Landlubber Mike

Looks really sweet Craig, nice job!!!  I'm trying to stay out of post-WWII aircraft modeling, but seeing yours makes my willpower drop...

That looks like a perfect add-on.  I just looked at the kit, and it has quite a lot of the important PE - railings, funnel tops, etc.  Adding that Chinese set for the guns and deck will close the gap on what the kit itself is missing.

Glen, I just caught up with your log and wow, this is incredible work!  Your ingenuity is really inspiring, and how fortuitous that you ran across the woman with nail art.  Well done!  I am feeling the pressure and suspense of the bottle insertion all the way over here!

On those Dimple bottles, they are a favorite of SIB builders.  It might be because they are triangular in shape so you can have a flat base.  They aren't the easiest to find, but they are around.  In VA, hard liquor is sold in state-run stores.  They usually don't carry them, but occasionally you can find them.  You can also buy empties on eBay.

Scharnhorst is a nice ship for sure.  At 1/200, it's going to be a big one.  I ended up buying a 1/200 Bismarck with full Pontos upgrade from someone on here a few years ago, and when the box showed up, I freaked out.  Took some super quick action on my part to break down the shipping box and "hide" it on one of the model shelves.  Of course, one of my twins who at the time was 7 saw it a few days later and told me she wanted me to build it for her.  I told her she'd have to probably wait until she was in college 😬

Are you getting any aftermarket for it?

Awesome work as always Kevin!

That Scharnhorst will be sweet!  Cant wait to see your work on it.

Looks really sharp with that camo scheme - nice job!

1 hour ago, Javlin said:

Mike that's Tamy's stuff right I think I have a can 1200 rattle type also was thinking of getting some etching primer from work and maybe decant.

I think it's Mr. Color line (all the "Mr." brands, except maybe Mr. Hobby?). 

I have, but haven't tried the product CDW just posted.  I think I brushed it on something small but otherwise haven't used it.  If you go to this guy's build log, at the 18 min mark he uses sandpaper to etch all the PE (not sure I feel comfortable doing that, especially at 1/700 scale where the PE is incredibly fragile, but he is a master modeler), and then at the 19 minute mark, he uses the rattle can version of what Craig posted):

Funny you should mention this - I was watching a 1/700 build on YouTube yesterday and the modeler talked about using a metal primer on PE.  I've been using Mr. Surfacer 1200 or 1500 (not from the rattle can, but thinned in an airbrush) to prime PE and have had no issues.  It holds very well and doesn't peel off as when using stuff like Vallejo primer.  I still use Vallejo primer on smaller things that don't need to be taped, but otherwise, I'm a big fan of Mr. Surfacer.  Stuff stinks really bad, but it makes things very easy once applied.  It also comes in different colors (white, grey, black) so you can get a good base for your color coats.

Those yellow stripes against the aluminum are really sharp.  Very nice job!  Hang in there with everything my friend.

Looks great!  Those funnel stripes are not easy to do!  I had to do them on my Shimakaze and it was tricky with the PE railings, etc.

I use Gorilla brand PVA wood glue all the time.  Never a problem.

Nicely done!

Ladders are not very fun.  The ones in the Hasegawa PE sets for the Shimakaze were really nice, but fragile.  Had to bend them the right way the first time, as if you had to bend them back the other way, they broke   I ended up getting a bunch of spare IJN ladders from Infini.  Lots of different sizes which came in handy.

Hey Craig, that color test you showed earlier is very interesting.  Unfortunately, you can drive yourself crazy looking at colors from different manufacturers to figure out what colors you need.  Sometimes the kit manufacturer includes suggested colors, but in some cases, I've found that the recommended paint manufacturers list is narrow (hard to find Mr. Color paints sometimes) or the paints themselves aren't exactly on point.  I try to locate paints using FS or ANA colors, but that isn't always a perfect solution.  And then there is the issue of deciding whether to stick only with acrylics, or branch out to new manufacturers.  I originally started with Vallejo for being water-based acrylics.  I still use Vallejo for interior or small detail work, but found myself more and more moving to Mr. Color and Tamiya for broader paint jobs like fuselages, car bodies, etc. - the paints stink and are a little more difficult to use as you have to use thinner (Mr. Color Leveling Thinner 400 is excellent as you say!), but it gives you a much more durable and consistent finish -- and, to me at least, seems a little easier to thin for shading and highlighting, etc.

If anyone is interested, I found these paint charts to be very helpful - who would have guessed there were so many colors used by the US: 

http://www.ipmsstockholm.org/magazine/2004/01/stuff_eng_interior_colours_us.htm

http://www.ipmsstockholm.org/colorcharts/stuff_eng_colorcharts_vallejo.htm

https://acrylicosvallejo.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/historical-color-references-guide-for-aircraft-and-afv-series-vallejo-colors.pdf

Looking great Kevin!  Are you using any aftermarket?  I have this kit in the stash with the Very Fire upgrade set.  It's a very comprehensive all-in-one set.  It's certainly not inexpensive, but you can find deals on eBay.

https://www.bnamodelworld.com/model-ships-boats-detail-up-parts-very-fire-vf350008

Looks fantastic EG - really well done!  Thanks very much for sharing your techniques with us!

Looks great Craig - very cool subject too, I'm in for this one!

Beautiful PE work!

On 7/11/2022 at 7:28 PM, Egilman said:

I've read that it is a wipe on wipe off type of stuff, only for filling gaps... Sandable smoothing fills take place after it is cured for at least a day...

 

I don't know, others may have a better understanding of it, all I know is I haven't found an application yet where it works like we understand normal putties do...

And it has come off everything I've ever put it on...

Hey EG, nice work on the Sabre.  For putty, try Mr. Dissolved Putty from Mr. Hobby - I haven't tried it yet, but it looks like a more enhanced version of Tamiya putty and their Mr. Surfacer products.  I also recently watched a video from Plasmo on YouTube who also suggested for big seams to use the rubber reinforced CA glue.  Apparently it fills well and sands easier than standard CA.  I believe I've also seen him use the Mr. Hobby/Mr. Surfacer products in various models.  Personally, I've come around to really liking the "Mr." line of modeling supplies.  Their primers (Mr. Surfacer) and paints are absolutely fantastic.  Need to have good ventilation though as the products smell pretty bad.

https://www.mr-hobby.com/en/product2/category_12/263.html

Nice job by the way on the CMK aftermarket.  I'm working on a Brewster Buffalo with four CMK aftermarket sets on it, and it's been many hours performing surgery to the kit parts.  I've found, however, that the fit of CMK is generally pretty good compared to some aftermarket companies.  The instructions can be puzzling at times, to the say the least, and some of the very detailed parts are very fragile.  Also, how they attach some of the resin parts to plugs makes removal a little difficult. Despite these minor issues, for me it's a lot more fun using the aftermarket sets than building OOB.

Good video of seeing how this works on a full size table saw - just got this from Woodpeckers today:

https://www.woodpeck.com/thin-rip-guide.html?trk_msg=O3O5OF4Q7IL4RE8IQJJIJ0TLAK&trk_contact=57DNDG6UB4FIQFKDH245OGPH04&trk_module=spe&trk_sid=9JSG8CFOA5GEDOSOS6SAJAULRK&trk_link=S0ITBEDVL0D436URM7VQ96CCLS&utm_source=listrak&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Woodpeckers+ThinRip+Guide&utm_campaign=Woodpeckers+ThinRip+Guide&utm_content=Woodpeckers+ThinRip+Guide

That's really great work Glen, nice job!

Amazing work Chris!  One of my favorite paint schemes too for the Hellcat.  I still refuse to believe this is made in card - you’re a wizard!

Looking great!  That instrument panel looks really sweet - especially for this scale!

Hey Ryan, really nice job!  Is the PE from Eduard?  Looks great!

I just came across a great deal on a Trumpeter Enterprise with full Pontos set that I couldn’t resist - your build makes me want to start it when I finish my destroyer.

I think mine had the proper N orientation too.  I think I would have noticed and been annoyed if it was backwards.

Excellent work Grant.  Like Glen, I had a really rough time getting my PE keel to fit.  I think I eventually cut it into two pieces to make it fit better.

Be careful with the PE bowsprit and masts.  If they get bent, I’d wait until the very end to fix them.  It only takes a few bends and the PE will split.  
 

I put mine in the bottle with sea instead of on the wood pedestal base.  I think the way I did it, the overall height was shorter than had I used the pedestals, but I still had issues with the main mast being too tall.  You might want to measure the inside of the bottle to make sure you can safely raise the main mast fully.