Jack12477

thanks Nenad.........it was nice to get a little done last night     today was small gains.........had to mow the front lawn and keep Gibbs happy.  I did manage to paint a couple more parts and assemble a small section of the boat deck structure.  count on an update tomorrow 

thanks Augie......yea,  taking a stroll down memory lane.  I actually shocked the admiral.......she wasn't bugging me to do it,  I just brought it out and started playing with it.  brake fluid will free up rusted parts......Marvels Mystery oil works well too.
 
thanks George......I always looking out for the contaminates......it's the temperature......always tend to think I can squeeze something past mother nature.  I'm sure a lot of folks know the tips I may give.......I want to add them for the folks who are just starting out.
 
thanks Crackers......I don't think this build will shadow the A.G.     but I will try to make it fun     spent a good part of the noon hour today,  checking out sites that give information on the color scheme.......I have a small list put together.   it won't be exact,  but it will be darn close.   thanks for the good word!
 
thanks Jack......I hope everything comes back to me quickly       thanks for the good word
 
if anyone wants to take their own trip down memory lane.....check out this site.   some of you may already know it.
 
Old Plastic Model Kits: model airplane kits, Revell, Monogram, Aurora

Dennis, looking good !  Thanks for the trip down memory lane on the plastic kit building of old !   Remember it well. Never tried the brake fluid "trick".

Dennis, looking good !  Thanks for the trip down memory lane on the plastic kit building of old !   Remember it well. Never tried the brake fluid "trick".

Dennis, looking good !  Thanks for the trip down memory lane on the plastic kit building of old !   Remember it well. Never tried the brake fluid "trick".

Dennis, looking good !  Thanks for the trip down memory lane on the plastic kit building of old !   Remember it well. Never tried the brake fluid "trick".

You're off to a great start Dennis!  I know exactly what you mean about contaminating your work area with the brake-fluid. When I started painting cars, I found out early on, that things like that, and even just opening a tube of silicone gasket putty in the same room, will cause fish-eye and the paint won't stick properly. Thanks for pointing out all those little details that most of us would probably over-look. 
 
Cheers

Thanks for taking the time to explain what you're doing here --- and why.  Brake fluid is not bad.  I sometimes need to free up a corroded model airplane engine and do that with antifreeze in the Admiral's crock pot.  Makes the pot roast taste better 
 
Are you doing all of your painting with an airbrush?  Deck looks terrific.

hard to really nail down the differences........the most obvious difference is that most parts are already formed and shaped.   they can be altered,  if you plan on embellishments or bashing.   most of the detail is already there.......paint enhances and defines,  and then assembly can occur.   a plastic can be assembled quicker,  but only if your doing an out of the box build,  or your not concerned with any inaccuracies.  if you like to play.......you can spend just as much time on a plastic kit,  as you can a wooden one.   there are aftermarket enhancements that can be bought that will bring out additional detail.   to sum it up.........twenty to thirty years ago......I'd say that plastic is the quicker medium.............today,  I'd say that the playing field is pretty level.   it all boils down to what you want to do to your model.  the younger crowd would have a field day,  as opposed to what we had when we were their age.   I still remember the kits that didn't have a rivet on it.......seeing a kit like that would have me strolling down memory lane   

the parts have....yes.   I have been at work....didn't get to do anything with the build till last night.   if this was an older kit,  the process would have taken only hours......perhaps overnight.   I don't know of anyone who has painted over chrome,  and was happy enough to tell about it.  over time the paint would crack and peel.  on this particular kit,  the chroming process is still fresh.  the bonding agent hasn't had time to break down to any degree.
 
felt good to play a little with the kit.  once I can get a conga line going on the paint work,  it will pick up some speed.   right now,  it's just preliminary work 
 
thanks for looking in Carl ! 

So we learn ... plastic needs more versatility, and knowledge than expected. Nice work Popeye!!!

the stand parts have been in the brake fluid now,  for four days.   I woke up this morning at the crack of dawn.  after turning on the coffee maker,  I set to work.   one of the worse feeling I dislike,  is the feel of brake fluid .........antifreeze is second on my list.  I have rubber gloves.......and got one of the plastic grocery bags.  it's the best way to shield your surroundings from brake fluid ,  while your cleaning the parts.  I use a wire brush....I even have a stiff nylon brush,  if the chrome is old enough.
 
it depends on the age of the kit........I've done this to older car kits and the chrome comes off much more quickly and easily,  than if it was a newer kit.  chrome is not a forever process......it will peel off over time.   as it ages,  it begins to lose it's bond on the plastic........I've had cars on my shelf......some as long as ten years {if they survive that long before I get sick of them}, where the chrome had started to bubble up and crack.  it also depends on the process use by the manufacturer.  as mentioned,  ships usually do not have chrome parts.   I'll do the rest later.   after the parts were scrubbed with the brush,  they were put in a soapy solution...I make it kinda strong,  to cut the brake fluid quickly,  and to be sure they are cleaned thoroughly.
 

 
Academy uses a good process......they were kinda tough to clean.   I keep everything in the confines of the plastic bag brush strokes are away from me....any spattering will fly toward the bottom of the bag {and not at me}.   the brushes are cleaned after the parts are done.   cleaned and rinsed,  they were set on a thick bed of paper towel to dry them off.
 

 
I will go over them later with some fine sand paper....not that they are rough,  but there is still a little bit of chrome still on them.   it should come off easy at this point......and even if you paint over it,  I don't believe it will matter.  the other parts were removed from the chrome sprue.  that boat thing......I probably won't even use,  but the next items to go in the container,  are the anchors,  the props,  and believe it or not......the ship's wheel {that small part near the stand parts}.
 

 
the name plaque will need a larger tray to lay in.   it might need to stay in there longer,  but that's OK,  I don't need it right away.   the other parts were trimmed of sprue,  sanded smooth and tossed in.  again,  never put this container directly on the table........not good if this stuff contaminates the work area.   I have it on a damp paper towel.....it won't soak through,  it repels water 
 

 
I'm still not completely convinced that I can do lighting ,  but I will proceed like I can.   I need to drill the holes in the stand,  since I will be using the stand that came with the kit.   this will be my first pedestal stand.
 

 
I do want to drill the holes as close to center as I can.......I will use the base of the pedestals to do this.
 

 
once the holes were scored,  the pieces were removed and the holes were drilled the rest of the way
 

 
the pedestal parts were assembled,  since they will be the same color.
 

 
these parts will have the joint lines sanded smooth and then I can drill the holes in them as well........bottom up through the top.......
 
 
 
 

well.....now that I've caught myself up somewhat.........Andrea's in the gallery,  along with the Lobsie Twins {which was way overdue}........closing logs are done on Word Press {haven't done the Titanic yet.....don't want to wait too long and have them pile up on me}....I can now settle down a little {still have the lawns to mow though} 
 
 
so far,  the only paint I've used is deck tan.......I did all the decks with it {I'm still jealous Evan  }  at the moment,  I'm going to assemble the structures between the decks,  and paint them flat white,  after cleaning up all the joints.
 

 
once assembled I'll try to keep them separate......but with them at this point,  it won't be too hard to see where they go.  I took the stand parts and have them sitting an a container full of brake fluid.  this is the old school method of removing chrome.
 

 
now we wait.........  in the meantime,  I'll share this with you.   I'm a bit of a hound as well......I'm forever curious as to when a kit is produced.  I noticed that on the instruction manual,  it has a copyright date of 2012.   but,  that doesn't tell me when the molds were made......so I looked through the parts.  in the case of the Revell Cutty Sark 1:96,  the date stamp can be found on one of the deck sections.......on the top,  of all places {if I remember right}.  with this kit,  I found it on the flip side of the sprue sheet tabs......1998.  the sprues are stamped from Korea.....the hull is stamped from the Philippines....... another bit of trivia.    so........these parts were put in the brake fluid.  they've been in there for over three days.   now they look like this.
 

 
it's looking like it's time to take them out.......it doesn't hurt the plastic at all.   during this time also,  I've been working on the deck structures.   I will assemble them and paint them after with an airbrush.
 

 

 
this is the bridge deck.  the parts fit in a very narrow impression in the deck.   there are tabs that need to be fitted....a few of them are very tight.....I've had to open them up a bit more to accept them.   these are the parts that Evan was referring to....the fore and aft railings.  I'm not impressed with them.......the railings are molded solid with no slotting at all to depict them.   I want to do something to make this bit of detail come out.
 

 
the next thing I did was to cement the screw tunnels to the hull.   the paint was sanded off and they were installed.  After the rest of the hull seam is cleaned up,  the bottom paint will be redone
 

 
new spelling for the word thread?
 

 
this is the A deck.  this structure goes almost the entire length of the deck.   the clothes pins you see on there are merely for support.  these decks are so flimsy.
 

 
I only painted the deck areas on these deck parts.........I'm curious to see what color the floors were inside the structures.
    you can't see much,  but the inside is still visible to a degree.

First coat of tung oil.

So here you are !!!!!!
 
The door was open so I drop inn.
Nice to see an BIG plastic build.....
No bashing this time ???
And you don't mind that I put a popcorn machine in the corner.
I just LOVE popcorn !
 
Sjors

Hello again to all.  
 
Thanks for the likes and comments.  I am glad that I can pass along some of the tips, tricks and techniques from my own teachers and from decades of trials and lots of errors along the way.
 
This will be the final installment of this build log.  The model is done and is waiting to be picked up for crating and delivery.  The final touches include: the stern lantern; mounting the anchors and anchor buoys; fitting the ship's boat and the spare spars.
 
The lantern was done in the round French fashion, rather than the hexagonal English style.  This meant that I had to scratch build it, rather than buying one of the well-designed and detailed ones from Syren Models.  In any event, here is how I went about it:
 
The lantern is not really round so it cannot be simply turned to shape, as you can see from the reproduced sections of the plan it is skewed towards the stern.  The central body was the most difficult to create.  Attempts to carve wood and acrylic were both completely unsatisfactory.  Starting from a cylindrical shape I could not get the proper angle to the lamp body.  Instead, I tried Sculpey, a clay that is hardened by baking in an oven.  After shaping it to the basic form by hand it was hardened according to the package directions.  When cool and hard it was still easily refined and smoothed by sanding.  The brass rod is for convenience in holding and shaping.
 
1
 
Here is a close-up of the body.  Examining the photograph I saw that I still needed to bring down the sharp ridge between the upper and lower portions.
 
2
 
When the body was brought to shape it was given several coats of primer, then a final light grey color coat, with light sanding in between.  The cap was carved from pear wood in a floral design.  I tried to get 16 petals around the circumference, but this proved too fiddly, so I have 12.  The finial on the top is turned from pear.  The mullions to hold the glass are cherry veneer cut to 0.030” x 0.015” strips.  Each was wet bent at the top end then glued in between the petals.  When that was dry and hard the rest of the strip was glued down the body of the lantern.  I put in the first four to quarter the body then marked out thirds in each section for the rest.
 
3
 
Here is a composite photo with two views of the lantern with all the vertical mullions installed.
 
4
 
The cross pieces were cut from the veneer strip and individually installed in three bands around the lantern.
 
5
 
A floral base was carved and a round drop at the bottom were made out of pear.  The finished lantern was sanded to remove any sharp corners then finished with a light stain/neutral carrier mix.  I let the stain pool a bit in the corners, which gave the panes some depth and shadow.  Each section was filled with white glue which dried to create a glossy ‘glass’ pane.
 
6
 
Mounting hardware was fashioned from a 0.062” brass rod with two pieces soldered at right angles.  The mount was bent and trimmed to fit a trio of holes in the stern.  After blackening the mount was installed and the lantern fitted to it at an appropriate height.
 
7
 
And here is how the lantern fits in with the look of the rest of the stern.
 
8
 
Next I turned to the anchors.  In an earlier segment I went through how I constructed them.  Here are the two finished sets of four anchors for each model.
 
9
 
To hang them I needed a triple block for each of the largest ones which would be mounted at the catheads, as well as an anchor buoy for each.  The blocks were made from 7mm triple blocks which were detailed by drilling a second set of line holes and rounding the resulting ‘sheave’ in the middle.  The hook was bent up from 0.035” annealed iron wire with the shank wrapped around the block in a deepened strop groove.
 
The buoy bodies were ¾” long, turned from maple.  Two ropes were seized together forming a small loop and spot glued at either end.  The lines were led down the body and under a cinch line about ¼ of the way from either end.  The vertical lines were doubled back on themselves, glued and trimmed. 
 
10
 
Here are the anchors mounted on the starboard side.  They are the two middle sized ones.  They are hung with strong lines from timberheads at the rail as well as the hooked block at the cathead.  A sense of weight is imparted by hanging a weight from the anchor then stiffening the supporting lines with dilute white glue.
 
11
 
Here is the buoy tied to the shrouds with a loop of line that is ultimately secured to the anchor shank.
 
12
 
And here are the two on the port side similarly secured.  These are the largest and smallest of the set.
 
13
 
The final tasks were to secure the ship’s boat in the waist and add two spare topmasts and large spars.  These sit between the gaps in the rails at the edges of the foredeck and quarterdeck.
 
14
 
Various rope coils were added to each belaying point, the model was cleaned and a few spots of paint were touched up. 
 
So here she is, ready for pickup and shipping. 
 
15
16
 
And one final photo of a future crewman, grandson Eli, who is almost four and already very interested in what his Poppy Dan does with his boats. . .
 
17
 
It was an interesting build, and radically increased my appreciation and respect for those modelers who rig sails.  As always, questions, comments, and critiques are very welcome.
 
Back soon with another project, the SS Andrea Doria in 1:200 scale.
 
Till then, be well,
 
Dan
 
 

Ahoy Popeye!
 
I will also elbow my way thru the crowd to watch...
 
I have the Commemerative edition of this kit that includes Pontos PE and decking.  I don't think it is the most accurate version of the Titanic, but it is certainly representative  of the great ship.  I'm not a Titanic fanatic so I'm not counting missing port holes and worrying about much minutiae, but I did take the trouble to add the openings on the forecastle and stern decks.  I also put some edging around the stern to help support the PE railings
 

 
I didn't like the fit of the deck towards the bow so I scraped off the kit's molded ledge and replaced it with my own styrene version to help the deck sit even.
 

 
Otherwise, I really like the fit and finish and have found it to be a terrific kit.
 
Unfortunately, this is about as far as I've gotten, so I'll look to you for guidance going forward.
 
Good stuff!
Evan

Hey  - a great subject and in my fave old medium plastic     A man walks into a Bar  and goes "Ouch"  it was a metal bar.......
 
I too am trying to make plastic look like metal its a bit different from making wood look like "ermmmm" ...wood
 
Anyway can i join in the watching please, i am rubbish in a group to shy, but if its ok i will sit i n the wings and watch.
 
Oh yes nearly foregot - i used to build Accurate Armour resin 35scale tanks from Tiger to Warrior IFV.
 
OC.

I moved on to the quarter boat davits and slides which required some fussy work forming the brass straps that hold them in place as well as making the slots in the ends of the davits to make them work. The slides were soaked in water and formed wet then held in a fixture to dry curved. The brass brackets were hand formed to each location since the top and bottom were two different depths.
I then realized that the channels had to be made first and glued in place before adding the slides. Also I made the channel keepers out of 1/16" square strips and painted them black. The slides have a stand-off below the channel to enable the keeper to be added once the chain-plates are in position in the little notches.

 
Here is an overview of both sides. The chain-plate keeper can be seen on the deck on the port side.
 

 
Next I will make the forward channels.
 
Ken 

I used regular printer paper as base. Titebond II doesn't have a high water content makes it perfect to glue wood to paper. The strips are boxwood and I used a carpenter pencil to darken the edges. The completed square will be varnished before shaping.

It's a square!

Half-tracks - I have 3 completed models (Tamiya) - all variants of the M16 - plus one unfinished M16 kit

Part 2.  Buying a Laser Cutter.
 
I'm using the MM Laser as a baseline for comparison.  There's much good and bad about MM as a company and their products but they seem on the right track with this product, though, IMO, it's still pricey.
 
The ones on E-bay/Amazon are a nightmare. They're designed and made in China (the so-called K40 or KW40 model) and the basic design has been around about 5 years or so.  They use MoshiDraw software, the quality varies on the laser and for the most part, the unit is drop shipped at the terminal and the buyer must make arrangements to pick it up.   MoshiDraw is software of choice for these machines as the system board is compatible only with this software.  Running it on any version of Windows higher than XP is iffy.  Even Corel with the Moshi Plugin is not reliable.  The hardware is again, iffy.  It may or may not work as it's shipped by container to the terminal.  Reports of many of these coming in damaged are rife.  And since you're dealing with a Chinese company in China, they really don't provide customer support.  Documentation is minimal and very badly translated.   So.. pfffft on those.
 
What many users have done is buy the cheap one and then upgrade everything with either aftermarket parts and software at which point the cost has climbed to above the MM price.
 
A laser tube runs about $150+ and lasts 1000 to 1500 hours depending on power levels for the cut.  That is a lot of hours for something I think many of us would use rather infrequently compared to say, a table saw.  Most sellers state that these are not production type machines and only hobby machines.... but some don't state that so bewary.
 
I followed some online advice and looked at what was available that had English instructions, support, and parts.  I found quite a few.  The prices are all over the map and much is dependent their level of support.  Some good.  Some not so good.
 
Now for quick look at MM's product.... pricey but they use a different motherboard for the Corel Software and this seems to be why they need a transformer unit (extra!) for ones sold here in the States.  They have a warranty and support.  They do test the units they sell so you're not getting one dead on arrival in the US.  Unlike many of the others, you can get this thing out of box and assembled and ready to run pretty quick if you know Corel.  The one thing I did like is that it had pretty straight forward documentation (online - you can read before you buy... I've read it) that seems to take the guesswork out setting it up.     Downside, the cutting area is small and this is their first unit as it's called Mark I...
 
Final thoughts:
I do believe for someone who wants to experiment they should.   If you have deep pockets go for what Chuck bought or one like it.  Many of have bought lathes and milling machines that aren't used all that much but we like to have them and use them.  I think that the laser cutters are like the 3D printers... it's a new technology for the hobbyist, not mature yet.  Prices will come down and quality will go up. 
 
For now, if it's purely dollars and cents.. go with laser cutting as a service.  But if you're into DIY, then go for it, but put your own research into it.
 
Pesonal note:  I'm holding off.  There's lots of things I'd like to do, but I'm following some sage advice:   Don't use new software until Service Pack 1 and never buy a new car in the first model year.

The counter took some edge bending as well as the gentle bend of the stern and came out well.  Edge bending is still something I'm getting comfortable with...the inside of a bend seems to bend a bit sharply in the center rather than a gentle sweeping curve.  I even place two clamps in the middle of the plank to widen the curve.  Trial and error.  The transom edge bending is less severe and went on well.  I did the lower strake pieces first, then moved to the solid plank above the gun ports and then filled-in the rest.  Next up are the fashion pieces covering the edges of the counter and transom.  Question for Chuck...The planking over the square tuck is vertical on the plans and in your build log, but seems horizontal in the pictures with the instructions.  I seem to recall more discussion about the vertical planking and the surround on the build log at the time, but that does not appear now. 
Maury

This topic got me thinking and reading..   So... I'll post what I've found, for those interested in two parts...
 
Part 1.   Laser Cutting as a service.
 
There's lots of people offering laser cutting out there.  I wanted some deck beams cut as I didn't want to spend the better part of a week cutting 75 deck beams... actually it would have been closer to 150 and tossing half them as being unsuitable.  I needed two different sizes on two different thicknesses of wood.
 
Naturally, my first step was research.
 
Locally, I supply the wood and the drawings.  Extra cost for them to take a blueprint and make ready.  Then there's setup charges and the cutting charge. None of these were "model builders" as such though they claimed they could do the work.   One of the locals was trying to convince me to use pine and then cut it across the grain instead of with the grain.  Others, were asking me questions like "power settings"?  Hell.. I haven't a clue.. they're supposed to be the experts. 
 
Non-local, I talked to Chuck.  He's a modelbuilder as well as designer.  He supplies the wood.
 
Rick, I've not worked with but given the nature of customs and money exchange rates I choose not to.  There's some others out there but I decided to stay within the MSW community.  So perhaps someone who has used him might need or want to comment.
 
Result:  I went with Chuck.  His price, including shipping was half of the local guys including him supplying the wood.