Eilean Mor

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Hello Banjo

Your model is breath taking and awesome…..I've run out of superlatives now

All the best for the New Year

Bob

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

Hello Mattias

It is a lovely model and you have done a wonderful job in building it.

Bob

You need to be careful with those superlaxatives that you don't get caught with your pants down.

Paul

[BanjomanParticipant @banjoman]

Hello Bob and Paul,

Warmest thanks for your kind words – I'm truly flattered to hear that you enjoy the result of my efforts

't should be alright on the night, though, Paul – Bob did say he'd run out of those pesky superlaxatives …

/Mattias

[BanjomanParticipant @banjoman]

Oh, and I almost forgot: here's wishing you both and everyone else here on the Forum a very Happy New Year!

/Mattias

[IAN_IParticipant @ian_i]

Hi Mattias…

Pants down or not…..lol

Its great to look in and see the master class build in progress…

Best regards for the new year to you and yours…

Happy new year 2015…

Ian

[BanjomanParticipant @banjoman]

For various reasons (some very nice; others the complete opposite) work had ground to a halt since New Year's, but yesterday I found my way down into the workshop again, and began looking at the crew members.

First up for consideration was the chap whom I've decided is the deckhand, and who has been told by the skipper to top up the ship's bunkers with some coal from the cargo.

Out of the three resin cast crew members, this one is the worst casting, requiring a certain amount of clean-up, some filling out of the chin and tip of the nose and, not least, a set of new hands …

… as well as some corrective surgery to his pedal extremities; while his feet, in the words of the song, are not necessarily too big, one of them certainly is much larger than the other!

After some serious carving, filing and sanding …

… a slightly more symmetrical look was acheived …

… but as for the hands, I decided in the end to remove what there was entirely, partially because it was quite useless, but also because what there was, was not quite right for holding a shovel.

Speaking of shovels, one had to be made up, too. I began this by cutting and bending some thin brass shim to the right blade shape, and then soldering a short length of 1.7 mm thin-walled tubing, flattened at the front end, to the back to make up the shaft connection. The sides of the shovel blade were then created by simply soldering some more brass shim to the edges of the blade …

… and then trimming and sanding them to size.

After more sanding and general cleabn up, a shaft was made up from a cocktail stick, sanded down in the Dremel by a few tenths of a millimeter.

A handle was made by sawing partway through another short length of 1.7 mm thinwall tubing, and adding a grip to the ensuing fork. The brass parts were then chemically blackened, to look like this …

… and then tried for size in the "hands" (two hooks made from soft brass wire) of the deck hand.

To be continued …

/Mattias

[BanjomanParticipant @banjoman]

Build progress has been rather slow over the last month or so, mainly for family reasons, but I'm now back at it, and have continued my work on the crew figures.

As previously mentioned, the deck hand needs new hands, so I began this by creating a base in the form of a brass wire hook bent to an appropriate shape. The coal shovle handlebar was then epoxy glued into the right hand hook, and a piece of cocktail stick glued at the correct angle into the left hand hook.

Once the epoxy had set, I began building up the hands from Milliput, the plan being to drill out the cocktail stick once the hands were finished, so that I will be able to paint the figure without the risk of getting paint on the shovel, and only put the latter in place after the figure has been painted.

Speaking of the shovel, my first attempt at making up the blade had to be discarded, after I'd forgotten it for several hours in a bath of Blacken-it, and came back to find the solder joints along the edges had been completely dissolved. Rather than trying to repair it, I found it simpler to just make a new one, which I intend to paint rather than chemically blacken (which meant I could be a tad more liberal with the amount of solder).

While the Milliput was curing on the deck hand's hands, I began cleaning up the mate, who is by far the roughest of the three casts (if he is also the roughest character on board, I do not know, but he might be – at least he's a largish sort of chap, probably aroung 6'4 or even 6'5).

The resin of this particular cast was also quite brittle, and the coat tails didn't stand up to cleaning out the surplus resin between them and the torso. Not only did they break off, they actually shattered, so some emergency Milliput tailoring was called for.

As with the hands on the other figure, the job was done in stages, as soft Milliput is very malleable with some water added, but therefore also, when flying free like these coat tails, not very form stable.

After several days of adding a little bit at the time to the hands, I felt ready to remove the cocktail stick dummy shaft …

… and thus cut of the excess, and drilled out the center.

However, when I brought a broach to bear on the remainder …

… the hand cracked! The pinkie and ring finger were salvageable, and could be glued back on, but the middle and index fingers had to created anew …

… this time without any permanent dummy shaft in place. I did however use a short length of wetted brass wire of appropriate diameter to make sure that I closed the fingers just so (in the process removing any uncalled-for rude gestures) before leaving them to cure.

The next day, a new thumb was added …

… and once that had set, and all three figures cleaned up throughly, it was time to give them a nice, long and ultrasonic bath.

After their bath and a thorough rinse, here they are, awaiting tomorrow and a coat of primer: from left to right the mate (hauling on a rope), the skipper (enjoying his privilege) and the deck hand (pinching coal from the cargo).

To be continued …

/Mattias

Edited By Banjoman on 13/02/2015 21:36:15

Edited By Banjoman on 13/02/2015 21:37:59

Edited By Banjoman on 13/02/2015 2

[IAN_IParticipant @ian_i]

Hi Mattias…

An absolutely great build and the detail is as good as ever…great work.

Regards,

Ian

[BanjomanParticipant @banjoman]

Thank you very much indeed, Ian!

Progress continues to be slow, but since my last posting I have had time to give the crew a first coating of grey Vallejo primer …

… something which of course (and that is half the point of using grey primer) threw up a surprising (but, to be honest, not entirely unexpected) number of issues, mainly in the form of wormholes (i.e. air bubble holes from the casting) and minor but still too obvious irregularities. So, after giving the primer three full days to dry (acrylics tend to cure slowly on resin) I once more brought out the Milliput and began filling in holes and gaps and assorted too-rough spots …

… and then tonight, with the Milliput all set and sanded, blew on another thin coat of the same grey primer. The crew is still a pretty rough bunch, but now at least consistently so, and sufficiently improved that I will be happy to start applying the paintwork proper come the weekend.

Oh, and the shovel blade and handle fork (not fork handles, nor four candles) have been given a similar coat of primer, too.

To be continued …

/Mattias

Edited By Banjoman on 19/02/2015 21:38:08

Edited By Banjoman on 19/02/2015 21:38:31

[Amy jane SeptemberParticipant @amyjaneseptember49770]

Hello there Mattias,

greatly enjoying watching your continuing progress……. inspiring!

Aj

(looks like the crew are having a great old time on those tweezers!)

[BanjomanParticipant @banjoman]

Thank you very much, Amy jane! Yes, they do indeed look like they're moppin' an' boppin' to their hearts' content in those photos …

The break is now, however, over, and its back to work for these gentlemen: tomorrow, the second coat of primer will have cured for three days, and I will break out the more colourful stuff from the bin behind their backs.

While waiting for tomorrow, though, I amused myself by drilling the necessary holes to take the piece of brass rod each man has sticking out of one of his heels, and called the crew to their stations …

… with the skipper enjoying his bottle of ale up in the wheelhouse …

… while keeping a casual elbow on the spokes of the wheel.

Meanwhile, the mate is on the foredeck …

… busy hauling on the port guy rope …

… while the deckhand, with 'is little shovel in 'is 'and …

… is getting ready to grab yet one more shovelful of coal from the cargo.

To be continued …

/Mattias

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Very nice, Banjo

I like the action men……..They look very busy and animated!

I also like the shrouds too, as they are tricky to make properly

I wouldn't like to get a shovelful of coat, from the top of the coal heap though….lol

It might look better, shovelling up spillages off the deck?

Just a suggestion

Bob

[BanjomanParticipant @banjoman]

Hello Bob,

And many thanks for your kind comments!

I can see what you mean that getting a shovelful of coal out of the cargo from that position would be backbreaking work … which is one of the reasons why I've decided that this chap has to be the deckhand, as I believe they were the ones usually saddled with most of the less attractive tasks on board Puffers! Also, I believe I'm not entirely wrong to think that health and safety matters were approched a tad differently in 1951 … ?!

Maybe we have to imagine that he is just about to step down onto the cargo or summat, to get a better angle of attack for the shovel, as it is fairly essential to show him pinching coal out of the actual cargo — otherwise, why would the tarp have been pulled back and the hatch cover boards have been removed? If he were just clearing up spillage from the deck, there would have been no reason to go to the trouble of partially uncovering the cargo in the first place, would there? From what I've read about the Puffer trade, it was not entirely uncommon if the weather was fine and expected to stay that way that hatches were left completely uncovered to save work after loading and before unloading, but that would have looked quite differently again.

I therefore think I will stick with putting him where I'd already planned, but thanks nevertheless for your comment and for the suggestion — it is always good to have to think through the arguments and reasons for why one does things a certain way!

/Mattias

[BanjomanParticipant @banjoman]

Painting continues, and finally in other shades than grey (and no, although my Puffer crew is most likely to haul on rope, I am not implying they also use it to get their ashes hauled) …

Anyway, for this job I am using Vallejo Model Color paints, applied by brush …

… and I begin by applying a couple of very thin, washed-out coats of a basic skin tone to the faces and hands …

… while the eyes are marked out by a (oversized) blob of white paint, across which a thin band of eye colour paint is applied. Next, thin coats of basic coulours are applied to the clothes …

… boots and caps …

… and the oversized whites of the eyes are reduced by covering their edges by more skin tone paint. The faces will still need a number of applications of various darker and lighter skin tones, to help accentuate shadows and highlights, and also the clothes shall need highlights and shadows. I am a tad apprehensive about this as it is the very first time ever that I attempt anything of the kind … Likewise, eyebrows will need to be painted the same colours as the hairs, and I think the mate might be the kind of chap to sport a five o'clock shadow — that is five o'clock two days after the last shave …

Before I attempt any of that, though, I will leave the figures until tomorrow evening for the paint to cure fully. While it is dry to the touch within ten or fifteen minutes, like all acrylics it dries from the outside in, and while it can thus be handled quickly enough after application, it is always a good thing to give it the occasional period of extended curing time.

While waiting to be completely dry behind the ears, the crew has thus mustered on again …

… and are back at work (carefully, of course, so as not to scratch their lovely new colours )

To be continued …

/Mattias

Edited By Banjoman on 24/02/2015 08:02:30

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Hello Banjo

The crew quality matched the ship build perfectly

The paint looks to have good body colour and good covering power

With the passage of time, dust will accumulate and spoil the brightness?

Do you intend making a glass case?

Have you had a sail yet?

Bob

[BanjomanParticipant @banjoman]

Hello Bob,

Warmest thanks once more for your kind comments!

Yes, I am a great fan of Vallejo paints for exactly the reasons you quote: body colour and covering power, but also because, being acrylics, they can be diluted with just plain water. The pigments are really top notch, and they brush on ever so easily, whether in successive diluted, thin coats or in one go straight out of the bottle. They also mix very well, and thus allows one to make up whatever shade one is after.

I would not use them to paint r/c boat hulls or any similar structure that needs to be able to resist a certain amount of wear, but for detail work they really are the bees knees. The range of colours available is rather heavily geared towards plastic military modelling (predominantly armour and aircraft), which means umpteen shades of Olive Drab, German WWII camouflage and similar non-boaty hues; however, there are enough "normal" tints, too, and as already mentioned they have complete mix'n'match capability as well.

As for the brightness, I am already planning to assault it somewhat myself by finishing the boys of in a matt varnish; I also plan to at least attempt some mild weathering of clothes etc. (making knees and elbows look slightly more worn, adding some dark spots here and there, and so on) although it remains to be seen how good (or bad) I turn out to be at that kind of exercise.

I have not planned a case, as I really don't think there is a suitable spot in our apartment to keep it on display; it will more likely sit in a corner of my workshop under a good dust cover of some kind.

She has not yet been on her maiden voyage either (at least to my mind, bathtub trials do not count in that respect) but I have recently joined a Model Boat Club in the vicinity, and as soon as at least the crew (but, ideally, also the jollyboat and some further final details) is finished and the weather turns a tad milder, it shall be my great pleasure (albeit mixed with some trepidation) to make her feet wet for the first (but, hopefully, not last) time! I actually went on a wee recce of the club pond last Saturday, as I needed to apply for a waterside parking permit for the recreation area where the pond is located, and must say that it looks like a very good pond, with nice, clear water and next to no underwater vegetation.

/Mattias

Edited By Banjoman on 24/02/2015 09:06:02

Edited By Banjoman on 24/02/2015 09:07:03

Edited By Banjoman on 24/02/2015 09:08:06

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

That`s a man sized lake, Banjo!………..Too big for your model to make an impression?

We have a club master builder, in our club…..On a par to yourself, and he spends years building his beautiful boats!

The problem he has and you will have too…..Is the sailing!

His heart is in his mouth when another model comes near his masterpiece!!!!!!

We have a few crack pots in the club, who don`t seem to appreciate the need for extra care!

I once saw a maiden voyage end in disaster……It got rammed by Mr Crackpot….and sank!

The model was recovered by Mr C, with a dinghy oar, as Mr C is quite skilled at this exercise, but it cost him a pretty penny in damages!

Hope I`ve not disheartened you?

In my case, with Lady Joyce…….The reverse is the case!……….I`ll probably have the lake to myself!……lol

Bob

[BanjomanParticipant @banjoman]

Nah, Bob — I don't scare that easily … que sera sera and all that, eh wot wot …

That said, I will probably offer up a wee prayer to the local representative of Neptune afore setting off, and keep an eye out for Mr Crackpot, his second cousin Tosser and any of their ilk …

/Mattias

Edited By Banjoman on 24/02/2015 10:08:35

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

You are a brave man, Banjo………Be careful out there!

Here's another funny story…….Well, it is now, anyway!

A few years ago, a stranger appeared at the pond on a quiet late summer evening…… he looked like the Man from Laramie!……He was actually a big noise in the trade and has represented GB in all sorts of high profile comps

He brought with him, a large speedboat with the latest Brushless gear and hi tech this that and the other!

Of course we were all mesmerised as it slithered about the pond, drifting the missile round the bends at an alarming speed……We hadn't seen this side of the hobby before

At a brief quiet moment, Mr Behind the Door, decided to putt putt his brand new African Queen, out of the slack water and onto the lake!

TOO LATE!………Round the bend, came the demented screaming raging monster, with hypnotised captain at the helm and smashed into Humfrey Bogarts boat!?…..Needless to say, all was lost and AQ was cut in half, much to the distress of all concerned!

The Dark Stranger went home with his boat and pride dinted and Mr Underling went home with his Tranny!

There was no compensation scheme in those days, so he was quite miffed!

The club has some sort of Gentleman's Agreement that should a model be damaged by reckless driving, the guilty party is obliged to make some form of recompense. I wouldn't bank on it though!

Beware the hazards, Banjo and sail at the crack of dawn, or when the novelty has worn off!…Ha! Ha!

Bob the grim reaper

[BanjomanParticipant @banjoman]

Well, Bob, I guess I just have to wait and see until I find out whether my new club mates are reckless boaters or not … I take some comfort, though, from the fact that as a club member one is obliged to have civil liablility insurance that expressly covers damages resulting from model boat hobby activities!

Anyway, while awaiting future events on the pond, I've kept at the crew wif me li'l paintbrush in me 'and …

The differences between images are not huge, though, as they reflect the addition of smaller patches of darker paint in the shadow areas …

… and the gradual sorting out of paint borders and filling in of minor details, like clasps and buttons …

… and finally a sequence of drybrushing the clothes with suitable lighter colours to accentuate highlights and give the clothes a slightly more worn look.

Although I'm not entirely satisfied with this, my very first attempt ever at painting figures in something more than just flat colours, I don't think I can acheive anything better if I keep on piling on paint, so the chaps'll have to do as they are now.

I have thus sent them back on board for the paint to thoroughly dry over the weekend …

… after which I shall blow some satin varnish on to them …

… in order to protect the paintwork ….

… and slightly dull the paintwork.

I shall then reapply som gloss varnish on to the beer bottle in the skipper's hand, and also at least attempt applying a label to the bottle. For that purpose, I have invested in a couple of blank sheets of print-your-own slide-on decals. It remains to be seen if I manage to make it work, but it is at least worth a try!

next i shall also glue down the outhouse and the companionway shelter on the foredeck, and also permanently attach the various loose boards and battens scattered on the top of the hatch.

To be continued …

/Mattias

Edited By Banjoman on 05/03/2015 09:35:47

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Really splendid, Banjo!

The men has such realistic stances and poses etc

Nice variation of colours too

Bob

[BanjomanParticipant @banjoman]

On the subject (recently discussed in Bob's Vintage Gentleman Cruiser thread) of thin papers, a quick turn with Google threw up this: **LINK**

At 33 micron = 0.033 mm thick, this kind of paper would, I think, actually be thin enough to look and behave sufficiently to scale, but whether or not one could run it through a normal laser printer is of course a different matter altogether … as is, of course, the question of how one would get hold of it without buying in print shop bulk … ?!

And of course there has to be some sort of limit to the amount of effort (and expenditure) one spends on what is intened to be a superflous detail in a corner of the seat in the outhouse.

/Mattias

[BanjomanParticipant @banjoman]

With the crew finally painted, I went through various nooks and crannies to sert out what still needs to be done on the model, and came up with the following:

1. To the left in the picture, a pile of assorted white metal parts that have been replaced or for other reasons won't be used; to be packed up and stashed away; already done — check.
2. In the upper centre, the anchor light parts, which will have to be polished, assembled, varnished and the finished thing flown from the forestay. For the final part of the job (flying it from the forestay, I mean), I will need to figure out how this ought to be rigged, as the kit instructions and plans have little to no information to offer on the subject. I have in any case decided not to make this light working, as there would be no way of keeping the wiring sufficiently discreet, and while it makes sense to have working running lights, should I decide to go sailing in low light or at night, the boat will never ride at anchor, day or night, and an anchor light should of course by definition never be lit together with the running lights anyway.
3. To the right of the picture, the dinghy hull with its assorted white metal fittings (there are also some parts to be cut out from a sheet of plywood).
4. In the lower centre, the rungs for the builder's ladder that Puffers typically carried on board to allow in- and egress either from a quayside well above the deck or from a beach at low tide, when the ship had been deliberately run up onto on for discharging a cargo out on an island that had no quay facilities. Making up this ladder will be the next little job to tackle.

A suitable length of stripwood was sanded smooth and cut in two, and the distances for the rungs pricked out along the centre line of one with a pair of compasses …

… after which both lengths were glued together at the extreme ends, and a series of perfectly matched holes drilled through both lengths at the same time.

The glued-together ends were then cut off …

… and the ladder assembled.

There still remains to further sand it down a bit, after which it will be painted …

… and stowed on board, probably tied up against the quarter deck railings.

To be continued …

/Mattias

Edited By Banjoman on 09/03/2015 08:39:18

Edited By Banjoman on 09/03/2015 08:40:38

[BanjomanParticipant @banjoman]

Once the paint had dried completely, a good coat of Vallejo RC Premium satin varnish was airbrushed on to all three crew members, partially in order to cut the, in my eyes at least, slightly too glossy finish of the Vallejo Model Color paints, but primarily to protect the paint, which has been formulated for static modelling and therefore is not particularly wear or handling resistant.

(It is, by the way, to be hoped that the painting [that just happened to be on the piece of old newspaper against which the airbrushing was done] in the background is not an omen of any kind as to what may happen, once she goes on the pond … )

The completed ladder has also been sanded to give the two uprights a halfround external profile, and then given a coat of primer.

In any case, the crew members now being as colourful a set of characters as theyw ill ever be have been installed properly on board …

… including the deck hand getting a permanent grip on his shovel.

Next, here is the Skipper …

… to whose beer bottle I still need to add a label …

… but otherwise the now finished wheelhouse interior now looks like this.

Also hard at work is the Mate …

… up in the bows …

… hauling on the port boom guy rope.

And finally an overview from the starboard quarter …

… and also athwartships from starboard.

To be continued …

/Mattias

Edited By Banjoman on 12/03/2015 08:43:33

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Very nice Banjo

The men are well placed and look really animated and "doing a good job!"……..(One of my famous lines in the GE film!)

Pity we didn`t see your model at the Ellesmere Show?

I realise it`s not really possible, but it would have been nice

What`s next?

Bob

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