king derelict

I retreated from the Wasp PE this afternoon with shaking fingers and worked a little more on the Abrams as a bit of stress relief. I moved onto adding details to the turret. The lovely Flyhawk detail is there in large amounts. This is a lovely single piece moulded part for the main hatch It even has a clear insert for teh viewing ports There are several clear pieces for the viewing ports. I am trying to work with subassemblies that can have the clear parts added after painting before final assembly rather than masking. The 0.50 cal is another well detailed item. The barrel is hollowed and the individual rounds are visible in the belt More details added with the side rails and plates. There are still several parts to finish the turret and then its off to the paint barn. I have a naive question for the experts. the kit instructions has the clear plastic pieces for the viewing ports painted clear red. I'm not sure what that is trying represent. So far all the images I have seen don't show any red at the viewing ports. I had planned to leave them clear but would welcome input on this. Many Thanks Thanks for looking in Alan

Thank you Patrick Thats a good tip; I will follow that next time. Many Thanks Alan

Thanks OC. And this PE is quite low stress compared to the craziness on the Wasp. Its mostly textured plates and a few brackets so far. Alan

Not much spare room there Alan

After completing the catwalks yesterday, today was focused on the braces that support the smaller platforms. Lots of thin brass to bend and fit. I finished the port side but was losing my fine motor control and focus so I went over to teh Abrams for some light relief. The next task is folding tiny platforms and ladders for catwalk access from the flight deck - that are a depressing number of them too.😄 Etc, Etc - you get the picture Thanks for looking in and for the likes Alan

Thank you very much Mike I hadn't realised what I had let myself in for with the PE on this kit. This is a new level of PE work for me. I think the Eduard PE is making it easier for me. The thickness is enough to keep everything straight. The railings may be a touch overscale but I think I would have struggled more with the delicate Flyhawk stuff. The kit PE doesn't have any railings for the catwalks which I think would look strange. The bending tools are great for getting the long straight folds. Alan

The detail looks great. Its going to paint beautifully Alan

I got in the PE groove today and kept it moving forwards with breaks now and then for tea and to rest the eyes. Actually I think I found a better way to fold the braces for the catwalks and that speeded up the job enough to keep up the momentum. So I finished all the port side catwalks today. A major cheer and free pints of Old Peculiar all round. I'm now starting on the smaller port side platforms and the boat davits. The first of the platforms is installed but a bit blurry in the photos Same old catwalk photos but i tried a different angle to show the way the two levels lay along the hull. Generally they came out quite nicely and they do make the model I think Lots more still to do. The nettings will be the next major task. I'm trying to decide when to add the island. At last the PE frets are starting to empty Thanks for looking in Alan

Thats quite a challenge but from my limited experience I think its mostly doable and the rest can be worked around to make a great model. It you have it in a case no-one can get their noses and micrometers right on the detail. The Bofors are nasty but could you replace the barrels with brass rod or use brass barrels from a bigger 1/700 scale calibre? Good Luck Alan

I feel for you there Lou Not great at all Alan

The catwalk saga continues. Actually I finished the port side lower catwalks today The last section continues round to the fantail and is not at all nice to fit. The weight of the fantail section makes the piece try to sag out of position. I've started adding a little CA glue to the tops of the struts to help hold it all in place and that is working better. I also fitted the first section of the upper catwalks on the port side. This is the real insanity stuff; trying to place a long unwieldy section and line it up with the lower catwalk struts. I don't normally like it but I am using a few dabs of CA on the upper catwalks to get an improved bond with the lower catwalks The Gators Grip takes too long to really get hold and the pieces are apt to drift. Three more sections will complete the port side. Then there are some ladders and platforms and braces to add. The PE frets are still pretty well populated Thanks for looking in Alan

It may not be an acceptable thing to do and it really only works for waterline models but I like to work with the hull on a base. It keeps my paws off the hull and from both marring the paint and touching something fragile. The Wasp is especially bad with ladders platforms and catwalks all over the hull. Generally the standard Scotch double sided stuff works well for my little destroyers but the Amazon tape has very little grip. The problem is compounded because the Wasp model doesn't have a waterline baseplate so the tape is only gripping the edges of the hull. So far the heavy duty stuff is working well (until it falls off again 😄) Alan

I stayed too long with the catwalks but managed to make some progress. I used some tape to hold the front of the hull together and it took out the warps while i glued it. Thanks @mtaylor I added the detail to the rear of the hull. all very relaxing and nice detail. There is aa little more to add but I'll wait until teh basic paint is on Then it was back to the rear deck and I added the PE for gratings and non skid areas. The PE is a bit thicker than the HMS Lance stuff and so far there is little bending. The thin sections over the front track guards were a bit fiddly but not too bad. The work will continue on the turret. I'll be using a desert paint scheme. So far all the pictures I have found show them to be dusty but not very banged up. Maybe some sun fading of the paint. Thanks for looking in Alan

you have to take care of bad backs. I broke four bones in mine and after 40 years I still get the occasional reminder that it was a silly idea to stand on a loose rock over a twenty foor drop Alan

Hi Jack I hope you enjoy the build Alan

No rush Lou Still getting the preliminaries done. Alan

Great to have you Edward The beer truck should be delivering shortly Alan

Welcome Ken

great to have you Egilman I'm looking forward to the benefit of your expertise Alan

Thanks OC; I'll be looking over your shoulder Alan

Good idea Mark. I used some duct tape because the parts needed a bit of persuasion to get them aligned and it worked a treat. Many Thanks alan

Very nice OC; I think I have the easier path😄 Alan

Thanks Mark; thats a good idea alan

The finished engine is superb. It would be a sin to hide it in the aircraft. The subtle colour variations on the casings makes it look very real. Exactly how they look when they come off the test stand Alan

As a relief from intense PE activity on USS Wasp I am going to divert from time to time to work on the Flyhawk M1A2 This is a 1/72 kit so will not be as detailed or have the presence of the 1/35 scale beast that @Old Collingwood is progressing with. This should be a fun counterpoint and I hope to learn some of his painting skills as I go along. Inside the box is pretty crowded in typical Flyhawk manner For a 1/73 kit there are a lot of parts including clear parts for the armoured glass There is a decal sheet and a small mostly non-threatening PE. This includes a mask for the road wheels I was a bit disappointed in the choice of colour schemes provided in the instruction booklet; just the Fort Bragg colour scheme. Out of curiosity I flipped the box over and found four desert schemes on the underside. Great. The hull sides fit over the road wheel axles and are a tight fit. The sides are thin plastic and easy to warp. The hull is kept square by three braces that fit across the top of the hull. I am not sure whether I got a bad kit of it suffered damage in transit. The box was pretty beaten up on arrival. The side walls are warped at the front and needed to be glued in two stages to bring them into line. The rear bulkhead outer sections are warped rearwards but a bit of judicial force looks like it will straighten them out On the positive side the usual crisp Flyhawk detail is present and even the secondary armament have hollow muzzles The same was true for the skirts but again gluing them up in sections looks like it will align them. The plastic is too thin for rubber bands or clamps There is also a small area of distortion on the lower part of the turret. I think it will fill without problem. So, the main sub-assemblies are made and details will be added next. There are some very fragile elements for the turret. Thanks for looking in Alan