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RMS Carpathia, Scratchbuild, 1/500 Scale


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8 hours ago, ArnoldAmbrose said:

Gidday Bandsaw, neither did the book, if I recall. 

Yep isn’t that the truth. A ‘history’ book with the same approach to the passage of time as ‘Pulp Fiction’. I found the whole effect unnecessarily confusing and thought that particular writing ‘technique’ was utterly pointless. 

 

A good subject for for a book but not well handled in my view.

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Very nice buld, with some handy tips in it.     Not many merchant ships ever get modelled for reasons that escape me, so it is especially pleasing when they do appear -   Bob 

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2 hours ago, ShipbuilderMN said:

Very nice buld, with some handy tips in it.     Not many merchant ships ever get modelled for reasons that escape me, so it is especially pleasing when they do appear -   Bob 

Hi Bob! 🤚

 

Thanks very much. I consider this high praise indeed from a ship modeller as accomplished as yourself! (And from an FRSA I might add!)

 

Don’t worry about the under-representation of civilian vessels, it just leaves more subjects for us sensible people to work on! 😀I already know what my next merchant ship will be but cannot start until the Avro 504 is put to rest.

 

I will be purchasing your PDF on the Gulf Stream very soon.

 

Very Best Regards,

Steve

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Carpathia

 

Without going all flowery and weird I think it's fair to say that having devoted quite a bit of time over the last few months to researching this ship and building this model the name 'Carpathia' has become rather evocative to me. I feel a connection and affection for this ship, her legacy, and her name that I did not have before.  I'm sure that if I was ever in a crowded busy room and someone said 'Carpathia' my ears would pick up the word and I would feel compelled to join the conversation. For these reasons, despite the technical challenge involved and despite the rapidly dwindling remaining time, I wanted 'Carpathia' written on this model. 

 

There are no waterslide decals for the word 'Carpathia' (at least not that I know of ) so, as I did with 'AE2' I chose to use Letraset rub down decals which are a wholly satisfactory alternative and one that I think more modellers should consider.

 

The first step is to clearly delineate the starting line and the horizontal base of the word. In this case I've marked out both using fine masking tape.

TNCu52A.jpg

 

Now stick on your Optivisor and cut out each letter one-by-one. Position each one very carefully using one of the sticky-picky-uppy-staticy-gripping things shown in the photo below and rub each letter down onto position with a blunt, steel burnishing tool.  I did not get any photos of the actual burnishing because I would have needed three hands for that.

bAJ9g87.jpg

 

The process is a bit nerve wracking, because it's quite detailed work and if you have to scrape off an errant letter you will probably mar the paint. However, in this case each letter went on without too much hassle and as you can see below the result was quite satisfactory. The lettering is not laser straight but it's not too  bad either and from a distance it looks...

CxxtK41.jpg

 

kind of OK...

AFmoiDh.jpg

 

and from a sensible distance it looks really quite smart. I had to do both sides of course but neither caused any real worries and was happy with the outcome. It is a slow and painstaking process though.

kMVQFOJ.jpg

 

Technically speaking - to make a really accurate model I now had to write 'Carpathia' 'Liverpool' across the stern with 'Liverpool' in a nice upward convex curve.  That was never going to happen! :penguin:

Now since I'm banging on about names I will tell you a short, true and mildly interesting story about the model's plaque.

 

As you might remember, earlier in this thread I decided that I was not going to represent this ship at any specific point in time or place. The model was just going to be a representation of an interesting ship with an interesting history, and it would be left to the viewer to decide whether-or-not it was representing the ship on the night of the rescue.  However, two things changed my mind - the first was the realisation that the wake represented the vessel travelling at a breakneck speed that she almost certainly only ever reached once in her entire life. The second was when I placed an order for the plaque at an engraving shop. While filling in the order form I asked the proprietor what the date was and he replied '15th of April '.  It was then that I realised it was 107 years to the day since the Titanic's demise. My mind was made up there and then - the plaque would read 'RMS Carpathia - 15 April 1912' . I remain happy with the decision.

 

RQZ1oFR.jpg

 

I think there's only one more post to go now - maybe two - rigging, flags and perhaps setting the ship in the base.

I am determined to get this thread finished so I can get my attention back on the Avro 504 and Baby Bandsaw's Hogwart's express, so I am aiming to have this done sometime in the next seven days.

 

Best Regards,

Bandsaw Steve

 

 

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On 7/16/2019 at 5:08 PM, Courageous said:

Good job with the Letraset

 

can't beat 19th century technology sometimes.

 

On 7/16/2019 at 8:32 AM, Bandsaw Steve said:

My mind was made up there and then - the plaque would read 'RMS Carpathia - 15 April 1912' . I remain happy with the decision.

 

and I think we support you in that decision

 

 

Lovely job Steve

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Finished?

 

Currently I have three Britmodeller threads on the go;  This one, my Avro 504 and Baby Bandsaw's 'Hogwart's Express'.  Thankfully this is the final post for Carpathia - the project's finished.

At the end of the previous post, Carpathia looked like this - still looking a bit 'naked' with no rigging or stays in place and no flags.  So let's sort this out now.

U0t92WQ.jpg

 

First the stays around the funnel.  A few months back I went to the local guitar shop and bought a packet of electric guitar strings.  Guitar strings, it turns out,  come in a variety of gauges apparently it's something to do with each one having to make a different sound or something - so when you buy one packet you get a variety of different thicknesses.  These ones look about right for the funnel stays.

y5LFvCD.jpg

 

Just drill four small holes in the funnel, clip four short lengths off the guitar string, thread each one into it's respective hole and glue the 'dead-end' onto the deck. A very simple operation.

8G7Zr9o.jpg

 

Now grab some 'ezy-line' and thread it and tie it and twist it and super-glue it into the correct configuration around the masts and so-forth. It's not too difficult as long as you have done a modicum of forward planning. In this case the eyelet  - it's the loop from the end of a fish-hook - has been drilled into the deck above the bow specifically so that the rigging would have a tie-down point. Same with the funny little knobbly bits on the end of each derrick and the large brass loop soldered onto the mast.  As a result, rigging the entire ship took less than an hour.

JuuYOGT.jpg

 

Now for the flags. On those rare occasions when our family drinks champagne - normally celebrating some significant event, such as the purchase of a new power tool - I always make sure to keep some of the foil that's wrapped over the cork. It's thin enough to represent fabric, malleable enough to be warped into a convincing drape but strong enough to hold it's desired shape.  Both of these flags are made from this foil wrapped around the mast - or staff , folded and glued onto itself and then painted - quite badly - with the desired emblem.  

 

This is supposed to be Cunard's rampant gold lion on a red field...

ZU0FAvv.jpg

 

and this is supposed to be the 'red duster'. Please don't look too closely it's only a small scale model and there's only so much I can do with a paint brush.  😟  Remember how I keep going on about creating an 'impression' of the subject rather than a super accurate replica - well here's a prime example. Both flags are left essentially fully stretched out astern because the ship was going flat tack on a windless night.

DlOjgn8.jpg

 

So here is the model, finished and awaiting setting into it's ocean base.

d6pdDTo.jpg

 

And here it is sailing heroically across our new composite-stone kitchen bench.  I think it looks really good against this background, somehow these colours just work together.  Nevertheless, I did not spend all of that time making a sea for the model to sit on our breakfast counter.

vFtfUMt.jpg

 

Here is the base 'sans-ship'. 

LJCugVF.jpg

 

Unlike with AE2, In this case I had made the cut-out a very tight fit and rather than having to screw the vessel onto the base it just plugged into the foam quite securely.  Then I used some Liquitex to ensure that the water closed up around the hull. I then sat back let it dry and... 

00MpwSX.jpg

 

admired my work!  I'm happy with this one. 😀

KzJleZn.jpg

 

If you have not seen the RFI - which contains some more detailed photos and the story of how Carpathia was beaten into second place at the 2019 WASMEx then please click on this link.

 

 

So that's it - finished! 

 

Or is it?  There's at least one very significant omission that I might fix one day, if I ever get the time and motivation together.

 

Carpathia had two sets of ratlines running up each of it's masts and I prepared the model to have these fitted but in the end I ran out of time prior to the competition. It's interesting to note that despite the fact that these were very prominent features on the real ship no-one has commented, so for now I'm leaving well enough alone. So depending on how I feel in future there might be 'More than This' to come. :penguin:

 

Phew - finally got the Roxy Music reference in there! Every 'Bandsaw Steve' thread has to have at least one! Mustn't rely on @hendie posting 'Tomorrow Calling' to get me out of my contractual obligations. 

 

Thanks for all the comments and support folks, Hoping to be back on the maritime pages in 2020 - once the Avro 504 is dealt with.

Bandsaw Steve  👍

 

 

 

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29 minutes ago, Bandsaw Steve said:

Same with the funny little knobbly bits

Gidday Bandsaw, I love your use of maritime terminology. Thanks for the update, one never knows when little tips picked up along the way from other modelers will come in useful.

     And your second line in this post "still looking a bit naked". I thought "He's still thinking about Kate!" Plus, 'Contractual Obligations' - wasn't that a Monty Python album?

 

Seriously, thanks for all the tips, and congratulations on completing the model (with or without ratlines), and your placing at WASMEx. Regards, Jeff.

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8 hours ago, Bandsaw Steve said:

It's not too difficult as long as you have done a modicum of forward planning

 

Aaahhhhhhhh...

 

 

 

note to self....

 

 

 

 

 

8 hours ago, Bandsaw Steve said:

This is supposed to be Cunard's rampant gold lion on a red field...

 

After having to try and paint a 1.5mm tall piece of plastic rod to look like a 7UP can, I think your lion is looking pretty rampant.

 

 

8 hours ago, Bandsaw Steve said:

Nevertheless, I did not spend all of that time making a sea for the model to sit on our breakfast counter.

 

No sense of adventure some folks.

 

 

8 hours ago, Bandsaw Steve said:

Carpathia had two sets of ratlines running up each of it's masts and I prepared the model to have these fitted but in the end I ran out of time prior to the competition.

 

I have no idea what a rat line is. 

 

It looks like a fine floaty thing as far as I am concerned.

 

 

well done sir!

 

 

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25 minutes ago, hendie said:

I have no idea what a rat line is. 

Gidday, the ratlines are the horizontal 'rungs' of the rope ladders that give access to the tops of the masts. The vertical 'ropes' are the shrouds, although by Carpathia's time they could be called 'stays'. They give sideways support to the masts. Regards, Jeff.

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