A Super-Structure

I worked on a bunch of different tasks tonight including a talk scheduled for next Saturday at the the Potomac Division Minicon, shipped some products for Alkem Scale Models, ran the spin caster for an hour making parts, and finally did some work on the superstructure for the ships on the layout.

Work continues on the superstructure 

I reworked the bridge valance parts, and added home-made some hand rails to the superstructure. The Anna Marie kit comes with etched handrails, but for this model I opted to make the railings from 0.020 inch phosphor bronze. I elected to do this because the phosphor bronze hand rails can be soldered and are much stronger than the etched parts.

I also thought some more about making the Anna Marie longer. The middle photo shows the kit hull with an HO Genset loco and a Ford Explorer. The idea is to make the ships dominate the trains. Thus I plan to lengthen the ship.

The ship needs to be bigger to dwarf the trains.

With a beam of 7 inches, extending the Anna Maire hull from 39 to 50 inches is very much within the realm of feasible. Seagoing ships have L/B ratios of around 7:1. For example the BBC New York class ships are 130m long and have a 16m Beam. That works out to 58.5 inches long and 7.2 inches in beam in HO scale. That generates a L/B of 8.1.

I think the best approach to lengthening the hull is to cut off the parallel mid body and fabricate new parts on the laser. That way I can add the scupper and other holes very precisely and easily. Those parts are essentially flat panels. The bulwarks on the kit require a bit of work in filing and sanding, so getting rid of as much of the kit bulwarks as possible will make for less sanding.

I still haven't decided what to do about the second ship planned for the scene. I may use the Anna Marie at the grain elevator and make a larger ship at the Harbor Island wharf, perhaps using the half hull concept.

 A BBC New York class ship near New Orleans, LA taking on bulk cargo. (photo from Shipspotting)