Back to Base-ics

Following a work stopping benchtop accident in which I knocked the completed wheelhouse interior onto the floor I took some time off and tackled the display board for the stand. I cut a piece of red oak to size and routed the edge with a Roman ogee bit. I stained it with a dark mahogany from ZAR and sprayed several coats of clear lacquer to seal it. Light sanding with 1000 grit paper kept it smooth between coats. I'm very pleased with the results (note 1/72 Permit class project in the background).

With the display base looking good, the urge to work on the boat came back so I returned to the wheelhouse. The pieces that were knocked off were CA'd back in place. Then I fabbed a latching pin system to keep it in place on the hull.

First, a hole was drilled in the forward end through both the deck and exterior pieces, then the forward access hatch in the hull. This captured a pin that slides in to secure them all via friction.

To hold the aft end in place a brass rod was bent to slide into a hole cut in the upper hull. This captures the entire assembly and holds it down. The wheelhouse now fits snug and doesn't move yet is capable of being disassembled. This will allow replacement of D-cell batteries for the lights inside the hull.

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An Accident...

With the railing done I set about affixing some of the interior components to the wheelhouse floor: the helm, control levers, depth tube, knobby doohickey on the port wall just behind the control levers on the lower deck. Got them epoxied in place, set them aside to cure -- and promptly knocked the entire assembly off the bench.

The stair well cup was broken off along with the helm and control levers. Fortunately, each individual piece was virtually unharmed save for some scraped paint. The rails connecting the center stairwell pole to the circular railing were lost. And the helm railing was bent slightly. It was gently worked back into position.

So I set the parts aside after assessing the damage to redo the work again at a later date. For some reason I had a headache.

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Helm Rail

Well, the rail behind the helm station turned out to be a piece of cake compared to the stair well.

Used the same procedure as before with a little rearrangement of the order. First, I used one half of a wooden clothespin as a form and bent the un-annealed brass wire into the proper shape. It was the perfect shape of the rail. I bent each end, one at a time, around the end of the clothespin. I cut the rectangle at the point where the rail went through the bottom leg of a support.

Next, I searched for the proper form for the curve of the rail. I measured it out and determined a cylinder with a 2.25" radius would work best. I finally found an air freshener spray can that fit the bill. Then, after annealing the wire to make it more malleable, I bent it around the can.

The supports slipped on one at a time at the joint in the wire. The upper supprt hole was strung on the wire and moved around until the lower hole lined up. It was slipped onto the wire then moved down. I arranged it so the break in the wire fit in the lower hole of a support. It was all secured with CA and the break in the wire is hardly visible.

I drilled two holes I marked in the deck for the proper placement of the supports and secured the assembly in place with two drops of 5 minute epoxy.

With the railings completed, it's just a matter of gluing in the rest of the sub-assemblies such as the helm, control levers, depth tube, etc.

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So Long, Stair Well

Finally got the railing to the stair well finished.

The circular rails were made from .045 brass rod. I prepared them prior to bending via a process called annealing. I heated the brass with a small butane torch and then quenched them in water. This made the brass much more malleable than its original state. I bent it easily around a 1" wooden dowel. After drilling out the support pieces I threaded the rings through and CA'd them to the deck.

For the spiral staircase well the CR instructions recommend a 1" id clear acrylic tube. I couldn't find one in the local hobby shops or hardware stores so I opted for the next best thing: a 1 1/4" PVC end cap. I sprayed the interior flat black, drilled a hole in the bottom for the brass rod center support and glued it to the underside of the deck with 5-minute epoxy.

As an side, I'm really getting used to the quick cure epoxy -- apart from the smell. It sets up fast with a strong bond. For static builds it's great. I realize now how prejudiced against it my r/c past had made me -- 5-minute epoxy not being waterproof. But I'm using it more and more as I go.

The rails were completed with two sections connecting the rings to the center pole. CR recommends a 1/8" diameter rod for the pole. But to me it looked too thick so I traded down a size or two.

The ball on top of the pole is a 4mm gold bead from the fabric store. I filled the center with a small length of brass rod. I left the center pole in unpolished brass, along with the rails. I think it looks better (the pole and stairs were painted in the movie). I brushed the white metal rail supports with gold enamel.

I've got to say this step was one of the most tedious of the build. And super close images show where the rails and supports are out of alignment. However, with the wheelhouse covering it the flaws will be very difficult to see through the windows. I'm satisfied with the look.

Next stop is the helm rail. Will it be easier or worse...?

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