king derelict

I wasn't too impressed with the kit after putting all the bits together. After giving it a coat of black primer I think its redeemed itself. It came out quite well So now into (for me) uncharted waters. Chipping and weathering experimentation. These little subs weren't in service too long so I don't know if they would actually show rust but I decided to initially add shades of lighter grey to then chip though the dark grey top coat. So the first variations have been added. Maybe some rust spots around the arms that hold the torpedoes next. I'm also thinking about display options. To me it seems submarines are especially difficult becuase they are out of their element. Maybe some sort of diorama. Thanks for looking in Alan

There is always room for one more. I know the feeling. I have more than enough to keep me building through a few more lifetimes but then along comes something interesting and worse with a sale and I'm lost again. The sub kick is getting to me . I just bought the 1/35 British X Craft. I think I'm slowly creeping towards getting the U-9 too Alan

We are right on the edge of the hurricane force wind predictions as of 5 pm. Mentally coin tossing about dragging the hurricane panels out. Tomorrow's decision I think. Good luck to all Alan

The last few days have been spent adding the last small details and touching up pint. Not really worthy of an update. So; the Berlin Mk10 is almost complete. I added the decals today. I am still sitting the fence about weathering. I don't think they would have got too dirty so I am tempted to add the dull finish and call this one complete. The Mk11 has now got its lockers and kit baskets added and the final small details. There is a little PE to add and the decals still to go. This one can probably be made a little dirty so I'll think about that. Curiosity got the better of me after reading that the 1/72 version of the Takom Chieftain is just a straight scale down of their 1/35 model which seemed to explain the poor fit of some of the parts. I had read that the parts on the sprues were in exactly the same places even. So I bought the 1/35 Mk10 and a satisfyingly heavy box has shown up. The kit is actually extremely different. The packed box has huge parts count. The tracks are all individual link; the PE is very different and there is a lot of detail. As far as I can see the skirts are not bits of PE this time which is a relief. A decent sized instruction booklet is also a plus. I look forward to getting into this one. The box art makes me think that a very light addition of dust to the skirts might be worth a go . That is a nice image. Thanks for looking in Alan

That pigment and wash really make the tyres look good. Some dirty weather coming your way. Stay safe Alan

The wings look very good. Lovely neat model coming together. Great work Alan

Welcome OC. Short but fun I hope Alan

Thanks Greg, I'll be rereading your U-9 weathering details and borrowing shamelessly Alan

Going to be a great build Alan

The spike in energy prices in Europe is very unsettling. I completely understand your concern over the need to conserve. I'm heading over there next month to make sure my 97year old dad is ready winter. His heating comes from an oil fired boiler . No prizes for guessing where the cost of fuel oil has gone. Good luck OC. The diorama will wait until the time is right Alan

Very welcome Mark I knew very little about these German midget subs. They were developed late in the war and had a very limited impact on the outcome. Quiet motors and difficult to detect by Asdic they could have been a menace in the English Channel Alan

You are very welcome Ken. I hope you enjoy it. I think this will be more of a magazine article rather than a full length book but its a chance to try a few paint techniques and maybe a diorama seeing as the build is not going to wear me out. Thanks alan

The Berlin Mk10 work continues with addition of the baskets and lockers along with the detail parts. There are a surprising number of small details including PE. The L7 GP MG is really nicely detailed although painful to assemble. The headlight guards are three small pieces that also challenge patience. The continuing problem of pins being too big to fit holes and lugs too large for recesses continued and rather spoilt the fun of adding all the detail. I should have seen it coming after finding the first problems and drilled and filed everything to fit before painting. It was a challenge getting the parts modified to fit at this late stage and trying not to damage the paint scheme or liberate other parts. The Berlin Mk10 is now complete but needs the gun barrel painting (Mig Khaki paint arriving tomorrow) and then a cear coat before a light wash and decals. So what of the orphan - the poor neglected Mk11? Last seen with its base green paint. I masked up for the matt black part of the paint scheme. Paint applied And masks removed. A little of the paint came off the PE skirts (and the PE skirts came off the hull too) I quite like the black / green scheme. Now details get added to this one and finishing paint details. Thanks for looking in and the likes too Alan

I thought this might make an interesting return to small sea models after Campanula. I was a little disappointed in the part count and the moulding quality is not great Just one sprue of parts. Plastic is quite soft. so it is really going to be a painting exercise. Maybe I can try a little chipping - not done that before. The hull halves have no location / alignment features. I used pins through the three lifting eyes to get it all aligned. There is a considerable ridge between the halves to remove So I have most of the major parts in place and should finish the rest ready for primer. Thanks for looking in Alan

Really nice PE work Craig. It looks great alan

I've used BNA a number of times in the last two years and their service has been very good Alan

Beautiful subtle details and sharing Alan

The rigging and the details look splendid Alan

Great idea, Mike. It will be spectacular. The sun prints look very nice too Alan

Prop looks nicely 3 dimensional. Lovely work. I guess card model parts don't suffer from tweezer launches so much but maybe a draught can wreak havoc Alan

This morning was spent with a major effort air brushing primer onto all the detail parts left on the sprues. touching up I had noticed a bit of an odd smell as i worked but just finished the last parts and the compressor started vibrating and air pressure dropped. Shortly afterwards it gave a lurch and expired. It was my first (cheap) compressor and its been good for four years. I rather think I may have overheated it with the big spraying sessions on the corvette hull. I had thought the motor had a fan but stripping it down this afternoon to see if there was anything obviously fixable (there wasn't) I found it didn't have one. Replacement on order. Then onto touching up the paint scheme and adding the detail parts. I decided it was going to get too confusing to try to air brush them before adding them and figuring out which colour they need to be - and most pieces need just a touch with a brush anyway. The fun part was adding the periscopes around the commanders cupola. Nine tiny pieces to space around the cupola rim. Each piece has a lug to fit into the slot but in keeping with all lugs and slots on this build the lugs are oversize and had to be filed in both thickness and width. Naturally one pinged off into never never land but thankfully there is one spare per tank. The remaining details were added fairly painlessly and will be painted appropriately. The baskets and lockers will be panted before going on the turret. Not much more to do to the hull apart from a bit of light weathering. As a garrison vehicle I can't imagine they were allowed to get very grubby. Thanks for looking in and for the likes and kind comments. I hope everyone has a great weekend Alan

Thank you very much Craig. I was wondering if I could pull it off. I just took advantage of a Takom sale to get the 1/35 Chieftain to see how it compares. Alan

Thank you so much Mike. It was a bit like masking those 1/700 scale destroyer decks. Seemed to go on forever but it actually was easier than I thought it would be. One piece at a time. I was very thankful none of the paint peeled off with the tape. Alan

Thank you very much OC. I really need to up my game and try a 1/35 scale AFV Alan

Really nice job Craig, The railings really set it off. Alan