Scratch built 1/32 SS Wilton Castle

[kpnuts]

Hi all well since my kit building seems to be getting very shabby i thought maybe going back to scratch building may get them back on track I had a choice of plans to pick from and I narrowed it down to 3 possible


I eliminated the St Louis Belle as I want a fairly quick build not a three yr jobbie also I eliminated the Kitty as it was a little too simple so I opted for the WC


Normally I like to build large scratch builds but due to space I'm reducing this by 50%
First problem is that the keel at the reduced size is very flimsy so I've changed the plan a bit to give some strength.

[jffj]

Oh my goodness! 😲
What a project! What beautiful big plans!

You supply your own building materials? These are just plans only?

I almost sent for some aeroplane plans to build a couple fairly obscure planes, but simply not enough time in the day.

I will be following along. As a scrachbuilder myself, if I can't be scratching myself- next best thing is watching a fellow scratchbuilder scratch 😋

Good luck.

John

PS: I was surprised to see the 'Castle' is a ship 😎

[kpnuts]

Hi all I don't know if anyone has any better methods but this is how I did the rings for the paddle wheels on the Pamela 3















Keep the centre bit to help with centering the spokes






No it dosnt come with any supplies.

[jffj]

Love the circle cutter 👍👍
True scratchbuilding, when you make your own tools to make the model.

John

[Bernard Kron]

Coolness! This is what the Other Subjects sections of these forums is all about. I love following along, since I'm such a pure automotive modeler. Build On!

Mar 7, 2018 11:09:32 GMT -5 jffj said:

Love the circle cutter 👍👍
True scratchbuilding, when you make your own tools to make the model.

John

Ditto! If you study the early history of the industrial revolution many of the big breakthroughs were in tool making. For example, in clock making it was common knowledge that accurately cut gears accurately placed were the key to standardization of results (i.e. repeatable, accurate time keeping from instrument to instrument- essential in navigation). The earliest clockworks were each unique one-off prototypes never to be repeated. So developing the appropriate files, jigs and methods changed clocks from being the luxury novelties of the wealthy to the workaday tools that changed the world.

I'm from the "prototype" school myself. Just about everything I do is freehand, and when something has to be identical and symmetric from side to side, or needs to be duplicated, it's a big-time challenge. Shipbuilding is the perfect example of this standardization challenge, since the basic shape is repeated over and over with continuous variation in order to achieve the shape of the hull. So tools and jigs are the only way. I suppose they must be among the earliest examples of this sort of thing since the need for lightweight, rigid structures must have become apparent the first time someone had to schlepp a heavy dugout across a portage...

[fordrodnkustom]

Simply amazing scratch work there KP. however I wouldn't call your kit building shabby by no stretch!Thanks for sharing.

[jffj]

More interesting stuff there Big B!
Right along those lines of the Industrial Revolution, standardization, etc.....

Maybe centuries before, from what I heard or read, during one Chinese Emporer's battles, he was very surprised to find that when one of his archers got killed- his fellow archers could not use the dead archer's arrows, because each archer made his own arrows, bow, and string, and they were all different.

Emporer Dude put a stop to that, and made it policy that all arrow nocks and strings would be standardized.
Probably won him lots of battles afterwards, until his enemies picked up on that.

John

[kpnuts]

Hi all this is designed for electric motor rc but since I'm doing it as a display model I thought I would have a go at making an engine for it (Not a working one I hasten to add)
I decided to try and build this for it

Obviously it has to fit in the ship so I've just made it a gazillion times harder as I have to make it a lot smaller to fit in the ship. I thought I would try one of the simpler things to start with, this bit.

[jffj]

Good start KP. That should add a lot to it, especially if you can make it so the crankshaft turns with the paddlewheel.

Very neat model of the engine you're using as reference too.

John

[kpnuts]

Hi all well here is the bit

[kpnuts]

Painted the inside with pva glue to help stiffen it all up before adding filler.


Can anyone guess what this bit will become

[dogfish7]

Looks like a smoke stack.

[kpnuts]

I made a start on the boiler for this.

[kpnuts]

Hi all here's the next update done some more to the boiler







Loads more to do to this bit but quite pleased how it's going.

[jffj]

Love the cast iron look on the firebox 👍👍

John