Great Lakes Bulk Carrier Sneak Preview

Pete Nolan Jan 26, 2013

  1. Pete Nolan

    Pete Nolan TrainBoard Supporter

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    Garth, Paul,

    Thanks so much for your efforts. I misinterpreted photos of the Algomarine as having a two deck height at the stern: it now appears that it was just a small block under the stack, as with the Algosteel. Same builder, two years apart. Boatnerd has been a great site but, even with it, it's hard to get up to speed on what's typical and what might be a one-ship modification.
     
  2. Pete Nolan

    Pete Nolan TrainBoard Supporter

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    This is about as far as I could bring development while in Alabama. This is based on the Algosteel before she was refitted with a self unloader. The railings and stairways are custom photo etch. The hatches are removable. This is not terribly difficult to build (although repetitive) so I will offer it as a kit. Back in Ohio on Wednesday, and I'll add all the deck details.

    Here's the bow:

    [​IMG]

    And the stern:

    [​IMG]

    This can be built to many shorter lengths than 730 scale feet just be chopping off a hatch or three.
     
  3. pmx

    pmx TrainBoard Member

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    Looking better all the time. The bow is amazing.

    ~Paul E.
     
  4. Garth-H

    Garth-H TrainBoard Supporter

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    really super job

    what are you using for cutting out the parts? looks really good, like the real thing
     
  5. Pete Nolan

    Pete Nolan TrainBoard Supporter

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    I'm using a digital cutter. I was using my small Silhouette SD down in Alabama, but will be switching to a much larger and stronger Black Cat Cougar now that I'm back in Ohio. The Silhouette is a fine machine for the price (about $200) but won't cut all the way through .020 styrene, which means any interior openings like windows have to be finished by hand with a knife. The Black Cat will cut all the way through. I had it all of six days before leaving for Alabama, so I'm not as familiar with it. The setup and software are different, so the next few days will be slipping and sliding up the learning curve.
     
  6. Pete Nolan

    Pete Nolan TrainBoard Supporter

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    Here's an overall view of my prototype:

    [​IMG]

    The production version will have slightly narrower hatches, but still removable. There is a low rolling crane that appears to be used to lift the hatch covers. I'll try to model that this week, and put it into production. There's a lot of photo-etch railings and stairways, much of it just along the hull (not installed here), which will boost the cost up. I'd guess my cost for the photo etch is about $50 per ship.

    Sorry for the blurriness. This hull is so long it requires Helicon software. I'll get a better photo soon.
     
  7. JoeS

    JoeS TrainBoard Member

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    Real nice! I am impressed with this project. From start to finish very well done and documented.
     
  8. Pete Nolan

    Pete Nolan TrainBoard Supporter

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    Within the next few months (or maybe weeks), I hope, I'll transfer the plans to my production cutter, see how it cuts, and offer this as a Z scale kit for about $250-300, photo etch and fittings included, although that pricing is subject to change. I will build the kits for customers on a custom order basis. By now I've built a lot of ships so when I say this is a fairly easy build, my viewpoint may be skewed.
     

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