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[pipercub1772]

I am sure your grandparents will be looking at your build and feel very proud of your achievements ,regards Allan

[SteamboatPhil]

I  know I have said this before Mark how excellent your workmanship is, but Its just getting better, the skylights are awesome and food for thought for me.

[Mark T]

Well we had a great BBQ and I had an amazing hangover     Loads of our neighbours turned out too and its amazing just what a great time you can have even when socially distancing.  I said that I would organise another one sometime in August just for the fun of it.


Tony, Allen and Phil thank you very much for your comments. 


Phil the sky lights were actually pretty easy mate.  Because they are square once the fence was set on my table saw it was easy to make 10 identical squares.  And I think this is why it looks nice; its because they are all identical.  The hinges are really nice too and very simple to construct as they are part of the kit.  They are simply brass eyelets that are drilled into the sky lights and the engine housing with a 1mm drill.  They are such a tight fit they don't need any glue which keeps them clean and then a 0.8mm brass rod is pushed through to make the completed hinge.  I think Mantua really have made a good design for this 


I've started on the wheel house and it needs cladding both inside and out with 1mm x 6mm planks.  I only had 2mm mahogany so this morning I ran it through a thickness sander down to 1mm.  What a waste of wood but thats just the way it is I guess.  Tomorrow I'll cut the planks and get going on it.  I'll get some photos up as soon as I can


Mark

[SteamboatPhil]

Thanks for the tip Mark 

[Mark T]

I've managed to get some more work done but I've been a bit held up by another part.  Ok here's the progress on the wheel house.  Its a simple plywood construction that has to be clad both inside and out with planks.  The instructions advise the builder to glue the housing in place and then plank it but this seemed like a hard way of doing things to me.  So although its on the superstructure its just loose and I'll fix it on once the inside is done.  The outside has been clad and I reduced the plank width to 5.5mm as it was a better fit than 6mm.








This is the part that has been holding me up a bit as its been tricky to get it right.  The original is on the left and is made of plywood and my version is on the right made of solid 3mm boxwood.





And it fits at the bottom of the funnel which is why it had to look exactly right











I've also altered the main deck so that the gas tank can slip in and out easily and thats it for now.  I'll carry on cladding the inside of the wheel house and then probably make a start on the doors


Mark 

[Mark T]

Hi All


A bit more progress - I've now planked the wheel house inside and outside so thats one big job finished











I have also completed the wheel house doors oh except for fitting the door handles.  There are 19 pieces in each door and I quite enjoyed making them.  I had to cut planks that were 0.5mm x 3mm for the front and back cladding.  The door frame and inner window opening are 2mm x 2mm and working out the mitre cuts was fun with them being on the pi** so to speak











I'm going to make them opening but rather than try and make a lock I'll use little magnets to keep them closed.  I'll make a start on the window frames tomorrow and also the handrail in front of the wheel house


Mark 

[steamboatmodel]

Hi Mark,
Fantastic build, are you going to put glass in the windows and doors?
I did one where I used microscope slide glass and some glass from old projector slides.
Gerald.

[Mark T]

Hi Gerald - Thanks for your comments 


I'm not going to put glass in the windows on this build.  There is a table in the wheel house and I want to put a hole in the deck underneath it.  This is because I want to get as much air into the hull as possible for the burner.  I also want to be able to let as much heat out as possible too.  I guess every little helps but to make it resistant to the elements I'm going to treat the inside of the wheel house as if its outside and coat it with polyurethane


Mark

[Mark T]

Hi All


Another update on the Anteo - I did some more work on the doors so I marked out the hinge rebates; cut them out and fitted the hinges and pins.  I've also fitted the door handles and drilled the holes for the hinges in the wheelhouse so they are finished and can be put to one side now.

















I've also fitted the wheelhouse window frames which are the same brass material as the brass work around the hull.  I dulled them down and they also have a small 1mm x 1mm drip surround.  I didn't like the way that I could see the plywood between the mahogany planks so I've also lined all of the window and door reveals to hide this.  This is also just about finished so I can also put this to one side for a while.








And then its onto the bridge which is formed using 5 thin pieces of plywood.  The problem is keeping it all square and straight the picture below shows one of the problems.





So I first made temporary supports for the side pieces to over come this problem and keep them vertical at 90 degrees.  I only used a very small amount of glue as they do need to come off.  It doesn't matter if the ply is damaged as its all got to be planked over anyway.











And then fitted the rest of the bridge parts     I'm laughing because it was so awkward     The corner pieces that were supplied would just not fit.  I tried for an entire morning but no matter how I trimmed them they just kept on pushing the entire bridge out of square.  This explains why I have seen a few finished Anteo tugs with what looks like a sagging bridge.  So in the end I just made some as its quicker and easier.  The only material I had was the wheelhouse roof so I'll have to replace that at some point.











Once I had planked the outside of the bridge I removed all of the temporary supports which did so a bit of damage but thats ok





The completed outer planking











So the next step os to lay the floor for the wheel house and then get the interior of that complete and also the inner planking of the bridge


Cheers Mark 

[ooyah/2]

Hi Mark,
I now see how you can get so much done, you even stay up and build in your " JIMMIES"
Yo might have put some socks on!!!!!!!
Great workmanship and such fine detail.


George.

[Mark T]

   Always comfort first George 

[Mark T]

Just a quick update - amongst other things today I decided to give making a grate a go.  I want to drill an opening underneath the captains table but I didn't just want to leave a hole so a grate seemed like the best way to go.


I think it came out ok - its made out of 1mm x 2mm interlocking pieces.  Its not quite square but for a first go......well














Cheers Mark

[carlfmiller]

Mark  is it is truly amazing the things you do. What a sublimely perfect project!


Carl

[Mark T]

Carl - Thank you 


Well the good news is I am actually back at work after 8 weeks on furlough but lets see how long it lasts.  This will obviously slow me down a bit but hey ho I've got to pay the bills 


I've now planked the inside of the bridge and also laid the wheel house floor.  I had to put a border of mahogany around the pear wood planks; not to be flash I just was 2 planks short to do it all in 1 type of wood.  I like to try and use what I've got at hand!








I then drilled a 20mm hole through the floor which is directly above the burner and fitted the grate that I had previously made.











Next I made the box at the bottom of the mast which also sets its final angle after its been tapered to shape.  I used box wood for this as I think it matches the ramin of the mast

















So far so good     The next job is to let the navigation lights into the bridge.  If I had to make this again I would have fitted these before planking the bridge but hindsight is a wonderful thing.  I think that this is now going to be a very time consuming tricky job.  After that I need to make a load of pear wood planks for the deck and fit them.  The plan is to make the wheel house removable after the planking is complete so that I can actually get to it to sand it smooth but I'll see how that goes.


Thanks all - Mark

[Mark T]

Hi everyone


Well I've had to take it a bit easy this weekend as I'm back to work and I forgot just how hard it is to load and unload a car transporter 2 - 3 times a day. I'm so match unfit i can't believe it but I just need to rest and get back into it gradually; this is definitely a young mans game!


Anyway I've got a little bit done - Firstly I had to turn some blocks of pear wood into planks for the wheel house deck.





Then using RST's very timely reminder about nothing sticks to sellotape - I wrapped the bottom of the wheel house in sellotape as I don't want to glue this in yet.  It would be far to difficult to sand everything down given the small spaces.  So I planked around it with the plan to remove it later.











The sellotape worked a treat so I could then remove the wheel house and finish the planking











Sorry that there's not much to see     Next jobs are to fit and let in the nav lights and also make a start on the very tricky cap rail.  Hope that you are all well and I'm off to bed in an hour as I've got a 3am start in the morning.  If anyone tells you that cars aren't selling give them a reality check.  We are so busy at work its just unbelievable but I can honestly say that I am very grateful for that.


Mark 

[Taranis]

Non of your posts are ever fruitless. ALWAYS pictures of beauty, no duds    I hope getting back to the grind doesn't cause too much burn 

[KNO3]

That pear wood looks very nice on the deck.

[Geoff]

Its looking really superb so keep up the good work. If I may make a suggestion, at this scale the bridge windows should be glazed and it will look better. If you leave one of the doors open this will permit air to get in.


I have a steam powered model of HMS Velox from 1908 at 1/48 scale and to ensure sufficient air to the boiler I ducted a 6 volt computer fan using existing ventilators. This has worked very well and I have never had any flame out issues. May I counsel something similar may solve any oxygen starvation. With an enclosed plant it is also imperative to permit air to exit as well.


With a steam powered Victorian Battleship, Canopus 1899, it all worked in the bath but the burner kept going out on the lake. In the end it was oxygen starvation but why did it work in the bath and not the lake. The answer was movement as whilst all the cowling ventilators worked when actually sailing hot oxygen starved air couldn't float out due to the movement and eventually built up to starve the burner. Took the deck off and re-lit then it would stop again in 10 mins because the hot air released when I took the deck off! I just made some additional exit holes and no further problems.


Cheers


Geoff

[Mark T]

Thanks all for the comments it really is appreciated 


Hi Geoff - when I first started this build I did have it in my head to fit a fan as you have suggested. I know that many people swear by them but I decided to try and not have one. This was after talking to several people who have had mixed success and also it’s just another layer of complexity within the hull. This is pretty much why I’m making all 6 doors on the boiler housing as opening and have the 10 sky lights opening over the engine too. If I combine that with all of the open port holes and working boiler house air intakes it should be sufficient I hope to allow enough air in and enough hot air out. I guess only time will tell when I get it finished. The nice thing is if I do need a fan I can retro fit it as I’ve got the room.  Thanks for sharing your experience as I have no doubt that it will have many teething issues


Mark

[KNO3]

I did have a fan in my steam tug (all windows glazed, but I leave some sky lights and hatches opened during running). It was useful when I used an alcohol boiler, as it improved the burning. With the current gas burner I found that the gas pressure drew enough air so the fan wasn't necessary any more. I have since removed it.

That being said, glazed windows really look better.

[Mark T]

A small update from me today


I've been fitting the navigation lights which I've been kind of putting off just in case I got these wrong.  But they seem to have turned out ok.


First I made the nav boxes which are just a simple case of glueing 4 bits of ply together





Then was the harder bit - marking out and cutting the hole that the are recessed in.  I had no room for error as I can't use any filler so it was a case of remove little and often and just keep trying the fit.





Then glue the box in place





Then repeat for the other side





I wasn't too happy with the way the ply looked on the inside of the bridge as it will be on show to a certain extent





So as a solution I decided to make a small box out of boxwood (very apt!!) to cover it up





Before and after





The next job will be the cap rail and the exterior trim around the bridge.  That should pretty it up a bit


Mark

[Capt Podge]

That's a good solution for the nav light boxes. As a bonus, this should block any 'back-light' as well - assuming that you intend installing working lights.
Looking good Mark. 


Regards,
Ray.

[Mark T]

Hi Ray and thanks     I've done the other side now so this job is complete. I'm not putting lights in this model but I will paint the inside of the boxes red and green - as we do!

[derekwarner]

Morning Mark........not wanting to throw a spaniard in the works 


I understand models of the Anteno all appear to have the red & green basic Nav Light boxes internally painted with the appropriate colours


Again, I understand the original Anteno was a pre WWII build in Italy, however I am not sure what conventions were applied under the Italian Maritime Regulations at that time


We have a few similar vintage Australian built steam tugs in operation and they have the Nav Light boxes internally painted flat black, with the lamps as the red and green coloured elements  ...wether this was done to eliminate any reflection [back light]?......I am unsure


Had a quick look at Maritime conventions for pre WWII, however cannot find any clear distinction...Capt Podge has a few days under steam so may be able to comment


Derek

[Jerry C]

The Matt black came in with the 1972 collision regulations. Having coloured sidelight screens ruined the cut off angles abaft the beam. With Matt black no light is reflected by the screen so each light shows from right ahead to 112.5°. The lamps are special also in that the filament is vertical.
Jerry.