Jump to content

RMS Olympic - Revell Titanic conversion


Marklo

Recommended Posts

0664-C736-B850-42-FB-88-D4-AAF1-C84-B8-C
Having gotten the Titanic for Christmas and not being too keen on modelling a subject that so many lost their lives on ( generally I don’t like to model subjects where I know someone died). I’m going to convert the kit to the Olympic, the only one of the White star trio to have a long career before being scrapped in the thirties. With the added distinction of having sunk a German submarine.
 

I’m going for the Dazzle camouflage the Olympic wore while serving as a troop transport.

 

 1-BE8-F181-7089-4-CB2-B270-B585-A32-F759Sprues. Even with the small scale it’s a fairly large kit.

 

Step one will be to figure out the best way to modify the A Deck ( the most obvious difference between the two ships) then get a proper handle on the rest of the modifications needed.

Edited by Marklo
  • Like 9
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The easier way would have been to have started out with the Olympic kit but as you've already got the kit and the Olympic kit isn't that common at the moment you're probably best to carry on with a conversion

169042-18821-54-720.jpg

 

The instructions should give you an idea of where to start with the modifications https://www.scalemates.com/products/img/0/4/2/169042-41-instructions.pdf

 

Another place to look for the differences between Titanic and the various guises of Olympic is the Currel site wich has free to download 1:1200 scale models of Olympic at several points in her career

https://currell.net/models/olympic.htm 

You could scale them up and print them for templates for your modifications

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Probably totally wrong but I seem to remember seeing a documentary on TV where they mentioned that at least one of the trio was actually longer/wider than the Titanic, though that was probably the Britannic as the last one built. One of the things I have found when modelling ships is that no two ships of the same class are exactly alike and that is particularly the case with warships, but I guess civilian ships also had mods/improvements made in the light of experience.

 

Should be an interesting build and the dazzle camo will be fun, like the similar "Caunter camo" on some of my tanks but a heck of lot bigger. I know a lot of the big liners built before WWI were subsidised by HM Gov so they could be used as armed merchant cruisers - did Olympic actually carry armament whether defensive or offensive?

 

Good luck

 

Pete

Edited by PeterB
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, PeterB said:

seem to remember seeing a documentary on TV where they mentioned that at least one of the trio was actually longer/wider than the Titanic,

I think you’re correct on both counts but seeing as we’re looking at 1/700 some shim stock and a minor cut and shut will take care of things if needed. :) 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Dave Swindell said:

The easier way would have been to have started out with the Olympic kit

True but it was a kriskendel with my family so didn’t want to be too awkward and the kit in question was available in the local art & hobby.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree - from what I can check on Wiki it was only a couple of feet anyway  - length is easy but width could be tiresome if it was worth bothering with, which I doubt. More likely a different arrangement of deckhouses/decks will be needed, or whatever the terminology is on civilian ships as I only build warships!

 

Pete

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, PeterB said:

Probably totally wrong but I seem to remember seeing a documentary on TV where they mentioned that at least one of the trio was actually longer/wider than the Titanic, though that was probably the Britannic as the last one built. One of the things I have found when modelling ships is that no two ships of the same class are exactly alike and that is particularly the case with warships, but I guess civilian ships alsog had mods/improvements made in the light of experience.

 

Should be an interesting build and the dazzle camo will be fun, like the similar "Caunter camo" on some of my tanks but a heck of lot bigger. I know a lot of the big liners built before WWI were subsidised by HM Gov so they could be used as armed merchant cruisers - did Olympic actually carry armament whether defensive or offensive?

 

Good luck

 

Pete

The design brief was for 3 identical ships, but big ships take time and space to build, and whilst Olympic and Titanic were both being built alongside each other at H&W, they were at different stages of build. Olympic, first of class completed and went into service well ahead of Titanic, and experience, lessons learned, and passenger feedback from Olympic led to changes in design on Titanic, most noticeable with the closing in on A Deck forward and the change in window layout at the after end of B Deck due to the changes of internal spaces there. After the loss of Titanic, Olympic underwent a major internal reconstruction to improve the watertight bulkheads and introduce an internal double hull. As Britannic was at this point in the early stages of hull construction it was possible to modify the design to introduce the double hull without loosing as much internal space by increasing the beam slightly (18"-2ft). This increase in beam would hardly be noticeable in 1/700 scale. There was no design change to the length of the ship as far as I'm aware, any difference in length is due to building tolerances over the length of the ship.

Olympic's lifeboat fit varied considerably throughout her long career.

 

During WWI HMT Olympic was armed, initially with a 12pdr on the centreline of the focsle and a 4.7" gun on the centreline of the poop (black & grey scheme) and then later with 6 x 5.7" guns, 2 on the focsle P&S, 2 in the well deck fwd P&S (note well deck bulwarks were cut away whilst these guns were installed) and 2 aft on the poop deck P&S. These guns were carried whilst in both Dazzle camouflage schemes. 

Gun and lifeboat fits are shown in the Currel paper models linked to above.

 

During my career at sea I served on several classes of container ship, Within each class no 2 ships were built absolutely identical, though you'd be hard pushed to notice the differences unless you knew exactly what to look for initially. In service different modifications were made to the ships, some to all in class, others to just one or two, and they became easier to tell apart.

 

  • Like 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 3/6/2022 at 4:45 PM, PeterB said:

Probably totally wrong but I seem to remember seeing a documentary on TV where they mentioned that at least one of the trio was actually longer/wider than the Titanic, though that was probably the Britannic as the last one built.

Britannic had a full double hull not just a double bottom so this is where the additional width, albeit minor, came from.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 Titanic was longer than Olympic. When Titanic was launched it was heralded as the 'longest ship afloat'

There is a very good book called 'The Anatomy of the Titanic'

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Anatomy-Titanic-Tom-McCluskie/dp/1856484823

Some libraries will have a copy

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Black Knight said:

 Titanic was longer than Olympic. When Titanic was launched it was heralded as the 'longest ship afloat'

Most references quote 882'9" for both ships, however I have seen 882'6" and 882.6' quoted for Olympic which would make Titanic either 3" or 1.8" longer. You'd need the ships registration documents to verify which figure is correct. The references to size generally quote Titanic as being "the largest ship afloat" rather than the longest.

With areas of open deck on Olympic being  enclosed on Titanic, this increased the Gross tonnage of Titanic. As this is a measure of internal volume, Titanic could be claimed to be "larger" due to the increase in GRT, 46,328 for Titanic vs 45,324 for Olympic, with the ships being exactly the same overall dimensions,

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The lengths of the 3 ships are the yard [Harland &  Wolff ] Class design measure. During the build alterations were made, not just the enclosing of the B deck, or the arrangement of the state rooms but also to the arrangement of windows, interior fitments, power lines, and more.

The Olympic plans were used for Titanic and changes were pencilled on them and some changes were only noted in the works foremen notes

The book I referred to earlier has plenty of in-depth detail, including H&W drawings

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My research ( such as it is) shows the Britannia was a foot wider as well. In 1/700 that’s going to be .017 inches and the three inches is a quarter of that so I won’t worry too much about it :) 

 

Othe interesting fact the Brittanic was initially to be called the Gigantic. 

Edited by Marklo
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Marklo,

 

The hull plating looks a bit pronounced in that close up, but in fact I remember as a nipper having a boat trip in Southampton docks and getting within a few feet of the RMS Queen Mary just before she went into retirement in the States. I have a photo somewhere taken at the stem (bow) looking down the hull and I remember being surprised at just how pronounced the overlap was between the rivetted hull plates.

 

This should be an interesting build.:thumbsup:.

 

Pete

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, PeterB said:

The hull plating looks a bit pronounced in that close up

Yes I think it may be a bit over scale,I think I’ll give it a bit of a rub down and see what it looks like under a coat of primer, before I make my mind up.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Excellent project Marklo and a great though challenging decor scheme. I haven't had a chance to look through the chat pages but....... I guess you've cleared it with the overseers to be building an Irish ship in the GB themed GB.... 😋

(don't worry, I'm only stirring.... ☘️

 

5min later... OK OK I've just read Adam's opening specifications. Carry on that man 👍🤣

Edited by rob Lyttle
Addition
Link to comment
Share on other sites

22 hours ago, rob Lyttle said:

I guess you've cleared it with the overseers to be building an Irish ship in the GB themed GB

Well it was built by Harland and wolf in Belfast which is still part of the UK so therefore qualifies as British, additionally as it was built prior to the war of independence, what is now the Republic was British too. 

Edited by Marklo
  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

B075-EA10-EF1-E-4-E16-A9-E3-FDD4-CEA47-BI have a cunning plan. First some plumbers foil double sided stickied to the cutting mat. Then some double sided tape over that.

 

C40-CF32-A-8-A35-44-A6-A725-93982-B701-BThen a scaled copy of the camouflage pattern stuck on top.


13-B6-A646-1-ACA-476-B-8654-FF922519-F91 
And voila with a little cutting I have a set of self adhesive masks.

 

  • Like 13
Link to comment
Share on other sites

A very cunning plan indeed. 
 

This is well advanced and looking great! 👍👍👍

 

I haven’t struck a single blow on my Aquitainia project and don’t have a snowball’s hope of getting it done by mid June when this GB finishes. Looks like you will come up with the goods though, so congratulations! 👏

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...