Hello,
Does anyone know of a company that makes 1/125th scale railings for ships in general or for a Minesweeper from Lindberg?
Thanks, George
1/125 isnt a popular ship modelling scale, so I’d look out for the closest ‘standard’ of 1/128 as well. ‘Scalelink’ make etched railing in this scale, as does J Haynes models. That said, etched brass looks a bit funny at this sort of large scale because it is flat. To get round-section railing, you can solder your own together using a simple jig, or if budget allows- thread the railing through proprietary turned brass stanchions.
Will
That’s a tough one. 1/125 isn’t one of the more popular scales.
Bluejacket offers some generic, etched brass stanchions that are 3/8" tall: http://www.bluejacketinc.com/fittings/fittings30.htm .
Rail stanchions seem to be, generally speaking, about 4’ (or a little less) in real life. In 1/125 scale, the Bluejacket ones would be 46 7/8" - about right. If you’re a real stickler for detail you may want to check some photos of that particular ship class. USN rail stanchions took lots of forms*,* some of which looked reasonably similar to the Bluejacket ones. The smallest of the same company’s turned brass stanchions might also be worth looking at.
There’s a whole world of fittings and other parts for radio-controlled ship models out there; maybe a Forum member who’s more familiar with it than I am can offer some suggestions.
I don’t blame anybody who gets enthusiastic about that old Lindberg minesweeper. It doesn’t represent the current state of the art, of course, but in its day (the late '50s, I think) it was one of the better warship kits around. (So far as I know, it’s the only American minesweeper kit in plastic. For that matter, the only other plastic minesweeper kits I can think of are the British Abdiel-class ones - actually converted minelayers - from Airfix and Matchbox. Maybe somebody can correct me on that point.) [Later edit: I just thought of another one - sort of: Revell’s model of Captain Cousteau’s Calypso, which was originally an American wood-hulled minesweeper. I notice that kit has just been reissued by Revell Germany.]
I haven’t seen the inside of the box in many years, but I built the kit a couple of times when I was a kid. I remember two things about it pretty distinctly: the wonderful crew figures (with separately-molded arms for the officer holding his binoculars) and the hopeless motorization system. As I recall, it relied on pulleys and a little rubber band to drive the twin screws. There were two problems with it. One - the shafts exited the hull through long, wide slots that, no matter how much of the recommended Vaseline you smeared into them, would admit enough water to sink the model in a matter of seconds. Two - the screws would turn quite impressively when the model was on dry land, but as soon as it was put afloat ( in the bathtub, in my case) the resistance created by the water stopped the screws and left the rubber belt spinning around on the pulleys. I tried using a smaller rubber band, but it stopped the motor completely. Ah, memories…
Good luck. It certainly has the potential to be made into a nice model of a remarkably attractive little ship.
Thanks fellows for your replies. If I were to use brass wire what gauge wire would you use to make the railing?
George
That’s an easy one - TLAB gauge. That Looks About Right!
According to Floating Drydock’s Plan Book , the lifeline stanchions on the Admirable Class were 1-1/2" round pipe and were 3’ 7-3/4" tall. There were three half-round eyes or hooks attached to the inboard side of the stanchions which held the wire rope lifelines. These were 12", 27" and 42" above the deck.
1-1/2" in 1/125 scale is .012".
Hi,guy: This may NOT be the way you want to go but ,I have done more iterations of this little ship in many configurations.I use .020 brass wire and .030 stanchions from EVERGREEN plastic rod.It is fiddly drilling the stanchions ,but,You take your time and you,ll be very pleased with the results. I truly hope this will help you in the construction of this little jewel. tankerbuilder
3’ 7-3/4" is 0.35", in 1:125 scale. The number shown on the box art is of USS Sentry AM/MS-299, and she is of the Admirable class, so a set of Floating Drydock’s plans would be a good investment, if you want to go to that level of detail.