aliluke
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Matt Clear Coat
aliluke replied to aliluke's topic in Painting, finishing and weathering products and techniques
Thanks John! Never heard of it and you can get it in NZ which is a miracle. Will give it a go. Cheers, Alistair -
Matt Clear Coat
aliluke posted a topic in Painting, finishing and weathering products and techniques
Hi Can anyone recommend a brand of matt clear coat - acrylic or enamel - that actually dries matt? Everything I use ends up drying semi-gloss even when I stir up the sludge from the bottom of the bottle or can. It drives me nuts! -
Thanks Chris, Allan & Whitejamest and thanks for the likes Allan - the planks are 2mm x 0.6mm
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My mum went out that morning to bring in very less than dry washing. Just as she got inside a large tree crashed down onto the steps to our washing line. Seconds earlier it could have killed her. Wind in Wellington can be extreme but that day was the most extreme. Funnily enough, in recent weeks it has been calm as a millpond. Breathless. But back to your model - I am fascinated now how it will play out...
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Hi I have achieved my slightly absurd, self, challenge of planking the VM 26' foot launch without resorting to stealers, infill planks or any fillers. Strangely I get wood striping even though all of the planks came off the same sheet and were always orientating outwards on one side. It doesn't really matter but is odd and I can still elect to paint. The keel has some variant colours too - but that is also okay with me. Of course there are some air gaps and you couldn't float this boat but it isn't a bathtub toy! The shell is eggshell fragile and I have yet to sand inside. A tricky but very cool little kit. I did the last plank in three sections on both sides (it's the third one up from the keel) - it was a killer to fit. Otherwise all planks run full length. When I finish it, I'll get back to the main subject = Fly.
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That's incredible. It is only my memory that tells me it was 135 mph measured on the top of Mt Kaukau. 275 kph - 170 mph! No wonder then that pine trees were flying through the air up there. And you are right HOF - I didn't know that. I had a look at NIWA data: https://hwe.niwa.co.nz/event/April_1968_New_Zealand_Ex-tropical_Cyclone_Giselle
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Hi Richard I'm a late comer to your log. Your model of Wahine is extraordinary - in scale, research, detail and results. I can't offer anything to you on how you do this - way beyond my modeling skills! I was eight years old when the Wahine Storm struck. I remember it vividly from our home in the northern suburbs, watching trees flying through the air on the ridges of Mt Kaukau and listening to pine cones slamming into and smashing our tile roof. Two days later we went down to Fort Dorset to look at the wreck. I was excited about that but when we got there I remember the actual terror of seeing Wahine lying on her side so very close to shore. I was shaken. I had never been on Wahine but, as a younger boy, had done several trips with my mum and brother on T.E.V Maori - Wellington - Lyttleton - Wellington. We'd always got E Deck as it was on the waterline and much cheaper for the swishing noise of water keeping you awake. I loved that. Maori was also a very beautiful ship. My grandmother was booked for the 10 April crossing on Wahine but had to cancel for reasons that I forget. I doubt she would have survived that. She came up to Wellington on Wahine's replacement, Rangatira, for a while afterwards until air travel killed the route for good. I have crossed Cook Strait many, many times. Starting in Aramoana and then Awanui and lately in their new fleet plus on Bluebridge. The earlier trips on Aramoana/Aranui where often epic as safety was less of a concern then than it is now. I've crossed in monster seas on Aramoana where the propellers came out of the water as the ship dived into a trough. Luckily I am immune from seasickness and the rougher it got the better it was for me and that holds true even now. The Wahine Storm was not cyclonic. It was a collision of two fronts from the north and south that caught the meteorologists completely off-guard. I read a few years ago that even with current computer modelling, the way this storm behaved could not have been predicted by computers. Wind speeds hit 135mph but it wasn't a cyclone. I'm sure you know of Dan Flannery's diorama of the Wahine capsize which is displayed in The Wellington Museum. https://www.shipsnostalgia.com/media/wahine-model.138970/ I am fortunate to own one of his dioramas in a case - a Norwegian whaler with a surfacing whale alongside - that I picked up on Trademe for a pathetically cheap price. His models were/are incredible. Anyway, that diverts from your project which I'll now follow. The size of your model is amazing! Cheers A
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Hi Mustafa I have just reeled back through your log having had a look at a while ago. Truly spectacular work in all regards and a great reference for those (like me) who will be taking on the 1/64 kit VM version of Alert. Your model is a brilliant rendition of this very fine wee ship!
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Hi B.E. I'd be honoured if you used my copper aging method! I won't offer to come around and help though - it is a technique best done in private...😏 Cheers A
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Thanks for dropping in Jason. As said in your log, Jason is an example of superb model making - I'll keep watching progress on that project in awe of your skills.
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Wow! Yet another temptation. The speed with which you design and trial your stunning kits is just incredible.
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Thanks Allan - very nice drawings and I'll refer back to them when I get on to the pinnace. Thanks whitejamest - the funny thing is that after posting and boasting about not breaking a plank while tapering them, I immediately broke a plank while...tapering. At least I have met my contractual obligation!
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Hi Don Apologies for dredging this log back up from the depths of time. It is a stunning model and perfectly built by you - so much so , in both cases, that I am buying one from Zoran. Cheers A
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Hi Been mucking around in the background making a VM 26' launch. My target boat for Fly is the 28' pinnace but the launch is a practice kit and just might do - we'll see. I challenged myself to do it without stealers or infill planks so that I could leave it natural if I chose so. That has worked out so far. These are really amazing little kits but very fiddly. Two planks to go on the port side, three on starboard. Lots of sanding to come... My plank bending device - a four hands magnetic table by Weller So what could go wrong with this kit? These photos are from the instructions The very narrow junction on this part is bound to break - and break it I did while beveling it. Determined not to do it again...I did it again. An easy fix with white glue. I decided not to insert the stern board before doing the beveling as I could see myself whacking it with a stray stroke and taking out the sternpost with it. I can't prove that that happened because of my caution but a later insertion, after the hardcore bevel seems wise. Other thoughts on this tiny kit to date? - The turn in of the planks to the bow is much more severe than you suspect at first - Tapering planks at 2.0mm x 0.6mm with a knife cut is too dangerous for me - the knife would swerve off and take out the plank or some part of my finger. I tapered them by sanding only. - Edge bending is probably necessary but given the tiny size of the planks you can contort them, against their will, while gluing them down. Once bent and tapered, I just glued them down with gentle hand clamping - The pear wood is very strong even at very thin widths. It took a while to get this and, for tapering with sandpaper, you can be quite aggressive. I broke one plank by another accident but none by sanding. - My method of running the planks full length without stealers and infills seemed to take a toll on the kit provided planks - 26 in total. My hull has 24 planks with two more needed for the wales and two more for the final upper works. Somehow I completely lost a plank so I'm at least three short. Very kindly, VM is, no questions asked, going to send me a new billet of planks. I'll post the finished outcome when I get there! Cheers, with apologies for the crappy photos... A
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That is seriously cool! I've even changed my mind about the 'green' and like it now in the overall scheme. Grecian goes on my wish list from now on! Cheers, Alistair
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Hi Jason Just re-found this log and seems I posted on it way back in 2014 when you found a bowed frame. After a long hibernation from MSW, I return to find a stunning outcome to date. Absolutely superb model making - so very crisp and well detailed. No part of my Fly model would stand that level of macro photography and very few other kit models here would either. It looks 1:1. Thanks for sharing! I'll keep up from now on. A quick question - what diameter is your anchor cable? I'm guessing it is Syren rope? The answer may already be in your log...
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I will post pictures when I get towards completion - so far any pictures would look just like the instructions excepting for a couple breakages! And adding masts and sails, as brilliant as yours look, is completely beyond me. @James - a dozen!? - no thanks - two will do!
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That is a very dedicated redo. Will have to look at my gun carriages now and see if I got that wrong too - I'm not redoing them though even if I did! One little add I did for this and other parts was adding 0.7mm brass rivets - with the head painted black. You can see them on my Fly log. I got them from https://model-motorcars.myshopify.com/collections/small-parts-hardware I see the 0.7mm are sold out though. There is lots of other nifty stuff in their hardware offerings.
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Whatever the correct historical details , the result you have reached is stunning. I've just got the first strake fixed on the VM 26' launch and these are very fiddly little (but fun) kits. You have done an amazing job of your yawl and it is to be aspired to. Absolutely brilliant work! A
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I have been following without comment to date. It is a stunning ship and an unusual subject with its shallow bow and deep stern and raffish look. Extremely well done! And model ship builders should be interested in the variety that this model adds. The green hurts my eyes but I think that's because the reds of the English ships is steeped into my mind. USS Constitution has that green but I still struggle with it, even if historically accurate. But no matter - I am fascinated to see how this plays out which I'm sure will be very well! cheers A
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Those are pretty cool little tools - are they too harsh to use on wood? How long do they last?
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Yep Maurice, I have to get you down to New Zealand to do my first planking too and build me a building board while you are here! Wonderful work on both as usual and your innovations are very clever. Cheers, Alistair
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Soft pencil (A "B" lead - I think - it was a while ago) applied to both edges. Cheers A
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Fascinating idea. I look forward to the results! I used holly on the decks for my Fly model which I have recently restarted after eight years. It does yellow a bit over time but that's to its favour. Holly is a beautiful timber and, if you pull this off - which looks extremely likely, then it'll make for a great rendition of the AVS. Cheers, Alistair
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Looking really good. I trust with all this effort that the hull be clear finished. A
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