like a kid in a sweet shop

It never ceases to amaze me how two boats that come from the same company can be different in the smallest but strangest of ways.

and this is no different  with the Shannon class lifeboats built in house at RNLI Headquarters, Poole.

let me show what I mean.

the following two photos are of a specific area of both the St Ives and the Lytham St Annes boats.

one could be forgiven for saying that they are both the same, but one small fitting is different, and this would of course be picked out by rivet counters, and those picky enough to say "you've got it wrong mister"...…...not that it would bother me...…..

try to spot the small but significant difference.







One of the parts in the Speedline fittings set has had me befuddled for months...….even put pictures on to the forums, and sent to Adrian Gosling without reply.

As a last resort I even took the parts to both Fleetwood and St Annes lifeboat stations, and the mechanic at the latter, and coxs'n at the former could not recognise the parts as part of 13-14 or 13 -24, because on those two boats, they don't exist, nor do they on 13-21 the training Shannon...……...but they do on the St Ives boat.

It's no wonder that modelling modern lifeboats is a nightmare and subject to all sorts of geeks coming out of the woodwork at you telling you that you've go it wrong......I despair at times, as it wasn't like when I built steam trawlers, tugs and classic lifeboats!

so have you got it yet..…..have another look at the middle of the life rings......there is an object in the centre......the EPIRB  [emergency position-indicating radio beacon] and bracket...….both different fittings...….one allows the indicator to float vertically, the other floats out horizontally...….its no wonder that the guys on the local boars didn't recognise the former, because our local boats use the latter systems...…..

so! knockers rivet counters and general know all geeks...…...there's always an answer t the difference.

and here are the two in 1;12 model form...…..with the two from Speedline being reserved for micks, MBD Shannon.

Just waiting for some 5mm black vinyl lettering from Leeds model shop, and I can finish the life rings, before adding the "rope" safety lines.

the SOLAS regulation reflective  tape has been added to the rings...…..found this reflective tape in a ships chandlers and cut some 4mm strips to wind round the rings.

also through the post today came the 6mm yellow and red lining tape to add to the hulls once I have retrieved them from Dave in wales.

in the meantime I shall continue to paint the fittings...…...the small ones that are remaining are the last to be painted. 

Just a piece of useless info the silver tape was originally developed as Battlefeild repair tape for Aircraft and is also used extensivly by engineers installing ducting in shops etc
Dave

stavros wrote:

Just a piece of useless info the silver tape was originally developed as Battlefeild repair tape for Aircraft and is also used extensivly by engineers installing ducting in shops etc
Dave

nope, I like that sort of information mate...…interesting stuff that makes us all wiser...…...well tghose that want to learn, that is. ...just like what WD40  was invented for...…….if only the scientists knew that their wonderful stuff now helps lowly me to lubricate a lazy electric window in my Nissan note...……..what would they think, lol.

just had it pointed out to me by andy via mick French on a private message that I had got the H frame at the rear of the mast upside down...…….

I would have looked a right prat had I fitted this all together permanently, and not been able to fit the back rest...…….an open thanks to you andy for putting me right.


the frame below is upside down...…..




both now been corrected. 

all the small bits go together to make the "big bit"

life rings been labelled and the two different types of epirb and holders have been painted.

the two different types of epirb holders and connected epirbs have now been fitted to the lifering brackets and the connecting cords to the rings fitted to the epirbs.

why there are two different types of holders, one in the vertical and one horizontal, I don't know and neither mechanics I know, know why either, but st ives is fitted with the vertical ones, whilst Fleetwood is fitted with horizontal holders.

light boxes added to the mast T section  arms, and drilled to take the leads for the LED Nav lights.

I also painted the insides of all the lamps with silver reflective paint.

stainless steel cleats have now been added to the raised bases ready to go on to the MBD boat...…..think there are a couple spare there…..just in case I dropped one or two onto the floor of my pristinely tidy workshop, lol. 







each and every little part now ready just means I don't have to fabricate them once the boat comes back from the artiste that's painting them for me, Stavros.

my next job, and one which I have not been longing to is to put in all the 12v LED's...……….i'm not an electrician nor an electronics wizard...….

and I think this is going to be a loonnnngggggjob………..but has to be done before any other building work can take place at all.

so will now wait for the boats to come back from being painted in the next few weeks...……….in the meantime I will wire up the lights for the mast and spot/search lights in the meantime...…...give me something to do, as almost all painting and assembly of fittings has been done. …….but gawd, theres a lot of lights and more on order through my friend mick French.

would I be right in thinking that with a row of 12v rated led's each fitted with its own resistor each LED  could be spliced into the next one in front of it until all are linked to the main 12v battery just with one wire each for each terminal, without loosing any brightness in the bulb at the end of the link.

thank you. 

You would Neil 

nhp651 wrote:

would I be right in thinking that with a row of 12v rated led's each fitted with its own resistor each LED  could be spliced into the next one in front of it until all are linked to the main 12v battery just with one wire each for each terminal, without loosing any brightness in the bulb at the end of the link.

thank you. 

I'm glad you have got your idea confirmed by someone else beside myself lol I would have hated you to have assembled them all and blew the lot ! Only because I would have had to solder another batch to replace them.However a tiny bit of work for me compared to that which you have done to them.Another 24 white LED's without extensions, as requested,will be winging their way to you,from a very stormy Cornwall,on Tuesday,to enable to work some magic on your electrickery!  
Mick F

battleshipbuff wrote:

nhp651 wrote:

would I be right in thinking that with a row of 12v rated led's each fitted with its own resistor each LED  could be spliced into the next one in front of it until all are linked to the main 12v battery just with one wire each for each terminal, without loosing any brightness in the bulb at the end of the link.

thank you. 

I'm glad you have got your idea confirmed by someone else beside myself lol I would have hated you to have assembled them all and blew the lot ! Only because I would have had to solder another batch to replace them.However a tiny bit of work for me compared to that which you have done to them.Another 24 white LED's without extensions, as requested,will be winging their way to you,from a very stormy Cornwall,on Tuesday,to enable to work some magic on your electrickery!  
Mick F

no electrickery on my part mate...…….feel as though its the blind leading the blind, 

LEDs typically require 3.2 volts the resistors are to drop the voltage and regulate current my memory couldn't find the formula so I looked it up.

Here ya go mate.

The string you've drawn is correct, this link gives the formula for correct resistor versus current & voltage of supply

http://www.ohmslawcalculator.com/led-resistor-calculator

dave made great progress today  and sprayed the orange onto both superstructures of the two Shannon lifeboats...….what a fantastic job. see here for close up photos.   https://www.thercmodelboatforum.com/t1862-a-pair-of-shannons#17818

Damien wrote:

LEDs typically require 3.2 volts the resistors are to drop the voltage and regulate current my memory couldn't find the formula so I looked it up.

Here ya go mate.

The string you've drawn is correct, this link gives the formula for correct resistor versus current & voltage of supply

http://www.ohmslawcalculator.com/led-resistor-calculator

cheers mate.telling me this would be like telling me the formulae for calculating the radiation decay of the shelf life of Chernobyl's ability to sustain healthy life for the next 10000 years...…….

but I know a man who did, and he bought led's with resisters already soldered to the positive peg and all I have to do is solder the splicing and heat shrink them all...…………..makes my life very easy, lol.

well, after the euphoria of seeing those cabins so beautifully painted I realised that I'd better get parts ready for fitting to the cabins, and the first job was to thread the wire leads of the cabin top spots to the spot lights them selves...the 4 for the 2 boats were fitted with the 12v lamps giving good bright lights. the next two are the spots on the MOB derricks.











and then..a bit of a disaster...….whilst reaming out the hole in the lamp hood I twisted by hand just a little too hard and broke the end off the bracket containing the lamp...…...and so knowing that a straight but joint along the crack wouldn't hold for long I drilled two grooves and laid a pin either side of the lamp through to the main "tubes" of the derrick...….and set all with superglue.










but all's well that mends well.

lights rigged on the masts of the two shannons…...sadly a little unsightly but the wires wouldn't fit down the mast for fear of drilling holes in the brass tubing making the structure very weak...…….we'll have to learn to live with it.

but please...…..DON'T try telling me how to rectify the mess as they are now set in stone and cyano…………...however for next time you can tell me how you WOULD have done them. ...……….I HATE electronics and got to the point where I was going to throw the bloody things in the bin…...thankfully all deck lights will have their wiring hidden inside the cabin.

little jobs keep popping uo……...and one of them was to make a lense for the blue flashing lamp on the mast...……….the lens supplied in the kit is the wrong shape for the two boats I am building, and the nearest I could find without going to the time and expense of making a brass plug, and then some clear plastic, heating it and pressing the plug into it hoping that it would work...……...was to use the plastic vacuum packed pill cases......such as what senacot are packed in...………..

so I cut two pills out of their packaging, and made a case for them...…..I will spray the inside of the clear plastic with a blue and then test to see if the blue led's shine through enough. 

if they don't. i'll just have to pop two more pills and use them clear...……………...and probably hobble to the loo a little quicker, lol

Clever thinking Batman! 
I like that idea, using the caps that is, not you galloping off to the loo
Nah don't want to think of that at all:lol!:
Mick F

feed them to the dog, she'll eat anything, and she's a bit constipated, lol………………


NO FOLKS I DIDN'T MEAN IT...…………..shes far too precious to us...……

 ship hey lol

the insides of the clear domes were painted this morning with a metallic blue which mostly ran off the clear surface and collected in the upturned top.....I redistributed the  surplus paint a few times to give a sort of "colour wash" on the surface, with a tint of blue......which is what I actually wanted, but achieved by accident......have now turned the domes the right way up to allow the surplus paint to drain away and will fit them later today. 

just when you think you have finished with all the little bits, you find some more...….this "kit" is becoming more a scratch build and i'm enjoying utilising the bits available in my workshop to fabricate these little pieces...…..

these photographed are the small "button"  sockets for the wiring of fittings that are either on the bulkheads or decks for a myriad of wire leads...they still have to be sanded to shape and then painted, but I think I have made excess number for the two boats from inter-sleaving 2 diameters of plastic together...……..if not I'll make a few more whilst the next episode of Taggart is on tv, lol. 

Such patience you must have Neil. 

Damien wrote:

Such patience you must have Neil. 

only so much on this model, Damien..and it is fast running out, lol.

anyway....here's the ports painted and ready for fixing once the boats are back from painting. 

I hope you've got all these parts safely stored so you know you can find them again Neil. Knowing your workshop I can see a disaster looming
Amazing attention to detail.

Barrie

barriew wrote:

I hope you've got all these parts safely stored so you know you can find them again Neil. Knowing your workshop I can see a disaster looming
Amazing attention to detail.

Barrie

cheers barry, 

I just hope its worth all the blood sweat and plenty of tears building them.

to be honest I find it easier building something from total scratch, than building a semi kit with crap plans and virtually no instructions.....and then find you have to build and  generate small parts that you have to finish the model off with some form of reality...…….    ...……..
the fittings supplied in the semi-kit are superb...……..but when you then have to make other parts not supplied...……..it defeats the object of producing beautiful parts in the kit...I might not be a good painter, and thus have handed them to Stavros, but I have a decent eye for smaller detail...…….sadly not of the same quality as the 3D printed stuff, and it takes the shine off the "kit" but they have to be made.

that is why I like to scratch build...……….because your level of build is the same quality, you know what parts you need to make, cross them off the plan and list of "to do's" and know  where every part goes, and you recognise every part of your model and in what order to put it on without needing a "parts list" and names to build one.


had it not been a wonderful and precious gift and present from mick in Canada, it would have been an insult to him not to have finished it...……..I would however, had I bought it myself,  taken a loss and sold it on...……..but I have got to the stage now of knowing that the worst is over, and once I have got the models back from Dave, it will be an easy job to finish the model with all the pre-made and painted parts...……...and then I'll enjoy sailing it.

and joy of joys, I heard from mick in Canada two nights ago after nearly two months silence...............….I had EVEN EMAILED CALGARY POLICE DEPARTMENT,about going to see if he was ok,  the local hospital and looked through the obituaries in the Calgary papers, as I was beginning to fear the worse, as the last time we spoke on the phone, he was unwell with a bad virus.

however,as I said mick phoned me two nights ago...……..he had had a recurrence of the virus, and had been in hospital for some weeks, but was now in good recovery..…..so great news for those who have the privilege of knowing him...…...a lovely guy and a hoot to talk to.  


HOPE YOU FEEL MUCH BETTER VERY SOON MATEY.

Best wishes, neil

Neil, A shot or two of whisky and you'll soon forget the pain  

Barrie

Oh Man up and put it in a pot of Cellulose thinners...YUP it will HURT like hell and YES we WILL all LAUGH,but it will cure it 


Stav

I knew I wouldn't get any sympathy from you sods...………...but I did from my mate dave Metcalf tonight...…….he was understanding, bless him.

I know where i'm not wanted...…… ……….oh errrr, no...……..that's mayhem isn't it, .

last night I put together a few more little bits not supplied...…..the 240v electricity outlets for such things as the shore charging port for on board batteries, extension leads for portable pumps air compressors etc...…..all made from plastic card and tubing...…..held together with supaglue as there is a mixture of 3 different plastics in those little pieces. 











these will be sprayed aluminium today.

just rereading your post barry about all the parts...……….I haven't a clue as to where half the parts are that I have either painted from supplied OR  made...….……..am going to have a shock when I get the boats back and start fitting the parts to it...………...they'll be there somewhere...…..but where...…...god only knows lol.

Neil I feel ya pain matey

Damien wrote:

Neil I feel ya pain matey

its ok today mate...……. just can't pick my nose with it...……...slight hindrance 

   

              

sorry mick...………….forgot about yours, so had to make another this afrenoon………...oooopsss