Landlubber Mike

I just got a package from Hong Kong this afternoon. Four little cases of the YX 1/700 chain. I was expecting some acupuncture needles for moving glue around and opened the bag to find four little plastic cases with apparently nothing in them. A closer look revealed the tiny detailed chain. It is amazing. I had almost written off the order because I had no emails confirming teh order or confirming shipment but here it is in less than two weeks. Looks great and they will be getting more business especially as shipping was entirely reasonable. If the chain is too big for the Penelope it might work for Prince of Wales - and I just got on the Hood bandwaggon and ordered the Flyhawk deluxe kit.
Thanks
Alan

Hopefully you will get the credit when this term spreads like wildfire throughout the world and becomes legend! 
Your diorama is coming along nicely.

I was very happy this morning to remove the dust cover and check the resin and find it it glassy, tack free and hard. I removed the tape and cleaned up the rim that formed at the dam with a a sharp knife.

I put the diorama to one side to fully cure (72 hours) before the next step but I couldn't resist seeing how HMS Penelope would look on the water

 

It looks promising.
I also checked the resin anchor chain against the foredeck and it may be a tad big (but the same size as the flat PE chain) so I think I will paint it and look at it again but it may well be useable

Thanks for looking in.
Alan
 
 
 

The resin pour happened this morning. I mixed one batch which hardly covered the "sea" base so without thinking I mixed up another batch of the same size; I was nervous about letting the first batch start curing and create a visible interface. I also only had the one size mixing cups at hand and it seems that accuracy in measuring resin and hardener is critical. Once I had poured the second batch I realised I had overdone things and it was too deep. The "tide" line is submerged and the weight of the resin has caused the masking tape dam to bulge which might give me problems with the fit in the display case. I had a few minor leaks past the tape (again due to too much resin but thankfully I had put some scrap card underneath which caught it all. I should have planned the pour in a little more detail and had some smaller cups ready to do small batches if necessary. The learning process continues.
On the positive side I like the resin. It is very low odour, it is glass clear and it did not entrain a lot of bubbles, The few that were present after pouring were seen off with a few passes of a mini butane torch. It is supposed to cure in 24 hours so it will be interesting to check tomorrow morning.
Possibly because of the extra resin I seem to have go a very nice sense of depth and I really like the reflection of the mountains in the still fjord water. I was going to add some movement to the water surface but I am not so sure now.

 
So the cats are banned from the area until this is fully tack free. Their long and light hairs get everywhere and I'm too proud of the resin surface to risk hairs or worse paw prints.
Thanks for looking
Alan
 
 
 

When you add up all the Pontos or Mk.1 add-ons to the Trumpeter kit, you probably come out to around the same cost.  I know with the Trumpeter kit some question the shape of the hull, so it will be interesting to hear if Amati will satisfy the hull shape critics.
 
Kit looks great, but personally, I'm unsure about planking the hull that will just get covered up in paint.  A little different from other subjects whose hull is painted but (1) the hull is wood, and (2) the scale is much larger than 1/200.  That being said, will be looking forward to seeing the write up and build logs on this kit.

When you add up all the Pontos or Mk.1 add-ons to the Trumpeter kit, you probably come out to around the same cost.  I know with the Trumpeter kit some question the shape of the hull, so it will be interesting to hear if Amati will satisfy the hull shape critics.
 
Kit looks great, but personally, I'm unsure about planking the hull that will just get covered up in paint.  A little different from other subjects whose hull is painted but (1) the hull is wood, and (2) the scale is much larger than 1/200.  That being said, will be looking forward to seeing the write up and build logs on this kit.

When you add up all the Pontos or Mk.1 add-ons to the Trumpeter kit, you probably come out to around the same cost.  I know with the Trumpeter kit some question the shape of the hull, so it will be interesting to hear if Amati will satisfy the hull shape critics.
 
Kit looks great, but personally, I'm unsure about planking the hull that will just get covered up in paint.  A little different from other subjects whose hull is painted but (1) the hull is wood, and (2) the scale is much larger than 1/200.  That being said, will be looking forward to seeing the write up and build logs on this kit.

When you add up all the Pontos or Mk.1 add-ons to the Trumpeter kit, you probably come out to around the same cost.  I know with the Trumpeter kit some question the shape of the hull, so it will be interesting to hear if Amati will satisfy the hull shape critics.
 
Kit looks great, but personally, I'm unsure about planking the hull that will just get covered up in paint.  A little different from other subjects whose hull is painted but (1) the hull is wood, and (2) the scale is much larger than 1/200.  That being said, will be looking forward to seeing the write up and build logs on this kit.

surprised they went for that when the 1/200 Trumpeter sells well, with the added PE sets, lots of other ships they could have done
 

I’m going to pause this build now as I’m going to need to wait for technology and design to catch up. When Simon from Micromaster finishes up his new designs for a quad Pom Pom, Single Pom Pom and splinter matress I can finish them. 

Secondary bridge and searchlight platform (the searchlight has been eaten by the carpet monster FFs). 

I ran across this kit totally by accident when I purchased some books from Scott Miller. He has some history with MSW.
His version of the boat discovered in 1986 intrigued me from the first time I saw it and I just had to build one!
It has a history that is both mysterious and timeless with implications of biblical references (after all, it was found in the Sea of Galilee!).
This will be a birthday present for my dad. He turns 86 in mid-August. 
So, my time is limited and it may be impractical of me to try and build it in two months... We'll see!
I'm also reading the book of the same name written by Shelley Wachsmann. I just started it but it has some good background on the discovery and recovery of this boat. I enjoy learning the history of each vessel I build.

 
The kit is scheduled to arrive tomorrow.
The unveiling will happen next! 

Lots accomplished over the last few days...
 
I finished the ribs. I found it to be very difficult to bend some of the ribs in the sharper corners near the bow and stern. Since they will be covered by the decks, I gave them less worry below the deck line. Overall, a tedious task working with 1/8 x1/8 wood:
 
The inner wales were next. I let the pieces soak in hot water for about an hour before bending them by hand... no heat. The bend was not sharp and actually shaped easily. I used clamps and made sure the wales were in the right position along the entire length of the hull. Once the inner wales were in place and still wet, I clamped them down ensuring that they touched each rib at the top and bottom. Once dried, I used the the thin CA glue and glued them in place while still clamped, resulting:

 
The cutwater was a bit of a conundrum for me. There are no real instructions that were helpful on this part of the build. Fortunately, I found a couple of pictures and build logs that gave me a good view and idea of what I needed to make. It started with several 1/4 x 1/4 wood pieces glued together:

I laid the bow down and used my pencil to trace the curvature of the bow. The pieces were glued together to match the curve. I used my scroll saw and cut the shape out and then cut the leading edge. Finally, I sanded and glued it onto the bow:

Still need to sand the cutwater at the keel flat to properly receive the false keel but I am really pleased with the outcome! 
Next, deck beams were installed at the bow and stern:
 
And the decking begins... simple but a little work to cut around the ribs:


Finally:

Some sanding on the end to even up the deck ends... I decided that I wanted a more finished look. So, I cut pieces to put between the ribs and then placed a piece of trim around the hull. Also added an end cap to the deck:

A better look to me... what do they call it........ artistic freedoms! Hopefully, not too far off base!
The fore deck, cap rails and the false keel are next!

Thank you for all the thumbs up!
 
Tonight I prepared the galley for painting. I still have to do the wooden door (at least I believe they had one and not a steel door).
 
 
 
 

Looks fantastic Kevin!  Great display for your works of art!

Looks fantastic Kevin!  Great display for your works of art!

Looks fantastic Kevin!  Great display for your works of art!

Good afternoon everyone
 
just finished the display case, im happy with it
 

Part 11
 
 
Here is the bottom after a coat of Alclad II Lacquer Klear Kote matt.  The weathering was applied before the Klear Kote.  Wheels were added along with the radio antenna.

 
Starboard Bottom wheels and boarding ladder.

 
Aft view of the weathering streaking back on the booms from the turbo-superchargers.  The heat quickly damaged the paint.  The effect was a freehand airbrushing of tan followed by a light dusting of buff.  Then the heavy staining was applied powders using a brush,  followed by Klear Kote.

Port quarter view.

Focus stack of the business end.

 
Cockpit.

 
Turbo-superchargers.

 
Antenna mount.

 
Starboard Prop.

 
Starboard side.

 
Port side.

 
More to Come
 
BobW
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Thank you for all the thumbs up and the comments!
 
I was working on the scuttles. I made a little helper and it worked like a charm. Unfortunately I ran into a problem. The aft portholes are bigger than the other portholes. You are happy that the work goes as planned until you hit a problem. But for every problem there is an answer. So I guess I have to fill the portholes and drill them out to the appropriate size. Thankfully there are only eight.
Btw, the photo etch parts are awesome! They even put even some gun sights next to the scuttles.
 

 
 

From left to right are the A, B, X, and Y main gun turrets.
 

No one needs to apologize for their results. We don't hand out 'pass' or 'fail' marks! I, for one, always tip my hat to scratch-builders, especially if they have pulled off a difficult first project.
 
Cheers!

After years of being retired and sitting on a basement shelf I took pity on my poor Corvette and ended up filling the bathtub and sinking her, (After removing all of the RC and running gear). I used a fairly large and soft paint brush and mopped everything down. She looked almost new when I was done. Probably would not be a possible resolution if the ship was not plastic.

That is an understatement!
I built one of the very first Matchbox kits when they first came out in 1979, and even then I was disappointed with the general detail on what was then a very large model. Spent many years sailing many a lake or pond in all kinds of weather. It now sits retired on the basement shelf. A little worn and a bit beat, but could be sailing again tomorrow if I still had the RC gear.

After looking at the photos from my Hedgehog several times, I decided to build a new Hedgehog. Order went out to GLS this afternoon. Photos are pretty good to discover mistakes. What looks good from the distance, doesn’t look so good anymore closely.
I am hoping I am avoiding the previous mistakes. We shall see …