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Post by wbill76 on Jun 12, 2016 16:59:07 GMT -5
When I see the elder work of Shep Paine and read about it in HOW TO BUILD DIORAMA, it is all clear. I mean, those guys did complete interiors from scratch only using plastic strip and rod. MAYBE we now are a bit "overrun" by super detail sets galore. On the other hand, seeing PE sets with parts smaller than a fly eye, hey, you must be a magnificent builder to handle this! Frank I agree, scratch building used to be a necessity due to the absence of any other alternative!  Amazing what they were able to do with basic materials, skill, and time. Sometimes I think the PE sets try to 'out-do' each other in terms of complexity and minutia...or just to fill up a fret to try to maximize the 'value' perception. Either way, I'm usually selective in what PE I decide to use and only go for what truly adds to the build as opposed to 'it's there'.  For this particular kit, the PE provided as part of the upgrade is very well done and engineered. The railings in particular clearly had a lot of thought put into them and include curved areas where they should for example instead of forcing the builder to try to add them on their own. |
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Post by wbill76 on Jun 15, 2016 20:53:35 GMT -5
I've been working on getting the boat deck's fixtures painted prior to their installation. Everything received a primer coat of MM enamel Flat Black via the airbrush as a starting point. The funnels were next and I airbrushed some MM enamel Insignia Red to recreate their anti-fouling red mouths and interiors. I placed them face down on a strip of masking tape and then airbrushed the MM enamel Gunship Gray to complete their appearance.  Skylights, the auxiliary steering wheels, bridge, and aft companionway hatch needed a mahogany finish, so I airbrushed a 50/50 custom mix of MM enamel Leather and Military Brown over the Flat Black to recreate that type of look.  MM enamel Gunship Gray was airbrushed on the aft elevated platform deck, the spotlight platform stands, and the other fittings as needed. The spotlights themselves had their solid faces drilled out to up their detail vs. leaving them as-is.  The four 6-pounder guns were also detailed after getting the Flat Black primer treatment. These were painted by hand under the optivisor with a 10/0 pointed brush.  That means I can start adding all this stuff into position! |
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Post by dierk on Jun 16, 2016 5:45:43 GMT -5
My brain's taking too long to come up with new and unusual ways of praising your work, so I'm jumping on the meme bandwagon:  |
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Post by wbill76 on Jun 16, 2016 9:29:23 GMT -5
Thanks Dierk! Dr. House approves! |
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martslay
Full Member
Member since: February 2016
Posts: 1,113 
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Post by martslay on Jun 16, 2016 12:59:08 GMT -5
Good work, Bill!  .... when I have time for "Bismarck"...  |
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Post by wbill76 on Jun 16, 2016 13:02:59 GMT -5
Good work, Bill! .... when I have time for "Bismarck"... No hurry Martin, Bismarck is patient! |
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Post by Leon on Jun 16, 2016 13:11:43 GMT -5
Nice work on the detail bits Bill!
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Post by wbill76 on Jun 16, 2016 18:48:45 GMT -5
Thanks Leon! Big round of progress today in terms of getting all the different elements in place on the boat deck. First up, I added all of the wood decking to the searchlight platforms, the bridge deck, and the crossover walkway. The pilot house got it's deck as well and was installed after I removed the un-needed frame and deck on the kit's part. The instructions don't tell you to do this and the PE pilothouse is designed to slide over it, but the wood deck cutouts weren't big enough to fit, so rather than hassle with that, I just removed it. Easy solution!  Regardless of whether I had removed the structure or not, there was still the problem of there not being a floor for the pilothouse itself. The kit just leaves this open but I took the cutout portion from the boat deck that was around the base of the engine access hatch and used it to 'patch' the hole and add a wood floor at the same time. Some CA was used to secure it and I left the clear backing on the wood itself so I could paint it to match the rest of the underside of the deck platform.  After installing the pair of 6-pounder guns into position, I added the bridge deck. Clamps were needed to get it down on the sides and rear and join up solidly, something that would've been impossible had I installed the decks into the hull before this as the instructions would have it done.  One the bridge deck was in place, I added the rest of the fixtures to the rear area first, then installed the raised crossover walkway level. Once that was in place, the remaining pair of 6-pounders were installed and the rest of the fittings added to the remaining sections.  Because of how tight the space is around the searchlight platforms and the fact that the railing for the walkway is one long single piece, I'll hold off adding the searchlight platforms until after I have the deck in the hull and am ready to tackle the railings in general.   I did a test fit with both the masts and the smoke funnels to be sure they would play nice when it came time to install them, so it won't be necessary to add them now thankfully. Still plenty to do on this one but it's starting to look like a ship! |
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Post by Leon on Jun 16, 2016 19:46:08 GMT -5
Great work on getting the decks and fittings on Bill! The deck looks fantastic against the paint. |
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Post by wbill76 on Jun 16, 2016 20:49:00 GMT -5
Great work on getting the decks and fittings on Bill! The deck looks fantastic against the paint. I agree, really makes a difference as it all comes together. |
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Post by dierk on Jun 17, 2016 3:05:01 GMT -5
Really starting to come together Bill! Fine work!  |
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Post by wbill76 on Jun 17, 2016 9:36:10 GMT -5
Thanks Dierk! Not so many parts left on the sprues but still a lot on the PE fret. |
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Post by wbill76 on Jun 17, 2016 16:47:16 GMT -5
Spent the day working on getting the main deck section weathered so it would match the hull. To that end, I airbrushed a coat of Future and then applied a dot filter using MM enamel IJN Sky Gray and MM enamel Gunship Gray. Once I was happy with that, I applied a pin wash with MM enamel Burnt Umber and a pointed 18/0 brush. The pin wash was tightened up with the same brush and clean thinner where needed.   Will let that sit so I can look it over with fresh eyes to see if there's anything else I need to adjust before it gets installed into the hull. |
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Post by Leon on Jun 17, 2016 21:27:06 GMT -5
Fantastic work on the weathering and pin wash Bill! |
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Post by wbill76 on Jun 17, 2016 21:41:16 GMT -5
Thanks Leon! Always fun to get the variation while still having it match up with the previous work.
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Post by dierk on Jun 18, 2016 6:16:17 GMT -5
Hmm, fresh eyes - something I could do with myself |
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Post by Tojo72 on Jun 18, 2016 6:33:03 GMT -5
Effort is paying off,looks good from here
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Post by armorguy on Jun 18, 2016 7:39:24 GMT -5
As usual with Bill's builds I enjoy this one A LOT !!!
New nickname ? Skills Billz !
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Post by wbill76 on Jun 18, 2016 9:55:46 GMT -5
Dierk , never hurts to keep a set on the bench, just don't let the neighbors find out! Anthony , thanks! AG, can't argue with that, has a nice ring to it!
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Post by dierk on Jun 18, 2016 11:48:59 GMT -5
Dierk , never hurts to keep a set on the bench, just don't let the neighbors find out! Why does that make me think of Bladerunner? Too tenuous?  |
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Post by wbill76 on Jun 18, 2016 16:22:04 GMT -5
Dierk, either that or Minority Report! The moment of truth arrived today, time to install the decks into the hull! After a quick once over and a couple more small adjustments, I sealed up the main deck section with a dose of MM Lusterless Flat in the rattle can. I started at the bow and added that deck plate section first, then the middle section, and finally the stern plate. The fit with the hull sides was pretty good, just liquid glue and some gentle finger pressure in a couple spots was all that was needed. The stern plate needed some putty help due to a slight mold deformation on the starboard side that I knew would be an issue way back when I joined the halves together. The gaps between the midsection and the bow and stern plates wasn't an issue since the wood deck overlays were going to literally paper over that in a bit.  Fitting the wood decks themselves required a little strategic trimming and fitting in different spots. The whole deck area is covered in 4 separate pieces (bow, stern, two for the sides around the secondary battery casemates), so I began once more at the bow. This is where having the 5-inch guns remain movable in their casemates really helped as fitting the v-shaped section is pretty tight.  The small mid-section pieces went on without issue and the stern section had similar issues with the bow but with more trimming needed as the pre-cut dimensions didn't quite match up as well here with the kit.  All the wood deck areas are now in place, next up will be turning my attention to the smoke funnels and the masts. 
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Post by Leon on Jun 18, 2016 20:57:54 GMT -5
WOW!!!!! That looks really sharp with the wood decking in place Bill. Excellent work. |
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Post by armorguy on Jun 19, 2016 2:22:01 GMT -5
Razorsharp build so far bro !
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flmlm
Full Member
Member since: March 2016
Crack open that kit and smell the build ????
Posts: 170
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Post by flmlm on Jun 19, 2016 7:13:31 GMT -5
Wow! Incredible build!
Regards
Mike
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Post by wbill76 on Jun 19, 2016 9:38:50 GMT -5
Thanks Leon, AG, and Mike! Definitely a momentous occasion! |
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Post by dierk on Jun 19, 2016 11:20:10 GMT -5
Time to smash a 1/232 scale bottle of bubbly on the bow!
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martslay
Full Member
Member since: February 2016
Posts: 1,113
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Post by martslay on Jun 19, 2016 13:29:36 GMT -5
Beautiful ship, Bill!!!
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Post by wbill76 on Jun 19, 2016 16:11:40 GMT -5
That's the spirit Dierk! Thanks Martin! |
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Post by wbill76 on Jun 19, 2016 20:11:20 GMT -5
I started work on the pair of smoke funnels and the first order of business was to remove all the molded-on details that would be replaced with PE parts. I did this while the funnel halves were still separate as that was the easiest way to get at the stuff that needed to go. The small platforms around the tops of the funnels were originally meant to mate up with the undersides of the funnel caps, but since they were removed, that caused varying degrees of issue between the two different arrangements. The forward funnel needed the most work in the form of some added styrene and putty to build back up the necessary area while the aft funnel just needed some careful sanding. The PE mesh screen inserts were also added for good measure at this stage.  I airbrushed both funnels with a primer coat of MM enamel Flat Black. This would do double duty in terms of painting the funnel caps and also serving as the underlying coat for the Gunship Gray areas. The black caps were masked off and the gray airbrushed after some minor touch-ups to the previous putty and sanding work were done.  The the real fun began. I added the PE platforms and access ladders using very small amounts of CA applied with the tip of a #11 blade. I found it easiest to install the ladders first and use them as the baseline to add the platform parts around them. The long runs of ladder on the funnels are actually 2 different parts that are joined together due to the fact that the funnels have a slight backward rake to them.  I've handpainted the PE details to match and just need to do some slight airbrush touch-ups before these will be ready to install in place. |
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Post by dierk on Jun 20, 2016 5:21:02 GMT -5
Noice, very very noice!
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Amazing what they were able to do with basic materials, skill, and time. Sometimes I think the PE sets try to 'out-do' each other in terms of complexity and minutia...or just to fill up a fret to try to maximize the 'value' perception. Either way, I'm usually selective in what PE I decide to use and only go for what truly adds to the build as opposed to 'it's there'. 
For this particular kit, the PE provided as part of the upgrade is very well done and engineered. The railings in particular clearly had a lot of thought put into them and include curved areas where they should for example instead of forcing the builder to try to add them on their own. 
