Working Steam powered wooden Drifter trawler, Formidable LT100, 1:24th scale

[Stevedownunder]

It is absolutely fascinating to follow your build and research. Looking at your skylight and portholes, I was going to say WOW! and then you dropped the penny. That is a bummer indeed - however, it does not take anything away from those brilliantly turned portholes. Can you still use them in the steel constructed that is bound to follow? In Dutch there is a saying "Ik ben benieuwd" which roughly translated means that I am anxiously watching ... I can't wait to see your metalwork...

As to the hoodway, it seems there is some research that needs to be done. Also there, I am anxiously waiting your solution!

Thanks Heinrich,

Funnily enough it wasn't that big a deal when I found things were wrong, maybe I am getting used to setbacks.
Not sure if I will use the portholes, they didn't take that long to make, the next ones will have more detail.
I don't intend making the skylight from metal, I have already started to modify the original just yesterday.

As for the hoodway I am not sure where to go yet though a path should open up, the solution way be a while off.

Don't be anxious there are far too many things to be concerned about at the moment.
Cheers,
Stephen.

 

[neptune]

G'day Steve, I'm not sure about the skylight whether it has two or four ports, a lot of the pics of models that I have checked online, some show two and some four, but with regards to the sliding part of the Fo'c'sle hoodway both the options shown seem wrong, I had a chance to view a couple of these when I worked in a shipyard in England, and both of the ones I looked at had the sliding part sandwiched between two supporting arms or tracks on the outside edges, see the attached pic, the only difference between them was one had the drop in front part and the other had two hinged doors,



so I went to the back of the book where there are several plans and on the plan view of the deck layout it shows that the lid didn't go right across like it shows on the drawing,


it looks like it is sandwiched between a supporting strip on each side, I hope you understand what i mean, I hope this helps,

best regards John,

 

[Stevedownunder]

G'day Steve, I'm not sure about the skylight whether it has two or four ports, a lot of the pics of models that I have checked online, some show two and some four, but with regards to the sliding part of the Fo'c'sle hoodway both the options shown seem wrong, I had a chance to view a couple of these when I worked in a shipyard in England, and both of the ones I looked at had the sliding part sandwiched between two supporting arms or tracks on the outside edges, see the attached pic, the only difference between them was one had the drop in front part and the other had two hinged doors,

View attachment 269961

so I went to the back of the book where there are several plans and on the plan view of the deck layout it shows that the lid didn't go right across like it shows on the drawing,

View attachment 269962
it looks like it is sandwiched between a supporting strip on each side, I hope you understand what i mean, I hope this helps,

best regards John,

Hi John,
Thank you very much for your input, it is much valued.

Sounds like it should be more like the isometric sketch on the plan then, this is closer to what I have already nearly built, just have to get some time to finish it now.

Thanks for all the likes as well.

Cheers,
Stephen.

 

[Stevedownunder]

Aft cabin skylight and vent. Part 2.

I had a change of plan and stopped work on the Forecastle hoodway. And went back to the Aft cabin skylight and vent, with the thought that the changes won’t take long. Well things got off to a good start.

The skylight sides were modified fairly quickly.


Then I had the bright idea that I could improve the portholes quite a lot from the first attempt and that wouldn’t take long or would it, turns out it would take a while. Using the photo of a couple of portholes on the Lydia Eva as a guide.


I machined up some new Brass blanks, then started on making a drilling jig from steel.


Next the rotary table was centered, then one axis moved out the correct amount, to start drilling the 6x.7mm holes.


The 2 blanks simply go into the jig one at a time, for the first hole to be drilled and have a pin inserted so the position is fixed to start drilling the next hole.


New holes were drilled in the Skylight to receive the portholes.


Now the tricky bit, small rings to simulate the outer ring with glass were turned and polished then a small ring was Silver Soldered in place, I used my little trick of a turned down pencil lead to locate the small ring, as I am finding out this is not always a good trick as any carbon from the pencil stops the solder from flowing to places where you want it, although when it works it is good.


Next came the hinge pin, when working on small parts it is always best to have them attached to bits you can handle easily until the last minute , this is what I did with the 2 pins I needed to make, Silver Soldering was used again.


Then after cutting off and a bit of fileing they were Soft Soldered into place.


A piece of brass needs to be made up that will be Silver Soldered onto the porthole ring, then shaped into a fork like shape.


You may ask why use Silver Solder the reason is the colour is very similar to brass and when polished it will be hard to tell where the solder is.


Once soldered in place a hole was transferred through, then a bit of polishing and cut off, trimmed then some more polishing and cut a slot then some more polishing.


Next Job was to make 2 little pins with a ring Silver Soldered on one end, trickier than first thought but I got there.


Lastly fitting the portholes into the skylight fairly straight forward just transfer all the holes right, it took a while to get things lined up, I would say I was quite happy with my efforts until the next day I couldn’t find one of the pins, not a problem I’ll make another one, well I got there on the 4th attempt, still haven’t found the runaway pin!!

With the new pin in place and the assembly sitting roughly in position I was happy again.


On further consideration I decided to leave the Mushroom vent off as in my opinion it wouldn’t have looked quite right.
My guess is that the Lydia Eva is a bigger Drifter than Formidable and therefore has a larger aft skylight.

Next Forecastle hoodway.

That’s it for the moment, thanks for looking in and reading my ramblings or just looking at the photo’s and stay safe.

Cheers,

Stephen.

 

[Heinrich]

Just abso ... bloody ... lutely SUPERB! I have no words to describe my admiration for such exquisite metal work. Not in a million years would I even attempt that. Magnificent Stephen!

 

[Jimsky]

I am speechless, to me, this is what is craftmanship is all about! WOW! A master of miniatures.

 

[Uwek]

Very very good work - I would love to have such knowledge about blacksmith or metal works
GREAT and thanks for sharing with us the individual working steps - with such series we already learn a lot

 

[PT-2]

Aft cabin skylight and vent. Part 2.

I had a change of plan and stopped work on the Forecastle hoodway. And went back to the Aft cabin skylight and vent, with the thought that the changes won’t take long. Well things got off to a good start.

The skylight sides were modified fairly quickly.View attachment 273981
View attachment 273982

Then I had the bright idea that I could improve the portholes quite a lot from the first attempt and that wouldn’t take long or would it, turns out it would take a while. Using the photo of a couple of portholes on the Lydia Eva as a guide.
View attachment 273983

I machined up some new Brass blanks, then started on making a drilling jig from steel.
View attachment 273984

Next the rotary table was centered, then one axis moved out the correct amount, to start drilling the 6x.7mm holes.
View attachment 273985

The 2 blanks simply go into the jig one at a time, for the first hole to be drilled and have a pin inserted so the position is fixed to start drilling the next hole.
View attachment 273986View attachment 273987View attachment 273988

New holes were drilled in the Skylight to receive the portholes.
View attachment 273989View attachment 273990

Now the tricky bit, small rings to simulate the outer ring with glass were turned and polished then a small ring was Silver Soldered in place, I used my little trick of a turned down pencil lead to locate the small ring, as I am finding out this is not always a good trick as any carbon from the pencil stops the solder from flowing to places where you want it, although when it works it is good.
View attachment 273991

Next came the hinge pin, when working on small parts it is always best to have them attached to bits you can handle easily until the last minute , this is what I did with the 2 pins I needed to make, Silver Soldering was used again.
View attachment 273992

Then after cutting off and a bit of fileing they were Soft Soldered into place.
View attachment 273993View attachment 273994View attachment 273995

A piece of brass needs to be made up that will be Silver Soldered onto the porthole ring, then shaped into a fork like shape.
View attachment 273996View attachment 273997

You may ask why use Silver Solder the reason is the colour is very similar to brass and when polished it will be hard to tell where the solder is.
View attachment 273999

Once soldered in place a hole was transferred through, then a bit of polishing and cut off, trimmed then some more polishing and cut a slot then some more polishing.
View attachment 274000

Next Job was to make 2 little pins with a ring Silver Soldered on one end, trickier than first thought but I got there.
View attachment 274001View attachment 274002

Lastly fitting the portholes into the skylight fairly straight forward just transfer all the holes right, it took a while to get things lined up, I would say I was quite happy with my efforts until the next day I couldn’t find one of the pins, not a problem I’ll make another one, well I got there on the 4th attempt, still haven’t found the runaway pin!!

With the new pin in place and the assembly sitting roughly in position I was happy again.
View attachment 274003View attachment 274004

On further consideration I decided to leave the Mushroom vent off as in my opinion it wouldn’t have looked quite right.
My guess is that the Lydia Eva is a bigger Drifter than Formidable and therefore has a larger aft skylight.

Next Forecastle hoodway.

That’s it for the moment, thanks for looking in and reading my ramblings or just looking at the photo’s and stay safe.

Cheers,

Stephen.

Your metal working skills are out of this world. Such expertise allows you to fabricate and mount accessories on your model that I cannot even dream of approaching in any medium. Rich (PT-2)

 

[Stevedownunder]

Just abso ... bloody ... lutely SUPERB! I have no words to describe my admiration for such exquisite metal work. Not in a million years would I even attempt that. Magnificent Stephen!

Hi Heinrich,

Thank you for your glowing report.
I was hoping that my description would help others in trying to make something similar or at least "have a go" at it, you never know what you can do until you try.

On another subject, I hope things have settled down for you with you decision a few weeks ago.

Cheers,
Stephen.

 

[Stevedownunder]

I am speechless, to me, this is what is craftmanship is all about! WOW! A master of miniatures.

Hi Jim,
I would consider myself to be more an apprentice than a master as this is my first serious scratch build, though I do thank you for your praise.

Cheers,
Stephen.

 

[Stevedownunder]

Very very good work - I would love to have such knowledge about blacksmith or metal works
GREAT and thanks for sharing with us the individual working steps - with such series we already learn a lot

Hi Uwe,
I do hope people are getting something from my blog and maybe "have a go".
Thanks for your comments.

Cheers,
Stephen.

 

[Stevedownunder]

Your metal working skills are out of this world. Such expertise allows you to fabricate and mount accessories on your model that I cannot even dream of approaching in any medium. Rich (PT-2)

Hi Rich,
Thank you for your glowing appreciation of my efforts.

Cheers,
Stephen.

 

[Frank48]

Aft cabin skylight and vent. Part 2.

I had a change of plan and stopped work on the Forecastle hoodway. And went back to the Aft cabin skylight and vent, with the thought that the changes won’t take long. Well things got off to a good start.

The skylight sides were modified fairly quickly.View attachment 273981
View attachment 273982

Then I had the bright idea that I could improve the portholes quite a lot from the first attempt and that wouldn’t take long or would it, turns out it would take a while. Using the photo of a couple of portholes on the Lydia Eva as a guide.
View attachment 273983

I machined up some new Brass blanks, then started on making a drilling jig from steel.
View attachment 273984

Next the rotary table was centered, then one axis moved out the correct amount, to start drilling the 6x.7mm holes.
View attachment 273985

The 2 blanks simply go into the jig one at a time, for the first hole to be drilled and have a pin inserted so the position is fixed to start drilling the next hole.
View attachment 273986View attachment 273987View attachment 273988

New holes were drilled in the Skylight to receive the portholes.
View attachment 273989View attachment 273990

Now the tricky bit, small rings to simulate the outer ring with glass were turned and polished then a small ring was Silver Soldered in place, I used my little trick of a turned down pencil lead to locate the small ring, as I am finding out this is not always a good trick as any carbon from the pencil stops the solder from flowing to places where you want it, although when it works it is good.
View attachment 273991

Next came the hinge pin, when working on small parts it is always best to have them attached to bits you can handle easily until the last minute , this is what I did with the 2 pins I needed to make, Silver Soldering was used again.
View attachment 273992

Then after cutting off and a bit of fileing they were Soft Soldered into place.
View attachment 273993View attachment 273994View attachment 273995

A piece of brass needs to be made up that will be Silver Soldered onto the porthole ring, then shaped into a fork like shape.
View attachment 273996View attachment 273997

You may ask why use Silver Solder the reason is the colour is very similar to brass and when polished it will be hard to tell where the solder is.
View attachment 273999

Once soldered in place a hole was transferred through, then a bit of polishing and cut off, trimmed then some more polishing and cut a slot then some more polishing.
View attachment 274000

Next Job was to make 2 little pins with a ring Silver Soldered on one end, trickier than first thought but I got there.
View attachment 274001View attachment 274002

Infine, inserendo gli oblò nel lucernario in modo abbastanza semplice, trasferisci tutti i fori nel modo giusto, ci è voluto un po' di tempo per sistemare le cose, direi che sono stato abbastanza contento dei miei sforzi fino al giorno dopo non sono riuscito a trovare uno dei perni , non è un problema ne farò un altro, beh ci sono arrivato al 4° tentativo, ancora non ho trovato il perno di fuga!!

Con il nuovo perno in posizione e il gruppo seduto approssimativamente in posizione, ero di nuovo felice.
View attachment 274003View attachment 274004

Dopo ulteriori considerazioni, ho deciso di lasciare spento lo sfiato del fungo perché secondo me non sarebbe sembrato del tutto giusto.
La mia ipotesi è che il Lydia Eva sia un Drifter più grande del Formidable e quindi abbia un lucernario più grande a poppa.

Il prossimo Hoodway di Forecastle.

Questo è tutto per il momento, grazie per aver guardato e letto le mie divagazioni o semplicemente guardando le foto e stai al sicuro.

Saluti,

Stefano.

Complimenti , ottimo lavoro con risultati eccellenti

Congratulations, great job with excellent results

 

[Stevedownunder]

Complimenti , ottimo lavoro con risultati eccellenti

Congratulations, great job with excellent results

Thanks Frank.

Cheers,
Stephen.

 

[Carleroo]

I am in awe of your expertise and craftsmanship!!!

 

[Stevedownunder]

I am in awe of your expertise and craftsmanship!!!

Thanks Carleroo.

Cheers,
Stephen.

 

[Stevedownunder]

Forecastle Hoodway.

As previously mentioned I stopped work on the Forecastle hoodway, mainly due to confusion setting in. With the passage of time and some extra information I happily returned to it’s construction.

One added complication is this Hoodway needs to be operational in that a fan is mounted underneath to draw fresh air into the hull and another fan will be mounted aft to pull air out creating a forced draft.

Here it is from the start.

Recapping with the isometric sketches that have formed most of the guidance for the Forecastle Hoodway.


Because there is no side elevation on the drawing I did a rough sketch then decided to do a drawing on CAD which is fairly rough as well, mainly intended for my use.


I have some small blocks of what I believe to be “Boxwood” what ever it is it’s very hard with a very fine grain.


I cut some thin strips and glued them to make a larger pieces these will form the sides.


I then cut them down and temporarily glued them together so they wouldn’t move around, marked them out and even pinned them so there was no risk of movement while cutting to shape.


I set up the saw and cut some slots into some material from an old ruler, these would become recesses for a removable board.


Next I made a former to make the roof and sliding cover, these were made from 2 pieces of .5mm Aircraft ply glued together on the former, once dry they hold the shape quite well.


Most of the parts are made ready for assembly.


Next I made up a hasp and staple, I am not sure if this would have been on the real boat though it might have been, there is an indication of something like this on the plan.
Starting with what I think would be the hasp, bent an oval and soldered it closed. Then soldered another piece at right angels for a pivot then very carefully soldered some small bits of tube to a plate with the pivot installed, I was quite relived when I was able to freely move the hasp, just needs some cleaning up.



That will do it for this one, next time assembly and maybe some painting, thanks for looking in and reading my ramblings or just looking at the photo’s and stay safe.

All the best for the festive season and happy new year, lets hope next year is an improvement on this one.

Cheers,

Stephen.

 

[Heinrich]

I was anxiously waiting for this next posting and oh boy ... I was not disappointed! What I find particularly impressive Stephen is how you can look at a drawing, interpret it, visualize how it needs to look when on the model and start assembling by it using seemingly random parts of all kinds. And then, of course your manufacturing ability is way beyond what I can conceive - especially your work with small metal parts - just brilliant!

 

[PT-2]

Forecastle Hoodway.

As previously mentioned I stopped work on the Forecastle hoodway, mainly due to confusion setting in. With the passage of time and some extra information I happily returned to it’s construction.

One added complication is this Hoodway needs to be operational in that a fan is mounted underneath to draw fresh air into the hull and another fan will be mounted aft to pull air out creating a forced draft.

Here it is from the start.

Recapping with the isometric sketches that have formed most of the guidance for the Forecastle Hoodway.
View attachment 277477View attachment 277478

Because there is no side elevation on the drawing I did a rough sketch then decided to do a drawing on CAD which is fairly rough as well, mainly intended for my use.
View attachment 277492

I have some small blocks of what I believe to be “Boxwood” what ever it is it’s very hard with a very fine grain.
View attachment 277480

I cut some thin strips and glued them to make a larger pieces these will form the sides.
View attachment 277481

I then cut them down and temporarily glued them together so they wouldn’t move around, marked them out and even pinned them so there was no risk of movement while cutting to shape.
View attachment 277482View attachment 277483

I set up the saw and cut some slots into some material from an old ruler, these would become recesses for a removable board.
View attachment 277484View attachment 277485

Next I made a former to make the roof and sliding cover, these were made from 2 pieces of .5mm Aircraft ply glued together on the former, once dry they hold the shape quite well.
View attachment 277486View attachment 277487

Most of the parts are made ready for assembly.
View attachment 277488

Next I made up a hasp and staple, I am not sure if this would have been on the real boat though it might have been, there is an indication of something like this on the plan.
Starting with what I think would be the hasp, bent an oval and soldered it closed. Then soldered another piece at right angels for a pivot then very carefully soldered some small bits of tube to a plate with the pivot installed, I was quite relived when I was able to freely move the hasp, just needs some cleaning up.
View attachment 277489View attachment 277490View attachment 277491


That will do it for this one, next time assembly and maybe some painting, thanks for looking in and reading my ramblings or just looking at the photo’s and stay safe.

All the best for the festive season and happy new year, lets hope next year is an improvement on this one.

Cheers,

Stephen.

Very will planned and executed! Rich

 

[Stevedownunder]

Thank you once again Heinrich my friend,
My ego would love to say that it is all very easy but in realty I do struggle and agonize over these things and like the rest of us I am learning as I go.

Cheers,
Stephen.