Bluenose I - YuanQuin 1:72 - Loracs (in progress)

[Daniel20]

Loracs, your work on the substructure is outstanding. It will serve as a great foundation for any type of mods you have in mind however be aware of that which Johan @RDN1954 mentioned in post #144 of your build. Certain deck openings are located directly over interior support foundations which you would not want to cover or modify.

 

[Loracs]

Indeed, this area is keeping me awake (figure of speech). I'm hoping that I can get by without the support foundation by relying on the ~ 5mm depth main deck beam to anchor the deck structures (making square channels - 4 to 5mm deep with flat bottom). Will have to look closely before committing in that direction. Will keep the option of doing YQ under-platform until I know for sure.

 

[Loracs]

Bow lower platform/floor: I cut and sanded the support beams at the bow. I adjusted them to be 3 mm above the last middle beam. The transition step is then at frame 13. Based on the following measurements, I should be able to clear either 4 pairs of bunkbeds or 3 pairs + single.

Bunkbed dimensions: Navy std = 72" long x 30" wide x 17" height. This translates to 25 mm x 10.5 mm x 6 mm
Bow height across the floor: 21 mm at the middle to 11 mm at the bow. The height should barely clear the be
Overall room: the wall will be located at frame 15, nearly 135 mm away from the bow. That should give some flexibility in fitting them.

Lastly (unresolved): could the beams/anchor points coming down from the deck (YQ design) be incorporated within the design? Maybe some of them... NOTE LATER: won't really fit with the bunkbeds. That's OK. The small spacers pieces can be used later within the main deck for reference and anchors points at the bottom of the beams. 4-5 mm should be enough to stabilize the deck components.

 

[Loracs]

Stingers: Stingers installed. They are build from a 3mm x 2mm strips, then shaped at an angle. It's a slow process... One last set of support beams to go: the captain's cabin floor. Will shape then but may wait until the ceiling is planked. It seen a lot easier that way them planking around them. Will see...

It is amazing how wood gets stained fast, despite working with gloves 95% of the time, which I hate!

 

[Loracs]

Bow floor support beams: This is what they look like, glued in place. As you can see, they are a lot lower than outlined by
YQ since this will be a floor rather than a support structure. Build using 3mm x 1mm strips and again shaped at an angle.

 

[Loracs]

Mast support blocks and water wells: Taking a short break... so doing only a few little things here and there. 2x zoom picture is very unforgiving - will need to quickly sand with a higher grit. Main mast support block needed some tweaking to account for the sister keelson... I knew it was coming but a little tedious to do manually (and straight). Water wells are finally glued and ready to go. Adding bolts is now less stressful with 0.6mm carbide bits - they stay sharp and with a mini-drill press they don't break - I'm still using the same one from when I started the interior.

 

[Loracs]

Pig iron as ballast: Pig iron can vary quite a lot in size. The smallest are 140x140x70mm, medium 200x200x100mm while the largest can be up to 280x100x65mm. At 1/172 this is roughly 2-4mm irregular in size. E6000 as glue is ok, but the chemical smell is quite bad. I tried Frabri-Tac because the solvent is acetone, a less aggressive smell and can be diluted to the consistency you want while still drying fast. Here's a quick test:

 

[Loracs]

Captain's cabin floor: Installed the support beams for the captain cabin floor. Getting it to be at the proper spacing and parallel to the waterline is an exercise in patience. Installing the support beams now will allow me to build the inner platform (floor) like the rest of the ship.

 

[RDN1954]

Loracs, your work on the substructure is outstanding. It will serve as a great foundation for any type of mods you have in mind however be aware of that which Johan @RDN1954 mentioned in post #144 of your build. Certain deck openings are located directly over interior support foundations which you would not want to cover or modify.

If memory serves me correctly, I extended the Samson post to the keel, more or less like the sketches in the Saga. The other bits were shortened as not to protrude into the focsle.
A lot of detailed work, which is hardly visible after completion. Still very rewarding, even though others wouldn't be able to see it.

 

[Peter Voogt]

Captain's cabin floor: Installed the support beams for the captain cabin floor. Getting it to be at the proper spacing and parallel to the waterline is an exercise in patience. Installing the support beams now will allow me to build the inner platform (floor) like the rest of the ship.

View attachment 571752View attachment 571753

When all the pre-work is done, the fun begins, Loracs. But this part of the construction must certainly also have been satisfying.
Regards, Peter

 

[Loracs]

@RDN1954, I was indeed wondering about which parts to extend and which to shorten. Thank you and @Daniel20 for the comments.... this will help at lot.

@Peter Voogt, I'm really enjoying the build. I try to take it slowly and not rush into committing decision. This is when I make mistake(s) that can hardly be reverse. Building model ship is like savoring a good wine or beer... why rush it. In short, I procrastinate a lot (Hehe). I like reading about the thought process and implementation many, including yourself and RDN, have done at improving the kit. It goes beyond just mods... it became learning moments.