SS 249 Flasher in 1/72 (Revell Gato Kit)

Looks like you are well on your way with increasing the reach of your gantry crane !

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Ultimately this is all that remains of the original crane. I may not even use these. More surgery required,

I’m not trying to copy this exactly, but I want it to be somewhat close.

The right side of the cabin will extend outward a little more. Right now it’s about getting the size and shape right.

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Just tagged onto this one, some really exceptional crafting going on here, which is great to see. Along for the ride now :+1:

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Glad to have you and Nick aboard.
Look what I just discovered!

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That dry dock looks impressive

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Unfortunately I need one that is 1473 millimeters in length. The kit is only 1008 millimeters. I contacted the company and asked them if they sell individual modules to increase length but they do not. I like that it comes with a lot of support equipment, but nothing that can’t be scratched, And while the colored sheets look nice in photos (If not somewhat overdone) the dry dock “panels” of poured concrete are only colored representations and not actual raised ridges. I’ll have think on this one a bit.

In the meantime I made progress on the cabin panels.

The windows I purchased are too small. I’ll just scratch them in .02x.02 strips of Evergreen.

And things continue to arrive in the mail. Maybe I need a quick side project to keep my interest up.

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The windows turned out well enough, Two were meant to be identical, the other four paned one was a bit longer.


I was able to free one of the windows from the Pola kit, but I may not even use it now. I’m pleased enough with the others that I may scratch build this one as well. In looking at the photos it appears to actually be a two piece, sliding window, I still need to square up the opening a bit.

The cabs are coming along nicely. Everything seems to be lining up nicely. The proportions feel right.
The counterweights are exactly the right thickness and diameter.

I forgot to mention. I’ve decided to scratch the whole damned thing. These are for the upper drum:

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Looking good dude. Its an impressive crane … will look the part :+1:

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Nice work! :hammer_and_wrench:

—mike

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Time to start the tower.
The main supports are highlighted in yellow:

I didn’t quite have the size of channel I needed, so I had to make it. Most tedious part of this build so far.

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I like to build on granite because it’s perfectly flat and liquid cement doesn’t stick to it. Getting the angles on one side of the tower is easy enough. The trick is going to be to get the other side exactly the same.

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My two welding circuits arrived. I tested one, they’re going to look great for the two welding scenes that take place underneath the decking and possibly inside the outer hull

I also found the perfect products for the walkways at the top of the superstructure, and also the work platforms on the main jib.

Speaking of the main jib, it took a bit of surgery, but I removed the two angles on the underside so it looks more prototypical. At this point I could cut out the bracing one side at a time (and top and bottom of course) and replace it with the correct pattern using bits of square .030 and strip off .010x .030.

But that would probably be a waste of time as I’m pretty sure I’ll just scratch build the whole thing at some point.

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This is looking really good. I tend to agree with you about projects like this, as you have a pretty good idea of what you are trying to build and pretending the base kit is close enough, well, sometimes they just aren’t, so the reworked/new cabin seems like the right move. The boom looks good as it - and to your point, you could keep cutting it up, but if so, why not just build a new one? Put the knife down! and build other stuff!

Cheers
Nick

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Nick, sadly your post comes a few hours too late. I already started into it just to see…


But yes, I think it is time to just start scratch building the main jib. I’ve done similar projects, so it shouldn’t be too difficult.

The two sides of the tower are damned near perfect. I’ve ordered the Eduard rivet decals that were announced here about two weeks ago.

This arrived today as well. Of course it has absolutely no chance of being built OOB. Few kits do in this household. I think it has a future as a Chevy G7107.

image
Photo compliments of Bathead site. Check it out. Bathead.com

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I fully get it - when you’re on a roll, well, you need to do what you need to do!

Cheers
Nick

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I’ve begun the scratch built bed for the G7107. It’s just basic measuring and cutting. Thankfully the Academy kit is much better than the box art. The hood is far too short on the box art but the kit’s hood is fine. The windows are are the correct shape as well, but portrayed poorly in the art. I’m happy with the kit, which even comes with an engine - likely donated to a welding trailer, I’ll remove some louvers to make a Chevy rather than a GMC.

So now back to the crane. I need to do the counterweight supports. As I’ll lowering the jib to a 45 degree angle, the counterweights will have to be raised, I’m not sure where the pivot point is. Usually on a luffing crane it’s the same point as those large discs - above those are the arms that have cables attached to raise and lower the jib. As the discs rotate, the counterweights move up and down. But the design of this baffles me.

I can’t see what activates the counterweights. Perhaps a few components are missing…

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Maybe something like this?

Perhaps the entire frame inside your main supports pivots

Sorry, not much good at the graphics.

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The only surviving crane of this type in Stockholm harbour (some artist painted it to look like a giraffe many years ago and “everyone” liked the new “livery”)

Google image search:
https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&sca_esv=601107417&q=stockholm+hamnkran+giraff

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Interestingly, the first photo you posted is a model made by Babcock and Wilcox, who built the crane. That’s why the short jib looks the same. It was put out by salesmen to give out as desk models. Much like the MLRS models I used to build for Lockheed Martin Missile Division. There’s another one from auction house that’s very similar.
While I agree with your interpretation, I can’t see the physical connection between the braces and the disk. I’m emailing the museum today to see if I can’t pay someone for better photos. Hell, I’ll even pay a drone pilot to get some shots of the tower structure. I feel like there are inner doors on the cabins that I can’t see as well, which would dive access the the machinery

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I’ve seen those. They look to be B&W cranes as well.

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