Modelik Flower class corvette

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cdcoyle

Member
Nov 21, 2005
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Carley float

Since this is only my third ship model, and by far the most complex, practically every step of the construction is some new learning experience. So I'm especially pleased when an idea I have for building some sub-assembly both a) works on the first try and b) looks good.

The Carley floats in the kit are supposed to be made from something like 18 laminated card stock lifts. Forget that! I decided to use one lift and use that as a pattern for carving a float from 3 mm basswood sheet (first pic). I roughed out the float with a Dremel router bit (second pic), then sanded the float to its final shape.

Once painted, I attached the grab ropes with CA glue. The rope that goes around the top of the float I inserted beneath the others using a needle threader. Then I glued in the floor boards (third pic) and installed the float on its platform (fourth pic). I confess I don't know what the correct colors for the ropes should be -- I picked gray for the float and tan for the lashing because I liked the contrast. This particular step of the build was as rewarding as the depth charges were tedious!

Regards,
 
C

cdcoyle

Member
Nov 21, 2005
170
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rope reels

OK, just got back into town after Christmas vacation (happy new year, everyone!). Today I completed the rope reels and started on the aft cowl ventilators. Somehow, I think there HAS to be a better way to make cowl ventilators other than what I affectionately refer to as the "soft toenail clippings" technique (if you've built these, you know what I'm talking about)! I confess that at this point in the build, I'm getting a little tired of this model and am ready to get back to my other projects...but first things first.

Regards,
 
C

cdcoyle

Member
Nov 21, 2005
170
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the dreaded cowl ventilators

Here's the finished ventilators. Each cowl is made from five individual slices...rather tedious to assemble. In other kits I'm familiar with, the slices are attached down the centerline, so that each cowl is formed from one piece. I don't know why Modelik chose to go with the separate slices method. Only two more ventilators left, on the forecastle. As usual, the close-up flash photography makes everything look a tad worse than it does under normal light and stand-off viewing conditions.

Regards,
 
C

cdcoyle

Member
Nov 21, 2005
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The next step in the construction is to make a set of four stanchions that are square in cross-section. These are supposed to be made from 4 laminated parts each, but I chose to scratch-build them from 2 mm square walnut strip. The wire bits will be cut down and serve as reinforcing pins.
 
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cdcoyle

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Nov 21, 2005
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This shot shows the increasingly crowded aft superstructure, with the most recent bits being the depth charge hoists, the above-mentioned square stanchions, and the first length of superstructure railing.

The biggest challenge on the hoists is to get the bracing 'wires' taut. I deliberately chose a camera angle that doesn't show the first one. :roll: The best solution was to make the brace in two parts. I threaded two lengths of thread through each hoist before gluing it to the superstructure, then glued one end of each thread to the superstructure on either side of the hoist (the thread end is inserted into a pinhole in the superstructure). I could then pull the loose ends taut on either side of the hoist (it can be done with one hand) and then dabbed some CA on the hoist/thread joint, locking everything in place. Afterwards I trimmed the loose thread ends. Voila!
 
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cdcoyle

Member
Nov 21, 2005
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aft superstructure railings

I think this finishes everything on the aft superstructure except the 2-pdr gun tub...but ya never know. This shot shows the completed railings, along with the life preserver mounts and buoys. The poles on the buoys are made from the modeler's friend -- dry spaghetti.

The railings posed an interesting problem, as well as demonstrated that even great resources like Anatomy of the Ship aren't 100% fool-proof. First of all, there was a slight discrepancy between the book and the model on where the stanchions were located on one side of the superstructure. I noticed this after I drilled holes for the stanchions, so I went with those locations. Secondly, there are discrepancies within the book on exactly where the railings are relative to the ventilators. The ventilator tops stick out slightly past the superstructure sides, and at least two of the AOS diagrams show the railings strung lower where this occurs; however, another diagram shows the railings in these locations at the same level as all the others, and this agrees with an actual photograph of Agassiz in the book. Of course, I noticed all this after making the railings (Why is it these things only get noticed afterwards?? Or is it just me? :roll: ). Fortunately, I had made them the correct way...I think.

Regards,
 
A

Amazyah

Senior Member
Mar 1, 2006
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Foothills of the Smoky Mountains
www.cardmodelsnmore.com
Very nice work Chris!
You are definately not alone in the "afterwards discovery" department. I think this is pretty commonplace actually. Either that or it's just the two of us!:grin:
Your pre-paper stanchions look fantastic! Actually, everything does!
I really like scrolling up and down the page and checking out the "before-after" pics of posts 92 and 93!
Keep it up, I think your work is awesome to look at!

Drooling in SC,
Russell
 
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Clashster

Member
Dec 1, 2006
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The Conch Republic
Great work, Chris! I have really enjoyed this thread! I really am more of a ship guy than a plane guy, so I love to look at your work! :grin: I have picked up a few ship models, but they seem so intimidating! :razz: Keep up the great work!

Chris
 
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rlwhitt

Active Member
Aug 25, 2006
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Clemmons, NC, USA
Fabulous Chris! I've not tried any ships yet (in paper anyway) but your thread has been one that's making me get the itch.

It looks great!

Rick
 
C

cdcoyle

Member
Nov 21, 2005
170
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kite platforms

Next came the kite platforms (I can only assume that these box-kite-like structures are a type of diving plane). These were an interesting piece of work. First, the platform support beams were too short; I extended these with scrap paper -- if you look closely, you might spot the color mismatch.

Next, the platforms themselves. Curiously, the starboard platform is a single solid piece, while the port platform consists of two spaced pieces. I don't know why the original was built this way, but it made for a teensy problem for the kites. The kites are designed to be built as a five-sided box, with the vanes added inside as five separate pieces. This is fine for the starboard kite, as it sits on the solid platform, and it is impossible to tell that the kite is boxed in on the bottom side and not an open structure. But since the port kite sits on two separate supports, the kit itself must necessarily be see-through. So I had to cut apart the box part of the kite, removing the 'back panel' and making a single part into four separate parts (oi!! what a headache!), resulting in nine parts that must be first rolled into half-pipes and then glued into an open-frame structure. :cry: The finished kite is a little lopsided...but at least it can be seen through!

The finished platforms incorporate the aft splinter shields and include a hoist on the port side of the superstructure.

Regards,
 
C

cdcoyle

Member
Nov 21, 2005
170
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Kriegsmarine beware!

The Agassiz now has her 2 pdr AA gun. The AA assembly consists of two main parts, the bandstand and the gun itself. Believe it or not, the gun was actually the easier of the two sub-assemblies. Assembly of the bandstand got off to a bad start a while back when I accidentally spilled CA glue on the gun tub wall, thus gluing it to a piece of cardstock. :cry: I was able to carefully slice the two sheets apart and hid the remaining damage with some Krylon primer (I discovered the Krylon is a closer match to the print color than the Model Shipways primer I had been using, and since I had it on hand already I didn't have to violate my mandate to minimize costs). It looks hideous in flash photos, but is scarcely noticeable in normal light (same for the bit of CA wicking visible in the photo). I had some fit problems with the tub, too, and didn't manage to get everything lined up as well as I would have liked. But the worst problem of all was when I went to dry-fit the bandstand to the superstructure -- the supports were not all the proper length, resulting in a 2 to 3 mm gap between the pedestal and the superstructure. :mad: I carefully trimmed the supports so that everything would sit where it was supposed to.

Compared to the bandstand, the 2 pdr, although time-consuming, was a piece of cake. I had a few self-inflicted, minor alignment problems, but I'm mostly pleased with how it turned out.

Regards,
 
C

cdcoyle

Member
Nov 21, 2005
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ship's boat

Here's a photo of one of the two ship's boats sitting on its chocks. I had wanted to take a few in-progress photos of the boat, but my camera's batteries died. This picture angle makes the boat look pretty decent -- from some other angles it looks a little warped...call it 'storm damage'. A friend of mine recently sent me a set of translated instructions for the kit. They are rather spartan; however, they did say that the boat's inner siding was to be 'exactly centered' (didn't say in relation to what) with a 0.5 mm overlap of the outer siding over the inner siding at the stern to allow fitting the transom. That was good to know in advance.

Bye for now,
 
C

cdcoyle

Member
Nov 21, 2005
170
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16
guy wires

The funnel guy wires are made from 2 lb test monofilament, blackened with permanent marker.

Regards,
 
C

cdcoyle

Member
Nov 21, 2005
170
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16
davits

More progress, after one of my not-unusual long periods of inactivity. The boat davits are now complete...sort of. There should be some braces fore-and-aft, but to be honest, the davits were such a tedious and joyless task (not to mention delicate) that I'm thinking of adding those braces to the list of sacrificed details. Perhaps I'll add them later...we'll see.

I've commenced work on the forward winch. The winch will no doubt be as tedious as the davits. The difference is, the winch is a one-and-done detail, not something that has to be done four times over. Or 29 times over, like the depth charges. :grin:

Regards,
 
C

cdcoyle

Member
Nov 21, 2005
170
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16
winch

Started the forward winch. Many, many itty-bitty parts...but manageable so far. I expect work on this will be pretty slow.
 
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