Overdue Updates

The Titanic model has been in display quality for quite some time now but I haven't updated the blog in a while! allow me to show the Titanic in its current state. While there is still much more work to do, it finally at least looks like a completely model. For now the model is still in several pieces, which will eventually get glued together, so the minor gaps in the model will be fixed later.

Comparison shots for good measure...

All in all, some of the accuracy was difficult to achieve due to my limited resources and, in some cases, lack of historical record. Either way, I'm pretty happy with the way it's turned out so far. The rest of the work mainly lies in the display base, which is mostly staining wood and painting details, but I need access to home depot before I finish any of that. Stay tuned! :)

The Grand Staircase

I wanted to add one of the signature landmarks of the Titanic, the Grand Staircase. To do this, I had to add an in between deck with more plasticard. I then dremeled out the hole where the staircase would have been.

While its wooden structure no longer exists, the strangely shaped hole that it occupied still remains. Peering into the empty hole left by the skylight dome, one can see the remains of the Grand Staircase as well as the supporting columns on the deck surrounding it.

Boat Deck

The Boat Deck is named as such for its role in housing the life boats. This level marks the first deck of the ship which I did not have to manually craft. Some work was still needed, however, to convert the pristine decking to wreckage condition. I had to ensure proper sloping and position of the Boat Deck crack. The ship split just before the 3rd funnel, as depicted by the model.

The Aft

Towards the aft of the bow section, the deck levels have collapsed forming a layer cake of rubble, cable, girders, and rust. Due in part to both the initial snapping of the backbone at the surface and the final impact with the ocean floor, the deck collapse remains one of Titanic's defining features. The first step of creating Titanic's aft section was creating the boilers visible in the wreckage. I used cut sections of a mechanical pencil, perfectly round and the proper size to fit the adequate scale. In reality, the boilers would be 4 times the height of the average man. These boilers were used to power the largest single steam engines ever built, nearly 2 stories in height, each.

Above the boiler level sat the rest of the decks. I decided, again, to make these out of plasticard. I twisted and warped the ends with a pair of clippers and some help from a lighter. This helped simulate the twisted nature of the steel decking as it was ripped from its other half. 

With cabling and debris added, the result begins to look more like the actual wreckage.

The Hull

I wanted this model to be as true to reality as possible. This required a lot of research into the current condition of Titanics wreck. Each puncture and warp was carefully made to reflect that of the true wreckage. The scale is there only to prop up the model

Although blurry, you can vaguely make out the toothpicks I added to this hole to represent the underlying steel ribs of the superstructure. After making sure the hull was in proper shape, I decided to start adding texture to the wreck. After nearly 100 years of neglect, the ship has been consumed by rusticles, tiny organisms that feed on the iron and metals within the steel, leaving only the brittle carbon shell behind. Rusticles grow in long thin stalactite structures throughout the entirety of the wreck. The model just wouldn't be realistic without the addition of some well placed rusticles. To do this, I utilized the same material for making waves on my other models, Liquitex Gloss Heavy Gell Acrylic Medium. Dabbed in sweeping motions, the gel leaves behind a thin trail of acrylic medium. when this dries and get painted over, they will appear to be rusticles. Still a work in progress, I've added a layer of rusticle texturing to select parts of the model. Eventually the entire ship will have rusticles throughout.

Titanic

I've been working to finish the Titanic by the 15th of April for obvious reasons. I've managed to complete the under decks on both the bow and stern sections. These had to be crafted out of plasticard as the model was only made for the intact ship, so it is missing all the guts. To do these pieces, I cut out  pieces of plasticard that fit the shape of the hull. I made a total of 3 decks worth of visible card. This is to simulate the fact that a few of the decks remain crushed beneath the visible ones. Below are the bow sections of the deck.

I added rubble detail to the decking because parts of each level are visible through the cracks in the hull and each of the containment shafts. I want this model to have several view points so that people can actually look inside and enjoy the detail. In keeping to the true nature of each shaft, They all descend to different levels of the deck, as they would have on the actual ship. from the side cracks, one can get a view inside the wreck.

Something else resting in the abyss...

I've started a new side project in honor of the centennial of the RMS Titanic disaster. I have always been fascinated by the juxtaposition of one of mans greatest achievements decaying in the cold darkness of a landscape all too foreign. A symbol of the era's arrogance, the Titanic construction and ultimate demise has always been of interest to me, especially as an engineer. I've decided to  construct a 1:570 scale model of the ships final resting place 2.5 miles below the surface. It will be a fairly extensive project as it has already taken quite a bit of research to ensure the best possible accuracy. Each cut will be analyzed to ensure proper translation from the real wreck. I figured I would upload some of the progress I've accomplished in the first week. Let me know if you'd like to see more as I complete it!

 I chose this Revell model kit because it is relatively inexpensive. I did not want to buy a crazy accurate kit without ever having done a model like this before. This will be my first attempt at a model of this scale. unfortunately, I've already noticed some inaccuracies from the real ship, but they are minor and can mostly be overlooked. Its the very tip of the bow section that gets me. for being one of the most famous parts of the ship, you would think they'd do it right. oh well! up to me to make it look good :)

 Because I've decided to rip the ship open as it exists on the ocean floor, I had to expose parts of the model not meant to be exposed. In doing this, I had to craft many of the interior parts including many decks (both at the front of the bow and back of the bow section, seen here) as well as construct my own boilers. I tried my best to imitate proper scale as these things were enormous. The steam turbines that powered them were the largest ever built to this date, almost 4 stories tall, and Titanic had many of them.

 Prepping the deck for the main mast. It currently resides bent back from the force of descent, resting across the main deck. The crows nest and upper portions of the mast lay on the upper decks towards the front. I've prepped the area as you can see by the busted wheel house and damaged deck edge. I also had to hollow out each of the 3 main hatchways on the model. These were cargo bays that were to remain shut until port at New York, but the rapid descent and final impact with the ocean floor jettisoned the cargo doors as much as a mile from the wreck site. Thus, they are not included in my model ;)

The extensive hull damage is due in part to air escaping and twisting of the bow from impact. Thankfully, I do not have to model the actual iceberg damage, as that part of the bow was dug in 50 feet below the ocean floor during the initial impact.