The hull is constructed from four 3/8" ply frames, 1/4" square stringers and 3/16" marine ply sides and base. The bow section has 1" wide, 3/8" ply spacers at the top and bottom of each side. This was very easy to build as it is basically a box with a few angles and some gentle curves. The bow section is filled with blocks of expanded polystyrene.

I originally planned to put the motors in the centre section using 6" prop shafts but an error in calculations showed that these were too short. I have now fitted 7" shafts but this forced me to move the motors forward, hence the 3/8" ply ribs, which are used as motor mounts, extending to the 2nd frame. Rudder tubes are part of the Mobile Marine 'Thrustmaster' Kort nozzle kit. Prop shaft oiler tubes are plastic epoxied onto the tube.

Pusher posts are 3 pieces of 3/8" ply epoxied together and then sanded to shape. I recently bought a disc/belt sander to take care of jobs like this and it was well worth it. 1/4" rubber strip will be added later.

20s Plasticard sheet makes up the steps and side pannels. The steps are glued into slots cut into the rear faces of the posts. The slots were easily made on a brand new band-saw. Samson posts are thick-walled plastic tube with 1mm wire glued through. A 'plug' of card punched from scrap is glued into the top of the tube.

I didn't want to get too far ahead with the hull so I started making up the 'fiddly' bits and pieces. First came the crane used for launching the 'Dory'. More thick-walled tube makes the arm but the joint is reinforced with a piece of 1/8" wire bent to the same angle and insert into the tubes. At this point I decided to make it 'work'.

20s and 40s card plus various sizes of plastic tube make up this realistic anchor winch. Unusually, this winch is fitted to the stern. The piece of 3/16" ply is a plinth. Later I will add break and control levers.

The wheelhouse with its control console. This will not be fully assembled until it has been painted and had its windows fitted. A pair of funnels with open louvre vents on the rear face. The ladder which leads from the engine room roof up to the wheelhouse deck. It is hinged on the wheelhouse deck and runs along the engine room roof on rollers. All made from plastic sheet and tube. Wooden 'catwalk' sits along engine room roof to bottom of ladder.

Perhaps the most interesting part of this model is the wheelhouse which is mounted on a 'scissor' mechanism to allow it to be raised to see over the barge and lowered to get under the bridges. The 'arms' of the scissor are 3/16" ply, the rest is plastic tube and sheet apart from the brass tube 'push-rod' which will connect to the servo. All parts are hinged and held together with 2mm threaded rod.

Below - The completed crane. All parts are handmade apart from a small brass pulley in the block. It works but is operated manually. The start of the main mast. This is hinged on the back of the wheelhouse so that it can be lowered to get under the bridges. the small parts to the right and below the mast are parts of the hydraulic rams. Radar heads and motor units. I like to make as much of my models 'work' as possible, this includes radars. Unfortunately Egrete's radars are mounted on the wheelhouse bridge which goes up and down so it will take some working out to allow them to turn... I have a cunning plan!

The winchhouse which carries the scissor mechanism. The plan gives no details as to how the front should look so I have had to use 'modellers license' I have assumed windows so the winch operator can see what's happening and two 'eyes' for the cables to enter. The vents are commercial mesh and the roof is reinforced with right-angle cross-pieces.

Hull with motors fitted. These are '540' type motors running on 12v through MFA 2:1 toothed-belt reduction units. Speed controllers are Mtronics 'Viper' Marine 15's. 4mm threaded rods are used to make up the distance to the prop shaft ends.

Rudder posts with cross-linkage - link to servo not yet in place. Main power switch will be hidden by a locker at the rear of the engine room. The two small blocks at the bottom of the picture are connectors for 'scissor' servo, radar motor and lights (more info on these later).

Korts nozzles (Mobile Marine) with Caldercraft 50mm 3 blade (left and right handed) props. A quick test of propulsion in the bath has impressed me. At full power this set up was almost throwing water out of the bath. As usual, the real test comes when she goes on the lake but I'm expecting performance to be very good.

The servo driving the scissor mechanism will have to be fixed in the engine room superstructure. Since I don't want to have to mess around unplugging from the receiver whenever I 'take the top off' I decided to use some old PC components to make simple connectors. I have used IDE connectors robbed from a broken CD player, cut down to use four terminals on either side. E-mail me if you want more detailed information about these components.

Two sides of the engine room superstructure in place.

24/4/06

Current status of the build (apart from the fiddly bits). The engine room isn't glued together or to the winch house.

2/5/06

Rubber strips glued to pusher posts. Main superstructure now fully assembled. Here the scissor legs are sitting on the winch house but are not fixed in place. Below there is a picture of the two 'dummy' hydraulic cylinders which are used to raise the wheel house. With the superstructure inverted you can see the push rod, linkage and servo used to drive the scissors.

   

Navigation lights - Starboard light is complete in its housing. Theses are made up from plasitcard, a short piece of plastic tube, an l.e.d. and a coloured plastic cover. (The port light is shown with the tube and red cover inserted with the l.e.d. underneath.) The main mast is fixed to the rear of the wheelhouse on hinges. Lights are l.e.d.'s painted with red and pearl nail varnish.

10/5/06

More fiddly bits done now. Here is the rear mast made from plastic tube with l.e.d.'s almost exactly the same as the main mast. Above and to the right is a locker which will cover the power switch at the rear of the superstructore. Below and right are the anchors, one still in bits to show how they were made.

The wheelhouse is just about ready to be painted - here shown with the mast temporarily fitted. All I need to do now is make the deflectors around the upper edge. I am using 3 volt l.e.d.'s for all lights and running the model off one 12 volt battery. By connecting 4 l.e.d.'s in series I have done away with the need for current limiting resistors. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) this means I have to use l.e.d.'s in groups of 4. No problem for the main mast - there are four lights on it. The wheelhouse deck carries the navigation lights so I have to add another two lights somewhere. Since I'm not putting very much detail inside the wheelhouse I decided to put one light on each rear corner of the wheelhouse.
Below you can see different angles showing the 'dummy' hydraulic rams which are used to raise and lower the mast and the mast in its lowered position. The long pieces of wire are temporary until the whole thing is painted. I'll try to get some more detailed photos of the 'dummy' rams for my next update.

  

31/5/06

I was trying to get Egrete finished for the end of May so updates were put aside but I had too much work to do both on the model and my 'normal' work. I've got almost everything painted but I'm still waiting for the name, logo and yellow chevrons in self-adhesive vinyl to complete the hull before varnishing. On the right is the wheelhouse deck with the first sections of handrail ready for painting. The railings are made from brass rod and soldered together. Below is the main superstructure with one funnel, the 'Dory' and crane fitted.

 

The wheelhouse is now complete and mounted on its deck The centre photo below shows the interior and control console. As promised the mast rams are clearly visible in these pics. The 'Radar bat reflectors' are made from the same mesh I used for the vents with a brass wire border bent around and then soldered together. A short piece of slotted plastic tube is used as the mounting.

  

9/6/06

Egrete is very nearly complete now. Unfortunately I'm still waiting for the self-adhesive vinyl lettering for her name and the white crosses that adorn her funnels. If I'd ordered them sooner she'd be finished by now!
My cunning plan for the radar drive is shown opposite but this failed to work as I hoped it would - partly due to the motor being very weak but mostly due to flaws in the building. I've had to re-think the drive and have come up with a new plan... see later.

The complete superstructure (well almost) with the wheelhouse fitted to its scissor mechanism. Bad workmanship has left the wheelhouse with a tilt to the rear and insufficient bracing has left the deck curving down even more. This is the main reason why the radar drive has failed. The good news is that the scissor mechanism works perfectly (well almost). A bit of give in the cross-bar which pushes the lower end of the rear legs makes one side rise slightly ahead of the other... I'm thinking of a way to brace it but it might not be possible.

   

Lit up like a Christmas tree... All lights are 3mm led's and they look great. I think she'll look even better on the water at night.

Radar drive - plan 2
With my first idea a failure I've thought up a new way to drive the radars. This set-up will require the motor to be mounted inside the wheelhouse so it will be visible. Also the drive bands and pulleys will be visible underneath the radar masts but this mock-up has shown that it will work. Now I have to take the wheelhouse apart in order to fit everything. Glad I planned for such an eventuality and didn't glue it to the deck.

25/7/06

Another build completed. This is a much more colourful model than any of the others and I'm really pleased with the way she looks on the bench and on the water.
I'm still having a few problems with radio gear and motors but it's nothing that will require modifications to the model.
The new radar drive works very well apart from the pulleys at the bottom of the masts catching on the roof when the deck is lowered fully, addition of a couple of spacers under the deck will stop it.
She sails very well and has plenty of power, in fact there's too much power unless she's pushing a barge, the bow tends to 'dig in' and the foredeck ends up being awash. I'm still learning to handle her on the water, particularly at low speed and when 'lining up' to give someone a push.

     

I've already started planning my next build - Sydney Express - a container ship at 100th scale. She'll be about 7 1/2 feet long and 12" beam - I'll have to make the hull in two parts to be assembled by the lakeside.