Whilst I was waiting for the final coat of paint to dry on my model of a pre-dreadnought battleship, I decided to cut the wood for the hull of my next project ... a Soviet opponent for my pre-dreadnought!
This model will also be made with an upper and lower hull to facilitate the addition of the distinctive secondary armament casemates fitted to the Soviet dreadnoughts. The main structure of both the upper and lower hull has been cut from lengths of 0.5"/12.5mm x 0.5"/12.5mm basswood/linden, and these will be glued together to form hollow boxes.
Unlike my previous model, I have pre-cut the pieces of basswood so that this will reduce the amount of wastage when I come to the stage where I will shape the hull. A by-product of doing this was that I was actually able to build a slightly longer hull (9.5"/23cm as opposed to a 8"/20cm-long hull for the pre-dreadnought) without using any more basswood than I used to construct the hull of my earlier model.
My next task is to glue the basswood together.
Work on my next battleship has begun!
This model will also be made with an upper and lower hull to facilitate the addition of the distinctive secondary armament casemates fitted to the Soviet dreadnoughts. The main structure of both the upper and lower hull has been cut from lengths of 0.5"/12.5mm x 0.5"/12.5mm basswood/linden, and these will be glued together to form hollow boxes.
Unlike my previous model, I have pre-cut the pieces of basswood so that this will reduce the amount of wastage when I come to the stage where I will shape the hull. A by-product of doing this was that I was actually able to build a slightly longer hull (9.5"/23cm as opposed to a 8"/20cm-long hull for the pre-dreadnought) without using any more basswood than I used to construct the hull of my earlier model.
My next task is to glue the basswood together.
Work on my next battleship has begun!
Bob, I've been following the progress of these ships with respect if not awe. Cutting straight lines seems to be beyond me regardless of whether its 1:1 real life or a scale model. Doesn't stop me, but it shows!
ReplyDeleteThis will be a fleet to be proud of!
-Ross
Ross Mac,
ReplyDeleteI have seen your model boats ... and I was quite impressed with them, so you cannot be that bad a modeller!
I am not that good at woodworking myself (although I am getting better with practice!) and rely heavily upon my trusty mitre block to ensure that my cuts are at least reasonably vertical and at the correct(-ish) angle.
I want to finish this current battleship so that my German pre-dreadnought at least has some opposition. After that ... who knows? Perhaps I might take part in a 54mm-scale naval arms race with Tim Gow, who has already 'launched' a couple of gunboats.
All the best,
Bob