1/350 Z-25 with Flyhawk Superdetail **FINISHED**

[deafpanzer]

Those guns are looking real good!

[mrversatile]

I have been chipping away at this one little by little and have finished adding the major superstructure parts. I originally took a picture of the main funnel prior to detailing with the intention of showing the before and after pics but the original pic was somehow missing on the camera. (see previous post for funnel pic in background). So the following pics will show the aforementioned superstructure parts including the completed funnel assembly as well as the bridge superstructure. Items of note include the vented base structure under the funnel which is a total replacement in photo etch. Also note the cross members on the bridge supports. These are also photo etch replacements. They are much more delicate and to scale than the originals. The kit parts were originally all one part with the supports and cross members attached and required the builder to separate same before adding them to the superstrucure and adding the photo etch pieces. A frustrating endeavor at best.  Still many details to add to the bridge area. 





Before the cross members added

[Leon]

Nice progress Gil! Looking really good.

[deafpanzer]

WOW! She is really looking GREAT!!!

[wbill76]

PE is worth the effort Gil, details are coming together nicely.

[mrversatile]

Thanks guys, and Bill, I couldn't agree more. Photo etch work is essential in shipbuilding because of the busyness in such a small scale. It plays with the mind but when it begins to come together, like now, it really makes a difference.

I have finished adding more cranes, life rafts, radar arrays, and bridge details. I also put together the photo etch replacement "break water." This beauty entailed putting two long pieces together, bending, and then adding about 12 braces. I also installed the twin mount behind the "break water" and added the anchor handling details. The Flyhawk set includes photo etch anchor chains which are more satisfactory than molded on chain but I still opted to order some scale chain. (I didn't have enough in my stash). I began detailing the motor launch and lifeboats. The motor launch will have a photo etch replacement cabin which requires the removal of the molded plastic cabin from the kit part. The picture below shows this as well as the unistalled photo etch replacement. It also shows the bumper ridge seen on these boats which I added with a styrene replacement. Two portholes per side were additionally drilled out because they were absent from the kit part.

[Leon]

Nice progress Gil! The PE is a big improvement.

[wbill76]

You're brave and patient for tackling that breakwater arrangement! Very sharp.

[mrversatile]

Yeah Bill, that breakwater thought went something like.....Should I build it? Is it worth the trouble?...then I looked at the kit part and thought,...well, let me make the attempt, if I screw up I will trash it and use the lesser kit part. Luckily, my patience paid off bc it is a much improved piece.

Thanks for checking in Leon.

[adt70hk]

Gil

That is looking very, very nice indeed!! Karma +1

Andrew

[mrversatile]

I have finished and mounted the life boats (I just have to add a life ring to the roof of the V boat), and like much of the rest of the kit, the photoetch parts pretty much replace all of the davits and details on the boats themselves. The cabin windows on the V boat were glazed with Micro Krystal Klear and I decided to add some "bling" to it by painting it with shiny brass finishes on the awning frame and hand holds. I Just have to add a slight wash to them as well. I also started the AA or secondary gun mounts and these are pretty much total photoetch and resin replacements. The pictures below show one of the four 37MM/83 (SK/30) mounts I completed. The base is resin with about 12 photo etch parts and two metal barrels (Master). For a size comparison, I laid a single edge razor blade alongside it. These metal barrels, originally designed to be adapted to kit parts, take a little adjustment to apply to the photoetch pieces which originally had photoetch barrels. Now to do 3 more of these and about 10 others including a couple of quad mounts. I will post examples of these when completed. Thanks for looking.

[Leon]

That is looking fantastic Gil! Nice start on the guns.

[wbill76]

Got to love all the little detail touches you're adding to this one Gil, the boat details in particular are pretty sweet!

[mrversatile]

After taking pictures with my old reliable Comedia camera, I again noticed that strange things were occurring such as: old deled pictures still remaining on card and new pictures, which can be viewed after first taking them, do not save when trying to upload them. I have now tried to use my cell phone instead and the pictures are much better, but are unable to take low resolution or sized pictures. Well, enough of that. The following pictures are of some of the finished guns installed on the ship. I originally took "in progress" pics, but of course, you know what happened to those....So far I have completed 3 different types of guns. You have seen the 37mm twin mounts (4 each), I have finished pics of these below as well as a single 20mm (2 each), and one of four 37mm bofors guns. Like the previous, these guns are totally photoetch and resin replacements for the kit parts with metal barrels, and you can see why.


These are 2 of  the previous 37mm guns painted and installed

Below is one of the finished 37mm single mount bofors guns.  Note the replacement brass barrel



Here is one of two single 20mm mounts this has a resin base and metal replacement barrel. You can also see the anchor chain detil as well as phot etch rope guides attached to the photoetch textured decking.

[wbill76]

Makes a huge difference with those replacement details on the guns and other bits Gil. Nice!

[Leon]

Those guns are a great improvement Gil!

[mrversatile]

YEEEEEEEEES! I am finally finished the 16 total AA guns. Now I know why I saved them for the end of the build. These tested all of my micro skills. The last of them are the twin mount 20mm guns (4 each) and the quad mount flakvierlings (2 each). I thought the quads would be the toughest to construct because of the amount of brass barrels that need to be incorporated into each, but they turned out to be easier than all the others. I just had to take my time and it helps to add the photoetch parts in a sequence which makes it easier to assemble. These quad mounts are the only ones that utilized a kit part, the base, and then more than 10 photoetch parts and 4 brass barrels were attached to this. Now the final steps of the build include: 1) installing outside railing, 2) building and installing masts as well as rigging. and 3) creating the waterscape and adding some weathering.

The 20mm twin mounts.  Resin bases, photetch, and brass barrels



Here is one mounted on the port side.  Also a good fiew of the breakwater detail.



The quad mounts.  Kit part base covered in photetch and brass barrels.

[Leon]

Excellent work on the guns Gil!

[deafpanzer]

I love those little guns! What a huge difference between kit and aftermarket guns...

[mrversatile]

I constructed the main and aft masts and decided to use the plastic parts rather than rebuilding them with brass rod as is sometimes the case. I used fine EZ-line for the rigging horizontals and ultrafine black fishing line for the verticals. When cut close to the actual length, EZ-line doesn't put any stress on the masts or yardarms, thus no need to tighten sagging lines with a hot match which many times puts unpredictable stress on the aforementioned. The latest set of photos shows the finished masts and rigging as well as some of the main deck railing I have installed. What is nice about these railings is the requirement of bending each stanchion outward making it more realistic. Although the railings are "to length" already, they are too long to manage so I cut them at more reasonable lengths and then reconnect after they are installed. What do you think?

[wing_nut]

Boy howdy does that look nice. Those AA's are sierra hotel.

[captfue]

Great work, enjoyed the details....

[TRM]

Outstanding Gil!! Looking forward to seeing this one in November maybe....yes?

[Leon]

Great work on the rigging and railings Gil!

[Deleted]

WOW!

[mrversatile]

Thanks everyone. I am really starting to see the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. Did some weathering to the hull and just have to finish the railings and small details before tackling the rough seascape. Yes Todd, I think I will have this one on the table at Baycon in November. Hopefully I have a few more projects completed by then.

[wbill76]

Getting close to the finish line here Gil, looking good! You're right about those railing sections, the added 3-D element really makes a difference.

[adt70hk]

A nice update!! Any idea how many hours this has taken so far??

Andrew

[dierk]

That is a stunning result! Not a term I use lightly, but truly awesome!

[mrversatile]

Mar 10, 2016 8:08:03 GMT -5 adt70hk said:

A nice update!! Any idea how many hours this has taken so far??

Andrew

Andrew, I don't know exactly but I had completed the hull and deck before October but really got into daily toward the end of October until now. I am thinking at least 100 to 200 hours a couple of hours at a time. Has to be well over 1000 photoetch parts crammed into a small space.

Bill, this is my first experience with these railings and I agree that the extra work shows in the results. I have been really impressed with this Flyhawk set, even more so than the set I used for the Prinz Eugen I built a couple of years ago.

Thanks for all your encouragement. I am in the home stretch so check back for the final updates.