Project Landship Update 4

My last update was less than riveting, so....

Yes, this week has been all about rivets; experimenting with options to make hundreds of them. Was thrilled to get advice from the legendary Colonel O'Truth along the way too! Thanks indeed Joe.

Ultimately, my chosen process was to use a 1/16" circular hole punch on thin plastic. I got one (plus a 1/8" and 1/4" punch) for $10 on Amazon, so I'm good for larger size rivets too. The smaller size allows me to do them in two rows which looks great, especially in rows on a piece of filler card, which looks like metal added as a joining piece which was a typical technique of the period.

So having punched out a bunch of would-be rivets, my application process goes something rather exactly like this picture: 

Yes its fiddly but the rivets are consistent in size and I can apply about 50 before I go a little cross-eyed. 

I've been using Evergreen 0.5x2.5mm (0.20x.100") plastic strips and adding rivets to that by eye (to give some variation) using plastic cement, which works neatly and gives a strong weld (I'm still redoing the PVA ones as they fall off - realistic battle damage!)

 Really pleased with the overall effect.

While doing this I built a few hatches for the tread sections, and did some detailing in the steersman's position (some dials and such, so it looks more "bridge like") and gun deck from the bitz box.

Valuable, satisfying progress.

Rivet count: 72 (treads) + 186 (upper hull) + 82 (bridge) + 46 (cannon) = 386

and yes I'm procrastinating on the Bridge structure and the mast to go behind it (I may make that into a larger funnel; not sure. Suggestions welcome)

Bradleys Head Battery, Sydney

Bradleys Head Battery is a coastal fortification on the inner north shore of Sydney harbour, initially constructed 1840-42 by convicts on the order of Governor Gipps.

Bradleys Head and its commanding position on the inner North shore of Port Jackson (Sydney)

Unlike most of the Sydney fortifications, it’s origins are unrelated to the Russian Invasion scare prompted by the Crimean war. It is the result a different scare that happened in 1839, when the colony’s residents awoke to find two American warships (sloop of war Peacock and sloop of war Vincennes) quietly sitting at anchor having entered the harbour undetected.

In his later autobiography, the American Commander then Lieutenant Charles Wilkes, US Navy, (later Rear Admiral) said:

"If [we had been] enemies, it would have been in our power before daylight to have fired all the Shipping and store houses, laid the town under contribution and departed unhurt."

As a result, immediate improvements were made to the defence of the colony, which at this point had been reliant on at this point were Fort Phillip, Dawes point and Bennelong batteries.

Bradleys Head’s original construction was a cannon embrasure and a firing wall, using sandstone blocks to reinforce the naturally rocky outcropping. 24 pounder ML guns were installed, with commanding fields of fire down the entrance to the harbour.

The departure of the last British regular soldiers in 1870 saw another expansion of Sydney’s fortifications which included new batteries on North and South Head.  Bradley’s Head battery was expanded with three additional embrasures added , equipped with 68 pounders, and a rifleman’s gallery, all connected by tunnels and served by underground magazines, plus a barracks.

SBML 68-pounder gun and emplacement constructed 1871

With the addition of longer ranged breach loading weapons arrayed along the harbour entrance, the utility of the inner harbour defences was significantly reduced. Bradley’s Head ceased operation in 1903, was non-operational by WW1, and dismantled after WW2. In 1961 all coastal batteries were declared obsolete and the site was handed to the NSW National Parks and Wildlife for conservation.

Postcript:

In 1934 the masthead of the Royal Australian Navy Light Cruiser HMAS SYDNEY was erected at the end of Bradleys Head, having been saved from the breaker’s, to serve as a memorial for that ship and the country’s first naval battle (and Victory) at sea, over the SMS EMDEN in 1915.

The memorial was later expanded in the 1960s with memorials for other RAN ships lost during WW2, including HMA Ships SYDNEY (II), PERTH and CANBERRA.

This is now the premier monument of the Royal Australian Navy, and all warships salute this memorial when entering or leaving Sydney.

**The point is named after named after Lieutenant William Bradley, RN, second-in-command of the First Fleet and First Lieutenant of the Fleet’s flagship, HMS Sirius, which entered Sydney Cove in 1788 to begin British settlement in Australia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bradleys_Head_Fortification_Complex

https://military-history.fandom.com/wiki/Bradleys_Head_Fortification_Complex

Project Landship Update 3

This week's work started with unexciting stuff; trimming away the pegs that attached the now discarded plastic wheels, as well as a couple of other unwanted protuberances. The mechanism that attaches the tread sections was adjusted while I was at it, making the reversed treads sit better and lowered the hull down a little. 

I also filed off the old moulded 'control panel' fittings that were in the original driving position (and now facing the wrong way) - this area will become a small aft deck behind the bridge tower, where the mast will be mounted. But that was procrastination while I worked out how to tackle the "Bridge". 

I want an elevated tower style bridge to (a) get a less refined, experimental pre-dreadnought ship look, and (b) avoid a WW2 style tank destroyer profile - which it currently achieves quite admirably!

I decided on a rounded Armoured Cupola style, which will house the "steersman" with a viewport to look through. On top of that will be a Fighting Platform with some light weapons for anti-infantry and anti-airship protection (wooden planked to match the main gun platform below it). I'd like a Command platform above that for the Captain, but it may be too much.  I'll keep it open backed for dioramic purposes, and to reinforce the experimental appearance.

Starting with light plastic card I cut the Steerman's viewing slit and built up the edges the plastic strip on both sides, before starting to shape it.

The edging will eventually have rivets to give an armoured appearance

This would need to be glued in a couple of sections to help the plasticard get the right shape. The first and easiest (less 'bendy')  and most important to get right was the front, so I added a small support for additional surface area to add greater strength to this bond.

Once that was dry I did the starboard side, using tape to keep it in shape while drying. During this process, I decided to make the bridge sides slightly asymmetrical to make it more interesting, which will include an offset funnel.

Thats a start anyway. The basic fighting top was similarly made initially with thick card - I played about with shapes and overhang sizes for ages. Not happy yet but when I'm satisfied it will be planked with coffee stirrers. 

While things were drying I made some ventilators to reinforce the ship aesthetic. Made from corners of circular sprue and truck headlights, they are a little rough but they'll do - likely to be fitted either side of the Steerman's cupola.

Finally, I've started experimenting with making rivets: clearly an essential part of an ironclad era construction, and something that needs to be endlessly repeatable. More on that next time!

The Little Fort, Sydney Harbour

The Little Battery

The headland at Mrs Macquarie’s Point also had strategic value in the early defence of Sydney Harbour. The first example of its military use was a response to the fears of foreign invasion during the Crimean War (1853-1856). 

Little Fort at Mrs Macquarie’s Point with HMS Liverpool facing Garden Island c. 1870
National Library of Australia.

In 1856 Mrs Macquarie’s Point was equipped with a ‘masked battery’ of ten artillery pieces. These were mostly naval type cannons arranged above and behind Mrs Macquarie’s Chair. The battery was composed of a rammed earth and concrete defilade (wall) fitted with embrasures.

It was commonly referred to as ‘the little fort’, usually in association with Mrs Macquarie’s Point, and had great fields of fire into the waters through which any raiders had to pass:

The following excerpt from the Sydney Morning Herald (Friday 13 May 1859) describes the state of inner harbour defence was like at the time, including a description of this fort:

We have now to call attention to the most picturesque fort of the whole, namely, that at Macquarie Point, near Lady Macquarie's Chair. It is on the northern extremity of the promontory dividing Woolloomooloo Bay from Farm Cove, is east of Fort Macquarie 750 yards, south of Fort Denison 666 yards, south-west of Bradley's Head 2525 yards. The work consists of a masked earth work battery, flanked with mason work of great strength, and mounting eight thirty-two pounders, on garrison carriages. On each flank there is a circular work of masonry, mounting two 10-inch mortars on travelling platforms. In connection with this fort there is a magazine for 100 barrels of powder ; and the battery is faced by a dry moat. It covers Fort Denison front and rear, and also affords a direct fire on Bradley's Head. Three contractors took part in the erection of this fortification, namely, Mr. Donovon, Messrs. Carlisle and Goddard, and latterly Mr. Goddard alone, who is now just completing the ditch.

From: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/13024891

By the early 1870s, the concern over foreign invasion had all but dissipated. The guns were removed and the emplacement buried. An archaeological excavation and subsequent report were undertaken in 1989 on the Masked Battery, after which it was promptly buried again to preserve the site.

Of interest, this is the broader view of Garden Island from Mrs Macquarie's point where the Little Fort was located, in 1877. I was fortunate to live on the left hand most landmass for about 6 years (it became attached to the mainland with the construction of the Dry Dock during WW2).

Project Landship Update 2

Having decided to reverse the hull, I'm focusing on what is now the front of the model. To work out how much I need to chop out of the front of what I'm broadly referring to as the 'Barbette', I've had to prioritise building the main weapon. Getting the gun sorted will also allow me to properly place the gun platform, seeking to get the crew are protected but not fully undercover.

Which is a lot of words to say I've been working on the gun; which was fun!

This began as a JadgTiger cannon from a 1/35 plastic Dragon kit.

To make it look more 19th century, I paired away the more modern fixture and fittings (like pneumatics on top of the barrel) and discarded the barrel entirely to give it a stumpy 'siege gun' appearance consistent with a pre-dreadnought period. Then I just started sticking bits on from various kits, ensuring I kept the barrel clear of fittings but making it look like there was technical improvements in the recoil and loading mechanisms. This consumed a very happy number of hours, which was more than I expected but I quite enjoyed it.

Very stumpy without the big barrel connected, but thats because of the weight limitations to bring it to Mars from the foundry on Earth, naturally.

And with some 28mm sized figures for scale:

That done, I started to carefully carve out the gun port/embrasure/"firing slit", which because of the angles involved was a bit fiddly, and I had to be careful to get a neat outcome. This took quite a few attempts and refinements, but the gap now allows gun placement as far forward as possible, giving space for recoil and also the entirely practical aspect of having space for crew placement. 

I may attempt magnetising, enabling options for alternate weapons in the future (like a big Anti-Airship gun or something) Finally, it was time to fix and repair the bottom of the barbette so I could fit the gun deck. Again this took time, all done by eye and with a number of dry fits to get right, but in the end I got the outcome I wanted. 

A bit rough & ready from beneath but nobody will see this angle:

With the wooden gun deck blu-tacked into place

And a trial fit of the gun with some 28mm crew

Hmmm... a bit bigger than I had imagined, but what a beast! Needs to be a slow loading smasher of a weapon.

But it looks about right when matched with the rest of the hull and tracks:

So thats enough for this section for now. Time to start thinking about the bridge. Needs a light weapon (1-pdr Hotchkiss?) for ground support as well as anti-airship defence. Funnels need to go somewhere too.

And I need to think about remodelling the front - maybe a prow ram.

Project Landship Update 1

“It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, 

there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.” Bilbo Baggins

Its been a few weeks, so a quick update now that the model is in hand (and to keep myself honest). As delivered:

And in the time it takes to make a good Gin & Tonic, it looked like this:

...decals stripped (soaking those areas with vegetable oil for 5 mins was the best way to get rid of the glue residue) and washed in detergent to get rid of whatever the decades had left.

And I had a win at the local model store: incomplete kits bagged up as a source of bitz and 'gubbinz' (my own big box of bitz being inconveniently in a different hemisphere)

Of course, then I spent two weeks turning then all over and over in my hands, coming up with new and different approaches to my first thoughts. Did I say that I would avoid Analysis Paralysis?

Yes, well....

Interestingly, after disassembly, I found the tracks to be quite reversible. So I ended up completely changing my approach, reversing the entire model and turning what is currently the 'engine bay' into a barbette gun platform like this:

Barbette mount on the French ironclad Le Redoubtable

I wanted to go for a more 'early pre-dreadnought' look rather than that a big turreted beast so this fit well and looked a promising way ahead.

So after a week of working up a stiff upper lip for the task, I bought myself a handy-dandy USB powered rotary tool and started cutting...

I managed to preserve most of the lovely detail for a future project

Which after a bit of clean-up looks thus:

I'll probably turn that hole where the boiler was into a crew access hatch

For the replacement deck, I wanted a ship-like wooden deck for the cannon to sit on. Using wood would also lighten the overall weight of the beast, which I'm sure my fictional 19th Century engineers would prioritise to coax a bit more speed out of her. Made from ubiquitous coffee stirrers glued to shaped plastic card.



Suitability test fit with my gun before I trimmed it down gives you an idea of were I'm going with this (more to follow on the gun next time)...

Looking ahead, what was the forward "conning tower" can now be built up into more of a Ship's Bridge, looking down and over the gun platform. A multi-level bridge like this would definitely give a "warship" feel but likely be overdoing it on a vehicle this size. Will experiment.

But most importantly, I've made a start - the first cut is the hardest: On on!

Russian reinforcements!

This week I have completed a battalion of Jaegers to add to my growing Russian army. Granted 'massed' in a relative term, but here is the combined infantry I've painted this year. 3 Battalions (2 Line,1 Jaeger), 2 units of skirmishers to screen them, and a couple of Command figures

Each battalion is 32 figs for a total of 110 figures all together. 

Advance! Skirmishers to the flanks!

Mix of Great War Miniatures and Warlord. Group bases are 80x40mm

And extended out in Line formation...

Thanks for looking!

Martian Kite "Bloodrunner"

Earlier this week, I showcased Dan Thompson's wonderful HMS WASP.

Well, he also scratchbuilt this wonderful Martian Kite: Bloodrunner!

Like his HMS WASP build, he has reposted the pics and notes previously lost from his old site. Check them out here: 

https://ourworlds.net/gallerynew/index.php/Martian-Cloudship