FREE Bespoke Model of WWII HMS Diamond

[Andy Stone 1Participant @andystone1]

Hi Ashley, remember what motor mechanics used to do before the elaborate car lifts came into being ?

Andy

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Do you mean a pit Andy ? Or using a rollover cage??

As it happens, the bottom, being very solid, only needs to be lightly stripped and sanded. There does seem to be a strip of something half way across..might be steel, but that can remain untouched.

It would be easier if there were no portholes in the side, but there are, plastic ones drilled through. If they weren’t there it would be an easy (or at least, more straightforward) thing to glass the whole lot .

i did see some stick on portholes somewhere, gold rimmed and grey or silvery in the middle that looked smart, but don’t think I could get the existing ones out without much damage.

The current grey is not the original paint, like the bright red bottom. Originally it was a lighter blue/grey with a dark red bottom.

Ashley

Edited By ashley needham on 28/10/2020 08:18:45

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Can you believe it but the old ways are the best. Hot air gun and scraper deals with bottom easily, removing all paint although to be fair it is just a flat plank.

I have been thinking on the glassing. It will leave a ridge and this may be hard to disguise, especially as getting as crisp a line as I would like will be tricky, so.

In view of the substantial construction, I am just going to scrape filler down the side using a big wedge at one end and a wide scraper. This will level everything out AND hopefully join up so the remaining grey paint seamlessly.

As per snaps. The remaining paint scrapes on the side represents hollows. Eventually, one issue will be deciding exactly what shade of grey to use, the upper works being a bluey-grey.

I have created an #hmsdiamond album for those remotely interested, although it might be a bit boring.

Ashle

Edited By ashley needham on 29/10/2020 16:08:29

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi Ashley,

Good work as always, now you plane some off those corners and give her a better shape ? They didn't have flat bottoms 😀 only an idea as usual 👍

Regards Ray

[Andy Stone 1Participant @andystone1]

Actually Ray they do, once you get underneath a ship in dry dock once past the bilge they are surprisingly flat, you should see an aircraft carrier from underneath, you pretty near need a torch.

Regards, Andy

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi Andy,

I know part of the bottom is flat'ish but the hull should not be slab sides with a square corner, this could easily be made more scale like at the stage Ashley is at now , obviously when she's afloat it makes little difference 😀

Regards Ray

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Ray, perhaps if the top wasn’t so complete I might have a go at rounding off the corners, however this might upset the balance/draft of the thing..especially considering the captive sand ballast!

A few nails are proud on the corners as well and neede dealing with.

The motor casings were wire wool’d then treated with Krust which turns the rust black, then spray varnished. Once the plastic ends are cleaned they should look like new. There are pins to put the wires on…without soldering I am cogitating as to hot to attach wires.

Ashley

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi Ashley,

It's a historical representation, so I agree best not try changing the lines at this stage 😀👍⛵

I've gone on the secret list with my next project, will email you 👍

Regards Ray

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Although a lighter grey than originally painted (oe re-painted actually) you can see the difference between the grey (white mixed with black) on the hull compared to the superstructure (white, black, blue and green possibly or brown).

Going to have to custom mix something. I would rather do the top in oil based enamel as the acrylic does not dry brush free, and the issue is painting around the portholes, as this leaves swirly marks.

Ashley More extra snaps in |Diamond album

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

On old paint you might get away with Halfords grey primer as long as you use light coats. You can then cover with satin or matt varnish to seal it.

Colin

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

I have mixed up a funny colour in the grey bottle (adding blue, white and yellow) which looks remarkably like the topside, or at least, I think so….

Oddly enough you can see the pale blue/grey colour in the "articles database" picture on the right hand side of the main forum page!

Filled a few small hollows and will repaint later tonight and see what the morning brings!

Ashley

Edited By ashley needham on 01/11/2020 17:39:10

[NoelParticipant @noel26080]

I remember seeing this thread in September and thinking how up my street it would have been, if I hadn't got myself the large scale Ark Royal back in the summer.

So I was very pleased to hear yesterday that Ashley has it, and it looks like a great model.

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Noel. What sort of friends have you got that made you get such a big a/c carrier? I don’t know.

Hindsight, a wonderful thing.

Met my brothers son and his gf yesterday at Mums (in the garden). She was using a proper Olympus OM10 camera and was hankering after a 28mm lens for it…..like the OM2n and set of lenses I just gave away to charity ……bugger.

Ashley

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

More snaps. Remains of the forward/backward speed control, motors, masking/red oxide underneath.

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Oops..removed dual snaps.

Sides looking good now. Run superglue in splits, scraped P38 filler over the solid plank to ply joint, hardened and filled rear end. All quite solid now.

Note that as the bottom is flat, the stern is really shallow at the waterline. Another coat of red oxide on this side, then I might varnish it to seal.

i found a figure (not sure where he came from) and it is 30mm high, and when placed behind a turret, looks exactly the right size. I need half a dozen or so figures to add a bit of life to theboat.

Ashle

 

 

 

Edited By ashley needham on 03/11/2020 22:21:20

Edited By ashley needham on 03/11/2020 22:27:44

Edited By ashley needham on 03/11/2020 22:29:36

[Andy Stone 1Participant @andystone1]

Hi Ashley I was just thinking that when you've got the model of Diamond finished and on the water, your prop angle at high speed might push the bow down a trifle and lift the stern to a more even keel, don't quote me on that though

Regards, Andy

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Hi Andy. If I were building it then certainly a shallower angle and canting the shafts out would be the way to go, but obviously they are as they are.

will they shove the front down? Good question. My HMS Manchester (57&rdquo remains dead flat even at well over full speed. Diamond is not light and despite Jason’s father stating that it went very quickly, that may be in comparison to what else was on the pond!

The motor labels (barely legible) seem to indicate 8A max current….so only 48W at 6v…..call it 100 watts total which is not very much.

Latest mix of grey paint has produced quite a nice grey/green/blue colour only a touch darker than that on top, so I will stay with it. By tomorrow the sides should be painted and hopefully ready for a satin varnish…the Matt colours don’t look right on the boat.

Ashley

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Latest. Motors fitted, wired up and work ok on a 6v batt.

Rudders reshaped, new props fitted, dogleg brass bit made for use on the original Ripmax plastic tillers, yellow snake not fitted but that’s where it’s going and finally servo mount made/glued in place. Oddly enough where the original was! This time the snake will take care of the distance and not be floppy like the original rod wot was unsupported.

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Not convinced the motors are going to have sufficient oomph, and one of them gives audibly less revs on the boat….? If not I am not sure what I would fit. Not a brushless, a pair of big can motors probably.

Edited By ashley needham on 05/11/2020 17:40:21

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

And that’s another thing, I took off the little cog on the motor shaft on the gearbox side and both motors and they run much quieter!

One had split in any case, but as the motors were being used as direct drive it doesn’t matter.

I have also pulled one mast off and cut the other short. They were in fact transmitter aerials ! Great idea.

I will make new masts likely out of fibreglass or…whatever I find, and rig them using rigging twine and shirring elastic in varying proportion. Both masts will be demountable to prevent further damage in storage and for transportation.

Ashley

Edited By ashley needham on 05/11/2020 22:47:58

[Andy Stone 1Participant @andystone1]

Hi Ashley, the shaft angles don't look so acute in your pics, I know for a fact that many years ago I used to build the Nicholson 35 which had an acute shaft angle, On trials someone watching from ashore noticed the bow down angle when at full power Using a clinometer it was found to be about 3.4 degrees down on the bow. Not that it made much difference to performance though.

Andy

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Andy. The angle of the dangle has been hotly debated on the forum.

At 6 foot long and heavy, I can’t see the shaft angle making it nose down. There might be a small loss in efficiency but who is to know?

The motors are screwed right next to each other and this has given the very narrow shaft spacing, the rudders are much wider apart, and impinge on perhaps just the outer third of the propellor disc. I didn’t like the look of the bog standard large rudders so rounded them off, and then further cut them down, about 10mm and they look much nicer.

All this was just to look better on the stand, as that’s where it will spend most of its life.

Sort servo/rudder operation out today and more hull painting. I have an unused Action esc lurking in the spares box, and I will fit it with a 27m Rx.

Ashley

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

It is an Electronise esc, 15A, so should be ok. Its a whopper but fortunately I have room. Radio gear now in and working, servo secured, snake in, rudders twiddled ok. Ready for a test……

Gluing a few of the larger bits back on….A gun. Y gun, rangefinder tower, a depth charge and so on. Will leave tackling the ships boats until the rest is done.

Ashley

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

One side painted, just needs a couple coats of varnish. Not the best boot topping in the word but not bad. Was going to pinstripe tape it but it didn’t look very good…bumpy and so on, so masked up and painted. Needs a bit of touching up here and there before varnishing. Close ups never look great,but bearing in mind the huge length of it, the 1/4 inch stripe looks ok. Ashley

Edited By ashley needham on 08/11/2020 08:50:53

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