king derelict

Thanks Jack The Woodland Scenics moulds look very useful; the crumpled foil moulds are a bit hit and miss as to how they turn out. Woodland Scenics seems another huge source of diorama material. Have you ever used Sculptamold ? I used it for the first time and I'm not sure how long it takes to dry. Thanks Alan

Thanks Lou; I think the Renault will be next up. It looks like I won't be subjected to individual track links this time. I need to read up a bit more as the Renault 17 spans a period 1917 - 1945 or possibly later with a wide range of operators from France through the US to Brazil Alan

As HMS Penelope approaches completion I decided to work on something simpler before starting another Flyhawk kit heavy on PE and fine detail. So this is the IBG 1/700 Hunt class destroyer Kujawiak. The box is a lot emptier than the Flyhawk kits but there is a small PE fret which has all the railings and inclined ladders. It also has some very intricate pieces to fold into the 20mm Oerlikons that look like they will be a challenge. Luckily there are spares in the fret. Its a waterline model; no lower hull is provided. The plastic is quite soft but there is nice detail on the hull and superstructure. The four inch gun barrels are rather poor and the injection points may be difficult to clean up. I plan to replace the barrels with brass ones. The mast is very nasty and I hope to replace it using brass rod. I found a great book about the Hunts in Polish service. Very informative with a lot of photographs and a final chapter covering the modern times location of the wreck of the Kujawiak (sunk in 1942 off Malta) and the recovery of the ships bell. The book is written in Polish and English with each language in a separate column on each page. The book comes with two sets of prints for each of the four ships; one in 1/200 and then in 1/350 scale. Very nicely drawn The back of the book comprises four sections of 3D computer images generated by the authors, one for each ship. A lot of detail is shown. They also confirm the IBG paint scheme. So the plan is to add brass gun barrels and mast and use the book as a reference to add some of the left over deck hardware from Penelope. The IBG bridge in particular looks very bare. The quad pompom is quite good but I think the Flyhawk one is nicer. Painting the camouflage should be a challenge in masking. Thanks for looking Alan

I decided I needed some rocky texture to add to the cliffs and steep parts of the mountains. All the real stuff in the garden is rounded and waterworn so I resorted to making some. I lined a small box with crumpled kitchen foil and poured in some Plaster of Paris. Its out of the mould now and looks quite good. I made a second thinner cast. Once it has dried and cured the plan is to break it up and use it in pieces embedded in the Scupltamold compound. A messy day I suspect. A fit check with the display case suggests all is well so far. Alan

Thank you Mark. I hope its all going to come together well Alan

You were very successful. The brickwork looks completely real Alan

Thank you for the kind comments Lou. I'm learning about the Armour world too. I hadn't realized that there were these small, two man infantry tanks armed with machine guns. I have a couple of Renault tanks that look about the same size and the Panzer II which I think is a similar size too. I am thinking of building a Tiger or similar large battle tank to provide a comparison Its great to see the expanding range of AFVs having really only been aware of Shermans, Panthers and Tigers, T-34s and Churchills. After reading Colin Forbes Tramp in Armour" I would like to try a Matilda at some point. Thanks Again Alan

The brickwork is beautiful. Very masterful painting. Alan

Thats very fine delicate work. Excellent Alan

A by product of your plan for using the PVA mix to seal the MDF might seal the smell in. I assume the laser was used to make the brick details etc. Light sanding on the ends of the boards and sealing them too might be a good thing too as long as it doesn't spoil the joints. Good Luck Alan

So now to try to recreate a 1/700 bit of a Norwegian Fjord. Please let me know if it is not acceptable to continue with this in the current thread or whether it should be moved. I hope the later posts will reintroduce HMS Penelope on the diorama with details like anchor chains added and possibly tenders out and about. The base is a 20 x 11 inch piece of extruded polystyrene which should fit the display box I have ordered. Further pieces from the sheet were cut to form the basic shape of the mountains. I used Weldbond glue to stick them in place and that seems to have created a good bond. Cocktail sticks were used to hold it all together while the glue dried. After 24 hours to let the glue set well I started carving the basic shapes to suit my idea of the terrain. The extruded polystyrene carves much better than expanded polystyrene but the blades on scalpels and hobby knives are not really long enough to make the cuts I wanted. Oh My! Is that a kitchen knife I see there? It has a very fine serrated and slightly flexible blade and it went through the foam very easily. Hopefully it will still do the same with tomatoes The ravine at centre will be a frozen waterfall I hope. After the tense breath holding working on tiny PE this is very relaxing for the muscles. I have an overall idea of what I want but teh details are being developed on the fly. Happy 4th July Weekend for some and Euro 2020 quarterfinals for others Alan

Thank you Popeye. I learnt a lot building this one. PE forming is an art all on its own. I think having better tools helped a lot on this build; using shorter runs of railing and generally using Gators Grip glue instead of CA. The last few details will be completed on the diorama.

Thank you OC. I feel I didn't overdo it this time and I like the result. There is a lot to learn there. Alan

Thank you Jack. Your AFV models are spectacular so your praise means a lot Alan

The PVA sealer sounds like a good idea. MDF soaks up water and paint. The PVA should give a bit more control. Its going to look very nice. Alan

Today I painted the last details, the shovel and the axe and touched up a few areas that needed attention. Then the weathering! I used the Steel paint from the Bare Metal Oilbrusher set I used very small amounts where I thought there might be significant wear. and then washed it to thin the effect. I used the AV Vallejo Rust, Stain and Streaking set for rust. I kept it to limited areas, mostly the corners of the track guards that might have got beaten up in training. I used the darker colours to get a deep, paint chipping effect and surrounded it with the light rust colour which I washed out with a wet brush. I added a light rust wash to the wheel centres and also brushed a small amount over the bare steel effects which produced a result that I like. I'm not sure if the decal on the hatches was necessary, the information is limited I think this is finished. I hope you like it. Thanks for looking and responding Alan

I'm sure it will be easier to work on the details if each wall is flat. The exposed brickwork looks very well done. Do you plan to add any texture when you paint? Alan

Thanks for the great comment Craig I have enjoyed this one a lot. Alan

Thanks Mark The tracks were harder than I expected but they do look good. Alan

Thanks OC, its a very nice kit. I will try one of the Renault tanks next I think

It looks like a very nice kit. I'm sure you will build it into something great Alan

Craig. Thank you; that means a lot. There are some of your invaluable tips incorporated into this model \. Its been a challenge but its also been great fun and it has boosted my confidence for The Prince Of Wales when it shows up. The wooden decks showed up yesterday along with a very fine metal anchor chain that might get commandeered for Penelope. Thanks Alan

And I forgot to add the photos to last nights update. My apologies Now off to do some experiments with the Oilbrushers Alan

Congratulations OC. She looks very tidy now. I want to try a modern ship. I have a 1/700 HMS Montrose and would like to build her as the the Black Duke; HMS Monmouth if possible Alan

The major task of the day was to complete the tracks by using the single links to bridge round the drive sprocket and the rear wheel. The detail of the single tracks is very impressive and they assemble very nicely on a flat surface. Unfortunately I found them very difficult to build up around the curvature of the wheel. The sprocket wasn't so bad because the teeth held the link in place and ensured the spacing. The rear wheel was more difficult ; the links didn't seem to like the radius and wouldn't lay up next to each other. I tried assembly a section on the bench and folding it around the wheel while the glue was soft but it still fell apart once the radius was tightened. Eventually I laid one link at a time and let the glue set before adding the next and got a reasonable result. It certainly looks better than the Airfix Churchill I built about 55 years ago. It had the elasticated tracks that you were supposed to fuse together with a hot knife blade. The track guards were installed and the details added. I put the turret in place - its a lot safer there; with the PE grab handles there are very few places that you can hold the turret. I put a couple of very thin black washes on to bring out the wheel details and panel lines. Next is the weathering. From Patricks notes this was mainly a training asset and I can't imagine any Prussian training establishment allowing their equipment to get too squalid. I do want to try the Mig Oilbrushers and see what i can do though. Thanks for looking Alan