New to forum and new to plastic modeling.

I have a very experienced aircraft modeler assistng with this build to teach me.

Is it of ant value or interest for me to post udates? Are people interested in a novice's attempt?

Let me know. Just painted the flat black hull so could start posting anytime

Gord

Hi Gord,

Yes, definetly post your progress. We'd love to see your build as you move along (even from the very begining stages). There are a bunch of us that are going through model withdrawl due to the lack of model postings. It's summer (here in the Northern Hemisphere anyway) so everyone is out and about doing their "thing", and as a result nobody has posted anything new lately.

Since you have an experienced modeler helping you, there's a very good chance you'll be passing on some great tips and such to the rest of us. It's always great to get feedback from other modelers, too, and they don't mind answering questions about their own builds. I've learned a ton from the guys here on the site. Be sure, though, to post your general questions in the Discussion forum and your model progress in the Models forum. I've made this mistake a couple of times...Admin will just move the question to the proper venue. No harm, no foul.

There's another member here (Eagle) that just started his Academy 1:400 kit and has posted a few questions already over on the Discussion Board. Some of the members have posted a few links regarding this particular kit which you'd probably want to check out. Tons of great information and photos.

Don't be intimidated by some of the builds you see here. Lots of us are what you'd consider novices. For some guys, this is their first build and others like me are returning to the hobby after a very long time away. This is my first time doing any scratch-building and doing Photo-Etch brass detail work. Just take your time. Everyone here offers encouragement...there's no "bashing" other people's work, which is way different from any other forum I've been involved with.

I look forward to following your build.

Regards ............. Matt

An experienced scratch Builder took me under his arm in the early 70's. From him I learned much about scratch building and gained a second Father in the process. The internet did not exist then. Welcome now , there are many good and competent builders here who stand ready to assist. Go for it.
Bill Young

Thanks William and Matt, for the replys.

Matt, you have me concerned, ... Is this the correct forum for posting the progress photos and comments? If not, which forum should I post to?

Thanks again and I will post my first photos in the next day or so.

Gord

Hey gord, as the last 2 posts have said, it is always good to have new modelers on this forum. And yes this is the correct forum for posting model progress pics. It is a great place to learn and share tips. We all look forward to seeing your progress!
- Brian

>Hey gord, as the last 2 posts have said, it is always good to
>have new modelers on this forum. And yes this is the correct
>forum for posting model progress pics. It is a great place to
>learn and share tips. We all look forward to seeing your
>progress!
> - Brian


Thanks Brian, I appreciate the welcomes that are being sent my way.

Now to the first hard part, My first photos.

I decided to reclaim a small corner of the basement, now that the last of the kids have moved out, sort of a "man cave". I thought I would start by sharing the work area I will be using with my friend. Nice in that I can just get up and leave without the need to set things aside because of guests or such things.

My favorite part is all the available light I have arranged. Both Fixed and movable lights are readily available and I even have more standing by.



I put brown package paper over the table top of our air hockey game and atop that I have a 1/4" plexi-glass top.

To the right I have a separate area for storage.



If you look closely you will see I have two flower boxes, the left one I am using to hold my tools and the right one holds all my painting materials, glue and Tapes. Further to the right I have misc stuff and my box of model parts. Above that I have my Dremel ready for action.

Seems like it should be a good work area and also has a large screen TV to the left of the photo so we can build the Titanic and still follow the sporting event of the evening.

That should be it for my first post. Tomorrow I will post my first photos of my model.

Gord

Hi Gord,

Sorry if I confused you regarding which forum to post your progress to. You are definitely in the right spot. As I go back and read what I posted, I can see where I might have given you a bit of doubt. Sorry 'bout that.

I'm liking your "workbench"! When your brain needs a break from your project...clear it off and play a little air-hockey. I wish my bench had a dual purpose like that. Very cool.

Regards ................ Matt

Matt
Not a problem at all, I am just learning this forum so things should improve shortly

Gord

So .... On to the Model

After reading many many articles on what paint goes where and how to do this and do that, I finally mustered up the nerve to actually do something on the model itself.

DISCLAMER: I love boats, ships and anything that floats on the seas. I had the opportunity to visit the corporate headquarters of Princess Cruises to view their models and it was then that I decided to build a model or two of my own. While I want this model to be a reasonably accurate as I can get it with my limited skills, I am not trying to rebuild the actual Titanic in 1/400 scale correct right down to the number of rivets she had. I just want to do as good a job as I can while still having fun and staying friends with my buddy that is helping me.

Having said this off we go on my adventure.

I painted the hull Testors Flat Black, 2 coats. After this I read somewhere on the web that using a soft lead pencil you can get a great glass reflection for the portholes. So I tried this and this is the result I obtained.





I was so happy with the outcome that I just had to keep going. Problem was, no pencil was sharp nor small enough to go into the remaining portholes. So, I put a dab of Testors Gloss Black into each hole. Once it dried I dry-brushed the whole hull with a piece of rope. I know this sounds silly but what I did was cut a piece of small marine rope about 2 inches long. I then applied paint to the rope and let it "almost" dry so it was very firm. At this point I applied the flat black to the hull stroking from stem to stern in one motion and simulating a dry-brush application.

The results were more than I could have hoped for. Not only did all the spill over of gloss disappear but hear and there the tone of the flat black changed ever so slightly in a sweeping motion. It has really given the hull a character and depth I could not have hoped for when starting, and to think I just stumbled onto this.



I am sorry that these details don't show well on the photos above. The portholes do stand out well and the hull has taken on a great appearance.

Next I used my dremel to remove the nipples off the ship stand that touches the Titanic. I then glued everything except the base together so I can keep the model up off the work area. I am going to have an oak or maple base made but that is something for the future.



Next I used stock plastic sheets and cut them into strips and glued them to a base. I then pained it flat black.


I did this so I could use it to test different tapes for masking the hull for the antifouling. Even more important, for the love of me I can't find any of the paints that are recommended for this area. I tried one but you will see I am glad it was only a test.



Tomorrow, off I go to the local auto store to see about flat red rustproof paints to see if I can find something that might work in place of the missing paints.

Please let me know about the size of my photos. Should they be larger or smaller? I have processed them as 800X600 pixels.

More to come.

Gord

Gord,

That's an interesting trick with the pencil lead in the portholes. I like it. For the smaller portholes, you could try lead refills for a mechanical pencil. They come in several different sizes and are easily found just about anywhere. I use a .5 size for all of mine at work but I know they come in .7 and even larger. Who knows? You might have some luck there.

If you strike out at the auto parts store for paint, a hardware or home improvement store will definitely have "red primer". That's what I used. I looked forever for Rustoleum #1967 but never found it so I ended up using the Krylon equivalent (which was "Red Primer"). Nobody is the wiser.

You're off and running. Keep at it ........ Matt

Matt I honestly must say that I only read your reply above after completing my post below. What a coincidence as you will see.

__________

Today it was off in search of the red hull paint. I went to Canadian Tire, our auto specialty store and found two different rust primer paints, both of which could have been a good representation of what I was looking for. So, I purchased both to test.



The left paint is the Krylon indoor/outdoor primer paint and the one on the right is the Tremclad Red Oxide Primer Paint.

I did a test of both as you can see that stood them up against the hull to assist in my decision making. I know the Krylon (left)appears orange but in reality it is a nice muted dull brownish red. The Tremclad (left) turned out to be more brown that I liked. So the decision was made and I used the Krylon Ruddy Brown.

I rigged up a makeshift tool to draw my waterline.



Then I taped up the hull in prep for the paint job.



Now came my difficulty. Either because this is auto paint meant for large areas, or because the spray valve was broken, I ended up getting spotted blobs within the spray job. For the following two hours I worried and worried, but after a second application it all turned out well.

I am happy with the results.





Would love to have your thoughts.

I know the paint I chose looks orange but in reality it is more red than this. I am finding it difficult to take photos that gives true colour representation of the flat black and red. Oh well, something else I need to work on (my photo taking abilities).

Gord

Reading various articles tonight and came across references to Duane Fowler's Titanic decals.

Everything seems to point towards this site as the place to obtain these but then when I click on the links there doesn't seem to be anything.

Can someone fill me in on where to obtain a copy of 1/400 scale decals for my model?

Thanks much

Gord

Well tonight was one of those nights I have read about but this is the first time I have encountered it. Work Work Work and have very little to show for it.

I had my buddy over and off we went to tackle the first challenge of the build.

To start I painted the yellow line on the hull.



As you can see we applied putty on the prop supports and will sand those shortly.

Now ... I have been reading and following a build of the 1/400 Scale Titanic over on the ModelShipwrights site. The fellow who built this model not only paid enormous attention to the build but also to the accuracy of the reproduction.

From this I learned about the shortcomings of the Academy Model insofar as it was missing great detail on the fore and aft decks. As with the fellow on the above site, we decided we would do the scratch build to include these recesses. Apparently it is not challenging enough for me to start my modeling hobby with a difficult build like this but my buddy believes I should get the whole experience. So off into the world of scratch building we head, with me completely in the dark, but I have been assured all will be successful.

So tonight was spend removing the necessary parts of the deck necessary to allow for the wood planks and we also removed the areas necessary for the scratch build.





It was also noted that portholes were missing on the white strip at the aft part of the ship so we did the best we could to correctly mark and then drill out the necessary holes prior to painting.



I must apologize for my lack of marine technical terms. I do hope this will improve as the build progresses.

This will most likely be my last port for a week or so as my wife and I depart on Friday for a trip to Virginia to do some Kayaking on the Shenandoah River.

Thanks for reading and any feedback or comments are encouraged and appreciated. I am still holding out hope that someone will be able to lead me in the right direction to obtain the decals I talk about in the above post.

Gord

Well our little holiday is over so I am back at the important stuff.

I have painted the fore and aft decks in prep for the Wood Decks. If you look close you will see where I have started to clean up the edges of scratch build where I have removed the walls. When my friend returns we will be building the walls and floor.






If you have been reading the other forums you will notice I have been asking questions about the deck chairs. WOW!!! There is a laugh! Like I will be able to build them!

Anyway, thanks for reading.

Gord

I know it has been a while since I last posted so for that I am sorry.

I have been busy modeling both the fore and aft decks as seen here.












NOW FOR THE NEWS:
I read this online article http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1179184 and decided if he could radio control QM2 then I could at least try to remote Titanic. To this end I entered into a discussion with your general TRMA Discussion Forum where I have received advise from all directions. I also visited the local hobby shop and with the help of everyone I am making a stab at doing this little thing.

First I removed the center prop oval protector from the hull so I could drill for the prop shaft and install the prop drive shaft.

Then I reinstalled the oval protector, painted it and returned it to it's original state with a slight addition at the bottom of the rudder area to help support the upcoming remote controlled rudder.

Next I bore a hole in the aft hull and inserted the support shaft and then the rudder shaft. Then I glued the rudder to the shaft and painted it.












The next problem was that I needed a universal "type" joint between the prop shaft and the motor that should be purchased this Saturday. It was suggested that I use a small piece of rubber tubing but where do you find tubing that small??

With a little research I found out that the rubber insulation surrounding electrical wire might work. So off I went to try this.

First separate the wire from the rubber insulation





next I attached a piece of the prop shaft into each end of the tube.







So far all is working better than I could ever have hoped. The true test will come this weekend when I buy a motor and power pack and have my first "sea" trial.

I will keep you posted.

Gord

Gord,

Man, you're making some crazy progress there... plus you're adding all the mechanicals for an R.C. model, too. I'm sure there are lots of folks here waiting the results of your "sea trials". It'll be interesting to see what kind of hardware you wind up using. I have another project waiting in the wings, a wood Chris Craft runabout, that would be cool if I could get it powered like yours. I'll be anxious to hear your findings.

Keep at it ............... Matt

Being Saturday, it was off to the hobby shop. While I am retired the one guy at the shop that is an expert in RC boats only works on Saturday.

Anyway, after much discussion about weight, weight distribution, motors, electrics etc. I decided it was time to take the next step.

I decided to buy a miniature motor intended to be used on the tail rotor of a model helicopter. Because of it's small size and insignificant weight it basically adds nothing to the overall ship. At the same time it has plenty power for what I need.

I also bought lead weight to distribute throughout the hull for ballast.

Back home I mounted the motor on a pair of balsa wood blocks and secured it all to the hull. Then I taped the motor to the blocks and, using the rubber wire hose, affixed the motor shaft to the prop shaft.

Then I tore apart a miniature flashlight in order that it's insides could be used to have two AA batteries temporarily power the motor, just for testing.

I took the whole contraption up to the bathtub and could not believe the results. The only problem I had was that, with this setup the motor would only run at full speed and as such the ship moved faster than I would have liked. This of course will be solved with the purchase of the speed controller and the transmitters and receivers. I just didn't want to make that investment without first testing that it would work. And work it did.

What impressed me most was the wake this little motor left behind the hull and the wake wave from the bow cutting through the water. Now, we must remember this all took place in the bathtub so it was only a momentary test for each run and no time for photos but will get some tomorrow.

Here are the photos of the setup so far.







Thanks for following along

Gord

-- FIRST SEA TRIAL PHOTOS --

Today I opened the hottub for sea trials.

First photo at full stop



Second photo the power of the prop. We must remember that by now the two AA Batteries are at less than half power and I completely drained them during my trials. It does, however, give you an impression of the action at the aft end of the ship.



The following two photos are of the hull underway. I was trying to capture the "wave" created by the bow of the ship as she cuts through the water.





As I get better photos I will post them.

I can now see where weight distribution is going to be an interesting challenge but am confident all is going to work out.

Time, of course, is going to be the truth teller.

Thanks again for reading along in my adventure.

Gord

Hi Gord,

Your work is outstanding!

I'm from the Philippines, I bought the old Academy 1/400 kit more than a decade ago, stopped after a year because of the overscaled railings and walls, fit problems, etc. I finally decided to resume work on the project a few days ago but when I researched for more pics on the Internet, I drooled that Academy reissued this kit with wood decks and PE frets. Now I can't stop thinking about this "Centenary Edition" but worried it still has issues.

Looks good.

I was throwing around the idea of building a 1:350 scale R/C Titanic but I came up with a gear drive setup where I could power all three screws with just two motors.

The two outboard screws in my idea were to be driven by a single motor through a gear drive unit to get both outboard screws spinning inwards towards the hull. Between the two outboard shafts would sit a second motor dedicated to just spinning the central screw and this motor would be a one way operation with no reverse as per the orignal.

The gear drive though would have to be explained in detail. If you simply hook up a motor that spins clockwise (when viewed from the shaft head on) directly to the two gears for the outboard wing screws you would have the port side spinning the correct inboard rotation way but the starboard would be spinning the same direction which would be outboard for that outboard screw. So my plan was to include a idler gear which would reverse the spin direction of the starboard wing screw.

This gives a very nice realistic R/C setup with minimal space used but it requires a lot more fine tuning. If you use the wrong size idler gear for instance you could end up with your starboard screw spinning faster than your port and result in your ship pulling to port.

How ever I never got around to using this idea but if I end up getting another 1:350 scale Titanic model to replace the one I started on and never finished I might take my old model and break her down for conversion.

Also if you are interested I could look for the diagram I created for the drive system and post it.