...and push me to it, Lou, and I'll make an 'alternate' superstructure for Scharnie with a flight deck and a squadron of scale Fokker DVII's and run it at Nats
Got a few more pieces for the boat, a micro pump from BC and a castle creations BEC. This had led to the first change of the build, I have removed the larger hose and outlet so I can replace with the smaller pump. The gun on the top is what Tim was using, I want a style of gun that allows for the gun to be placed in a very specific area of the boat and that requires a 90 degree deck penetration. So out comes the MAP gas, solder, and flux to create two new guns. Used a 90 elbow on the magazine so I can reload without taking the deck off, this is important for a cruiser in campaign. I cut the deck penetration oversized so I can place the guns, this is usually the most painful part of the build for me. How to hold the gun on a thin deck and still have the guns hit where I want them. Not happy with what I built last night, will come up with a better solution this weekend. In the shot below you can see the magazine fill cap, this will be covered by the superstructure. In the past I have soldered a sleeve under the elbow of the 90 degree fitting, and then mounted the guns using a 1/8 rod. This still requires the end of the barrels to be firmly clamped (not a scale look). I have a lathe and milling machine, open to any suggestions... The barrel will be covered by two 5" mounts so I could possibly incorporate them into the holding of the gun, or simply have the 5" mounts slip overtop the barrel. Will have a magazine hold down to keep the gun rigid with the deck. Still need to put the magazine feed (air line) on the back of the 90 degree elbow.
Here are some photos of how I mount the guns on the Bismarck. Basically I solder a tab of brass/copper onto the upfeed and another on the magizine and then screw those to hunks of ply on the underside of the deck. It holds the gun firmly inplace and is hidden from view. (Duals I do use a barrel clamp to maintain the correct alignment but I try to hid that under the turret if possible.) If you're wondering how securely this holds the barrel in place this is what I did to one of the stainless steel barrels I use before the mount broke lose and let everything else move. (Full speed head on collision with another Bismarck under the bridge at the Houston 2010 NATS, my guns no longer hang over the side of the boat.)
For cruiser sterns you don't need the same amount of structure as sidemounts. I strap the mags to the deck near the feed ports and leave them sit on the barbet. Some ships I'll glue a little clear hose between the barrels to keep them seperated and maybe one to the deck to keep them from bending too low. On this ship you could bring the breaches up in the higher stern turret and make the barbet and turret removable above them for tweaking. Then have the barrels held in place by the lower turret.
Built the mold boxes, successful using what I had on hand, molds turned out as well as to be expected. Would be nice to use Plexiglas and create boxes that can be used in casting items (they help retain the rubber so nothing gets bulged) but just not enough time right now. Didn't like the gun mount, so I took Chris K's advice and soldered tabs and made the mounts adjustable via a screw on each side. Will put a strong SS sprint under the tab to provide resistance to the screw. The solder I am using has proven to be all the difference in my ability to use the mapp gas and make strong joints. Fuzzy picture, but this is the expanding foam (10X), first pull showed I had not cleaned the molds very well, second pull was nicer. Working on the superstructure for the guns and how to best cover them. Will use the last turret to hold the barrels in place. A few items have changed since this picture, the gun ports were moved to the outside of the deck for ease in loading and the left piece of superstructure was cut to follow the break in the deck.
Thanks Clark. Still struggling to get this built this week so I can test before NATS. Looks like I have the superstructure worked out and weight is great once I hollow out the castings. Next time I will make a mold that will have a male plug to cut out all the unnecessary foam in the middle. Currently the boat is around 8.5 pounds, still need to add wiring and I am trying to work in the WTC for a little added protection. Gun mounting is a pain in this boat, if I go too high in the SS it will be top heavy, but mounting at the deck level is not possible as the stern kicks up a little, so I need to be 1/4 inch off the deck (if not a little higher). Hence the reason for being able to adjust the guns.
If you get a chance at Nats, talk to Pete Dimitri. He has done some interesting things with a yet-to-be-released SS mold to cut weight and keep it strong. The man is an artist. And you're both effete Allied captains (even if he's my Nats roomie) so you should be able to sip tea and talk about art casting I will spend that time looking for small cereal boxes to repair my *AHEM* rudimentary SS with Scrolling back up to see your gun mountings, that's brilliant. I plan to copy that method shamelessly on my next build Soldering brass tabs to the tubing? There are some crazy-smart people in this hobby.
Had to cut the hull in order to fit the bottom of the guns between the shafts. Final outcome was to shorten the uptube, so out came the mapp gas and dremel. Moved the fill ports to the outside deck edges, placed a magazine deck holder two inches from the fill cap (you can see the ss screw), this acts as the pivot point for the adjustable gun screw. In the picture below I had to cut some of the superstructure so I could get my finger around the fill cap.
Pete D has been working on his USS Fresno. Gonna be a good cruiser battle. Make sure you clean those gears! I mean, spray paint them with clear coat for a 'distressed look' Banzai!!!
Cruiser battle fever! I am redoing the mold box for the forward superstructure, I should have all the superstructure in place this weekend. Once that is on, I can get the CG of the ship and then start the wiring (not a lot as everything is very close together). Planning on using Velcro to keep everything in place. Clark, the gears are not the final ones, but I will distress the news one just for you. [script removed]
Almost done, new superstructure added. Now for the topside I need to add barrels and a few other odds and ends. Weight of the boat is 8 pounds 10 ounces. Next time I pour foam I will cap the mold which will force the foam to become more dense and pick up all the detail of the mold. Need to epoxy the new magnet hold down and close up the hole of the old outlet, you can see the new outlet just aft of the leftmost turret. Started on the final wiring, runs are very short, you can see the cap of the WTC on the left. Batteries are moved up towards the bow to get the ship at the correct CG. Some Velcro will hold everything in place, not a lot of room in there.
Did the gun barrels, worked on the SS for the Iron Duke. The superstructure is foam that is wrapped with termite armor, light and BB proof (panels are 1/8th thick). Barrels! Aft superstructure (Top) Dry fit, still need the mast Aft superstructure
Will bring it to NATS, but more than likely she will not run. Still working on a few "issues" with the Duke and that will need all my time to get it right. This is just one of those times you have to throw in the towel.
A valiant effort though. No chance it'll be ready for a quick run during campaign? Anything I can bring to help?
Back from the dead! Ship kept leaning, short story the hull was bad (trapezoidal shape). So a new hull was ordered today from Strike, this one had a positive review from the SCRAP website. This will be going brush less and have a tugboat built gearbox to help cut down on the weight of the ship. Stay tuned.
If u want to sell the messed up hull, Lmk cuz i would like to play with it and some Fiberglass to see what i can do with it. Give me a Hollar and tell me what u think.
