Caldercraft Steam Tug Imara 1/32nd scale by neptune

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May 25, 2017
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Australia.
Now I have finished my Borkum Steam Launch, I just have to wait to get time to take her to the pond,

I have decided to carry on with my Imara Tug, I don't have a lot of pics of the early construction as
they were lost when the MSW forum crashed a couple of times, the basic hull and super structure is
moulded fibre glass and quite strong, however there are a couple of weak spots on the superstructure
area so I used builders license to fix them, so I hope you enjoy the rest of the build,
 
Here we go the first pics,


1.jpg
full view looking down on the deck, I wouldn't recommend this as a first build for anyone, but if you take your time
she is not too bad, the hull didn't need a lot of clean up and my hull was quite solid, all the deck fittings that you
see are cast white metal, there are over 800 cast metal fittings and they do need a lot of filling etc to clean them up,
I sat down and cleaned them all up before any construction,


2.jpg
Bow view, you can see the printed overlay decks



3.jpg
The forward superstructure, still have lots to add to it, they give you printed plywood for all the bridge construction
like you see on the deck, but I ended up paneling it and varnishing it,



4.jpg
close up of the pantry side, still have to make and attach doors,


5.jpg
and the Saloon side, tables chairs and fridge in the corner,



6.jpg
view of the front on the bridge superstructure,


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7.jpg
the engine room skylights, there were twelve cast metal skylights included, and you can see the rivet work that is
incorporated in the mouldings, one of the areas that were a bit on the thin side I have covered by plywood which
you can see on the higher part of the deck, once the life boats are in place you will not know the difference, the
small round holders on the superstructure sides are for the bars or rods that go across to keep the towing ropes
off the skylights,




8.jpg
Rear view of the small cabin that carries the arches for the towing ropes,



9.jpg
Front view,


10.jpg
and a view of the after arch, I nailed pins in over a copy of that part of the plan and laminated planks of wood
together to get the shape,



11.jpg
looking down on the after deck, you can see the grain pattern on the plywood overlay deck,luckily in this area
there is a large wooden box that has to be constructed to take the Cables and ropes and that will fill most of this
area, even the gratings are cast metal,



12.jpg
the towing arches in place, this area has to be lifted off to get access to the speed controller etc when fitted, so I made up a small pin fitted with a chain that goes through the holder and the arch and keeps them secure,



13.jpg
close up of the pin in place,



14.jpg
and a side on view,



15.jpg
the assembled and painted gratings,





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16.jpg
Two 65mm contra rotating prop's, they used to supply cast ones in the kit but they weren't very good so they
ceased including them, I bought these separately from the kit,



17.jpg
bow view,



18.jpg
and showing the mast installed with the lighting,



19.jpg
Starboard side view,



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20.jpg
These are the water tanks, the two top right and next to them on the left is the emergency steering assembly, and
in front an d vent pipe that goes down near the stern gratings, all constructed out of plywood with metal fittings,
they still have to be completely painted yet,



21.jpg
The steam winch aft view, from memory there were approx 30 parts or slightly more,



22.jpg
front view there is still a lot to be added, steam pipes, chains etc,


23.jpg
The capstan and fore hatch,



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24.jpg
This is the Toilet that goes on the deck in front of the superstructure, again they gave printed plywood parts but I
paneled them, I also have to add a door knob and hinges, Edit, apparently this is not the
toilet, it is marked on the plans as the Junior Companion way, so I
assume that it leads down to the Junior Officers Saloon, hence the
skylight on the side,



25.jpg
and another view, still has to have the top applied and the port,



26.jpg
and the positions they will be placed in,



27.jpg
another view with the fore hatch included,



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28.jpg
These are the Anchor Davit's after the eye bolts, pulleys and cleats have been added, one goes in the bow area
and the other at the stern,



29.jpg
and this is how the rudder comes as supplied, as I said before all these castings have been filed and cleaned up,



30.jpg
the two ships boats are supplied as ABS mouldings, outside view,



31.jpg
they both come as an inside and outside moulding,



32.jpg
The two bow anchors, I had to file and trim them down to get them to fit in the hawse holes, they will be fitted
permanently in place,



33.jpg
Just some of the odd fittings, chain pulleys, lock down clamps etc,



34.jpg

some more of the cast metal fittings, ladders, stanchions, cowls and the funnel top,




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35.jpg
and some more of the cast fittings, the main steering wheel and the emergency steering wheel,



36.jpg
Close up of the main steering wheel, it is a one piece casting, I gave them a few coats of dark brown paint a gave
them a wipe over before the paint was dry,
I must edit this, I just remembered how I did it, I painted the ships wheels a light brown and when dry
I gave them a light coat of black, and then lightly rubbed the black to give the wheels the effect you see,



37.jpg
the funnel top and one of the two axes they include,



38.jpg
Oars, boat hooks, rudders and rollicks, I'm not sure about the oars will have to see how they turn out,



39.jpg
the main lifeboat davits with pulleys cleats and the footings, the davit arms were really badly twisted and I ended
up having to straighten them the best I could and I filled in the fronts of them with car body filler,



40.jpg
buckets and racks with some of the life belts,



41.jpg
the towing bar assembly with the hooks and also the horns that go either side,



42.jpg
and lastly the steering chains pulleys and covers,


Sorry for the long winded explanation and views, but I thought it would be nice to show in case
anyone is interested in purchasing one of these kits, and by the way she is 45inches long with a beam of12inches,




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Last edited:
Very interesting vessel - and it looks like, that the fittings etc. of the kit are of good quality - I am sure you will make a great model out of this kit.
Many Thanks for sharing with us
 
So to carry on with the build,



25.jpg
This is the state of the forward companion way when last I worked on it,



44.jpg
I cut and trimmed some plywood for the roof covering,



45.jpg
I glued it on the lower end and left it to dry, after it had dried I then glued and bent it up and over the top,
I fixed it in place with a few brass pins and after it had dried I trimmed the top and bottom,



46.jpg
I then glued a trimming piece to the top and front,



47.jpg
view of the other side,




48.jpg
I then marked where the ventilator had to go and drilled the hole for the dowel that I had glued up into the
ventilator,



49.jpg
test fitting the ventilator, before I had glued the pin in the ventilator I had filed the bottom of it to
sit correctly on the top of the companion way,




52.jpg
And after painting the roof green and painting and gluing the ventilator,




53.jpg
view of the other side with port attached, still have to make door knob and hinges,


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54.jpg
I just placed the funnel with the water tank in front of it and emergency
steering wheel on top of the casing, when I was happy with the positions
I marked them on the casing, then removed them so I could paint around
their positions but leave some bare material for when I glue them in place,
between the sky lights you can see two area's that I have already painted
a matt black this is where two ventilation grills will sit,



55.jpg
the marked area's, you can see a little bit of damage where I had the funnel spot
glued in place with CA super glue, but it will be OK as it is covered again when I
glue the funnel in place,



56.jpg
and a view with the emergency steering gear just sitting in place, the area's with the plain plywood is where the
fibre glass casing was very thin so I added these to strengthen the area, this is where the life boats are place
and I will paint these plywood pieces a deck colour,




57.jpg
The enginge room ventilation grills in place, I still have to attach all the lock down screws to the skylights,





58.jpg
I have now glued the vent pipe in place and also just up from it the steam piston assembly for the steam capstan,



59.jpg
and a view after completing the steam capstan,



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Forward superstructure after adding the port holes and the first coat of paint,



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close up of the forward super structure,




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and looking down you can see where I have left area's for attaching the funnel etc,



63.jpg
and the water tanks, steering and vent after the final coat,



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64.jpg
I made a bit of a Boo Boo, I had glued two ports into the holes between the windows, it wasn't till I came to
attach the doors that I realized I had originally drilled out the holes as a reference for when I attach the doors
as they have a port in each door, so i had to take off the ports, luckily I had four brass ports left over from my
River tug and I used these although they are slightly larger diameter,



65.jpg
The brass ports and doors attached, I was going to paint the ports the same as all the rest, but seeing as they
are up forward away from the other ports I may leave as brass, what do you think, I have to paint all the handles yet,



66.jpg
and a view under the superstructure showing how I reinforced it, the two area;s where the pencil lines are is
where it was a bit on the thin side, and it is on the top side where I added the extra plywood to the decking,
the wiring is for the saloon, navigation lights and the compass,




67.jpg


68.jpg





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