I was playing around with my Proxxon Hot Wire cutter and made a bunch of shapes that looked like ACW rivercraft. I gave most of them away but this one last boat looked so forlorn that I just had to complete it
https://antonswargame.blogspot.com/2018/11/sometimes-things-just-happen-part-vi.html
A little while back I was playing around with my Proxxon Hot Wire cutter (how many of these stories start that way?) and knocked up some ACW style ironclads. Knowing the danger such things presented to my painting schedule I offered them up to anyone who would like one. Most went to good homes. Sadly this orphan was left alone.
Having an afternoon free I considered just chucking it in the bin and getting back to my Lace Wars cavalry schedule, but, once I had picked it up I got to thinking how simple a job it would be. The next thing I knew I was gluing things into place and cutting index card to represent the railroad irons that the Confederates used for armor. Of course after a few hours I was in too deep to quit so I plunged on and finished the job. This is where we stand now; just waiting fore the rivets to dry so I can start painting. Another pointless project, I don't even game ACW in 28mm!
This is how things played out.....
sitting there, so innocent looking, just a few simple geometric shapes
I still can't cut curves worth a darn, so there was bit of sanding involved
fitting the bow-plate
wood glue, I ran out of Titebond and used Elmer's
(which works great on real wood but behaves oddly when thinned and used on blueboard)
spread it around a bit with a brush to get good coverage
in no time I had the edges covered in card and a deck in place
the superstructure had a huge contact area, which would dry very slowly as the blueboard is not water-absorbing, so I spread a very thin layer of glue on and set it aside for a bit to get tacky
thin the glue slightly to ease spreading,
also sand the surface lightly beforehand to give the glue something to hold onto
too lazy to roll paper smokestacks I resorted to using instant drink tubes
they do look the part
then it was time to start making the iron rails that would be the armor
index card is great for this as the lines make it easy to cut long straight pieces
a thin coat of glue and I started laying the rails into place
as that was drying I added some armor to the pilothouse
more armor, I leave the extra part stick up past the edge of the work,
it is much faster than fitting and trimming each piece as it is installed
once dry you can trim it back with scissors
another "look check" to make sure I was on the right path
I don't work to plans and was building this from memory
joining plates to cover the rough ends of the railroad "armor"
nice and tidy
shutters over the cannon ports, some raised, some lowered
then the pilothouse got attached
the bottom of the smokestacks were wrapped in a few windings of card to give them some heft
and make them easier to glue into place
cannon ports were cut through the armor plates
Quaker Guns! the cannon are just bits of dowel drilled out at one end
and sharpened on the other, then poked into the blueboard
then a liberal application of rivets, all that remains is paint
Welcome, Guest. Please 
April 24, 2024, 03:16:31 AM
