rcmdrvr
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rcmdrvr got a reaction from yvesvidal in USS Cairo by rcmdrvr - BlueJacket Shipcrafters - 1:192
That pretty much completes the main hull. Now on to the structures on the hurricane deck. The first structure (and the largest) was the wheelhouse. It is constructed by laminating a few provided pieces, cutting a few custom pieces and finally gluing some photo etch window frames and doors. I could not find where the plans showed the location of the doors and windows but by looking at a few pictures on the internet and in the instruction booklet; I think I found the proper locations. Following is a photo of the wheelhouse in process:
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rcmdrvr got a reaction from yvesvidal in USS Cairo by rcmdrvr - BlueJacket Shipcrafters - 1:192
Having completed the painting of the hull and casement; I went ahead with mounting the cannon. Each cannon had to be sanded with 320 and 600 grit sand paper to remove casting marks. I was able to drill out the muzzles of the larger cannon which I believes gives them a more realistic look. Finally I primed and airbrushed a dark grey. Here is are a couple of photos of the installed cannon:
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rcmdrvr got a reaction from GrandpaPhil in USS Cairo by rcmdrvr - BlueJacket Shipcrafters - 1:192
At this point in the build I discovered I had not built the aft bulwark. Life the forward bulwark, it is made from a square styrene strip. Here is a photo before masking and priming again.
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rcmdrvr got a reaction from GrandpaPhil in USS Cairo by rcmdrvr - BlueJacket Shipcrafters - 1:192
Now that most of the hull and casement has its photo etch; it is time to paint these parts. I decided that I would prime everything before applying color. As we have two different materials being painted (wood and brass) I thought priming would help with paint adhesion. I gave the entire hull and casement a good sanding with 400 grit in hopes that would help with priming. Next I masked off the main and hurricane decks. I used tamiya grey primer in a rattle can. It has served me well in the plastic model arena. The following photos are the model will all the photo etch attached and then a photo of the model masked and ready for priming. Finally a photo of the primed hull before removing masking.
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rcmdrvr got a reaction from GrandpaPhil in USS Cairo by rcmdrvr - BlueJacket Shipcrafters - 1:192
After the large pieces of photo etch have been attached I decided to glue the photo etch cannon hatches in place. I cut these from the fret using a sharp scapel against an old CD. Seemed to work well but I was still left with little "nubs" that have to be filed off. I used a small diamond file for this task.
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rcmdrvr got a reaction from mbp521 in USS Cairo by rcmdrvr - BlueJacket Shipcrafters - 1:192
I agree. Her Civil War career was short and came to a violent end. Her second career as a monument to the horror that was the civil war will be long and I hope thoughtful to many.
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rcmdrvr got a reaction from yvesvidal in USS Cairo by rcmdrvr - BlueJacket Shipcrafters - 1:192
Photo of the painted deck structure ready to be glued in place:
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rcmdrvr got a reaction from GrandpaPhil in USS Cairo by rcmdrvr - BlueJacket Shipcrafters - 1:192
Painting the deck structures was completed in a few steps. First I primed everything. I then painted the lower non-photo etch parts grey. I then masked off the grey and painted the photo etch parts dark grey. Finally I masked the skylights and painted the openings black. Lastly I brushed painted the roof of the wheelhouse a brown. I am not sure that all the colors are to "scale" but I think it looks OK.
Photo of my masked skylights:
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rcmdrvr got a reaction from yvesvidal in USS Cairo by rcmdrvr - BlueJacket Shipcrafters - 1:192
I continued building the deck structures. The sky lights were very easy. A little sanding was all that was required. The pilot house took a bit more effort. The kit provides a resin structure that you then cover with wooden panels to simulate the iron panels on the ship. The resin housing requires a bit of carving and sanding to removed the casting edges and I overdid it. Fortunately I left enought to mount the wooden panels and it turned out OK.: Here is the deck structures before painting:
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rcmdrvr got a reaction from GrandpaPhil in USS Cairo by rcmdrvr - BlueJacket Shipcrafters - 1:192
That pretty much completes the main hull. Now on to the structures on the hurricane deck. The first structure (and the largest) was the wheelhouse. It is constructed by laminating a few provided pieces, cutting a few custom pieces and finally gluing some photo etch window frames and doors. I could not find where the plans showed the location of the doors and windows but by looking at a few pictures on the internet and in the instruction booklet; I think I found the proper locations. Following is a photo of the wheelhouse in process:
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rcmdrvr got a reaction from GrandpaPhil in USS Cairo by rcmdrvr - BlueJacket Shipcrafters - 1:192
Having completed the painting of the hull and casement; I went ahead with mounting the cannon. Each cannon had to be sanded with 320 and 600 grit sand paper to remove casting marks. I was able to drill out the muzzles of the larger cannon which I believes gives them a more realistic look. Finally I primed and airbrushed a dark grey. Here is are a couple of photos of the installed cannon:
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rcmdrvr got a reaction from GrandpaPhil in USS Cairo by rcmdrvr - BlueJacket Shipcrafters - 1:192
Photo of the painted deck structure ready to be glued in place:
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rcmdrvr got a reaction from mbp521 in USS Cairo by rcmdrvr - BlueJacket Shipcrafters - 1:192
Painting the deck structures was completed in a few steps. First I primed everything. I then painted the lower non-photo etch parts grey. I then masked off the grey and painted the photo etch parts dark grey. Finally I masked the skylights and painted the openings black. Lastly I brushed painted the roof of the wheelhouse a brown. I am not sure that all the colors are to "scale" but I think it looks OK.
Photo of my masked skylights:
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rcmdrvr got a reaction from GrandpaPhil in USS Cairo by rcmdrvr - BlueJacket Shipcrafters - 1:192
I continued building the deck structures. The sky lights were very easy. A little sanding was all that was required. The pilot house took a bit more effort. The kit provides a resin structure that you then cover with wooden panels to simulate the iron panels on the ship. The resin housing requires a bit of carving and sanding to removed the casting edges and I overdid it. Fortunately I left enought to mount the wooden panels and it turned out OK.: Here is the deck structures before painting:
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rcmdrvr got a reaction from mbp521 in USS Cairo by rcmdrvr - BlueJacket Shipcrafters - 1:192
That pretty much completes the main hull. Now on to the structures on the hurricane deck. The first structure (and the largest) was the wheelhouse. It is constructed by laminating a few provided pieces, cutting a few custom pieces and finally gluing some photo etch window frames and doors. I could not find where the plans showed the location of the doors and windows but by looking at a few pictures on the internet and in the instruction booklet; I think I found the proper locations. Following is a photo of the wheelhouse in process:
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rcmdrvr got a reaction from mbp521 in USS Cairo by rcmdrvr - BlueJacket Shipcrafters - 1:192
Having completed the painting of the hull and casement; I went ahead with mounting the cannon. Each cannon had to be sanded with 320 and 600 grit sand paper to remove casting marks. I was able to drill out the muzzles of the larger cannon which I believes gives them a more realistic look. Finally I primed and airbrushed a dark grey. Here is are a couple of photos of the installed cannon:
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rcmdrvr got a reaction from mbp521 in USS Cairo by rcmdrvr - BlueJacket Shipcrafters - 1:192
Photo of the painted deck structure ready to be glued in place:
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rcmdrvr got a reaction from Ryland Craze in USS Cairo by rcmdrvr - BlueJacket Shipcrafters - 1:192
Painting the deck structures was completed in a few steps. First I primed everything. I then painted the lower non-photo etch parts grey. I then masked off the grey and painted the photo etch parts dark grey. Finally I masked the skylights and painted the openings black. Lastly I brushed painted the roof of the wheelhouse a brown. I am not sure that all the colors are to "scale" but I think it looks OK.
Photo of my masked skylights:
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rcmdrvr got a reaction from Ryland Craze in USS Cairo by rcmdrvr - BlueJacket Shipcrafters - 1:192
That pretty much completes the main hull. Now on to the structures on the hurricane deck. The first structure (and the largest) was the wheelhouse. It is constructed by laminating a few provided pieces, cutting a few custom pieces and finally gluing some photo etch window frames and doors. I could not find where the plans showed the location of the doors and windows but by looking at a few pictures on the internet and in the instruction booklet; I think I found the proper locations. Following is a photo of the wheelhouse in process:
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rcmdrvr got a reaction from Ryland Craze in USS Cairo by rcmdrvr - BlueJacket Shipcrafters - 1:192
Having completed the painting of the hull and casement; I went ahead with mounting the cannon. Each cannon had to be sanded with 320 and 600 grit sand paper to remove casting marks. I was able to drill out the muzzles of the larger cannon which I believes gives them a more realistic look. Finally I primed and airbrushed a dark grey. Here is are a couple of photos of the installed cannon:
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rcmdrvr got a reaction from mbp521 in USS Cairo by rcmdrvr - BlueJacket Shipcrafters - 1:192
At this point in the build I discovered I had not built the aft bulwark. Life the forward bulwark, it is made from a square styrene strip. Here is a photo before masking and priming again.
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rcmdrvr got a reaction from mbp521 in USS Cairo by rcmdrvr - BlueJacket Shipcrafters - 1:192
Now that most of the hull and casement has its photo etch; it is time to paint these parts. I decided that I would prime everything before applying color. As we have two different materials being painted (wood and brass) I thought priming would help with paint adhesion. I gave the entire hull and casement a good sanding with 400 grit in hopes that would help with priming. Next I masked off the main and hurricane decks. I used tamiya grey primer in a rattle can. It has served me well in the plastic model arena. The following photos are the model will all the photo etch attached and then a photo of the model masked and ready for priming. Finally a photo of the primed hull before removing masking.
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rcmdrvr got a reaction from yvesvidal in USS Cairo by rcmdrvr - BlueJacket Shipcrafters - 1:192
Here is a photo of the all the hull and casement photo etch attached. Now I have to get to the gun port hatches.
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rcmdrvr got a reaction from yvesvidal in USS Cairo by rcmdrvr - BlueJacket Shipcrafters - 1:192
My photo etch bender was too small to bend the side casement armor. Luckily, one of the tables in my garage shop was formally an ammo reloading bench with a steel top. I clamped the photo etch armor between the steel work bench and a straight scrap of wood. It worked well and I was able to put a nice 90 degree bend in the photo etch. The armor sides fit without any further adjustment.
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rcmdrvr got a reaction from yvesvidal in USS Cairo by rcmdrvr - BlueJacket Shipcrafters - 1:192
The armored part of the casement consists of photo etched parts. I have a little experience with small photo etched parts as they are used quite a bit in plastic modelling. They, however, are usually small parts formed on relatively thin frets. In comparison, the photo etched armor plates in this mode are quite hefty. Since I had to alter the forward end of the casement, I had to fit and recut the forward photo etch casement armor. I did this by using masking tape to mark the cut and used photo etch shears. I also had to use a small diamond file to smooth edges. As you will see in close up photos later on my fit was only "so-so". Here is a picture fitting the forward hull armor.
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