lmagna

Some painting 
Jim

It's definitely bigger than the bismarck! 

 

Here's one Pre my RN Service, although I think anyone who was in the 'Far Flung' in the 60/70's  will be familiar with this view of Hong Kong 
The ship is 'Bendoran', I was there on her sister 'Benmacduhi'. This one is for a fellow Merchant Navy Association member who served on her.
W/C  about 16" X 10"
Jim

so, i have not been skylarking, been , want to say planking but that just doesnt sound right for a destroyer, so been plating the hull, one coat of epoxy and a light sanding so far... taken 40  1/16x3x18 sheets of basswood  did, however, discover a talent for a new avocation in my off time,,,,,quilting!!!!!

Looks great, Rusty.   As for the desk.. old quote:  "A clean desk is the sign of a sick mind".   I abide by it.

beads?.....only folks using beads,  are those either fastening yards to masts,  or making antenna wire insulators.  in my experience.......it's a matter of taste whether or not a modeler is satisfied with using the plastic parts found in wood model kits.  there are some that will build a kit out of the box,  using all of the supplied components of the kit.  on the other hand,  you have those who want to build a model that better represents the actual subject,  and find that some of the supplied parts will not suffice.   there are some that will even substitute the wood itself to achieve the overall look of the finished model.   I myself have a problem.....not with the plastic parts per say,  but the plastic they are made of.  Billing's for example does not use a styrene plastic,  but a plastic that is denser and fairly resilient to most cements.   aside from resorting to the use of a two stage epoxy,  I have yet to find a suitable cement for it.   plastic in a wood kit also has to have a purpose,  and fit or enhance the overall look of the model.
     modeling has many mediums......plastic,  wood,  and diecast........there are others,  but they don't fit the type of modeling we do.   I have encountered only a few plastic models that actually had wooden parts supplied in them...and those are older car kits.  plastic differs from wood for one major reason......exactness of scale.
    plastic models are made from molds,  which are tooled to the scale specified.  wood models don't have that option.......the wood is laser cut to the specific scale,  but it's the fitting that give the kit it's shortcomings.  I guess it would depend on the quality of the kit,  as to how exact to scale the fittings are.  I've seen some that look good.......others,  well.....not so much.  tackle along the lines of blocks and dead eyes should be wood....in wood kits,  and not plastic.   this is something that expanded through the years of wood model kit production,  as a means to cut cost.   I don't mind them,  but I'll only use them for fishing boats.....there is SOME detail value to them.
 
all this goes back to what I said in the beginning....everyone has a preference.  what I like may not be something you like.......I get that.   so before this gets too off topic,  we'll end it here.  I think we know what we all like or don't like about model kits.  we do the best with what's available to us  
 
 

Thank you Chris, you never know, I'm always looking fo events to paint.  Size, Tourist was about as big as I do, it was Acrylic on stretched canvas (24" X 13")  I don't do the bigger one so much as they are a nuisance to store. Now I mostly use Watercolour on A3 pads about 16" X 10" . I usually leave then in the pad, much easier to store.
Ambush!
Fairmile C class MGBs waiting for the morning mist to clear
Jim
   

Empire Tourist was returning from Russia in Concoy RA 57. She was torpedoed by U703, her cargo consisted of timber and coal, which may have helped in the survival of her entire crew. The survivors were picked up by HMS Gleaner while the destroyer HMS Milne hunted the U-boat. L to R Destroyer Milne, Liberty Ship Philip Livingston, Empire Tourist, HMS Gleaner,with other convoy ships in the distance, including the Escort carrier HMS Chaser.
Jim

Slog, the barrels are right to the end of the "scallops" in the middle of the breech block, which I assumed was correct. To get them in any further I'd have to take a bit off the end of the barrel. That's not a problem, but I'll check the dimensions which are almost non-existent .
 
EDIT - after taking another look at the barrels I found a tiny step which must have been the point at which I should have cut the end off. There's a large piece to take off anyway - this would have been the bit that was fixed into the lathe chuck, I just picked the wrong step. I won't be doing anything about the two guns I've already made, as removing the barrels would mean virtually destroying the whole lot. I can live with these two, I'll change the other 10.
 
Thanks for the comments guys, and also those who hit the "Like" button .
 
  Danny

Thanks again Popeye .
 
There are two 20mm Guns on the aft funnel platform, so I thought I'd have a go at making them. These are the smallest guns on the ship, so if they came out OK the rest of them should (theoretically ) be easier. They are also the smallest guns I've ever made - the barrels are 9mm long, to give you some idea of the size. Here's the PE card of them all, there are 12 guns in total, and each has 34 parts :

 
I started by rolling the support base into a cone and CA gluing it to the base :

 
Next is a rack to hold four spare magazines. Each magazine is made from 3 pieces, and there is a triangular divider between each of them :

 
I didn't take any more pics of further sub-assemblies until I'd finished them. Some of the pieces were a bit tricky to get right, but they didn't turn out too bad. The Breech comes in 5 pieces to make up the thickness, the 3 middle ones have a scallop in them to accept the barrel. The barrel itself came with the set of CNC lathe-turned barrels. It's amazing how small and accurate they can make things like that these days :



 
Here's a pic to give a sense of scale. The Australian 5c coin is 19mm in diameter :

 
There is a spent cartridge collector basket which is supposed to be fitted to the side opposite the magazine. I found out I'd actually fitted the stock and barrel back-to-front, so I can't fit the basket to these two guns. Something to watch out for on the rest of them :

 
Here's one of the guns after painting - quite acceptable, and further ones should turn out even better as I've worked out a few tricks on how to work with the PE :

 
  Danny

HMS Nairana and the Corvette HMCS Rosthern. On convoy escort. Landing on was never easy in the Northern Oceans.
W/C 12 X 9 inches

Thx for all the likes...the plating is complete..not perfect, i'm content with it though, not as easy as I thought it would be that's for sure, took me longer then I would have thought as well....but here it is for your perusal ...next step will be to paint the upper hull, then I got to figure where the heck I left off to knock the plating off in a 'couple days'...

 

Just a quick update ...the upper hull took quite a beating during the foiling process, which I did not realize until I hit it with a coat of paint...so out came the filler putty and sandpaper...so the fill,sand, prime process commenced.   I use a gray automotive grade primer for the fill steps and once smooth switch to a flat white primer, a couple coats and she's ready for the top coats.  That won't be happening right away as I want to finish dressing out the sponsons first Pics follow

Special Update! Since the ship is done I now need to work on the filling the flight deck. With all the detail I added to the ship, it only makes sense to continue with details.
I ordered the Tilly crane from BaconFist on Shapeways (3D printed accessoriesfor Nimitz Class carriers)
 
And here it is after 9.5 hours of detailing.
 
 

There is light at the end of the flight deck! The ship is basically done. The only two things left to do is to add the screw (props) once it is mounted on the display base and put the flag on it. I did not like how the flat decal flag looked. I do have some ideas on how to make the flag look more realistic. If you have any tips or tricks on making 1/350 scale flags look realistic, please let me know.
For now I will be working on the rest of the aircraft for the flight  deck, the deck tractors, and the Tilly crane. I purchased the Tilly from BaconFist at Shapeways and am working on detailing it now. The last two pictures are the boxes of aircraft left to build and the Tilly crane without detailing.
I am not the best photographer and due to the lighting it is difficult getting a good picture with the compact digital camera. I do plan on having professional pictures taken once it is complete.
 
 

UPDATE: Was informed that the radar tower behind the island is in the wrong position. After some quick research, I have confirmed that Trumpeter has the radar tower in the wrong spot. The tower should be located at the very edge of the flight deck. This is for all Nimitz class carriers. The Nimitz 1975 cruise book clearly shows the tower at the edge.
I have relocated the tower.
 

The radar tower is done, The raft canisters, whip antenna's and starboard forward tower (scratch built) are done. Just need to add the whip antenna's and raft canisters to the port side and the anchors. This will basically complete the ship (screws will be put on after the ship is mounted to the display base). All that is left is 56 aircraft, deck tractors, Tilly crane, and the display case.
 

Completed all the rigging on the island. I used EZ Line thin. It works great! Also start the radar tower. This is all photoetch (from White Ensign)  Just need to build the antenna and then mount it to the deck.
 

The island detailing is next. I used Shapeways Mk. 95 NSSM's and modifed the masts to the Vinson configuration. The mast still needs to be tweeked and aligned which will be done when the rigging is installed.
 
That should now bring everyone up to date on the project. Typically I update every weekend. I am working on the rigging now then the radar tower that sits behind the island. Still need to do the whip antenna's around the flight deck and the life raft canisters. Then building many aircraft, deck tractors, and the tilly crane. I hope you have enjoyed my progress and continue to watch the build.
 
While I have posted many photos of the progress, There are many more photo's of this build in my build album on Flickr. You can view them at https://www.flickr.com/photos/128642409@N05/albums/72157687002588814
 
 
Thanks!

The catwalk hose reels were made. The landing wires were installed using EZ Line and the flight deck was weathered. I used black, gray, and brown pastel chalk. I first took the brown and using a balled up paper towel I rubbed the chalk on the jet blast deflectors and the area between the catapults and JBD's. I then used same method and did the area's outside the brown areas and down each side of the catapults.

I then used the same method but went over the center of the JBD's and catapults with black. The then made blotches and stains around the entire flight deck. I made a large area around landing wire #3 (This is the wire that the pilots aim for as the perfect landing wire to catch). On this large area I then used eye makeup foam pads and made streaks with black and gray to represent where the aircraft touched down. Mostly near the center of the runway and extending from wire 1 to wire 4 in a diamond pattern centered on wire 3. Finally taking a makeup blush brush I brushed the surface of the flight deck from bow to stern to blend the colors and remove any excess chalk powder. It then gets a dusted spray of matte clear coat 3 times allowing each coat to dry. Then a final coat to seal it all. The dusted coats are required because if you spray a seal coat, it will pick up some chalk and give it weird streaks.

More detail painting and decals for the flight deck. All catwalks and safety nets painted. The padeyes were not painted. I actually used a Prismacolor soft lead pencil to color them then ran a pink eraser across the deck to make them look painted.

The photoetch catwalks and safety netting was installed and the Veteran Models CIWS were built and installed.

I then routed all the wiring and fiber optic lines that were being mounted under the hangar bay deck. Verified the lighting and installed the lower hull.

Finally the E-2C's of VAW-114. This completes all 26 aircraft on the hangar bay. All the other aircraft will be on the flight deck.

Here are the A-6E's from VA-52. The hangar bay is filling up.