Vic Smeed’s Silver Mist

[Richard SimpsonModerator @richardsimpson88330]

Colin, I found this on a QE2 forum and updated it and converted it from a .jpg to an Excel spreadsheet so I could edit it as I learned more.  It gives you an idea of the changes the QE2 went through during her lifetime.

 

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Richard, that’s an amazing bit of research! The only problem is that it leaves you with little or no room for discretion without feeling guilty!

I always felt that her builders were very clever in simulating the sweeping sheerline at the bow. The reality was that most of the hull had no actual sheer but there was an upward angle at the bow. The discrepancy was smoothed by the paint line between the black and white. From most angles this worked fine but the trick is very evident in some photos when you look at them closely. QE2 was not the only ship to which this effect was applied. Today of course, modern cruise ships make no pretence that they have no sheer. Your old Disney ships are an exception in simulating a sheer line.

That sort of precision on your spreadsheet  is a huge contrast with my ss Miltiades liner of 1903 build where the data is sparse and inconsistent between the various sources that are available. This just leaves me with an educated ‘best guess’ based on what is there in the knowledge that nobody else will be able to disprove it due to the mists of time.

Silver Mist on the other hand is a bit of a free for all. Vic’s drawing was no more than an assessment based on photos of a prototype and simplified for beginners. I have used this base to build a model of a hypothetical motor yacht which never existed but which draws on detailing of several contemporary vessels that were actually built by the designer concerned. It gives me a lot of freedom and an opportunity to take the line of least resistance and do my own thing to create a non existent but plausible model.

I have now fitted the davit supports to my Silver Mist. They are quite beefy items and I think will enhance the model. I may offer it to Lindsey as an article in due course as an example of how a basic beginner’s plan can be developed into a near scale model.

Colin

[Richard SimpsonModerator @richardsimpson88330]

To be perfectly honest Colin, even though I have a good idea of what she should look like at a particular period in time, I have chosen to apply my own preferences anyway!  For the period I have chosen she should be fitted with the two additional tenders and the magradome, which I certainly wasn’t going to do.  Any earlier and she should have the blue boot topping or the grey hull, neither of which I like so I conveniently went for around ’87 but without the magradome and the tenders.  I’m also not keen on the funnel and scoop in organge so I’m going for a Cunard red, which shouldn’t be until after the ’87 refit but I do have a couple of pictures of her with the red funnel in the steam configuration, so maybe there is still a degree of uncertainty with some details.  There aren’t many who will be able to point out the imperfections!

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

QE2 was in many respects a magnifcent ship throughout her career. The re engineering made a lot of sense and was successful but the ship was horribly butchered internally for commercial resaons.

The accountants seem to be responsible. QM2 has had extra cabins added on the sports deck and internally to generate extra revenue.

Cruising isn’t what it used to be, either transatlantic or worldwide. The ecompanies prioritise revenue over service these days and the experience is far inferior to what we experienced 20 years ago. Photo below shows our ship Celebrity Century in Alaska in 2014.

Colin

 

or so ago.

Colin

[Richard SimpsonModerator @richardsimpson88330]

I remember the Zenith and the Horizon first going into service when I was down in the Caribbean.  I thought the funnels looked like they hadn’t been finished but all reports indicated that they were beautiful ships internally.  They have now both been scrapped! Where did all that time go?

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Century wasn’t a bad ship, getting a bit outdated even when we went, but quite comfortable and did the job although drink prices were eyewateringly high. She is still in service as Marella Explorer 2 for Tui. One of our excursions in Alaska was to the Tracy Arm Fjord with its two Glaciers from Juneau.The scenery was jut stunning.

This was subsequently the site of a massive tsunami last year caused by a landslip which scoured the fjord.

More to the point I’m now sorting out the lifebelts on Silver Mist!

Colin

 

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

A bit more progress, the bow detail is now pretty much complete except for some minor paint touching up. The white ‘ventilator’ is actually a cap which fits over the battery charging socket. The windlass is scratch built with the help of my bits box. It is based on a manual Simpson Lawrence fitting.

Much of the stern is also done apart from fitting out the tender. The wheelhouse is now complete internally but the roof and its detail, including the mast still needs doing.

Colin

 

[Tim CooperParticipant @timcooper90034]

Colin
<p style=”text-align: left;”>Looking fantastic. Are you sure you will want to put it on a pond after ball that work</p>
Tom

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi Colin,

Excellent work as always 🙂 I especially like the reserve fisherman’s anchor, you can never have to many 🙂

I hope your going to have a build article in the magazine ? an old favourite 🙂

Regards  Ray

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Hi Tim and Ray,

Thanks! It is not quite as good as I would have liked but should pass for near scale. There will be a kedge anchor at the stern. All the detail is authentic to the mid 50s period for James Silver boats although not all of it was on the same vessel. Positioning of the fittings is based on photos and  on practical experience from mooring and anchoring my own little yacht. A lot of the full size vessels have Plough or Danforth anchors mounted on the bow roller fairlead, others have them stowed on deck. In my case you would lift the anchor onto the roller fairlead and replace the retaining pin before lowering it.

I didn’t want an anchor sticking out of the bow as it would be rather vulnerable.

I can do an article for the magazine if Lindsey wants one, but I will finish the model first

Colin

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Despite slow progress due to the heatwave, I have managed to complete the mast.

This is very simple on Vic’s plan and I have modified it slightly. The separate sub base allows the mast to be easily detached to assist with transportation. There is another halyard running down the back of the mast which is not visible in the photo. The mast is therefore a standalone  unit without rigging connections to the rest of the boat, something it shares in common with some of the full size boats.

It is mounted in a tabernacle as shown on Vic’s plan and on photos of full size boats. I assume this arrangement was chosen as motor yachts of this type, although seagoing, would need to be able to travel inland up rivers etc. where lowering the mast would be essential to get under bridges.

All in all, it has been quite a fiddly job and the whole assembly contains 29 separate items.

Now working on the wheelhouse external detail. These will show the side view of the mast.

Colin

[Tim CooperParticipant @timcooper90034]

Colin

As usual fantastic work.

I wish I could achieve the same on my models.

Tim

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Tim,

I used to do better but with just one eye it makes things a lot more difficult. Anyway I have now completed the wheelhouse and bridge deck and am quite pleased with the effect, particularly the grabrails along the cabin roof. I wasn’t sure how to tackle them but it was easy in the end. I used some 1.2 x 1.2 mm walnut strip. I made the top rail in one piece and then chopped off the supports using my guillotine and fixed then in place with dabs of Deluxe Superphatic glue. A quick sand and application of matt lacquer finished the job. It’s unusual when something is easier than anticipated, usually it is the opposite!

Vic’s plan doesn’t show much roof detail but my research enabled me to make the top of the wheelhouse a lot more interesting with extra fittings.

All the extra detail helps bring the boat to life from an obvious model to a near scale replica.

Colin

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

The tender is now finished. Vic’s plan and most models show it as upturned on the after deck and the plan shows some sketchy davits.

I decided to show my tender stored upright which allowed some internal detail to be shown. The davits locate into  sockets mounted on the port side aft of the model. On the full size boat they would have been bolted through the internal frames.

Colin

 

[Chris FellowsParticipant @chrisfellows72943]

Looking good Colin. As you say it’s the details that make all the difference.

Chris

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Thanks Chris,

As far as I know there have never been any published detailed versions of Vic’s very popular plan. It remains a very nice ‘stand off’ model as built from the plan but it has been interesting to take things a stage further, drawing on research on other James Silver motor yachts.

I think a lot of modellers of this very popular plan simply take it at face value as Vic designed it. But I have found that, when you do a bit of digging with the aid of today’s internet resources, it opens a lot of opportunities to realistically develop the model in many ways. My model is intended to be near scale as it does not represent a particular full size boat but does incorporate the characteristics of typical James Silver bespoke boats.

I will see if Lindsey wants an article on this basis once I have completed the model.

Colin

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