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[DickyD]

yes more pics and also can you make them larger as well for us old ones can see them more better



         

Try clicking on the photos, it makes them bigger.

[pugwash]

You should be fast asleep resting Dicky!!!!!!

Geoff

[DickyD]

Thats all I've been doing since Friday Geoff. I am going to try again now.

[atlam]

  :-)Hello Shipmates
                           Yesterday would have been the wrong day to tell you that I
                           was an ordinary seaman on S.S OHIO in the Pedestal Convoy
                           August 1942
                                            for the last 62 years am  anchored at Blyth
                                                                                                      Northumberland           

[Yarpie]

Hi atlam,

that could almost be read backwards as .............MALTA.

Wonderful to hear from you sir, and I hope that you are well. April the first or not, nobody would joke about an event such as you endured all those years ago.

Perhaps, if you have the time and inclination, you would do us the honour of relating some of your proud recollections on this thread.

I'm sure that the Moderators wouldn't mind as its a very rare opportunity indeed.

And perhaps you could clear up a little conundrum that we have regarding the colour of the OHIO's decks during that fateful  and epic journey. (I know that you didn't really have time to study the deck colour then, as there were one or two other distractions going on at the time).

Once again, its an honour to hear from you.

Stay well.

Yarpie.

[unbuiltnautilus]

  
Thank you for your interest. I hope we do this period in history justice with our forthcoming Pedestal Dispay. I am looking forward to the next stage of the build....slapping grey paint all over the model. Easier than doing the same to a 515' Tanker

[ben hall]

 
Thank you for your interest. I hope we do this period in history justice with our forthcoming Pedestal Dispay. I am looking forward to the next stage of the build....slapping grey paint all over the model. Easier than doing the same to a 515' Tanker

i helped him with that post 

[unbuiltnautilus]

Okay, it floats, on with the next part...
The drawings I have depict Ohio 'as built'. I now need to modify the drawings to depict her as she entered malta in August 42.





The drawings are to a scale of 1/96 and will need enlarging, however I have chosen to draw the various fitments at this scale. Using the various images of Ohio as she approached and entered her destination, I have managed to locate the positions of the forward 3" gun platform, the aft 5" gun platform, the 40mm Bofors gun just in front of the 5" mount, and four of the six 20mm Oerlikons. Two flank the 40mm mount and two are on the outer bridge wings on a platform added, I assume, for wartime service. The last two 20mm Oerlikons are proving a bit of a mystery. I cannot locate them in the photographs and I believe existing models are inaccurate in their depiction of the ship. Help!

[unbuiltnautilus]

Help received, many thanks.
Alan...

[unbuiltnautilus]

Onwards and upwards...
The forward superstructure is next.Scaling up from the plans at 1/96, I produced a card template of the lower bridge deck, then offered this up to the model and tweaked accordingly. As I worked up deck by deck, I removed parts from this original template as the decks become smaller, cutting the 1/8" ply decks as I went.









Then its offer it up, balanced on boxes, to see how it looks. The upper deck gun platforms do not match any other models I have seen of Ohio, as I believe these previous models represent her 'post Pedestal' while she served as a Stores Depot ship in Valetta Harbour. So, apart from the obvious deviations from scale to facilitate her special 'functions', I am still hoping for a good, scale representation of the ship at the time of the Pedestal convoy.

[atlam]

  :-)Hello Shipmates
                           Yesterday would have been the wrong day to tell you that I
                           was an ordinary seaman on S.S OHIO in the Pedestal Convoy
                           August 1942
                                            for the last 62 years am  anchored at Blyth
                                                                                                      Northumberland           

[unbuiltnautilus]

Sunday, and time for the rear superstructure decks. These are cut out of 1/8" ply sheet and are scaled up by 1.4 from the drawings ( and sometimes tweaked to fit the hull where 'variations' occur ). From the front of the vessel we have a 3" gun mount offset to port on the bows, two 20mm mounts on the upper bridge wings, plus the decks below that, aft is the boat deck with two 20mm mounts followed by the 40mm Bofors mount ( square ) and finally,the circular 5" mount at the stern.



On the port side, outboard is one of the 'Destroyer Catchers', and visible on the table on the right of the first image is one of the control boxes for another merchant ship.





It may not be running yet, but there is smoke from the flue! A home made 'Jim Special' smoke unit running at 12v and about 2.3 Amps. Notice the difference between the 22mm copper tube only, and the ( Patent Pending ) Pringles funnel as far as smoke volume is concerned. The smoke seems to linger in the tube, producing what appears to be greater volume of smoke.

Please note; other potato based snacks are available...........however, you try sticking a Monster Munch bag over your heated copper flue and see what happens.
Cheers, Pringles ( Not keen on the Salt and Vinegar flavour though, wrong colour for the funnel......)

[triumphjon]

monster munch bags over your copper flue pipe , bet we all know what you used to do at school ! nice to see your model progressing so well 

[bat44]

OK we have planed it talked about it now comes the time to make it yes the front superstructure.The bigest problem was how to build with a camber and a curved front end.First we clued a 5mm spacer across the front access in the superstructure. then a big lump of filler is put over the Deck then the new ply wood Deck is put on top of this than bolted down to form the camber of the deck





this was left to go of at this point it was time to put the kettle for a cup of tea and a donut. With the filler gone of a quick clean up and see if it work out the way hoped

[bat44]

with the filler cleaned up and yes it had work and so we had a good base to start from









with this part done then comes the comins for the superstructure was added



to help with the next deck two blocks of wood were clued at the ends



then this was clued in postion so far so good. Now comes the good bit this part needs to have a camber as well as a curve and also to be part of the removerball superstructure

[bat44]

this was done by using six bits of wood and a bit of ply



this was all clued up and left to dry over the next couple of days so  fingers crossed lets hope this has worked

[unbuiltnautilus]

Cheers for filling in for me on the photos, Batboy. Good, clear images. Plug for donuts also, brain food

[unbuiltnautilus]

The build goes on...
Next we have the bridge decks, these have a slight camber to them ( a quarter of an inch higher down the centreline of the model ) as detailed in one of Bat 44s posts. Now we had to start piling deck upon deck. This proved problematic as we had great difficulty measuring a vertical 'plum line' for the proceeding decks.







This deck had to be removable and provide the ( stiff ) structure off of which the upper decks would be profiled. Assembled with 5 minute epoxy it did the job, once unstuck from the not very protective masking tape.


The next deck was soaked in boiling water and clamped to dry over three days.

[unbuiltnautilus]

Next deck up, out with the Jelatung, best carving wood there is, and hoarded with the intention of using it on the next project all the time! Well, this is the next project..









The fore and aft parts were trimmed to fit first, then epoxied into place. 1/8" ply was then epoxied in as sides followed by 1/4" spruce stringers along the upper edge.
The upper deck was then epoxied and clamped into position.
Finally, the navigating bridge was assembled, this is rectangular, so could be assembled with cyano glue first, then beefed up with epoxy when assembled.
The diagonal timber is forcing the bridge front back into shape after I clamped all the curve out of it!!



The reason for the 'lift shaft' running up through the bridge is to allow an 'Arm/Safe switch and indicator lights to be fitted from the control box below to the bridge above. This allows our Safety people to arm or disarm the model quickly without having to open any hatches, something I would advise anyone considering pyrotechnics or fire effects on a model, to fit.

[unbuiltnautilus]

Miscellaneous bit first, suppiled by a fellow club member, giant phosphor bronze washers now used as load spreaders wher the hull sections bolt together.

Next, with the bridge nearing completion it is on with the aft boat deck. This is where the radio equipment is that controls the models standard functions, this will be splash proof as I feel the model may get 'splashed' occasionally
To aid construction of this first deck I have decided to raise a submarine style hatch off of the deck of the model, pictured are the 1/4" plywood surround and the 6mm acrylic lid.






These will form the 'locator' for the hatch. 10mm plywood will form the lower part of the hatch, this will be bonded to the 1/8" upper boat deck, finally the sides will be fitted when this is all secure. It makes a change not having to worry one jot about the weight of the component parts

[unbuiltnautilus]

One bit leads to another bit. The build of the boat deck relied on a number of parts completing at once. This didn't quite happen, so the pioneering 'measure, cut, stick, measure, cut, stick' build technique was interupted by donut and coffee down time!




















I think the pictures are self explanitary, the model is, I believe the new term is "under engineered", I prefer "bombproof". Although that is yet to be tested

[unbuiltnautilus]

While waiting for glue to dry, I put the funnel supporting structure together, including the engine room skylight. This acts as ventilation for the installed funnel smoke unit.

[triumphjon]

boat is taking shape nicely , you be careful with all those donut breaks or the boat might not be the only thing taking shape !

[tobyker]

Been looking at my copy of "Malta Convoy" (Shankland & Hunter, 1961) p 189 " the 6-inch gun at the bows twisted in its mounting and was put out of action." "On the bridge, the bofors had been in action for nearly half an hour".. ( Gunner Billings shhots down a Ju 87 which crashes into the side of the ship) Do you have a copy of this book?

[tobyker]

Also p 201 " Another bomber came screaming down towards the OHIO fro the starboard beam. The lower bridge oerlikon opened up ...... I bet it's hidden by the tug's white funnel in the "entering harbour" photo.(Can't see a 6" on the foredeck though - wonder of that's a misprint?).