Sailorman Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 When I complete my Stockholm build I think I will start on my Airfix Queen Elizabeth. I'm trying to order some plans for both her and the Queen Mary at the moment. That way once I complete the Elizabeth I can scratchbuild the Queen Mary and have both. I suppose it will be at least another month or two before the Stockholm is complete but I'll get there. If people here think it might be of interest I will do a step by step build of the Queen Elizabeth on this site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenneth ONeill Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 I'm from Dumbarton, about 8 miles from John Browns in Clydebank where they were built. How could I not be interested? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sailorman Posted May 10, 2017 Author Share Posted May 10, 2017 The box has been opened! First impression is that this is one big model. some 51.5 cm long. Parts count is quite low at 131 pieces. I'll not use the props etc because I will be building her as a waterline model. Some 78 parts make up the lifeboats and related davits. This means the hull itself is made up os some 35 parts ...... quite a change from my scratchbuilds which generally run into some 800 or so pieces./media/tinymce_upload/43a4d490486d5fae7a6f2899ee7414ac.jpg /media/tinymce_upload/39b9410801a5fbcd133dbd19a61c4a11.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sailorman Posted May 10, 2017 Author Share Posted May 10, 2017 Have glued the two hull halves together, (Parts 1 & 2). Glue was run along the contact points to each hull half. These were taped together using masking tape. Liquid cement was then run along the inside of the hull along the seam. This will ensure a strong joint when I cut away the bottom. The main deck (part 8) and the foredeck, (part 7) have been held in place temporarily using masking tape until the hull sides dry out. It is necessary to do this to keep the hull rigid while the glue dries. The decks will not be glued in place yet ..... but more about that later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sailorman Posted May 10, 2017 Author Share Posted May 10, 2017 I couldn't upload the images earlier so I am uploading them now./media/tinymce_upload/d6c605c06d33cfe29edfb2bc050a79a8.jpg/media/tinymce_upload/458664f4c1015dfe3b2defd82fe26416.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenneth ONeill Posted May 11, 2017 Share Posted May 11, 2017 Hi. Ok, if you haven't done so "the ship has sailed" on this one, but I'd have put some "bulkheads" inside the hull before adding the decks, if I planned cutting at the waterline.The 1/72 scale builder's model in the Glasgow Riverside Museum (mentioned by me multiple times in this sub-forum) is full hull though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sailorman Posted May 11, 2017 Author Share Posted May 11, 2017 Hi, Paws.... you're quite right about the need for bulkheads especially on such a long model. They are the next things to go in. As I mentioned the decks have not yet been glued in place so I can easily insert the bulkheads. When the decks go in they will go in with just a touch of glue and a strong line of masking tape. This will ensure the hull is rigid when I cut it. Once the bottom is off I can run glue along the underside of the deck where it meets the hull side thus ensuring a good bond but eliminating any chance of glue getting on the planking detail.I'm hoping to do all that this weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sailorman Posted May 12, 2017 Author Share Posted May 12, 2017 Bulkheads have gone in and now removing the staircases moulded onto the deck structures ..... these will be replaced with etched brass fittings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sailorman Posted May 13, 2017 Author Share Posted May 13, 2017 /media/tinymce_upload/e4b12ca9a18e152b60c2073235f84143.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sailorman Posted May 13, 2017 Author Share Posted May 13, 2017 Funny this .... I can sometimes post pictures and sometimes not. I tried posting that photo yesterday and it would load. Today it did! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sailorman Posted May 13, 2017 Author Share Posted May 13, 2017 The fore-deck has been prepard. I've removed the railing around the structure on this deck as it was too thick. This will be replaced with plastic card. I've also removed 30 of the bollards. These should have a plate below them so I will redo them with a plate underneath. According to the plans I have the ones I left did not have a plate below them. This deck now ready to glue into place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sailorman Posted May 13, 2017 Author Share Posted May 13, 2017 The deck has been fixed in place with very limited use of cement. I only placed cement on the locating steps provided. The masking tape is there to keep the hull rigid. The bottom was now cut off using a hacksaw blade. This leaves a rough uneven finish. It takes a fair bit of sanding to put this right. I have a strip of sandpaper glued to a piece of melamine faced chipboard. This allows me to rub the model backwards and forwards to get a smooth level finish. I mark the exposed edges of the cut with a felt pen. Where this comes into contact with the sandpaper it is rubbed off. The areas that remain marked in felt pen show where further sanding is necessary. This is a tricky operation in the sense that by applying too much pressure on the bow or stern of the model you could easily end up with a crooked waterline. Lots of checking and patience required. The pictures below show the sanding underway and the finished cut-down hull.At this stage it is possible to go back and run cement along the join between the hull and the deck. Since one is doing it from underneath there is no risk of glue spilling over onto the deck detail./media/tinymce_upload/2d1e19ae43fa798e5035a71e3043908a.jpg /media/tinymce_upload/12990cf604f9a2619f195ffa8ce563a6.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sailorman Posted May 20, 2017 Author Share Posted May 20, 2017 Have now closed off the bottom to the hull. I've started including 2 stainless steel nuts in the base of the model. I can drive bolts though a timber base into the hull to hold the model for display purposes. The nuts are sealed in plastic card "boxes" filled with resin. One is shown in the photo below, filled with resin before I capped it with plastic card. The top plastic card also has a circular hole in it to allow the bolt to drive through./media/tinymce_upload/1d5dc60fd65ed740b1efd8c6b42f4a0f.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sailorman Posted May 20, 2017 Author Share Posted May 20, 2017 The completed base plate has now been glued to the hull and trimmed. You can see the two bolt holes. (The resin filled boxes are of course inside the hull). You can just see part of the strip of filler to the lower part of the hull to ensure the base plate ultimately seals seamlessly with the hull./media/tinymce_upload/93541e1c982dfd2db63b200274f50e3b.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sailorman Posted May 20, 2017 Author Share Posted May 20, 2017 Been discussing the issue of the davit spacing / promenade windows with some of my internet friends. The windows seem to be displaced with respect to the davit positions. (Davits being the frames supporting the life-boats). The plans I have show the davits as lining up with the solid sections between the promenade windows. The photos of the real ship show the same thing. On the model the davits seem to lie over the promenade windows themselves. This doesn't look quite right. True you have to be a bit of a rivit counter to notice and I'm sure building the model "from the box" will result in a perfectly acceptable model. However, it bothers me. I'm now trying to decide whether or not to seall the promenade windows which are recessed into the hull and replace them with home made decals ......decisions, decisions! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sailorman Posted May 20, 2017 Author Share Posted May 20, 2017 You can see what I mean about the davit / prom winodw positions from the photo below. I've marked the davit positions using a pencil on the hull side. As you can see the davits do not line up with the wide solid sections between the windows. On the plan underneath the hull, marked in red, you can see the correct positions./media/tinymce_upload/6ab8e87c2b05c2aa8a7970a2d4aeafe1.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sailorman Posted May 22, 2017 Author Share Posted May 22, 2017 Time to start drilling out the portholes .......200 done only 600 or so to go 😢/media/tinymce_upload/ba17ff7921b4688df0166d828cc2949f.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenneth ONeill Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 The mis-juxtapositioning of the davits and prominade deck windows would bother me, largely because the lifeboat positioning would have been deliberately done to maximise the view from the prominade lounge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sailorman Posted May 25, 2017 Author Share Posted May 25, 2017 Busy massaging my wrist having just finished drilling out the portholes. 600 to each side ....1200 portholes. Took the better part of 4 evenings. Don't want to think about the fact that later in the build I will need to glaze each one with Microscale! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenneth ONeill Posted May 26, 2017 Share Posted May 26, 2017 Busy massaging my wrist having just finished drilling out the portholes. 600 to each side ....1200 portholes. Took the better part of 4 evenings. Don't want to think about the fact that later in the build I will need to glaze each one with Microscale!Humbrol Clearfix will also work at that size, dry clearer, and isn't water-soluble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sailorman Posted May 27, 2017 Author Share Posted May 27, 2017 I find Clearfix is a bit too stringy for such small openings. Also the fact that Microscale is watersoluble means that I can easily wipe off any excess without damaging the paintwork. The surface tension also helps to even out the portholes once they are filled in.Do you find clearfix easy to work with? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sailorman Posted May 27, 2017 Author Share Posted May 27, 2017 Having got over the drilling out of the portholes I've spent the evening starting to replace some of the overly thick rails with thinner plastic card ones - eg: the ones to the bridge. I've filled and sanded the funnels and replaced the funnel bands on the kit with new ones. These still need to be sanded down to make them slightly less prominent. I've filled in the promenade windows with putty and sandedthem down flush. Once I apply filler they will disappear completely. I've also sanded down all the protruding windows to the front of the superstructure. These will be replaced with decals in due course. The more I work on it the more I appreciate the really hadsome shape she had./media/tinymce_upload/2a597ff09878c998a81d3fe1ed78779c.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sailorman Posted June 10, 2017 Author Share Posted June 10, 2017 Haven't been able to put in any modelling time this past fortnight but managed to get a couple of hours in today. Did a bit of work on the davits. You can see what I've done in the picture below. /media/tinymce_upload/feab8c62ea75282aa92d5deb184f4199.jpgThe kit davit is the one on the left. I trimmed odd bits off it till it looked like the one in the middle. I then added the etched brass fittings resulting in the one on the right. Managed to complete 6 of them .....so only 46 to go ☹️I also tried fitting the etched brass thwarts to one of the lifeboats. They fit quite well and improve the look of the boat. You can see this in the next photo./media/tinymce_upload/fb89b67e41ae17fc1575eb83f11b3adf.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Typhoon Ace Posted June 11, 2017 Share Posted June 11, 2017 When i saw "Airfix Queen Elizabeth", my heart raced for a minute thinking that you were referring to the new Royal Navy Aircraft Carrier H.M.S Queen Elizabeth and i thought Airfix pulled a fast one on us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sailorman Posted June 11, 2017 Author Share Posted June 11, 2017 When i saw "Airfix Queen Elizabeth", my heart raced for a minute thinking that you were referring to the new Royal Navy Aircraft Carrier H.M.S Queen Elizabeth and i thought Airfix pulled a fast one on us.Fingers crossed...touch wood and the lucky rabbits foot....... Perhaps someday...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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