Dr. Ullrich Böhme

HMV Verlag Cap Arcona Part 4

After the side walls of the salons were ready, I started the play deck. First I wanted to to build the whole deck in one piece. This seemed to be very inpractical. I therefore decided to cut the deck in several pieces. First I took both original decks, scanned them and printed them several times, so that I had trial material. Based on trials and the position of the cross beams I came to the following solution. (the construction of the pockets I have described in the previous report. ) The first cut should be across behind the first smoke stack and the second behind the third.

I cut the sample decks on the positions I just mentioned and cut as the original and formed them.. Under the bridge I have attached a corresponding guiding piece, in the position lighthouse two guide wedges, in the smoke stacks again guide cuboids which are cut at the underside diagonal in the shape of a pyramid. These parts are extending a few millimeters above their guides. The sample deck I have fitted very carefully, as if it was the original and then fixed with UHU glue. After the deck is dried, I have removed the deck including the guides and finally glued on the guiding wedges and cuboids. On top of the sample deck I attached the original deck. To prevent the bending of the deck after the cut line behind the first smoke stack I have attached an angle across the width of the deck. The same at the counterpart. As I attached at the front playdeck the staircase 99, I recognized that I cut make an additional cut out here. I have cut a hole on the glue line and attached a piece of the sample deck underneath, a little larger as the with of the original cut out, so that at the final place a small edge is formed on which I can attach the staircase

The second cut was more complicated. Here it was not possible to just cut across, because the deck at the tennis court goes over the entire witdh. Also the parts 80 and 80 c (outside walls of the promenade deck) had to be attached permanent with the play deck. I also had to achieve that the part of the deck, which contained the guide for the mast is permanently attached with the model. I would not be very convenient to have to remove everything including the hold areas of the mast underneath the decks. Therefore I tried it first with the sample deck. The result was as follows: I cut out the tennis field inside of the marks of the inside railing. The cuts along the long side I have continued until the point there the deck is getting narrow to the width of the superstructure. Directly behind the last smoke stack I have cut along the superstructure and the marks for the mast holds and have cut out a piece, which is glued on the triangle wedge on the backward edge of the understructure of the last smoke stack. At the positions which are not hold by the guides, I have cut out from the sample deck small circles, on which the original deck will sit. Again here I have first, as described for the play deck, carefully attached a sample deck and then finally glued on the original deck. To allow me to remove the tennis part, I have glued a post for the net in a rectangular und glued from underneath in its place, color a fabric of bride veil green and glue between the posts and placed a green ribbon. At the tennis net mounting I can easily take out the deck from the model. Next I had to attach all the glass on the window front of the promenade deck, which had to be done intermittently as per plan as some of the windows are sliding windows.

The part 102, a large light shaft, is detachable. The mounting is made out of a pyramidal guide, so the part does not get lost. The podest 103 and 104 are attached very tide but not glued to the part 102. The same applies to the part 105. Very important to mention, that the deck at the position of part 100 (elevator shaft) has to be cut out and the shaft has to be positioned before the promenade decks is glued at his place. Otherwise it is very difficult to attach the piece. After that the pedestals of the smoke stacks were done. The ventilator stacks of the smoke stack pedestals had on the original ship screens. I made them from black colored silk, which I attached by cutting out the black colored parts on the pedestals and then attached the silk screen from the back.

At the smoke stacks I have made loops out of 0.25 mm wire and glued them into the smoke stack. In order to get a hole on the smaller edge I have sharpened a needle and got this way a nice drill. The brass tubes at the front of two first smoke stackes are formed round. In the model sheets they are only flat. The additional paper sheets offer enough material for doubling it. At the time of the attachment of the first smoke stack it very important to build in as well the ventilator 206, because there will be not much place left afterwards, because the bridge house comes very close to the smoke stack.
The ladders of the smoke stack and the small pedestals on the color edge are cut out. The railing of the pedestals are colored red an not white as printed on the model sheets. The ship was carrying a very confusing mounting for the antenna on the smoke stacks. But there is each one in front of the smoke stacke and only one starboard at the middle one. In the kit there is also one for the port side. Here the designer had only doubled the first smoke stack but overlooked that the second has only one mounting. It should be noted also that at the smoke stack the parts 108k and 109 n have to be of different length. Here the same mistake was made at the part was only doubled instead. There are also only three instead of four stays at the smoke stack 109 according to pictures and drawings.

Afterward I have built the inner parts of the bridge, the wooden parts of the bridge and I have made the sliding doors sliding. Inside the bridge are small guides so that no door can get lost. In the inside of the bridge the back wall is a big white area. Here I glued a map of South America. To be able to see the inside of the bridge from top I have cut out the front piece of the deck and attached with a ribbon under the rest of the deck, which works as a hinge. The stair 96 e-6 is attached also to the deck and will be detached with the deck together.

As mentioned earlier, I have made a viewing hole in part 99. In order to do that the part had to be divided on the position where the rounding is going into the lengthways wall. To stabilize the separated parts, I have attached bulkheads at the cutting line with the necessary widh. Under the back part of 99 I have attached two lengthways guides like a plug. At the part 99 a glue flap is printed the wrong way. This flap is unnessary.

After the big step of finishing the smoke stacks and the upper deck it was time for some winches, anchor machines and ventilators. The winches 141 and 142 on the afterdeck provide some confusion as the are printed wrong way round, but depicted right in the diagrams. On the foredeck you can see three marks for ventilators at the superstructure, but only two are shown in the diagrams. Sofar the report of the progress of the build of the model.