Monday 14 April 2008

Shipyard - The Steam Ram Florence

The 165 ton Steam Ram Florence. Inspiration came from a 28mm scale model of the 165 ton Steam Ram Penelope, and captain Gustav Barnaby that I saw on the net. See below;

I knew that I wanted to model this Aeronef, just as soon as I'd seen it and after the initial sketches, the hull was carved from three pieces of balsa - the bow, mid section and tail. Once they were about the right size and shape I glued them together and sanded them smooth.

The reason I carved them in three sections is that this particular hull is quite complicated and having tried to model it in one, I gave up. This revised technique suited the hull shape better.


The two 'work-in-progress' shots, show the model completed and undercoated. The main items of construction are; Ram section - sticky label, Main wheelhouse - thick white plastic used for double glazing, Mast - cocktail stick, Engine room - more thick plastic, Boiler - section of plastic pen, Tail - plastic card, Gun platforms - sections of knitting needles and Guns - plastic card and plastic rod.

Additional detail is sections of plastic rod and small pieces of plastic card.


I have named the Aeronef 'Florence' after my Mother-in-law, I know that she likes the idea as many years ago I modelled an O'Gauge steam engine and named it 'Joseph' after my Father-in-law.


The model is painted with acrylics and the flag was hand painted.


Tony

2 comments:

justBill said...

Fantastic work as always! I, too, love to scratchbuild and am constantly inspired by your Sky Galleons. One of these days Im going to give it a go. Keep up the good work.

Bill

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the detailed list of what was used! Very inspiring and always a joy to read. Please keep it up!