Beautiful craftsmanship Alessandro. Truly museum grade quality.

Kay. What method of securing the joints to each other while the glue is curing keeping a true 90deg.?

Thank you Alessandro. The perfect fit of the joints is critical and with no experience and proper machines/tools may be difficult to achieve.

As far as the glueing part is concerned, I was wondering if the case would be strong enough without the wood frame (as in the example of an aquarium) and what your research concluded.

Aquariums are glued with (I think) a silicone based component and considering the pressure a sizeable tank will hold, it should suffice for holding the joints by itself. Part from covering uneven cuts, would still be necessary for the wood frame?

I am faced with the same task but from what I understand in your description, the PMMA is joined by the wooden frame. How will you secure the PMMA to the wooden frame? How thick is the PMMA? How do you cut the PMMA? Circular Table saw? What kind of saw blade and what challenges did you encounter to achieve a 100% true 90degree on the corners?😊

Thank you Jumpugly for the kind words. I will try to add more pictures as things are getting a bit easier. I had never done anything in this magnitude, so it is a steep learning curve.

Made some progress with the superstructure having completed the transition of the removable Bootsdeck. This turned out to be more difficult than thought but with a lot of adjustments and 'building on the fly' so to speak, I think I found the workable solution.
Issues I have found were the different materials. Since I have selected to arbourite for deck material but side walls are styrene. I found some issues with the styrene as it will somewhat deform when too much solvent for the glue is applied. Also I am using .5mm material as I attempting to make the windows appear as in the original (no frame and very small margin in thickness). Fortunately I had some styrene rectangular tubing with the exact inside dimensions to be inserted flush to the wall and paint before applying the window acrylic from the back.

Since the last time posting I was at it almost daily but despite my best efforts had very little to show for. However I managed to tackle the inside fo'c's'le bulwark and prepared to openings for the fairleads I did over year ago. In the attempt to achieve a higher degree of an accuracy I keep going back to make adjustments and corrections. I managed to install the aft bridgedeck super structure and glue in next deck level. The sidewalls took some time to paint (still having problems with white paint and required a lot of sanding and redoing). Meanwhile I experimented with building the Anchor chain guide ways. I had to cut individiual supports and glue into the centreline. But eventually I succeeded. I may have to redo some of them as they deformed after glueing and the long guide way from the anchor spill develops a bow not intended. Hope this even itself out once glued to the deck. Although I made up some anchor spills, I tried to replicate the notched grove to fit the chain, I may just redo them again to improve on the appearance. The picture shows them in its raw condition and unpainted.
I have enclosed a few pics to illustrate my story and hope you enjoy reading about my trials and tribulation.
I need to mention that I spent a few weeks in Germany with stays in Hamburg (obligatory visit at the IMM) Berlin, Prag and Dortmund to attend the Inter Modellbau in April. Interesting but I was disappointed about the ships model segment being a bit sparse. Lots of Model rail and R/C trucks.

What ChrisF said. I also would tape it around a dowel or anything fitting the intended bend when drying.

I have known about sacraficial Zinc Anodes be used on parts of vessels around the vicinity of the propeller as the slow process of electrolyse develops between 2 different metals (steel of the hull and bronze of the propeller). Over time they will be eaten away and have to be replaced to prevent deterioration of the propeller. Somebody with the knowledge of chemical galvanization processes would be better capable of explaining it in detail.
Placing copper sheathing on the wooden hull is a different matter and helps keeping mussels and algae attaching itself to the hull.

Sorry Pat I have to correct you on the description of the Alexander von Humboldt. Your original picture shows the first AvH which was decommissioned around 2014 and with its masts removed converted into a Hotel and Restaurant vessel. Your description however describes its replacement the AvH II which was built as you stated in 2011 but has a different hull design without the extended aft to midships superstructure.

Very nice job. It has a distinct 60's look with the turquoise deck. The burgee looks like Swedish flag. Is that because of the Scandinavian heritage of Prince Rupert immigrants?

I would agree with Alessandro on his choices for 2. - 4.
1. I would speculate is the Dar Mlodziezy Polish Flag

Although I did not have a sea-faring career I spent my working life in Ship chartering and shipping project management. As such I had extensive exposure to travel to many parts, some quite exotic, in the world.
My choice of favourable ports/destinations:
Lulea, Sweden - as an apprentice taking the 3 year program for Shipbroker and owner
with a Hamburg Ship Owner we had the opportunity to take a trip on one of our vessels.
I took a round trip from Kiel-Canal to Lulea, Skelefteahamn and Gavle. I loved the Swedish ports and the natural beauty of the Swedish coast line just south of the polar circle.
London - I had many stays in London, the historic buildings and sites and enjoyed visiting the Baltic Exchange, its culture and had the chance to have Lunch there a few times.
Rio de Janeiro - got a bit of a sunburn on Ipanema Beach the morning arriving on an overnight flight from Europe after spending some unexpected delays and travel re-bookings in snow-bound Poland. Had an afternoon of watching a football game at the old Maracana Stadium.
Jeddah - In the late 70's spend a fair amount in Saudi Arabia, operating out of Damman
but travel by plane and car to Riyadh and Jeddah. The old architecture in those early days was straight out of a National Geographic magazine and up the coast to Yenbo gave someone the sense what it probably looked like for the last 1000 years.
Iquitos - Peru. Being only accessible by plane or boat, some of the sites are historically milestones as it went through a very prosperous period during the height of the rubber
boom. A building by Eiffel being the most renowned. On my first visit there we had to fly by float plane to meet the M/V Yacu Wayo (formerly a Horn Line Vsl) at the joint
border of Peru/Columbia and Brazil. Ended up staying in a small hotel on the banks of the Amazon in Benjamin Constant. On a later trip and a different project I had to attend the barge transport from Iquitos (transfer from oceangoing vessel to barges) going up river the Rio Napo into the Amazon forest to the foothills east of the Andes into Ecuador at abt 3knots/hr. Quite the experience without A/C or fresh water.
Aqaba, Jordan - At the height of the Iran/Iraq war in the 80's I had to baby sit a cargo of Ambulances from Canada to Iraq with implication of getting a berth with over 100 ships waiting in the roads for discharge with most cargoes diverted from War bound ports in the Persian Gulf and having the company from Germans being there looking after their companies interests. We even managed to find a friendly restaurant which would make Sauerbraten with Rotkohl for our group. Having to sit around days we took a taxi from there one day to visit Petra. Amazing site.

I could add more but than we are getting less unusual destinations in South America, North Africa, Middle East or Hongkong

Too bad it didn't have a function for the decks boy to clean up the mess on the deck....

No serious, this is an incredible and amazing job. The detail is just out of this world.

beautiful work Alessandro. They are a piece of art all by themselves.

Doesn't look like the Bugsier 3. Again, I find there are quite a few, what looks like to me, fantacy models floating around.

https://www.loyalhannadockyard.com/GRAUPBUGSIER3.htm

Ich gratuliere und meine besten Glückwünsche und viel Spass auf Helgoland.

Your explanations make very much sense. Just make sure the outboard boats are secured safely to the davits if there is a chance they dip into the water when the boat is listing.

Fantastic work Alessandro. Do I understand you right that after all that great detail work on the interior of the boats you will leave them covered up for no one to see?

Looks to me more of a phantasy model rather than an accurate scale model. The hull and hatch configuration appears to be an approx 2-3000 tdw vessel. The superstructure with 4 decks would be too large for that size. Also suspiciously it lacks lifeboats. The funnel insignia is similar like those of Peter Doehle in Hamburg. Some fittings on deck like pollers are too small in comparison. Have a look at a brochure from PD showing an earlier Bulk carrier with a bucket self unloading system. Could be the builder using the original from a photo as inspiration rather than true scale model.

https://www.doehle.de/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Doehle-Goup-Image-Brochure.pdf

In my exercise in model build learning, experimenting with ideas and realizing it won't work, discovering what works and what doesn't, my patience and endurance gets tested to the limit. In that context and with the inspiration of Alessandro's post about lifeboats, I dared to try again, with new ideas, and renewed my attempt to come up with a way to create the lifeboats in the shape I wanted. I cut out the 'blanks" for the 2 halves and rough shaped them on the sander and refined by hand with sand paper and files. The first attempt seems it is working.
As so often I will put aside one object when I am not happy with the result and go to something else only to go back days later when I have 'recovered' from my 'defeat' and recharged with new ideas.
This what happened the last few days. I see the way forward for the lifeboats clear in my mind and went back to my attempt to fit the handrails (cause of much frustration) for the poop deck superstructure. I am now satisfied I have found the workable solution

In my time in commercial shipping I often witnessed cargo officers after finishing loading operation would hoist using ships gear a piece of equipment (forklift/bulldozer etc) sitting on the pier and thus calculate the ship's stability at how quickly the vessel would right itself. He then would call the vessel either tender (higher point of Meta center) or stiff (lower point of M...)

Yes Alessandro, the boats will only be 53.3mm long. I planned to make it from 2 half's of bass wood (Linde) pre-shaped with a .5mm centreline frame of styrene glued together and then shaped with a fine rasp and sand paper to what it should be based on my best rendition of what they looked like.

Yes Alessandro, the boats will only be 53.3mm long. I planned to make it from 2 half's of bass wood (Linde) pre-shaped with a .5mm centreline frame of styrene glued together and then shaped with a fine rasp and sand paper to what it should be based on my best rendition of that they looked like.

Alessandro, I have enclosed photos of the lifeboats on the GA Plan with shape and dimensions. I may be able to visit Hamburg in the next few month and plan my usual trip to the IMM for some close up shots of the lifeboats I am looking for.

I don't know what's happening on edit when I added some text it was not accepted:
I have a general idea of the shape of those boats but would prefer to have line drawings if I can find them. Dimensions I have from the original GA plans.

Thank you very much Alessandro.
You are of course right as to the open boat type in those days. I am quite familiar with the photos of the Esso Deutschland by Auke Visser and they have been a standard reference as I progress in the built.
I have attached 3 pictures of the professional built model in 1:100 by Christel Stuehrmann in Hamburg from 1963, which was exhibited in the Maritime section of the Deutsche Museum in Munich but for the purpose of reorganizing the entire section has been removed. Sadly, as you can see, it is in a deterioated state.
You may also have a look at the web site

https://modellreederei.de/Modellbauer/Firma-Christel-Stuehrmann,-Hamburg/

I like your attention to detail and the final product shows its quality.
On a separate post, you describe the different styles of work/life boats over the past centuries. Unfortunately it does not let me respond with my question, so I am posting it here. I am looking for my project of pictures/drawings of the typical lifeboats used on commercial ships from the 1960's. Did you come across in your research any you may remember? Any links are appreciated.