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James H

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Posts posted by James H

  1. On 9/15/2023 at 12:15 PM, Artesania Latina said:

    Dear friends,

    We're happy to announce we have some important news today!

     

    We're releasing a 100% new Santisima Trinidad model, with the configuration and appearance it had at Trafalgar. You can discover this astonishing new model, faithfully reproduced, at last, here:

     

     

     

    I'm very pleased to say that Artesania Latina have been kind enough to offer me a sample of this new release for review on MSW, and I look forward to taking a close look at it.

  2. 1:48 La Renommée section - CAF Model
    Available for $79.00 from CAF Model

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    This one was quite a surprise when it came with the Postie on Monday. Not a full kit, but this time a small deck section in 1:48. The kit comes in a narrow, slender box with a product label on the lid. It's also another of those kits that when you take everything out, it's not very easy to get it all back in again...especially when you remove the stapes that are used to clip the many fittings bags together. Although in 1:48, the finished project is still quite small too, measuring 140mm x 100mm on the base, and less than 100mm tall, with figure stood aloft. The kit itself depicts a single gun section of La Renommée, complete with full gun crew and someone I can only presume is an officer. I'm sure those with better knowledge of French naval ranks.

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    There isn't too much strip wood in this kit with the majority of the timber here being the moulded wooden edges to the plinth you will make. You will need a mitre tool for this too. Two short lengths of brass wire are also included. 

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    The timber sheets are quite small too with parts laser-cut in both pear and ply. The pear of course, is for making the exposed frames that you'll see on the open ends of the section as well as the regular hidden frames, the cannon carriage, and the ply for the core of the base. You will also see a part (3a) than is used as a template/gauge to ensure that the internal frames and angles of the bulwarks are set correctly. Note also the deck planks (pale strips) that you may well be able to use 'as is', with the laser cutting simulating the deck caulking.

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    A big feature of this kit are the numerous gun crew figures that you will need to clean up and paint. These are provided as 3D-printed parts and you will need to carefully and cleanly remove the support structures from the printing process. These need to be cut back to just before the figure and then carefully trimmed/sanded flush to the part. With 3D-prints, never snap those supports off at the part as it can leave a small divot in the part. All figure types are individually packaged and numbered for reference. 

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    There are a LOT of small packs of fittings which include all the hardware for the gun, eyelets, stanchions etc. and again, these are all individually bagged and the part depicted on the seal, plus the part quantity. Some parts are cast onto brass blocks and you will need a small jeweller's saw or similar, to release the parts, and some fine files to clean them up. Also included is rigging cord in various sizes for the gun, rigging blocks, etc. The cannon is either cast in brass or bronze. I'm not too sure, but the detail definition is very good indeed and supplies quite a bit of weight to finished model. One thing of note here is the tiny lantern. CAF say this can be lit with an LED, but you will need to source those parts yourself. 

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    Instructions 
    These are a simple affair, spreading out over 6 pages, in full colour with parts annotation being clear and overall, the whole model looks simple to build up. Also included at the rear of the instructions are two pages showing the part sheets and corresponding part numbers. 

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    CAD and finished model images

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    Conclusion

    This has to be a nice little 'between projects' project! It's very simple to build, the materials are very nice, albeit some char will need to be removed from part faces in some areas, and there's plenty of parts to keep you occupied. One thing I'd like to have seen is the inclusion of a 'grain of rice' LED and some wire and battery clip for illuminating the model as shown, or even a requirements list and illustration as to how the prototype was tackled. That' not even a gripe though...more just me thinking it would've been a nice touch. This is quite an inexpensive model for what you get, when you look at all those 3D-print figures etc. I don't really see too many new kits like this these days, so this should perhaps be something to consider if you fancy a small diversion.

     

    My sincere thanks to CAF Model for sending this kit over for review on MSW.

     

     

     

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  3. 29 minutes ago, DB789 said:

    I’ve donated too. This is a fantastic resource and much appreciated. Thank you. Dan

     

    Much appreciated. One thing MSW will never do is monetise by way of restricting areas that are currently public, nor will we inundate anyone with spurious popups or nonsensical content in order to monetise, as you see on many sites....with Amazon links and video popups advertising breakfast cereals!. Donation drives are the best way of doing this. 

     

    The only areas that have to be paid to access are the downloads to projects such as Winchelsea, Triton etc. 

  4. 7 hours ago, allanyed said:

    Thanks Alan, but I am still not getting it.  This is on me, not you, for sure.  The long bolt passes through top, middle and bottom block as well as what looks like a metal bracket.   What part is anchored and where is it anchored so the carriage can pivot on this pin?  If anyone has a top view that would really help.  Looking at several modern photos, they look nothing like the contemporary drawings, but surely there are some that are accurate reproductions if complete drawings are not available.

    Thanks again Alan,  MUCH appreciated.

    Allan

    Let's not turn a build log into a debate, like the diminishing wales thing.

     

    Feel free to open a topic on carronades that can be used for reference. That's the best way to expend this thirst for knowledge. Please use this topic to enjoy Glenn's ongoing work on Indy. 

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