Hello again. Thank you all fort the comments they are much appreciated -

Some pics to catchup on few more details I was working on today.

Firstly the port side alcove has now been planked



added some machinery to the vent on the roof (circled) this is not included in the kit but looks like a square duct that leaves a motor mounted behind the hook vent. I used a spare motor from my spare kit, and made the duct from styrene tube.



the vent with the motor attached that is starport side , aft of funnel no 1 is backwards. So I cut the top off and turned it around. here is the piece before and after alteration.



Also I noticed the steam pipe that runs from second class entrance roof to the false funnel rooftop, shouldnt.



I just cut it and turned it around using the precast curve as the elbow where I wanted it, and trimmed the remainder so it sat at the right height. You can also see the photo etch ducts from the dummy funnel in this pic.



Started to play with ladders for walls today aswell and once I have a better understanding which ones are black and which are white will add a pic of that progress.

I have added the expansion joints and some evidence can be seen above, but I believe I have some tidying to do yet.

thanks for reading,

Adam

Hi Adam,
The penny dropped shortly after I posted and went back downstairs. I missed the note about adding those 2 small decks in step 32. Why didn't Academy just wait until step 32? Like I said, I screwed up and glued the one deck flush with the boat deck. Because there were no secure mating points I used cyano. To say the least, when I realized my mistake, removing that deck from the boat deck was a challenge to keep from destroying it. I got it off after about an hour, LOL. Whew! I am about to glue the 3 main decks together. Haven't figured how to post pics yet. I will try. 3 maindecks are going together minus stacks and PE. I did notice the challenge for the stack rigging. OH well, I have rigged biplanes before, this might not be so bad. One thing I do have a lot of is patience. Since this ship is for show, I will be painting from the instructions and pics mostly. I have no reference books. Accuracy out of box is not going to happen but I will do my best. Thanks for the response. Your build is providing a lot of help. I will try to post pics in my next post.

Thanks again, Paul

Adam,
Great build so far. Figured out a few problems and my build is going good now. Thanks for your help. Here are a few shots of mine. I don't want to hijack your thread but here are a few.
Paul

As I need to get the funnels mounted to fix up the flue pipe, I need them pianted. So here is my version of White Star Buff.

Firstly, as its a seems to be hit and miss and we all know the issues of this colour, I just used whatever I had to set a benchmark colour to work against. So I printed the TRMA paint guide in colour. Now I know that every printer wont reproduce a colour exactly as intended, indeed when producing a colour on a screen it is influenced by the illuminated screen amongst other things, but as I said - it gives me a starting point.

Then I used the guide , and the colours I had at my disposal, to make something as close as possible to the "suggested" colour by Ken Marschall. Here you can see my test patterns! I circled the ones that were closest tp the mark to the print page, the circle at the top being the mix I went with. The difficulty of course is even now looking at the photo it suffers from the same issues above..



SO once I chose a variation of the colour, I painted the funnels.
The colours I used are a combination of Floquil flesh and SP Armotur yellow (50:50) with a slight tint of Refer White and ATSF Mineral brown (80:20. The first two colours that carry the main hue were given a deeper shade with the red brown (this shifts the hue slightly darker), and then brought back up to pale with the white.

Anyways this is my results - have posed the funnels on the deck for the pic, and taken it in natural light outside - it is an overcast day but still quite bright!





As a side note, in red are all the missing vents or fans or other machinery so far I have found/ corrected from the Academy kit. Fortunately I had the spare kit as I raided all the fans etc to modify for this build. Worst part is this is not finished yet and I know of more yet to come..some are hidden by the funnels. And Ihave not yet made the water tank for behind no 1 funnel...



regards

Adam

Very nice work Adam. Looking forward to seeing more.....Cheers mark

Nice job Adam. So, the funnels are not orange? Another Academy mistake? How does that happen!!!!!! (sarcasm) Damn, I am not repainting them. I should have known. Orange seemed too bright for those.

Yes, the orange,,, who knows anyways as there are no colour pictures at all! so in the end it is builders choice. I am however trying to be consistent some of the more researched thoughts on thematter and it is a damn nuisance at times. Your build pics BTW are incredible tidy and nice! very very impressive!

I have painted the funnel tops black (along with the top of the steam pipes). My only concern is there is nothing moulded on that looks remotely like steam whistles.. I guess I be scratching them too.





And also assembled a watertank. Managed to finally get all the fans in the right places (I Hope) that were not included. Still have to add the two black roof vents for the wireless room, and I am unhappy with the pipe that runs parralel to the deck - I dont think it should be a pipe at all ? looks like a box tube construction that somehow supports an annex? anyways.. will read more and work it out!



sorry for quality of pic.



Adam

Nice work Adam, following the build with much interest.

Si

Happy Easter folks.

Been slowly moving along addingthe finishing touches to the deck houses and boat decks so can Add the funnel stays.

I have done the handrails to all but funnel no 3 deckhouse. And am working out what thread I will use for the stays.

I have two primary threads - the one that came with the kit and a super fine nylon thats about half as thick as human hair.

here's the two in action..





I also have bead thread which would be somewhere in between, and will have to try that aswell. The superfine stuff is probably closest scale wise, but doesnt look right if that makes sense? the kit supplied thread is very very heavy and looks overbearing. So like goldilocks I need thread thats just right.,,

Anyways some other pics while I'm here -

this one you can see the reshaped flue from the smoke room to the no4 funnel.



railings around the pump room



railings and compass platform (still have to add some minor details in there..) on the lounge roof



officers quarters railing and the awning rail as previously discussed.



Also added a few bench chairs but now the rails are on I can add the rest to those areas.

Next step is rig the funnel stays, followed by the two long white sides and glue it all down to the main hull... that will be fun.

then I can add the lifeboats and their davits and finish up the well decks etc etc..

thanks for reading folks

Adamskii

Very precise etch work Adam, looking very impressive.

Looking forward to seeing more

Si

Outstanding work Adam this will be some build!!!
I've just brought the same kit because of this thread
Do I need to buy all four of Toms modelworks PE sets for this kit?
Regards
Andy

Hi Andy, thanks for the comments, no you do not need all 4 of Toms sets - dont worry about the bench seats or the rail set. The Academy sets are better suited and also easier to work with - especially the rails. However buy 2 sets of the window frames - trust me you will need them as they are small and fidley and easily lost! and spares are much handy to have...

A few more updates from tonights work. Just plodding along with more rails, cranes etc. assembled a single lifeboat davit - these will be a serious challenge - very small and fidley with several parts per assembly..

Also in these pics you see my no1 cargo hatch, and the small store hatches on B deck.





lifeboats on the boat deck..



the single davit can be seen here..



the hatch and some other details..



will start thinking about putting the chains on tomorrow. also need to find out about the weird pacman vent, and the little rope tent. Also have discovered Academy have not included any spare anchors so need to scratch them.



thanks for checking in,

Adamskii

Nice work Adam, the funnel stays look the business, and the davit assembly is woth the effort, really captures the Edwardian engineering of the original.

Si

Hi Adam
Thanks for the heads up on the Toms pe I've placed an order today.
I got the kit yesterday,the pe and the decks are superb ,and those benches!!!!
Have you noticed the figures on sheet 2? including Kate doing the standing on the bow bit !!!!!!.
Love the build mate
Andy

Thanks guys...

Yes I did notice the figures... lol @ them!


I have rearranged the steam valves as new information has come to light on their arrangement , using some dressmaking pins.. here's some pics of a few things I bought after a visit to the craft section of the local habidashery store, in particular the jewelery making aisle has loads of stuff model makers can improvise with - not the least the bead thread which is very very thin (about .3mm) and is fray resistant. ALso got some brass coloured 1.5mm beads and crimps to do the compass housing and other bridge devices..





the dressmaking pin heads are quite good valve handle replicas at 1/400 scale...



new arrangement.



also used the pins to replicate the mushroom vents on some of the deck houses..



and lastly trhe components that make up the Academy version of the lifeboat davits..



Thanks again folks..

Adam

Thanks again folks for the comments - they motivate me to not l;et my standard slip, and to try harder to raise the bar.

I did not build yesterday, but saturday night and this morning I did manage to assemble the lifeboat davits and the railings behind them. The davit assembly in the Academy Anniversary kit is mad up of 6 parts (5 for an end davit) so they are very very fiddely and if bent more than 2 times in any direction - snap!

Anyways here are some pics. Also I have changed the spare anchor crane spar brace as it was solid and should be a pair. Also the seats on the poop deck are finally in position (some fine tuining for better alignment to do here) And I think I have to move two cowl vents on the poop.. more research needed.

Anyways , the pics... before I go off on tangents again..

overviews of where I am at now..





poop deck





crane correction and the chains are added. the kit chains are ordinary.



and the davits/ lifeboat assembly. rigging this will be "fun".

starport aft side



port aft side



port fore side



Thanks for reading ( and I am concerened I have painted the hatches on B deck canvas and should be grey ? this kit is two steps forward 1 step back, watch this space )

Adamskii

really coming to life Adam, your attention to detail is fantastic.

Following with much interest.

Si

Oh she is looking fantastic Adam.....Cheers Mark

Still lovely Adam,what white paint have you used ? as the pe with the kit looks a tad off white to me?
I've just ordered two sets of deck chairs to go with my two sets of figures,I dont know if I'll use the kit suppied Kate through!!
Andy

Hello Adam, I'm new to this forum and new to models. I just got the Academy Centenary Titanic 1/400. I will be following your post very closely and if it is ok, asking a few questions.
I think your model is fantastic, I hope I can make mine look as good!

Been almost a week since last proper update. I think I have had Titanic burn out! But probably been stalling because the worst part of this kit is just around the corner - the front of piece to the wheel house/ bridge and A/ B decks. the Academy kit fit of this piece is nothing short of abysmal. ANyways, put something together that resembles the bridge - however its so small that almost none of it can be seen! regardless, here's my interpretation.

First the 5 items I have no clue what the technical term is ( have the speed indicators such as ahead or stern and half full etc) tillers? electric indicators? Someone enlighten me. Its hard to look it up when you dont know what its called! Anyways, to make them I insert several gold jewelry making band crimps over a 1mm styrene rod.



then using some old 1:35 scale fencing, I cut a suitable flared stand from the posts and glue them to the crimps.





Then sliced the crimps off the styrene rod, coloured the cut off's black (to represent the dial of the device), and glued in place, 3 to the starport, 2 to the port (from centerline) The same technique used to make the telemotor stand for the wheel(The wheel in the wheel house cannot be seen). Also added was the black pole floor to ceiling, and the black square compass binnacle.I will add a brass detail to of the binnacle when I paint next..





So in the next few days I will muster the courage to put that face plate on. Hopefully my fly tie thread turns up soon..

Adam

Hiya, I used tamiya white primer as my base colour white. Lol kit's Kate is a bit ordinary.. lol..

Adam

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engine_order_telegraph

Julian

Adam,
Great job on your Titanic.
As I start on mine, I have one initial question:
Tom's Modelworks offers several photo etched sets for the 1/400 Titanic.
-Titanic Detail Set
-Titanic Benches
-Titanic Deck Chairs
-Titanic Rail Set
-Titanic Window Set
With the pe supplied in the Century Edition, do you find any of the Tom's pe versions unnecessary?
Thanks,
Jerry

Hi Jerry. Absolutely!

I find that the Rail set is completely unnesecary to start with. ANd, the Academy rail set has one brilliant feature you will simply love and wish all pe producers did the same - the rails have a very slight engraved line across the rails where the bends are supposed to be - that means perfectly measured rail bends without the usual headache of having to measure the length of each rail segment prior to bend, and bending without shear.

ALso, the bench seat seat is probably unnesecary - I have 2 sets , unopened! the Academy benches are slightly larger and I suspect out of scale, but much simpler. however the middle leg of the bench is missing so your choice. By the way both Tom's and Academy have only one length of bench when the ship had short and long ones.. the sets are all long.

I didnt know they did the deck chairs - sounds fiddley and I heard there were several hundred, at least , on board. (the literature shows good pics of at least 100 chairs stacked against various upper deck walls)

The detail set is very usefull as it has the screens for the vents that Academy did not include - but MOST importantly, It has the missing rails that go around the lifeboats (see my previous posts for pics of them) how could Acdemy miss that ? so this detail set is a Must have. about 70% is same as Academy (pretty much) but having some spare PE usually is not an issue..

The windows set is another non negotiable IMHO. Good luck painting the windows without it! Although it presents some new challenges - the least of which is holding the tiny parts while glueing in place..- they are just the easiest way to paint the windows - pre paint them and glue on. I have two sets as some of these parts are so delecate its not funny!

I hope this addresses your question!

Regards,

Adam

PS - the pre primed Academy phot etch is just superb - I wish all PE was pre primed!