king derelict

The first uncertain steps of progress were made today. I cut a card template for the hanger deck and then glued the side decks and elevator door portals into place. The deck template was then modified to fit against the elevator door portals The pattern was then transferred to a piece of styrene sheet and glued in place. I also added the basic parts of the structure at the fantail. I thought about adding some basic side walls and the forward bulkhead to the hanger deck but a check with the lid on showed that it will be very dark on the hanger deck and even the shapes of the SH-60s might be tough to see so I think it would be a wasted effort. The check with the flight deck turned out to be useful because it showed a poor fit with the top of the aft structure; the deck was about 2 mm too short as it was assembled. Luckily the glue was still soft and I was able to separate the parts and shave a small amount off the two side walls. Reassembly and check showed that the deck now covered the edges of the walls There is a lot of PE to add to the hull now and the decision is going to have to be made when to stop and paint and then add the delicate stuff afterwards. This looks like being a great kit to make. I'm enjoying exploring what I can do with it. Thanks for looking Alan

I like the idea of painting the tram line; it would be easier to get teh right amount of dirt on it but there are two white checked lines running along the edges of the main yellow line that I think would defeat me so i might have to work with the decals and hope i can get the sooting right Alan

Not a lot of progress today; maybe some reverse progress! In thinking through what I needed to do with the hanger deck and the elevator doors I realised I have got ahead of myself a bit so i took the roof back off. Luckily I had only tacked it down lightly to see if the warp had been successfully corrected 9it had) so ! was able to remove the deck without damaging anything. I spent most of the rest of the time moving parts around on the bench trying to work out the sequence of building and painting. The side decks are boxes with detail and a number of PE parts. The elevator doors are also fitted from inside and will require some PE. So do I make up and paint the side decks off the model and install them before putting the deck back on or add them at the start and paint along with the hull and then detail later. I need the side decks and elevator portals in place to make up the hanger deck and the side decks should still have decent access when added to the hull. I plan to paint the side decks a darker grey than teh hull to improve the look of depth but I can mask the hull to do that provided I do it while the hull is still fairly basic. . I spent a lot of time reviewing photos of the real Wasp and comparing it with the kit. I haven't found any glaring anomalies. I thought the boat stowage on the port side was wrong but eventually found a photo showing it to really be there. With the Eduard PE this should make a very well detailed and representative model. I hope i can do it justice. I think I will be going for a lighter grey for the flight deck than given in the kit paint scheme. The anti-skid on the deck has become quite a bit lighter with time so I will use a mid grey. This then gives me scope to use a darker grey for the patch at the aft section of deck and also to add the exhaust marks on the tram line. The deck decals are going to have to go on fairly early because the deck edges are going to get delicate once the PE starts building up. Hmmm, this is going to be a complicated build to think the sequence through; it almost need a project chart to be created. Thanks for looking in Alan

The PE is looking very nice and neat. Alan

This has been a great project to watch coming together. beautiful models and outstanding work Alan

It is a wonderful inspiration. I am starting an Aedes Ars kit of Loarre Castle. It is a very modest effort by comparison but I will try to improve on the kit. Alan

Great decision to correct the diagonals. I suspect paint and shading will obscure any flatness of the tubes Alan

A great start; really forging ahead. And I'm excited building something twelve inches long! Alan

The matte coat was sprayed onto the tank and some of the ceramic brick dust mixed with dilute white glue was worked over the tracks to simulate sand (and reduce the poor appearance of the tracks) The chipping needs more practice but I'm happy with a first attempt And to put recent AFV builds into perspective here is teh JS-3 with the Renault 35 and the Wz34 Help - Run! Thanks for stopping by Alan

Thank you Mark; the hair dryer was a great idea too Alan

So; the box is open and bits are starting to appear on the table. I have the Eduard PE set for the Wasp and started comparing frets. The kit PE is on the left and the Eduard stuff are the two frets on the right. Looking through the Eduard set it provides a massive amount of railings. It also has coloured parts and its a bit thinner than the Hobby Boss stuff - but nothing like the thinness of the Flyhawk frets. I think I will mostly use the Eduard parts but time will tell I spent quite a bit of time with the administration side of a new build. Checking the instructions, cleaning up the work surface, making sure there were adequate supplies of tea and biccies. I went through the kit instructions and marked on all teh places where i will have to add the Eduard PE I also checked the paint scheme and found the dark gray is called out as Tamiya XF-58 which I don't have. Further examination found that XF-58 is actually Olive Drab so I will check the other paint references for a cross reference to the real colour. This is bigger than my usual stuff so I'm going to have to be careful moving stuff around on the work top. I'll be making a waterline model as usual. The kit doesn't provide a waterline plate but I don't think that is an issue. The starboard aft part of the upper hull is warped but it looked like it could be forced into place. The kit instructions have you build up the island add it to the deck, detail the hull and then add the deck. That seems pretty marginal at the best of times and definitely high risk to the delicate stuff if some controlled violence is needed to fit the deck so I added some plastic strip to push the starboard hull into place and when that was full bonded I installed the deck and clamped it down. Hopefully that's the end of the rough stuff. Although the elevator doors and the side decks are installed from the inside, I think there is enough access still to not be a problem and I needed the hull straightened so i can add a bit of the hanger deck. I think I can add enough of the hanger deck in the vicinity of the elevators to give a shadowy view of a couple of SH-60s in maintenance. Thanks for looking in. I hope you enjoy the build Alan

I hope so Ken; its beginning to look a bit daunting. alan

Mike; yes this one is going to take a while but it looks interesting. Looking at the kit PE there aren't many railings but the radar sets are good. I hope I can make a decent model out of it. Alan

Thanks Mike. I have lots of photos so I hope I don't embarrass myself Alan

Thanks Greg. The kit PE looks a bit bare so I'm hoping to dress it up a bit. Alan

Thanks for the moral support OC. This might take a while; lots of PE and detail parts. Make sure you have a comfy chair Alan

Enter the Gator Navy! I want to build the USS Wasp (LHD-1) as she was in 2013 during the second F-35B carrier flight trials. The first deployment was in 2011 but I don't have as many photographs from that one. I have the Hobby Boos kit in 1/700. The big box is well packed with a lot of sprues including three sheets of PE. Incidentally I checked the PE because it has some real weight to it unlike the Flyhawk PE with the Lance kit. I miked the Flyhawk PE at 0.0045 inches thick and the Hobby Boss stuff is 0.012 inches thick The kit includes V-22s, Av-8Bs, SH60s, CH53s, UH-1s and a full set of expeditionary vehicles. Sadly the stern gate to the wet well is closed so the vehicles could only be used in a diorama setting. For 2013 flight trials all the expeditionary equipment was ashore along with most of the usual air vehicles. Two F-35Bs were aboard along with a number of SH-60s providing SAR support. From time to time V-22s visited so I can use one or two if they make up nicelt. I put an order in with the nice folk at BNA Models in Australia for the F-35Bs. They look very nice (Orange Hobby), the level of detail the PE provides is amazing and I hope I can do them justice. There are six in the set so I have some scope for learning There is no hanger deck so the elevator doors will have to be closed unless I can make up something in the area around the elevator doors. I want to pose one jet on the elevator and one of the deck but we will see how the plot develops I hope I am not about to embarrass myself I hope you enjoy the build and I look forward to the helpful comments Alan

Thank you very much Mike, I have Kelly and Legion to add to the destroyer fleet at some point Alan

Thank you very much OC for your kind comment. Thank you also for the tip about the railings. I will try the black railings when I add the last strip and generally touch up the paint. They are barely noticeable now and the black will blend them in further. Thanks again Alan

The last detail; the rolled tarp, was added to the rear of the tank and a little more dust added. This completes the build. I also added the photos of the Wz34 armoured Polish car also by First To Fight which was being built in parallel. Nothing special about the build; very similar to the other kits but an interesting subject and fun to paint. Thanks for looking in Alan

I tried using a hair dryer on the nasty tracks. Thanks @mtaylor I wouldn't have thought of that. I couldn't get much sag in the tracks but I think I got rid of a lot of the wobble and they generally look better now. I filled in the gap where the tracks meet with a couple of tiny bits of card and built up the thickness with PVA glue. it looks better with a bit of paint. The running gear and lower part of the hull were sprayed with a dust colour. Some sand on the tracks and the matt coat will complete the build. This wasn't really a detailed build log but more an attempt toshow the results of a first shot at chipping. Thanks for looking Alan

Thank you Greg. From you that is highly valued. I finally got the colour cast out of the photos and they look like the real model. Alan

This kit was chosen as a first attempt at paint chipping to simulate a weathered vehicle. The Roden JS-3 kit has markings for the Egyptian army in 1956 so I thought by then the JS-3 would be well past the "One Careful Owner, Only Driven to Church Each Week" stage by then Unfortunately the JS-3 is not one of Rodens better kits; it also has the rubber band style tracks which I don't like. Somehow I seem to have lost the photos of the early stages of the build and the contents of the box. Nothing terribly outstanding in the build so far although I swear some of the road wheels are oval rather than round. Hopefully paint and weathering will obscure that a bit. The tracks are very thin, they look underscale and they are buckled and refuse to straighten . They may look better once the hull is completed. So; the main object of the exercise was the chipping. Once the upper hull and turret were complete they got the usual dose of black primer. I then added Vallejo dark steel in places where I wanted it to be seen and mid grey in other areas. Once that was dry I gave the model a coat of cheap hairspray and left it to dry again before adding the sand top coat. My reading suggests that working over an area with a wet paint brush will cause the top coat of paint to lift away in pieces. That didn't seem to happen but moving to a stiff brush was more effective. I also used a pin tip to scratch through for detailed areas. I seem to have achieved a worn look but I don't think I would catagorise it as chipping exactly although working small areas over with a pin tip first produced a better result. Its starting to look suitably tatty but I would like to improve my technique. Online sources say that it can only be done with acrylics, can't be done with acrylics or must have a clear coat to seal the paints under the hair spray. I would welcome insights from the experts. In the meantime I painted the nasty tracks. They lack detail and thickness. I hope to hide the track join with some artfully placed debris Thanks in advance for any advice. its all welcome. Alan

The last boat was added and then the PE rails started. I cut the runs into shorter sections and then attached them using Gators Grip glue. I give it glue a few minutes to tack up a bit before putting the railings into place. I have found this way makes the railings a much less frustrating experience. However, I found my lousy planning skills let me down again. Early on in the build I found one of the railing sections was breaking away from the fret and knowing if i left it it would end up damaged, I decided to cut it completely free and keep it out of harm's way. And i forgot all about it when painting came around so its sat there in its native brass colour. I don't feel like loading teh airbrush up with primer and then grey for one strip of railing so it will sit in abeyance until I start the next kit and hopefully, I will remember to paint it then. In the meantime I added the booms and the decals as well as a wash to the funnel. I'll do the weathering once the last railings are in place and the touching up is complete. Thanks for looking in Alan

After i finish cleaning the airbrush I spray a small quantity of cleaner into a paper towel in a good light against a dark background and look at the spray pattern to make sure its symmetrical and strong. Then I can put the brush away knowing its good to go for the next session. If the pattern looks weak then I pull it apart again and poke the nozzle out again. It doesn't take much to obstruct the flow. I'm sure water would be just as good for the post clean check. its reduced the annoyance of loading the brush up and finding its not spraying well Alan