ISSUE 6

Return to the BUILD

In this issue, we complete and attach the Valve Rod assembly to Titanic‘s engine and assemble a portion of the starboard bow hull.

Parts

Materials: The Hull Section is metal, while the remaining parts in this issue are plastic.

Magazine

Giant of the Sea – Vulcan’s Forge: Titanic‘s Boilers
A Date With Destiny – Violet Constance Jessop: The Story of a Remarkable Survivor
Edwardian Era – Treasures From a Bygone Age
Step-by-Step Instructions

Build

Valve Rods

Steps 1-2

Retrieve your Connecting Shaft assembly from the previous issue. And, like before, snap the bars of two Link Sections from this issue into the clips of these Short Connecting Rods. Then, snap the smaller stirrup-shaped clips of the Valve Rods onto the remaining two bars of each Link Section, as shown. No glue is required in any step of this issue.

IMPORTANT: I mentioned this in the previous issue, but I initially snapped my Short Connecting Rods onto the wrong side of the Connecting Shaft. Therefore, my next three photographs are incorrect.

As before, I wanted the Rods in this issue to look like machined steel that had been oiled so I used my 1mm Liquid Chrome Pen to ‘paint’ them first. Again, I did not paint the insides of the stirrup-shaped clips so they could rotate freely once installed:

Again, the ‘open’ ends of all clips should be facing you, as shown:

Step 3

Retrieve your Engine assembly from Issue 3 and place it on your work surface with the Crankshaft Cog (flywheel) to the right. Snap the open ends of the Valve Rods facing up onto these locations of the Crankshaft, as shown:

Step 4

Flip the Connecting Shaft up so you can align these four pins to the matching holes in the side of the Columns. Press the pins of the Connecting Shaft into the holes, as shown.

This is where I realized I had my Connecting Shaft backwards. The taller ‘blocks’ of the shaft need to point towards the bottom of the engine:

Only if this is correctly mounted will it fit completely flush against the engine supports:

At this point, you can set the Engine assembly on its end (with the Crankshaft Cog facing up). Carefully rotate the Crankshaft Cog counter-clockwise to test the movement of the parts we have fitted so far. They recommend not rotating the cog clockwise!

Starboard Bow

Step 5

Retrieve your Starboard Bow Hull Section from the previous issue.

As back in Issue 2, I hand-painted the insides of the hawse pipes on this Hull Section with my Vallejo Model Air 71.442 Anti-Fouling Red acrylic paint:

Align the two tabs of the Starboard Bow Hull Section to the Section of Hull from this issue, as shown.

Secure these two sections together with two (2) DM screws.

This is your friendly reminder to try using 3-in-One Oil on all screws going into metal. The ‘5’ you see written here was just me marking the issue number:

Thoughts

This engine is really beginning to look fantastic! We also have another nice chunk of hull to work with now. I am ready for more!

Next Up

Issue 7 – Catwalk, Engine Base, Hull Joining Plate

My RMS Titanic