RMS Titanic 1:200

[elliott]

Well, I take it the surgery was not entirely successful but the patient survived anyway. The pics show a lot of progress and a lot of really good workmanship. I have no idea what those extra pieces are for. Don't throw them away though, you may find out where they go later. Keep up the good work!

[edumalta]

Hello there my friends!

I was able to progress a lot with the Titanic this weekend. Due to the holiday, I was able to work an extra day on the model and I'm happy to share it with you. Lat time I promised some cranes, so here they are.

The Titanic had 8 cargo cranes. In this model, there are two possibilities to build the cranes: 1-) Profiled (simplified) 2-) Full 3D. Naturally, I chose the late option, and gave it an extra touch by adding a cable, made of sewing thread. No clear instructions are given on building these cranes, so I don't know it is alright, specially the inclined plate at the rear.

After the cranes, I thought about finishing the large parts of the model. So I started with the masts. They are attached to the fwd and aft decks by this little square box that goes underneath. I you wish, I can take more pictures of it. Here they are marked parts 59 and 60. The fitting of the squared masts is perfect on these attachments (finally, something that fits well). One thing I miss is the "crow's nest" in the fwd mast, where the infamous iceberg was spotted by the lookouts. That's one detail I won't forgive on this flawed kit. If I manage to get the color right, I might add it later.

- End of part 1 -

[edumalta]

- Part 2 -

Since the number of pictures was too high, I decided to break the post in two. I hope you don't mind.

After a cautious fitting and alignment, the masts were glued into their final positions. In the future, I intend to add some rigging.

The last big parts of the ship were the four funnels, one of the distinctive features on this beautiful and iconic ship. Differently from the Graf Spee and the Scharnhorst, that have only one funnel, I had to take extra caution to make them look identical and well aligned.

Their round shape is given by a couple of elliptic double layered plates. However, before closing the funnels, I took the time to pass four threads through some holes I poked in the structure. Since it will be difficult to access those areas after the funnels are in place, I decided to do it early.

Placing them at the correct angle on top of the decks was also a bit challenging. I had to cut some extra bits of paper, in order to assure the same angle to the four of them. After that, with the help of a needle, the sewing thread was passed through the deck as well. The finishing touch was given by tensioning the "cables", so they would look straight.

Curiosity: A small detail can be seen on funnel #4. It has no air intake and much less piping than the others. I suppose that's because the Titanic needed only 3 funnels. However, since that was a sign of status for the ship, a fourth one was added to the project (in order to compete with Cunard's Mauritania and Lusitania). It had no venting purpose and was used as a storage for deck chairs.

That was a long post (sorry for that, I had a lot to tell). I must confess I was a bit disappointed with my build, but now she's looking good. The funnels really added to her. For the next one: life rafts and/or vents.

Best regards,

[edumalta]

Hello there my friends,

First of all, a happy new year to you all. I hope you had great holidays! I took some time in these holidays to work a little on the ship. I'm nearly done with her.

The progress is slow and steady, as usual. This time, I focused on the lifeboats. This particular aspect is very important, due to the Titanic's tragic end.

The first part is installing the davits. Quite a tricky part, because they came mirrored and the cuts must be accurate, so the fit is perfect. There are 4 davit assemblies, each one with 4 lifeboats. This model, in particular, has only the main lifeboats (16 in total). The original ship had 4 more, collapsible lifeboats.

After that, I built every one of the 16 lifeboats. I hope you like the pictures.

[elliott]

Good to see you again Eduardo. I sdmire your persistence in completing every one of the lifeboats. That's no small achievement my friend. The Titanic looks excellent with no visible evidence that I can see of the surgery you had to perform. What else remains to be done?

[edumalta]

Hey Elliott! Good to see you too mate.

I must say that repetitive work is a rather dull part of this paper ship building hobby, but essential. One interesting aspect of this model is that you always have a choice about including the detailed parts or just simplified versions. The first picture of my last reply shows the simplified version of the lifeboats. This makes the kit very accessible to those who lack the patience for the repetitive work.

Answering your question, now I have only the smaller details to add.

1-) Wooden deck benches;
2-) A lot of ventilation shafts;
3-) Stairs;
4-) Rigging and flags.

Thats basically it! I'm quite anxious to finish this one and start the new one. Already printed a 1:700 HMS Dreadnought.

Regards

[edumalta]

Good evening everyone,

I took the carnival extended weekend to do some work on the Titanic. Due to my need to deliver a thesis quite soon, the progress is slow, but steady on this one.

This time, the work was focused on one of the most important parts of the model: the rigging. This optional detail makes all the difference in the world, specially to a ship model.

Since the scale is large enough and the structures are sturdy enough, I didn't have to embed the sewing threads in glue. I used the ship itself to tension them.

I'm glad to say that the results were better than expected. I used the markings on the deck and pictures provided by the magazine that comes with the model for the rigging layout. I also intend to add a white star flag to it, as the last building step.

Another detail I added was the stairs. Those are simple, but also add a nice detail in the deck. Attached you'll see some pictures. As always, your comments are appreciated.

Best regards

Ed

[edumalta]

Good evening my friends!

As the shipyard work goes, the titanic building gets closer to the end. This time, the work is focused on the details on the upper deck.

As you can see in the pictures, benches were added, so the passengers can sit down and relax as they enjoy a nice view of the north Atlantic.

In total, I folded 40 benches. Those are not the hardest parts and one of the pictures shows the entire process, that can be divided into 5 steps.

Strangely, There weren't enough markings on the deck for all 40 benches, so I ended up with extra 4 benches. I still don't know where to put them.

The stern section got most of the benches and became a little cramped.

Probably, my next post will be the last on this model. I hope you enjoy the pictures and, as usually, comments are always welcome.

Best regards

Ed

[SengleaPoint]

Hi edumalta,
I am new here. First of all congratulations for your model of RMS Titanic. Surly is a titanic build.
The propose of my replay is my curiosity about your user name. I come from the Mediterranean island of Malta. A small island at the foot of the island of Sicily.
So do you have any connections with Malta the place I come from or is it just a coincidence?
Sorry if it is not my business but I suffer from curiosity.
regards
SengleaPoint.

[edumalta]

Hello SangleaPoint,

Firstly, thank you for your kind coments. As for tour curiosity, Malta is my last name. Sorry to disapoint, but I have no relations to the Island itself or even the knights from the order of malta (unfortunately). By the way, from what I saw in pictures, your island is a lovely place with lots of beautiful landscapes and fortifications. Seems like a very interesting place to livre.

I hope I answered your question.

Regards

Ed