Tin Plate Clyde Puffer

[Len Morris 2Participant @lenmorris2]

Hi Richard,

No pictures yet.  She’s only been floated in the bath while the final fitting out going on.  Also, my current camera is simply not up to the job when she’s on the water.  Need to upgrade.

Len.

[Len Morris 2Participant @lenmorris2]

I’ve now glazed mi wheelhouse.  I stuck them in with super glue. They came out crystal clear to the point where the picture hardly shows anything except the wheel inside.

Like others I have the scars on my back from super glue misting and fogging clear plastic particularly when trying temporary repairs on spectacles and car lenses.  Eventually found a solution that worked a treat.

It’s a protective sacrificial lens guard for welding helmets.  They measure 116 x 90mm and are 0.5mm thick.  Mine were made by ‘Parweld’ and the plastic is engraved ‘EN166 1.B CE’.  It was £10 for a pack of ten and the part number was XR520.

They are shatter free and can be folded in half without cracking.  The sheets cut easily with domestic scissors leaving a clean edge.  Absolute best of all is that super glue sticks the plastic very well and gives no fogging whatsoever and my glue was the thin smelly stuff that gives off fumes.

Might be a bit thick at 0.5mm but well worth a try if that’s not an issue.

Len.

 

[James Hill 5Participant @jameshill5]

Hi Len. you’re doing well. Your glazing looks good.

Looking at your roof, I’ve been using a piece of solid ply, but I’ll need to change that to more planking. It doesn’t really show clearly on the plan, but you show it as more realistic.

Love the seagull!

Jim.

[Len Morris 2Participant @lenmorris2]

Hi Jim,

My roof is just thin ply but covered with very thin veneer planking.

Your last comment made me smile.  Nobody seems to see the wheel, binnacle, chart table, bollards, glazing etc, but they all notice mi seagull!

Len.:)

[Len Morris 2Participant @lenmorris2]

Made some progress in the last month so it might be worth a quick report.  It’s all been about the small detailed work that seems to take forever and in my case it’s not that detailed at all.  Here she is in full view.

And a picture from the bow.

And finely the stern.

All the bits are brass tube, wire and plate soldered together.  The rigging is shearing elastic thread from the local sewing shop and all the threads terminate on hooks for easy removal.  Not finished yet as the connections to the winch need to be sorted.  The joint between the mast and the derrick is just a piece of coil spring from an old oil seal.  I found it small and simple allowing the derrick to move fully in any direction.

With luck she should be sailing again within the next couple of weeks.

She still needs the deck boat and beaching ladder and then lights, smoke and sound.

Len. 🙂

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Well done Len she looks just right 🙂

Having seen the build from the soldering the hull stage It’s great to see some old school metalwork, fairly unusual these days 🙂

What’s next ??

Regards Ray

[Richard SimpsonParticipant @richardsimpson88330]

She’s certainly got bags of character.  I’m looking forward to seeing how she performs on the water.  Did you get your hands on a better camera?

[Len Morris 2Participant @lenmorris2]

Hi Ray, thanks for the kind comment.

Next is going to be a good tidy up sort out and stock take.  That alone will see me up to Christmas!  Then I need to have a fleet review.  I’ve 3 boats that need finishing (a paddler, the liner Empress of Britain and a Liberty ship with a Deans Marine grp hull).  Others are more viable and I sailed them all in past but they need updating (Boston Blenheim stern trawler, HMS Diamond and mi Mirander steam Launch).  Finally there’s Resurgam that needs a service.

A few years ago I bought the plans by the late John Lambert for the M1 and that’s likely to be the next tin plate hull.

Enough to do!

Len. 🙂

[Len Morris 2Participant @lenmorris2]

Hi Richard, she should be on the pond very soon.  Pictures will be from my old camera as I know how to use it, but YES I did get my hands on a new camera, just need to get my brain on it!  It’s a Nikon D90 with short and long zoom lens’s.   Currently bashing through Nikon D90 guide for Dummies. I think the hardest bit is getting it to talk with mi computer!

Len. 🙂

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Len, there should be no need to get the camera to talk to your computer. Most computers have a built in SD Card Reader slot. Just take the card out of the camera, pop it in the computer and you can copy the images across from the card to your computer storage.

I have thousands of images, I have never connected the camera directly to the computer.

Colin

[Len Morris 2Participant @lenmorris2]

Hi Colin,  thanks for that.  Had a look at mi computer and yes it does have a SD card reader slot.  Never knew, never used it but had a go and it works!  Bit fiddley to get at but very useful to know.

Len. 🙂

[Richard SimpsonParticipant @richardsimpson88330]

Like Colin I don’t connect the camera to the computer, I simply remove the card and insert it into either my desktop or laptop computers.  You always seem to end up messing around with manufacturers proprietary software when you connect by cable, which is invariably more trouble than it’s worth and trying to do things that you simply don’t want or need.

[Dave ReedParticipant @davereed72029]

For those of us without shiny new computers, there’s no end of USB card readers out there. My old camera uses a CF card not SD, the USB card readers cater for many different types of card.

[James Hill 5Participant @jameshill5]

Well done Len, that’s a really nice model, and as others have said, full of character now you’ve done a lot more of the fittings.

Can I ask where you got the  running blocks from. This was something I was going to have to get to grips wth eventually, I’ve got thread for the rigging. I haven’t done a lot lately, as for some reason I seem to have  struggled with motivation, and I’ve also spent time passing my railway on after 15 years worth of building. I’m afraid with my situation, I can’t leave things  laying around waiting to be done.

Jim.

[Len Morris 2Participant @lenmorris2]

Hi Jim,

I made the running blocks from brass plate and copper wire all soldered together.  Here’s a picture of how they were made.

Two blank plates.  Plates drilled 1mm.  Pushed onto copper wire.  Soldered and then the excess wire cut away.  Not for everybody and a bit fiddley but easy enough once the production process is worked out.

What you might find useful are mi wire hooks and tie off method.  They are just hooks and and eyes from the local sewing shop.  When cut in the right place they give no end of block eyes and hooks.  Where I passed the thread directly through the block it was doubled back and locked with small electrical heat shrink tubing.  I found it a bit neater than knots.

I think I mentioned earlier that for my thread I used shearing elastic (again from the local sewing shop).  As long as they have a small amount of tension on them they are very forgiving on fitting length and if they get twanged but always look tight.

Just one last comment Jim about Puffer rigging.  When I focussed on the detail I realised there was a lot more than I thought and had to make several more anchor points on the hull and bulwarks.

Len.

[James Hill 5Participant @jameshill5]

Thanks for that Len, very effective. I shall try and do something like that when I get to that point.

I quite enjoy doing the odd bit of metalwork now and again, which is why yours has been an interesting read as you’ve gone along.

Jim.

[Chris FellowsParticipant @chrisfellows72943]

Trust me to be the odd one out! I nearly always connect my cameras to the PC using a cable. One reason being that the card readers in most computers are cheap nasty things and I’m concerned about damaging my cards. Maybe unfounded but a cable works for me and is less hassle.

Len, it’s often said that finishing a model with the detailing, fixtures and fittings etc. takes as long as building it!

Chris

[Len Morris 2Participant @lenmorris2]

Hi Chris,  I absolutely agree with both of your comments.

I hate opening up cameras and phones to swap cards.  Maybe it’s just me but eventually something always gets broken, lost or worn out.  I always use a cable and it seems much quicker.

Finishing a model?  After getting the big picture out of the way it seems to go on and on.  I think the smart thing is knowing when to quit and declare it finished!

Len. 🙂

[Chris FellowsParticipant @chrisfellows72943]

The only time I take the cards out is when I’m on holiday etc. and one gets filled up, which isn’t that often, and it’s only using the camera slot anyway.

Dead right with your last statement.

Chris

 

 

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Interesting diverging views re using cards. I can only speak for myself. I have been taking digital images since 2003.In my Pictures folder and sub folders I have over 36,000 images occupying 84GB of space. There are also several thousand images in my Documents folder where I keep all my builds information and that relating to around 150 magazine articles.

I have always used cards to transfer the data, initially Compact Flash and latterly SD and have never had a problem. I do use good quality cards though.

When I am doing a build as now, I will take photos of the various steps and processes as I do them and pop the card into the PC to review. Often it needs a second take if I have missed something on the small camera screen so the cards are tooing and froing between the camera and PC often three times in a session.

I do use a USB connection to move photos from my phone to the PC though. Just simple file transfer.

I also agree that you need to know when to call it a day when building a model, otherwise you can go on forever!

Colin

[Len Morris 2Participant @lenmorris2]

Here’s an update.  Seems the must have bits for Puffers is the beaching ladder and the shore boat that sit on the hatch cover.  Started with the ladder.

Its a bamboo kabab stick split in half and then drilled for 1mm dowel walnut rungs.  Stuck together with super glue and lashed with medium oak spirit wood dye.

The harbour boat was made from card and paper.

I didn’t have any plans to follow and it was done of the top of mi head on the basis if it looks right it’ll do.  Here it is finished.

Neither are attached to the hatch cover yet but here’s what they look like just thrown on.

I’m going to carry mi harbour boat upside down.  Even if I carried it the right way up I’d still cover it with tarpaulin to stop it flooding.  That’s mi excuse for not spending a couple of weeks on it’s small internal detail!

All for now,

Len. 🙂

 

[Richard SimpsonParticipant @richardsimpson88330]

Probably two of the most iconic accessories for steam vessels of this period Len.  Many such vessels loaded and unloaded while sat beached on sand banks and long ladders were the only way to get on and off the ship.

And boats like that which were used so regularly were not stowed like boats in davits but were simply lashed to the hatch, ready to be used at a moments notice.  They would almost certainly be stowed upside down to prevent filling with water.

Nice details making a big difference.

[Len Morris 2Participant @lenmorris2]

Hi all, now I need some help.  I’m looking for a sound unit.  A single ‘puff’ proportional to engine speed.  Mtroniks just focus on Diesel engines and model trains and also seem very expensive.  Action R/C Electronics advertise a unit (P64A) but they have been out of stock for a long time.  I’m just a bit cautious about the inexpensive open circuit boards advertised on the web.

Len.

[Richard SimpsonParticipant @richardsimpson88330]

Len, there are a lot of cheap sound systems out there that generate a very grainy electronic sound, which ends up being quite unrealistic.

Just to offer an alternative point of view for your thoughts.  Having spent all my working life in and around ships and frequently been on quaysides, docksides, canal banks etc as ships have sailed past I can say with a degree of experience that ships generally tend to make very little noise.  Plus I have stood next to an operational steam reciprocating engine in operation and can confirm that the noise they generate is very little.  Occasionally you will hear a rumble in the background, which is invariably auxiliary machinery such as generators, pumps, and one of the noisiest pieces of equipment, ventilation fans.

If you have a watch through this you will get a better feel for it:

Then bear in mind that all the rumbling noise you hear from the engine is from the viewpoint of being on the ship.  If you consider a viewpoint of being off the ship and a distance away, and allowing for scale distances in a model,  there is very little noise to be noticed.

I frequently think that sound systems added to models can make them less realistic than more realistic.

Just my thoughts.

[Len Morris 2Participant @lenmorris2]

Hi Richard, thanks for all that and I appreciate the time you must have spent putting it together.  The video was excellent with much detail to be observed, particularly black smoke but I’ll work on that later.

I cannot disagree with your comments about realistic sound.  I just have a slightly different viewpoint.

I think model boats are putting on a show for children and the general public.  They don’t have your experience of normal ships and are entertained by a steam engine clank or puff.  It’s certainly a bit better than the whine of the electric motor and speed control unit.

I’ve no experience of sound units and that’s why I asked for advice.  Just looking for the best of the bunch without spending oodles.

Len. 🙂

 

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