ModelsInBottles Posted January 7, 2017 Report Share Posted January 7, 2017 I'm building my grandfather's ship from WWII and need some ideas for building the railing around the deck. USS Lyman K Swenson. Ship is about 6 inches long. Figured you guys could help. JesseLee and Chasseur 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chasseur Posted January 8, 2017 Report Share Posted January 8, 2017 If your scale is approximately 1:700 then order a railing kit from Peter Hall's Atlantic Models. Jeff JesseLee and IgorSky 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ModelsInBottles Posted January 8, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2017 Scale works out to 1:750 which is probably close enough. Thanks, I see some railings he's got that should work, but I'm not clear if it's the actual railings or some template sheet I use in order to create railings out of another material. I'm sure that you or others here know the answer. I asked him and should be able to move forward soon. Thanks for the recommendation. Chasseur 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSiemens Posted January 9, 2017 Report Share Posted January 9, 2017 I know an miniature builder in my local club that uses etching as well. He'll go to the model rail road places and get fences and other etchings then cut and paint them as needed. Works great for ladders, railings all sorts of things. The other thing I've seen used is mesh from a window screen cut out to size. Chasseur and IgorSky 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ModelsInBottles Posted January 9, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2017 I was thinking of using some screen too. I might try that first. So far everything has been made from scratch on this model and I'd kind of like to keep it that way if possible. Thanks for the recommendation. Chasseur 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shipbuilder Posted January 10, 2017 Report Share Posted January 10, 2017 (edited) I wind 38 swg tinned copper wire round a small wooden frame, using threaded rod round the edges to get the accurate spacing. Then I solder it on the frame, cut it out, spray paint it and fit it to model. Easy enough, but very few modellers use this method! Here is a free download about miniature shipbuilding (Not in bottle though). http://payhip.com/b/krO6 When it opens, scroll down a bit to get the download button! Bob Edited January 10, 2017 by Shipbuilder Added link IgorSky 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chasseur Posted January 11, 2017 Report Share Posted January 11, 2017 Hi Bob, Thanks for providing the link to Shelterdeck. Also I totally forgot about the nifty railing device you crafted very ingenious. It was cool to see you as a young lad working away at the bench and then a recent photograph of the same vice. Also it's nice to see your interest in merchant marine. I myself am a big fan of the merchant side of sailing and in particular clippers. Thanks again for posting ... very informative! Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shipbuilder Posted January 11, 2017 Report Share Posted January 11, 2017 Thanks Jeff, I do find the rail device useful, and use it a lot, although I am not generally very keen on jigs and suchlike, and only use them when absolutely necessary. The most useful devce I have are the rail frame and the deck scoring machine. Here is a link to a free download on how to make a deck scoring device: http://payhip.com/b/clE4 I know several members here have made them and are using them successfully. It looks more complicated than it is, but produces extremely accurate scored planking. I find merchant ships more colourful and interesting than warships whether they are sail or steam. I don't make many of the wooden clipper era (tea trade), preferring the iron hulled medium clippers in the wool trade from Australia from the early 1870s onwards, or the big steel sailing of the 1890s and onwards which, although they are often called clippers, were just heavy cargo carriers, collectively and more accurately called "windjammers!" I don't have the patience to put them in bottles though, and could never spread a build over a number of years as my attention span is dwindling after a few weeks! Bob Chasseur 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exwafoo Posted January 11, 2017 Report Share Posted January 11, 2017 Hi Bob, Thanks for the link. Wray Castle - I interviewed for a job there about 15 years ago. It was a school teaching mobile phone servicing then. I didn't like the terms and conditions, so it didn't go anywhere, but it would have been a classy and different office to work in. I believe it is National Trust now. Best Alan Chasseur 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shipbuilder Posted January 11, 2017 Report Share Posted January 11, 2017 Hi Alan, It was very rough and ready when I was there ('59 - '61). Cold and very uncomfortable, but the training was excellent. I doubt if I could have qualified anywhere else. No distractions, and got shut in lecture rooms for compulsory study until 2100 each night if we did not pass the weekly test with a 60% pass mark for 2nd class and a 75% pass mark for 1st Class. Bob Chasseur 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ModelsInBottles Posted January 11, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2017 Thanks for posting a pic of you jig Bob. I'll keep that in mind, that's a really great method. Chasseur 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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