Modified Black Swan antisubmarine sloop 1944

B

barry

Active Member
Jan 28, 2004
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Brighton Uk
Getting to be a bit of a butterfly Glowworm is quite exacting so this one is for fun (for now). HMS Starling one of the most successful Uboat hunters of WWII.

Speed 19-20 knots
6 4"
4 Twin Bofors
2 20mm cannon
Depth charges by the bucket load.

This is the second build attempt somewhere along the line I typed in the wrong figure and came out with a very odd length hull which I only noticed when I put her next to Glowworm she is much beamier and was one of the first ships in the Royal Navy to have stabilisers. Hopefully this one will end up with a full hull in the end.

Sorry about the messy workspace I envy those of you who work so neatly mine gets scraped off at the end of the day.

 
:smile: At least you have a workspace. :smile: A whole lot better than what I have to contend with....would you believe a large book balanced on my lap with the cutting mat on it, and the keyboard of the computer?
 
Barry, If you spent all your time tidying up your workspace,you wouldn't be well on the way to making a smashing model of one of the Royal Navy's most pugnacious-looking brutes of a ship! Don't you dare clean up, not 'til its finished!

Tim P
 
Starling 1st hull side

I had to start all over again due to typing in the scaling factors wrongly, however it finally came out reasonably well in fact to my amazement my Pepakura sides fitted almost (but not quite as ever) perfectly so far.

It is not an easy hull starts with a large flare at the bow runs down through a tumblehome (a la Victory) midships then the stern undercuts at a very steep angle.

The camouflage you will have to accept is a version executed by tired matelots on a couple of days tied up in Liverpool none of your beautiful curves yet. It's a bit more fun than white and makes it easier for me too visualise what she looked like.



Took me ages to get my old brain round the simple deckhouses under C gun this one is sort of snipped to shape but at least I know how to put it together next time.



ps Tim OK I won't clean the mess up
regards
 
Tumblehome. I found this definition on the net, but it appears to contradict itself. Is it just that the hull sides slope inward as they rise from waterline to deck?

"Tumblehome:
A description of hull shape when viewed in a transverse section, where the widest part of the hull is someway below deck level. The beam at deck level is never less than the waterline beam."

Sorry, I know what a Kruger Flap is, and how to counter-steer my Yamaha, but some nautical terms are still a mystery to me!

Stick at it Barry, remember to leave that workshop messy 'til its finished!

Tim P
 
deck houses

Hi All

Slow progress partly because I am having trouble reading the plan around the bridge area and partly because I am a bit dumb with Metaseq scaling I just produce whatever fits and rescale it later in Photoshop. Took me ages to work out the angles on the bridge area then I made it too short. The camo is wandering off a bit now but it will do for the first one.

I decided to go back to metsequoia and draw what I thought fitted hopefully


@NOBI

If you read this any chance of a quick paragraph on scaling in Pepakura.

@Tim

For tumblehome read "beer belly"





 
bridge decks

This what I finally came up with the drawing I am using is confused this is using the plan section and various photographs the bridge sides shouls either be heavier card or doubled up.







regards
 
Hull sides

Finally plucked up enough courage to close up the hull, much to my suprise and a couple of flukes it fitted together quite well. I had designed the spine just a bit shorter than it should have been so that the prow joined just ahead of the spine so I sanded the edges of the hull plates and managed to get the best bow I have built out of it. The stern is not so well trimmed it is about 1/32" too big either side and I tried to trim it back on the model with a razor blade a touch of sandpaper and paint should fix it (or cut off and do it properly)






 
Hi All

Finally got the bridge into the right position where you would not run up ladders into a brick wall or fall on your head stepping out of doors and falling straight down to the main deck. It still needs tidying up but I got bored doing the same thing so I added a few more simple bits instead.

pic01250gj.jpg


pic01234na.jpg


pic01263wv.jpg
 
Odds and sods

A few more bits added plus yet another bridge, thanks to Maurice who deciphered the plans and finally made sense of it, however every picture of a Black Swan class has it's own variations. It still needs some work on the windscreens and the front cubby hole. The radar tower should have a deck house in the base and I forgot everything I knew when cutting it out like putting the creases in first I've decided to make life easier and print the back with the right colour it beats my paint mixing by a mile. The doubled up fore part of the B gun deck blast shield is how it should look. I shall have to redo most of the bits with cylinders involved and use thinner paper. The range finder is not too bad, but I will have to redesign the aft depth charge racks as they are just about impossible to cut out.







 
Hi, bazzer!:)

She's looking great, as usual!
I love the color scheme, it's really an outstanding look!

I really admire the way you can design a ship such as this based on the plans and come up with a superb looking model. Maybe in this new year I'll try my hand at it, like with that container ship I've been playing around with here and there, but I really doubt whether it will come out as great as your designs. My biggest fear is dealing with the house construction and trying to figure out how the various decks fit together...I am greatful for your construction posts which give me some ideas on how to accomplish it.

Keep at it, mate!

Cheers!

Jim
 
Deck fittings and 4" guns

Hi All

Sorry the build is getting more ragged as the weather gets colder and damper but it's card, it can be rebuilt and nothing much is stuck down.

I used Eskimo's gun breeches in B mount but the auto loaders were obviously incorrect so they have been removed in C mount and a simple breech substituted.

Metsequoia made a pretty good stab at designing the huge funnel skirt so I was pleased about that anyway. The AA deck is beginning to look more populated, the bofors barrel and spring are too long at the moment.

I tried designing one of the rolled style carley floats but I have not got the proportions right yet so I used the old built up style.





@JIm

Thanks for the kind words mate
 
depth charge flat, ships davits

Hi All

Getting near to the end of the cardboard bits I should have built the davits as seperate units and stuck the assembly to the hulls it would have been easier to fit the bottom brackets that way.



Overall view



Whaler is complete motor launch requires superstructure

 
rails

Just trying to finish a few things off at the moment it's strange how a bit of decent railing brings a fairly ordinary model to life. Those portholes need sorting out though.




 
Hi! I have question have you ever tryied to paint whole model? Sorry to say but those awful colors ruins your whole job :( And little tip for you, when you are roling things into tube, try to water a little paper, tubes will roll much easier, and try to roll it on toothpick or smth like that. I will keep finger crossed for your model :)
 
Hi, CRS!:)

I have seen this tip before, about wetting the paper to help roll the tube tighter for barrels...I gather one licks the back-side of the paper before rolling, and the amount of moisture is a matter of experience and touch. I have to try that one, glad you reminded me of it since I forgot about it after the last time I saw it mentioned. Presently I don't use the thick card for barrels but use ordinary weight paper for making barrels and small tubes and just paint them afterward. I gather if one is using the original card model printed card (which I have not yet done) your tip is essential to being able to roll the thicker card more easily. When I roll my tubes I use various diameter brass rods, getting them progressively smaller and tighter...or, at least, that's the plan!:grin:

I am curious about your comments regarding the color of this model. Perhaps I am not understanding your comments very well, but what part of the printed color do you think is a problem? Is it the quality of the printed color you didn't like, or the choice of color? I would just like to know because I fear I am missing something you saw in the photos.

I know I am happy to read comments about this and other builds if, for no other reason, to learn something new that might help my own builds. I think Barry is off on holiday for a few days so he probably won't see any of this until next week, just in case anyone was wondering.

Cheers!
Jim
 
IMHO problem is whole printing :( but it's maybe because Im used to proffesional printed models (in big printing machines not in home printer ) from publishers like halinski, gpm , but i forgot that you don't have such access to their models so I must admit that im buging you (sorry for that :( ) About barrels try to make them from paper used to maiking own cigaretes (don't know how it is in english but in polish those are called bletki), this is wonderful material, you can roll it very tight and it is rolling very nice.
 
Thanks, CRS, now I understand.:idea:

I've been pretty lucky with the quality of my printer (fingers crossed!) and can get a pretty good print using it...but certainly not like the original published printed card from a professional printer. I usually scan my models first, many times because I want to reduce the scale, and print it out on my printer using the highest quality available. It comes out almost photo quality, sometimes even photo qualilty, but you can usually tell when comparing it to the original document that it is a copy, not the original...just something about the fineness of detail and crispness of the print in the original you just can't duplicate. I'm not sure what printer Barry uses, but if it's like mine it's got it's limitations as to resolution and crispness. You've got a good eye to catch that from the photos, but I suspose I am just used to how my models print out so it didn't really look off to me.:grin:

Oh, but we do have access to the model publishers you mention; although a few years ago I would agree with that statement, today it's relatively easy to get hold of almost any model out there through online stores. Another great reason to support your favorite online shops because if they are kept in business by our orders we are almost guaranteed access to new models in the future...seems sort of common sense, actually, but it is worth repeating from time to time. This goes for models from our very own designers on this forum; every time you buy one of their models you help them continue in designing future models for us all.

Off the soap box for now...:grin:

The paper type you refer to is probably rolling papers from where I'm from...great things are possible from them, actually.:wink: Gotta try it sometime...making barrels for it, that is. Actually, I'm going to have to try that using ordinary 26# paper and see how it works...somehow I figure if I tried to roll the barrels using "rolling paper" it's so light and thin I would probably make a fair mess of it for the first hundred attempts...but that's just me and my gorilla fingers. I thought you were talking about using the heavier card the kits are printed on to roll into barrels...those I have never had good luck with, just too thick and the edges usually end up a mess and with a noticeable and distracting ridge.

Thanks again, CRS, for the explanation! See, I told you I would probably learn something new, and I did!

Cheers!
Jim
 
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