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GENERAL
OVERVIEW OF THIS SITE
This
tutorial is based on the 1:350 scale Academy/Minicraft Titanic
model prior to the its re release in July 1999. All references
are to this model, it's parts and instructions. This web site
will be updated to include the newer model over the coming
months. Most of the details can be also be used for scratch
building and can also be applied to the Academy 1:400 and
Revell 1:570 but the smaller you go the harder it gets.
Some
of the fixes are not to scale and it is your choice whether
to add them or not.
A
lot of the changes mentioned in this tutorial assume that
you have bought all of the GMM sets available for 1:350 model.
We highly recommend that you purchase these sets as they give
the model an incredible appearance (See SUPPORT
PRODUCTS for information). Even if you do not purchase
these sets we have offered some alternative methods for the
modifications or just let your imagination run wild finding
a method of your own.
The
web version of the tutorial has been edited from the original
to be more instructional. However, the methods and the historical
information is exactly the same.
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A
WORD FROM THE AUTHORS
Before
we begin, the authors would like to express a few points of
interest as to how and why we ended up building the model,
then collectively merging our ideas to create this Tutorial.
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Brett
Anthony - United States
I
first decided I wanted to build a model of Titanic in 1957.
I had received a copy of "A Night to Remember" the previous
Christmas from my father, who had no doubt noticed the assortment
of plastic ship models which was beginning to clutter my
room. Unfortunately, inquiries about available Titanic kits
at my favorite hobby shop only drew a dark stare and a muttered
remark about "ghoulish kids." I went to the library and
bookstore to see if I could get more information about the
legendary ship, but I had no luck, and asking questions
only yielded the same sort of chilly response. On a visit
to a maiden aunt I discovered an Encyclopedia Britannica
from the 1920's in her library, but although it had lengthy
articles, heavily illustrated, about ocean liners and shipbuilding,
mention of Titanic was very brief. And there were no pictures.
One
day my mother took me downtown (New York City) to tour the
steamship offices there, as she had read that the lobbies
of the various firms were decorated with ship models. Were
they ever! I particularly remember the Cunard Line office,
a classic, vast corporate lobby full of marble, walnut,
silence, - and ship models. Enormous ones. It has been a
very long time, and I was only 12 or so, but I would say
they were 1:144 and larger. The centerpiece, the Queen Mary,
had to be at least 12 feet long. They also had older ships,
Aquitania, Mauritania and the like. Knowing that Cunard
had adsorbed White Star, and noting they had indeed a couple
of models of "-ic" ships, (and being a preadolescent male
smartass) I asked the man at the desk did they have a model
of Titanic. That was very much the wrong sort of question.
Icy, wordless glare time, folks. Clearly, unless you were
Walter Lord, the subject of Titanic was then taboo.
Well,
times change. With the popularity of The Movie and all,
I thought there might now be a model of Titanic that I could
build.
Such an innocent thought! A quick search brought me to Sean's
page, and to the realization that not only had such a model
been available for 20 odd years, but that a community of
fanatic rivet-counters had deemed it worthy of improvement
to an astonishing degree. At first I thought: "Well, perhaps
some brass railings..." Hah! How sweetly we are beguiled
into this madness. Unfortunately, my plastic modeling skills
are ancient, nay, nonexistent compared to what is needed.
Enter this tutorial, and a Godsend it is to those of us
who have joined the Quest.
But
there is more to this than technical modeling skill. There
is archaeology. Titanic, for all her profound affect on
the 20th century frame of mind, left very little real record.
Olympic, like all firstborns, got the biggest photo album,
and Titanic was in fact still a work in progress at Southampton.
The ship existed in her final form for less than a week!
Way
back when, in the Cunard lobby, after I had asked my impertinent
question, the doorman took me aside and quietly pointed
out a model which he said was Olympic. "Almost exactly like
the ship you are interested in." he said. Interesting that
he would not actually say the name. But I was not interested
in a ship "like" Titanic. Only the real thing would do.
Fortunately for all of us, there is a dedicated cadre of
scholars here for whom only the real Titanic will do.
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Dan
Cherry - United States
Modifications
for the Minicraft 1/350 Titanic model by Daniel Cherry 1998-99
In
creating a high-detailed, showpiece model of the Titanic,
I opted for the Minicraft version of the ship. Through the
years I have always purchased Revell Titanics, as the Minicrafts
were not available readily in my area.
Only
after the movie Titanic was released did the Minicraft model
enter my area stores, and only for a short time. I picked
one up and was determined from the start that this was to
be my ultimate showpiece.
Call
me a perfectionist, but when I saw how much detail was missing
from my Minicraft Titanic model, I started a long process
of making this model as real-looking as the original Big T.
Not
satisfied with the detail prefabricated on the model, I purchased
all available GMM sets for the 1/350 Titanic. Plus, for my
model I wanted every nook and cranny you can see into the
model detailed. No dead space or hollow areas for me. My finished
Titanic is going to be placed in a spot where the sun can
bring the beauty of the ship to a higher measure of realism.
I
have especially paid attention to the interior rooms, particularly
those which can be seen into from looking at the model. Some
of what I have done so far is to test fit the detailed sections
of the model to be finally put together when all is done.
Some of it is yet to be carried out, but are currently my
intentions. Hopefully they will inspire you.
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David
Cotgreave - Australia
The
Titanic has held a fascination for me since I saw "A Night
to Remember" when I was about eight years old.
Why
am I interested in the Titanic and the tragedy that surrounded
her maiden voyage? Titanic was the largest man made object
of its time, built long before the instruments that we take
so much for granted were created e.g. RADAR, sonar, radio,
etc. An object weighing 66 000 tons carrying 2500 passengers
that relied on two sets of eyes (sans binoculars) and series
of electronic sparks to communicate with the outside world.
It just blows me away every time I think of it!
My
interest in the Titanic has waxed and waned over the years
until I decided to write a play about her at which point my
family started to refuel my interest with a string of Titanic
Christmas and birthday presents. One such present was a Revell
1:570 model kit which took me about a month to build (I've
still got it). Just about the same time I saw the Academy/Minicraft
model and knew that one-day I would build it. Little did I
know where that thought would lead me!
My
wife bought me the Minicraft 1:350 model for Christmas 1997
but because of work I didn't even look at it until April '98.
April was also the month that I was hooked up to the Internet
for the first time and discovered Sean's Titanic Model site.
(At that stage I was visitor 2000 or so). This led me to Loren's
site and all of his brass etched goodies and Roy's site that
inspired me to achieve greater things. Sean's message board
took this even further into a search that would convert my
Titanic from a conventional out of the box model to historical
replica.
I
am grateful to Mike for inviting me along for the ride and
hope that you will find my section of the tutorial of assistance.
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Mike
and Steve Pell - Canada
Building
The Academy/Minicraft 1/350 And The Resulting Tutorial
by Michael and Stephen Pell 1998-99
We
have always been interested in the Titanic and its brief but
fascinating history. Steve undertook the building of Revell's
1/570
model several years ago when he was young and had collected
a couple of books on the ship.
Then
the blockbuster James Cameron movie came out and like so many
others we know, we got caught up in the wave of all things
Titanic. This led us to the idea of building new models of
the ship but this time more detailed than what came on the
Revell 1/570.
Steve
and I knew that there were 1/570s available and had planned
to buy two but he said that he recalled a few years ago when
he was buying his first one that there was a much larger version
then available. We wondered if this larger model was still
around, so we started web surfing. This was March of 1998.
We then came across a Geocities site in its infancy operated
by Sean Winterberg.
There
it was, actual photos of "the BIG T" in progress. We viewed
the pictures carefully making note of the wealth of detail
it had in comparison to the "the li'l T". We went through
each page Sean had at the time digesting anything he had on
it, and not only that, but we came across a message area!
As a result of his site we got the name of the model manufacturer
(Academy/Minicraft at that time) and then did some more surfing.
By
the 3rd week of April Sean's site was picking up speed in
both contributions and messages and we couldn't wait to join
in the fun. We got out every Titanic book we could find from
the Library, hit every site we could that had pictures of
the Real T and/or any model.
After
the models arrived and reference material digested we began
to realize the numerous errors found in the molds, or parts
just left out altogether. We decided rather than just build
an "out of the box model" we would add as much detail as possible.
It was then we came across Roy Mengot's Modeling Guide. It
was not as large as it is seen today, but it still had dozens
of "fixes" for some of the ship's more glaring errors. After
implementing the material presented in his guide we started
noticing other things not mentioned -anywhere-. So began the
painstaking scanning of photos and paintings to look for as
many details as possible with just the reference materials
available through libraries and local bookstores, and among
the participants on the Official Titanic Scale Model web page.
The
hunt was on.
During
this time we have met many fine folk via Sean Winterberg's
web site. Too many to thank them all here, but they know who
they are. We have traded info, pictures and even products
around the world. We have been very grateful for the generosity
shown towards us so in return we decided to make a guide on
building the model that covers as many items as possible to
be Sean's OFFICIAL TUTORIAL for his site as a thank you for
everything he and others have done for us.
We
joined forces with David Cotgreave in Australia, Dan Cherry
and Brett Anthony in the United States, so with Steve and
I in Canada we wished to make this a truly international effort.
Many hours of research and preparation went into this work
and it is presented here NOT as the final word on the matter
but rather as an ongoing project for others to contribute
to in the search for new facts and clues to add to its database.
It
is our hope that novice to expert alike can benefit from this
Tutorial both as a modeler and someone just interested in
the historical facts of the ship.
Should
you wish to add anything NOT covered in this project or correct
material that already exists please send any or all contributions
to us at the following e-mail address;
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