The Ship Model Forum

Hi I am interested in building a waterline model of the modern Truck RO,RO ferry, my main hobby is model trains and like adding other hobbies as well, since the ship play's a main part in railway's.

My ship is modelled on the Finnline Fin Breese RO,RO ship and Tor, line (DFDS seaways) bassed in London are of the same class, I like the low bridge design making perfect to fit into my layout. Bridge water line clearence is 18inches.

I only have a PDF side plan of the ship an dafter deck and bridg plans, can anyone help out with my project, got heaps of pics of the ship, need those extra plans, can you contack DFDS or Finnlines for info on the ship.

Here is a couple of pics of the ship

I hope these two pics be ok first time I have seen the pic name under the pic

Did try to post a new post earlier and couldn't find it in the forum, take a bit of time .

The ship be a interesting buid and learn along the way, be modelling a RORO port as well.

AMdownunder



AMdownuner

Found a pic of a die-cast model of DFDS Tor-line RO-RO ship,was pretty dear model to buy, scale too small ,
I plan to contact a model bock club in Brisbane to see if they can help me with finding a plan if the ship making it easier to build.

Found some pics of different port cranes they use other than the big container crane, opening up yet another project.

The middle pic I would like to model, you can see a rail line and in the middle of the pic a container ship being unloaded as well.

Lastly a good pic of the stern of the ship, can clearly see the ramps for access to the other decks.

amdownuner from oz.

Hi all I started drawing a plan of just the length of the bridge and two trailer decks to the water line, what I like to know if I am on track with the measurements of the height of the bridge two decks there and two trailer decks.

I worked the length out to be in 87 scale to be 2.150 metres, what I did was was the with the PDF plan work out the height of the ship, if I used the deck measurement the trailers especially the second trailer deck didn't work out, not enough clearance.

The trailers I used for the pic are American trailers in 87 scale, I found another pic of the stern of the ship at two different angles the last one I added again,
looking at the first pic there isn't a lot of clearance but the last pic there is.

You will have to make the pic bigger to see the measurements, the hand rails are the same height as the loco hand rails 13 mm's high , could someone tell me I am on the tight track, I sill can't find plans of the ship was so close to getting hold of plans.

What I should do is buy some figures in HO scale give me an idea of the height.

amdownunder from down under.

hi

good luck with your building

chris

Hi Chris, thanks still need all the help I can get to build this ship, trying to find as many pics ans I can especially the stern doors and bridge and been looking for pic of the back of the bridge want to get the windows as right as possible. I also want to build a radio control model of the ship same scale.

Finding it hard to post pics that don't have copy right on them and they intend to be the best pics, if anyone can help with more pic especially behind the bridge and drawing , I only got PDF side plans be to get hold of floor plans of the deck and bridge.

Will continue with what I have and hopefully the ship will turn out ok, there is a die cast model of the ship keep looking.

Two different angles of the bridge and second pic the orange life boat be a model in its own right even adding a remote control, last pic of the stern doors going to be a difficult build, I will have to have s few mm's to play with, will look into working doors as well.

Today I worked on my other hobby, tomorrow more work on the drawing finishing the bow of the ship, two upper decks and bridge be a separate drawing .

Tony from down under

Hi, nice project. Did you try to contact DFDS already? I contacted multiple shipowners/operators and had some mixed success. Conclusion is that you can always try, occasionally it takes a while for them to react, but sometimes you also get some plans directly sent to you. I guess it depends if they had had some enqueries before and how loose they are when it comes to sharing plans (which, officially, they aren't really allowed to do).

Apart from that, I guess you could try to contact a shipyard who build such ships. Flensburger shipyard has made a lot of RoRo ferries, I just don't know whether they'd reply to such a request.

Either way, RoRo ships are rather easy when it comes to shape, so I guess you could get a pretty decent model starting from pictures.

Good luck with the project.

_________________
The merchant shipyard

Tony-Welcome and good for you to take on such a project. At 1:87 your ship will take up a lot of room on the railroad!

For photos you should check marinetraffic.com, which seems to have quite a few. I would search under the names of all of the sister ships that you can find, as each one will have a different set of photos. I agree with the earlier post that you should check with the shipping company to see what they can provide. I would also contact the shipyard that built the ships. They will have all sorts of plans (digital these days) and it is just a matter of whether they will release them. At a minimum you would want the general arrangement plans. If you want an accurate hull for the r/c version you should also ask for the hull lines plan. Since these ships were built fairly recently the shipyard may be reluctant to provide plans--but it does not hurt to ask.

I am in the planning stage of building a similar ro/ro (forward house, stern ramp) in 1:100 scale, and hope to report on my build once I have something to show-perhaps in the next few months. I was turned down when I first sought the hull lines from the shipyard 20+ years ago (the ship was built in 1980), citing commercial concerns. However, they were happy to provide the hull lines and a general arrangement plan when I asked again recently. It may be that the passage of time, and the fact that the ship I am modeling (and its sister) have since been scrapped lessened any commercial concerns.

Good luck, and I look forward to seeing what you come up with.

JDK

Hi KimmerWerft and Neptune many thanks for the advice I will now have a go at contacting DFDS I wasn't sure how I will go but I do need some more info on the ship line drawing and general arrangement measurements especial the full height only have the draft measurement. I can't seam to get the lower deck measurements right going buy the deck measurements with the height of the trailers I have in 87 scale, I think all trailers be the same height , US trailers intend to be a lot longer than European trailers., the pics make the decks higher than what they are .

I will keep on working on the drawing measurements till I get the right ones, want the to be spot on as I will put it on display at the local hobby show next August. I was planning to model the Oresund bridge between Denmark and Sweden was going to cost me a fair bit to model I decided to design my own coat hanger design like the Sydney Harbor bridge is copied on a Chinese design double deck bridge modelling the lower deck of the Oresund bridge where the ship be sitting, I will tomorrow get my tape measure and put it on the pergola floor to the length of the ship 2.150 meters long.

I thought of doing the same but need some help in how to get measurements and plans of the ship, you be shocked she is a Chinese design and the Finn lines has the same class, but I read Finn Lines are doing a rebuild program making the ship longer, I don't know they just build a whole new design must be cheaper this way .

KimmerWerft I am looking forward to see what you come up with in 1:100 scale Ro, Ro ship is the ship similar to my ship.

Neptune, I will check Flensburger ship yard out on what ships they have build .

Many thanks for helping me out it is a start, soon I may be able to make a start on the build will take a wile in between working on my layout what it up and running by Christmas , stay tuned on the progress.

Tony from down under

I am now under way with the marking out and cutting the top deck bow and stern, it took most of the day, not much but in a few months the ship will start taking shape, what I did was the 1,mm thick cardboard is 630, mm long so I worked out on the the ship side plan I have mark out the drawing to the scale size of the length of the cardboard.

All I have is a fairly good pic of the bow of the ship, so I hope I have the shape as close as I can get it and look like the ship when the bow starts taking shape, work on the bow first being the hardest, stern be the easiest, once I get the height worked out where I need some help in.

In pic two the stern has a lower deck and in pic four, pic three the line is where the bridge and upper decks start again only going by pics ans the side PDF drawing, fingers the ship will look as close as I can get it till one day get hold of proper ship plans.

The last two pics is what I am having trouble working out as you can see in the second last pic there is another deck not marked on the plan
, how is the best way to work the height out go by the bloke in the pic , will have to buy a HO scale figure, could I measure him to work out the height with using the picture.

Tony from down under.

Good to see you making progress. For scale height, I would find a photo with the back or front of a container right at the entrance, or near something else that you can used as a fixed point. The containers are standard heights (8'6" or 9'6") and width (8'), and make a good measuring stick.

Not sure what deck you are referring to inside the hull. At that scale, if it is more than an inch or two inside it really won't be seen from almost any perspective and can probably be left out. (This from a guy who in the past built interiors in 1:87 buildings that were barely visible to anyone-but I knew they were there!) Another thought would be to have scale containers loaded just about to the stern ramp (which would be quite common in real practice). This would shorten the visible interior to a very small area, giving you an even smaller area that "needs" to be modeled.

Hi kimmerWorth, many thanks, it is a pity the truck coming out didn't have containers on them but I have a go at working on the height of the crew member in the second last pic of my last post before this one.

The reason i posted the send last pic is you can see another ramp to another deck, i don't know a lot on Ro, Ro ships but on the info from PDF plan I have has deck info measurements.
Starting off with tank deck 5.57 meters high, main deck 5.57 meters high and upper deck 4.72 meters high, not sure what the tank deck is , would it be below the water line, or the deck with the crew member is standing, if that is the case, problem solved why the deck with the loading ramp is quite higher to the upper deck.

Can't wait to get stuck into building the ship, nice look ship why i picked it for, I will start on the bow first, I am still looking for more top pics of the ship and a plan drawing be nice of the decks and bridge make it easier .

I be setting up my layout tomorrow, to see how all the modules will fit in place and the bridge I am modelling where the ship sit passing under it.

Tony from down under.

Tony, I look forward to seeing how this will fit on a layout--that's quite a lot of real estate! We had a harbor in my father's 1:87 layout, but only had room for tug boats.

As to the decks, I would expect that the deck that the crew member is standing on is considered the main deck, and a cargo deck below that one is the tank deck (the ro-ro I sailed on for many years called them the same thing). There is a ramp from the main deck down to the tank deck, and normally a very larger watertight hatch cover that is flush with the main deck when closed (and cargo can be placed on top of it). You can see this hatch cover opened in the last picture that you posted on both September 2 and September 8. What looks like a bulkhead in the middle of the main deck cargo space is actually an open hatch to the tank deck. That's why you don't see the same structure in the photo with the crew member--it is closed.

Not sure about the upper decks on this ship. That is a ramp leading to an upper deck of some sort behind the crew member, and clearly there is another interior ramp leading to an upper deck in the smaller stern ramp to the port side, which seems steeper. If I had to guess, I would say that perhaps the steeper ramp with its own stern ramp leads to the exterior upper cargo decks, while the other interior ramp behind the crew member leads to some sort of interior upper deck or decks. I have not been able to find much of a description of these ships, so really can't say for certain. (As an aside, my son is sailing on a ro-ro as his very first ship as a cadet. That ship is one of the very boxy pure car and truck carriers, and has 13 decks, 5 of which are moveable!)

Hi KimmerWerft, many thanks for the info yeah I wondered what that wall was in the pic from my post September 2nd and 8th, have my answer great idea and wondered where that ramp was to the tank deck.

Here is a pic of my layout, I was going to expand out around the car, was told by my wife I had to cut back, so I did 8 feet off the length of the layout and the width as well about 10 feet there, I still needed double track length so the spiral was born. Future expansion I plan to have a reverse loop around the car bringing the length back to 54 feet and a branch line run off it to a small town.

Also planning a Ro, Ro container port out past the layout, again a line will branch off the layout to the port, that's the plan, need to win the lotto to finish my dream layout, the port can become a post on it's own.

Where the spiral comes onto the straight ply is where the bridge will start and where broom is where the ship will sit passing out under the bridge ,18 inches clearance from under the bridge to the water line.

A pity your son isn't going on the ship I am modelling, this ship some times take cars and prime movers and containers, a pic I have but can't post it, best of luck with your son being a cadet on a Ro, Ro ship be a big experience for him, I have seen doco's with cadets training to be officers and one was a Ro, Ro ship.

Tony from down under

Hi all, could someone tell me the height of the tank ramp cover in the pic, will show the pic again to save having to go back to that post with the pic , I am so close to working out the height of the main deck to second deck,I do have a closer pic with a pulp truck coming onto the ramp main deck.

Going by the height be two prime movers high, what we all the trucks, could the second pic be a better one to work with will post that again as well, so close to making a start on the hull, I hope also I am on track with dividing 87 scale into the length and width of the ship to those scale measurements.

Tony from down under.

You might try to figure out the height of the life rails on the stern.

On US Navy ships the standard height of the top pipe was 42 inches above the deck. Knowing this, you have a built in height reference in almost every photo.

I have no idea what the top rail height is on commercial ships.

Phil

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A collision at sea will ruin your entire day. Aristotle

Hi DrPR, the hand rails on the Ro, Ro ship I am building is pretty close to a US Navy ship hand rails, elbow height, I have a pic with a couple of crew members standing close by the rails, comes up to their elbows, that works out at in 87 scale 13 mm high.

What scale are you modelling,where can I find your post, we be moving house in a couple of years to most probably a town house or unit, will change hobbies to model ships won't be able to take the layout need to win the lotto, got to get a move on with the layout so I can get a couple of years fun running trains, be a sad day.

looks like I can start drawing up a plan for the hull in 87 scale and start construction, I will have work on square dowel for the main frame, being 2.150 meters long.

Tony from down under

Hi again DrPR, I think I have solved the problem with the height of the hull, I came across a link of Finnpulp and the bloke had the measurements of the hull,if I am right, I can start working on the hull, his measurements are the draft is 6.9 meters height to the upper deck is 15.65 meters.
So would that meant the height from the water line under 6.9 meters, there is the link, from what I have on the PDF side plan there is 2 and quarter inches difference this could b the key to what I have being searching for, on a high, can't wait to start.

https://www.deltamarin.com/references/finnpulp/


It is raining here and rain all week, after I finish my brothers 70 birthday present project,I will start on the drawing of the ship.


Tony from down under.

What a find, I said a few posts back that Finn Lines were planning to lengthen the Ro, Ro ship I am modelling , they have started cutting Finntide and adding a new piece mid-ship,crazy to an extra 30 meters in lengthen, can't wait to see some pics I keep on searching.

Will see in the pic the difference in the height of the main deck to the second deck where I was having trouble will working out, now I can make a start, will have to draw the ship in sections being so long, amazing what is out there and the link I found on the last post.

It is raining quite heavy here no work on the layout, have to finish a project I am working on today, raining all week, will start on the bow first.

Tony from wet down under

Tony,

I am modeling the USS Oklahoma City CLG-5 in full scale (610 feet, 185.9 meters) in CAD, and then 1:96 for real (6.35 feet,1.93 meters).

For the CAD model see my thread in the Virtual Modelling section:

viewtopic.php?f=27&t=70810

And my web page:

http://www.okieboat.com/CAD%20model.html

For my progress so far on the 1:96 model see:

http://www.okieboat.com/Ship%20model%20page.html

I haven't done much on the real model for about nine years while I have been completing the CAD model. It is an enormous CAD project - nearly a Gigabyte of files and millions of objects. I am modeling details like nuts, bolts, screws and rivets as small as 3/16 inch (5 mm) on a 610 foot ship.

I had hoped to finish the CAD model this year - the only major part left to finish is the wooden deck. But other things got in the way this summer so maybe it will be finished next year. Then I have to convert the 3D drawings into 2D plans and 3D STL files for making the parts of the real model. That will take another year or two at the least.

Phil

PS: I wonder if it is as wet there as it is here? Last winter we set a record for precipitation - double the normal amount (about 80 inches or 2 meters). It rained for nearly six months, with almost no days with clear skies, and I was wondering if I should start work on an ark. Even for notoriously damp western Oregon it was an exceptional water year! It started raining again about three weeks ago, with only a few days of sunshine during that time. Is it an ominous forewarning of the winter to come?

_________________
A collision at sea will ruin your entire day. Aristotle

Early morning Phil,many thanks for the links that USS Oklahoma is going to be some build when you stat, only in the planning stage as well, I did have one of those CAD programs didn't know how to use it but when I bought the new lap op wouldn't work on win 8 .

Is the USS Oklahoma a Cruiser.

87 scale is bigger than 1/96th scale, I did have a set of plans of the British Type 42 destroyer in 96th scale, the plans went yellow, we finely have a Destroyer in the RAN Spanish design, will get some pics and info.

Going to busy going through your links, pity you couldn't get hold of the Breeze class Ro, Ro ship plans I want to model only have a side PDF plan of her and lots of pics, hope she turn out ok, that last pic was a great find something to work by and now the hull measurements water line to the top deck.

I have another friend that lives in Oregon near Seattle that is a lot of rain, we be in trouble here if we had that much, most we ever had in a few hours is 100 mills and the time we get a lot of rain is from cyclones like Debbie we weren't too bad but Logan an hour away from us copped it bad and Central QLD.
The compete opposite over here we has a dry winter and September the worsted month record breaking high temps, early September peaked 42 degrees for a few days.

Today it rained pretty heavy when I checked earlier the water gauge it had 50 mills even worse tomorrow, we were going to visit family in a country town called Boonah, Thursday now, will be making a start on the plans of the hull tomorrow of my ship, too wet to do anything else.


Tony from wet down under.