1/350 Scale "Three Mile Limit" TLAR #423

[Rhino]

You guys remember my 1/700 "Three Mile Limit" display? The 90-footer from the Rum-runners and Smugglers set? Remember what a pain it was to put boobs on the 1/700 P/E figures to make reasonably endowed wimmin?

My very first tlarmodels.com customer made a request. He would like to see the 90' offshore powerboat in 1/350 scale. How could I refuse?

I had a short pour last night. Not quite enough resin for a full 1/350 WPB, so I just cast one of the lower hulls. in 1/350 scale, 90 feet is 3.0857 inches long.

Soooo...........
Lengthen the lower hull. Put on the stern swim platform.
Lay up a whole bunch of .80 X.80 evergreen plastic.
Wet sand and shape. Here we go again!!

Teresa asked me why I didn't use my Dremel with a sanding drum to shape the Master. I held up my trusty "Wrecker" 120-grit
wet-sanding stick and said "With This, Mistakes happen a lot slower!

The new 90-foot boat is a bit beamier than her predecessor. I looked forward to a much roomier cockpit with comfy seating, a teak deck, hatch to the bow cabins/holds and lots of nautical widgets to see. The wood decking went well, even on the swim platform.
There would be trouble keeping water out of the generous, open cockpit in a big running swell. Teresa: "Install a windscreen?" Funny Kid!
This boat will sport a P/E windscreen. Unlike the 1/700 version, this one will have air intakes for the 3408 Cats in the supports for the wing spoiler. Exhausts exit under the swim platform astern.

Not so unlike your buddy's step-mom at a Margarita pool party, she'll be built for speed, broad in the beam, loud and will NOT leave much of anything to the imagination!

US Coast Guard pursuit vessels will include a center console RHI and a Defender 250 patrol boat.


At the end of this build session, I sacrificed some of the cockpit square footage (?!) to add the splash shield. I had to stop. I was trying to get ahead of myself. That's NEVER good!

Adding visible female parts to these figures should be MUCH less daunting!

P.S. Nevermind the Hemi.

Thanks again for looking in!

 

[moon puppy]

Now that's Customer service

 

[Rhino]

I've been begging Hasegawa to release a1/700 waterline version of their 1/350 US Navy Casablanca class CVE almost since the really cool USS Gambier Bay full-hull kit appeared in the marketplace. I truly do not grasp the production expenses involved in tooling new steel molds for such a thing, but I might buy 10 kits right off the bat! I have been their customer for over 40 years.

NUTHIN'. Myoken Jo chen-wa!!

David Angelo produces a very nice resin/p/e 1/700 model of this vessel, but they are pricey.

One advantage to being The Guy is that my ears are more receptive to the desires of My People. That, and my favorite part of the process is creating the Master. I enjoy writing instructions that make sense IN ENGLISH. Making decals is fun and challenging.

Packing kits must be my least favorite part of the TLAR process. I am forever looking at the earlier castings and thinking about ways to improve them. The "Bad Man" never stops renting space in my addled widdle bwain!
"Oh! Look, a Panda!" #@*^%$!&!

 

[Rhino]

So it turns out the beamier 1/350 90-footer ends up looking more like the her baby sister than I thought she would.


The cockpit was way too shallow. This was starting to look like a 180' Cigarette boat in 1/700 scale. Time to shift to 1/350 gear!
The rear seat is 21 scale inches deep which sounds comfy but doesn't look the part. The little hatch between the dashboard sections will have a hatch in the deck between the front seat to access the ladder to the cabin.
I found a glaring flaw in the starboard side of the hull when I was getting ready to attach the pylons for the wing spoiler. Fix that for sure.
The port side of the hull looks the way I want it to.

When I start adding p/e details to the boat, she will begin to look a little more fitted-out.
Thanks again for looking in!

 

[Rhino]

Since 2/3rds of the boat is out of the water at full power, adding some contours to the underside of the hull seemed apropos.
If I said "I was working on making her bottom nicer." I can guess what you Men might think of me.

 

[paddy]

Look out, 1/350 scale barnacles !!

 

[Rhino]

Look out, 1/350 scale barnacles !!

None so far!
Underside is as detailed as it will get. 6 exhausts under the swim platform, port & starboard cooling water overboard ports and bow thruster. Deck edge rub rail is also installed.

Size comparison: "Porsche", USCG Defender 250 and USCG 41' UTB all in 1/350 scale.

Rather than making the mold overly complex, seats and wing spoiler parts are separate. The grids on the inside of the spoiler pylons are fresh air intakes for the 3 3516 IMO II Caterpillar marine engines. Porsche will sport just a hair over 4,800 hp at flank speed. Speeds of better 90 knots on a flat calm sea are possible. No one chases you on a flat calm sea very often.

I got a start on the p/e details tonight too. I didn't mean to work, but I got a call from an old friend, so I worked while we blabbed.
Lockers, bollards, life rings in the inboard of the swim platform and a towing bit aft are still needed. I'm not sure the forward skylights are staying.
What do you guys think?

Thanks again for looking in!

 

[paddy]

I would leave the skylights , detail is good

 

[moon puppy]

Check out the wood grain!

 

[Rhino]

The teak decking in the cockpit and swim platform add a touch of nautical class. Every other horizontal surface will be SeaDeck. I appreciate the input!
Kevin is well pleased with "Porsche Progress"! He still hasn't told me the joke.

 

[Rhino]

It's kind of a jig I build to mold all this crazy stuff I make. Porsche is getting close to RTV! There are a few details to add to the boat yet, but most are installed on the Master. "I like a hatch in the Lazarette, don't you?"

In other ridiculous resin ship model news, Mr. Clownfish has been popular enough to make a new mold. I just bought a bunch of RTV and resin and Holly Molly has that stuff gotten pricey! I wonder sometimes why I have to use the best (most expensive) stuff.
"Quality doesn't cost, it pays" has been said many times here since 2015.
Another self-answering question.
Thanks again for looking in!

 

[Rhino]

Almost there. I moved the forward mooring locker, put the handrail on top of the deckhouse, installed the windscreen and cabin windows in the sides of the deckhouse and drilled the bow for the railing.

I didn't want any openings in any horizontal surfaces of the boat. Rum runners show no lights at night, right? I reminded myself Porsche was a luxury yacht before she began her more nefarious career. I think the forward most cabins could use a couple of portholes on each side of the hull above the sheer line. She'll be so noisy underway, what difference does it make if the lights are on in the cabins?

A sample 1/350 figure shows my cockpit is just so!
Shaping these P/E crewmen to look more feminine should be a breeze!
The windscreen and side windows need a little more framing to be properly finished.
Enlarging the decal sheet should be easier yet!

The Master always looks a mess after she's all shaped and contoured. The solid gray castings will be much more pleasing to the eye.
Thanks again for looking in!

 

[jeaton01]

 

[Rhino]

Friday Evening is Mold Night!

1/700 Yukon Paddlewheeler!

1/700 US Brig Niagara and War of 1812 Sloop.

Critter Mold! With another of Don's 1/35 Chianti bottles and Ronnie Schultz' squirrel.

1/350 16' Boston Whaler set! Going fishing off the Vietnam shore? Do your 1/350 sailors have "medicinal errands" to run?

Do you need a 1/35 cowboy hat that isn't so heavy your figure falls over? Resin will be lighter and easier to shape than Andrea Miniatures white metal ones! I cain't sell these for profit. I will let you pay the postage if the mold works!

I think this young 1/35 Aviator figure needs a cowboy hat.
That's all for tonight!

 

[moon puppy]

 

[Rhino]

Forward portholes. Once I get the windscreen sorted out (Again!), she'll be ready to mold! Her mold box is almost ready.
Mold Day for the other stuff is today!

Thanks again for looking in!

 

[Rhino]

Don, who is a "non-nautical guy" asked about paint references for the new boat.
I hadn't thought about that, since the paint schemes live in my noggin!
As we near molding, it could be wise to post a few linkies for ideas, yes?!

Project 1080 — Stu Jones and 38' Cigarette Head To Paint Shop - Florida Powerboat Club

Stu Jones walks us through the process of his 38′ Cigarette repower and complete modification with new twin Mercury Racing 540 hp engines. Now it’s time to see Project 1080 head to paint and continue with the restoration…. Check out the video below for an inside look and stay tuned for future...

flpowerboat.com

Midnight Express - Pirate Ship - General Yachting Discussion | YachtForums: We Know Big Boats!

At the Lauderdale Boat Show, Midnight Express had one of their center console boats custom built just in time for Halloween... as a modern day Pirate...

www.yachtforums.com

Tom Mason owns Midnight Express boats. He builds some of the sexiest powerboats to ever ply the briny deep.

https://www.boatinternational.com/yachts/yacht-design/yachts-with-the-coolest-paint-jobs--25951

Scroll a bit for the Sharkmouth center console. You won't be disappointed!

 

[Rhino]

Paper proof of "Three Mile Limit" 1/350 decals. These print on clear water-slide paper. The "Flags of the Caribbean" still print on white water-slide decal paper.

 

[Rhino]

Lightbar and Nav radar for the Dade County Sheriff RHI Boat. 1/350 Three Mile Limit is ready for RTV.

 

[Rhino]

Molds poured and pressurized. They will be ready to de-mold at 0400 on my birthday. I expect to cast them for the first time tomorrow afternoon.