ChrisLBren

Thanks guys - I think we will have fun.  I am sure the Trumpeter version is more accurate - but the electronic features sealed the deal for my son.  And its pre painted so no need to break out the airbrush.  Believe it or not - the first shipment may be arriving Friday.  I just ordered on Monday.  Talk about fast service !  Yves - what techniques did you use on your Uboat to weather it.  Im thinking just some oil washes to highlight the panel lines - nothing too much though.  

Greetings everyone !  My son just turned 8 and has an interest in model building - so we have decided to purchase this model in 12 installments.  As a kid I used to love getting packages in the mail - he's so fired up he already checked out books on battleships at his school library.  Time is flying by as he grows up - and dont want to miss out.  My Ancre builds can wait for now.  
 
The ship has interesting features - working lights, revovling turrets - over 4 feet long.  I will want to weather it a bit to take away from its toy like appearance - so will be looking for suggestions. 
 
Here's a link to the website.  We ordered the first shipment last night !  I hear great things about this company from some of the members on the forum - its a bit pricy at 129 per month - but totally worth it to teach my son scale modeling skills and have a good time while doing it,.  
 
https://www.agoramodels.com/us/bismarck/?wmc-currency=USD&gclid=CjwKCAjw7J6EBhBDEiwA5UUM2rMWHi28rMOlLQINzTNyomjJ7jFdkcC-2RnK9ZNSfDAKdW8YSTwlUxoCW3wQAvD_BwE
 
As soon as the first shipment arrives we will post photos.  

I have read that some have used the tips of  surgical gloves for blast bags that are then weathered. I might make a test - again the fun of this project is the working electronics vs complete accuracy.  

Evening all,   I gave in  - couldn't help it  so I have relented and taken some more pics of my progress  (I'm sure you don't mind)   -  I finished detailing the  muskets then I gave them including the hands a wash to bring out the shadows, after  I attacked the gaiters  (these were not going to be great  as the moulding  was actually just trousers so a while back I tried to scrape and file the lower area of the leg - below the knee  to show where the gaiter would hold the trouser bottom In)   I painted a few layers of Black to just below the knee  but left Two of them with there trousers intact (they had lost there gaiters in the battle).
I then used my lighter skin colour back on the  hands to highlight them mainly on some of the fingers palm of the hands and knuckles,  just the buttons and the cocade  on the shako  then It will be time to work on the backs containing the haversacks and coat tail details / ammo box  sabre etc.
 
OC.

Thank you for all likes!!!
 
Today I have made the inner post; nothing is fixed yet, everything is provisional:
 

 
The rabbet: for now it is only sketchy. It will be completed later, after the hawse pieces have been fixed
 

Been awhile, I know.  I'm still sorting out some things while working on the planking.    Hopefully, that won't be too muich longer now that I have the stern planking figured out.
 
One of my "side" projects was to "re-learn" carving.  After a post here about it, and then I re-read Bill Shorts book and things started coming back as had done carvings on Licorne (not all but some).  Long story short... here's one of the carvings with the references. 
 
First up is the stern plan showing the carvings.   Not the greatest I've seen but it's what I have to work with. Some of these are super tiny so I'll figure something out on them.

Next up are two photos from the Web...  Both show the same carvings but different approaches and thus what they looked like.   It should be noted that these are all 1:48 builds. They both seem to be pretty "flat" with not much depth and there's differences in what the builder saw in the plans.  

And here's mine.  It's best I can do.  This is one at the very top. It's (I think) a bird with the lantern post coming out of it's mouth.  Go figure, right?   That's a penny (American) underneath it.  The carving is about 1.75 cm (less than 0.75 in) overall.  From here, except for the Arms of France, the carvings get smaller.  I don't think I'll be able to put any real detail into them.  And that dark spot on the extreme tip of the left wing seems to be shadow as it's not on the carving.
 

Back to the shop until next time.  I'm doing carvings while waiting for glue to dry on the planking or for inspiration on problem solving.
 
I should add, I thought about photo etch and even having 3D printing done but cost is big factor with 3D and I think my carvings will be better than photo etch.  Ah... hope still springs forth internally.
 

Update !  Unlike wood ship models - working with multi media is more like a jigsaw puzzle - very relaxing and easy.  Here's the results of the first three packs, forward deck, first of four Arado plans and the "Anton" turret.  I need to install the motor/electronics in the "Anton" forward gun turret next. 
 
Agora is terrific as far as customer service - if you damage or break a part they will send you a replacement ASAP.  The metal hull parts are terrific - she will be almost 4 feet long when completed.  

Update !  Unlike wood ship models - working with multi media is more like a jigsaw puzzle - very relaxing and easy.  Here's the results of the first three packs, forward deck, first of four Arado plans and the "Anton" turret.  I need to install the motor/electronics in the "Anton" forward gun turret next. 
 
Agora is terrific as far as customer service - if you damage or break a part they will send you a replacement ASAP.  The metal hull parts are terrific - she will be almost 4 feet long when completed.  

Update !  Unlike wood ship models - working with multi media is more like a jigsaw puzzle - very relaxing and easy.  Here's the results of the first three packs, forward deck, first of four Arado plans and the "Anton" turret.  I need to install the motor/electronics in the "Anton" forward gun turret next. 
 
Agora is terrific as far as customer service - if you damage or break a part they will send you a replacement ASAP.  The metal hull parts are terrific - she will be almost 4 feet long when completed.  

Update !  Unlike wood ship models - working with multi media is more like a jigsaw puzzle - very relaxing and easy.  Here's the results of the first three packs, forward deck, first of four Arado plans and the "Anton" turret.  I need to install the motor/electronics in the "Anton" forward gun turret next. 
 
Agora is terrific as far as customer service - if you damage or break a part they will send you a replacement ASAP.  The metal hull parts are terrific - she will be almost 4 feet long when completed.  

Update !  Unlike wood ship models - working with multi media is more like a jigsaw puzzle - very relaxing and easy.  Here's the results of the first three packs, forward deck, first of four Arado plans and the "Anton" turret.  I need to install the motor/electronics in the "Anton" forward gun turret next. 
 
Agora is terrific as far as customer service - if you damage or break a part they will send you a replacement ASAP.  The metal hull parts are terrific - she will be almost 4 feet long when completed.  

Update !  Unlike wood ship models - working with multi media is more like a jigsaw puzzle - very relaxing and easy.  Here's the results of the first three packs, forward deck, first of four Arado plans and the "Anton" turret.  I need to install the motor/electronics in the "Anton" forward gun turret next. 
 
Agora is terrific as far as customer service - if you damage or break a part they will send you a replacement ASAP.  The metal hull parts are terrific - she will be almost 4 feet long when completed.  

Update !  Unlike wood ship models - working with multi media is more like a jigsaw puzzle - very relaxing and easy.  Here's the results of the first three packs, forward deck, first of four Arado plans and the "Anton" turret.  I need to install the motor/electronics in the "Anton" forward gun turret next. 
 
Agora is terrific as far as customer service - if you damage or break a part they will send you a replacement ASAP.  The metal hull parts are terrific - she will be almost 4 feet long when completed.  

Update !  Unlike wood ship models - working with multi media is more like a jigsaw puzzle - very relaxing and easy.  Here's the results of the first three packs, forward deck, first of four Arado plans and the "Anton" turret.  I need to install the motor/electronics in the "Anton" forward gun turret next. 
 
Agora is terrific as far as customer service - if you damage or break a part they will send you a replacement ASAP.  The metal hull parts are terrific - she will be almost 4 feet long when completed.  

Update !  Unlike wood ship models - working with multi media is more like a jigsaw puzzle - very relaxing and easy.  Here's the results of the first three packs, forward deck, first of four Arado plans and the "Anton" turret.  I need to install the motor/electronics in the "Anton" forward gun turret next. 
 
Agora is terrific as far as customer service - if you damage or break a part they will send you a replacement ASAP.  The metal hull parts are terrific - she will be almost 4 feet long when completed.  

Now that most of the dusty work is done I've installed all of the quarter gallery and stern windows. 
I also cut the inboard stern window sills. 
Next up will be the gun port lids and hinges.
 

Hi there all,  I have decided my next bunch of figures will  the 1st  Tirailleurs   - they are very similar to the Ligne regiments  but for a higher plume instead of a pom pom  and  knee high gaitors.
Pics when I start them.
 
OC.
 
 
 
 

She's a transport ship - love the name ! That Pear is a very interesting in color - much paler than the Swiss Pear i see here in the US. Are you going to build exclusively in Pear ?

Greetings MSW.    I am back after completing Chuck's Confederacy scratch after a 7 year build finished in 2016.  (he did give me some cheats on the figurehead and some sculptures....)  She is an incredibly designed kit - I learned a ton - and ironically it was built in several apartments while single with nothing but a crappy Delta scroll saw and an old Preac table saw, along with Xacto knifes.  Jeff Hayes perfectly milled wood helped a ton !  And then I got married and my twins were born which slowed down everything in 2013. 
 
I have always wanted to build a fully framed French ship and collected a full library of Ancre subjects (the 74 Gun Series, Monographs of the 74 timbers, Commerce de Marseille, and La Renommee).    So  after buying a house in the suburbs - I built out a workshop.  I gathered the necessary tools over the past few years -  Byrnes Table Saw, Thickness Sander, Disc Sander,  Proxxon Mill, Proxxon Planer, Wood River spindle sander and a Dewalt full size table saw to reduce my flitch of pear wood to usable size.  I have also collected Lie Nielsen chisels and its Lee Valley Sharpening system.  
 
So it seems I can't fail right ?  
 
I did...
 
Call it being a Dad of young twins or just sheer intimidation.  I could not complete the stem for La Renommee to my standard so I quit.  I then decided - maybe a simpler subject would work - so I began construction on La Jacinthe in 1/32 scale.  Not only did I have issues with consistency of enlarging the plans (thanks FedEx/UPS store) - I grew bored with its construction - I have already successfully completed several plank on bulkhead models. 
 
So I returned to the enlarged plans that Delacroix sent me for Le Gros Ventre in 1/36 scale - a noble subject - with nice lines, simpler sculptures and yet a serious challenge.  I have heard from several members on this forum that building fully framed in larger scale is easier...
 
So here is the start of my build log - it will be messy showing all of the mistakes in order to build a fully framed model.  Here are my results after 2 months of work - the last photo showing my useable parts.

The first shipment arrived inside of 4 days - the packaging is impressive and the parts look great - as they should considering the price.  There's motors, wires, screws, plastic and metal components. I would have loved this as a kid - and loving it now as an adult !  There's a poster included and I downloaded the manual for the first stage - its 29 pages.  Also I paid a visit to my hobby store to pick up some sprue nippers, tweezers and glue - there's so many new things for the plastic model world - much more than when I was building these back in the 70s/80s.  Here's some photos.  


 

The first shipment arrived inside of 4 days - the packaging is impressive and the parts look great - as they should considering the price.  There's motors, wires, screws, plastic and metal components. I would have loved this as a kid - and loving it now as an adult !  There's a poster included and I downloaded the manual for the first stage - its 29 pages.  Also I paid a visit to my hobby store to pick up some sprue nippers, tweezers and glue - there's so many new things for the plastic model world - much more than when I was building these back in the 70s/80s.  Here's some photos.  


 

The first shipment arrived inside of 4 days - the packaging is impressive and the parts look great - as they should considering the price.  There's motors, wires, screws, plastic and metal components. I would have loved this as a kid - and loving it now as an adult !  There's a poster included and I downloaded the manual for the first stage - its 29 pages.  Also I paid a visit to my hobby store to pick up some sprue nippers, tweezers and glue - there's so many new things for the plastic model world - much more than when I was building these back in the 70s/80s.  Here's some photos.  


 

The first shipment arrived inside of 4 days - the packaging is impressive and the parts look great - as they should considering the price.  There's motors, wires, screws, plastic and metal components. I would have loved this as a kid - and loving it now as an adult !  There's a poster included and I downloaded the manual for the first stage - its 29 pages.  Also I paid a visit to my hobby store to pick up some sprue nippers, tweezers and glue - there's so many new things for the plastic model world - much more than when I was building these back in the 70s/80s.  Here's some photos.  


 

The first shipment arrived inside of 4 days - the packaging is impressive and the parts look great - as they should considering the price.  There's motors, wires, screws, plastic and metal components. I would have loved this as a kid - and loving it now as an adult !  There's a poster included and I downloaded the manual for the first stage - its 29 pages.  Also I paid a visit to my hobby store to pick up some sprue nippers, tweezers and glue - there's so many new things for the plastic model world - much more than when I was building these back in the 70s/80s.  Here's some photos.  


 

Greetings everyone !  My son just turned 8 and has an interest in model building - so we have decided to purchase this model in 12 installments.  As a kid I used to love getting packages in the mail - he's so fired up he already checked out books on battleships at his school library.  Time is flying by as he grows up - and dont want to miss out.  My Ancre builds can wait for now.  
 
The ship has interesting features - working lights, revovling turrets - over 4 feet long.  I will want to weather it a bit to take away from its toy like appearance - so will be looking for suggestions. 
 
Here's a link to the website.  We ordered the first shipment last night !  I hear great things about this company from some of the members on the forum - its a bit pricy at 129 per month - but totally worth it to teach my son scale modeling skills and have a good time while doing it,.  
 
https://www.agoramodels.com/us/bismarck/?wmc-currency=USD&gclid=CjwKCAjw7J6EBhBDEiwA5UUM2rMWHi28rMOlLQINzTNyomjJ7jFdkcC-2RnK9ZNSfDAKdW8YSTwlUxoCW3wQAvD_BwE
 
As soon as the first shipment arrives we will post photos.