davec

Decals done.  I've sprayed clear gloss over them. Not in the pictures, but I experimented a little with panel line wash.  I was going for subtle, so I tried Tamiya brown.  I didn't have any problem wiping off the excess over the Tamiya gloss - using same brand worked well and I didn't have the same problem as with the cockpit.  Unfortunately, the brown is very close to the camouflage brown and doesn't show up well against the green.  It ended up so subtle that it isn't really visible.  I don't plan to weather - I like the models looking like the ones in museums.  Plan is some flat clear tonight and completion soon.

Decals done.  I've sprayed clear gloss over them. Not in the pictures, but I experimented a little with panel line wash.  I was going for subtle, so I tried Tamiya brown.  I didn't have any problem wiping off the excess over the Tamiya gloss - using same brand worked well and I didn't have the same problem as with the cockpit.  Unfortunately, the brown is very close to the camouflage brown and doesn't show up well against the green.  It ended up so subtle that it isn't really visible.  I don't plan to weather - I like the models looking like the ones in museums.  Plan is some flat clear tonight and completion soon.

Decals done.  I've sprayed clear gloss over them. Not in the pictures, but I experimented a little with panel line wash.  I was going for subtle, so I tried Tamiya brown.  I didn't have any problem wiping off the excess over the Tamiya gloss - using same brand worked well and I didn't have the same problem as with the cockpit.  Unfortunately, the brown is very close to the camouflage brown and doesn't show up well against the green.  It ended up so subtle that it isn't really visible.  I don't plan to weather - I like the models looking like the ones in museums.  Plan is some flat clear tonight and completion soon.

Decals done.  I've sprayed clear gloss over them. Not in the pictures, but I experimented a little with panel line wash.  I was going for subtle, so I tried Tamiya brown.  I didn't have any problem wiping off the excess over the Tamiya gloss - using same brand worked well and I didn't have the same problem as with the cockpit.  Unfortunately, the brown is very close to the camouflage brown and doesn't show up well against the green.  It ended up so subtle that it isn't really visible.  I don't plan to weather - I like the models looking like the ones in museums.  Plan is some flat clear tonight and completion soon.

Assembling the Fuselage
 
Had to work a few of the pieces in order to close the gaps between the halves, for example the round nubs near the radiator air scoop.
 

 

 

Almost ready to assemble the fuselage.
 
Typical techniques, pre-shading with flat black Tamiya XF-1, Zinc Chromate coat Vallejo Model Air 71.006, control boxes Semi Gloss Black Tamiya X-18 (well thinned), applied with Paasche Talon @20 psi.
 
Note gunsight on the white card - a long way from Revell….
 

 
 

Finally some progress.  I will not say that the lower apron has been one of my favorite parts to make, but went together without any drama.  The upper apron was weirdly way more trouble and resulted in a cut finger, but nothing serious.  I told my wife that no wood ship model has ever been built without at least a little blood included.  She told me to be more careful.  Knee of the head and forward portions of the keelson won't be attached until later, but they have been sanded to fit.  I'm amazed at how big the chunks of wood and complexity of fabrication must been like on this portion of the ship in real life.
 
Adam

Staring at the stern deadwood for a while made me realize it wasn't right.  I didn't leave enough wood on the forward portion of the deadwood to allow the last few square frames to sit properly and fair into the bearding line.  I'm not sure how I missed this in the other examples.  I adjusted my drawing and remade the deadwood.  I actually ended up making two more because I accidentally rounded off the portion on the second version in a way that would have interfered with the proper alignment with the underside of the wing transom.  I am happy with the final version.
 
I knew that this model would require so re-do's, as it is a big step up in complexity from the kits I have done as well as the Washington galley.  There is some additional complexity with using my own plans.  Things should be a bit more straightforward as I get to the frames.  The very nice thing is I now have a couple practice pieces for cutting the steps on the deadwood.
 
 
 
 
 

I am back at it after some time away for work travel and family stuff.  I have completed the layup of the aft deadwood.  The top and fore surfaces still need to be cut back to the line so are a bit rough looking.  My drawings didn't include the layout of the deadwood, so I made some choices based on similar ships, Pandora Anatomy of the Ship book, Ed Tosti's Naiad books, and David's HMS Swan series.
 
Adam

Knee of the head Mk. II.  I messed up the first one when I was sanding the backside to fit the stem.  I learned my lesson and made up a sanding block with the same profile of the stem to sand back the second version.  This time I used brown artists pigment mixed into the Titebond glue.  The lines are hardly visible, but show up nicely when the wood is damp.  I will stick to that approach for the rest of the build. The stem, keel, and knee of the head are just on the bench for show and not glued up yet.
 
Adam
 
 

The well/shot locker is now done apart from the hardware for the shot locker lids, which will be a challenge for me given my lack of experience with metal work....in any case the work is not perfect, but that's ok with me - learning as I go and hopefully the results will be better next time...in any case I'm happy with the results, such as they are. Everything is still dry fit, so it's tricky to get things absolutely lined up, but you get the idea.
 
After the hardware for the shot locker lids (or before depending on how well my experiments go), I'll move on to the pillar in the hold and will then install all these elements permanently. Before installing the lower deck beams, I'll have to mark them and notch them out for the carlings - for this a framing template needs to be made from the deck plan included in the practicum, adjusted for the model as built, and a centreline marked on the deck beams. And on, and on....
hamilton

Dan - many thanks!
 
Almost a month since last post.  I had a bunch of work things, then got COVID.  I’m bouncing back and got a few hours of work in this week.  Even with the great fit, I needed to do a little filling to fully hide seams.  Given how small the seams were, I tried Mr Surfacer 500.  I brushed it over the seam and it was really easy to sand off and fully hid the seams.  I primed the whole model, then painted the white and black undersurface which went well. 

 
I masked this whole area before painting the camouflage.  I used Tamiya masking tape for curves around the edges, then filled in with regular Tamiya paper masking tape.  I had my first problem when I tried painting the brown camouflage color.  To get the right color, I used Vallejo Model Color, thinned with Vallejo airbrush thinner. I haven't really used this paint brand before. Not sure what happened.  It seemed to go down OK, but as it dried, some of the pigment seemed to come out of solution and I got weird streaking.  I had mixed really well (I think). It dried flat, so rather than stripping, I found I had some Mr Paint of the same color on the shelf, and I painted over the whole area, which worked fine.  The Mr Paint fully covered and there was no reaction between the different paints.  I used AML masks for the camouflage pattern which were amazing.  They seemed to capture the right shape, were easy to apply, and whatever frisket material they are made out of was great – no bleeding under.
 

 
I used Tamiya paint for the green color and it went down fine.  I was really disappointed when I pulled the masking off.  The brown color (I’m presuming the Vallejo paint) bled under the vinyl masking tape in a lot of areas.  Thbere wasn't any bleeding under any of the paper tape.  I thought I had burnished the vinyl tape down pretty carefully before painting.  I spent a while masking and respraying of the white and black undersides along where the camouflage met the undersurface, and overall am mostly OK with the results.
 

I've sprayed gloss clear (tried the Tamiya X22 instead of the alclad gloss clear I had been using - it was much easier to get a good gloss coat.  Hopefully decals will go on after work tomorrow.

What you see here of the front suspension will mostly be hidden from view when the model is completed. Photos are for posterity. It will be hidden but not forgotten. A small amount will possibly be seen through the wheel spokes perhaps but that’s about all.
 
I can see why one might invest in a tumbler/polisher. There is a lot of time and effort required to clean up the cast metal parts just to prepare them for painting. While the castings are Tamiya quality, there are still mold lines to contend with. 
 
Right now I am considering whether or not to install LED head and tail lamps. If I’m going to do that, now is the time to figure out the wire routing. I’ve been studying Arduino boards by watching videos and reading up on them. Ever heard of Arduino boards? You can do some very interesting light programming with these little marvels of modern technology.

Update for this week. I finally finished the island! I added the last details to it and did a lot of CA glue clean up. I am really happy how it came out so far. The SM radar gave me major trouble and I am not a fan of it. The mast and radar set up is suppose to be in the summer of 45. I found a few reference photos to support the placement. I added the other side hangar deck detail. I feel like I should add more but how much are you going to really see in it even with lights? What do you guys think? More detail or nah? Outside the ship, I filled in gaps as much as possible. I added the twin bits to bow and stern of the ship. I also got the booms installed. I finished up the elevator housing and is ready for installment. This week coming up, the game plan is to finish up exterior detail and start playing the paints. Its starting to come together quickly now.

Time to dig in and start building a boat but remember the 6 P’s: Proper Planning and Preparation Prevents Poor Performance. Now, where to start?
 
Rule 2: Don’t trust the instructions or any printed plans
 
The people who design the model kits we spend so much sweat and so many tears trying to build are usually not very adept at explaining how to do things for a newbie. It gets even worse if the instructions are not written in their native language. So when it comes to the instructions etc they should be treated “more like guidelines than actual rules” to quote Capt Barbossa. And example of why you need to thoroughly read the instructions from front to back and then analyse what you are doing in each step and subsequent steps is the following:
 
The instructions tell you to do things in this order

Step 1—build hull bottom
Step 2—attach stem to hull
Step 3—attach transom knee and transom to hull
Step 3(a)—curve hull using water and a weight
Why that order, why expose so many joins to water (hot or cold)? To my mind building the hull bottom then bending it makes more sense; you run less risk of loosening critical joins and it’s easier to remedy if you do, specially if you use the single piece hull.
 
But enough of that, let’s get going.
First thing is to find a workspace. It doesn’t have to be big, after all my models aren’t all that big—yet. Mine is a student desk set up in the bedroom where I can get good natural light. After adding a few bits and pieces I was ready to go.

 
Step 1. According to the instructions you will build the hull bottom from 3 bits of wood. Why, when there’s another hull bottom in one single piece ready to go? I suppose it gives the newbie a chance to try sanding and and gluing but I know that when I did it the first time I just got frustrated. Second time around I used the single piece after checking they’re both the same size. (Trust issues? Nah.)
 
If you do want to try it though the first thing the instructions want you to do is to sand off the laser char from the edges of the hull bottom planks. This is important if you want the glue to bond. However if you follow Mr Antscherl’s method you run the very real risk of cracking your planks. My solution is this: use your vise to hold the fragile little beggars firmly yet safely.

 
Once that is done I wouldn’t try to glue the bottom bits together all at once but one at a time. First measure the width of the hull on the single piece hull bottom, edge to edge, where there’s one of the bottom cleat etchings on it and cut the appropriate length from the strip of 3/64 x 1/8 inch brasswood then find the centres of the cleat and the centre hull plank and glue that cleat to the plank at the etching you chose to measure, making sure it is square.

 

 
When that is dry you can add the other plank and the rest of the cleats. If you want to go that way, that is. I just used the single piece hull bottom and was done with it.
Now on to Step 2. But just hang on a minute, remember the 6 P’s at the start (Proper planning etc.)? Before we add the stem and then the transom we need to check out where the frames will attach to the hull bottom. If you look at the plan view of the hull on page 4 of the instructions you’ll see the hull bottom cleats are placed half-way between each frame so we need to position the hull bottom on the build-board so the frames are in the right place. Just a simple case of marking out where the frames go on the hull bottom using the plan view, right? Wrong!

 
If you look at the pic above note that the scale length of the hull in these plans is not the same as the actual hull length. Why would I have trust issues?  But the real question is what to do about this and why is it important?
 
In the great scheme of things this isn’t all that important. The frames will only be out of place by a few millimetres; so small you’ll hardly notice that the planked hull is ever so slightly out of shape. That said, you’ll know it isn’t as perfect as you could have made it and this will bother you when you know the solution was so simple—your build-board.
 
You know where the frames need to go, half-way between the bottom cleats. First, making sure the front of the hull is at the front of the build-board, place the hull bottom on the centre-line right side up and positioned so the hull cleats are located half-way between each cut-out slot in the build board then mark out it’s ends on the centre-line. Now flip it over and use the frame support cutouts as guides to mark out on the hull bottom where the frames will attach and there you have it.
 

 
Once all this pesky measuring is done you can glue the stem to the hull bottom., unless you decide to bend the hull now  As suggested you need to clean off the char—holding the fragile little thing safely in a vise.

 
Next step is to clean the base of the stem. Unlike trying to juggle three things at once as suggested by Mr Antscherl to try and get a square surface to glue onto the hull bottom I simply made a little sanding stick from a bit of square dowel and, holding the stem piece firmly on the glass, rubbed the stick up and down a few times. Eh, voila!
 

 
Now you can fit the stem to the hull—
 

 
Rule 3: Dry fit your parts as many times as you can
Why is this important? First, it allows you to consider how to do it and how to hold the pieces in place while the glue dries. Second, you get to see what it looks like and how it will influence the next step on and on.
 
Now, fitting the knee and transom. This is the image of an actual dory being built. The most important part of this image is how the transom knee is actually beveled—the bare amount and the fact the transom is mounted on the hull bottom.
 

 
Source: https://fretwaterboatworks.com/2014/07/dory-shops/
 
Prep the transom knee just as you did the stem then glue the knee to the transom keeping everything square. Dry fit this a few times to work out what s best for you. I drew a line on a piece of card, measured the centres of the transom then used some clamps to hold it in place. Note: One of the straight sides of the transom knee is shorter than the other. The short one is glued to the transom.

 
Leave this a couple of days to be certain the bond is as strong as possible then sand the bottom of the transom level with the bottom of the knee and glue it to the hull. Again I’d leave it a couple of days before continuing. More to come...
 
 

Thanks Druxey! Means a lot coming from you!
 
Work continues on the well. Today I managed to make the forward panel of the well, which is actually the forward panel of the shot locker. I also made a small interior panel that separates the port and starboard sections of the shot locker. To do this, I made a small right angle jig and edge glued the pieces together before attaching a 4" x 4" stanchion to one edge - the other is fixed to the corresponding centre stanchion on the middle panel. Photos below.
 
Once the three panels were complete and the middle one attached to the forward one, I dry fit the panels onto the model in its proper position - this allowed me to run a tick strip alongside the panels and take a measure of its overall length. I then made a small "cradle" - really just some 1/16" basswood strips clamped onto a piece of plywood - to the well's length measure. The fore and mid panel stand on their own, while I used a couple of clamps to keep the aft panel upright while the first planks were installed. Photos also below.
 
I only planked as far as where the planks start to angle back to accommodate the shot locker lids. I then made the shot locker lids using 14" boxwood milled to 2". Two stripe were used for each of the lids, edge glued together. The top and bottom ends were chamfered off to fit snugly in place - they are not yet attached to the model but I am using them to cut the planking strips of the well that angle back in line with them....the work week starts again, but I may be able to carve out time evenings this week, so hopefully a bit more progress - hard to believe that another school year is about to start - they are going by faster every time - I might have liked that a decade ago, now, I'm not so sure....
hamilton
 
 

I started this build on 7/24 and finished last night 8/24 as GB on twin engines on another site.The build allowed me for the first time to use Flory wash been seeing the name out there and honestly  alot of my builds are usually pretty clean I have that fear.So,being in the PTO I figured I give it a wash these  planes got baked and faded.The paint was applied with a Badger Renegade with an UF needle I can spray at that point 1/16" lines pretty good and the gun is constantly moving.The process allows for the primer to poke through ever so slightly if to much go over it some more and I did.The planes painting took about 3hrs non stop one evening to which the wings were not attached.Oh there was pre-shading done using Testors rubber color a pretty dark brown top/bottom and the paints in this case was Model Master enamels covered by Tamy Semi-gloss lacquer.I applied the wash did your standard procedure and that was it.I then started on the LG with some AK washes first time here also went subtle it's there and attacked the tires with Florys and Mig powder with slight success the sealer kinda took  out  the powders.The instructions called for silver LG's  but I have never seen whether Navy or Marines in the PTO but with white maybe I am wrong but it does look better.

At this stage of the build, only a few parts are added to the interior: a pair of Bose speakers, brake, clutch, and accelerator pedals, and a couple of polished kick plates. At this scale, even "small details" are large enough to be noticed, i.e.: the Bose placard decals.
From here, will move on to the front suspension build sequence.

What a great looking B-17 you’re building. All the work you put into detailing the interior looks amazing. Considering it’s in 1:72 scale even more impressive. Very nice work Biggles. Looking forward to the remainder of your build!

Primed with Tamiya surface primer in a can, re sanded and filled where needed and primed again.

Will let it dry well for a few days.
 

Dan - many thanks!
 
Almost a month since last post.  I had a bunch of work things, then got COVID.  I’m bouncing back and got a few hours of work in this week.  Even with the great fit, I needed to do a little filling to fully hide seams.  Given how small the seams were, I tried Mr Surfacer 500.  I brushed it over the seam and it was really easy to sand off and fully hid the seams.  I primed the whole model, then painted the white and black undersurface which went well. 

 
I masked this whole area before painting the camouflage.  I used Tamiya masking tape for curves around the edges, then filled in with regular Tamiya paper masking tape.  I had my first problem when I tried painting the brown camouflage color.  To get the right color, I used Vallejo Model Color, thinned with Vallejo airbrush thinner. I haven't really used this paint brand before. Not sure what happened.  It seemed to go down OK, but as it dried, some of the pigment seemed to come out of solution and I got weird streaking.  I had mixed really well (I think). It dried flat, so rather than stripping, I found I had some Mr Paint of the same color on the shelf, and I painted over the whole area, which worked fine.  The Mr Paint fully covered and there was no reaction between the different paints.  I used AML masks for the camouflage pattern which were amazing.  They seemed to capture the right shape, were easy to apply, and whatever frisket material they are made out of was great – no bleeding under.
 

 
I used Tamiya paint for the green color and it went down fine.  I was really disappointed when I pulled the masking off.  The brown color (I’m presuming the Vallejo paint) bled under the vinyl masking tape in a lot of areas.  Thbere wasn't any bleeding under any of the paper tape.  I thought I had burnished the vinyl tape down pretty carefully before painting.  I spent a while masking and respraying of the white and black undersides along where the camouflage met the undersurface, and overall am mostly OK with the results.
 

I've sprayed gloss clear (tried the Tamiya X22 instead of the alclad gloss clear I had been using - it was much easier to get a good gloss coat.  Hopefully decals will go on after work tomorrow.

Hi Everyone, thanks to all for your Comments and Likes. The past week was spent working on the cockpit. The floor was glued together and cut/sanded to size. Before gluing, the strips of AYC were sealed with WOP tinted with Vallejo Dark Slate Grey pigment . ( 1/2 tsp. / oz. ). The floor was then glued into place.
 

 

 
The cabin’s aft wall sits on top of the floor so this was glued in next.
 

 
The cabin wall material that was shaped a little while ago was taped back on to the mold and a piece 3/4” wide was cut from it and given a test fit.
 

 

 
The remainder of the wall material that was still taped to the mold was used to shape a strip of 1/32” x 1/16” boxwood that wood become the outer edge of the wall’s cap.
 

 

 
A jig was made to keep it honest while gluing.
 

 
A smaller mold was used to shape a strip of wood that would become the inside edge of the wall’s cap. This strip was then glued to the inside top edge of the wall.
 

 

 
The cap was sanded and thinned wood filler was applied to fill gaps in the lamination. 
 

 
After some sanding and a few coats of paint the wall was given another test fit.
 

 
Next I’ll be heading to the bow to start the deck planking. Hope to see you there.

Hi Everyone, many thanks for all of the Comments and Likes. About a month ago I started working on the cap rails and in that time they were completed and the hull painted. Between coats of paint the deck furnishings were being worked on. A piece of wood 3/16” x 5/16” was pinned to the deck as a placeholder for the bowsprit. The bulwarks were finished to the bowsprit and then the cap rails were made. The cap rail around the stern was cut from a sheet of AYC and assembled in the same manner as the covering board.
 

 

 

 
 I decided to use a strip of wood at the bow instead of cutting the cap rail from a sheet. It was a bit of a battle to get enough bend. Should have used a more rounded piece of wood for the jig. You can see a bit of a kink in the rail but the strip was wide enough that it could be sanded out. 
 

 

 
This is where the painting started. First a coat of clear shellac and then around 6 coats of thinned paint. The posts that support the dredge roller were added halfway through the painting because the cap rail and the rub rail needed to be notched.
 

 

 
The white - grey was finished being applied and then a few days later the hull red was applied below the waterline. I had the wooden plaque laying around so the boat was mounted on it in order to scribe the waterline and to show how it will sit.
 

 

 

 
Next comes a bit of sanding and touch up work. Then on to the deck. Take care of yourselves!

With just a few minor details left to add here, will move on next to the interior area of the Porsche Carrera GT.
I am happy with the faux carbon fiber painted areas. Not perfect, but decals probably would not be perfect either. Not at least if placed by me.

With the rear suspension done, will move on to inner fenders and ductwork tomorrow.