Landing Barge - I'm going nutts...........and bolts!

[deafpanzer]

Fantastic work on the load!!! Nice touch adding dirt to the bottom of the generator!

[chris0423]

Thanks MSC'ers for stopping by and the support, im beginning to think is is just the tip of the iceberg, and you all know Belfast ship building and icebergs don't mix !

Loads of drums are on the to do list, going to scratch a few and then cast a few hundred or so.

Definitely kiwibelg a few military motorbikes, i have 2 sets of the Dragon Marines (i think) that has dirt bikes in the stash, so thanks for the suggestion.

Cheers, Chris.

[Prop Duster]

Chris0423
I have a question, when you say "white card " is that an file folder type of card stock or some secret,ancient,Celtic material?

Also was curious, as loo = potty; and in the US we sometimes call a person using bad or off color(colour) language a "potty mouth"; is it safe to assume over there they would be a "loo month"?
Dontcha just love linguistics?  

[wing_nut]

WOW, that's really something. Gonna look awesome.

[Marcel du Long]

Wooo, that's looking pretty big.
Very nice build so far.

Marcel.

[John Everett]

This thing is spectacular!

Love the ground power unit!

[tiking]

A monster of a job. I love it. One question. Did you do the laser cutting yourself or did u have a company? What did it cost?

[chris0423]

Boy oh Boy Gents, well 2015 has not been as productive as I had planned and I am no further on with the Barge.

To be honest the company which I have worked for the past 8 years (as bid manager, so am responsible for bringing in new work and am very mindful of making sure there is work for about 300 staff), was in a little trouble from late 2014. The company has been going for 175 years and had a turnover of £100m + and the pressure has been on to the past 6 months to ‘man the pumps’ as it where, so bench time, forum time and general interest in plastic bashing has been limited.

Thankfully things have settled down and we have been ‘merged’ with a larger construction company and hopefully I will return to 'business as usual' in the not too distant future. I am now also planning 10 days in Majorca in July with the family so that will also take away from bench time, but that said the mid is clearing and in the end I do seem to be a winter modeller !

Well a bit of housekeeping here, and my most sincere apologies for neglecting my MSC brothers who took the effort to stop by.

- Prop Duster -
The ‘white card’ is just plain old plastic sheet of various thicknesses. I like Evergreen products, the plastic is a little easier to work with and maybe less brittle than some other makes (but that is just my preference). The only ancient Celtic material kicking about here is a combination of ‘Black-Bush’, ‘Magners’ and the ‘Black Stuff’ from Mr Guinness !

Naa Mate, ”Loo Mouth” not really a term used in this neck of the woods, probably the closest would be “Foul Mouthed”…..which could on occasion be confused with “Fowl Mouthed”, where Fowl is considered ‘Poultry’ i.e. chicken, pheasant etc.. where pheasant which in turn can also be confused with a poor person from the middle ages…..ohh you are right….Dontcha just love linguistics?

- Wing_nut -
I am certainly hoping it will look awesome, although my initial 2015 plan will almost certainly merge into 2016 !, but many thanks for stopping bay and the support.

- Marcel du Long -
It is very big, I have actually considered scrapping it several times and starting it again on a smaller scale as it is so big. I have to store it under one of my daughters beds just to keep it ‘safe’ but it has taken a few digs along the way, and now has a nice coating of dust !. Thanks for the compliments Marcel.

- John Everett -
A spectacular build is very much is the plan, but I have certainty bitten off a little more than I can chew on this occasion. Thanks about the GUP, certainly more to come. I am looking forward to Tankoms military fork-lift when it comes out, am ideal base kit which will have a few variants on deck of the barge. I am also thinking of a HobbyBoss S-92 Spider ‘cut-down’ as part of the menagerie !

But that said, you also know what is coming next....a bit like the never ending story (the perils of nit having instructions and a start and finish point!).

- tiking -
Thanks for posting; your post gave me a bit of a poke to be hones to update the forum. It is a monster, takes up ½ of my dining table, so Mrs Babes is generally not a happy camper when she sees me getting the ‘big lad’ out !

On the laser cutting, I did the drawings up in TurboCAD and got the sections cut by a company in England called Progressive Engineering. I fellow MSC modeller Jon Page is a Partner in the company and does a fantastic range of laser cut MDP paint stands/workstations etc. To be brutally honest I cannot remember the cost of the parts but it was somewhere between £100 and £150 (as I had to make a few amendments after the original cut). Yes expensive, but definitely value for money as it is unique and a pure creation of my slightly disturbed mind!

The big effort is in the design, it did take quite some time to ‘construct’ the elements working out how it all goes together, sequencing and mating parts together, plus simple mathematical/measurement errors. Having gone through the ‘process’ a certainly do appreciate all those companies out here that produce any kind of model, and any of those winging 'rivet counters' out here need a big slap...it isn't easy at all.

Well, I did tell a little white lie about not doing anything, a certainly have not bashed any plastic since my last update, but I have been creating a load of PE accessories/add-on's, which total 9 sheets, 8 for the barge and one for a bit of a conversion of Mengs ‘Tiger’ 4X4 into a mining support vehicle (last sheet).

As with the acrylic laser cutting, designing these sections has been a real headache between the drawing format, ½ etches, tags, folds etc (next time anyone meets someone who designs and produces PE, shake their hand as they really deserve a medal!). If truth be told it will be known if they work once they have arrived, so bif leap of faith here. I have shown some of the drawings below.








Hang in there chaps, I promise I will pull my finger out one of these days !

Chris,

[deafpanzer]

Glad you are still here... work can sure be a factor for our bench times. I look forward to see more from you and your barge!

[tiking]

Totally amazed by this. It's gonna be spectacular. Tjat ship os also to die for.

[chris0423]

Small update as usual folks, still 'tinkering away' so hasn't ground to a complete halt. the PE sheets arrived and I have had a go at checking some of it out.

A sample section from one of the PE sheets, these will be grills and fans of AC units.


Close up of some 'armoured places' for along the sides.


I am going to convert Mengs 'Tiger' into one of the mining vehicles, so have made up a new one piece windshield frame, new side window door frames, side sheets, belly pan (not shown), A/C cover, shelf and large tray/cage for on the roof and infill section replacing the rear doors that will have projecting tubes (what's in the tubes I don't know yet!) and a few other bits and pieces.






This will be one of about 20 large flood lights that I am planning on lighting with nano-leds, I use CA to bond the edges but might give soldering a go.


Hope all are keeping well.

Regards,

Chris.

[Leon]

That looks like some nice PE Chris! Nice start on the conversion.

[chris0423]

May 24, 2015 18:10:30 GMT -5 Leon said:

That looks like some nice PE Chris! Nice start on the conversion.

Thanks Leon, a bit ahead of myself but I'm torn between all over white or yellow paint job !

[Steve Zuleski]

Wow, what an undertaking. You give the meaning full credit Chris, incredible!

Cheers, Ski.

[chris0423]

Thanks Steve for stopping by and kind comments, not sure where I am going with all of this, but it does look like 2015 & 2016 are now sorted !

I got a little done this evening (off to do the hovering now !). This is a 'large cage', I have three of these for on the barge. Not sure what will go in side them though.

Sigh of relief, it all went together grand and my dims worked out just fine, so really quite happy with them. just need to tidy up some of the CA excess and then give a lick of paint.

Chris,

[Leon]

Wow!!! Awesome work on the cages Chris! They look perfect.

[deafpanzer]

Love the cage... I want to be locked inside that cage!

[kaytermarram]

Deafy, I have the feeling that it is the time for me to think about your mental stability, harhar! MAYBE you know the film TRADING PLACES with Eddy Murphy and Dan Akroyd. And maybe you know that there is a cage with a gorilla in. And a guy who played with the wrong persons. And that this guy was locken IN that cage. In a Gorilla costume. Very bad luck! I guess, thinking of all problems that can occur with scenes like this, I would think TWICE being locked in a cage (anyway how good looking it is, like here. Fabulous work!)

Frank

[tiking]

So much PE. Definitely not something for me. Admire you guys that have the patients for them. I don't.

[chris0423]

Well folks, I cannot believe it is so long since I last updated this build. Progress has been painfully slow, bench time almost non-existent but I have been tinkering with different elements of it and in recent weeks I have had a renewed effort with the return of the old mojo.

I think the pictures will be very much self-explanatory, but the project has morphed a bit from the start. Basically the ramp is now gone and made way for a ‘dock’ which will house some netting and large bin/skip. The excavator will sit in the middle with one small arm (shown) and a larger arm, each with various cutting/crushing fittings. The lifting arm/jib will be holding the frame from cables (string at present). The wheel house is from a D9R Doobi and figures are from Reedoak (3D printed). Am waiting on some more PE for the railings at the side, and a cable tray will run the length inside.









































Thanks to all who have hung in there and shown interest over the past 15 months or so and as always all comments and suggestions are most welcome.

Chris.

[Leon]

That is a great progress Chris! Looking really good and I like your choice for the figures.

[chris0423]

Thanks Leon, figures are real nice although not cheap. Don't want to overcrowd it, but think I need another 3 or 4 figures.

[deafpanzer]

You just made my jaw drop further down! Glad you are still working on it!!!

[chris0423]

Mar 20, 2016 14:44:32 GMT -5 deafpanzer said:

You just made my jaw drop further down! Glad you are still working on it!!!

Cheers mate, I'm glad too. There has been a few occasions where it was nearly going to the scrap yard, but I'm glad i have persevered.

Chris.

[martslay]

Fantastic work!

[chris0423]

Mar 20, 2016 14:56:23 GMT -5 martslay said:

Fantastic work!

Thank you for stopping by martslay, still a way to go though !

[k1w1]

Wow .... This is really impressive. So many different things going on. Fantastic !

[John Everett]

Huge! They're going to impose a size limit at contests after this.

[chris0423]

Mar 21, 2016 4:20:55 GMT -5 k1w1 said:

Wow .... This is really impressive. So many different things going on. Fantastic !

Thanks k1w1, hopefully not too much when it is finally pulled together.

[chris0423]

Mar 21, 2016 9:45:02 GMT -5 John Everett said:

Huge! They're going to impose a size limit at contests after this.

Your telling me John, think I'm going to move to 1/144 after this, Mrs Babes is not impressed at all.

Going to have yo get a special box made to transport it, and god only knows where I'm going to keep it once finished! Thanks for stopping by.