Landlubber Mike

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.

Mine arrived over the weekend, thanks! Nicely made little gadget that helps open up the saw to more options. I like the idea of cutting to the opposite side of the fence, as I sometimes get binding on longer pieces (even pushing the back of the fence slightly out).

The nice thing about the micromotor is the different heads. I have a stylus with a 90 degree angle, though haven't used it yet. Foot pedal is nice in that you can turn the tool on and off immediately. Just one more bit of extra control over a rotary device like a Dremel where the on/off switch is on the tool itself.

I agree with Bob above. I rarely use my Dremel, but did use if for things like shaping filler blocks. A couple of years ago I bought a Nakajima micromotor at the suggestion of another member here. They are not cheap, but it's an amazing tool. You have so much more control over the tool, not only speed wise, but from the stylus (not sure what the rotary component is called) which is incredibly light and with zero vibration and the use of a foot pedal. I find myself using it a lot in plastic modeling, and can see myself using it when I get back to working with wood models. I use it to drill holes, file sections down, sand, use cut-off wheels, and more. It's not that a Dremel can't do it, you just have a lot more control with a micromotor like the Nakajima.

Looking great! I love the pre-war yellow wing bi-planes. Will be a bit tricky to paint them I'm sure.

Looking forward to this one Dave!

That's really incredible work all around Glen. Very nice job! What a spectacular SIB and creative display!

So glad everything is working out on the install - looks fantastic! I love the display, it's so creative. That cascabel at the bottom of the bottle is such a cool touch!

I think people should consider what exactly the "bench" will be used for. If you need a sturdy bench to hold power tools, etc., then a "work bench" is probably better to get. If you are looking for more of a table top to work on your models, then you probably can get away with a lighter duty table which will give you lots more options -- in particular, deeper options that work benches typically don't give. Most work benches are about 20" deep or maybe up to 24" deep in rare cases. For my set up, I started with two of the Harbor Freight workbenches which are about 60" wide by 20" deep. I used to keep them back to back to have more of a workspace island, but now I use them separately to support power tools like my Byrnes tools, a small bandsaw, etc. The bottom storage shelf, as well as the height of the bench, are not really ideal for sitting comfortably with your legs underneath. For me this is fine as I prefer to stand when operating power tools. https://www.harborfreight.com/60-in-4-drawer-hardwood-workbench-63395.html More recently, I added a Husky workbench that I believe is this one - it holds my Sherline lathe and mill, and the set I bought from Home Depot also included two rolling cabinets that slide under the table that give me additional work tops as well as storage. I believe it is 72" wide x 24" deep. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-6-ft-Adjustable-Height-Solid-Wood-Top-Workbench-in-Black-for-Ready-to-Assemble-Steel-Garage-Storage-System-G7200S-US/206288247 For a table top to assemble my models, I use a Bekant table from Ikea. It's 63" wide x 31.5" deep. I find the depth very helpful when building models, as I can have paints, boxes, etc. on the table. If you have the available space, it is nice to have a deep table top as a separate work station away from power tools. There I can sit comfortably for hours. https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/bekant-desk-black-stained-ash-veneer-black-s69282592/ Another major consideration in my experience is the layout of your work space when it comes to power tools. Some power tools need a far carry behind the tool - e.g., a table saw, band saw, thickness sander. While the tool itself can fit on the bench, you will need clearance behind it to run out wood or other material. So, those benches really can't be placed against the wall. Other power tools like a disc sander, lathe, mill, etc. don't have that requirement so they can be placed on benches against a wall. I guess I would end by saying that if you aren't planning on using power tools, you have more options but would recommend going with as deep a table top as you can fit. Power tools add a bunch of other considerations.

Exactly 😆

Thanks guys! It's a plastic shot glass. About the size of a Tamiya paint bottle. I put a little blue tack on it and i find it helps give me something to hold the model while I work on it, put it on the bench, etc.

Some pictures of where I am at the moment. I ended up spraying a thin coat of Mr. Color off white, then added a base coat of some darker gray to the non-linoleum deck sections. I'll probably spray a clear coat on this evening in preparation for the washes, etc., and then I can add the railings and various detail pieces. Thanks for looking in!

Nice Craig! Looks fantastic! Quick build!

Absolutely beautiful Igor!! Well done!

Thanks Cog! I ended up spraying it with a light coat of Mr. Color off-white. I figure with some washes, it will darken a bit so didn’t want to go too dark. I’ll post some pictures later this week. Thanks for looking in!

This is going to be an epic project. Looking forward to this one!

Glad you’re ok David. Really nice job on the Victory!

Thanks Kevin. It looks fairly stark white, similar to the colors of the ships in the late 19th century through the 1930s. Thanks Glen - I can't take credit for it, as I saw it on another build log Helps add a little more detail and interest to the hull I think.

Hey Lou, thanks for looking in. I found these from Pro Studio and Ion that look pretty good. The Northstar figures look great, but frankly are a pain in the *** as they cram all the figures too close together on a heavy plug, so it's hard to individually paint them and remove them without breaking them. These are on separate plug rows which makes things infinitely easier. The Pro Studio I found on eBay. The Ion are on eBay and also Freetime Hobbies carries them. They also make sets for other navies as well. I wouldn't care as much in 1/700 as the figures are so small, but at 1/350, having different poses is more ideal.

Part of the delay on this build is that I'm bit stuck on what color to paint the hull on this one. The Maru book has a lot of black and white pictures of the ship, which went through various refits over its service life and different colors - from what looks like white, to a lighter gray, to a darker gray. FiveStar doesn't indicate what period of ship the model is supposed to represent, but it seems to be closest to one of the lighter/white shades. Anyone know what "white" color the IJN used to paint its ships? I'm assuming not stark white, but maybe something like Insignia White or even a little darker. White hull: Grey hull (colorized): Other minelayers:

I haven't made too much more progress on this one except to get most of the hull and deck completed, aside from crates, boxes, and a few other items that will be added later. I tried something new for me and tried to simulate the hull plate runs by running alternating rows of masking tape (I used Tamiya's flexible tape), priming the model with a heavier coat of Mr. Surfacer, then removing the masking tape and priming the hull again with Mr. Surfacer. I need to touch up a few places where the primer pooled a bit too heavy, but I'm fairly pleased with how it came out. Looking at the pictures, I might need to ream out some of the portholes to get them more uniform, or re-do some completely. I'm not sure how apparent it will be when the model is in the diorama base and one is looking at the model from a normal viewing length though.

You're a brave man Kevin! I have a bandsaw, but I don't trust myself enough to not cut my fingers off running the hull through it. The hull is only 5.5" long, and less than 1" in height without the superstructure base. Pretty small area to hold onto! For glue, I generally use medium CA for the PE, especially for things like railings. For things like the doors, I sometimes use Gator Grip PVA. I'm starting to get more comfortable with Gator Grip so I'll probably use it more in the future. On the funnels of this one, to attach the rings I used CA and in some spots, it went on a bit thick. I was able to use CA remover - which worked really well - to remove much of the excess. It can eat through paint though, so one has to be aware of that factor.

Thanks Kevin! I have the ship in the diorama, and now I am working on the figures to add to the deck. I want to do the figures, then finish the rigging and end with the waves, etc. I had a bunch from Northstar, but they didn't have too many figure positions so I was a bit hesitant to add a large amount of very similar looking figures. I did end up finding a few other sets from what appear to be new manufacturers which give me a lot more variation, so those came in the mail not too long ago. It's kind of a pain to paint them all, so I haven't really been eager to get back to the bench to finish them, plus have had a lot of work and family stuff going on. This week looks good though, so I think your post will give me the push to finish it up