Achieving historical accuracy: Olympic vs. Titanic
When the first Titanic kit was released in 1974 by a company called Entex, the molds for the parts were based on the limited number of plans that survived for Titanic, as well as a few more detailed plans of Olympic, Titanic's almost-twin sister. (It was assumed that both ships were the same except for a few key details.) The molds were eventually acquired by Minicraft Models, which continued to sell the kit unchanged. After 1985 - the year Dr. Bob Ballard found the wreck - research and study of both ships increased exponentially. New documents and closer examination of existing photos began to reveal more and more details that differed between the two ships. All were the result of last-minute changes to improve Titanic based on experience with Olympic on her maiden voyage.
That event was captured in the background image of this page as Olympic approached the White Star Line docks in New York. Sailing aboard her was Thomas Andrews, the Managing Director of Harland & Wolff - the Belfast shipbuilding firm that had conceived and built both ships. On that voyage Andrews made copious notes as to how ventilation, lighting, accommodations and other aspects could be improved on Titanic, which was still under construction. One prominent change would be made to the Promenade Deck (the second one down from the top, below the lifeboats): on Olympic it was open along its entire length but Titanic's would be screened with windows along its forward half to shield passengers from windblown spray . Except for this difference, most people can't tell the ships apart - yet there were many more. In order to make this Titanic model historically accurate in every detail, at least on the exterior of the ship, modifications would have to be made to the kit parts that were correct for Olympic but not Titanic.
Among the many differences between the two ships are (clockwise from left) the crew galley skylight (on Titanic only),
the shape of the crew galley flue (chimney), the design of the No. 1 Hatch and the location of the bell on the foremast.
the shape of the crew galley flue (chimney), the design of the No. 1 Hatch and the location of the bell on the foremast.
Many features unique to Titanic were conveyed to the Minicraft kit in 1997 when the molds were extensively retooled. Since then even more differences between the ships have come to light through further study of existing photographs. The vast majority would never be noticed by anyone other than a few "rivet counters"*: a window in a different location, a ventilator with a difference in height, or the location of a deck lamp. Some changes would be very difficult to see on the completed model even if one knew what to look for, such as a bulkhead (wall) that was slightly longer on Titanic than the same one on Olympic. But as the goal was to build a historically accurate replica of Titanic, I decided to make these changes regardless of whether the average person viewing the model would be aware of them.**
*A "rivet counter" is a term within the Titanic community to denote someone who cares about the location or appearance of every single detail, regardless of how small.
** There are only four known details on this model which escaped my notice and were not modified to be correct for Titanic: (1) the height of the No. 1 hatch on the Forecastle Deck, which true to Olympic; (2) the design of the portable phone box at the bows near the anchor crane, which has two doors instead of one; (3) the location of the life buoys mounted on the railings of the Docking Bridge; they're mounted on the forward railings instead of the after ones; (4) the conduit support that runs between the mainmast and the after edge of the Boat Deck was painted white, not the mast color. A fifth detail is incorrect for Titanic without regard to Olympic: the phone box in the crow's nest is mounted on the port side rather than the starboard side. |
Nearly all discoveries of Olympic-vs-Titanic differences have been posted over the years on the discussion forum of the Titanic Research and Modeling Association. The TRMA was started in 1988 by a group of like-minded researchers around the world who used the fledgling internet as a means of posting and discussing "finds" about Titanic. Most finds were came from careful study and comparison of photos of the ship and wreck. Until its passing in 2018, the TRMA was the principle source of information about modifications that would need to be made to the Minicraft kit.
For modelers, all this information was assembled a number of years later in an online reference known as the Rivet Counter Titanic Scale Modeling Tutorial ("Rivet Counter Tutorial" for short). This was the end result of a lot of hard work by model builders Mike and Steve Pell, Dan Cherry and David Cotgreave. Although it hasn't been updated since 2000, the Tutorial still provides a convenient reference to the majority of "fixes" required for historical accuracy. I used it in part to reference changes for this model, although I did most of the modifications to a greater level of detail or scale accuracy than it outlines.
Below is a detail from the Tutorial detailing the changes needed to the central part of the Promenade Deck. Below that is a capture from Bruce Beveridge's General Arrangement plans showing the location of all the changes highlighted. All known differences making Titanic unique from Olympic were incorporated into this model, except for those noted above. Collectively, they added over a year to the project.
For modelers, all this information was assembled a number of years later in an online reference known as the Rivet Counter Titanic Scale Modeling Tutorial ("Rivet Counter Tutorial" for short). This was the end result of a lot of hard work by model builders Mike and Steve Pell, Dan Cherry and David Cotgreave. Although it hasn't been updated since 2000, the Tutorial still provides a convenient reference to the majority of "fixes" required for historical accuracy. I used it in part to reference changes for this model, although I did most of the modifications to a greater level of detail or scale accuracy than it outlines.
Below is a detail from the Tutorial detailing the changes needed to the central part of the Promenade Deck. Below that is a capture from Bruce Beveridge's General Arrangement plans showing the location of all the changes highlighted. All known differences making Titanic unique from Olympic were incorporated into this model, except for those noted above. Collectively, they added over a year to the project.
Details of both plans used by permission.
Not all changes involved structural alterations like the ones shown above. The location of a single fitting in a particular area, such as the ship's bell in the photo at the top of this page, can differ between the two ships. One major area that took most of a winter to accomplish was the changes to the ventilators (the cowls and other air intakes and discharges, and associated machinery, on the upper decks). These involved dozens of changes to height, shape and configuration that required most to be altered or rebuilt completely. Though the majority of these details would never be recognized by anyone other than a true "rivet counter", they were all made nonetheless so that this model would be a fully accurate replica of Titanic in every regard.
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