Le Courbet French battle cruiser from Modelik
- Thread starter MikeBer
- Start date
Rigging & Railings.
Here is the rigging. It was done with DMC embroidery cotton. This came six stranded. I separated the strands and used single strands. I first put some PVA on my finger and then ran the cotton between my finger and thumb a couple of times to seal it. I then super glued the cotton in place at the various points on the masts. The various views shown on the assembly diagragms conflicted with each other as far as the rigging was concerned so I ended up doing my own thing with the drawings as a guide.
I have done the anchor chains and started making and fitting the railings. See the railing jig at:-
http://forum.zealot.com/t159220/
Here is the rigging. It was done with DMC embroidery cotton. This came six stranded. I separated the strands and used single strands. I first put some PVA on my finger and then ran the cotton between my finger and thumb a couple of times to seal it. I then super glued the cotton in place at the various points on the masts. The various views shown on the assembly diagragms conflicted with each other as far as the rigging was concerned so I ended up doing my own thing with the drawings as a guide.
I have done the anchor chains and started making and fitting the railings. See the railing jig at:-
http://forum.zealot.com/t159220/
Change in method of mounting the railings.
I marked the holes with a dressmakers pin fitted into a pin punch.
I didn’t bother putting glue into the holes and then drilling out as the drill did not give a clean hole in the card. The hole was perfect just using the dressmakers pin.
After spraying, I fitted the rails and then put a drop of medium CA at the base of each stanchion with a toothpick.
I marked the holes with a dressmakers pin fitted into a pin punch.
I didn’t bother putting glue into the holes and then drilling out as the drill did not give a clean hole in the card. The hole was perfect just using the dressmakers pin.
After spraying, I fitted the rails and then put a drop of medium CA at the base of each stanchion with a toothpick.
THE BASE AND COVER.
Dust is the enemy of a paper model: it is impossible to dust it without incurring some sort of damage! It must have some sort of covering, be it inside a glass fronted unit or a dedicated case.
I make dedicated cases for my models. They are made from 3mm Ultra high impact (UHI) acrylic sheet (Acrylan), and a veneered chipboard baseboard. I use Acrylan as glass is too dangerous and heavy and the full size Acrylan sheet (1250 x 2500mm) can be rolled up and transported home in the car. Acrylan is also ideal for DIY as it can be cut with a circular saw with an ordinary tungsten toothed blade. Keep the blade depth just enough to cut the sheet and keep pressure on the sheet near the blade where cutting so that the sheet does not lift: this causes judder and chipping.
The base is an ordinary piece of veneered chipboard, cut to a suitable size and edged all round with iron-on pre-glued veneer edging. I then made a moulding from a strip of meranti to glue around the edge. This is stepped so that the frame sits in it.
I normally use a bigger moulded edging but here I was restricted to the length of the case because of the wall unit shelf it was going on, so I had to make a very thin one.
The Acrylan was cut to size and temporary fitted to the base to check it was correct. Next, I drilled 1mm holes in the sides where they joined to pin the sides together. The holes were drilled 8mm into the piece on edge (reason to follow) and then using a piece of 1mm brass rod, I measured and cut pins and nailed them into the holes. This gave the case some rigidity.
When this was done for all four sides, thin CA was fed by capillary action down all the joins. Be careful you do not apply too much as any overspill will mark the sheet. The case is now rigid enough to apply Anodised aluminium edging (12.7mm equal angle). This edging will hide the pins (11mm).
The aluminium edging is cut to size, allowing 0.5mm extra length to allow for the silicone sealer which will fix the edging.
A thin bead of clear silicone (I use Bostik Marine) is applied centrally along both edges and then the edge is pressed into place, lining it up with the side pieces. This is repeated for the other three top pieces.
The vertical side pieces are then measured and fixed in place. Leave a slight gap at the bottom of the vertical pieces so that the case fits freely in it’s groove.
This is what it looks like when done.
We now “hide” the pins.
I found some 9mm adhesive silver tape in a car accessory shop and this was a perfect match for the anodised aluminium.
The tape was cut to size and fitted on the inside of the case, covering the parts of the case where the pins showed.
Here is the finished case.
And the finished model. All that is left is a fine tune and touch-up.
Dust is the enemy of a paper model: it is impossible to dust it without incurring some sort of damage! It must have some sort of covering, be it inside a glass fronted unit or a dedicated case.
I make dedicated cases for my models. They are made from 3mm Ultra high impact (UHI) acrylic sheet (Acrylan), and a veneered chipboard baseboard. I use Acrylan as glass is too dangerous and heavy and the full size Acrylan sheet (1250 x 2500mm) can be rolled up and transported home in the car. Acrylan is also ideal for DIY as it can be cut with a circular saw with an ordinary tungsten toothed blade. Keep the blade depth just enough to cut the sheet and keep pressure on the sheet near the blade where cutting so that the sheet does not lift: this causes judder and chipping.
The base is an ordinary piece of veneered chipboard, cut to a suitable size and edged all round with iron-on pre-glued veneer edging. I then made a moulding from a strip of meranti to glue around the edge. This is stepped so that the frame sits in it.
I normally use a bigger moulded edging but here I was restricted to the length of the case because of the wall unit shelf it was going on, so I had to make a very thin one.
The Acrylan was cut to size and temporary fitted to the base to check it was correct. Next, I drilled 1mm holes in the sides where they joined to pin the sides together. The holes were drilled 8mm into the piece on edge (reason to follow) and then using a piece of 1mm brass rod, I measured and cut pins and nailed them into the holes. This gave the case some rigidity.
When this was done for all four sides, thin CA was fed by capillary action down all the joins. Be careful you do not apply too much as any overspill will mark the sheet. The case is now rigid enough to apply Anodised aluminium edging (12.7mm equal angle). This edging will hide the pins (11mm).
The aluminium edging is cut to size, allowing 0.5mm extra length to allow for the silicone sealer which will fix the edging.
A thin bead of clear silicone (I use Bostik Marine) is applied centrally along both edges and then the edge is pressed into place, lining it up with the side pieces. This is repeated for the other three top pieces.
The vertical side pieces are then measured and fixed in place. Leave a slight gap at the bottom of the vertical pieces so that the case fits freely in it’s groove.
This is what it looks like when done.
We now “hide” the pins.
I found some 9mm adhesive silver tape in a car accessory shop and this was a perfect match for the anodised aluminium.
The tape was cut to size and fitted on the inside of the case, covering the parts of the case where the pins showed.
Here is the finished case.
And the finished model. All that is left is a fine tune and touch-up.
Mike that is a fantastic model. She looks great. I also love the display case. After watching your build I have contemplated building her to sit next to my Paris.
It is remarkable how little effort the French put into upgrading their assets between the wars. These two would look fabulous side by side.
No under water protection added, no armour added, no bulges for stability, no secondary upgrades.
It is remarkable how little effort the French put into upgrading their assets between the wars. These two would look fabulous side by side.
No under water protection added, no armour added, no bulges for stability, no secondary upgrades.
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