Steamer Ben Ain

[wonwinglo]

It is a lovely piece of kit and a working model in its own right,so what would be the duration of one steam up Richard ? this is an occasional model in the water I would imagine as it must require quite a lot of work to get her fired up.

I also see what you mean with the angled funnel,that must have taken some working out and building to get it right.

 

[Bunkerbarge]

The duration is dependant upon a number of things such as boiler water capacity, gas tank capacity, seperator tank capacity and lubricator capacity.

I have been working on a number of these to improve duration. The gas tank I have improved by fitting a valve system that allows steam pressure to be raised on the bank from an external gas tank. This also helps to reduce the cooling of the on board gas tank during this time. When the boiler is up to pressure I change over to the on board tank. The gas control valve also dramatically improves the life of the gas tank as it turns the burner up and down according to the boiler pressure.

Water in the boiler of course is used and dumped straight to atmosphere after the seperator tank so that is also a limiting factor. A big improvement here is fitting an on board feed tank in the bow so that I can top up ther boiler at the bank without having to vent the boiler and repressurise. You can actually get an automatic system that uses an engine driven pump, a three way valve and a level sensor. I decided to draw the line at that!!

After the trials I have had I find the limiting factor is the boiler water level which should give about 20-30 minutes of average use. Then I bring it in, top up the boiler from the feed tank and empty the seperator with a large syringe. I also top up the gas tank and it should be good for another 20-30 minutes.

I agree it is a vast differrence in preparation required to get one of these on the water but that is actually part of the enjoyment of the model, not just sit it on the water and go. I particularly want to use this as much as possible which is why everything has been geared up to making life as user freindly as possible.

The angled funnel makes me smile every time I think of it. I was walking around one of the scrap metal stores on the ship one day toying with ideas when I knew I needed to look into the possibilities of what I could do with the funnel. I had brought the brass ring from the boiler top with me so I had an internal diameter. I noticed a peice of old refrigeration copper pipe, which fit but that had been used as a paint stirrer so I thought I would have a play.

I designed the cuts I thought I would need to generate the offset I wanted whilst maintaining matching surface areas for silver soldering and a resultant vertical funnel with a 1 cm offset. I cleaned up the pipe, cut it, silver soldered it and polished up the final peice. At the end of that trip I took it home to see how it would do and was absolutely amazed to find that my 'test' piece fit perfectly as regards amount of offset and the height of the offset.

I also noticed that the offset gave me the perfect opportunity to fit the exhaust pipe from the seperator which I particularly wanted to run up the inside of the funnel rather than outside as is more normal. The engine exhaust then comes out of the funnel which looks a lot more realistic and the exhaust from the seperator is heated by the exhaust from the boiler which helps to prevent it condensing and spraying dirty water on the model. So I took the funnel back to the ship the next time and made the exhaust pipe and fitted it inside the funnel. These will both need cutting to length when the model funnel is finally fitted.

So the funnel evolved from a scrap test peice of copper pipe that had been used to stir paint!!

 

[wonwinglo]

Scrap metal stores on ship,now they sound interesting hunting grounds for material.

The duration is better than I imagined it ever to be,and the mods sound good to improve things.

Thanks for the detailed rundown Richard on this fascinating model.

 

[Bunkerbarge]

Since I have been home this time I particularly wanted to get a bit of a move on with the model making aspect of the Ben Ain.



When I was at home last time I finally got the Bridge Deck into a condition that I was happy with so now was the time to build on it. The first job was to make the component parts that the bridge contained so I set about putting together the telegraph, binnacle, wheel and steering gear and completed these as separate items. Working with such a mixture of media is always very interesting and trying to make one appear as another demands a bit of thought. The brass work of the binnacle top and the telegraph was created by painting with gold enamel then over painting with a thinned down coat of Tamiya clear Smoke. This acted a bit like a wash in the detail but it also gave the surface a much more realistic ‘patina’ of brass rather than bright gold paint.



The wheel and the raised trellis deck was another challenge as these were cast white metal items but I wanted an old varnished mahogany look. To get this I painted them with matt light earth enamel before a coat of Ronseal stained varnish was applied. This allowed the undercoat to show through and give the surface the texture I was after.



When I actually stuck the bridge to the bridge deck the first job was to create an illusion of a staircase below the flag locker so to achieve this I made a small frame from scrap wood then cut some strip wood into ‘steps’ to fit across it. I painted the steps with a dark wash but painted the top step with one coat, the second step with two, etc…etc.. The steps them appeared darker as they were supposed to be lower although they were actually only glued into the frame at the same level. When the handrails were added from more scrap wood and electrical cable core and the flying bridge deck placed over the top of the bridge the effect that could be seen through the open doors was surprisingly effective. I also continued the wainscoting around the rear of the bridge and added a shelf to go over the steering gear to match up with the wainscoting around the rest of the bridge. I painted the bulkhead above the wainscot and added the two aft facing portholes after glazing on the inside.



Next was put all the bits into the bridge in the correct place and ensure that everything lined up correctly and worked from an operational point of view. These bridges were always very cramped but it still had to be possible for a figure to walk around the items and operate the controls.



When the components were installed I painted the deck with a coat of satin varnish then made up a wash from matt enamel paint. This was applied to the deck around the machinery, the machinery itself and the paintwork above the wainscot. Weathering with a model such as this is going to be very tricky as the real ships were usually in a very dirty and well worn state. If I actually modelled the real vessel accurately it would look a mess as a model so I have to be very careful not to overdo it. I will do a bit of dry brushing around the floor as a final touch but that will be it.



During this time I have also installed the ports on the forward accommodation bulkhead and I have continued the work on the bridge bulwarks. These have been modified from the kit in so far as they have tumble home (lean inwards!) so a few other bits have had to be modified to suit. I have also added butt straps on the inside face and added rivet details and profile to the outside face. Also at this point I fitted the forward bulwark unit which was made up of a sandwich of two thin ply pieces covering light frames pieces which were left extended so that they could be fitted into the deck, giving a degree of strength to the unit.



All through the entire process of making this part I have to bear in mind that the bridge assembly must remain removable to gain access to the steam plant without appearing so when assembled. The forward ports will have to have some detail painted behind them as you can see the internal structure at the moment and two of them will have lights behind them but my main concern is that when the bridge is fitted it does not look like it is a separate piece. So far I am happy with this but I still have a lot more detail to finish on it yet. The next job is fit the flying bridge deck and repeat all the bridge control gear up thee as well!! Not to mention the navigation lights, handrails and steps still to be fitted to this assembly.



Anyway here are a few pictures of the progress so far.

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[wonwinglo]

Love it Richard ! it comes over that you are enjoying the build on this model,sometimes you have to pull out all of the stops to get the model moving,but the results are all there,that wheelhouse is great.

 

[Bunkerbarge]

Love it Richard ! it comes over that you are enjoying the build on this model' date='sometimes you have to pull out all of the stops to get the model moving,but the results are all there,that wheelhouse is great.[/quote']I am thoroughly enjoying it but I have to admit to be surprised at just how much time it is eating up. Working on detail such as this is unbeleivably time consuming and my determination to make everything as realistic as possible by doing such things as individually planking the deck instead of glueing a printed ply overlay down is taking it's toll. The diferrence is definately worth it though.

 

[itsa_ss]

very nice Richard. how many hours do you have in it so far?

 

[Bunkerbarge]

very nice Richard. how many hours do you have in it so far?

Very difficult to say as I only work on it when I am at home on leave. Then I am usualy in trouble for spending too much time on it!!

So far it has taken three years of leaves with a Revel U-boat thrown in for good measure. I might estimate the hours that has gone into it one day but it would only be guess work.

I reckon I have at least another two years to go with it and that is at the pace I am building it now. That means absolutely nothing else gets done around here!!

 

[magpie]

Fantastic work Bunk as always! They certainly are a great way to use any time you can spare. I totally addicted to model building now. Not good at it, just addicted.

 

[Bunkerbarge]

Fantastic work Bunk as always! They certainly are a great way to use any time you can spare. I totally addicted to model building now. Not good at it' date=' just addicted.[/quote']Thanks Magpie. I have always loved modelling ever since very young but it is only in recent years that I have had such a nice workshop set up at home that I can use for the purpose.

I am really enjoying this boat but the work that is going into it is a bit daunting at times.

 

[Bunkerbarge]

Finally a couple of bits of detail in the bridge to help to bring it to life and add some realism.

I did a bit of dry brushing around the deck in the areas that would not get cleaned and walked on i.e. around the fixtures and fittings, doors and steps etc.

I also got some Irish Sea charts off the Internet and shrunk them to a scale size before fitting them around the chart table. These were painted with a matt varnish to 'fix' them and protect them from moisture.

Finally my favourite little addition was a couple of cups of tea. How could a ship run without tea? These were made from a peice of copper tube with two 0.6 mm holes hand drilled into them and a bit of telephone wire cyano'd into them. I filled them with some watered down PVA and painted them gloss enamel with a dark brown inside. A dry brush of matt earth took the edge off the high gloss and I glued them to the shelf in front of the bridge window.

I like little personalised touches like these that make the observer aware of the fact that you understand what is involved with running a ships bridge like this.

So that is just about it inside the bridge. I now have to paint the insides of the bulwarks, as access is a bit easier at the moment, before adding the ply deck on top. Then more planking!!!

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[tigertc]

Stunning detail Bunkers!

 

[Bunkerbarge]

The next thing to think about with the bridge construction was how I was going to deal with the ladders as supplied with the kit. They were supplied as cast white metal items which therefore had a few inherent problems.



As can be seen in the first picture they were not very crisp castings, the edges were not parallel or square and a lot of time was going to be required to file out the centres of the steps to make them look even presentable. Other concerns were that, being white metal, the bond to the bulkhead was not going to be the best, even with Araldite, and they were actually going to weigh a significant amount when all seven of them were fitted.



So, never having taken the easy path with any part of this model so far, I decided to make up my own and started to experiment with bits of wood, possible construction methods and a few sketches.



I started with my supply of 5mmx1mm strip lime which I had been using for planking the decks and decided that it was a suitable match for the components of the steps. I cut the side runners using my cutting board to get the ends at the correct angles and made up enough for all seven sets of steps.



Next I made up a spacer piece from a scrap of wood to ensure the sides remained parallel and the correct distance apart and held a pair against it with a spot of blue tack. This enabled the top ends to be glued to the bridge assembly bulkheads and ensure they remained in the correct attitude while the glue set and also allowed me to place the steps exactly where I wanted them with respect to the other deck fittings.

I then removed the spacer and fitted another spacer, made from the original white metal steps, between the sides which was used to set the vertical step spacing.



Then it was a slow process of adding a step, letting the glue set, and moving the spacer up a step until they were all fitted. One large set of steps took an hour and a half to make this way which was probably not a lot more than it would have taken to dress up the original items but the result was a lot more crisp and neat. It also ensured that the bond to the bulkhead was extremely strong which, as the steps have to remain in place when the bridge assembly is removed, is very important. After all four sets of steps were fitted to the bridge assembly I removed the unit and confirmed that everything still came off and went back on again successfully.

I am very pleased with the way the steps have turned out and after a lot of messing around with jigs I think the build them in situ method has worked very well.

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[Bunkerbarge]

Well as it is now time to get ready to return to work I thought I would post a last couple of pictures of the latest progress of the Ben Ain. When I look back over what I have done this last 7 weeks it seems like such a lot of work but it stil looks like the model has progressed such a small amount overall. Maybe my estimate of another couple of years is still ambitious!!

The detail inside the bridge was finally completed and the painting around the bulwarks and sidings was finished. After a lot of experimenting I have stuck with two coats of a brown/orange mix which is more brown, but then finish off with a final coat of a similar mix but more orange. This way the brown below shows through slightly and allows differing tones to be achieved easily depending on how many coats of the orange are applied. I wanted to get this painting done before I put the flying bridge deck on as this restricts access to the areas of the bulwarks.

The steps were finished, glued in place and painted along with the rest of the assembly so it was time to add the flying bridge deck. Once again the kit provided a pre=printed ply sheet to fit here but I wanted to fit proper planking in line with the other decks I have fitted. Also because I have correctly given the bulwarks some ‘Tumble Home’ the supplied deck is not the correct size so it had to go.

First I cut out a piece of thin ply to the correct shape, cut a small notch in it for the navigation light cables and worked it slowly and carefully on the curved edge of my modelling bench to give it a suitable curve. This was then glued in place with some weights across the wheelhouse and side supports with liberal amounts of PVA. When that was set I trimmed it and sanded it to shape so it fitted perfectly then added the white metal front supports.

Next I made a frame to go around the edge which will give depth to the final deck and provide a facia for the deck. This was made from grooved strip wood which proved extremely difficult to bend and consequently I ended up doing it three times! Unfortunately when the front piece was glued in place it relaxed slightly so it does not now conform exactly to the same curve of the bridge deck. I will have to try to correct this when I fit the flying bridge sidings but I suspect I am going to have to live with it. Visually it will not be noticeable when I fit the front siding as the top edge will be the correct curvature so it will only be the deck itself which is slightly out.

After the frame had set it was time to do a bit more planking. I have modified my planking procedure now. Instead of using tabs of plasticard to space the planks I used strips of plastic moulding in the shape of angle iron which was 0.5mm thick. This spaced the planks more effectively and was easier to work with so a piece of that across the ends and two to use along the edges proved to be very useful. By the time I get myself sorted out with this decking lark the model will be finished!!

So that’s it for now. When I get home next time I would like to get the detail and the sidings all fitted to the flying bridge and can consider this large removeable section as completed. We shall see!!

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[Mankster]

Truely amazing Richard, you must have the patience of a saint. And I thought my grills were bad! This is looks like it will belong in a museum when its finished.

 

[Bunkerbarge]

Thanks for the kind comments Mankster. I guess if it's worth doing, it's worth doing well and all that!!

That level of detail though is unbeleivably time consuming so I have to keep my enthusiasm up and make sure the job gets progressed as it would be easy to become fed up and let my interest wander.

I would really like to get the bridge unit finished next time home and then I might really feel like I'm getting somewhere. That is probably going to be the most time consuming bit as well so the rest should progress a bit faster.

 

[Jayjay]

Just a quick comment to say how diffrent Ben Ain looks now, It's just getting better and better,

Jay

 

[Bunkerbarge]

Just a quick comment to say how diffrent Ben Ain looks now, It's just getting better and better,Jay

Thanks Jay. Although there have been a few challenges, mostly of my own making, I am getting quite a buzz out of watching it come together. I need to maintain that level of enthusiasm for a couple more years though!! I did particularly enjoy putting the wheel house together and seeing it to a completion. I am deliberately not weathering the model as I go along as I want to do it all in one go to maintain the consistency of the finishes.

The wheelhouse had to be done though as it was all going to be covered over. One thing I didn't photo was a lamp I put on the chart table. Now at least the detail can be seen in the dark with the lamp on!!

 

[flytilbroke]

Not been into boat models for a looong time and not scale. I am surprised at the enjoyment I am having watching this one go together.

 

[Bunkerbarge]

Glad you like it Bob.

You make me feel guilty that it will not be progressing for another three months!