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Post by mrt51 on Nov 20, 2015 11:15:42 GMT -5
Outstanding work!
Terry
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Post by deafpanzer on Nov 20, 2015 11:24:14 GMT -5
More beautiful PE stuff! Hope you can finish it by November 30?
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Post by wbill76 on Nov 20, 2015 11:24:26 GMT -5
Thanks Terry!  |
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Post by wbill76 on Nov 20, 2015 17:05:37 GMT -5
More beautiful PE stuff! Hope you can finish it by November 30? Entirely within the realm of possibility Andy! |
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Post by wbill76 on Nov 20, 2015 18:28:58 GMT -5
Got the fighting top fully assembled today which involved more fun with some very delicate PE, specifically the yardarm. This is provided as a single piece of PE with attached delicate support struts that have to be bent at different angles to match up with the underside of the cross-loop antenna platform, the sides of the top structure itself, and the underside of the top structure. As you can see, these are all very delicate struts with tiny contact points. Fortunately the backside of the top structure has a molded on support bracket that helps greatly in holding things in place. Strategic spots of CA glue were used to get it all lined up properly before committing some thin CA to the base of the support bracket to lock it in.  The yardarm was hand painted and then the rest of the antennas added to the roof of the top structure platform. I found it necessary to trim the little rectangular tab that the D-shaped antenna attaches to as it was slightly too large for the opening in the PE base part of the antenna, but otherwise it all went together without issue. It is, however, an extremely delicate combination now and during a test fit with the tripod mast legs to ensure everything was sitting right, it took a tumble onto the floor. Truly a heartstopping moment and the left side yard arm caught in the carpet on the way down and crumpled badly as a result. Fortunately, some careful attention with tweezers and needle nose pliers was able to straighten it back out, but there's now 0 chance I will be adding any rigging to it as it has lost a lot of its structural strength and will distort if you look at it funny now. I was already reluctant to do the rigging once I saw how fragile it was to start with and this just sealed the deal for sure.  Here's how things look now with the fighting top dry fit. I still need to seal it and apply a pin wash so it will match up with all of the rest of the superstructure. That's going to be a really fun exercise given the delicate state it's in now but I'll manage.  |
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Post by Leon on Nov 20, 2015 19:05:06 GMT -5
OUCH!!!!!  Nice save on the yard arm Bill.I'de be afraid to handle it any more.  Karma to you for hanging in there with all this PE work. |
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Post by wbill76 on Nov 20, 2015 20:37:26 GMT -5
OUCH!!!!! Nice save on the yard arm Bill.I'de be afraid to handle it any more. Karma to you for hanging in there with all this PE work. Time literally stood still for me for about 30 seconds Leon.  I knew all along that this would be the most potentially hazardous part of the PE work on the ship...and one of the reasons why it was delayed for so long. Not because I was leery of tackling it but just because of how fragile/delicate it was going to be and I wanted to minimize the opportunities for a disaster to strike. Little did I know just how quickly that could happen. Definitely used up one of my 'good fortune' cards with the model gods today.  |
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Post by dierk on Nov 21, 2015 4:19:29 GMT -5
Nice save Bill - shame it rules out rigging. But yeah, gravity can be a cruel mistress - I've had several arguments with her and always drew the short straw. I'm also sure she's in cahoots with the dreaded carpet monster.
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Post by wouter on Nov 21, 2015 5:12:52 GMT -5
Nice save indeed. And pitty you won't do the rigging, but it is more than understandable I'd say! Was hoping you'd do an SBS on rigging though Cheers |
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Post by wbill76 on Nov 21, 2015 11:34:57 GMT -5
Dierk, they definitely have a pact going I think. They were trying to lure me into a false sense of security! Now that I have had a little distance from the event I have an idea that might still work for some rigging but have to do a very careful test first. Wouts, look at my Dreadnought thread here or on my http:\\www.bpmodels.net site for how to tackle a complex rigging scheme. Will be more helpful than anything I do here for your upcoming Yamato challenge!
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Post by dupes on Nov 21, 2015 12:03:26 GMT -5
Niiiiiice. Things are looking really good, Bill! Awful lot of etch in here.  |
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Post by wbill76 on Nov 21, 2015 12:10:47 GMT -5
Niiiiiice. Things are looking really good, Bill! Awful lot of etch in here. Thanks Dupes! Kit came with 4 pretty good frets of the stuff, a nice value in the box. |
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Post by wouter on Nov 21, 2015 13:29:30 GMT -5
Dierk, they definitely have a pact going I think. They were trying to lure me into a false sense of security! Now that I have had a little distance from the event I have an idea that might still work for some rigging but have to do a very careful test first. Wouts, look at my Dreadnought thread here or on my http:\\www.bpmodels.net site for how to tackle a complex rigging scheme. Will be more helpful than anything I do here for your upcoming Yamato challenge! Thanks for that Bill, most helpful. Checked the Dreadnought and it's interesting. Will probably coming back to the subject next year indeed. One question though: so if I understood it correctly in some areas you drilled small holes in which you could glue the lines fixed, right? Cheers |
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Post by wbill76 on Nov 21, 2015 13:39:09 GMT -5
Thanks for that Bill, most helpful. Checked the Dreadnought and it's interesting. Will probably coming back to the subject next year indeed. One question though: so if I understood it correctly in some areas you drilled small holes in which you could glue the lines fixed, right? Cheers Yes, that's right. The EZ Line instructions recommended doing that as did several other online builds where people used it. It's helpful for stuff that may not have a natural attachment point and also gives the CA a little more something to hold onto as a contact point vs. a flat surface. Isn't something you have to do though for every connection point depending. I also didn't drill the holes all the way through the surface, the intent isn't to feed the line through the hole like you might with regular non-elastic thread. |
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Post by wouter on Nov 21, 2015 14:02:16 GMT -5
Good to know. I have a some EZ Line here (from the 1/32 wingy build couple of years ago) and the company which sold it to me also gave me a sample of the smaller EZ one. Also noticed that Uschi vander Rosten also has thread for rigging so might get that one too.
Cheers
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Post by wbill76 on Nov 21, 2015 18:37:12 GMT -5
Following on from yesterday's effort, I got the pin wash treatment on the fighting top and then sealed it all up with some Lusterless Flat.  The top was then carefully glued permanently in place on the foremast tripod legs. I want it to be rock solid from here on out so that there aren't any more chances for it to come to grief. While that was setting up, I added the jackstaff and brace to the bow as called out in Step 19. It's going in now so that I can run a rigging line from it to the underside of the fighting top. I did some careful testing with the yardarm and I believe I can safely rig the signal flag lines from it but it will be something I will definitely take my time with.  I haven't yet secured the cranes or the mainmast tripod as I'm still trying to give myself maximum flexibility for working around the rear main deck area for as long as possible. That came in handy for attaching the rope cleats and the small raised deck guard that are called out in Step 23. The instructions would have you install 6 of the cleats per side but one of them interferes with the bulwark on the 3 gun 20mm AA tub, so I only installed five per side and skipped the problematic one.  Not as dramatic an update as in previous days but it all adds up towards getting the remaining details taken care of. The rear tripod structure got a dose of Future so I could pin wash the rest of it to match the structure and will be left to cure overnight before I tackle it. After that will be permanently placing it and adding the rigging...fingers crossed! |
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Post by Leon on Nov 21, 2015 18:52:08 GMT -5
Finger,eyes and toes crossed as you start the rigging Bill! Steady as she goes Captain. |
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Post by wbill76 on Nov 21, 2015 20:05:42 GMT -5
Finger,eyes and toes crossed as you start the rigging Bill! Steady as she goes Captain. Hope that does the trick Leon! Will do my best to keep her off the rocks and headed down the channel. |
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Post by wouter on Nov 22, 2015 2:43:56 GMT -5
Oh no doubt you will manage sailor Nice to see some more progress! Cheers |
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Post by dierk on Nov 22, 2015 4:58:10 GMT -5
Yay! We'll have frigging in the rigging after all!
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Post by deafpanzer on Nov 22, 2015 11:18:24 GMT -5
That rigging part will definitely make me VERY nervous. Good luck!!! Your ship is really looking G-R-E-A-T! Can't wait to see it done... are you planning to do little weathering on this?
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Post by wbill76 on Nov 22, 2015 11:35:10 GMT -5
Thanks Wouts and Dierk, appreciate the encouragement! That rigging part will definitely make me VERY nervous. Good luck!!! Your ship is really looking G-R-E-A-T! Can't wait to see it done... are you planning to do little weathering on this? I'm lucky that all those updated antennas displaced most of the usual rigging on a ship like this, otherwise it would be a much more complicated effort! Not sure if I will do a whole lot more in the weathering department on the hull. The pin wash has done all I want for the rest of the ship. |
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Post by wing_nut on Nov 22, 2015 12:53:05 GMT -5
Be still my heart!  |
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Post by wbill76 on Nov 22, 2015 18:54:42 GMT -5
Not a huge amount of bench time available today but did manage to make some additional progress. First up was the application of a pin wash to the mainmast tripod structure followed by a Lusterless Flat treatment so it will tie in with the rest of the ship.  While that was drying, I decided to tackle the yardarm rigging for the foremast. For this task, I used some EZ Line Fine Black elastic thread that I had on hand from my last rigging endeavor on the HMS Dreadnought.  Due to the delicate nature of the yardarm, I wanted to avoid placing too much tension on it so that concern was paramount throughout the process. I cut long lengths of the EZ Line and attached the end first to the yardarm so that they would hang loosely. A dot of CA applied with the tip of a toothpick to the arm itself combined with dipping the end of the EZ Line into some CA accelerator did the trick nicely. I attached only the innermost line first and used tweezers to gauge how long it needed to be and where it should attach on the 03 deck level. Then a small dot of CA was applied via toothpick to the deck and some accelerator brushed onto the loose end of the thread. Using tweezers, the end was positioned in the CA and held for a couple of seconds until it grabbed. Rinse and repeat and before long I had the 10 lines rigged and virtually no stress placed on the yardarm in the process. After the glue had thoroughly dried, I used a 10/0 detail brush to blend the ends of the lines back into the deck and yardarm as needed. I'm very happy that it worked out as this is a prominent detail that would've been missing otherwise.  I'm still debating as to when I should run the remaining rigging lines between the two tripod masts and to the bow and stern. I'm thinking it might be best to hold off on doing that until after I get the rest of the guns along with the railings installed. That way I can keep stuff removable and decrease the likelihood of an unfortunate accident in the remaining stages. |
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Post by Leon on Nov 22, 2015 19:12:06 GMT -5
Excellent job on the yardarm rigging Bill! Glad it worked out for you. |
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Post by wbill76 on Nov 22, 2015 19:33:20 GMT -5
Thanks Leon! After doing a short test yesterday with the yardarm's ability to take tension, I felt a lot more comfortable doing it than I did immediately after the accident. Sometimes distance is your friend! |
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Post by deafpanzer on Nov 22, 2015 22:27:11 GMT -5
I am with Leon... can't wait to use that product you recommended. Those riggings really bring life to the old ship...
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Post by wbill76 on Nov 22, 2015 22:53:01 GMT -5
I am with Leon... can't wait to use that product you recommended. Those riggings really bring life to the old ship... It's good stuff Andy and a spool lasts forever! It will do a lot for your Indy project. |
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Post by wbill76 on Nov 24, 2015 19:13:19 GMT -5
One of the more complicated parts of the PE suite on this build is the main deck railings, particularly for the bow areas. The kit provides standard straight lengths of railing for this on the C fret but they don't come with any bend lines, so all the shaping that is needed is up to the builder. They are reinforced at several spots with thicker vertical bars so that helps prevent distortions in the shaping process thankfully and makes them less delicate on the whole.  The lengths aren't quite long enough to cover the whole section of deck from the bow up to the 02 deck bulkhead, so I started at the bow first where both sides need to meet and worked my way back from there. Most of the shaping involves curves vs. straight angles so there was a lot of careful tweaking in the various spots to get it right. Once the shape was done, the rails were hand painted with Haze Gray and then carefully glued down with CA a little bit at a time. I used the #11 blade knife tip trick to get glue into tight spots and then carefully pressed the railing down until the CA grabbed before moving on to the next spot. After both sides were on, some careful touchups were done where needed. I clipped off some small sections of the railing that I had salvaged from the 02 deck area due to the catapult conflict issue and used those to fill the remaining little area that was missing railing due to the short length of the single run sections. The small supply cranes were painted and added as well. Last but not least, I ran the EZ line rigging from the base of the fighting top out to the jack staff to complete the day's effort.   It's worth noting that the railings don't provide any openings for the rope cleats. After shaping the railings, the places where openings would've been had vertical bars running through them, so I elected not to open up the railings as that would've caused some major structural issues with the railing itself if I had. Not a huge thing and something I had been aware of back when I originally fitted the cleats to the deck but had held out a little bit of hope that it might be possible. |
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Post by Leon on Nov 24, 2015 19:23:05 GMT -5
Beautiful work on the railings and rigging Bill! The Texas looks fantastic all decked out. |
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Nice save on the yard arm Bill.I'de be afraid to handle it any more. 
I knew all along that this would be the most potentially hazardous part of the PE work on the ship...and one of the reasons why it was delayed for so long. Not because I was leery of tackling it but just because of how fragile/delicate it was going to be and I wanted to minimize the opportunities for a disaster to strike. Little did I know just how quickly that could happen. 
