Landlubber Mike

Ok. here is my completed Lightship.  It took me nearly 4 months to get this done and I'm very satisfied with the end result.  Not much more to say about this build except that it was a pure joy and kept me entertained for most of the winter.

Hi Nils, great start on your Elbe!  These light ships are really interesting.  I visited the Overfalls a few years ago (it's in Delaware) and always thought these ships would be cool subjects to model - something different than the 5000 English war ships that are out there.  Looking forward to following along!

I've been making slow but steady progress on this kit.  Part of the slow crawl is my fault in using the very nice CMK aftermarket set.  But the main reason is that there are a lot of fit issues and other things like lack of connection points for important parts like the struts holding up the tail section and the main wing.  For some examples:
 
- Main wing tips are separate parts (in halves) that you have to glue together and then do some cleanup.  I ended up adding brass rod to help secure them:
 

 
- Engine cowlings are too small, so I added thin plastic strip between the halves to fit the engines.  Figured that was much easier than filing down the engines:
 

 
- CMK tail isn't quite right, needing extra plastic on the fixed part of the tail:
 

 
At the moment, I'm mostly done with the wing.  The CMK set is nice in that it gives you the control surfaces, but still quite a bit of work to add them.  I have a few bits of PE to add along with the exhausts, and then of course the pontoons:
 

 
The body is close to being done as well.  I have a few more pieces of PE to add, along with the cockpit and landing gear and some other odds and ends that I'm waiting to add as they are fragile and will likely bust off.  But, I think so far it's looking pretty good:
 

 
I'm still debating how to go about staging the painting sessions.  I might end up painting the wing separately, then adding it to the body and painting the body once the wing is installed.  Because the wing struts don't have attachment points, I'm a bit worried about glue getting where it shouldn't be.  Still a bit to go before I get to that stage so I can think on it a little more.
 
Thanks for looking in!

Mr Surfacer makes a pink primer.  I haven't used it yet, but did use a Tamiya pink rattle can primer to prime a bright red Triumph build that I've been working on here and there.  I didn't test the red on a white prime coat so can't tell you what the difference was, but the red with the pink primer was nice and vibrant.

In case anyone is interested, I found this short video on the JRS-1 subject I'm building and how it went looking for the Japanese fleet after the attack on Pearl Harbor.  Amazing bravery for these guys - the JRS itself did not carry any armaments - the only weapons carried were rifles that Marine and Army volunteers planned to shoot out the back windows if they had to 🇺🇸
   

In case anyone is interested, I found this short video on the JRS-1 subject I'm building and how it went looking for the Japanese fleet after the attack on Pearl Harbor.  Amazing bravery for these guys - the JRS itself did not carry any armaments - the only weapons carried were rifles that Marine and Army volunteers planned to shoot out the back windows if they had to 🇺🇸
   

In case anyone is interested, I found this short video on the JRS-1 subject I'm building and how it went looking for the Japanese fleet after the attack on Pearl Harbor.  Amazing bravery for these guys - the JRS itself did not carry any armaments - the only weapons carried were rifles that Marine and Army volunteers planned to shoot out the back windows if they had to 🇺🇸
   

In case anyone is interested, I found this short video on the JRS-1 subject I'm building and how it went looking for the Japanese fleet after the attack on Pearl Harbor.  Amazing bravery for these guys - the JRS itself did not carry any armaments - the only weapons carried were rifles that Marine and Army volunteers planned to shoot out the back windows if they had to 🇺🇸
   

In case anyone is interested, I found this short video on the JRS-1 subject I'm building and how it went looking for the Japanese fleet after the attack on Pearl Harbor.  Amazing bravery for these guys - the JRS itself did not carry any armaments - the only weapons carried were rifles that Marine and Army volunteers planned to shoot out the back windows if they had to 🇺🇸
   

In case anyone is interested, I found this short video on the JRS-1 subject I'm building and how it went looking for the Japanese fleet after the attack on Pearl Harbor.  Amazing bravery for these guys - the JRS itself did not carry any armaments - the only weapons carried were rifles that Marine and Army volunteers planned to shoot out the back windows if they had to 🇺🇸
   

I've been making slow but steady progress on this kit.  Part of the slow crawl is my fault in using the very nice CMK aftermarket set.  But the main reason is that there are a lot of fit issues and other things like lack of connection points for important parts like the struts holding up the tail section and the main wing.  For some examples:
 
- Main wing tips are separate parts (in halves) that you have to glue together and then do some cleanup.  I ended up adding brass rod to help secure them:
 

 
- Engine cowlings are too small, so I added thin plastic strip between the halves to fit the engines.  Figured that was much easier than filing down the engines:
 

 
- CMK tail isn't quite right, needing extra plastic on the fixed part of the tail:
 

 
At the moment, I'm mostly done with the wing.  The CMK set is nice in that it gives you the control surfaces, but still quite a bit of work to add them.  I have a few bits of PE to add along with the exhausts, and then of course the pontoons:
 

 
The body is close to being done as well.  I have a few more pieces of PE to add, along with the cockpit and landing gear and some other odds and ends that I'm waiting to add as they are fragile and will likely bust off.  But, I think so far it's looking pretty good:
 

 
I'm still debating how to go about staging the painting sessions.  I might end up painting the wing separately, then adding it to the body and painting the body once the wing is installed.  Because the wing struts don't have attachment points, I'm a bit worried about glue getting where it shouldn't be.  Still a bit to go before I get to that stage so I can think on it a little more.
 
Thanks for looking in!

In case anyone is interested, I found this short video on the JRS-1 subject I'm building and how it went looking for the Japanese fleet after the attack on Pearl Harbor.  Amazing bravery for these guys - the JRS itself did not carry any armaments - the only weapons carried were rifles that Marine and Army volunteers planned to shoot out the back windows if they had to 🇺🇸
   

How I would go about it?
 
Tube glue, Good old Testors tube glue...  Yep... Don't ever forget where you came from.... {chuckle}
 
The reason? Tube glue takes time to harden up allowing you to shift the parts around a bit before it sets... but it will not glue paint... so I would paint in sub-assemblys as I go along... 
 
I always keep a couple of tubes around exactly for this type of application...

In case anyone is interested, I found this short video on the JRS-1 subject I'm building and how it went looking for the Japanese fleet after the attack on Pearl Harbor.  Amazing bravery for these guys - the JRS itself did not carry any armaments - the only weapons carried were rifles that Marine and Army volunteers planned to shoot out the back windows if they had to 🇺🇸
   

Since the mast tops are painted black throughout, I've decided to stick with the kit parts and modify them as needed rather than scratch build them.  They're well crafted, so hopefully won't require too much work.  I can tell at first glance that they'll be too thick once put together, and the mizzen mast top is a bit under scale, but I think I can still make it work. I also looked into the little "notch" built into the prefab mast tops. There seems to be some controversy when they went from a square hole to including the notch - but I'm going with a square for a more aesthetic reason - I just don't like the way it lines up with my cross trees. 
 
  
 
   Step one is planking the mast tops. I'm using some leftover .6 x 3mm Tang that was intended for the deck planking. I've covered over the notch, did some light sanding, then cut out room around the perimeter for the rim. You can already tell it's going to be too thick. 
 
 
 
 
 
You can also see the undersized mizzen mast top when it's tested fitted.
 
 
 
  Rather than build a slightly larger mizzen mast top, I've decided to sand down the cross trees and trestle trees.  I have to do this on the mast and I don't want to have to clean too much, so I made a little masking tape "bib" for the mast to wear while I do the work.
 
  
 
   This first photo shows the difference between the thickness of the two mast tops after the mizzen has been sanded down on both sides. I measured and laid out the locations of the small timbers as well as the holes for the blocks and the crow's feet.  There are some different accounts of the number of crow's feet depending on which publication you go with. While I took these into account, I ultimately went my own path here and decided on a number of holes based on visuals and measurements. I decided that using .10mm line and drilling the smallest hole that would accommodate that line meant spacing each hole about 2.5mm apart.  Given that spacing - I ended up with 13 mizzen holes and 21 holes for both the main and foremasts. 

 
 
 
  The crow's feet holes were started by a small punch with a dental pick, then drilled out. I have a lovely set of MA Ford twisted drill bits that I love - and give me very clean holes at very small diameters.  The #74 bit is about .5 mm, which gives me a smooth feed of the line. 
 
 
 
Crow's feet holes are drilled and timbers are added before I drill out the holes where the blocks will be mounted. Finally, they're all painted - I use an airbrush with Vallejo's "Nato Black" matching the other black parts of the ship.
 
 
 

 
Up next - I'll rig the blocks before and dig into how the top masts are rigged, specifically the t'gallant stays, before mounting the mast tops. 
 
 
 

Nice job Jack!  Looks like it was a fun project.

I've been making slow but steady progress on this kit.  Part of the slow crawl is my fault in using the very nice CMK aftermarket set.  But the main reason is that there are a lot of fit issues and other things like lack of connection points for important parts like the struts holding up the tail section and the main wing.  For some examples:
 
- Main wing tips are separate parts (in halves) that you have to glue together and then do some cleanup.  I ended up adding brass rod to help secure them:
 

 
- Engine cowlings are too small, so I added thin plastic strip between the halves to fit the engines.  Figured that was much easier than filing down the engines:
 

 
- CMK tail isn't quite right, needing extra plastic on the fixed part of the tail:
 

 
At the moment, I'm mostly done with the wing.  The CMK set is nice in that it gives you the control surfaces, but still quite a bit of work to add them.  I have a few bits of PE to add along with the exhausts, and then of course the pontoons:
 

 
The body is close to being done as well.  I have a few more pieces of PE to add, along with the cockpit and landing gear and some other odds and ends that I'm waiting to add as they are fragile and will likely bust off.  But, I think so far it's looking pretty good:
 

 
I'm still debating how to go about staging the painting sessions.  I might end up painting the wing separately, then adding it to the body and painting the body once the wing is installed.  Because the wing struts don't have attachment points, I'm a bit worried about glue getting where it shouldn't be.  Still a bit to go before I get to that stage so I can think on it a little more.
 
Thanks for looking in!

Made some good progress on the JRS-1 the last few days.  First, installed all the interior components - bulkheads, cockpit, seats, windows, window frames, curtains, etc.  Given that you can't see much of any of the details from the outside, I didn't bother trying to make everything look pristine.
 

 
Then managed to get the fuselage buttoned up.  Surprisingly, very little filler or plastic strips needed, though the canopy is going to require plenty.
 

 

 

 
 
The top was a pain because you had to insert the rectangular piece in between the fuselage halves (you could cut this in half and model it as open), as well as the two forward top fuselage halves.  Not exactly easy to do, but eventually got there.
 
Thanks for looking in!

I've been making slow but steady progress on this kit.  Part of the slow crawl is my fault in using the very nice CMK aftermarket set.  But the main reason is that there are a lot of fit issues and other things like lack of connection points for important parts like the struts holding up the tail section and the main wing.  For some examples:
 
- Main wing tips are separate parts (in halves) that you have to glue together and then do some cleanup.  I ended up adding brass rod to help secure them:
 

 
- Engine cowlings are too small, so I added thin plastic strip between the halves to fit the engines.  Figured that was much easier than filing down the engines:
 

 
- CMK tail isn't quite right, needing extra plastic on the fixed part of the tail:
 

 
At the moment, I'm mostly done with the wing.  The CMK set is nice in that it gives you the control surfaces, but still quite a bit of work to add them.  I have a few bits of PE to add along with the exhausts, and then of course the pontoons:
 

 
The body is close to being done as well.  I have a few more pieces of PE to add, along with the cockpit and landing gear and some other odds and ends that I'm waiting to add as they are fragile and will likely bust off.  But, I think so far it's looking pretty good:
 

 
I'm still debating how to go about staging the painting sessions.  I might end up painting the wing separately, then adding it to the body and painting the body once the wing is installed.  Because the wing struts don't have attachment points, I'm a bit worried about glue getting where it shouldn't be.  Still a bit to go before I get to that stage so I can think on it a little more.
 
Thanks for looking in!

Thanks, Mike.
There are a few things I need to add for it to be truly finished.
I need to attach the landing gear doors, but I lost one. I'm confident I will find it because it's too large to be lost, but will wait to install them all at the same time when I round up the lost sheep.
Need to install the wing tip lights.
Need to attach the antennae wire from the cockpit, through the canopy, and to the vertical stabilizer.

I've been making slow but steady progress on this kit.  Part of the slow crawl is my fault in using the very nice CMK aftermarket set.  But the main reason is that there are a lot of fit issues and other things like lack of connection points for important parts like the struts holding up the tail section and the main wing.  For some examples:
 
- Main wing tips are separate parts (in halves) that you have to glue together and then do some cleanup.  I ended up adding brass rod to help secure them:
 

 
- Engine cowlings are too small, so I added thin plastic strip between the halves to fit the engines.  Figured that was much easier than filing down the engines:
 

 
- CMK tail isn't quite right, needing extra plastic on the fixed part of the tail:
 

 
At the moment, I'm mostly done with the wing.  The CMK set is nice in that it gives you the control surfaces, but still quite a bit of work to add them.  I have a few bits of PE to add along with the exhausts, and then of course the pontoons:
 

 
The body is close to being done as well.  I have a few more pieces of PE to add, along with the cockpit and landing gear and some other odds and ends that I'm waiting to add as they are fragile and will likely bust off.  But, I think so far it's looking pretty good:
 

 
I'm still debating how to go about staging the painting sessions.  I might end up painting the wing separately, then adding it to the body and painting the body once the wing is installed.  Because the wing struts don't have attachment points, I'm a bit worried about glue getting where it shouldn't be.  Still a bit to go before I get to that stage so I can think on it a little more.
 
Thanks for looking in!

Looking great!  Nice paint job.

I've been making slow but steady progress on this kit.  Part of the slow crawl is my fault in using the very nice CMK aftermarket set.  But the main reason is that there are a lot of fit issues and other things like lack of connection points for important parts like the struts holding up the tail section and the main wing.  For some examples:
 
- Main wing tips are separate parts (in halves) that you have to glue together and then do some cleanup.  I ended up adding brass rod to help secure them:
 

 
- Engine cowlings are too small, so I added thin plastic strip between the halves to fit the engines.  Figured that was much easier than filing down the engines:
 

 
- CMK tail isn't quite right, needing extra plastic on the fixed part of the tail:
 

 
At the moment, I'm mostly done with the wing.  The CMK set is nice in that it gives you the control surfaces, but still quite a bit of work to add them.  I have a few bits of PE to add along with the exhausts, and then of course the pontoons:
 

 
The body is close to being done as well.  I have a few more pieces of PE to add, along with the cockpit and landing gear and some other odds and ends that I'm waiting to add as they are fragile and will likely bust off.  But, I think so far it's looking pretty good:
 

 
I'm still debating how to go about staging the painting sessions.  I might end up painting the wing separately, then adding it to the body and painting the body once the wing is installed.  Because the wing struts don't have attachment points, I'm a bit worried about glue getting where it shouldn't be.  Still a bit to go before I get to that stage so I can think on it a little more.
 
Thanks for looking in!

Looks really great Dave.  Must be an interesting experience dealing with well-made kits that have tight clearances.  Most of the ones I've worked on recently have had big gaps to fill!

Thanks for your assessment, Mike. I am glad that you like it.
I am thinking to the next build which will be a De Havilland Mosquito.
Cheers,
Dan