Piet

Thank you Jan, Denis, John and Carl for visiting and your kind comments. Also my thanks to those who liked my post.
 
Yesterday and today in real time, February 27, 2018, are for me the most special.  Yesterday the 26th was the last day 76 years ago that I saw and spoke with my father for the last time before he went out with the fleet to do battle against the Japanese Imperial Navy. Today, 76 years ago is the day he and over 3,000 Navy men died in the battle on the Java Sea.
No, Gwen and I don't do anything special, just some quiet contemplation so once in a while. Nothing we can do about it but remembering the happy times we have enjoyed with him. From our religious point of view we will see each other again in the promised Kingdom of our Creator.
 
In my intro I mentioned about that last day I spoke with him and how he was dressed in his official uniform with his saber at his site. When he left with the local steam tram back to the base. I like for you all to see these things. Now you also see what I see in my mind, except for the picture of the uniform. That's just a standard tropic's uniform, not dress. Dress is long trousers, closed collar long sleeve shirt and jacket with a cap, all in white.
I sure hope you wont be too upset for me sharing some sentimental memories.
 

Shoulder epaulet for Royal Navy Adjudant.

The Royal Navy Adjudant saber.

This is then a picture of the steam tram that used to run between the Navy base to the zoo. It passed our close by. We lived next to the corner house where our street ran into the boulevard where this tram chugged along. My sister and I saw our father standing in the doorway waving at us. I should make a painting of it.
 
 
 
Marine adjudant onderofficierssabel 1843 copy.doc
Marine adjudant onderofficierssabel 1843 copy.doc

Thanks Denis and thanks to all liking my progress.
 
This post will contain several days of work due to the many extra curricular activities around the house and other things, progress is rather slow.
So, I'll combine Days 31, 32, 33, 34 and 35, which brings us to January 7, 2018.
 
I forgot to mention yesterday that I also prepped a bunch of life rafts and separated a few more ladders from the PE sheet and cemented them to their appropriate locations.
Okay, on day 31 I painted the ladders I installed the previous day. That's all I could do.
Before cementing the life rafts to the ship I looked for any additional parts I can install before they are in the way. I want to work from the inside out you see. There are 6 vent pipes on the center deck but the ones in the kit seem to be rather small.  I checked with my scratch build drawings and see that the tops of the pipes come about half way op the AA gun deck railing.
On day 32 I tried to lengthen the kit parts with a toothpick but gave op on that because one of the kit parts broke.  I decided to make my own to fit the drawings.
On day 33 I rummaged through my pile of small pieces of wood and found a square piece of boxwood, about 5 mm. It was too cold in the garage and my lather drive belts are broken anyhow so I used my trusty #11 Execto knife blade and some sandpaper to whittle 6 new pipes as per the drawings. The proto type didn't come out to bad, a little paint and we wont see the difference.
Continued on day 34 with the whittling of the vent pipes. I also whittled a 0.5 mm pin on the bottom for extra strength when cementing them to the deck. 
On day 35 the weather warmed up enough for me to go into the garage to drill the holes for the vent pipes. I then cemented the vent pipes to the deck, making sure they were all square to the deck. In the meantime I removed the ship's boat cradles from the PE as well as those for the seaplanes. The latter will be challenging because they have to be bend into a box shape and act like wet spaghetti   I did manage to cement the boat cradles though before calling it quits, it was way past beer thirty 
 

The large rafts with wooden floors and oars.
 

Rafts completed and read for paint.
 

This is a copy of part of my drawing showing the vent pipes  As you can see they stand rather tall on the deck and are also braced with removable cables. I intend to use a few strands of silk thread I have and a small sliver of wood for the turnbuckles.
 

This shows the comparison between my scratch build pipe and the kit pipe. The background is my very dark green polished granite kitchen counter top. It actually looks black when just casually looking at it. Gwen's choice.
 

Coming close to what I am looking for on the prototype.
 

6 vent pipes ready to install. Like I said, with a little heavy paint - - -
 

All 6 vent pipes installed and started with the bracing wires. You can aslo see a few life rafts cemented to the deck.
 
Cheers,

Thank you Denis, Patrick, Wallace and John for looking in and your kind words. And thanks to those who clicked the like button, much appreciated.
 
Today's post will again be a combo of two days. I have only been able to spend a few hours here and there.
 
These will be Days 28 and 29, which brings us to December 28, 2017.
On day 28 I commenced cementing the superstructure parts to the deck with a few small items. This took quite some time making sure that everything was squared. I used a black colored slow curing two part epoxy cement to allow me the time to measure the distances from starboard and port side. Then just let it sit till cured.
In the meantime I separated the bollards and cleats and started to cement them in place as indicated on the installation instructions. I then painted and installed both anchor chains. They are a tad over size but not too objectionable. The anchors will be painted in the dark grey but I'll wait with installing them till later to prevent damaging them with handling of the model.
One of the cleats decided to spring into never never land so I had to scratch build one from some brass wire. I lucked out again, it looks quite good - at least Gwen couldn't tell the difference after I quickly painted it grey. Yeah, call me sneaky Piet.
 
I also prepped a few PE ladders and cemented them into place.
 
Wow, a lot of stuff done these two days. Below are the pics of the progress.
 

The AA gun deck.
 

The aft mast and aft funnel with vent house/
 

The forward funnel with vent house, mast, the bridge and the #2 15 mm gun deck.
 

A strip with cleats.
 

The two large bollards cemented in place with the anchor chains.
 

6X magnification of a cleat to show how tiny they are, It is laying on one my fingers. I also had to remove the two small pieces to make it look like cleat. That's how I lost one. Making a new one from brass wire was a lot quicker then cleaning the castings.

The stern deck with its bolaards and cleats cemented in place as well as the stern anchor winch. You can also see the two ladders going up to te aft- main deck where the #9 15 mm gun is located.
 

The aft main deck with the AA gun deck and the ladders going up. I may wind up reding them and cement them against the gun deck house as the my 1:50 scale drawings sow.  I have no idea what the little doghouse is doing there, the scale 1:50 drawings only show a raised hatch like thing. I think I'll go with that.

The forward deck looking down with all the bollards and cleats installed. The only thing left is the railing but all railings will go last for ease of handling till then. The railing on the #2 15 mm gun deck was cemented on several days ago but both ladders were done today. They come as flat PE and have the handholds must be bend up as well as all the treads.
 
 

This post is for Days 25, 26, and 27, which brings us to December 25, 2017.
 
Day 25 was mostly taken up with some more PE parts cementing to the most forward deck house section and prepping the hull for the grey camouflage colors.
On Day 26 I painted the hull above the red with the modified Model Master's acrylic gull grey. I say modified because it was a little too light so I added some black to it. It turned out that this paint was rather thin and somewhat translucent. It didn't cover the dark grey primer too well and I had to use four coats of the paint to cover it.
While these coats were drying I painted the deck of the hull and the other parts with wooden decks with Model Master acrylic wood color paint. This required three coats to cover the dark grey primer and kept the planking feature of the mold very visible. All this took a good part of the day and looks very promising. I'll see tomorrow how well everything looks.
On Day 27, 12/25/2017 I checked to see how the paint covered the dark grey primer and everything looks great. I am now ready to mask the hull for the dark grey as is called out for in the instruction folder. Here too I had to add some black to the Model Master's acrylic dark grey. This time it required only two coats of paint. After the paint had dried enough to handle I removed the masking tape and touched up a few seep-throughs.
I then masked the hull for the 1.5 mm black waterline. For the purpose of this model as an in water diorama the accuracy of this stripe was not that important so I eyeballed it. As it turned out it came out pretty good, just a few seep-throughs that was be easily remedied.
Next I used the toothpick method and painted all the portholes black. It's a good thing I still have steady hands. I am very pleased with the results and can start putting all the superstructure parts on the deck.
 

This is a print of someone's idea of how the Dutch Navy's camouflage was. Boris Mulenko from Pacific Cross Roads may have adopted this scheme for the most part. I followed his as indicated on the kit's instruction diagram. All the superstructure will be painted in the medium grey.
 

No sense showing me painting the light grey so what you see has already been painted light grey with the masking for the dark grey and it having been painted in the dark grey.
 

Another shot of the masking and dark grey paint. The keel extension for the paravane attaching hardware show a glare from the shop lights.
 

Here she is masked for the waterline black stripe.
 

The big reveal! I'm very pleased with the results. Absolutely no brush marks anywhere.  You can see the three major components for the superstructure in the background.
 

Here is a semi overhead shot of the ship with all major components temporarily placed on top.
 

Here is a side view. She's beginning to look like a ship!
 
Cheers,

Thank you Denis and Jan for dropping in. Hey Jan, if you mean my Exacto #11 blade?  That's for scale reference. I think all of us are familiar with that blade so you can gauge the size of the parts.
Well, i hope of still finding that errant search light, it can still be used but I'm not holding my breath though.
 
Thanks also to those who looked in and clicked the like button.
 
Okay, this post is for Days 21 and 22, which brings us to December 19, 2018.
The start of the aft mast. I removed most all of the indicated PE parts and drilled a hole in the deck for the mast. This way I can more securely cement the mast in place.
I cemented the lower ladder first to the mast then the lower and smaller platform. After the cement was cured enough I cemented the ladder to the upper search light platform.  Next was cementing the railing to the small lower platform.
This was all I could do for day 21.
 
On Day 22 I continued with the aft mast. I cemented the sear light platform to the mast and when the CA was cured enough I cemented the railing to it. According to my 1:50 scratch build drawings there is another ladder going up from the search light platform to the top of the mast. This is for the crew to get up for work on the antenna wire fixtures. but is not shown on the installation instructions.  I found a spare ladder and cemented that also to the mast. I'll wait with the antenna attaching spreader on the top of mast till much later to prevent it from being damaged.
I also cemented both search lights to the platform.  This completes the aft mast and is now ready for paint. I'll install it when I'm ready for all the deck housings to be cemented to the hull.
 
I also cemented the deck to the most forward deck house where the #2 15 cm gun will be placed.
That reminds me to start thinking of painting the hull with camouflage colors and the deck with wood color. I am actually looking forward to this because that means I'm ready to cement all the deck structures to the hull.
 

The instruction picture for the aft mast. I did cement #86 to mast but boom and rigging.
 

The aft mast partially completed and her you can see my home build search light.

Another shot of the mast with me holding it.

This is a photo just before the six pom poms were replaced with the four Bofors, around 1937.
 

This is a picture Kevin Denlay too on his second dive to the wreck. It's a search light, or what's left of it, laying on the sea bed. He says it's from the main mast. You can well imagine how big a blast that must have been to do damage that far forward.
 
Cheers,
 

Thank you Denis and John for your kind remarks.
Yes, John, there are many tiny parts to be cemented to this ship. The problem with me taking the pics in high magnification makes the work look a but messy.  However, when seen at normal viewing distance with the paint on them they look rather acceptable to me.
 
This post id for Day 20, December 12, 2017.
In removing one of the search lights the pivot braces broke away from the light body. Now that I am ready for the aft mast, that has two of these buggers on it, I needed to see If I can use some fine brass wire for it but I can't find the part anywhere. Very odd because i have saved almost all the junk the actual parts were attached to for the mold process. So, I had to resort to scratch build a 1:350 scale search light. They are 4.5 mm in diameter and 3 mm wide.  
I scrounged a piece of hardwood dowel and hand sanded it close to size. With a small dentist bur in my small pencil type drill motor I "routed" the inset matching the kit part. Dressed that end with some fine sand paper. Next was to cut it off the dowel at 3 mm. I used my antique scroll saw with 80 teeth per inch. Again dressing that side with fine sand paper.
Now came the forming of the brace from brass wire and the base. I bend the ends to 90 degrees so I can insert them into the sides of the search light so it can swivel.
The base was also made from a piece of wood. I glued the assembly to the base with two part epoxy and let cure before I could dress the base down to match the kit part. I obviously painted it immediately and asked Gwen if she could tell which one was from the kit and which on is the home build one. I cheated though because I held the parts at arm length.  Only after some coaching she found it. In any case, I am happy with the search light and can continue with the aft mast.
I little paint and from regular viewing distance it'll be hard to tell the difference, if you don't know what to look for
 
That was about all I could do this day.    
 

The kit search light, 4.5 mm diameter.
 

The dowel left in a slightly larger diameter to give me enough material to route the center with out the edges breaking off. The final diameter was achieved after the center was routed out.
 

The dentist bur having done its job.
 

The proto search light has been made to 4.5 mm diameter, the attaching brace holes drilled and the new part is ready for detaching from the dowel.  I first used the #11 blade to carefully whittle away most of the wood before using the scroll saw.

The attaching brace is made and installed. Well, not quite the same but it'll have to do.

I used a piece of box wood to make the base.

The search light is now cemented to the roughed out base with two part epoxy, ready be dressed down.
  The new search light is ready for paint.
 
Cheers,

Hello everyone and thanks for the likes.
 
This post brings us to Days 16, 17, 18 and 19, which brings us to December 04, 2018.
I could only spend a little time each day on this project. I cemented the railings on, the machine guns and range finder.  I had to repair one of the machine guns, it lost its barrel and I had to make one from bamboo, The same happened with the range finder so i made a new one, also from a small piece of wood and bamboo. 
I cemented the smoke deflector to the top of the funnel, the search light platform to the main mast, its railing and search light. That platform had also some very small support braces as well as the most top platform with the little "doghouse" with the antenna wire supports.
Cemented all particular PE parts to this sub-assembly as directed by the installation instructions.
The final tweaking of those parts that are in need of straightening out will be done when I'm ready to paint them. This will be done after I have painted the hull in camouflage colors. and have cemented all the superstructure to the hull.
 
This will complete this sub-assemble, more or less.
 

Part of the installation instructions for the assembly.
 

Top view of the completed assembly. Here you can see my scratch build range finder
 

Another view from the rear.
 

Side view starboard side.
 

This is a copy from my 1:50 scale scratch build drawings to show how it's supposed to look like.
 

Another side view. The gun deck looks warped but it has slight droop to it. I tried it on the hull with the support posts under it and it comes to a nice flat deck.
 

This is a photo from the actual ship shoeing the detail brought into the model.
 
Cheers,

First of all my thanks to all for liking the build. I see familiar names too, welcome folks.
 
This post brings us to day 15, November 28, 2018.
 
Spend half this day chasing down the drive belt for my band saw, got a hold of the supplier and he was nice enough to send me the correct one, no charge. I did send him the wrong part back though, it's only a few bucks via regular post. My iMac computer is still at the fixit shop 
 
Even with all that I did get a lot done. I cemented the railing to the lower level of the forward funnel housing and surprised myself how easy this one went. Tack it on in the middle and slowly worked my way around as soon as the tack has set.
Cemented the bands around the funnel as depicted in the installation picture. To be dressed down later. 
I decided to replace the forward machine gun deck supports with scratch build ones from 0.5 mm bamboo. to the funnel housing. 
I could now cement the funnel, machine gun deck and mast to the funnel housing. First I used slow cure epoxy cement, thinking that I needed extra time to keep everything in its proper position. Not a good idea because it was too slippery and very difficult to hold for that long of a time. When the cement had set I discovered that the funnel and mast had crept aft somewhat. So, I had to remove it, clean everything and went back to the CA.  I tried to keep the mast parallel to the funnel and had to remove some material from the forward side of the mast hole in the machine gun deck. Eye balling it it looked good as I put everything together with a few dabs of CA. Just hope it doesn't slip again, this CA gives me a little time before it grabs hold. 
 
Well, that's all for today and here are a few pics.
 

The forward funnel housing with the vent louvers.  Oh yeah, I cemented the rafts on both sides too. The railing is in a constant state of straightening because I keep bumping it, no matter how hard I try not to. Actually, I am not going to worry about it because I'll go over everything anyhow before its on the hull and ready for paint.
 

A view looking aft. The light colored posts are my scratch build 0.5 mm bamboo posts.
 

This is a copy from my scratch build model drawings of the area I'm working on.
 

Top view of the assembly. I also cemented a small platform to the forward side of the funnel. I have no idea what's it for. Looks like possibly the antenna wiring leading into it or the little house between the funnel and the mast, for the radio operator??  Strange place for him, I'm most like wrong in my guess.
 

Top view of the area. Pic is taken from my scratch build model drawings.
 

Here is the side view as it was at the end of this day. I still have some cleaning up to do. The photo is at 3X the actual size, when looking at it in real life things look a lot better. Here is that little "house" with a slanted walkway to the top of it from the top of the funnel platform.  There is something not quite right with this assembly. The position of the machine gun deck is correct because the outboard support posts between the deck and it fit like glove. Either the funnel is too long and I I didn't notice it at first  or the side posts are too short, which i doubt. For now I 'll have to live with it.
 

This is the aft view looking forward.
 

Another side view but at a smaller scale, only 2X magnification.
 
Cheers,

This post is for Day 14, 2017.  Yes, it's still past history but such is life.
 
I had a late start today because of chores and trouble shoot my little Chevy pickup truck. I needed to run a few errands and she wouldn't start, The solenoid was chattering but didn't engage the clutch to the tarter motor. Jumped the truck from Gwen's Buick and she fired right up. Clear indication I needed a new battery, ouch. Yeah, they aint cheap. Long story short, bought the battery, installed it and now I can use my truck.
 
I finished cementing the railing to the searchlight platform and then the two searchlights. Looking quite convincing.
This completes the work on the aft funnel, except for the smoke deflector on top that I'll cement on till I can cement the funnel to the vent housing.  I'll wait with that till the vent housing is cemented to the ship.
 
Next I directed my attention to the twin Bofors AA gun deck and fire control center. I decided to cement the distance finder on the longitudinal axis because I intend having the ship fire her guns more or less in a broadside.
Removed all the necessary PE for this section per the installation instructions. Cemented the two "houses" to the gun deck part. Cementing the PE parts was fun, at least they were a little larger and things went rather fast. This time I formed the railing as I went around the PE platform, that worked okay. I started at the ladder position and tacked the railing in spots as I went around. The handhold of one of the ladders had to be bend up and the rungs bend to simulate steps, Tweezers kinda work.
I managed to cement all the PE parts as indicated on the instruction sheet.
 
Actually I did manage to do a lot of work today, I'm proud of me
 

The completed aft funnel
 

Part of the instructions drawing for the AA gun deck.
 

Ship's frame 43 location for the AA gun deck.
 

Top view of the AA gun deck, from the scratch build drawings I have.
The two "houses" cemented on with the range finder. Looking forward.
 

Looking aft.
 

A photo of the Bofors AA gun deck looking forward, starboard side.
 

The completed AA gun deck, painted and all, as it is on 02/ 14/2018. I forgot to take a few pics as I went along in November last year.
 

Closeup pic of the aft housing on the AA gun deck.
 

Closeup side view of the aft housing. There will be a small flag staff yet cemented to the aft side of this housing with the Dutch National Ensign.
 
Cheers,

Hello everyone and thanks to those who visited and clicked the like button, much appreciated.
 
In this post I'll be combining Days 11, 12 and 13, which brings us to November 26, 2018. I'll write my notes as I have recorded them for the noted dates.
 
Still no word from the IT guy who is fixing my iMac. That hard drive was really a mess he said. So we continue using Gwen's laptop to stay abreast with what's going on on MSW.
 
On day 11, 11/24/2017, I separated the PE parts for the aft funnel. The most difficult were the bands around the funnel and the searchlight platform braces. The funnel bands are smaller then 0.05 mm.  In order to form the railing around this small platform I figured making a wooden form. It seemed to me almost impossible forming the railing without some guide.
After reshaping the bands I managed to cement the bands around the funnel. Removing them from the PE sheet they do tend to lose their pure form and need to be reworked. After the cement was cured I removed most of the excess but still not a pretty sight, from close-up. Once it's painted it should not be too noticeable.
I'll wait attaching the smoke deflectors to the top of the funnels till after they are cemented to the vent housings. Too much handling in the meantime.
I also cemented the little platforms with railing on each side of the rear funnel vent housing.
 
On Day 12, 11/25, 2017, I cemented the searchlight platform to the funnel making sure it was positioned at the right height to allow enough space for the access ladder.  I also cemented the ladder with its platform to the forward side of the aft funnel and the oval ring on top of the funnel. Removed more excess cement from the funnel. Not much work this day, too many other chores around the house.
 
On Day 13, 11/26/2017, I made the search light platform railing form - after a few gardening chores. Hey, I live in Florida and November is still warm enough to walk in shorts, besides I have to get the yard ready for winter.
After I had the railing form made I delicately formed the railing around it. It seemed to work okay but the material is only 0.05 mm. Next I cemented the railing to the platform   I tacked the center first and as soon as the cement was hard I worked my way around the platform. When this was done I cemented a small ladder from the base to the platform.
Next was cementing the platform braces to the underside. Removing the excess cement was done with a modified small broken drill bit. It will not be visible anyhow because it's on the bottom of the platform but I like to keep it a little neat, as much as I can anyhow.
 
Well, that's all for now. A few photos below to show what I have been talking about.
 

Parts of PE for the funnel. #30 are the funnel bands and #25 is the smoke deflector. The #11 blade gives you an idea of the sizes I had to deal with. In removing the rings from the PE sheet caused these rings to deform quite a bit.
 

Bands cemented to the funnel shown before dressing the excess cement from the funnel.
 

Funnel mostly cleaned from excess cement and the forward ladder with platform cemented to the funnel. There is a small railing cemented to it as well. The ladder is only tacked to the bands and will be straightened out.
 

Funnel is temporarily placed to the vent housing. I have also cemented the two side platforms to the vent housing. There are also braces cemented to the underside of these platforms. Don't ask me how I managed to get them glued on.
 

This is the railing form I made.
 

This shows the railing nicely formed.
 

These are the support braces for the searchlight platform. Again, the #11 blade for size comparison.
 

The support braces in process of being cemented to the platform. To remove excess cement I took the shank of a small broken drill bit and ground a triangular point to it.
 
Cheers,

Thanks to all who selected the like button, much appreciated.
 
Yes, John, they could very well have been painted white and I can still do it, they are accessible still. Don't forget that these posts are all about work done a few months ago. Thanks for dropping in.
 
Hi Jan, I don't have the lines for the "Celebes" but a comparison picture of her with "Java" on color. As you can see on the below picture, "Celebes" was supposed to have them im enclosed twin turrets and no guns on the side. For the rest she had the same lines.
 
Hello mark, thanks for visiting and yes, a little added work is getting her closer to being finished. I hope I can do a believable sea for the diorama and the gun smoke.
 
Yesterday I showed the semi completed sloops and motor launches, not the finished product. So I took two pics this morning as they now sit on the model.
 

 


Cheers,
 

Thanks to all who clicked the like button.
 
This is Day Ten, November 23, 2017.  Thanksgiving in the USA.
I decided to tackle the two motor launches and the two sloops supplied in the kit. As you can see on the pics below, they are rather small as is everything on this model. I dreaded to remove the PE from the sheet because of its size. The steering wheels for the motor launch are 1.8 mm in diameter!  I had to do some filing on the PE seats for the sloops to make them fit, not much but did not want to run the chance of them buckling. Then the oars, there are 8 per sloop and all individual, which caused some trouble cementing them to the seats. I guess I could have lashed them with some silk threat but that thought came too late.
They are ready for paint after I have cleaned them thoroughly.
 
Okay, this is all for today, I have to get my but into the kitchen and help Gwen with cooking our simple Thanksgiving dinner. Seasoned turkey breast, pan sauteed in a white wine sauce with mushrooms, rice, asparagus, cauliflower and carrots.  We'll have a glass of that white wine to go with it.
 

I managed to cement those tiny steering wheels in place without a hitch. The rudders were no problem for a change. They'll be painted in the medium grey and the seats in wood color.
 

I placed the #11 blade next the sloops to indicate their small size. The motor launches are even smaller. The seats and oars will be painted in wood color and the boats in te light grey.
 
Again, not much of excitement but it's a pleasure seeing progress, even if it's slow.
 
Cheers,

This post will reflect work done on days 8 and nine, November 21 and 22, 2017.
Day 8 - no work done due to many things needed around the house. I planned on at least to make a start with fashioning an anchor for the one that got away but got only as far as selecting a brass rod. So, I figured the next day I could make an effort.
 
Yes indeed, first thing in the morning of the 22d of November I was able to go into my garage work shop and give it a go.
The brass rod I laid out yesterday was 0.5 mm and I figured that it would suffice for a 1:350 scale anchor. I flattened first one end, then bend it to form a U and flattened the opposing side and cut it off.  The flattened parts did not really give much material to make the flukes but went ahead anyway. After I had something like what looked like flukes I soldered a piece of 0.5 mm rod to it for the stock. Dummy me, I forgot to bring the kit anchor with me and comparing the two mine was way too small. Bummer.
 
Hmmm, now what. I found a square brass rod of 0.8 mm. This may do the trick.  I proceeded the same way as before with the 0.5 mm rod. I used a steel punch to hammer the end nice and flat with a lot of material for the flukes. Bend it around, matching the kit anchor and did the same with the opposite side. Then cut the crudely fashioned part into what looks like an anchor, off of the rod. Filed flukes to it and shaped it to match it with the kit anchor as best as I could. Holding this tiny piece between my left hand fingers was a challenge.  Soldered a piece of 0.5 mm rod to the center for the stock, dressed it some more and painted it flat black. Now I was careful matching it with the kit anchor.
 
Not too bad, not good but okay for the stern.  All this took about 2 1/2 hours of my time.
 
Below are the pics of my efforts.
 

First I tried wacking it with a hammer to one of my bucking bars but that proved difficult in aiming. I resorted to using a half inch diameter punch with better results.
 

Here I show that the bend matches the kit anchor. I added the #11 blade for size comparison.
 

Here we see both sides flattened enough to fashion the flukes. Ready to be cut off.
 

Here I have placed the 0.5 mm brass rod to where it is to to be soldered. After the soldering is done I'll dress it down some more.
 

Here we see my scratch build anchor completed and next to the kit anchor, the one with the eyelet on the end. No, I was not planning to add that too because I am sticking that end into the hole on the hull.
 

This is my first attempt that turned out too small, good practice piece.
 
Cheers,

Thanks Denis for your kind words and visiting my log. Sorry to say there is not much excitement in this build, yet.
 
Glad you like the photo of the Ruyter. Yes, the lines are good but the shape of the third ship to be build, the Celebus, are even better. Sorry that was not laid down, cancelled.  For the time they were state of the art and their German origin is visible.  No, I was not aware of the prop guards being foldable.  I did see on one of the videos that the stern deck railing is foldable though.
 
For those wondering what Jan is talking about with "Java" in Sydney Harbor, here is a photo of her. The bridge over Sydney Harbor should date it. "Java" is shown way before her 1937 upgrade.

 
Cheers,

Hello everyone,
 
Well, let's see, we are at Day Seven, November 20, 2017.
The primer is cured overnight and seems to adhere quite well to the resin hull. Time to put the red paint on the bottom part. I masked the top half just above the glue line. No real need to to assure the masking tape is leak proof but old habits don't die. I did rub the paint edge good to give a neat line. This will also be a good test for the primer adhesion when pulling the masking take off. Ken's admonition is great information for those who are not familiar with painting. Metal parts too have their particular prepping needs.
Okay, the hull is masked and I wiped it down again with a damp cloth with an enamel reducer to make sure no greasy fingerprints are on it. Took it outside and put it on Gwen's little steel table to paint. I used Testor's spray enamel "Fire Engine" red. Why even paint that lower part red if it's going to be mostly invisible? Well, in case I change my mind and finish the model on pedestals instead of a diorama. But no, I needed it for the high speed diorama when parts of the bottom hull are visible.
 
After the paint had dried I removed the masking tape and to my relief no red or primer came off with it. Lucked out again
While the paint was drying I painted the inside of both funnels with flat black. Done in a jiffy so I decided to part the three anchors from their mold strip to paint them as well. But - - as I held one of the anchors in my tweezers I heard the dreaded "tweng" sound and it went flying some here in my studio. Spend quite some time searching for it but had to give up, too much junk in my room.
So, okay, "Java" will be missing an anchor, most likely the stern one.  But wait - - - Pieter had an idea, why not make one from metal. At this point it was getting late and had to punch out, no overtime allowed
 
At this date I was still without my iMac desktop computer but used Gwen's notebook to log on to MSW every so often to keep abreast with what's going on.  Okay, here are the few pics of my painting job.

Hull is masked.

Red paint applied, two coats.

Masking tape and paper removed. Looking good.

Ship on an even keel. Looks nice already and fast. Sleek little bugger.

Temporarely put the two forward parts of the superstructure together.

This is the aft part, that'll have the real funnel attached to it and the vent louvers. These two parts are sitting on a folded paper towel, now you can see how small they are.
 
Well, that's all for this day in the build. Next post will be the fabrication of the anchor.
 
Cheers,
 

Thanks for the tip Ken, much appreciated. Model railroader eh. Love trains, the old fashioned ones, steam. Hey, I'm a certificated steam engine mechanic and boiler maker with everything that's associated with it. Never worked it though, switched to aircraft.  Yeah, I'm familiar with that mold release stuff and cleaning it off first is a must.  I used to own and operate an aircraft repair business in New Jersey way back when and we did a lot of airplane painting. Many parts were fiberglass molded parts and resin. I put all these fiddly little parts for the model in a bowl with dish washing soap, soft tooth brush scrub where possible, rinsed them and air dry. As long as nobody touches them after they are painted we are good to. This'll be a static model so no worry.
 
Hey Jan, thanks for the videos. Number one I didn't have, great action. Now we can see how labor intensive these 15 cm cannons are. I'll transfer them to my "Java" file.  Here is a pick of the "de Ruyter" in case you don't have that one. Really shows her very nicely, love it.
 

Cheers,  

Thank you Ken for for your comments, much appreciated.  Agree with your assessment on the casting quality. Most of my pictures are close-up and even then not much to do to clean them up even more, scale is too small.
Thanks to all who clicked the like button.
 
This post will be Day 6, November 19, 2017.
 
Not being able to do much due to other pressing chores but prepped the completed hull for primer. I wiped it down with enamel reducer to remove any greasy stuff on it. I used a grey primer from a Krylon rattle can. Good for all surfaces.  I should have prepped the large parts for the superstructure as well but forgot, have to do that tomorrow, I hope. I did check it all for flashing and they too need the sandpaer treatment on the bottom gluing surfaces so they sit nicely in the hull. I did paint the inside of all the cooling louvers hoping that the grey primer will not obscure it if I aim the spray nozzle downward. Time will tell. The rest of the many small parts I'll forgo the priming and just paint them in the appropriate acrylic colors. 
 
 I spend some time studying the scratch build drawings for the "Java" as well as the book "Hr. Ms. Kruizers Java en Sumatra" by J. Anten. Yes, it's in Dutch but all the photos have English translations for them. Boris Mulenko  from PacificCrossRoads send me a magazine devoted to the Battle of the Java Sea with some nice pics.
 
Below are a few pics of what's done.
Yesterday I mentioned that "Java" produced a rooster tale at high speed? Well here is photo of "Java" at 31 knots during her proving runs in 1928. She coold really churn up the sea.  Not a good place to be when she encounters some wave action, half the stern deck would be awash, from the reports I have read.

Here we have "Java" on my wife's little patio table she asked my to make hole again, which I did yesterday morning. You can now also see the paravane attaching point at the bow and the two outboard screw shaft fairings and the rudder. This is just outside my garage side door.
 
Cheers,
 

Yes Jan, and I'm glad they did.  They also made a film of gunnery practice in 1941 that showed a brief moment with my father on it. He was asked, or better yet, commanded to observe the result of his gun. Presumably his as my conversation with a surviving officer indicates and a remark from one of the survivors in the water looking for him. I copied and saved the URL but not the YouTube video. The video is no longer accessible by the owner due to pirating. I would love to have a copy.
 
Today I'll cover days 4 and 5, which brings us to November 18, 2017.
I carefully dressed down the filler in the glue line from the day before. Carefully, because I didn't want to damage the detail on the castings. Fortunately this line will be painted with a black stripe and the water in the diorama will also partly cover it.
Then I drilled the holes for the anchors and anchor chain
On day 5 I cemented the keel extension for the paravane attaching hardware, the rudder and the propeller shaft supports. Sorry, no picture of this work.
Here are a few pics I made for my archive.

I used a slow curing two part epoxy cement to give me enough time to position the two halves perfectly. As it turned out I should have used a extra cement for it to ooze out but allas there were a few spots that will need a little filler.  As you can see I brought it inside  vecause the garage was a little cool and wanted the cement to cure faster.
 

Cement is cured and I put some filler in the needed spots. The alignment of the hull parts came out perfect, I'm a happy camper.
 

Here is my little electric driven all purpose drill, burr, grinder, etc tool with a small drill bit.  I forgot to note the size but think it's around a #70.
 

Ready to drill the setrn anchor hole.

I drilled the forward holes a little larger so the chain can be stuffed inside with drop of CA. The chain I bought was a tad larger then scale but we'll work around it.
 

This is a copy of the bow detail from my scratch build drawings. I think that Boris from Pacific Cross Roads a magnificent job did on the detail and accuracy in his molds.
 

 
Stern anchor hole drilled.
 

This shows "Java" at 30 knots. I added this picture to show why I decided to add the bottom half. I was afraid that in showing "Java" at 29 knots in the diorama there would not be enough hull and wind up with a gap I needed to cover with water, which would make it less realistic. No matter now, I'll have to work with the extra depth of the sea. Another note of interest, at full speed of 31 knots "Java" would kick-up a rooster tale and flood a good part of the stern deck. During the battle the fleet had to reduce speed in order for the slower ships to keep up. Another thing with "Java" was that she had a leaky stern deck and the rooster tale water would leak inside. Yeah, she was really showing her age then.
 
Cheers,
 

Tough break Denis, keep o plugging, something good will show up.
 
Cheers,

Dave,
During the refit before this latest one the goal was to bring the ship to a more 1812 appearance.  So they lowered all of the bulwarks and cut down the amidships portion to what it is now.  They also put the missing camber back into the spar deck to improve drainage.
 
Regards,

Thank you Henry.  
Just more stuff to add to the confusion for us poor modelers..... 
Cheers

My two cents about the open waist.  Here is the US Navy plan for the open waist dated August 2009.

Another example of top-quality tradecraft - that yard looks great Ed.  I had been wondering how you cleaned the copper prior to the blackening agent - thanks again for the info.
 
cheers
 
Pat

Thank you, Greg.  The extra band on the starboard side of the yard was one of those little drawing glitches that have been corrected - or will be.
 
Actually the finish is more of a benefit in removing handling smudges than for protection from the LOS solution - unless there is metal powder on an untreated wood surface.  I had no problem using LOS next to untreated wood in all of the structural work on YA and Naiad.  Keeping the wood clean of metal dust from hands or buffing is key.  These spars take a lot of handling and its hard to keep hands clean during the concurrent metalwork - so the finish helps with that.  Using the separate mandrel where possible for fitting and buffing helps with that.
 
Ed

Hi Ed,

I always like to look into your report to learn.
In addition, it is very nice, the emergence of an absolute top model
to be allowed to watch.