Hull plating

[Steve Nolan_HiltonParticipant @stevenolan_hilton28491]

Hey Bob,

what an amazing difference, how dod you achieve the hull plating  and the rivits, she look great , and can not wait to see here finnished

Steve

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Hello Steve

I`m pleased you like the hull plating and rivets etc

It`s very easy to do……….thick cartridge paper with the rivets pressed out with a centre punch by hand and glued to the hull with PVA

The trick is to ensure the rivets are in accuate straight lines, nicely spaced and the plates sit on a smooth surface and are also accurately positioned.

Cheers Bob

[Steve Nolan_HiltonParticipant @stevenolan_hilton28491]

Hey Bob,

kewl, I get ya buddy, cheers bob fer that always wondered how to do it , a great idea, your a star fella

Thank you,  Ste

[Steve Nolan_HiltonParticipant @stevenolan_hilton28491]

Hey Bob,

Did you see my ship, what do you think, your opinion would be valued

Ste 

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Hello Steve

Yes I`ve had a good look at your ship and gave it a few marks. Have you sailed it yet?

Since you didn`t make the original hull yourself………what`s the history behind it?

Bob

[Steve Nolan_HiltonParticipant @stevenolan_hilton28491]

Hey Bob,

Cheers for that am well chuffed, a smashing compliment from you Bob Thank you, as for the boat, as you can see on the gallery there are some pics which are more or less the way she was when I found her as a tramp Steamer, single funnel and limited superstructure.

Since I was toddler I have bin faciated with 4 stackers Which is ultimately what I dream of owning, but since I was 8 have bin building the usual Airfix models and general Plastic kits every thing fro every size available of Titani, Lusitania, Mauretania although the selection has always beed very dissapointing, as I got older Bob I became so focused to have a large liner myself but with limited funds at times and other commitments and no experience of building from scratch, i constantly hit brick wall after brick wall,

 I then began to search country wide , model shop after model shop to find a model buildr who would undertake the Job of building a 7 foot or 8 foot remote model for me but that proved impossible and got nowhere , did find a bloke in Surry but wanted an upfront payment of £5.000 with no estimate of how much more it would take so was gutted so another brick wall.

One day bout 5 years go or so I was shopping for a Christmas present for a buddy at Botany bay  on the M61 near Preston, I walked through the down stairs romms and one room has real planes and Army trucks and classic cars and suddenly saw this distictive shape at a great distance out of the corner of my eye, took a second look expecting ot to be a picture or painting . It was like a gift from heaven.

On this low level table was this 7 foot model of a tramp Steamer called simply Liberty, at first I thought it could have bin a static model but looked inside the removeable structure and found wooden platforms for a remote sysem and lead weights . She looked like she had bin proded and poked and whilst there a variety of small childeren were prding and poking at her, a large amount of detail lay loose on the deck and a mess of old rigging and plenty of dust.

To me the hull was the most important this as it was kinda the hlot grail as I have no idea how to build that style of hull and that distictive hull and bow , i drew back some feet and took a long hard look at her and in my minds eye , replaced the super structure with that of a Liner, I new that because of her scale , she would never become a Lusitania or Aquitania, she was to sacle not long enough and The width and legth was that of a smaller vessel.

I paid £900 for her , took her home then set about trying to find a builder to convert her for me but had no luck, so I cleaned he up placed her on a display shelf and settled down to the realiseation that this was as close as I was ever gunna get.

Bout 8 months ago I suddenly got the courage to strip the superstructure and have a go , bought some tools, balsa and wood , I had no idea how to begin but thought a statr id better than nothing, i got the scale from the old superstructure and took it from there, it was then that My knowledge of all the plastic kits, historicle pics  fell into place . My dream is to go forward now and build an 8 foot model of Aquitania, or Lusitania but have no idea how to aquire the plans for a ship of that scale.

I would appreciate any advice bob

Ste 

  

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

That was a good story Steve………………I`m pleased that you got down to it yourself and I wish you all the very best with it and may you make a model to your satisfaction!

I`ll keep my eyes open for a suitable plan for your next model…….The main trouble with liners is the fine detail of the superstrucure which must be extremely accurate and precise to be easy on the eye

Regards Bob

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Steve

Just had a look in my plans book and there are outline drawings available of some of the big liners…….

Mauretania…….Aquatania……Normandie……..etc

The plans book is on sale at W H Smith`s…….."Collectors` Plans Special"

Best of luck

 Bob

[DuckyParticipant @ducky]

Hi Folks

Just a line to let you know that Bob’s Great Eastern looks just as impressive in real life as it does on his photo’s ,Some times pictures do not give the right impression and when seen in real life are a disappointment,but with Bob’s boats what you see is what you get!!!!

I count myself lucky that I can go to his house and see the GE build as it goes on,and as I’ve only been boat modelling for a couple of years I’ve been fascinated by Bob’s knowledge and experience of boat building. Plank on frame was just a term people used before, but now I can understand it (if not do it!!)

Peter

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Hello Peter

Thank for your post…….very flattering…….but there seems to be nobody here!

Disappointed Bob!

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Steve. If you are an admirer of hull plating i can only suggest you purchase "RMS TITANIC: A Modelmakers Manual. Peter Davies-Garner ". This a book written by a professional German modelmaker who was commissioned to make "the ultimate" Titanic model, all 18 feet of it for the Titanic centre in Orlando. He says it took them 3 Months to plate the hull of this ship using embossed plasticard and superglue-every single plate as per the shipyard drawings.. I can only marvel at the skill and above all patience of such bods (but he was getting paid for this!) I perasonally dont have such time to spare and all my models are "stand-off scale" types. My own titanic at 48" has ply sides and card strips pva`d on to suggest the hull plating, but looks quite good once floating. Ashley

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Hello Ashley…………………Who`s Steve?

Tell me……..How did your card plates behave when they got wet and what paint process did you use?………Anything special?

Bob

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Bob.Nothing special, i think I sealed it all with common or garden sanding sealer, finished with common or garden homebase Grey primer and then household black satin paint. I have recently been experimenting with Cuprinol (but there are similar products out there) wood hardener, the stuff you paint on rotten but dry wood before filling it. This is a resin and dries very hard, it is also very very thin so soaks well into the surface of the card/balsa/filler etc. My theory is that almost anything thinned down is good to seal surfaces especially as these things don`t spend days in the water, only a few hours. I like the Great Eastern plating but would be worried that the rivets would flatten out over a period of time and/or with handling and the odd , perhaps not collision, but shall we say coming alongside impact (you know what I mean)  Ashley.

[ManxmanParticipant @manxman]

Hi Bob,

Don’t be disappointed, we have not gone away, just sitting in the background watching.  Don’t  want to spoil your building rhythm.  Amazed at the speed your putting this lady together.

Ken

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Thanks Ken………….Glad you`re still out there……..Doing a watching brief

I`ve not rushing the build really…………………I`m putting in 15 hours a day sometimes!……..and I`ve got a good workshop……………..I`ll be really gutted when it`s finished actually!

I`m finding it really fascinating to build this historical model and digging in the archives for snippets of information…………on the real ship, can you imagine cooking for 4000 people?……and can you imagine, working in the engine room…….just with candles and lanterns?!

Tonight  I`ve  jollopped on the first coat of dark grey!……….the next coat will be a little lighter and probably gloss…………….I want the plates and rivets to show up

Keep calling in Matey

Bob the Builda

[Steve Nolan_HiltonParticipant @stevenolan_hilton28491]

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