Paper Ship: SMS Emden (1910), 1:250

[dr_gn]

mcdjl said:

How has this not driven you insane? Or were you already? I would have given up long ago having made a mess of making the main hull about 1/4 as well as you have those launches.

I keep having a break from it and coming back (as I do with most models). When it gets really frustrating there's no point pressing on - it's meant to be fun!

[dr_gn]

Rigging at last. I’m using a combination of stretched sprue (for short runs and for those mast supports that contribute to stiffness), and elastic thread for the rest.

My technique for elastic thread involves cutting it about 2mm short, fixing one end, and then using tweezers in an adjustable stand to de-tension the other until it’s glue has set:





Most of the hull rigging is done, now for the masts...

[dr_gn]

I’m assuming the tall masts were partly a left over from sailing ship design philosophy, and the standing rigging for them was necessary by default. I think getting a high vantage point for lookouts was maybe a reason along with all the things you mention. Did the later ships have shorter, stiffer masts, maybe partly made of steel?

[dr_gn]

caterhamnut said:

I am staggered how you can make such a paper model so crisply and evenly.....I mean, I know it takes skill etc - but even so - amazing!
I'm quite tempted to give it a go, simply as a model I can do without having all my 'gear' around me - I'm moving/new job etc etc so can't really paint/spray etc....I know you have said before, but can you remind me your source for these kits? cheers!

I get mine from the Maritime Museum in Hamburg, but the full range is available here:

https://www.kartonmodellbau.de/epages/63481486.mob...

I’d go for the ones designed by Peter Brandt, rated “difficult” or “very difficult” - they’re the ones that usually have laser-cut sets available.

[dr_gn]

Front/upper mast rigging. Bit of a nightmare because when using sprue, the slightest imbalance in tension makes some line or other sag. Using elastic helps, but adds no strength to delicate structures which will themselves be subject to tension eventually...

[dr_gn]

I’m using a few different thicknesses of thread and sprue to make it look more interesting:



Apart from the two stays that run from the mast to the foredeck, I think the front one is complete:

[dr_gn]

The rigging on this thing is never ending. I hope the matt varnish I’ll be using doesn’t dissolve the pva...

[dr_gn]

Murph7355 said:

Do you need to varnish it? It looks amazing in the pictures you've posted. I'd be very reticent to do anything with any degree of risk to the finished product.

I guess varnish might give some protection, including UV? But couldn't you get a clear case that has a UV filter on it instead?

I know it's a risk - I nearly binned one of my previous models because of a reaction of the varnish with the ink. I've now moved to a water based version which seems less aggressive.

I varnish these models to normalise the finish; where any excess PVA is present, it turns the surface gloss, whereas once varnished it all becomes invisible. I think it also helps seal the pva against moisture - once it's fully cured.

My other 3 paper ships are in perspex cases, but this one is going to be £70+, so I'll not be ordering it until I know the finished model is worthy of the expense!

[dr_gn]

The rigging is driving me nuts (not to mention a piece of white card I propped up behind the model fell onto it and bent the front upper mast), so I scratch-built a couple of missing features; the boarding steps hoist and the spare anchor crane. Probably not 100% accurate, but at least they’re there:

[dr_gn]

Thanks for all the positive comments guys - I’m calling it finished this evening:



I’ll take some better pictures at some point.

[dr_gn]

Thanks guys, much appreciated!

I’m borrowing some camera lights tomorrow so I’ll hopefully get some decent images if it works out.

[dr_gn]

Turn7 said:

Astonishing build.

What will you do with it now ?

Thanks! I’ll get a case and put it with the others in my office.

[dr_gn]

lufbramatt said:

Beautiful work, really fascinating seeing this come together, thanks for sharing the progress.

The number of these kits that get completed must be tiny, seeing the amount of skilled effort that has gone in to this.

What's the next one then? ;-)

Thanks very much! I always look online for other build logs of the same kit, but could only find one. Then, on the Paper Modellers forum I'm on, someone else ("Speedbird") saw my build and started their own HMV Emden:

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/ships-watercraf...

It's well worth having a look at his thread because he usually builds 1:700 resin/plastic warships to an incredible standard. Anyway, having someone else to bounce ideas off was great, and his Emden is now nearly finished. It only took him 3 months, to my 8 months.

Not sure what the next paper ship will be. I get them from Germany, so I'll have a browse in April when I go over again. I'm keen to try Modelkasten Tungsten wire for the rigging (as "Speedbird" reccommends), becasue he reckons it makes intricate rigging a piece of cake, so maybe something of the same era. but smaller.

[dr_gn]

For anyone interested in model ships, this book is great:



Norman Ough is considered by many to be the greatest model ship builder of the 20th century. He drew exquisite plans for all his ships, in minute detail, sometimes just from photographs (often the ship in question’s details were still classified). He was reclusive, obsessive about his work, and apparently was even hospitalised a couple of times through not bothering to eat during the course of building a particular model!

[dr_gn]

Here are some better pictures of the finished model:





























Thanks for all the comments during the build (since April!),

Edited by dr_gn on Friday 8th February 15:47

[dr_gn]

Fallingup said:

Excellent job. Well done sir.

Thanks! Won best in class today at the IPMS Halifax model show. Very happy with that:

[dr_gn]

Thanks guys!

It's now in a case, on my bench with the other 3 paper ships.

[dr_gn]

saaby93 said:

tight5 said:

https://youtu.be/AuOCqYR9sKM

Does seem to be male dominated - I guess a knitting and quilting exhibition would be the opposite
Whats the stubby aircraft carrier at 3:30

Yup, lots of men and men dressed as women. My pal and I have a thing at shows where the first to spot a transvestite buys lunch. Also applies to model railway exhibitions for some reason.

The carrier thing is - I think - a 3D depiction of the Roy Cross box top art work for the Airfix 1:72 Firefly - on HMAS Sydney:



There's a whole box art 'Special Interest Group' at some shows where they try and depict some of the better images with real models.

Edited by dr_gn on Sunday 17th February 18:43

[dr_gn]

farmergiles80 said:

dr_gn said:

Thanks! Won best in class today at the IPMS Halifax model show. Very happy with that:

Amazing! i'd be really interested in seeing more pictures of other builds that you've done.

FG

Thanks! The other ships I've built are here:

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

I also build plastic aircraft and cars (and anything else that takes my fancy). Look through this forum for anything started by me and it's probably some kind of build thread.

[dr_gn]

AshVX220 said:

farmergiles80 said:

dr_gn said:

Thanks! The other ships I've built are here:

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

I also build plastic aircraft and cars (and anything else that takes my fancy). Look through this forum for anything started by me and it's probably some kind of build thread.

Thanks - I'll look forward to going through those links!

If aircraft are also your thing, then the build thread for dr_gn's 1:72 Dam Busters Tornado and the one for his 1:48 Mozzy are absolutely amazing (be prepared, you'll need a good few hours to read through them)!

Thanks! BTW the "wood-finish" Mosquito was 1:72, if that's what you're thinking of:

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...