Building of the USS Blunderbuss - 28mm aeronef

[Ray Rivers]

Hard a'port!  Mr. Christian you may commence firing!

Flying Bridge Complete!   

Closeup:


Sideview:


Had a bit of problems with the rope railings.     I was trying to tie off the ends and then glue them first, and it didn't work very well.  I finally discovered the best method was to loop the nylon through the eyelet once, glue it, and then tie it off.  As in all things scratch built, if you don't do a lot, you are always "learning" over and over.

The main central structure, however, is now complete.     I have one more building project left to go.  That will be taking these things...



And making two Gatling gun tubs.

I see a light at the end of the tunnel.... 

[gamer Mac]

Great stuff Ray
I light the pun...sorry like the pun..light at the end of the tunnel.

[Ray Rivers]

I light the pun...sorry like the pun..light at the end of the tunnel.

 

[Mancha]

This is definately one of the more unique flying machines.

How do you intend to crew it?  The crew you have in the pictures sort of runs the gamut from Victorian through to 1940s pulp.  Because your flyer doesn't easily fit into a recognizable era/category, that probably works for you.  I'm wondering how to crew mine though.  I've been wanting some Pulp Figures sailors, but I worry that they'll look weird on my more recognizably Victorian flyer.  Anyway, your thoughts on the topic of crew in general would be helpful.


Gotta add: Boy, am I glad I didn't order the stanchions from Reverisco!  You did a great job with them, but I can just imagine the pure hell it must have been to lace all of them.

(Er, hope none of this comes across as a "left-handed compliment.")

[Ray Rivers]

How do you intend to crew it?

Funny you should ask!   

Just today... I received a PayPal invoice, believe it or not, from Trevor at Redoubt Enterprises for 10 unarmed sailors with the Victorian era flat hat!   

Had to email him with a direct request as they don't appear on his store front.

Ill post a picture of them when I get them.

As for the stanchions... yep... they were a huge pain in the arse to do. 

[Mancha]

Just today... I received a PayPal invoice, believe it or not, from Trevor at Redoubt Enterprises for 10 unarmed sailors with the Victorian era flat hat!   

Ill post a picture of them when I get them.

Please do.  I look forward to seeing them.  If you don't mind me asking, how much were they?

[Ray Rivers]

Ordered 12 figures and they cost 17.25 euros or 15.00 GBP including postage to Spain.

Check out page two of "The Yanks have arrived" thread to get an idea of what they look like.

Or yea, the sailors also have separate heads.

[Dewbakuk]

Looking good. Was it intentional to have the most vulnerable people on the ship be the command crew?

[Ray Rivers]

Was it intentional to have the most vulnerable people on the ship be the command crew?

Yep.  It's a gunboat, designed for ground support not fleet engagements.

[Dewbakuk]

Ah, so it's not some deep seated objection to authority figures then..........

[Ray Rivers]

The bullets whizzed past the Captain's ears.  One struck the helmsmen in the chest.

"Sir, I've been shot!" the helmsman gasped.

"What bad luck," the Captain responded.  "Be a good man now and hold her steady.  The battle is almost over."

 

[Ray Rivers]

Not much progress this weekend... 

Life once again intervenes.

Here is a shot of my work to date on the gun tubs for my gatlings:



Basically, I chop up the two plastic cups to approximate size, do a bit of filing to get some smooth lines, use plasticard strips to give me the proper form, shave and file off any excess from the red cup, and then add rivets and cut out the wooden deck.

The large open area is where folks enter the tub (the back) and the slightly lowered area is where the gatling will be fit (the front).

Still a lot of work to do here, but hopefully soon I'll have this bit finished.

 

[dijit]

Looking good so far, all this building aeronefs, is not good for my sanity. Every time I look at them I feel the pull to build one myself, even though I don't do any VSF gaming at all, not own a model that would suit it - ahhhhh!
But great work, keep it up.

[Ray Rivers]

Thanks Mate!

Update: Gun tubs installed amidships!

My latest work on the gun tubs included filing down the rivets, installing the deck, constructing a crude platform to sit the tubs on (the deck area there is slanted downwards) and gluing it all together.

Here is a shot from above:



Weird, eh?

And here is a closeup in which you can see the little plastic platform below the tub:



I'll be using milliput to fill in the area below the tube.  After that... adding some decking from the interior to the entry of the tube to serve as a walkway, adding the gatlings, putting railings on the walkway  , and painting the whole thing up.

That will complete the "crewed" area of the ship and then I'll be turning to the hull.

Happy trails!

[dampfpanzerwagon]

Its looking very good.  I do enjoy your updates.

Suggestion;  It really does need a tail of some sort, what are your plans?

Tony
http://dampfpanzerwagon.blogspot.com/