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๐ฌ Re: Fort Valley
12 days ago by GaryLC (
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Exceptionally good build, very realistic and convincing with lots of fine detail, which sets it apart from the majority of others. A really great-looking tug and I love the last photo with the lights on, and very complex-looking electronics. I think personally that such a fine build deserves a steam engine as the motive power source, and I really appreciate the fact they are expensive, but there again isn't everything these days. A model boat as good as this one deserves a power source as per the real thing. Besides that fact a beautiful build, and well done you. Regards, Gary.
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๐ฌ Re: Fort Valley
12 days ago by pressonreguardless (
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Exceptional Build!!
Thanks for the thorough explanations of all facets of the build. Trev ๐ Like
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๐ฌ Re: Fort Valley
1 month ago by Black Shoe (
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Thank you all for your positive comments. They're very gratifying. Thank you.
Stephen, the helmsman is leaning against the chart table waiting for everyone to get their act together so they can move in and pick up their tow.๐ Thank you Ron. These details are usually gleaned from the day to day workings of another life several years ago. Len, you're more than welcome to use anything you see. Truth be told, I most likely plagiarized the ideas from photos, or previous work experiences anyway.๐ ToraDog, My efforts are not nearly as intricate as your builds, but thank you! Your research on your builds far exceeds my efforts. ๐ Like
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๐ฌ Re: Fort Valley
1 month ago by Ron (
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Well said, ToraDog
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๐ฌ Re: Fort Valley
1 month ago by ToraDog (
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This really needs to be seen to be appreciated. Tim does amazing work. Every model is really a series of models combined that tell a story. There is no end to his imagination and his ability to bring it to life.
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๐ฌ Re: Fort Valley
1 month ago by Len (
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All I can say is FANTASTIC. Congratulations on such grate workmanship and ideas. I appreciate all the work you have put into this project and the in depth detail in sharing this with us. Thank you.
I am new to this site and this is the first time I have seen your work and will be "borrowing" some of your ideas on a 1:24 tug I that I am building and is nearing the point of painting. Len ๐ Like
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๐ฌ Re: Fort Valley
1 month ago by Ron (
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Always a treat to see your imagination and finished product of all your labour. Your knowledge of ship terms and equipment one will find on a working vessel makes for interesting reading. You explain the various cordage from large to small and their purpose for being where they are on the deck.
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๐ฌ Re: Fort Valley
1 month ago by stevedownunder (
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Hi Black Shoe,
Once again magnificent work and attention to detail, good to see the "deckies" are hard at it, the only alarming thing was there is no one at the wheel...! Cheers, Stephen. ๐ Like
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๐ฌ Re: Another excursion
3 months ago by Commodore-H (
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Fabulous work!
It doesn't get any better! ๐๐๐๐ ๐ Like
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๐ฌ Re: Another excursion
3 months ago by Chum444 (
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Amazing T! Very ingenious.
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๐ฌ Re: Another excursion
3 months ago by Mike Stoney (
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Hey Black Shoe!!
Really good idea, thanks for all your tips! regards Michel-Claude ๐ Like
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๐ฌ Re: Fort Valley Deck Lockers
3 months ago by Ron (
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Sir, you Always you go the extra mile, yes sir. A piece sand paper or paint scraper in his hand.
Whatโs next? ๐ Like
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๐ฌ Re: Fort Valley Deck Lockers
3 months ago by GaryLC (
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The deciding factor between a nice boat and a great boat, will always come back to the fine detail and going that extra mile. You have achieved and created the necessary vision and atmosphere required, to convince your audience that you have built a scale model of the real thing and not a toy. A minor comment the guy who is about to paint the box when he gets his act together, put a sheet of sandpaper in his right hand as that lid needs a bit of rubbing down. Regards, Gary.
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๐ฌ Re: Fort Valley Deck Lockers
4 months ago by Chum444 (
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Wicked good craftsmanship! Hope to see it next spring/summer.
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๐ฌ Re: Fort Valley Deck Lockers
4 months ago by stevedownunder (
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Absolutely beautiful work Black Shoe,
The amount of atmosphere is incredible. Cheers, Stephen. ๐ Like
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๐ฌ Re: Fort Valley
5 months ago by MouldBuilder (
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More superb workmanship.
This will be a cracking build when finished. Peter. ๐ Like
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๐ฌ Re: Fort Valley
5 months ago by RNinMunich (
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Moooooo Mooooo! Rick๐
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjqOibE0H7w ๐ ๐ Like
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๐ฌ Re: Fort Valley
5 months ago by Newby7 (
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A Texas long horn to watch over the boat,
Rick ๐ Like
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๐ฌ Re: Fort Valley
5 months ago by RNinMunich (
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Now you're just showing off Black Shoe ๐
Can't wait to see what you do for crew! Cheers, Doug ๐ ๐ Like
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๐ฌ Re: Fort Valley Pilothouse
5 months ago by jbkiwi (
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Top job as usual,๐๐๐ Amazing what you can find in craft shops to modify.
JB ๐ Like
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๐ฌ Re: Fort Valley Pilothouse
5 months ago by Chum444 (
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Some fine T.
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๐ฌ Re: Fort Valley Pilothouse
5 months ago by ToraDog (
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You have been busy. Good thing it has been raining so much.
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๐ฌ Re: Fort Valley Pilothouse
5 months ago by Newby7 (
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Small detail wonderful work. Your skill amazes.
Rick ๐ Like
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๐ฌ Re: Fort Valley Pilothouse
5 months ago by Mike Stoney (
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Hey Black Shoe!
For this work down to the smallest detail from me 200 ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ perfect job Schรถnen Abend aus der Zentralschweiz Michel-Claude ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ Like
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๐ฌ Re: Fort Valley Pilothouse
5 months ago by MouldBuilder (
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Superb. It looks just like the real thing. Wish I could do that. Too impatient Iโm afraid.
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๐ฌ Re: Fort Valley Pilothouse
5 months ago by pressonreguardless (
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Incredible Detail and Workmanship!
Thanks for sharing ๐ Like
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๐ฌ Re: Fort Valley Pilothouse
5 months ago by Graham93 (
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Wow, love the level of detail.๐ Please keep it coming
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๐ฌ Re: Fort Valley Pilothouse
5 months ago by stevedownunder (
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Beautiful work Black Shoe,
Cheers, Stephen. ๐ Like
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๐ฌ Re: Fort Valley Pilothouse
5 months ago by Ron (
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All I gotta say is, โWowโ.๐
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๐ฌ Re: Pilot house fitting out
5 months ago by jbkiwi (
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Bl Shoe, love the dock, I thought of knocking something up (nowhere near as flash as your dock) for an extra bit of fun, but don't have anywhere really suitable. looks like you have an ideal spot.
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๐ฌ Re: Pilot house fitting out
5 months ago by Black Shoe (
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Thank you Doug, much appreciated!
JB, Thank you. I agree that the equipment available today is fun to experiment with. I haven't gone so far as the Arduino, but I've used the IR relays on the "River Supply Company" dock. (This outfit is in my Harbor) The IR controls winches for the anchors, two light circuits, the barn door, a pump for the fish cleaning station, and a transistor radio. You're right, the range isn't great, but my rationale is anything beyond 20-30' the details get lost anyway. It seems the Bluetooth range is better (50' +/-) and has much wider potential for sound FX. Fun stuff.๐ ๐ Like
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๐ฌ Re: Pilot house fitting out
5 months ago by jbkiwi (
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Hi Black shoe, Fantastic work on your tug, detail is amazing.๐๐
Re Bluetooth I've done the same thing with my Hartley and runabout models and can play music /sounds etc from my watch or a small BT player, which also has a radio capability, (don't have a flash phone). The BT boards in the boats (twin speakers) can also use a micro SD card or flash drive and can be controlled with an IR remote, (IR remote doesn't like bright sun, but has about a 25 ft range on dull days) I have over 200 music tracks on the SD card, which is great, as you can also use it as a player (or radio) if you are in between sailings. Modern tech is great fun to play with, and it's there to use. JB ๐ Like
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๐ฌ Re: Pilot house fitting out
5 months ago by RNinMunich (
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Excellent 'Fancy work' BlackShoe ๐
Including the Swain's handbag I see๐. Excellent attention to detail BRAVO ZULU that man. ๐ ๐ Like
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๐ฌ Re: Pilot house fitting out
6 months ago by Black Shoe (
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Thank you all for the comments.
There have been a couple of mentions of the "fiddly stuff" on the grab rails. This is nothing more than "French Spiral" that is applied to rails aboard ship providing a much better grip than a smooth pipe. There are several different designs that accomplish the same end from the "French Spiral" to "Coach Whipping". As far as modeling is concerned the larger scales allow this providing the line (thread) used is also to scale. Ideally, on a prototype the line used would be about 1/8" to 3/16". Anything larger would be potentially counter-productive in that it would be difficult to maintain a good hand hold. Of course there are always exceptions, but the goal is to make an otherwise mundane item functional as well as attractive. My favorite scales are 1:18 and 1:12 which allow some of this "Fancy Work" (the sailor's term,) to be applied. The actual application is simple, but requires a constant tension so the turns remain even otherwise some sections will have a tighter spiral and some wider. In my 1:18 scale a quarter to half a mm is a good size thread for this. I try to find a smooth thread that doesn't have a lot of fuzzies and depending on the final color a lighter neutral color. If it'll be painted the color doesn't matter much. My favorite finish is amber shellac. This gives a natural tone, dries fast, and can be darkened with each successive coat. Even if I intend to paint the item I usually put a coat of shellac on it as a sealer. I also always drag the working line across a piece of bees wax to lay down the fuzzies, plus it acts as a sort of binder when doing the hitches. (This is another reason for the shellac as it provides a barrier between the wax and the paint.) In the images below the drawings are much easier to follow than any narrative I could write. The only thing I would mention is I usually start with a clove hitch and work my way from there. Photos 1. This is my go-to for the most commonly used marlinspike seamanship projects. Excellent descriptions and drawings. There are a lot of other books on the subject, but this has (to me) the easiest to follow directions. 2. A page of the book showing the sequence of three different hitches. 3.- 7. My ditty box sewing kit. I made this box years ago and have always had a ball of tarred marlin in it just for the smell. In photo #7 the small box lower left contains true ivory piano keys rescued from a land fill decades ago. The keys come in handy for little inlays on special projects. 8. A little hand-hold addition to a walking staff. 9. - 11. Some fancy work on a 1:12 scale CG 40 foot patrol boat. ๐ Like
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๐ฌ Re: Pilot house fitting out
6 months ago by MouldBuilder (
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Super job Black Shoe. The detail is incredible. The woodwork is amongst the best I have ever seen.
Peter.๐ ๐ Like
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๐ฌ Re: Pilot house fitting out
6 months ago by Newby7 (
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Wonderful work. The detail is great.
Rick ๐ Like
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๐ฌ Re: Pilot house fitting out
6 months ago by Ron (
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โฆand smoking coming out of his pipe as he studies the shipping canalโฆ๐ค
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๐ฌ Re: Pilot house fitting out
6 months ago by Black Shoe (
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Hi Ron,
I thought I'd have the helmsman pivot 90 deg on one foot, and his head another 90 deg so he's looking astern while taking a gulp of coffee in his left hand. ๐๐ I have a Carson transmitter with the standard ch1 through 4 on the two gimbals. There's also a set of latched and momentary switches across the top of the unit. These switches will be assigned to lighting circuits, and auxiliary systems through the receiver mounted in the deck house. The channel numbers for these switches are higher than the channels used in the hull for propulsion, sound module, steering etc. (The helm steering will be plugged into the same channel number that the rudder servo operates from in the hull receiver.) The strange looking bracket on the top of the radio is a lash-up to hold my phone. The phone will do two things: one is receive a wifi signal from an inexpensive camera mounted on a tripod at the waters edge. With this enabled the phone screen will show what the camera "sees" and some water-level shots can be attained adding a little realism to the image. The second attribute is the "Bluetooth" capability. Any sound, message, or effect can be recorded, spoken, or otherwise created on the phone, and transmitted to a small but powerful self contained Bluetooth Mini speaker mounted within the hull of the tug. The sound is very effective, however the range is pretty limited. If the boat runs out of the Bluetooth capability, bringing it back within the proper range won't reset the connection automatically. Photos: 1. The radio I'm using with Fort Valley. The phone bracket is obvious. The rheostat switch on the upper right is for the smoker. It allows just a wisp of smoke or full-on whether the tug is underway or sitting at the dock as it's not tied to the motor RPM. The legends on the blue fields correspond to the phones messages that have been pre-recorded. Clicking on a given number on the phone plays that sound through the Bluetooth speaker within the tug's hull. 2. and 3. These are shots taken with the wifi camera at the water's edge, but viewed through the phone's screen. (Be sure the camera lens is clean and doesn't have a water drop on it!๐ ) ๐ Like
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๐ฌ Re: Pilot house fitting out
6 months ago by stevedownunder (
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Brilliant Black Shoe,
Lovely work. Cheers, Stephen. ๐ Like
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๐ฌ Re: Pilot house fitting out
6 months ago by RNinMunich (
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I'd wondered that as well Ron๐
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๐ฌ Re: Pilot house fitting out
6 months ago by Ron (
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Are you making skipper with rubber arms to look like his turning the wheel in sinc too? ๐
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๐ฌ Re: Pilot house fitting out
6 months ago by RNinMunich (
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Brilliant stuff๐ both in concept and execution๐๐๐
Like the modularity (plug in helm station๐), and the whipping on the grab rail๐ FIDDLY! Might try the multi RX trick for gun turret control. Bought batches of Spektrum and Turnigy RXs a while ago at special prices so got 'em comin aht me ears! Must knock up a test rig. Would reduce the spaghetti effect (4 turrets) and possibly weight too๐ Keep it coming BlackShoe๐ Cheers, Doug๐ PS Next compass and rudder repeater? Also synched of course ๐ Thinks! Wonder how many RXs one can install and bind before everything starts going barmy, or the operator has a nervous breakdown! ๐ Like
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๐ฌ Re: Pilot house fitting out
6 months ago by Graham93 (
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Very nice helm Black Shoe. Looks very realistic, bet it is even better when moving.
I like the two syncโd receivers solution to avoid a tangle of wires. Must remember that one for when I have a similar problem to overcome. Graham93 ๐ Like
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๐ฌ Re: Tedium at it's best.....
5 months ago by Mike Stoney (
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Hey Black Shoe (or Black Feet?? ๐)
Thank you for the good tips regarding lighting fixtures! it becomes so much more precise !! Regarding the remote control: I have the same, really awesome! Greetings from Michel-Cl. ๐ Like
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๐ฌ Re: Tedium at it's best.....
7 months ago by Scratchbuilder (
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Wow.
Coming along very well Black shoe. Looking forward the next part ๐๐ท๐ท ๐ Like
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๐ฌ Re: Tedium at it's best.....
7 months ago by Tug Hercules (
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Wow; an absolute Masterclass in Deck Light Making; THANK YOU !!
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๐ฌ Re: Tedium at it's best.....
7 months ago by Martin555 (
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Hi Black Shoe,
Well worth all the experimentation to get it right and the jigs will definitely help to get them all the same. Nice work. Martin555. ๐ Like
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๐ฌ Re: Tedium at it's best.....
7 months ago by stevedownunder (
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Hi Black Shoe,
Brilliant!! No pun intended, well sort of but fantastic looking lights. Thanks for showing how you did it. Cheers, Stephen. ๐ Like
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๐ฌ Re: Tedium at it's best.....
7 months ago by Newby7 (
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Nice Doug. Working on Christmas lights early. LOL
Rick ๐ Like
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๐ฌ Re: Tedium at it's best.....
7 months ago by Black Shoe (
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Thank you all!
Doug, you're way beyond my simple system! Your bench looks like the lab at a rocket control manufacturer.๐ Tug Hercules....phew! I couldn't remember who I got Ms Maude from, so scanned the pages myself. Turns out "Printle Shop" printed her. There's two (maybe more) versions. If you go to SW and search "1:18 scale female figures" you'll get a lot of totally unrelated stuff too, (they have the worst search system going I think,) but go to pg 43 and Maude has a lunch basket under her arm, and pg 45 has the Maude on "Fort Valley". ๐ Like
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๐ฌ Re: Tedium at it's best.....
7 months ago by RNinMunich (
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Excellent BS๐
LED chips are definitely the way to go these days. And (as Granny used to say) I do like a good jig! I also agree with your comments re reducing glare๐ One doesn't want to blind the workers does one ๐ Been experimenting with LED chips for tug lighting meself, for my Southampton upgrade, and various plastic magic projects. See attached pics of matrix board test setup for the tug main mast lights plus NAV and towing lights. Whole shebang drew less than 45mA at 5.5.V. Cheers, Doug ๐ ๐ Like
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๐ฌ Re: Tedium at it's best.....
7 months ago by Tug Hercules (
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Balck Shoe,
Your "Ms Maude (the cook) is from Shapeways"; do You recall what Vendor? I searched Shapeways and could not find her. She is perect for an old Tug that i am doing. Thank You. ๐ Like
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๐ฌ Re: Phantom Tug
7 months ago by Black Shoe (
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Thanks for the comments!
Tug, the figures on the 01 deck came from American Diorama found on Ebay. They have two sizes and are designed primarily for the 1:18 and 1:24th model car enthusiasts, but a little "plastic surgery" makes them useful aboard ships and boats. The skipper on "Galley News" is from them too. (Images below.) Ms Maude (the cook) is from Shapeways. I needed someone with attitude for her position.๐ The stanchions came from Harbor Models in CA. however they had to be modified. They were 55mm from the top ball to the bottom of the threaded portion of the mount, but weren't quite tall enough (from the bottom flange) to be ergonomically correct for the scale (1:18 height) of the figures. I needed to modify them so they'd be correct to an average person's height. The fix was some small brass tubing cut to length, the stanchion was cut in two below the lower ball, then the bottom half inserted into one end of the tubing, the top half inserted into the other end, and a touch of solder to hold it all together. This operation netted stanchions of 52mm above the mounting flange which is within the allowed "specs" for a shipboard hand rail. The images below show the difference in stock and modified units. Few observers notice the larger diameter below the lower ball .....small difference in overall height, but necessary IMHO. ๐ Like
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๐ฌ Re: Phantom Tug
7 months ago by Tug Hercules (
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Excellent build; well done;
What was the source for Your Crew? What was the source for those 2-Ball Stanchions? Thank You. ๐ Like
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๐ฌ Re: Phantom Tug
7 months ago by Martin555 (
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Fantastic.
She looks so real on the water. Great work. Martin555. ๐ Like
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๐ฌ Re: Phantom Tug
7 months ago by stevedownunder (
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You tug looks superb Black Shoe,
I am looking forward to seeing you build a "Stick Lighter" to complement your tug, I am guessing that the same level of care will be taken resulting in an incredible partner for your tug. Cheers, Stephen. ๐ Like
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๐ฌ Re: Tug Fort Valley
9 months ago by stevedownunder (
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Looking great Black Shoe,
I love the extra details adding more atmosphere. Cheers, Stephen. ๐ Like
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๐ฌ Re: Tug Fort Valley
9 months ago by ToraDog (
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And here I thought that you had all but given up.....nice details. How about a little electric solenoid valve for the galley stove pipe?
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๐ฌ Re: Phantom Tug
11 months ago by Black Shoe (
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Thanks for the comments!
Newby, it'll take a lot of cans to make any upgrades to this old bucket! ๐ ๐ Like
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๐ฌ Re: Phantom Tug
11 months ago by Newby7 (
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Collecting beer cans not a bad idea as you could cash them to pay for upgrades. LOL
Rick ๐ Like
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