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drobinson02199

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Everything posted by drobinson02199

  1. drobinson02199
    The deck is built to be removable, in anticipation of R/C requirements. Since this will be a static model, at some point it will be glued down. Regards, David
  2. drobinson02199
    Here's the hull with a bunch of horizontal reinforcing structures added. This eases my mind, because those frame ribs are really "twangy" and not very strong on their own, and a stray elbow would have broken one. Regards, David
  3. drobinson02199
    Here's the first part of the keel and frame structure. This will be the longest model in my collection -- what you see here weighs in at 48" long. Hats off to Amati for the plywood laser cutting. Very few connection points to cut, and they are tiny and easily cut. The frames fit into slots with no sanding required -- in fact, there is enough play in them that I used a square while gluing to keep them aligned. Manual called for wood glue, which would have taken forever given drying time. I used BSI medium gel, which is my go-to glue for everything. Regards, David
  4. drobinson02199
    Thomas -- I got it from Ages of Sail, which is where I buy many of my European kits. I think they are the Amati distributor for the US. Regards, David
  5. drobinson02199
    Time to tackle the Bismarck. I'll start with a version of the traditional "what's in the box?" You can see the finished model on the box as well as two very detailed instruction books with color pictures. Example of detail page shown. The hull and deck are wood, but much of the superstructure is built from plastic parts -- I've shown a sample of how they are packaged (in individual clear plastic envelopes). There probably isn't another material that would be feasible. The box says that there are "2,266 photoetched parts" -- so this will take a while. I don't know if that count includes the plastic parts and it's just sloppy box legend drafting, but there are a lot of plastic parts. The usual things are in the kit: wood strip, photo-etched brass, and laser-cut sheets. Those, interestingly, appear to be made of plywood (I haven't pulled any out of the box yet). That's a shift from other Amati models in the Victory series that I have built that used MDF for the hull and frames. This will also be the longest model I have built at 132 cm. Regards, David
  6. drobinson02199
    Thanks, Bob. I've really enjoyed your "USCG Insider" comments. Next one up, when I get motivated, will be the Amati Bismarck. Regards, David
  7. drobinson02199
    Completed! Last step was to build the little Naiad boat that goes into the rear launch well. Some pics here of that. A full set of completion photos is in the Completed Kit Built Gallery. Regards, David
  8. drobinson02199
    Lots more done. Finished the railings on the main deck and cabin deck. Applied all of the decals, which really spiffs up the ship Applied black striping at the waterline. Now what remains is the little Zodiac boat that fits into the rear well -- and that will be it. Regards, David
  9. drobinson02199
    More deck fittings. The instruction manual says to build the rear railing fixed onto the stern, and then paint it. But my only yellow is spray paint, which I want to match to, so I reverse engineered it to make it removable. See first two pictures. Then painted yellow. Other deck fittings on stern and bow shown below. Regards, David
  10. drobinson02199
    Lots of deck fittings added: Air vents Whip antennas Radar domes, radio antenna, searchlights Inflatable life rafts; rigid life raft Ammo lockers Flag Regards, David
  11. drobinson02199
    Thanks, Bob. That's really interesting stuff. Once I have the model completed and have completion pics, I might give them a call. As a USCG alum, are you thinking about building this one at some point in the future? Regards, David
  12. drobinson02199
    Finished the somewhat complex radar structure. As you can see, it's made up from a combination of styrene tubes and wood dowels. A few construction notes: It's just a bit oversized. That's due to a gap between the instructions and the diagrams. For those who might follow, the thing I didn't do was to resize the basic A-frame (before any bracing) to match the full size template. I cut it to the length specified in the instructions, and that's a bit too long. I then added braces, and only discovered that it was oversized as I got into the detail. Not a big deal. If you follow the instructions, the whole thing would be yellow. But the box art shows the white top, blue radars and silver (e.g. unlit white) sidelights. So I resequenced things to match the box art, which i smore interesting. Regards, David
  13. drobinson02199
    Thanks to Javelin, I got my head screwed on straight and have now fixed the running light positions. Regards, David
  14. drobinson02199
    Thanks, on second look you are absolutely correct. I'll have to repaint. I got my orientation completely screwed up, and I checked and double checked it -- but was just 180 out in my addled brain. Regards, David
  15. drobinson02199
    Pilot house roof installed (and glued on). Pilot house and cabin are still dry-fitted. Regards, David
  16. drobinson02199
    Here's the pilot house with the roof not done yet. Dry-fitted at this point. Regards, David
  17. drobinson02199
    Now back from vacation and back to the model. Painted the cabin and mounted some accessories on the sides. Cabin in pictures is dry-fitted to the main hull at this point. Regards, David
  18. drobinson02199
    For Legion 12: Here's a screenshot of the Amazon page for the tape I mentioned:
  19. drobinson02199
    This will be my last post for a few weeks as I'm headed out for a vacation. I have added most of the details to the cabin. Everything you see will be painted white, and then black fill inside the portholes. I've placed the cabin where it will go on the boat. The main hull is sitting loose on the stand, which will be painted black when construction is done. The top cabin deck will be gray. The long side rails need a support bracket about halfway down. What's not mounted yet are: large vents, painted gray with black fill, and life rings, painted red (the manual wants orange, but I don't have any orange paint and red will do fine). I will tackle the painting when I get back in late September. Regards, David
  20. drobinson02199
    Cabin sides on and something called cabin shields mounted. Next step is to add some detail to the cabin sides. Regards, David
  21. drobinson02199
    Here's the cabin framework. This is upside down, so the cabin roof and deck are lying on the work table. Next step is the cabin sides. Regards, David
  22. drobinson02199
    Finished painting the hull. This is by far the best waterline I've ever done, and I attribute that to some vinyl masking tape I found on Amazon. Instead of piecing Frog tape to follow the line curve, this stuff just flexes to do it. I also used a tip I got from this site, which is to run a bead of varnish down the edge to seal it. I can give anyone who is interested in the product the Amazon reference -- just send me a message. Regards, David
  23. drobinson02199
    Stabilizers mounted. Now it's time to paint the bottom of the hull. Regards, David
  24. drobinson02199
    Finished painting the upper part of the hull white and marked the waterline. Now finishing the bottom fittings before painting the rest of the hull red-brown. An oddity of this kit for someone like me who is building it as a static model (vs. R/C). The rudders and fittings to install them are included in this kit. BUT, the props and shafts are not, although the skegs are. The props are in the "running hardware" accessory kit, which is a cool $134 on top of the $375 I already paid for the model. No way. There's a clear asymmetry in the way parts are supplied with the base kit for a static modeler, and I think I will write Dumas about it. Props and enough to mount them as dummies should be in the base kit. So I went onto Amazon and found some nice brass props for $10 for the pair, used some brass rod from my "spares" supply, and voila . . . what you see. All of this will be painted red-brown so the brass and white skegs will all blend together. Regards, David
  25. drobinson02199
    The main decks are painted and installed. Lots of touch up needed. You can see holes drilled for gooseneck vents -- also had to drill a hawse hole which is just barely visible in this pic. Regards, David

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