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Landlubber Mike

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Everything posted by Landlubber Mike

  1. Landlubber Mike
    Thanks man! I'm slowly getting better at it. And yeah, I really like the quirky vessels for sure. Wow, that AJM kit looks fantastic! Very cool subject with the camo, two raised flight decks and the different colored biplanes. That's going to be a stunning model. I saw one on Modellmarine.de that had some good information in case you haven't seen it: https://www.modellmarine.de/index.php/modelle/493-nick-shipp/5269-2018-07-04-05-22-49 AJM models seem to be very similar to the Niko kits. Both from Poland and are all in one multimedia kits of resin and PE of rare subjects. But, a lot better (more detailed instructions). I'll have to put AJM on the list!
  2. Landlubber Mike
    Thanks! I tend to use an Optivisor with LED lighting, but found that I can usually get away without it as I have a pretty strong LED desk lamp. I'm always yelling at my kids for reading in the dark, but I think it's just my eyes that need more light. I'm also using very fine tweezers (from Dumont) which help. Luckily I have fairly steady hands, so long as I don't drink too much coffee. Thanks again for looking in!
  3. Landlubber Mike
    I've been making some good progress on the Akitsushima. The Artist Hobby set is really well done, I couldn't recommend it more for this kit. Here I added porthole surrounds to the hull - there are lots of them, and it's a bit tricky when they are about 1mm in diameter: Bridge just about completed - need to add some doors and equipment. Looking at this, I might need to add porthole surrounds as well. Deck mostly completed. Still have some work to do on the rear crane mast section: Cannons built up: The kit comes with two seaplanes - a Kawanishi H6K Type 97 (Mavis) and a Kawanishi H8K Type 2 (Emily). I plan on putting one on the deck and one in the water. Need to decide which goes where as I'll add spinning props to the one in the water to show a water landing. There's not much room on the deck so I might include the smaller one on there. I might actually try to model it hoisted on the crane rather than on the deck turntable. Just need to figure out how to it was done and make sure whatever line holding it is of material that can support the weight. Here are some detail pieces. I think at this point the main detail piece I need to complete is the rear crane tower. I already have the crane section built up, but need to figure out how to do the tower which is a little complicated: Thanks for looking in!
  4. Landlubber Mike
    Another cool figure Alan! Well done!
  5. Landlubber Mike
    Wow BE, another stellar model! Congratulations! Thanks for sharing the journey.
  6. Landlubber Mike
    Wow, that was fast! Looks great! Love the trio!
  7. Landlubber Mike
    Looks like another great one! Looking forward to following along Alan - you do great work! By the way, love the Black Cat aftermarket you are using. I've picked up a few of their items for future projects myself.
  8. Landlubber Mike
    Weird, I had posted my last reply a while back but it got stuck. Now I see you finished - really great job! Quick build too! Thanks for sharing with the group!
  9. Landlubber Mike
    What I like to do is run a thin needle with CA to add a good amount to hidden areas - interiors, etc. Seems to work very well. I’ve also done the same with two part epoxy. I’m surprised you can solder such thin pieces of brass without destroying them - very impressive! At some point I’ll have to learn to solder so that I can build up the GLS corvette class aftermarket.
  10. Landlubber Mike
    Welcome back Jason! Diana is looking amazing!
  11. Landlubber Mike
    For 1/700, do you need to solder? I’ve always just used CA, sometimes with accelerant for a quicker bind. For things like planes I’ve at times used two part epoxy. i have a 1/72 Corvette class with very heavy PE from GLS. They recommend soldering given the weight of the PE. With the parts so thin in 1/700, I’m really impressed with the results you’ve obtained.
  12. Landlubber Mike
    Great stuff Alan! Destroyers seem like smaller easier ships to build, but they are jam packed full of stuff on the decks. Makes it tricky to paint. I usually try to build as much as I can before painting, but here as you are doing you have to paint a lot of stuff off the model and then carefully assemble it. It's a bit of a nerve-racking process given how delicate the items are in 1/700. You're doing an amazing job!
  13. Landlubber Mike
    I think so - these 1/700 models seem to look much better to me in a water dio setting. I believe the Pit Road kit allows you to do full hull or waterline. I didn't add the bottom half yet to the hull in part because I'm still deciding what to do (at 1/700, a full hull isn't very deep) and because having the open bottom allowed me to drill holes from underneath to help get glue between the PE deck and the plastic hull. There were a couple of places the PE deck were not sitting flush, so a hole or two drilled underneath allowed me to get more glue in that spot and with a little pressure, got the deck to fit flush.
  14. Landlubber Mike
    Yes, I think the knock on Trumpeter kits generally is accuracy - not only on parts but on colors. I haven't built a Trumpeter kit, but seems like they build into nice models. Regardless, I like where you are going with this kit!
  15. Landlubber Mike
    To simulate the hull plating lines, I taped alternating rows using Tamiya flexible tape and then sprayed a fairly medium-heavy coat of Mr. Surfacer 500. Once you remove the tape, you have nice simulated plating lines. I then added the degaussing cables. The Artist Hobby set gives you four pieces for each side of the hull, and then a piece for the stern. The pieces all fit together perfectly. I've been super impressed by the Artist Hobby update set. Everything fits the Pit Road kit like a glove.
  16. Landlubber Mike
    OC, I meant to get back to you on this. A lot of the escort carriers during and after the war were used to transport/carry "stuff" (for lack of a better word). The Copahee I posted above carried back a number of Japanese planes and engines and other parts during the war. I'm assuming the picture in this post shows a similar operation of transporting planes.
  17. Landlubber Mike
    Geez, I fall behind on MSW, look to catch up on current builds, see another log from Chris, and find out it's done. That didn't take long! Really great job as always Chris!
  18. Landlubber Mike
    Really nice kit of a great subject. Looking forward to following along.
  19. Landlubber Mike
    You're moving really quickly on this one Alan - really nicely done! I like the colors you are using, and the camo scheme is really sweet.
  20. Landlubber Mike
    Made some good progress on the Akitsushima past few days. Using the Artist Hobby supplied template mask, I drilled the port holes out with a 0.5mm drill. Having the micromotor really helped to not only drill them quickly, but also fairly cleanly: Removed all deck details which will be replaced by the Artist Hobby set: Added the Artist Hobby PE decks. The fit was perfect on these pieces, really well done by Artist Hobby. Next I think I'll work on the hull sides, adding plating lines and details like degaussing cables and if I'm feeling crazy enough, maybe PE porthole surrounds. Thanks for looking in!
  21. Landlubber Mike
    I haven't tried that one yet, but probably should. I use Starboard, which I've also used as a CA finish when turning pens. I learned to wear a respirator when turning pens and applying all that CA - it's nasty stuff.
  22. Landlubber Mike
    Love your Huron Alan! The camo scheme is really well done! I pretty much only use medium CA for PE. I've tried PVA type glue like Gator's Grip, but I don't really see the attraction. I find medium CA gives me a good 20 seconds to align parts, and if I need a quicker bonding time, I just use some accelerator. What's next?
  23. Landlubber Mike
    For some reason, I kinda lost interest in finishing these two dioramas over the past few months in part trying to decide what to do with the Opel Blitz truck and in part with the next step of painting and decals. I did turn back to them more recently as interest returned. I mentioned before that the SOL Opel Blitz kit was a total mess with fragile parts, warped parts, etc., so I broke down and bought the Tamiya kit. Wow, the Tamiya kit went together like a dream! Perfect fit, great instructions, etc. I built up most of the kit a few months ago, but then had to figure out how to modify the kit to match the picture in the towing diorama. Today I finish the modifications, which included using brass rod (round and square) and some of the wood planks from a Sol Model Opel Blitz kit. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. I primed it and the various cab parts tonight, so hopefully can get started on painting it later this week. Thanks for looking in!
  24. Landlubber Mike
    Looks really good David! Coming along quickly!
  25. Landlubber Mike
    We really do Kevin! I know people like doing the Yamato and the big flagship carriers and the like, but I really like their converted vessels and auxiliary ships. Very interesting designs! I did break down and recently add three US Navy ships to the collection after finally finding a 1/700 Loose Cannon Langley CV-1. Like a week later, I found a Tom's Modelworks corrected hull for the Hornet carrier, so got a bunch of AM for that one to do a Doolittle raid diorama, and then more recently bought the Tamiya Bogue class that I will do as the USS Copahee - there's a couple of really cool pictures of it bringing back IJN planes and equipment which I will try to model (plus, I love the Measure 33 Design 12A camo scheme): I I found this one as well with the flight deck full of US aircraft, but I think this might be an earlier design given the funnels:

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