German Coastal Defender Beowulf

[tatasam]

Good luck in the construction Greetings Henryk

[pahorace]

Hello Mike,
you're doing a good job.
I am not very competent in terms of hulls.
But I plan to build a U-Boat, and this procedure you espouse, I will help.
Best wishes for the rest of the work - I will follow with attention - and wishes for the new year.

Orazio.

[bradford46]

Thanks for your reply. I'll go to the Dreadnought Project website and see if I can find the cross members to figure out how you did it. I've always liked the HMV Emden, but it is a wateline model and I enjoy the full hull of ships.
I will be watching your build closely--and I hope you don't mind if I occasionally ask an obvious beginner's question or two.
Thanks again for the reply.

[Michael Mash]

Originally Posted by bradford46

Thanks for your reply. I'll go to the Dreadnought Project website and see if I can find the cross members to figure out how you did it. I've always liked the HMV Emden, but it is a wateline model and I enjoy the full hull of ships.
I will be watching your build closely--and I hope you don't mind if I occasionally ask an obvious beginner's question or two.
Thanks again for the reply.

Questions are always welcome Bradford.
Here are a couple images that show some of the drawings you will find at the "Dreadnought Project", including some of the cross members.
Happy New Year,
Mike

[bradford46]

Seeing these plans--what you had to work from--makes your construction even more impressive.
Happy New Year.

[Michael Mash]

Thanks Orazio, and welcome. I hope your U-boat goes well.

Hello Modelers,

Work on the underwater hull continues. Image 11 shows part of the technique I have been using on recent hulls. I discovered that laying out strips of paper parallel to the keel contributes to a smoother more consistent appearance. The more strips I use, the better it seems to work.

There is quite a leap from image 11 to image 12. To those watching to see details of the "scratch built" hull, I apologize. There should have been more photos of that part of the work. Here is a description of the process: The hull plates (skins) were all cut from paper. Card will work, but paper is more flexible. In some areas, I use two layers. I am one of those builders that cannot make hull pieces fit perfectly. So I always have many gaps. I use thin paper to cover the gaps. Regarding "thin" paper: When I buy a new dress shirt, there is always "thin" paper packing material inside. I keep the stuff. It works well for covering gaps. It is thin enough that it disappears quickly beneath the painting/sanding work. I work on the hull to get it as smooth as I can, then I begin painting. After three or four coats, I begin light sanding. I use 300-400 grit Tamiya sandpaper (great product). This hull received 12 coats. One every 24 hours. The strips of paper installed parallel to the keel help prevent the "inverted-arch-between-cross members" problem that comes so often with paper hulls. And the sanding is done lightly. So, one can see, there is no special easy method here. Just hard work.

Image 14 needs some explanation. I call the piece of balsa glued to the waterline deck a "Grip Block". It allowed me to handle this assembly over and over again (during the painting/sanding process) without damage and without the constant pressure on my hands on the hull plates. After it was completed, I cut off the Grip Block (image 15).

Finally I went to work on propulsion and steering. All the parts in image 16 are made from paper, except for the (card) rudder. The drive shafts were rolled from paper as were the propeller shafts. The points on the propeller shafts were accomplished by angling one end of the paper used to roll the shafts. It gives a pointed result. I produced an extra prop in case of damage. The propellers will be installed later, after the hull sides and main deck are added.

The next update will give me the chance to start adding some elements that will begin to make this look like it is really Beowulf.

Happy New Year,
Mike

[Don Boose]

That is a remarkably fine underwater hull, Mike. You are a smooth operator.

Don

[romanmodels]

Good work on the hull Mike, all the paint and sanding paid off.

[bradford46]

Superb work. I can see that you have done a great deal of work to get from the laid on paper strips to the finished hull. Your photos certainly do hide the amount of labour you must have put in.
Did you glue the paper strips with CA or with regular white glue? And are they generally that wide, or do you use thinner strips as modellers of wooden ships do?

[pahorace]

Hi Mike.
I see, this beautiful and refined hull.
Thank you for sharing these images of eloquent mastery, I will help.

Orazio.