RMS Titanic minicraft 1:350 Scale

[PeteG]

Hello everybody Again

As promised I will discuss my odyssey with the propeller wings and the bilge keels on this post.

The triangular piece of plastic kit parts F1L and F1R marked as bilge keels are lacking in scale and details as you can see dry fitted to the hull



I found the bilge keel plans on encyclopedia Titanic website and found it was made in a layered fashion with a Tee beam and two L beams on each side (over simplified explanation). The dimensions from the plans converted to 1:350 scale are length 26 cm by base width 2.6 mm by height 2.6 mm. So I brought a packet of Plastisteel Tee bar that was 2.5 mm base and 2.5 mm height, and 0.5 mm thickness. Perfect! I added a 0.25 mm by 0.5 mm strip of styrene to the ends and voila. It was not feasible to find 0.25 mm thick L bar styrene. So I used 1 mm by 0.5 mm strips sanded to 0.25 mm for each side of the upright on the T.




Now cut the the new keel to length and dry fit it to the hull.


I needed to have a natural curve to the keel following the hull keel mount. I sanded and used putty to make the keel as “riveted” cleanly to the hull. Next time I install this type of part to a hull I will use epoxy glue. I tried a combination of CA glue with ultra thin liquid cement, but found that it could crack with little effort. I finally got enough liquid cement to cure.

Once I had the keel installed I blended the final product into the hull, trying not to remove any of the platting details.

The Propellers will be in the next posts
Happy Modeling- Pete

 

[Fever 4 the Sea]

Have you seen the absolutely fantastic videos about R.M.S. Titanic on YouTube by Oceanliner Designs?
Type in the YouTube Search bar 'oceanliner designs titanic'. All sorts of in-depth videos on her design and operation.
Cheers

 

[PeteG]

Have you seen the absolutely fantastic videos about R.M.S. Titanic on YouTube by Oceanliner Designs?
Type in the YouTube Search bar 'oceanliner designs titanic'. All sorts of in-depth videos on her design and operation.
Cheers

Yes I love that website and visit often
Same with https://www.moddb.com/mods/mafia-titanic-mod/images and Vasilije Ristovic facebook images of the Titanic.

I like the Oceanliner Designs and Titanic Honor and Glory because you can move around to those awkward places. But of course I verify with other sources. However, if I have nothing, then the videos rule because just looking at Vasilije's work and the research he puts into his images makes me feel confident that I have the latest knowledge on the Titanic ( Such as green winches and deck details when we always use to think it was just flat black).

 

[PeteG]

Good Day Modelers,

The propeller wings as promised



One of the first things about the propeller wings is that they have A LOT of extra material, especially at the forward part of the pieces. Therefore, I modified them to look more industrial and fit much better. After carfully sanding and some Mr Dissolved Putty applications, I got them about where I wanted.



Dry fitting them top the hull required some extra sanding to the hull mounting site and some further part sanding to make them look realistic without losing the molded details.



Then came the arch of the wings and what degree were they mounted on the actual ship. From files by Harland and Wolff and the website https://www.titanicology.com/Titanica/SpeedandRevolutions, I determined that the "canted angle" or spread was 2 degrees pitch past centerline, or more precisely 22.5 degree angle from the centerline. I made a template that I cound tape to the stern and get the angles correct (you can see me shakely hold my template to the wings after installation).



Then begun the chore of making the propeller wings seem like that at mounted to the hull in a realistic fashion. I did use 5 minute epoxy to adhere the wings (learned my lesson). I used 0.25 mm rod to fill in gaps and careful applications of putty and some judicial sanding eneded up with a product I liked (after installing the exterior hull parts and additions I primed the hull with black Mr 500 Primer and carefully sanded away any hull irregularities, blemishes, scratches and then primed Mr 1000 Primer and so on). I did not install the actual propellers because I know at some point I will knock them off. The propellers I plan to use is from China 3D and I will use the three (3) prop central propeller. I know the controversy but the article by Bob Read is too compelling! He found photographic evidence known to be the Titanic that indicates a three prop propeller sitting on dock ready for installation. I would suggest reading those articles on Titanic Cad Plans website home page.



The Rudder was next and I went right to the China 3D part. This was pretty straight forward with clipping off the gimbels and pintel mounts on the stern post. There is nearly no modifications that were needed other than enlarging the hole for the rudder post into the ship. I used E6000 adhesive because I would want this part to give a little if I accidentally grab the rudder instead of the hull when I am handling the model. You can also see I added the stern central propeller base plate and anodes.



Next was the Bow Central Hawsehole. Though I did get the insert part from China 3D, I was not confident to make that serious of a major modification. I have spent some money on this model and did not want to ruin it with a hack job. Time for some magic. I know that a piece of circular plywood was attached to the hawsehold when the Titanic was at sea (which I am depicting at sea on April 13th, 1912) which I have heard is what Minicraft was trying to achieve. But I wanted the dramatic effect of seeing the bow and that awesome hawsehole. I took a piece of 0.25 mm thick styrene plastic and shaped it to the correct proportions using the China 3D piece as the guide. I drilled the central hole at ~30 degree up to the anchor well, and used a round file and dremel tool to grind the opening to the shapes I wanted and voila!



I then sanded the piece nearly smooth (it s just a little proud of the prow, but with the flat black paint, I doubt if you can see it) and fiddled with the sides until I was statisified with the results.

Next up was the condenser ports on the aft section of the exterior hull in line with funnel number 4 on both sides.



I followed Rivet Counter and the Titanic Cad Plans on the locations of the condenser outputs at the water line and and the inlets at the bilge keel level of the hull. I did find that TheModelBoatGuy on YouTube measured out the dimensions of the grills for 1:350 scale, so I used those measurements for my model (thank you to all those who diligently make videos of their fantastic builds and tips for modeling). I didn’t have the PE parts you can obtain in 1:200 scale but I wanted that same effect, so I scratch built the interior space for some depth after drilling out the rectangle shape and then used the extra parts I had from GMM PE rails for the cranes and made grills from railing panels. I will install the inlets after weathering the hull to prevent knocking parts off at such an obvious rub point.


T

Wooweee! That was a lot and obviously I did not do all that work in one sitting. I started at the beginning of April 2026 and now have reach the point of painting.

But before that I will have a post on my adventures in model illumination. I am actually pleased with my results but I had to really engineer what and how I was going to light this candle.

Happy Modeling - Pete

 

[Magic Mike]

Good Day Modelers,

The propeller wings as promised

View attachment 612647View attachment 612648

One of the first things about the propeller wings is that they have A LOT of extra material, especially at the forward part of the pieces. Therefore, I modified them to look more industrial and fit much better. After carfully sanding and some Mr Dissolved Putty applications, I got them about where I wanted.

View attachment 612635

Dry fitting them top the hull required some extra sanding to the hull mounting site and some further part sanding to make them look realistic without losing the molded details.

View attachment 612634

Then came the arch of the wings and what degree were they mounted on the actual ship. From files by Harland and Wolff and the website https://www.titanicology.com/Titanica/SpeedandRevolutions, I determined that the "canted angle" or spread was 2 degrees pitch past centerline, or more precisely 22.5 degree angle from the centerline. I made a template that I cound tape to the stern and get the angles correct (you can see me shakely hold my template to the wings after installation).

View attachment 612636

Then begun the chore of making the propeller wings seem like that at mounted to the hull in a realistic fashion. I did use 5 minute epoxy to adhere the wings (learned my lesson). I used 0.25 mm rod to fill in gaps and careful applications of putty and some judicial sanding eneded up with a product I liked (after installing the exterior hull parts and additions I primed the hull with black Mr 500 Primer and carefully sanded away any hull irregularities, blemishes, scratches and then primed Mr 1000 Primer and so on). I did not install the actual propellers because I know at some point I will knock them off. The propellers I plan to use is from China 3D and I will use the three (3) prop central propeller. I know the controversy but the article by Bob Read is too compelling! He found photographic evidence known to be the Titanic that indicates a three prop propeller sitting on dock ready for installation. I would suggest reading those articles on Titanic Cad Plans website home page.

View attachment 612637View attachment 612639

The Rudder was next and I went right to the China 3D part. This was pretty straight forward with clipping off the gimbels and pintel mounts on the stern post. There is nearly no modifications that were needed other than enlarging the hole for the rudder post into the ship. I used E6000 adhesive because I would want this part to give a little if I accidentally grab the rudder instead of the hull when I am handling the model. You can also see I added the stern central propeller base plate and anodes.

View attachment 612649View attachment 612651View attachment 612640View attachment 612650

Next was the Bow Central Hawsehole. Though I did get the insert part from China 3D, I was not confident to make that serious of a major modification. I have spent some money on this model and did not want to ruin it with a hack job. Time for some magic. I know that a piece of circular plywood was attached to the hawsehold when the Titanic was at sea (which I am depicting at sea on April 13th, 1912) which I have heard is what Minicraft was trying to achieve. But I wanted the dramatic effect of seeing the bow and that awesome hawsehole. I took a piece of 0.25 mm thick styrene plastic and shaped it to the correct proportions using the China 3D piece as the guide. I drilled the central hole at ~30 degree up to the anchor well, and used a round file and dremel tool to grind the opening to the shapes I wanted and voila!

View attachment 612641View attachment 612642

I then sanded the piece nearly smooth (it s just a little proud of the prow, but with the flat black paint, I doubt if you can see it) and fiddled with the sides until I was statisified with the results.

Next up was the condenser ports on the aft section of the exterior hull in line with funnel number 4 on both sides.

View attachment 612645View attachment 612646

I followed Rivet Counter and the Titanic Cad Plans on the locations of the condenser outputs at the water line and and the inlets at the bilge keel level of the hull. I did find that TheModelBoatGuy on YouTube measured out the dimensions of the grills for 1:350 scale, so I used those measurements for my model (thank you to all those who diligently make videos of their fantastic builds and tips for modeling). I didn’t have the PE parts you can obtain in 1:200 scale but I wanted that same effect, so I scratch built the interior space for some depth after drilling out the rectangle shape and then used the extra parts I had from GMM PE rails for the cranes and made grills from railing panels. I will install the inlets after weathering the hull to prevent knocking parts off at such an obvious rub point.


View attachment 612644View attachment 612643T

Wooweee! That was a lot and obviously I did not do all that work in one sitting. I started at the beginning of April 2026 and now have reach the point of painting.

But before that I will have a post on my adventures in model illumination. I am actually pleased with my results but I had to really engineer what and how I was going to light this candle.

Happy Modeling - Pete

View attachment 612633

View attachment 612638

Nicely done Pete! Regards, Magic Mike

 

[PeteG]

Now let’s talk about illumination

It was the first full decision I made after my deciding on the Minicraft kit. Now illuminating a model has a host of considerations that you need to plan for from the beginning of you build. Fiber optics vs. LED, Remote vs. Switch activation, plug-in vs. battery or USB powered, and so on. Finding the right lighting effect that is period representative is not as hard as it was several years ago. The trend for the younger generations to illuminate their rooms with soft light has brought many new products that can easily match my requirements. Then the consideration of how to display your finished product. Open display vs. encased display. Which day or night on Titanic's voyage (I am depicting April 13th, 1912 out to sea).

So I have mentioned this before in previous posts, but for those strictly interetsed in just how I illuminated my kit, I decided to present an encased table top display that can be moved. That means remote controlled and battery operated, incandesent light, long lasting lasting battery life so that I would not have to un-case the display to change the batteries often. I also decided on LED lighting and not fiber optics because the amount of work for my return of investment was better using just LED lighting. These decisions now caused other considerations such as how to mount the ship in such a way that the batteries can be accessible without being seen and not distrubing the model if I did have to change the batteries. The traditional pedestal mount would not work. Therefore, I decided on the "dry dock" display method with a hiddened chamber under the ship for the remote signal and battery pack.

The other challenge was the materials that the kit was made from Minicraft. The black hull is terrific, but the white and buff plastic walls and decks are notorious for having light glow throught the materials. That means I need to plan on stopping light leaks from the decks and walls, and the joints where the kit parts are installed on the model. So the plan is to used flat black on the underside of the decks as a light blocker followed by white gloss paint for reflection purposes (I tried Mr Surfacer 1000 but found that there was still a little bit of glow through the decks). I will prime all the wall/ bulkhead pieces and may have to improvise on the contact points with a 0.25 mm by 0.25 mm styrene plastc strip as a border around the bases of the deck structures to prevent light leaking where I dont want it

Now the plan

I loved what Art Braunschweiger did with illumination. In fact, I mostly used his diagram from his website titanicmodel.net. However, his source of lighting was completely different from mine, so I had to modify that plan to my needs. Also, I will not light up forecastle crew galley skylight or hatch #1 because I am depicting the ship out to sea (3rd day) and at night those areas were not illuminated for nighttime navigation and visibility (no lookout binoculars though?).
I will be illuminating the poop deck and forecastle C-Deck windows and portholes that are visible from the well decks.



So I already discussed how I painted the interior of the hull first with gloss white. But now I need to modify the decks for maximum illumination. I planned out the areas I wanted to cut, including cross sections that where not cut as braces for the decks for strength.



I then cut the crossed out sections using my good ole dremel with a saw blade



I was satisfied with the cuts and cleaned off the burrs from the cuts. Then I painted the underside of the decks first with flat black and then a gloss white for reflection. Then I carefully painted the topside of certain decks (A and B Decks) in the locations that would not be visible after installing the bulkheads and walls so the light could be reflected up to the decks above. I am planning on using Scale Deck or a similar wood verneer so I need to be careful on painting the upper portions of the deck where it might be visible through the material.

Now A Deck has these protrusions which I did remove before cutting out the deck. I again left some parts for strength at strategic locations as you can see above. The final cuts for B-Deck, A-Deck and the Boat-deck came out pretty well and I was able to correct some deck warpage too (Bonus!).



I had searched earlier for incandescent period lights with those requirements for remote control and wireless. The one I liked the best was Echosari Battery Powered Led Strip Lights with Remote Warm White, 8 Modes, Dimmable, Timer, Self-Adhesive, Cuttable, Waterproof, 9.8FT 90 Led Strip Lights. This was enough LED strip to cut into managable lengths and have the ability to soder more strips if I need more illunination above decks.



FYI, I completed painting the full hull and sealing it with Testor's Glosscote prior to final LED Installation. That way I am not messing around with cordage and battery packs while masking and painting the hull (hard enough with the sheer line without adding the lighting items).



I did add HVAC aluminum chrome tape on the bottom of the hull to assist in the reflection factor. You can almost see that the lights through my drilled out portholes (I will updated a photograph with a dark room to shown the light more fully). Success!

Masking and painting the hull posts is up next since you can see my nearly finished hull (need some very slight weathering, decals, Dullcote, and filling porthole with Testor's window cement) in the above picture.

Happy Modeling - Pete