king derelict

ike Well, a Maine Coon cross really. I got her and her sister as kittens from the local rescue place four years go. They are turning out to be great little companions. Alan

Lovely Lewis gun Alan

Display case for Campanula waiting to dry, Seehund base drying so I wanted something to work on that wouldn't take too long while other things were on hold. This is the VTOL concept Weserflug P1003 in 1/48 scale. I'm not sure if it counts as Luft46 material given that it was a prewar concept that never made it off paper. In essence it has a valid concept but as with all STOVL aircraft the devil is in the details. The two big issues are usually weight vs thrust (its a direct relationship in VTOL) and control. Tilt wing and tilt rotor have culminated in the V-22 and the complexity of the control system is staggering. This was to have been a two man crew with a single fuselage mounted engine driving the overlarge propellors. With driven shafts and gearboxes weight must be an issue and controlling the wing movement must be an issue. With limited wing in the flight plane the aircraft would have to be VTOL rather than STOVL I would think which limits weight even more and the in-air transition would be more exciting. I have spent more than half my career on non-helo STOVL aircraft so I'm a bit of an easy sell for this kit. I'm happy to park my doubts and see how it comes out. The kit comes with a nice big instruction booklet with three colour schemes (all fictitious of course) generally using the leopard spot camouflage in one way or other. Decent sized assembly drawings I doubt this is a recommended flight configuration The sprues are nice and clean, No flash or major mould lines and reasonable injection points to the parts. So fr the parts fit beautifully. Every locating pin fits its partner hole and it is delight to put together. Its a single seat cockpit (weight limitations must have ruled out that second crew member). The main landing gear is very nicely done, made up of four pieces with an arm that clips into lugs in the main leg and then swings down into position in the fuselage. So far this seems to be a very well thought out kit regardless of the authenticity of the finished model. It looks like being a nice side project and I hope you enjoy seeing it come together. Thanks for looking in Alan

Thanks Greg I added a light touch of rust wash and moved onto the base Alan

Volunteer for smoke production on full alert Some great diorama ideas here. Alan

A visit from a friend convinced me a display case was necessary. "What's this?" "Don't touch" What's this now"" "DON'T TOUCH" Got a bit strained for a while. So after a tour of the state due to the storm chaos the precut acrylic panels arrived last night. The case will be 53 x 24 x 12 inches. The perceptive may already see a problem. The baseboard got a couple of coats of matt black. I clamped up and bonded the side pieces. It was a real fight getting the pieces into place initially. They are big enough to be very unwieldy. A few scratche need to be polished out but it looks fine and is quite solid. Next, the top piece and finishing the base. The upcoming problem? I'm not sure I'm going to be able to lift the finished case into place. 🙂 Thanks for looking in Alan

Your photos are first class. Lovely crisp detail and colour rendition. The model is excellent. Really nice paint details Alan

For me Mr Color Metal Primer has made a big difference compared with Vallejo primer on the PE. Paint seems to stick better and doesn't peel off so easily. Very nice progress. I need to get back to 1/700 again Alan

Mike This is a spectacular work. The seascape is stunning and the rigging is amazing. The use of figures really brings the model to life. This is one to be really proud of. I hope it has a prominent dust free home. Great work. I think I will take p knitting Alan

Good Luck with the eyes Jack. This looks like a fun and interesting build while things are returning to normal Alan

Well. last night was my first attempt to use a filter and I thought I had ruined all the earlier work. I brushed on a light coat of AK Blue for Panzer Grey filter and it looked like everything had disappeared under a monochrome blue coat. I decided that things might look better after a beer (as they often do) and left for the night. This morning the filter has dried and the detail is back. I think the filter has subtly blended the shades together so we have an improvement over the raw patterns earlier. Some touch up needed while I decide on the rust. I'm somewhat against it given that these craft didn't have very long service lives in the water. I may add a little around the hatch in the rudimentary conning tower Thanks for looking in and the likes and comments Alan

One of the very best. And a great subject too Alan

Good Luck at the show. The rigging just amazes me, well beyond anything I can do Alan

Thank you Greg. I'm happy for a first attempt. I have the AK Blue for Panzer Grey filter so I'll give it a try. Its unopened so another first. With so few parts in the kit and a decent size its an ideal subject to experiment on. Alan

Thanks, its a learning exercise

Spectacular work Alan

Excellent work. I can't even line up biplane wings on plastic models Great stuff Alan

I looked at the chipping again this morning after everything had dried properly and decided I was happy with how it came out. i sprayed on a cat of gloss and used a black wash to pick out some of teh details. A couple of details were painted and the torpedoes were added. The small number of decals went on well and she is now ready for the matt coat. A couple of closer shots to show the variation of surface colour. For a first attempt at this sort of thing I am quite pleased with the result. I think I have an idea for the display and I've ordered the bits from Amazon. i hope everyone has a great weekend and many thanks for the comments, likes and for looking in Alan

Thank you very much OC. I looked at it again this morning and I'm quite chuffed with it. Alan

Thanks for confirming my thoughts Keith. I have added some bright metal paint to the lifting eyes. I would think they are used often enough that they don't corrode Alan

I'm glad to see the mojo wasn't lost after all. Great to see this masterpiece continuing to unfold. The wounded figures are excellent. Alan

Everyone is giving good advice. I just looked at my set up LED work lights (2) total 10 watts Air brush compressor 150 watts Hair dryer (wimpy) 1250 watts Sooo use the lights as much as you want. It doesn't affect the bill Use the air brush - it's only on for a few minutes anyway Maybe back off on the hairdryer Good luck Alan

I air brushed Mig chipping solution onto the sub and when it was dry added the top coat of Tamiya dark grey. When that was dry I attacked it with cocktail sticks and stiff brushes I am generally happy with the resulting changes in shades and the way the rust colour came through. For some reason the port side is better than the starboard side. I had hoped for a bit more rust on the torpedo rails but I don't know if I can go over it again after letting it sit for a day now. Any input from experienced "chippers" is very welcome. Otherwise I think its time for a clear coat and washes. Still thinking about the display. Thanks for looking it Alan

Thank you Mike I'm usually a bit conservative with the weathering but this was great fun. I have a T-34 begging for the full treatment. Alan

Thank you very much. I have been enjoying the 1/72 armour; its probably the same perversion as 1/700 naval. It does delay the display dilemma a bit too. I do want to try a 1/35 tank soon though. There are a couple of kits on my shelf now Alan