First N-Scale Ship Announcement--Active-Class Cutter

[pnolan48]

My first officially announced product is a USCG Active Class Patrol Boat, built by American Brown Boveri Electric Corp., Camden, NJ. These cutters served from 1927 until well into the 1970s. They were 125 feet long, with a beam of 23 feet, 6 inches. They displaced 232 tons and had a maximum speed of 13 knots. Usual complement was 3 officers and 17 men. Armament varied from a full late WWII  armament of a 3”/23 deck gun, two depth charge racks, and two mousetraps to a 1960s armament of one 40mm/60 gun. War-time depth charge racks, K-guns, paint and 20mm gun platforms on special order.



These are handsome ships that can fit in even small harbors. They could maneuver in shallow waters, along rivers, and upstream far away from the coasts. They were effective patrol boats with good seakeeping but, with a top speed about about 13 knots, wouldn’t chase down many fleeing bootleggers or drug runners. But they would make a great Christmas gift for friends, brothers, uncles, relatives who served on one!



These are small ships, only 9.4 inches long, but feature exquisite detailing. They are as detailed as museum-quality ships but simply cannot be built entirely at that standard, which would increase the cost by a factor or 10 or more.

First run of eight ships (W125 through W132) available immediately: W125 (Serial No. ACT001) is reserved as my reference model. The next planned run (W133 through W142) is planned for March 2013.

Every ship is handbuilt, and therefore slightly different, depending on available photos of each ship. Various small details will vary according to era modeled or parts supply, which is sometimes spotty. Substitutes are of equal value and quality, and are accurate for each ship.

Paints are according to published Federal standards, or railroad colors as established by Floquil. Decals are matched to published RGB standards on a calibrated monitor/printer combination. I started in the printing industry in 1967, and, in the mid-80s, wrote some of the seminal articles for computer graphics about color renditions, grayscale, and resolution.

Price is now US $775, and can be ordered now by contacting me at peterknolan@gmail.com. (I hope to have a web site up shortly--been concentrating on product development rather than marketing).

More Specs:
•   Made in the USA by Pete Nolan
•   Ships are numbered, dated and signed
•   Specific ships and eras built by special order; allow 8-12 weeks for building and shipping if not in stock. Other scales (1:87, 1:220, or other) are available by special order.
•   The forward gunwhales changed considerably over the life of these ships. Most prevalent is the fuller “half” gunwhales of Atlantic and Northwest US areas. The scantlings show gunwhales that extended nearly to the bridge; other early photos show minimal gunwhales of perhaps two meters length(about six feet); still others show a sharper bow with nearly vertical gunwhales and no flare.
•   Portholes (scuttles) varied over the years. Early photos show a full row of scuttles evenly space from bow to stern. The engine room scuttles were plated over early, probably during WW II. I based the scuttles on mid-1950s and later photos, which show different configurations on both hull and superstructure
•   The master was built from from the designer’s hull scantlings (the plan). The hull was drawn from the original plans with Adobe Illustrator. The superstructure was scaled from numerous photos. The parts were refined for tolerances, material thicknesses and fit across three dimensions, a geometry challenge since, according to the old adage, nothing on a ship is plumb. The parts were then cut with a digital cutter.
•   All details anchored in drilled holes via museum practice
•   Custom photoetch railings derived from photos.
•   Forty-four hand applied micro-grommets
•   Eight scratchbuilt three-layer doors with rain shields
•   Hull and superstructure from resin. Styrene superstructure (see-through bridge) available on special order.
•   Scratchbuilt winches, towing bitts, ventilators and other details.
•   Davits from Bluejacket Shipcrafters or built from tapered brass rods.
•   Searchlights, anchors, 3” gun, life rafts and rescue boats from Bluejacket Shipcrafters. 40mm gun is custom built.
•   Rescue boats varied greatly over time but were generally between 16’ and 20’, usually motorized.
•   Six bitts and four open chocks from Amati
•   Custom decals for pre-1967 or post-1967, when the USCG adopted the “racing stripe”
•   Hand-applied exterior wiring and grab rails
•   Rigging is the finest thread available
•   Masts, posts and booms are telescoping brass rods, usually three-part
•   Four whip antennaes (two each 10 and 8 meter) in antenna mounts
•   Mid-50s SC radar installed; others (or none) available by special order
•   Custom-built stern railing
•   Full hull model available.
•   Shipping in the US is $100 for waterline models, including insurance. Some of this cost is for the shipping box. The ship is mounted to the base of the box by two screws, and then the box is built around the base. This shipping method ensures that rigging and other delicate parts are not dislodged by Styrofoam peanuts or other packing materials. The box is easily disassembled. Then the screw(s) must be carefully removed. This is usually a two person operation—one to hold the ship steady, and the other to hold the base and work the screwdriver.
•   Return of the broken-down box will earn a refund of $25.

[robert3985]

Wow...nice work Pete! Good luck with your enterprise.  I gave up building ship models commercially (sailing ships) in the late 70's 'cause the repetitious part of it drove me crazy.  However, a nicely built vessel is still very interesting to me!

[pnolan48]

Thanks, Bob!

I'm building small lots of eight or so ships, so most repetitious tasks like building masts or bending davits don't take too much time. Also, one day I'm working on the 125' cutters and the next on a 500' freighter. I'm doing this as a retirement business--something I've always wanted to try, but could never have supported a family. The design and manufacturing issues keep my brain engaged, and building the models might help delay the arthritis getting into my hands.

So I've got eight small cutters 95% finished, awaiting just decals and the application of railings, which I always do last so they don't get all mashed up. I've also got eight Santa Fe Tugs approaching that state, and eight subchasers/patrol craft, as well as a host of parts. The bigger cutter and minesweeper proved a little more difficult than expected, so are on the back burner for now while I work on a large freighter/container ship modular concept, which is going smoothly.

[rsn48]

Hey, Pete, hope the best for your enterprise.  Any commercial ships coming out soon, preferably modern cargo ships for a layout scene?

[pnolan48]

Hi Rick,

I'm working on a modular freighter/container ship. One bow; two sterns (break-bulk freighter with poop deck, container ship with no poop); three superstructures (early freighter, 1960s freighter, container ship); and various midship sections so you could build a ship from about 350' long to about 550' long. 350' might be a bit stubby; 550' a bit slim, but within reason. The freighter will also have a variety of posts-booms configurations. I've got most of the freighter deck gear (winches and hatches) mastered and cast, and the full width container ship hatches designed and cut--they will be hand-assembled until the second gen molds. I will get the photoetch railings done soon, and then they will be ready to go. Compared to the smaller ships, these should be less expensive. And it looks like I can offer them as a kit! Details soon.

First I have to announce the final Santa Fe tugs and barges, the subchaser/patrol craft, and perhaps the 215' cutter (which is proving difficult to build).

[peteski]

This is not something I'm interested in purchasing, but I can still say that it is a beautiful and extremely well-detailed model! Also, how often do you find assembled models which were handmade in this country (not on some assembly line in China).

[pnolan48]

This is not something I'm interested in purchasing, but I can still say that it is a beautiful and extremely well-detailed model! Also, how often do you find assembled models which were handmade in this country (not on some assembly line in China).

Thanks, Pete! The hand assembly goes more smoothly as I learn little manufacturing tricks with each succeeding model. Such as leaving undetectable flat spots for mounting winches on a cambered deck instead of hand filing each winch to fit the camber. Once the winch is down, there's no difference--in fact, it's usually the more prototypical way of mounting it. Facing twenty winches per large freighter led to some creative thinking in building the hull masters.

[Ian MacMillan]

Very impressive. I wish I had a harbor scene for one of these. Would be well worth the price in my opinion.

[pnolan48]

I think one of my marketing tasks is to persuade model railroaders to include a harbor scene, either by renovation or addition. I mean, didn't a sizable percentage of rail traffic ultimately end up at (or come from) a harbor?

[rsn48]

Pete I tried to find a web site associated with you and your products and didn't find one, but you are best to have one if you don't.  If I didn't find it, my bad! 

If you are like many of us ageing old farts, places like Facebook and twitter isn't your thing, but I've learned in the photography business if you are going to make it, you have to hit the social media.  On Facebook, you'll want to be displaying your product, announce new releases on twitter and Faceb..., etc. - possibly nauseating I know but its how business is done these days with the under 50 crowd.

Also to encourage the use of your products, if you go to backdropwarehouse.com you'll see he has some great displays with his product in use, this is a great way to go and I know he has made many sales because of his real life demo's.  Early in as you are, you might seek out modeller's who've you seen in MR, on line magazines and other sources that have a marine scene and ask them if they wouldn't mind adding some photos to your web site as kind of a motivator to get people to add scenes.  And of course, it the modelers have short videos of a working scene in action like working cranes that would look good on your site.

And of course add your web site to your signature if you are allowed to here.

[pnolan48]

Thanks, Rick!

I will get the website up soon. And do all the social media stuff. And put stuff on eBay, etc. I'm about three months behind schedule. My major problem has been getting paint to stick to the cast resin--especially on the big areas of the larger ships. I'm still having terrible orange peel problems no matter how I prep the resin. As I've said before, it this were easy, a whole lot of folks would be doing it.

I've also been delayed by all sorts of family health issues, running four houses, settling two estates--I'm trying to keep this as my fun retirement job.

[John]

I will get the website up soon. And do all the social media stuff. And put stuff on eBay, etc. I'm about three months behind schedule. My major problem has been getting paint to stick to the cast resin--especially on the big areas of the larger ships. I'm still having terrible orange peel problems no matter how I prep the resin. As I've said before, it this were easy, a whole lot of folks would be doing it.

talk to someone who paints bumpers .. there are chemicals for that ..

[peteski]

Pete,
painting resin shouldn't be any different than painting plastic parts.  If you use mold release then you have to make sure to wash it all off before painting. IN model car circles a popular method is to soak resin bodies in Westley's Bleach White (tire whitewall cleaner). It has lye and other caustic chemicals which remove all traces of the mold release.  But traces of mold release usually show up as fish eyes while painting.

Orange peel is usually due to the paint partially drying before hitting the surface being painted.  I'm not sure why you would get orange peel effect specifically while painting large resin parts.  Maybe it is your painting technique?  For larger areas I set my airbrush for lower pressure and increased paint flow.

[pnolan48]

Thanks, guys!

I think I should rephrase my biggest problem. It's really that I know a little bit about lots of things, but nothing in depth, such as painting techniques or cleaning off mold release.. Or that I'll rush headlong into any endeavor without fear of failure. But I am trying to learn!

I'm not having problems painting small resin parts, just the big parts, such as hulls. After sanding with 220 grit (and then 400 and 600 grit) to give some tooth, I'm washing the big parts four times, with extensive rinsing between. I guess my detergent isn't doing the job.

It could be due to the conditions. I'm painting down in the basement, which is probably a little too cool and a little damp here in SW Ohio, even if perfectly liveable.

But I will get out the bleach.

[peteski]

Pete,
I'm still not sure how a contaminated surface of the resin parts result in orange peel paint surface.  Unless what you describe as orange peel is actually thousands of tiny fish eyes?   Do you use mold release? If yes, what kind? Is is silicone-based (not paint-friendly) or does it say that it is paintable?  What brand resin do you use? Is it oily on the surface after you remove it from the mold?

Another alternative which might or might not work for you is to spray paint the inside surface of the mold before pouring resin.  Then let the paint dry of course. That way when the resin hardens, the paint will be bonded permanently to the resin and when you remove it from the mold it will already be painted!   

You mention painting in a cool damp basement. Is it damp even this time of the year?  If the air is too damp then that will result in water droplets condensing on the paint spray. That could cause a rough finish.  Here in New England I have this problem when airbrushing on hot and very humid days. I avoid airbrushing during that time.  But in the Winter the air is very dry and I have no problems airbrushing.