king derelict

Thank you OC. It feels like learning all over again. The airbrush is sulking after being ignored for a year. Alan

Welcome Andrew. Its strange to be abusing plastic again Alan

Well, its been a slow start after completing the Loarre castle. Cleaning a years worth of sanding dust off the work bench and pretty much everything else in the garage took some time. Then its been difficult deciding where to start again. I had lots of ideas and several boxes were opened and put away again. I wanted to build a ship but also wanted something relatively short but interesting with some PE to rehabilitate myself. The final choice was the Mirage Flower Class corvettes The initial choice was HMS Zinnia and I got as far as assembling the hull before realising this was a relatively early Flower and didn't have the later style bridge so down came HMS Spirea and I started again. Mirage make four Flower kits and it looks like they all share the same hull but have different decks, superstructure and details. Zinnia was an early Flower but I can't determine whether she should have had a short forecastle or not. I think its just about possible she could have been built to the long forecastle standard. She was commissioned in April 1941 and sunk in August 1941 so she certainly was never refitted The kits look quite good although there are some annoying placements of the sprue gates on the hull halves requiring some clean up before the deck can be fitted. Curiously Zinnias hull was horrible to fit together and adding the aft deck was even worse. Spirea was much better and only a tiny mount of putty was needed to smooth it out. Otherwise there are some lovely delicate details like the galley stove pipe and some clunky parts too. I am planning to use the White Ensign PE set as appropriate and some PE or resin substitutes for the armament. I've been pondering the build order, trying to decide what to assemble before the basic painting (its been a while). I think the replacement PE bridge, radar and gun tub / bandstand will be too delicate to stand a lot of handling so I decided to add the basic plastic superstructure to the deck and paint the hull first and then the deck and then follow with the superstructure and details. I may paint myself into a corner! So, the two hulls ready for primer. Spirea in front. This is my first attempt at 1/350 scale so some new techniques for me. I drilled out the portholes and the engine room ports and opened out the anchor fairleads Then some Mig One Shot black primer From here on I plan to concentrate on Spirea and work Zinnia if there is a pause. Its going to be too hard to get the wrong stuff on the wrong hull otherwise I masked the hull and added the red bilge and then sprayed the decks Next up some serious masking of the deck, paint the wooden deck sections and dip into the PE My ambition for one of the models is a diorama (I can't seem to break the habit - but it will only be a small one - honest) Here is the tease This video has motivated me and I have had the photo in mind since building the 1/48 scale Campanula Thanks for looking in. Alan

Thanks very much Mike I invested in the circle cutter via Amazon but tracking down the center locator is a bit harder. It looks like a handy couple of tools I hope I’m not derailing your log but I thought this was interesting https://www.aerosociety.com/news/seaplane-renaissance/?utm_campaign=2694788_9 February - Insight Blog Roundup&utm_medium=email&utm_source=2694788_9 February - Insight Blog Roundup&dm_i=4OGU,1LRB8,33UWYK,7IVSU,1 I’m not convinced that there is a huge amount of engineering behind some of these concepts. Some smack of a group of enthusiasts with fancy graphics packages alan

Hi Jack Thank you very much for the detailed help you have provided and all the time it must have taken you to work on it. The Pentax was bought primarily for outdoor use and it generally works well out there and the waterproofing is a great help in canoes, kayaks and rainy days in the hills. I have made up a couple of foil covered boards to reflect light into the dead spots and I'll try softening the light sources. I did find a white reflector from my old SLR / 35 mm days that I had forgotten all about. I will give that a try too. The D range function (never explored that) looks like you can set highlights and shadows to an auto function, switch it off or fixed to on. I will given that a try too. The camera has a raft of options that I need to take time to play with. I thought it had an Av option but I'm wrong; I thought you could do it through the "green button" but that only allows you to retain a series of options like EV compensation instead of setting it each time The castle is sat on the dining table but hopefully a new end table will show up in the next few days and it will be relocated. That will be a great oportunity to shoot the photos again and try some options and maybe get some improvements. Once again thanks for the research and all the great tips. Alan

Mike The circle cutter looks like a handy tool to have. Do you have a few more details or a picture? Thanks alan

This is a magnificent work. Congratulations alan

A lovely delicate work. Congratulations alan

Great work with the printer alan

Thank you very much Ken. I think it works as modern illumination of an old castle Next up something with a bit more historical credibility alan

Beautiful delicate work and an interesting subject alan

The mud looks great. I think wet mud is hard to make convincing- sometimes it just looks like gloss brown but you’ve got it this time. i do wonder about some of the “water” products and how they compare to gloss medium etc. I was browsing for my next project and found someone is selling Atlantic water, pacific water and many other varieties. I think I’ll be sticking with the gloss medium this time alan

Hi Jack yes that’s the one. I remember the Pentax 110 and the K. I went the Olympus route with an OM-1 (still got it) and a couple of AX-1. I sort of miss 35mm film. Thanks for the help alan .

I think this is going to be superb work and very unusual . I’m looking forward to seeing it develop alan

Thank you very much Mark It feels a bit strange to not be doing something more to it. Its been quite a project. Mostly fun and suddenly it looks good at the end. Alan

Thank you very much. This is the first time I have wired up a model but I confess to sliding over and switching on the lights at frequent intervals Alan

Thank you very much for the kind words EG. And thank you again for the help along the way. This one had all teh elements; repetition, frustration but plenty of scope to improve and create. I don't see many of these kits come to fruition so its been great to have built and improved this one Thanks again Alan

Thank you very much Andrew I'm pleased with the end result although I'm aware of the areas I could have done better. I think I will be appearing back in the maritime section with a few short builds to have fun with before ramping up again. I have a couple of ideas Alan

Thank you Phil Alan

Thank you Craig Its been quite a journey but a lot of useful learning - and I'm still trying to find a home for the diorama somewhere visible in the house. Alan

Thank you very much Jack. You gave me some great help along the way. The camera is a Pentax WG-4 waterproof (sort of) point and shoot. It does have a series of modes from a basic programmed mode through aperture or speed priority. I'm still experimenting to find the best options. I can get decent results for the smaller models but the castle is big and I have not done too well with it so I would welcome any assistance Alan

Thank you Mike. There were times when the walls seemed to be rising slower than the real thing but I think it was worth it. Alan

Thanks Andy and thanks for teh landscape suggestions too Alan

Thank you very much OC. I think it was a great project and the end result is satisfying to me. I'm not sure I want to make a habit of the Aedes Ars kits. I have another castle tucked away but its not going to get opened this year. Alan

Anyone want a castle 😁