king derelict

I just got a package from Hong Kong this afternoon. Four little cases of the YX 1/700 chain. I was expecting some acupuncture needles for moving glue around and opened the bag to find four little plastic cases with apparently nothing in them. A closer look revealed the tiny detailed chain. It is amazing. I had almost written off the order because I had no emails confirming teh order or confirming shipment but here it is in less than two weeks. Looks great and they will be getting more business especially as shipping was entirely reasonable. If the chain is too big for the Penelope it might work for Prince of Wales - and I just got on the Hood bandwaggon and ordered the Flyhawk deluxe kit. Thanks Alan

Hi Mike Thank you for the very kind words. I learning a lot as I go along. I started 1/700 as a trial before investing in 1/350 scale but I really like the 1/700 kits and seem to generally be working down in the destroyer end into the bargain; Penelope is the biggest subject to date. I really like the Flyhawk kits especially the deluxe ones which just need a wooden deck and are then fully set up. I have a number of Flyhawk kits on the shelf and a resin kit from Niko which looks quite good. I agree about the diversity of subject matter. I really like that seaplane tender that Craig (CDQ) recently completed. I may try to copy that but then the shelf of future kits just keeps growing. The diorama is fun but is very much experimental. So far so good though. Your tool tips and their sources have been very helpful in improving my PE so thank you very much for that Alan

Thank You OC. I'm kind of finding my way here but overall I am quite pleased with it so far. More tweaking to come. Alan

The gesso was dry this morning so I started adding the base colours for the mountain sides and the sea. Im using craft acrylics and they are going onto the gesso well. After painting on the bare earth and the rock faces I felt the white snow didn't look like snow; it looked like an unfinished diorama. So I mixed a very pale blue and a dilute wash and started working it into the white. While the paint was drying I made up the display case. I haven't found a cost effective case source so I have been buying the acrylic sheets from TAP Plastics who custom cut the sheets at a reasonable cost and have a very fast cutting and delivery time. Mine was shipped the day after I ordered it. They have a great range of thicknesses and colours too. The acrylic cement has the viscosity of water and they recommend using a syringe to run it down the joints and it will wick into the joint by capillary action. I find there is a risk of drops marring the panels so I use a brush. It takes longer but I have more control. The corner vices are indispensable. The finished product is basic but they work well for me. The dimensions allow them to be stacked and they fit in the deep shelves of my bookcases. I gave it a trial fit over the diorama and it fits nicely So back to the dry diorama. I thought the snow wash was too blue so I added a very dilute black wash which gave a result I liked. I dry brushed black into the channel of the waterfall and the cliff faces. I darkened the base colour of the barren snow free areas and then dry brushed a lighter colour over them. I'm still not happy with those area and will try some more washes. At 1/700 scale I am a bit nervous of adding textures than would rapidly get out of scale. I plan to dry brush some white back over the snow and in patches on the bare areas and the cliff face. I think a few iterations may be necessary before it looks good. Its fun but its a lot harder than I expected. I have a lot to learn from the masters. Thanks for looking in Alan

This fascinates me. 3D printing and Flower class corvettes. It combines two areas in interested in. I've been contemplating going down the 3D print rabbit hole and this may be the push I need. I've wanted to build a corvette too so I'll be following closely. Alan

Great Stuff OC, well deserved praise too.

Today I thought the Sculptamold felt completely dry so I brushed on a layer of white gesso to seal the Sculptamold and improve the surface finish. The web is varied in opinion for the drying time of gesso so I'll review in twenty-four hours. In the meantime the acrylic sheets for the display case have arrived so that will be started. Thanks Alan

Its been a paint-and-wait day on all fronts. I sprayed the 507A dark grey paint onto the decks and now will wait twenty-four hours for the paint to harden before starting the masking marathon Thanks Alan

I finished adding the last elements of the PE to the hull. One of the drivers hatch handles disappeared while I was cutting it from the fret and I can't find it so a scratch one was made from 0.2 mm brass wire. I have sprayed grey primer onto the assemblies and will now wait twenty-four hours before starting the paint scheme. Thanks Alan

Thanks Patrick I only planned to make start building a few hull pieces but one thing led to another. Alan

Thanks Andy The 20 no guns look very fiddly. I'm trying with using a couple of spare Flyhawk plastic ones and adding the brass shields from the IBG PE . But that's ducking the challenge Alan

I just dropped one of the PE grab handles on the Renault. Did the whole retrieval routine with flashlight and dustbuster. Nothing so I've made one up from 0.2 mm brass wire. The utility room / work space is the cleanest room in the house Alan

Thanks Patrick, I had seen it referred to as a skid plate and was theorizing that it was to reduce the risk of the tank rolling over backwards on a steep climb. Alan

Great news. I don't like those things at all Alan

Your PE work is so neat and sharp. Very impressive. Tampa looks like getting a close brush from Elsa. I hope the power stays on and you escape damage. Alan

Individual links and rollers sounds daunting but I bet it helps understand the mechanics better. I've got to think bigger and try a 1/350 ship and a 1/35 AFV but I do like the tiny world and it delays the display issue creeping up on me Alan

With the Penelope diorama on hold while the Sculptamold dries and the Kujawiak waiting for primer to dry I thought I would investigate the contents of the Flyhawk Renault FT17 box a little more closely. Somehow a few hours passed and progress is being made. The hull was straightforward to build up with everything fitting well. The detail is very crisp and impressive. Some nice PR parts complete the details. The track and drive wheel assembly had me reading the instructions and playing with the parts several times to ensure the assembly was correct. Its not obvious in the photo but the little chain drive in the top left is a folded PE part and is going to be invisible in the final assembly. The sprocket wheel and the front wheel are specific to the variant being built. The hull needs some more PE adding which will make it quite delicate. I may wait until painting of the major assemblies is complete and the tracks are added. The turret and tracks are completed as far as being ready for priming Thanks for looking Alan

That is a great image. Many Thanks Patrick. The Spanish Moroccan paint scheme is going to be my first type to build. Do you know what that structure at the back is (where the chains are)? Thanks again Alan

This is great information Egilman. I really appreciate the help. With your input and Patrick's it lifts this from being a kit build into a historical learning experience which I really enjoy. I have found that dues to over enthusiasm on Ebay I have bought this kit twice so I have the ability to make four of the six variants. With the Penelope diorama drying and paint going on in sequence on Kujawiak I have made a start on an FT17 so a new build log is up Many Thanks again Alan

Great picture Patrick. Many Thanks Crewing FT17s doesn't look like duty for claustrophobics but I suppose that is true of all tanks. Alan

The Penelope diorama is still drying so I made a little more progress on the Kujawiak. Fiddly stuff. I cut off the barrels of the four inch guns and replaced them with brass ones. I think it looks a lot better compared with the basic kit parts. Then on to the mast. The reference book was used to obtain the correct height and rake of the mast and the width of the yards. I used 0.5 mm brass rod and soldered the assembly. I'm finally getting a bit neater with the soldering iron so I think the new mast is acceptable. It may be still a little overscale but it is pretty close and better than the original. The work so far has now been sprayed with black primer. The parts on the sprue are disappearing fast. Hopefully I will get teh dark grey decks painted tomorrow. Thanks for looking Alan

Thank You OC. The IBG PE is nicely made and apart from the Oerlikons is relatively straightforward. I think a breakthrough for me was to to think out the folding process and use some tools to help instead of going at it "freestyle". That little aluminium block with grooves is great for getting decent curved sections. Alan

Craig Looks like this one is going to be yours. Good luck, stay safe and I hope the power stays on. Alan

In between throwing Sculptamold around the Penelope diorama I made a start on this little Hunt Class destroyer. The hull and decks went together very nicely. The plastic is not as fine as the Flyhawk stuff, softer and parts are generally thicker but so far its all matching the Kujawiak drawings I have. The first PE has been added, The railing around the searchlight platform was a bit fiddly but the fold lines in the PE work well and I really like the little grooved tool for curving PE (I use drill bits of various sizes with it). The PE is nice to work with so far. I have my doubts about teh Oerlikon guns though. The instructions are nicely presented using 3D models to illustrate the work Next I plan to add the brass barrels to the four inch guns and the primer. Thanks for looking. Alan

I mixed up some Sculptamold and smoothed it over the foam contours to develop the fjord landscape. This was my first acquaintance with Sculptamold and I found it harder to use than I expected. It is a mix of plaster, clay and finely shredded paper so it has properties of Papier Mache and plaster. It is quite lightweight and adheres well to most things. I found it has quite a fibrous appearance although I have seen notes claiming a glass smooth finish is possible. I embedded the plaster "rocks" made earlier and blended them in with some of the Sculptamold. I Sculptamold instructions state that the mixed compound remains workable for about thirty minutes. Videos I have watched said twenty to twenty-five minutes but I barely got ten minutes. It allowed me to get the first cut at the landform but barely It occurred to me that water from the cold tap is not truly cold this time of year in Florida and working in the garage is also a warm environment and these factors might be shortening the cure time so I mixed a second batch to finish the landscape using water from the refrigerator and working in the house (ahem). The mix was unusable in fifteen minutes but I got the last parts done to my satisfaction. I read a wide range of statements about curing time; from 2 hours to 48 hours. Its still damp to the touch so I think at least twenty-four hours before i put a layer of white gesso over everything and see if I like it before painting.