Henke

My Prince of Wales or my version of "fifty shades of grey" is now finished. I have enjoyed the build although Tamiya's PoW is not the best model. In 1976 I would probably have thought the standard was good but now..... no. It is OK if you get the model for a low price and can accept that this is a build for just the fun gluing plastic together and splash some paint on it. I spent some time weathering and overdid it as usual 🙂 but it was fun. Anyhow here is my interpretation of a dirty Prince of Wales arriving to Singapore in December 1941. Finally thank you all for encouraging comments and thumbs up. Kind regards Henrik

David, she looks fantastic. Thanks for sharing with us and for a very nice build log. It has been a pleasure following you from the start. What's up next? Regards Henrik

I have now come to a point where I soon have to plan how to set up the antenna wires. Instructions are not very detailed. I bought fine EZ Line last year for another project and I am wondering if I can use it for the antenna wiring? Where shall I start? What kind of glue? CA? Has anyone written something about this on MSW? Antenna wires were not something me and my modelling friends bothered to add when we built WW2 ships of Airfix 1:600 line in the 1970s 🙂. Whist waiting for advice regarding antenna wiring I will add the last details like airplane (Walrus) and cranes and do touch up painting and weathering. Kind regards Henrik

Thanks ETNZ and YES, I had to compensate some of the bulk heads near the bow by gluing on thin wood strips to avoid Aggy getting dimples. I thought it was my mistake but maybe there is an issue with the bow? It is no big problem and I think I have fixed it now. And yes, I will use shorter length planks for second planking. I actually found it easier work with shorter planks on the first planking also. The length has then to be adopted to the distance between the bulk heads (of course) but shorter planks are, in my opinion, easier to shape a bend to a snug fit. Regards Henrik

I am in. Hang on and continue to post! Kind regards Henrik

The filler and sanding process is in slow progress. Sanding of stern and middle section reasonably finished but very little on bow as you can see. Not very much progress but slowly I am getting there 🙂. Kind regards Henrik

Here comes a short update on my Prince of Wales. Building has been slower than usual lately due to house renovation and business travelling. I have started the camouflage painting of the hull (but no weathering yet) and will continue on superstructure next. Camouflage is hand painted. I want a rough look and I will try to tone it down with oil colors later. Superstructures are not glued in place yet and yes, the black water line marking is twice as wide as it should be. A stupid mistake of mine which will be rectified later. Kind regards Henrik

Hi all, I have to make a clarification on the post above. Y.T. also has a very nice build log on the Mamoli Victory. If you take a look there Rob you will see how Y.T. solved the "stern problem". Y.T. is also very good at planking. Regards Henrik

Morning Rob; at least it is morning for me when I write this. I do not want to dishearten you but I think you need to take a step back and re-think because otherwise planking the stern will be difficult. I had a recollection seeing something on this problem with the Mamoli kit before and after some search on the MSW I found it. Y.T. did a post on this in April last year under the section "Building, Framing, Planking and plating a ship's hull and deck". I have no personal experience from the Mamoli kit but I think you should try to see if there are pictures from other Victory Mamoli build logs to see how this problem can be solved or contact Y.T. Kind regards Henrik

The bottle is empty and progress has been slow. Is there a connection 🙂? But now, first planking is finished! Being first time with such a big boat I am reasonably happy with the result. Filler, sanding, filler, sanding, sanding and more standing will start now. I am now almost 6 months into the build. Kind regards Henrik

Thanks for all kind comments. You make me nervous. I know your capabilities. Yes, I have checked some of your builds and mine will not come up to your standard..... Here is a picture as of today. I did not like the Tamiya deck tan. It looks so flat. I therefore did some weathering brushing the deck with a wash of turpentine and Vallejo pigment Natural iron oxide (too strong unfortunately). I have to tone it down but that is OK. Guns are not weathered yet. I will do some ongoing weathering as the build continues. I am sorry for the messy table. Regards Henrik

Hi JamesT1, Welcome to the Agamemnon club. Aggy is a very nice kit which will keep you occupied for many years if you have the stamina 🙂. You are a couple of months after my Aggy but with my slow building tempo you will probably pass me soon. As Stuart aka stuglo mentioned above, plans require much forethought (Not just this kit but all...) and sometimes instructions should not be followed. May I therefore suggest that you wait gluing the rudder post and aft keel strip until you have thinned down the false keel towards the rudder post and aft part of the keel strip. The false keel plywood has the same thickness as the rudder post (about 5 mm). When she is planked (double) you want nice transition between planking and rudder post and keel strip. First planking is 1,5 mm on each side and second 1 mm on each side. Towards the rudder post I would suggest that the false keel is gradually thinned down to towards 1 mm for the last 10-20 mm. Once at least first planking is finished you can glue on the rudder post and do the finishing touches to the transition between second planking and rudder post. I also post an earlier picture from my Agamemnon build to show what I mean. If you already have glued the the rudder post and keel strip to the false keel, take a sharp chisel and carefully separate the parts. I did it and it worked fine without causing irreparable damage to rudder post or aft keel strip. I do not know why this is not explained in the instructions but maybe this is the wicked way the manufacturers differentiate the professional builders from us other ignorant amateurs by omitting useful information 🙂. Regards Henrik

In my youth I had a wish, buying a dragon in scale 1:1 but the dream never realized. It looks so fantastic in real life. I was not aware that Corel had a model of this beautiful sailing boat. Good luck Jim! Regards, Henrik

Here comes another report from captain Slow. Since last post I have started a new employment and the Grand(e) Admiral has ordered me shore leave in order to clear parts of our house before a major rebuild which will start in a couple of weeks 😓. There has not been that much time for modelling although I now and then has managed to sneak out to the garage/shipyard. A couple of sessions with the airbrush has resulted in this. The hull red has a basic black shading which I was looking for with a sort of grimy look. It is Prince of Wales as she looked arriving to Singapore December 1941 I am aiming for, not newly painted in the dry dock. The grey also has some nice shade variation although it is not very clear from the picture. I think I will start with the deck and super structure before I continue with the camouflage of the hull and weathering. Regards Henrik

Yes, I know. I have a tendency for mumbling around. "Come to the point!" as my impatient children and wife use to complain. Here is the box: It is neatly packed, not too many parts and well organized as usual with Tamiya. As you can see I had already started with the gun turrets when I took the picture. The molding is not the best compared to modern kits but much better than many of my beloved Airfix kits of the 1970s 🙂. My plan is to paint PoW in the camouflage pattern she had when she arrived in Singapore on her last mission in 1941. I have seen black and white pictures where the painting looks very worn and roughly painted. I will try to mimic this on my model. The hull in its self has very little detail on it. I have drilled out the port holes with my finest Dremel drill and airbrushed a flat black ground colour. Today I have airbrushed the first thin light gray tone above the water line. The idea is to let the black give a shade variation both on the light gray as well as the "hull red" below the water line to get a more busy look. Before the camouflage is applied I am considering using salt to get a sort of worn appearance. On top of the light gray I will apply a little bit of salt on water and let it dry. Then I will paint on the camouflage and then carefully scrub away a little bit of colour with a wet sponge. I have tried this on airplane kits with good result. The scale of this model is different. Will it work? Are there any other suggestions? Regards Henrik