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1/700 Yazoo River Dogfight Duo. USS Carondelet vs. CSS Arkansas, 1862

Today is the Day. Ironclads are clear-coated and installed in mold boxes. Once the white 3M glue cures clear, mixing and pouring of Moldmax 10 can begin. The Afrikan Queen and some small dock sections get molded with CSS Arkansas. It takes a long time for this adhesive to cure. Other nautical projects occupy the hours of being patient.
Well, making good red beef stew for my Sweetie and doing dishes (Yep! ME!) help with my process. I get really enjoy making molds!!

Thanks for looking in! IMG_E7550.JPG
 
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3 minutes to demold. 640 grams of Moldmax 10 was mixed and poured this evening. I didn't mean to mold all the Masters, but that's how it came off! Good for TLAR Models, the ancient converted Mirro-matic pressure cooker/pot held 2 medium (for me!) and 8 dinky (250ml) cup molds. 2 hours at 60 psi should yield positive results!

Heavenly Father, we pray Moldmax 10 works as advertised, if I have been diligent and faithful to the instructions :bm:
In thy Mercy................ 1! 2! 5!

Still gooey. Even though I used my postal scale in grams, I may have been a little frugal with the activator for the Moldmax. PSI held steady for 2 hours so I have faith that when the chemicals finish their reaction, dandy molds will turn out. Fiili BeBoney Mi Biskii! Plus tax.
 
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Something caused a reaction in the molds that formed bubbles. Bubbles are always bad news. Since the chemical curing of Moldmax 10 is a mild endothermic process, I put the molds back into the pressure pot and pumped it back up to 60 psi overnight. This is proof that when you hurry, quality suffers. I never did mean to pour 10 molds last night. I get carried away sometimes. :bash::smack:
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Once early in TLAR Model's infancy, I poured a short mixed mold and the Master was a casualty. removing the contaminated RTV goo proved unproductive. Tonight when I returned home from work, I found the molds had cured completely. I set about recovering masters and relieving the molds so I can more easily let the liquid plastic into the tiniest cavities. It is obvious the molds for the Ironclads are total losses. Too many air pockets in vital areas.
I still want to cast them to satisfy my curiosity!
I won't know more about how the "dinky" conical molds work until they are cast. They all look pretty good! All their masters are in good shape.

In this scenario, The REALLY good news is that CSS Arkansas and USS Carondelet suffered only superficial damage. Repairs are underway. Each of the Ironclad's molds require another 200 grams of RTV. Another order from Reynolds Materials is necessary before remolding begins. Things could have gone a whole lot worse than they did. Molds are sacrificial. Remastering the Ironclads would have been a pain in the butt.

What you see here are molds for smokestacks, pivot guns, boats, fittings, ventilators and anchors aplenty for 19th century 1/700 ship models. Hunley (Yes, I really did mold it!) The Vietnam Bonus set (PBR, PCF Swift boat, large and small sampans) Corsair dive/salvage boat, 2 lighthouses, a storage shed and a Victorian house, 2 dock sections and a 45-foot yacht. Yankee Doodle Pigeon with message pouch and bugle, a 1/35 brandy cask, a 1/24 cool can for the "Mike's Speed Shop" model car parts line. Model Season has been busy here since my Model Mojo returned!
PSCHWOO!

Teresa just smiles and nods when I bolt from the "Nut Department" with some exciting, tiny, new boat or ship to show her. I know she has little interest in Naval History and can't see my little models very well. She does like sailing vessels. She's the best! Just wait until she has lunch on an aircraft carrier!

Thanks for looking in!
 
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Tonight's experimental castings! I mixed 40ml of poly-resin. I thought I might need bigger containers for mixing resin. I poured the unpictured CSS Arkansas mold as well tonight. It seems my existing casting supplies are adequate!

Stay tuned as this enthralling model story unfolds!! :bm::drunks: :drink:lol:
 
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Just to satisfy my inquisitive nature and because I made too much poly-resin, I cast the CSS Arkansas mold. The Afrikan Queen, dock sections and CSS Arkansas her ownself have cast just fine! i could not feel more blessed.
This mold should never have cast this well. EVER! Life is a learning process. It happens all the time.
At this time, TLAR Models is not quite ready to accept your pre-orders for The 1/700 Yazoo River Dog-fight Duo.
Soon, my Friends. Very soon.

Thanks for your kind attention and your comments! :notworthy
 
1 hour and 15 minutes from now, we will find out how badly the first casting of USS Carondelet's dubious mold comes out.
Reynolds Materials shipped my order of additional RTV with their usual brisk efficiency and it arrived this afternoon in 39 degree temps. EXACTLY as I had hoped. Frozen Moldmax 10 adds another element of surprise to the molding process I do not wish for.
 
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CSS Arkansas parts mold. Gunport hatches, boats (even though she only carried one) anchors and choice of 3 smokestacks.
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USS Carondelet cast' surprisingly well given the condition of her mold. Her small parts mold is very nice!
CSS Alabama's stack is in this small mold as well.
Overall a very successful molding session. I think USS Caroandelet could use a few improvements. :bm:
Thanks for looking in!
 
Wow! Thanks Men!
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Now, I do not wish to proclaim myself an expert on the War of Northern Aggression. I study a little microcosm of events and weapons, mainly ships & boats (Big Surprise?!?) I lack the ability to hold forth, expansively, on the conflict as a whole.
The first USS Carondelet casting revealed several flaws in the master I just cannot leave alone. (Big Surprise #2!)
First, the gaps and lack of view ports in the armored bridge. Seam? Yes. Trough? NO!
The main deck had several gaps I missed, look at the stern between the paddle wheel house and the after casemate face. :blink
Those solid rail-lookin' thangs on the casemate roof were structures filled with rock to provide cover for Union crewmen from Confederate sharp-shooters. The originals are too thin and too tall. I know USS Cairo (pronounced Kay-ro) had them late in the war. No evidence supports USS Carondelet having them at the time of the 1862 Yazoo River battle with CSS Arkansas. They're GONE!! I didn't like the way they looked anyhow.
The midships casemate belt armor had several horizontal scratches that needed corrected and the midships cannon ports were too high.
The forward deck blast plates were way too thick. .010 styrene and p/e metal are almost the same thickness, so I used with the styrene.
The starboard side forward corner of the paddle wheel house got sanded off while repairing a C/A Glue mishap. Th That got squared away right riki-tik! :smack:
To help the model mold more readily. I raised Her another 1/4 inch from the mold base. This should allow the Moldmax 10 RTV to pour in and air to escape easily during molding. :bm:

Molding and casting, not so unlike life, is a learning process. The USS Cairo (?) mold will be used as a teaching tool.
She will not be for sale.
You guys don't imagine I ever throw much away, do you?

Someday, when TLAR Models has a staff, facility and sales in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, I might find myself strolling about the boatyards and palm trees, with my Sweetie, in my cargo short and sandals, thinking up new ideas for our laser CNC guys to cut out and master. While the other 5 board members administer Sea N' Sky's efforts to support veterans in need across our great Nation. I hope to gaze fondly upon the very first 1/700 Shrimp Boat and US Coast Guard Point class WPB molds and reminisce about "Back in the good old days..........."
(I'll bet Bob knows what that is like!)
I will still build EVERY TLAR model, so your instructions can continue to be the humorous, irreverent "Letter to an old Friend" format they are today! Rick Raccoon will still thoughtfully look on, smoking his eternal stogie.
Such stuff as dreams are made.
Thanks for your kind attention!
:salute::oldguy::pilotDrinks:
 
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USS Carondelet 2.0, ready to mold with lots of gunport hatches and Her very own anchors!
The casting will tell the tale. All the gripes I had about my original mold have been addressed.

Thanks for looking in!
 
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CSS Arkansas building. There isn't that much to Her. Davits and boat, stack, anchors, flag and cannon hatches. Brass bow & stern chaser guns will be installed.

Thanks for looking in!
 
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Bow Chasers (Cannons) look almost pretty good. These were Columbiad 8-inch smooth bore guns. (203mm for those that must know exactly) The mounted brass barrels scale just a little bigger than that, but still look less than menacing. :bm:
The stern mounted guns were 7-inch (163mm) Brooke rifled cannons. I'm just not happy with how they look.

See, I bought a bunch of turned brass gun barrels. The plan was to bisect said barrels and use the forward 1/2 for smaller cannon and the larger 1/2 for Columbiads, Dahlgren, and Parrot guns. Alas, my Dremel makes too much heat on the slowest setting when I chop the brass in two, it melts the brass into the hollow barrel and has proved undrillable. :bash:
My idea was to include two different sizes of cannon barrel to arm the 1/700 Ironclads after crazy people to hogged out the square-ish side gun ports and put both halves of the gun port hatches on both ships. :silly:
I'll figger sumpthin' out.

Anyway, Thanks for looking in!
 
You think about what they were sportin' 8" and 7" guns? Remember that the Iowa class had 5" guns as secondary batteries. OK Sure, much different guns but still.
 
USS Carondelet 2.0 mold just went into the pressure pot. The 24-hour cure RTV will tell the tale.
Thanks you all for enduring my ramblings.
 
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