Iowa Class Engine Room #3 Model for BB62 Permanent Display

[Builder2010]

Thank you for the nice remarks. 90/90… hadn’t heard that before, but it’s definitely true. It’s like when you’re packing a house for a move. You get 90% done with no problem and then you have to do the kitchen and the various junk drawers held therein.

After spending about an hour attempting to design a new floor system that coule be inserted from the edge, I realized that, while I could get the left-most part to do that, the rest, especially the right-most portion would not and I scraped the idea turning to plan C. Plan C, suggested by Chris, is to make a small extension to the floor and fasten the overhanging legs there. This actually worked okay. It’s not real pretty, but the legs hanging over were just plain ugly, so it’s a definited improvement.

In order to give it strength I made the bottom piece 3/4" wide and notched it to clear the longitudinal frame members. I initially used Testor’s styrene tube cement, but had to add Tamiya liquid cement and then rubber-infused CA to deal with stubborn areas. There was a glitch that was causing the trouble; the pins from the columns, although I clipped them shorter, the were still protruding a bit and were keeping the styrene from adhering to the styrene decking.

The finished job could be better, but it solved a problem and the outer floor supports are now grounded on something solid and not just hanging out in thin air.

I’m detecting a patten… Somehow, the MRG foundation and/or the main condenser about 1/8" off of the ideal position. That 1/8" has been repeating itself everywhere and causing all sorts of things like the fit of the flooring, fits of the turbines, and fits of the catwalks that surround them. I can’t fix it, so I have to adapt to it. The units are very well epoxied in place—as they should be—and can/will not be removed.

On one of my other forums to which I post this thread, one of followers was an electrician in… guess what… the Battleship New Jersey Engine Room #3 from 1967 to 1969 when it was activated for Viet Nam. He was guided to the thread by a friend and offered some comments and congratulatory statements. While he found a couple of inaccuracies, he thought the overall venture was wonderful. He’s going to be at the ship for the 250th anniversary of the US Marines and it may coincide with my trip to deliver the model. I would like to meet him.

I painted the LP turbine shim and fixed the broken relief valve. I broke off one and had spares. It’s ready for installation. Before doing that I started fitting the various catwalks and found that 1/8" error causing some weird fits. Nothing too critical! In this image, the forward platform in front of the LP turbine is protruding past the bulkhead by 1/8" or so. It’s supposed to lie just behind it.

​

But, before going further with the propulsion plant, I installed the central column. The 1/8" again showed with the upper part of the entry hatch floor 1/8" offset to the port side. I could still epoxy it in place, but it’s not exactly placed as per the plan. I needed a little shim under one angle support under the column, but will be invisible after painting and all the rest of the starboard side equipment goes in.

We leave on vacation next Friday, but I should get plenty done from Monday thru Wednesday. I think all the goodies will be in place in a couple more work sessions. That’s assuming nothing breaks or I have to redo something to get a better fit.

Have a nice weekend.

[Builder2010]

I satisfied a couple of critics today. I was able to reposition the electrical control console with minimal damage. The reader who worked in ER 3 said there had to be a man-sized gap between the console and the electrical cabinets. I knew that my spacing was off, but was reluctant to atttempt to move it for fear of wrecking the paint and not having enough slack in the wiring. It the wires were too tight, I would have to de-solder a joint that’s already had that done before, and splice more length. As it worked out, there was extra wire nestled under the console. I had adhered this unit with the 3M Transfer tape and it can be pulled apart. It left some adhesive debris on the paint and I was able to get that reasonably fixed. I added some rubber infused CA to further adhere the unit since the transfer tape was no longer pristine. Touchup paint finished the repair. Not perfect, but funcitiionally correct.

I didn’t like how the elongated torque tube was pushing the LP turbine forward. It made the front catwalk stick out past the bulkhead. i took an 1/8" off of the design and reprinted it today. While the print was perfect, the catwalk was still just a bit proud of the wall. I went back to the origianl length part (didn’t discard them), and the catwalk fits as it should. The crossover pipe is just a little iffy and I’ll have to find the sweet spot to get it center on both turbines.

I spent over a half hour replacing the barrier film on the 3D printer. It was at its 60,000 layer limit and replacing it is essential for continued success. I spent the rest of the session practicing how to install the main air ejector (MAE) its associated piping and the exhaust steam pipe from the main condensate pump. The pump’s pipe has to feed through the MAE’s support frame. It’s a bit of a ballet. It’s not a good time to figure this stuff out when there’s epoxy dripping from everything. I had to fab one more pipe for the MAE, the condensate line back to the main condenser. I used a piece of Plastruct butyrate pipe left over from a long-completed model railroad project and bent it using a hot air gun.

More work will continue tomorrow.

[Builder2010]

As predicted, assembly work is moving fast. The units are big, but go in as single pieces. Today, the main propulsion system is in and piped including the astern steam lines. I got the main air ejector in place and fully piped. Main steam’s wiring is led down below. I got the catwalks fitted and cemented around the low pressure turbine. And I got the first flooring units on the port side installed. Again, I have to keep in top of mind what goes in before what or I get jammed up pretty quickly.

I found the sweet spot in positioning the hp and LP turbines so the cross over pipe was more or less centered on its flanges. This was glued with epoxy. Main steam was installed and it’s split feed glued into the input flanges on the HP throttle valve body. There is a lead wire coming down from this pipe for the LEDs that lie on its bottom.

Here’s the wiring disappearing beneath the floor.

It was time to get the fore catwalks in that surround the LP turbine. There’s a very narrow walk that lies between the two turbines and I was pleased that after fussing with the location of the LP turbine, the walk fit nicely. The larger catwalk that wraps around the turbine also was touch and go. The angular vertical braces in the front are not actually touching the LP support frame. I may be able to fix that so it looks a little better.

Next up was the main air ejector which glues to the front bulkhead. The vacuum pipe was a two-piece affair that had to locate somewhere under the main condenser. Took some fancy maneuvering to get all that cooperating. The steam inlet line ties in above to the main steam. This was adhered with epoxy and some med CA.

With the MAE in I added two more pipes that feed off of main steam, the astern steam lines. In the 1:1 model, they follow a curvy route, most likely for expansion with the 800 degree steam within. I attempted to duplicate this path.

The port flooring began with the front part. I had to stop there becase I need to install the turbogenerator unit and the port #4 prop shaft. Then the remaing floor goes in. I had to make some relief cuts on the walk in front of the lube pumps to clear the TG columns.

So here’s a shot showing progress to date. Notice how the pipes are sagging. These are supported by the ceiling hangers. I’m going fab some hangers out of brass that will hang from that little bit of ceiling from the stair entry.

And look at the dent I’m making in that massive parts pile. This is all that’s left. Could be done in two work sessions, but probably a bit longer for touch up work.

Stay tuned!

[Builder2010]

It’s gotten very difficult to see into the dark spaces to glue some things in. For example: after spending 1/2 hour to finally get all the pins on all the legs into their respective holes, I couldn’t reach in to add CA to the legs closest to the MRG. No matter how I attempted it, I a) I couldn’t see them, and b) even if I could, I had no way to get a glue applicator into the right spot. So those legs are not glued, but enough of them are to secure the unit… I hope. The other challenge was the clearances are so tight that things like pipe runs are bending around obstacles that, on the drawings, had clearance. The #4 prop shaft was very tight with the TG columns and the added leg to the forwad platform is being pushed to the starboard by the shaft. I may remove that tilted column and cantilever somethig from the electrical mezzanine. Those H-columns aren’t on the real ship. That platform is supported by the fore bulkhead which is cutaway on the model.

I cobbled together somekind of pipe hanger for the main steam line to raise it level. what I had envisioned didn’t account for the difficulty of working on the real pipe in its difficult location. I used some brass strip left over photoetched fret. Ironically, this particular piece was left over from when I built my Missouri in 2012. After cutting the material, I bent the overlap area and drilled a 25 gauge wire hole. I inserted a piece of #25 wire across the flats used a Vice Grip to squash one end so it would no longer pass through the hole. I formed a shaft and eye of the same wire and soldered this to the cross wire (while the wire was out of the holes). I then took it to the pipe and held the two flats together with a hemostat. I drilled a 32 gauge hole in the styrene floor of the entry and inserted the wire from underneath. I used a dental mirror to see where the wire was going. That wasn’t fun!

I pulled the two ends together with another forceps getting the cross wire into the other hole and then, using the same Vice Grip squashed the other end captivating the wire. I was impossible to solder in that space. After pulling the pipe up to the desired height, I bent the wiring sticking out of the hole. I made a little brass plate with a hole that was placed over the wire. I would have liked to solder the plate to the, but it’s on Styrene which melts at solder temperature. I’m going to use epoxy and trim the wire shorter. For the smaller astern steam line (also sagging) I used some aluminum wire to make a hanger, also threaded through a hole. This too will be epoxied. I held off with the epoxy until I have other things to use it on.

I attached the main condensate pump exhaust line to the fore side of the main condenser. This line had to thread its way behing the main air ejector. It made it, but it’s a bit askew.

I realized that I had better get that prop shaft in. It was a very tight fit and put some stress on the styrene bulkheads fore and aft due to pressure from one of the metal TG columns. I new it was a close fit, but I didn’t anticipate that it was contacting it. Everything is solid. And then was able to install the fore platform with the tilted column. I was planning on using epoxy, but the fit was so finicky that it would have been a mess if I touched other surfaces while maneuvering it into place.

I was just at the point to install the steam line to the TGs when I ran out of time. Tomorrow I will install that line and the last pipe that is the steam line to the main condensated pump. Once that’s in place, the last floor pieces go in; one aft of the port lower floor and the other between the MRG and the TG platform. I have to glue down the bridge over the torque tubes and it’s respective ladders. And then the last couple of ladders on the port side including the long one that runs from the upper floor to lower betwee the TGs and MRG. And then the very last thing that goes in is the electrical decks. AND THE MODEL WILL BE BUILT. I will be doing touch up painting and minor corrections of any gratings that were damaged during assembly.

Then I will finish up the case with the locking straps so I can install the case and tip it on the side to tie in the LED wiring. I also have to repair the damage I did to the wood base.

And then model will be ready for delivery.

Delivery will be early November I think.

[Builder2010]

The end is Nigh… Got more stuff in today with only the electrical loft and the auxiliary air ejectors to install. I also had to modify the drawings on two ladders. I reduced a 5-step to 4 and lengthened a 9-step to 10. These new printings are the result of my vertical errors. X-Y axis errors, while present, didn’t require reprintings. The Z-axis error of drawing and building the TG asembly about a 1 scale foot to tall caused my catwalks to not integrate as I drew them and made the ladders not fit in certain locations. Ryan would probably notice the differences, but the average viewer shouldl be so overwhelmed by the complexity that they shouldn’t notice.

Some things added were very noticeable, like the installation of the main gauge panel and phone booth, (sorry about the depth of field issues)

the remaing lower level floor,

and the grating platform between the MRG and TGs.

It was this pieces elevation that caused the ladder problem. The tall one that went from this level to the lower one didn’t reach the floor, and the one from the entry catwalk was too tall by one step. I epoxied the bridge in and its stair on the starboard side, but the port side needed some floor to land on so I epoxied a bit of grating to the ladder feet and next seesion will attach that grating to the rest of the catwalk.

I also installed the TG steam line and header into the main steam with a 3/64 brass pin and epoxy. I held it with tape until it cured. I then secured the lines into the turbos, also with epoxy. And then installed last steam pipe from the main header to the input side of the main condensate pump. There was slight misalignment in the x axis direction so the pipe is not plumb. I suppose I could redrawn and reprinted, but frankly, I’m wanting to finish the build. A lot of these slight misalignments are the result of the decision to draw and print all the piping instead of fitting it on the model after the operating units were in place. That too would have been very difficult as reaching into the model to measure and place things is getting impossible in certain areas. I dropped one of the small ladder units down between the LP turbine and MRG and had to use a wire with a hook on it to fish it out. Otherwise, I would have had to turn the model upside down and shaken it. And that ain’t gonna happen! For all the piping to end up perfectly square would required every unit to be placed precisely as they were drawn, and I don’t know how I could have pulled that off.

I put some Milliputt epoxy putty on the transition from the larger header to the smaller MCP pipe to give it a better look. I will finish sand it after it’s cured fully.

Installing the aux air ejectors shouldn’t present problems, nor should the installation of the electrical loft, but it will have to wait a couple of weeks. Tomorrow morning we’re leaving for a 10-day vacation to France, staring in the Burgundy Region and ending in Paris. My wife and I have been to Paris many times, mostly when we were living in Germany and I was working for Henkel. We enjoy travel and like France. The ladders are finished printing, but they’re going to hang draining the Machine until I get back to work. Now some might ask, what’s a guy who spends his time doing what he loves building creations need with a vacation. Heck, everyday is a vacation. That’s true, but my wife doesn’t have my level of creative engagement and it’s good to have a change of scenery to recharge the batteries.

So, here’s what’s left.

It’s hard to me to believe that all this;

Magically, turns into this….

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And the artist’s (Me) rendering done long ago when the drawings were just about finalized.

Within a week after we return the model should be done, lit and the case finalized. I will be photographing with a higher production value than the above. At the start, August 2024, I predicted it would take about 14 months to complete. We’re really close to that estimate.

[Dioramartin]

No magic involved, this is model-making genius hands down.

[golikell]

The result is really awe inspiring! I can’t wait to see it al finished. Please let us know the reaction of Ryan!
Bon voyage!

[RandyT]

What a marvelous job! Well done sir! Enjoy the vacation.

[madtatt]

I can hardly think of any more superlatives, just fantastic.

[Builder2010]

Thanks guys!

Back from France. Saw a lot, did a lot, tasted a lot of wine in Chablis, Beaune, Dijon and other places in Burgundy. Spent an equal amount of time in Paris seeing things that I hadn’t seen before. While I have been in Paris at least 6 times, there’s still more to see. One of the most memorable was seeing the newly finished Notre Dame. It’s looking as good as ever in its 800 year history. We walked up to five miles a day and my 80 year old body feels it. My wife and I both returned with colds, which seems par for the course in air travel these days. All I did with the model is reprint the 10 step ladders today. I was printing the new 4 and 10 step ladders the day we left, but the thumb drive ceased feeding data to the printer leaving the 10 step ladders half printed. I will get to them tomorrow. If I still feel like I do today, I will not be in the shop. More to come…

[Builder2010]

My cold morphed into a normal cold on its way out and my energy level was high enough to get to work on the beast. And, believe it or not, there is only a single part that needed design and printing to finish it off on Monday. The missing part is this ladder that goes from the mid-level to the lower electric mezzanine. Not only hadn’t I printed it (looks like 7 rungs), I really didn’t plan well for it’s installation as you can by the master drawing. The drawing shows a ladder that’s interfering with the framing next to, and there’s nothing supporting the free end.

It’s going to go here.

To facilitate installatin, I drew and printed the ladder with a bit of framing and grating. It printed right at the end of the session and the print looks successful. I printed only one as I wasn’t sure how successful it would be. With its success, I should have printed multiple copies since I invariably break on (or more).

I got the remaining interior ladders installed. I actually didn’t need the ones I just printed. The previous ones worked okay.

And the longer Center Ladder (hard to photograph).

From the outside:

And from the top:

But the biggest thing today was getting the electrical decks and the auxiliary air ejectors permanently installed, and with them the model IS COMPLETE—except for that one front ladder.

Tto install the aux AEs, I had one more pipe to connect. I had pre-pinned the pipe end and drilled an appropriate hole in the aux steam header.

And attached. The ejectors themselves are epoxied to the rear bulkhead. I used various spring tweezers to hold until epoxy cured.

Took a little while to get the electrical loft into its drilled holes. I had to slightly relieve the rear bulkhead so the escape trunk would pass by the prop shaft seal. Once I found that interference, the unit dropped into place.

When the ladder is in, I will remove the coverings on the base, do the touch up work on it, finish the case and hook up the wiring. Before closing it up I’ll take the final “builder’s photos” with good lighting and backdrop paper. Meanwhile, enjoy the eye candy. I can’t believe when I look at it that I actually drew, printed, painted and aseembled the whote thing. I had about a 30% confidence level going into it.

I added the QR code label to the lower front left corner that steers interested viewers to one of the web forums where I’ve blogged this entire build. As all of you that have read this from the beginning, if you really want to know how this model came to be, you can find it in the thousands of words in this thread.

I can predict with reasonable certainty that the model will be totally completed by the end of next week. I’d like to schedule delivery sometime in early November before Thanksgiving or early December before the holidays. We’ll see how that works out. Once models like this are finished, I don’t like keeping them around. I get superstitous about bead things happening to them. That’s not to say that wouldn’t like to have it around forever, but that’s not what this deal was all about. This is not a “private” model just for me to enjoy.

[Dioramartin]

Three letters: OMG

Maybe also print a bomb-proof, fire-proof, waterproof, earthquake-proof, pet & rodent-proof, and rogue human-proof container for it.

[Builder2010]

That is the only kind of container that I build.

[Builder2010]

Today is the official day that the MODEL IS DONE! Not the entire display, but the model itself. I started the process of fixing the display base and will complete that tomorrow and later. According to my friend who crafted the base, the finishing process is somewhat slow involving several coats of satin clear and guitar color with 1/2 hour dry times between coats. I bought some more fancy, oval-head brass screws that will hold the brass case clamps in place. I also created one more graphic that now adorns the case. It shows the position of ER #3 relative to the other three. I felt it was needed to add context to the model. The main thing done to day was finish and install that last ladder. It went on much more easily than I expected. Now… that’s a surprise!

After cleaning and post-curing, I spray canned Tamiya Silver Leaf for the ladder. When dry, masked and airbrushed Tamiya Semi-gloss Black and then hand brushed the foundation red to the underframe. When all this dried I epoxied it in place and IT’S DONE! The stair is in the foreground on the port (right) side. It needed a little platform to tie it back into the rest of the flooring system. I should have designed that bit in, but alas, did not.

For the refinishing… I had to scrape more of the epoxy strands on the left and fill the ding hole in the middle with Bondic before saning everything smooth. I masked around the Bondic patch so I could use the electric sander, but still caught some of the adjacent woodwork. It should finish pretty well. I’m going to decant the spray can products and use the airbrush to limit the area that’s going to get new finish. I’m worried about the blend line.

The graphic that’s now on the case is this:

I printed duplicates and adhered them back-to-back. I then attached it to the case with the 3M Transfer Tape as I did with the Item Key. The actual graphic is about 6" wide and a couple deep. It’s not going to block viewing anything important. It’s quite dramatic about how much of this ship’s interior is taken up by propulsion. That’s about 300’ feet of engines and boilers. Interestingly, the drawing has the layout of ER 3 incorrect. That doesn’t matter since the correct one is sitting right in front of their eyes.

The entire model will be finished next week. I’m getting some help to manipulate it since it’s big and will be heavy when the case is al closed up. It has to be flipped on its side so I can hook up the LED leads to the power board. The model is pretty strong and should make the journey well, but it can’t really handle shocks, so when flipping it, it shouldn’t be dropped.

When it ALL done, I will make official builder’s photos then open a bottle of Bourbon.

[Builder2010]

With the model done, the only thing going on is fixing my destruction of the wood base. I put on three coats of finish. First a satin lacquer, a light sanding after 1/2 hour. Then a color coat of Guitar Finish Tobacco Brown, and after another 1/2 hour another coat of satin laquer. I may end with that, although Bryant put on two more satin coats. There’s already finish there except for where I sanded it. Depending on your view, the fix looks either good or not-so-hot. My Bondic fix is not completely flush with the surface and the sanding error next to it is a little depression. I am hoping that folks don’t even see the base and are fixated on looking at the model.

This is the good view:

And the bad one:

I may try one more coat after another light sanding…

​Here’s the ER location diagram on the enclosure back wall. Remember it’s double sided and can be viewed from both directions.

Tomorrow should have the base fixed and I’ll be working on the enclosure locks. I’ll be able to take nice images of the model on the base.

[Builder2010]

​IT IS DONE!

There’s a load of pictures today in honor of the model’s completion.

Day started drilling the case for the two remaining clips. I use masking tape backing to help prevent cracking when the drill breaks through. i used a small pilot hole and then a drill sharpened specifically for plexiglass. The holes were clean.

I fastened the case on so I could tip it over for the wiring.

While it’s a bit heavy and unwieldy, I was able to carefully tip it over exposing the underneath.

I use Euro-style electrical hookups with ferrules. I got into this habit when building my model railroad while working for Henkel living in Germany. I terminated all the wiring.

The first two I connected failed to work! I checked for correct voltage from the power supply and for correct polarity of the wiring, but they didn’t work. I got a bit worried. These two weren’t critical, being the lights under the main steam line that would give more light to the turbines and the other under the evaporator deck lighting up the lube oil purifier. Neither area is actually in the dark.

The next three connections worked perfectly… whew! Here’s what they look like under lower ambient lighting. I love how the control console looks when lit.

The aux condenser piping was very obscure until the lights went on.

Even with the room lights on you can still see the illumination.

Here are three shots of the completed model with the case cleaned. The model is ready for delivery.

​Here’s the builder’s plate.

And here’s all the parts that didn’t make it. Some of duplicates. Most are rejects. Lots of trial and error creating this.

So dear readers, let’s summarize this undertaking.

The Good:

• Without the drawings this project would have been impossibe.
• The Swiss Cheese design of having the bulkheads there, but not there, worked better than I expected.
• Learning how to draw large herringbone gears, turbine blades, etc. pushed my creative envelope.
• The arrival of my Elegoo Saturn 4 Ultra printer at the onset of the project was fortuitous, doing everything I asked it do and it never ceased to amaze me.
• Pre-planning the lighting—even though two ciruits didn’t work—worked well and made my life easier.
• Laying out and fitting all of this machinery and piping is a small space was the biggest challenge that I overcame.
• Including the triple bottom, while a complete pain in the butt to execute, was an important feature of this part of the ship that needed inclusion
• The arrival of the vinyl cutter in the middle of the project solved the problem of identifying all the apparatus and striping the propeller shafts. I will find more things for this tool to do on future projects.
• The failed circuits were the least important.
• Using water pipe to simulate the other propeller shafts worked very well.
• Building a model like this from photos of the real engine room was almost impossible and yet, those photos were invaluable in creating the model. While I had a lot of drawings, I still had to design parts from photos only.

Ths Bad:

• My case building skills are still wanting. I think I’m going to outsource this on future projects.
• My Apple MacBook Pro 2019 is not up to the task of designing massive 3D models. I want to make an animated walk through of the model for uploading to Youtube, but this machine can’t do it.
• Desiging the model with the full lattice bottom framing was overkill and could be greatly streamlined if ever make another one of these, which I don’t think will happen.
• Hand cutting all the lattice pieces was far more effort than the value it created for the model.
• Even with all the drawings being checked and rechecked, I still missed things like that last stair.
• I’m not happy with the paint finish on a few things especially the piping. My airbrushing was inconsistent.
• Why two lighting circuits failed after checking them multiple times off the model is a mystery. It’s possible that the brass tubing cut the insulation and shorted them out.
• Decal application was okay. Could have been better.
• There’s excess glue in places that were impossible to reach, but are now illuminated and visible.
• Getting the sub-asssemblies to settle down was very difficult. There were times when I thought it wouldn’t work.

In summary: Of all the spaces in an Iowa Class Battleship that would be difficult to model, the engine rooms have to the be the most difficult. So of course I chose to do one. Ship engine rooms have always interested me. I’ve even said that if I had a boat it had to be big enough to have an engine room. Engine Room #3 was chosen for two reasons. It’s the master room where the chief engineer has visibility to the performance of the other three, and it’s the only one that has square sides. All the rest are tapered to some degree fitting into the curves of the hull. The model would be difficult enough to not have to deal with those angles. At the onset, I had some very expansive concepts of what it could look like, but virtually no idea of how to execute it.

Three things seemed—at the time—to be show stoppers: the herringbone gears, the turbines and the gratings. I attacked these early on, even before I had John Miano’s drawings. The red herring of having drawings at the National Archives that turned out to be the Battleship New Jersey BB16 from 1905 deflated my sails completely. No dimensioned drawings = no project. When John Miano came through with 40 detailed techincal drawings the project was possible; definitely not a sure thing, but at least there was someplace to start. As it came together, drawing-by-drawing, the possibility of a real model got clearer. When I finalized my drawings and produced renderings of what it would look like, all I had to do was put it all together so it came out like I pictured it.

Thanks to all who hung around this thread for 14 months while I ground through this. Your support, feedback and ideas keep me going. It takes about 1/2 hour per night to journal all of this, but it’s worth it. I do this thread on four different forums, each with its own focus and participation. As a result, I have folks with whom I have a collegial relationship from all over the world including North America, Europe, Australia and Asia. Of all the bad things you hear about the Internet, the ability to connect with folks like you overshadows all of the negative aspects.

So… what’s next? I’m noodling doing the steering gear. It’s an interesting and vital area that very few visitors ever see. It hasn’t been modeled before, I believe, much like this one, and while less mechanically complex, it is far more geometrically complex which should make it interesting. For example: Do I model one side or both? They’re identical. Do I include the rudders? If I include the rudders, do I include the propellers which are an integral part of the system? How do I draw the propellers? I don’t know… that’s the fun. It could be built on a mirror like is done with ship models all the time. Only problem is the hydraulic pumping units are not mirror images of each other. They are identical.

The other choice could be the Emergency Diesel Generating Room, fore or aft. Aft is a simpler space to model and is the only space in the ship where all four prop shafts are visible. I’ve already mastered how to support those shafts. The diesel engine, an ALCo 359, is a variation of engines that I’ve already drawn and printed, so this model could be a little less onerous than my previous forays.

Or perhaps I’ll take a break for a while and build something for my train layout, which has been sad since I’ve been neglecting it all year. We’ll see… Stay tuned.

[Dioramartin]

A standing ovation is called for:

[RDT1953]

Just wonderful Myles - Thanks for sharing your epic effort with us .

[golikell]

It was an amazing and epic story indeed. Still I usually had no clue what you were all about but the result looks great and is a pleasure to behold.

Ryan must be very pleased with the result.

[RandyT]

Myles what a terrific build and blog! Thank you for doing this. When I go and see the ship I hope to see what you did in place. Congrats on finally finishing this remarkable model.