reklein

I'm currently building Trumpeters 1-350 Intrepid. The deck requires extensive decaling. I have applied  the base coats and am now ready for decals. Is it recommended to clear gloss coat the whole deck before decaling and then flat coating after? I see a lot of plastic  or any modelers doing that before decals.

Bill

The Charles Martel has a real steam punk look to it.

CDW, I found on Google that the sub was located back in 1955 I think in 17000 feet of water. shes intact on her side . I cant remember stuff well anymore.But I found many articls on her,and a very interesting one telling about the use of the early sonobouys to locate her and sonar guided torpedos to sink her. She as sunk by Navy Avengers on a stormy night..

Must've been tricky to keep from getting tangled.

while on the subject of drill bits how about a word on drill motors. When drilling plastic I have found that a small power screwdriver with a drill chuck is a good way to power your drill. Nice slow speed and plenty of torque. This way you can drill your hole instead of burn or melt it. For this reason I also like to use a coping saw for cutting heavy plastic with out melting it as a power jigsaw would.

While we're on the subject of small drill bits. The ones you find in tubes or small drill indexes are less brittle so unless you use pin vices  you should make sure your drill press chuck will close completely. Some chucks will only close to a couple mm gap. The Dremel tools chucks will close all the way but the drill motor doesnt have much torque at low speeds. So when you drill plastic at high speeds it just melts a hole. For that same reason I like to use a coping saw on plastic rather than a power jigsaw because of the heat generated. Hope this isn't too vague.

I have bought Bits like Ron has pictured and found them to be sharp indeed, however they are very brittle and should only be used in a drill press and not free hand. Products may vary though.

Absolutely brilliant in My book. Great colors and top notch figure work.  Bill

Going back a few pages to your discussion of "the Lords House" I think in the US it would be referred to as a Mansion,for instance the governors mansion or the lawyers mansion.

whitejamest, I have a few 1x6x5ft that I could make some planks for you. I am a private individual with no commercial designs. Just helping out a fellow modeler. Tell me your dimensions and Ill see if I could make this happen. PM me please.

Sand down a sheet to 1mm then rip your strips from that. But being so thin you may be better off stripping them off with a knife and straight edge. Also depending on the species of wood.

Sounds like a great project ,but, tell me is "smockraffled" something like Gob smacked ?

In the states Basswood can also be had in the JoAnn fabric stores and at Michaels craft stores.

The actual ship must've looked like a rag floating on the water with all that rope work. It would be a very flexible hull. Oh well beats swimming I guess. Nice work by the way.  My remark is one of imagining the real ship as portrayed by your excellent model.

When I was a young modeler I thought "there must be a bunch of tricks to make things easier to do to get those kind of results" as I've gotten older I realized that while there are a few things one can do, with ratlines you just have to tough it out. Its what makes these fine models valuable.

I have a hardback copy of Wolfram zu Mondfelds book Historic Ship Models for $15 , and a Paper back copy of C.G. Davis' book The Ship modelers assistant  for $10.  Please PM me.

Postage paid BTW

Huh,,,,,first time Ive seen this method of representing coppering. I will have to keep track of this build. Keep up the good work.

Wall paint is far too heavy bodied for model work. The pigment is too heavy and will cover any detail work. Acrylic craft paint will work  but it too is heavy and the pigment isn't fine enough either. Vallejo acrylics are probably the best you can get these days.

Very nice build,specially for a first timer. You should be proud.

Very nice ship model indeed. The mistakes you have worried about are only visible to you. This model is your reward for not giving up. I'd be very proud.

I'm not a big fan of 5 minute gorilla glue epoxy. Hard to use the double syringe thing,and the glue doesn't set near as quicly as its advertised to. I guess I prefer Locktites I think it it in separate tubes, Back in the 80s and 90s when I was build R/C planes I used a different brand that I was really happy with but cant find it in the hobby shops any longer,and I can't remember the name .

I'd use a fine brass pin with a head already formed on one end. Insert the pin and then flatten the other end by squeezing it in a hefty pair of pliers till it flattens a little. Then orient the part so the flat side is out of sight if possible. Good luck.

Reaaly outstanding project. Nothing else to add really since you've shown us "how its done". Thankyou

I think any end grain joint with any glue should be pre glued so that the glue can penetrate, then a second application to finish the joint. I use a surplus computer fan on my bench to one side to blow fumes away from me when using CA. I rarely apply thin CA directly from the bottle but dip an applicator on a little puddle of glue. DO NOT keep the little puddle under your nose on the bench. I always tap the glue bottle after using to settle any glue left in the nozzle down to the neck. Helps prevent plugs. I use accelerator a lot but I don't use the sprayer. I keep the sprayer loose in the bottle and use the tube as an applicator for just a drop on the joint. I have blocks of wood with holes drilled to accommodate the glue and accelerator bottles from tipping over.

Never mind the controversy, your weathering is logical and realistic. A good background would make it difficult to tell if it were real or not. Besides there is almost no one alive today who knows or remembers what they actually looked like. Greta Job!