Deutschland / Victoria Luise / Hansa 1:500 waterline model from scratch

[MBJ]

I am now busy plating the hull. I use carboard for this, and so far I am quite happy with the result. DEUTSCHLAND's starboard side is done. Of course I could not resist and put some paint on it.

 

[MBJ]

Brief update: The hull is fully plated and I started coloring it.

 

[Iterum]

Hello MBJ,

very interesting model greatly done (I am still dreaming of DSSD KRONPRINZ WILHELM).
Several years ago in a phone call the specialist for German liners Arnold Kludas told me the preWWI colour of the funnels of the German liners of HAL and NDL was very a pale yellow-creme - no WhiteStar buff.

Hope this helps,
Chris

 

[MBJ]

Hello MBJ,

very interesting model greatly done (I am still dreaming of DSSD KRONPRINZ WILHELM).
Several years ago in a phone call the specialist for German liners Arnold Kludas told me the preWWI colour of the funnels of the German liners of HAL and NDL was very a pale yellow-creme - no WhiteStar buff.

Hope this helps,
Chris

Thanks for this info, Chris! Good to know. If Arnold Kludas says so, it must be true
Following from this statement the funnels were darker after the war, which would apply to HANSA. Please let me know if you have further insights (or deckplans for HANSA...).
P.S.: What does DSSD stand for?

 

[MBJ]

Paint job done I'm thinking about how to do the portholes on the black hull - maybe a droplet of glue to have a glass like reflection. Any suggestions? Thanks!

 

[MBJ]

Nothing new, just proving I am busy: I started plating the VICTORIA LUISE and HANSA.

 

[MBJ]

Plating completed Also started with the paintjob. Happy Easter to you all!

 

[MBJ]

Those ships indeed have quite a few portholes

 

[MBJ]

I started to carve the first lifeboat, 18 mm long. There are two even smaller sizes to be made. As I'll need plenty of boats for my three ships, I am planning to use one wooden lifeboat per size as a mould and "produce" boats from heated plastic sheets. Never tried this before, I hope it will work.

 

[Roger Pellett]

Now that you have a mold, by making the boats from “heated plastic sheets” do you mean vacuum forming? It’s easy to do with a household tank type vacuum cleaner or better yet a shop vacuum. If you use the search function you should find a post from me showing my setup.

Roger

 

[MBJ]

Now that you have a mold, by making the boats from “heated plastic sheets” do you mean vacuum forming? It’s easy to do with a household tank type vacuum cleaner or better yet a shop vacuum. If you use the search function you should find a post from me showing my setup.

Roger

Yes, I guess vacuum forming is the english term I was lacking. I'll definitely check your post, Roger. Thanks for the hint!

 

[MBJ]

I prepared the molds for 3 types of lifeboats, 18, 16, 14 mm and started attaching railings to Deutschland. The railings are made from 3 mm stripes of waste plastic, with bats and posts drawn with white varnish. Upcycling

 

[MBJ]

I have been struggling with vakuum forming the lifeboats. Attached is a sketch of the problem I face: There is a gap between the mold and the plastic I use, so that the final shape of the plastic is not perfect. In 1:500, a gap of one millimeter destroys everything. I will now attach another layer of wood and see if this helps pulling down the plastic far enough. Will keep you posted. As I will need 68 boats altogether, this should work out properly

 

[Roger Pellett]

I would form them in halves split longitudinally. If done properly you will end up with a flange on the bottom that serves two purposes; it is a surface to glue the halves together and it form’s the boat’s keel.

Off hand from your sketch I would suggest one of two problems insufficient heat or vacuum. When you heat the plastic it will sag. If you continue to heat it it should tighten up again. That’s when it’s hot enough to form.

Roger

 

[MBJ]

I would form them in halves split longitudinally. If done properly you will end up with a flange on the bottom that serves two purposes; it is a surface to glue the halves together and it form’s the boat’s keel.

Off hand from your sketch I would suggest one of two problems insufficient heat or vacuum. When you heat the plastic it will sag. If you continue to heat it it should tighten up again. That’s when it’s hot enough to form.

Roger

Thank you so much for your reply, Roger, I really appreciate it. I followed your advice and increased the temperature. In combination with my adjusted (thicker) mold, it now works a lot better. Still takes more time than I had expected, but getting there.