaps even post them with your permission, then I would be grateful to hear from you.

 

cheers

 

Mike

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Hello everyone, herewith my progress so far.

 

The frames for the forward hangar have been constructed and glued into place.  It doesn't look much because the hangar side walls and decks have still to be built and slotted in.

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Using the image of the Whilwinds, in post #19 above, I have positioned two kits in the same location on my model.  This is just to check and ensure that I have got the dimensions correct for this phase.

Also note, the hangar is not position centrally in the hull, as can be seen by the centre-line running along the base.  The offset to port is to accommodate the Island structure.

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This view of Frame 68 shows the open box area that will form the lift well.  It goes down to deck 5 level, this is for the two main hangars, which will start at Frame 83

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I have purposely left the top of the hangar open so that I can insert the hangar 'module' in place later.  The remaining top cross-bar supports, which can be seen in the above image, will be cut away once the frames have had time to set firmly in position.

 

This view shows my paper template for the forward hangar deck piece.  Once I have the details correct, I shall make up the hangar from styrene sheet.

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Making these modules as separate units allows me plenty of room to construct the shelving units, add doors and piping, plus any other hangar furniture, before lowering the completed and painted module into the model.

 

That's it for now, I have another batch of frames to construct!

 

Mike

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It is certainly going to be large.  I've had another frame-building bash today and have managed to construct 80 frames so far.  As can be seen by the ruler, the frames have reached 52cm (20.5 inches).

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A Sea King helicopter has been placed in the forward hangar, with a Phantom in the lift well, just for sizing tests. Obviously the SK would have the tail folded in real life.

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This view shows the forward hangar in the background and the lift well. 

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The hatched area in the foreground marks out how far can be seen into the upper hangar (decks 2 and 3) when viewed from the flight deck.  This means that I will only have to detail the area of the hangar that can be seen looking down into the lift well.  Unlike U.S. carriers, there are no side openings to the hangar deck and so visibility of that deck is very limited; therefore there would be no point in adding detail beyond the point that can be viewed.

 

I shall have to spend the next few days drawing and cutting out the next lot of frames, probably up to Frame 100 as that is a sort of achievement goal for me.

 

Thanks for looking and for the kind comments.

 

Mike

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