Doing a scratch-build- a few things on my mind (or at least what's left of my mind)- a brief tirade

And I was half asleep....

This is my first visit to the "scratchbuilding" forum and your post was the first one I opened. I can empathise with your feelings, but don't let others get you down. Let me share my story (tirade) with you...

I live in a country where there are no hobby stores, model supplies, model clubs, etc. In fact, the very concept of a hobby is about as far removed from daily life as possible. Laos is a very poor country and although the people are peaceful, contented and mostly happy, the average person's life revolves around providing the basics of life for their family - a roof over their head and food on the table. That's why the concept of a pastime or hobby is bizarre and unknown.

My Lao wife is just gobsmacked at my insistence on tinkering with styrene model kits. Despite many attempts at explaining that I enjoy it because it keeps my hands and mind active, I haven't been able to clarify the concept of a hobby to her. She just doesn't get it - she thinks that if I can't make any money from it to add to the household income, then it's a waste if time. She (and her quite large extended family) continue to be amazed at the way I "waste my time playing with my toys" and I cop a never-ending stream of flak over it.

Nevertheless, each time my wife voices her concern about my "time wasting", I just ask her if she'd prefer me to be at home "playing with my toys" or out at one of the many bars & nightclubs around town with some of my expatriate mates? Although she still doesn't undertsand why I am so engrossed in a piece of plastic, she accepts that it's the better alternative.

My model building keeps me busy, costs little and rewards me with a sense of achievement. I don't build for display or contests, but for my own satisfaction & enjoyment. I'm sure you probably feel the same. That said, who cares what others think?

Actually, you and I experience a lot of simularities.  When I was a kid and did scratchbuilds, people couldn't understand.  I had a choice, make my own toys or do without.  Yeah I got toys from family, but they had an idea of "you'll play with what I want you to play with".  So I started building a lot of my toys.  As I got older I did a lot of chores for others in the neigborhood for pay, and started buying my own toys.  But I found I didn't have the same satisfaction in playing with what I bought like I did in playing with what I built.

Now that I'm nearly 40, when I mention this desire, a lot of people are confused.  Almost like I have to show them proof of my disability and then proof that I have "worked an honest day" in my life to deserve the "right" to enjoy it.  Crazy & stupid.  Then they get "offended" when I shove a copy of my DD214 in their face and call them out for a fight!

/end nonsensical rant

Badger, do what you love to do. If scratch building floats your boats, then do it. Build, build and build until you can't build anymore. I love to scratch build, no matter what it is. I can't build if I'm tired. Nothing seems to gell. Oh, I wish I was 40 years old again. I turned 52 in September and I only feel like 92. lol Just kidding.
I can't wait to see the boat.
Regards,

Nick

Thanks for the support Nick! 

Oh I'm gonna build it, and right now I'm looking at a strange perversion of the Arctic Corsair.  I considered doing other ships, but the detail it would take for those would be out of my league.

You bet I'll put pics up once it's built!  I'm now waiting for a mpdel of the AC so I can start sketching out plans.  I thought of doing the J. O'Brien,but again the detail would be too much.

 

No problem.
Have you gotten any plans or actual dimensions of the original ship?
You appear to be very excited about this project.
I'm excited for you.
I have never built a ship but hopefully someday I'll attempt to do so.

What if you only built a section of the ship?
So you can see the inside also.
That would be unreal!
Nick

Nope, no plans yet which is why I ordered a plastic model via eBay.  Apparently Revell doesn't make the trawler any longer.

That's an idea, except this baby's gonna be what I wanted when I was a kid- a ship I can ride in.  Crazy I suppose, but it's gonna be fun!  Already getting a lot of the stuff together.  I have the hull already now just the electronics, deck work and superstructure need done.  

 

i remember back in the winter of 76/77 that a guy had on display in a mall near were i live of a working 40' model of the bismarck. he actually controls it from inside the model & the guns fired blanks.

ddp, sounds like what I wanted as a kid!

 

Right now gather sources for the gear.  Found good & inexpensive decking material (Home Depot), have a model ordered so I can copy from it (still waiting for it), now trying to figure out the real scale lighting arrangement to copy after.  (Hints are welcome, gentlemen!)

When I go by a few lakes up here I can imagine how it'd look.  And that gets me to consider having alternate controls.  Onboard and either IR or RC.  Anybody know about those?

 

Badger - I have Kayaks 16 ' long - Thats sounds like a Fantastic Plan, I hope you continue to follow it through.  I still have the Instruction book and plans from this Dumas R/C build yrs ago. I can copy key elements of the build if you are interested. 

All the decking is individual Mahogany strips, just like building a real one only in miniature.

The only down~fault to building your project is avail. space, If you have a two car garage or similar sized shed not being used "Go For It" . I have always wanted to build a 1/1  WWI airplane myself......  Simple designs and bacic materials, I just have not been able to convince my Dad to let me use the Hay Barn on his place in Co. to build it

I'm more interested in the elctronics end.  But that's also in the thousand dollar range, I think.  I havn't been in RC in decades.

Ok, took to the model with a caliper & calculator.  So, going by the method I used as a kid....

The model is 37.3 cm long.  That comes to 14.685" long.  Since the scale is 1:142, and the hull I'm using is 16' long, the end scale to be used comes out to be 10.86.

Using this, I took the caliper to the superstructure.   Since the hulls are considerably different in regards to width, I did length only.  The length of the superstructure is 17 cm.  Multiplied by the scale coefficent 10.86 (what I always knew the end number as), it comes to 184.62.  Divide that by 2.54 cm. and that gets me 72.685.  Divide by 12 and I get 6' 2/3".  So now you guys see the math work I'm doing with this. 

Problem I see here is I'm gonna have to make a LOT of changes in the ship design.  To be absolutely to scale, and the hull's 2' 8-3/4" too long.  The figurines to be used would between a GI Joe doll and a Ken & Barbie doll, in height.  1:10.86 is a good scale, really.  It gives me something to work with.

Now to go select the figurines I want to use.  Except then, I'll only need one for the model construction.  Honestly, NOW it's getting to the point of "playing with dolls & toys", which I don't care for nor really see this as. 

Now at this point I ask for opinions.  Since the end scale & model scale really don't agree, what are your suggestions?  I'm thinking I will go ahead and build the Arctic Corsair model, and take measurements of the part along the way.  Then, I already know I'm having to make a huge change in ship scale, build a custom trawler.  Kinda. Man, part of me says this is gonna beeasier than I think.  But then I also know that everytime I did a scratchbuild I thought was easy, it never was.

 

 

 

 

 

HI BADGER !  If you are really  serious . Give this a thought, I scratchbuilt a container ship from an old trashed 18foot fishing skiff !! The next project was to put two together and do a W.W.1 ship (YOU KNOW ,THE GREAT WHITE FLEET ) Never got the chance due to what they like to call life . OH ,WELL I guess there,s always next year .

HI !  the thing is , do you think you could start making the few models you might make of wood as gifts? I ran into the same stuff after my time in service . When I built a wood model of P and O  ORIENT LINES  CANBERRA for an AUSSIE friend of mine ,It turned my hobby into a sideline business . The the only thing you,ve got to do is build what sells and build something else for HOBBY TIME . Example ,if you,re good with boats ,build them and sell them in gift shops ,then one or two nights a week build ,say cars . Never try to build for sale ,and have as a  hobby ,the same subject . For some the mixing of the two doesn,t work .