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CDW

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Everything posted by CDW

  1. Yeah, there are photo images that come up from a Google search, but they're all taken from so far out, they're of little value for detail reference...particularly for rigging/where it's tied off/belaying points, etc.
  2. Thank you Popeye. I'm now working on all the little photo etch deck fixtures. Lots and lots of them. Every one is made up of multiple parts. I'm trying to decide whether to vary the shades of gray to break things up a bit, or to keep it all the same base color gray and vary things through post shading and washes. Maybe should do both. There is very little reference material I can find for Mikasa. I guess because it's so old. I'm trying to find a good reference for the rigging as that will be a prominent part of this model. All I've found so far is a very rudimentary drawing from Hasegawa provided in their 1:350 kit. Very little is out there that I have found so far. If anyone knows of good reference photos and line drawings for Mikasa, please let me know.
  3. We must be in another El Nino year. It's been raining extremely heavy every day here in Tampa. Lots of creeks, ponds and lakes are starting to overflow their banks. In Florida, percolation accounts for about a third to half of all stormwater runoff (which is a good thing). But when it rains every day like this and the ground becomes saturated, it cannot absorb any more water and it all tries to run off into the bay/gulf. That's when things get real dicey and all these newer subdivisions who have been built in the past 50 years begin to have real problems.
  4. And it seems like those injection pin marks are always in a place where they will be the most noticeable. 😏
  5. Now, just imagine there are lots of modelers who do this in 1:700 scale. Makes me say to myself..."what the h-e-double hockey sticks?"
  6. This reminds me of a story my uncle told me about his service during WW2 aboard a Liberty Ship on the North Sea. They once were carrying (among other things) a large quantity of smoke bombs in their hold in route to Murmansk. Extremely bad weather/high seas caused sea water to enter the hold and potentially wetting the smoke bombs they carried. These smoke bombs were made to detonate when wet....I'm guessing they were used as concealment on ships by throwing them overboard. The concern was the smoke bombs would all ignite and potentially cause the entire ship to burn. They managed to keep it under control and nothing bad happened on this particular trip. Later convoys were much more tragic with German torpedo bombers ripping apart their convoys and losing a great deal of ships. Harrowing tales.
  7. Doing some research last night, I read where there may be a difference in some of the early releases of the Mikasa from the more recent ones. As you may know, my Mikasa is the Wave kit, and the Wave kit was the first Mikasa edition released. Later, it was released under the HobbyBoss label. There may be differences in the decks as you mentioned. That may account for why my deck needed to be trimmed, but I cannot say for certain. Mine just was not a good fit along the entire perimeter of the deck...wood deck too large. Maybe it has to do with weather conditions, humidity and heat - swelling or shrinkage? In any event, I used the 'wet' method, having first brushed on a bit of water with a couple of drops of dish washing detergent before peeling and sticking the deck. Here in this picture, I placed the final wood main deck section. Now, only small pieces remain to be added after the superstructure is built. Next, on to ventilators and cable reels.
  8. Something like an old credit card cut into appropriate size strips to act and a squeegee helps to squeeze out the air bubbles and press the wood deck down well.
  9. Yes, from all over the globe...particularly from Asia and Eastern Europe.
  10. When you go to apply these Pontos wooden decks, be prepared to spend several hours carefully trimming the edges so the thing will fit - before you attempt to apply it. They are not as precise as they should be and are definitely not a drop fit. Once you peel off that adhesive backing and start applying it to your model, there is no turning back. It's a wrap. Before I bought the Pontos update set, I had bought an Artvox wood deck. I could have used the Artvox deck to see if it was more precisely cut, but the Pontos deck is made to go along with their update set whereas the Artvox deck is made to fit/use the stock kit fittings and molded on detail that was removed from my deck in the initial stages of construction. Just to give you an idea of how far off it is, look at the red arrow that shows the pre-made holes in the plastic deck as opposed to where Pontos has placed the holes in their wooden deck. Close, but no cigar. It won't be hard to drill new holes in the plastic beneath the wood, but it will have to be done. Remember the old carpenter's addage when you're trimming that wood deck..."you can take more off, but you can't add more back on." Trim and cut very small amounts at a time until you get the fit you want.
  11. My copy of the OcCre Terror kit just arrived today from Always Hobbies in England. I must say it was processed and shipped quickly as my order was just placed on August 7. Total cost of the kit with shipping included was less than $139. Very pleased with the kit and the service of the hobby shop.
  12. There are so many other fragile parts yet to be built on the hull...walkways, derricks, torpedo net booms, on and on. No way in heck I am doing all that now. It will get knocked off and lost for sure.
  13. I am learning real fast that building a pre-dreadnaught model is far different than a modern warship. Construction and painting sequence is foreign to me. The hull has so much more detail than a modern warship. I should have added these gun port covers and painted them along with the captain's walkway at the stern of the ship yesterday. it would have saved me an additional masking task. Although there is a lot more detail to be added to the hull, I am going to move to the deck and superstructure next. I am concerned that if I add more hull details now, I will damage and lose them while handling the model during the remainder of construction.
  14. Do you ever add a drop or two of dishwashing detergent with the water to apply to the deck before placement of the wood stick-on? It's an old trick we used when applying stick-on decals to shrink film on radio controlled models. Without the solution, once that decal touches the surface, you can't move it without ruining either the decal and/or the surface. I've never tried it (water) with the wooden decks, but am going to do it now that I know others have experimented with favorable results. I just didn't know how the wood would respond to the water.
  15. They look very good to me. Maybe a tad larger, but not enough to notice unless it's pointed out.
  16. To avoid problems with painted photo etch, the PE must be prepared sufficiently to give the surface something where the paint can "bite". I first place all my photo etch sheets into a warm sonic cleaner using a small amount of Dawn dish washing detergent and leave to clean for about five minutes. I then thoroughly rinse. Next, I place the sheets in a diluted bath of vinegar for a few minutes, then rinse thoroughly again. I place the sheets on paper towels to dry. When the PE sheets are dry, all the oils and glossiness are gone. Paint can get a bite into the metal when applied. Failure to do this can and will lead to problems with paint adhering to the PE regardless of whether it's primed or not. Primer is used primarily to fill minor surface irregularities (which photo etch does not have) and to provide a surface that finish paint can bite. There are no qualities inherent in model primers I am aware of that give a better bite to photo etch in and of themselves. In automotive body applications, we used "self etching" primers on metal bodies before finish paint. This primer actually causes the bite into the metal all on it's own...self etching. But those types of primer are far too harsh for modeling purposes and besides, many modelers would kill themselves using it for not having appropriate respirators/ventilation.
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