Forum

Hints and Tips.

Hi Guys, After having discussions with long term standing members of this site l have decided to start this hints and tips section. The idea behind this is to help fellow model makers, And to give the new Guys to this hobby a hand with learning new skills and techniques. So please feel free to add your knowledge to it.As I am sure that it will benefit many of us. Martin. Good idea Martin👍, a substitute for the dearly departed forum categories! Pitch in lads 😊 Cheers, Doug BTW; I'm more of a 'sitting' member, typing is difficult while standing 😂🤣 Hi Guys, I will kick this off with the tip. I use is grease proof paper() to help when gluing plastic card. After I have marked out the joints on the paper I then put a small dab of plastic glue on the line and place the first part, after a short time the glue has set I then do the same again with the second part then glue the two parts together. When your assembly is completed you just gently pull the grease proof paper off, then clean the remaining bits of glue of with a scalpel. Martin.

5 years ago by Martin555

Blog

Re visit Rear upper deck & Aft cockpit deck

I have decided that the rear upper deck and the rear aft cockpit will be a one piece unit. After see another boat with a similar set but not both decks were joined. This means that the upper deck and lower deck and the sides of the cockpit will all be joined forming a box. This has a number of benefits these are:- 1. It makes a water tight compartment which can be emptied if required. (except for the removable hatch I did in the initial build, this will have to have an “o” ring type seal) 2. It makes it easier to get to the servo area without taking all the smaller parts out e.g. foam tanks ladders etc. 3. Fitting the ladders made easier with a single 10 BA bolt Disadvantages A lot more work!. Because the individual parts are already made and in some cases painted I need to make sure that all surfaces that will require gluing are suitably abraded before applying any type adhesive. Additional work will be required around the top edge of the cockpit to give a lip to stop any water from entering the servo area. I decide this would look nice in mahogany to match the floor edging, along with some corner pieces in polished brass this edging will also add substantial rigidity to the whole structure. The mahogany was cut from a spare piece of old table top to 9mm by 6mm and then a 1.5 mm x 2mm deep groove was cut along the length to slot onto the top of the box section. The corner brass pieces were fabricated from 0.5 mm brass sheet and the joints soft soldered with a strengthening piece underneath. The box section sides were already made and painted so had to have their edges prepared for gluing by removing a 2mm wide strip along each edge. The area where the box fits had to be prepared with spacers of 0.6 mm card and strips of to stop the glue sticking to the sides of the boat. This method ensures that the box fits exactly in its hole. After epoxying the box section to consolidate the Rear upper deck & Aft cockpit deck I could then glue the mahogany rail to the top along with the brass corners this was left to set overnight. The top rail was then radiused to finish it off and a first coat of varnish applied  

5 years ago by mturpin013

Response

Re: HMS Cottesmore in 1/48 scale.

Hi Peter, Thank you for your kind comment. First I used tracing paper () traced the image from the drawing then cut it out with a scalpel, then just drew around that and cut them out of the plastic card. It was a bit tricky but it was just a case of taking your time. Martin.

5 years ago by Martin555

Wiki

Hints and Tips.

Hi Guys, After having discussions with long term standing members of this site l have decided to start this hints and tips section. The idea behind this is to help fellow model makers, And to give the new Guys to this hobby a hand with learning new skills and techniques. So please feel free to add your knowledge to it.As I am sure that it will benefit many of us. Martin. Good idea Martin👍, a substitute for the dearly departed forum categories! Pitch in lads 😊 Cheers, Doug BTW; I'm more of a 'sitting' member, typing is difficult while standing 😂🤣 Hi Guys, Another little trick. I use is grease proof paper() to help when gluing plastic card. After I have marked out the joints on the paper I then put a small dab of plastic glue on the line and place the first part, after a short time the glue has set I then do the same again with the second part then glue the two parts together. When your assembly is completed you just gently pull the grease proof paper off, then clean the remaining bits of glue of with a scalpel.

5 years ago by Martin555

Wiki

Hints and Tips.

Hi Guys, After having discussions with long term standing members of this site l have decided to start this hints and tips section. The idea behind this is to help fellow model makers, And to give the new Guys to this hobby a hand with learning new skills and techniques. So please feel free to add your knowledge to it.As I am sure that it will benefit many of us. Martin. Good idea Martin👍, a substitute for the dearly departed forum categories! Pitch in lads 😊 Cheers, Doug Hi Guys, I will kick this off with the tip. I use is grease proof paper() to help when gluing plastic card. After I have marked out the joints on the paper I then put a small dab of plastic glue on the line and place the first part, after a short time the glue has set I then do the same again with the second part then glue the two parts together. When your assembly is completed you just gently pull the grease proof paper off, then clean the remaining bits of glue of with a scalpel.

5 years ago by Martin555

Blog

HMS Cottesmore in 1/48 scale.

Hi Guys, I decided that I would try and get some of the big bits made, so as I had plenty of plastic card the main superstructure was first followed by the bridge then funnel and main mast. All the above was only roughly assembled so that I could get an idea of how it would look. The final trimming, filling, and sanding would be done as and when I worked on each assembly. The way I tend to work on my models is as follows. Try to make individual modules then work on one module at a time until completed then move on to the next. The only reason I do this is that at my age I tend to forget bits, and if I were to move about over different parts of the boat I can guarantee that that I would miss something or put something on in the wrong place. The photos show the rough assembly, I will post the completed assembly's as I get further along with this log. Whilst I am waffling on I do have a little tip/trick that I use often. I use tracing paper () I mark out the lines or shape on the paper then put a small drop off plastic glue on the line then position the first part, after a short time the glue sets then I place the next part of the assembly on the sheet and glue that In position. When the assembly is complete and dry it is just a case of gently removing the , then removing the small bits of glue with a scalpel. You can see this method works well in one of the photos. (part of the bridge assembly)

5 years ago by Martin555

Blog

Radio Aerial and Loud Hailer

On the cabin roof is the radio aerial, the kit supplies a base in white metal, but to accommodate my aerial design I decided to machine my own out of brass. I wanted the pole to be tapered and with it being only 2mm dia I found the easiest way was to support the piece in a wooden block at the same height as the Dremel laid flat on the bench. With the piece rotating, I used a smooth file and grades of wet & dry to taper down to 0.75 dia. Next I machined the 2mm end down to 1.5mm to accept the spring, this spring will be soldered to a lower piece which then goes through the base and into the cabin where it’s bolted in position. I decided to incorporate a spring to make sure it does not get accidently bent. Soft soldering was chosen, as the silver solder would have tempered the spring. The result was really better than I could have imagined. Loud Hailer Another heavy item, first job hollow out with the Dremel and then fill with polystyrene and top with Milliput and sculpt the shape –result, the weight was halved. Next I made a frame in the same way as the one I did for the search light – (see search light) All the cabin furniture has to be mounted on the roof which is curved! I found the best way was to use Milliput. The method was as follows, 1 Drill the hole for each item in the appropriate place 2 Make sure the fastening method for each piece will hold the piece upright (I tapped the hole 8BA) 3 Make a dividing piece from PTFE circular for most items but oblong for the mast feet 4 Roughen the surface where the items contact the cabin roof 5 Place the divider on the items base 6 Mix a small amount of Milliput 7 Place a circular amount under each item 8 put some Vaseline on the securing bolt so it doesn’t stick 9 Pull the item down to the desired height and fasten in position then trim around the bases 10 When dry remove the item and the , paint as required 11 sorry if this is common knowledge

5 years ago by mturpin013