mikegr

Armament. Type 79 4" Gun. This is the improved second stealth version thus the complex shape. I took a Mk38 5" gun file and modify it. Although proved too complex for my skills it turned close enough to the real thing. Barrels shape was also good and conical Next was the YJ 83 SSM Launch boxes. I made them a bit wider to make sure that every detail would be printed. I was happy to see that the base was printed with good accuracy so no PE parts would be needed Next was the HQ 7 short range SAM. This is replaced by HQ 10 a RAM style weapon. Easy to design and print. Air defence provided also by Type 76 37mm twin gun. Its elliptical shape proved too much for my design skills. After a week of trouble I printed a hemisphere shape and sanded it down with 600 grit sand paper. I replaced barrels with 0.4mm sterile needles and you can see the difference. Finally the 3200 ASW Rockets. Printed in 2 pieces. Plan was to fit 6 individual needles at the holder but holes proved to fragile. Not for my skill. I reprinted in one piece then printed again 15% bigger to have a better detailed quality. Hard to achieve accuracy without some over scale, thats why model companies can't avoid it I guess

I have basically completed the main body of the ship. Also did the painting minus some details to be corrected. Im pleased with result as well with the speed of the progress because the armament is also ready and will be shown in the next post

A not so used bult in this forum. Sounds exciting.

I continued building in the same way. Some 3d printing and some scratch work. All in all, the main silhouette of the ship is complete. Helicopter deck must be added but before this, all detail work on quarter deck beneath it must be done as well as painting.

While working at the dock I printed another closed truck with great accuracy. Painting was painful as usual but it came out nice

Thanks for comments and likes Instead of using problematic white I used a spray can to paint the dock. Then I will use shades of gray, gradually to erase the snow. So basically its the opposite technique comparing to submarine painting. Let's see of this works well. Doors on shelters replaced with other type. Light were added. I need to extend the dock because the truck can't turn and the buildings won't fit

Now that the hull is almost done time to move upwards for the main deck area. I printed the front area of it with satisfactory result, you can see comparing to a single brush hair

After experimentation and research i found out that the mini compressor is not working good enough with acrylics. They need to be thinned a lot for a proper flow. That means extra thin white is quite hard to cover dark surfaces. In my next diorama i will be using a new compressor which I hate because of the size and noise. So finally I did it I turned the two quartet hulls into warehouse, bunker, shelter, call it whatever you like it. Space for land construction is reduced in favor of more sea and faster progress. Need to speed up a bit

The work on the hull is almost done. The bow looks like Virginia Class nuclear cruisers. Rounded at the upper half, tighter and more straight lower. I was thinking to shape it by sanding. But I am a better butcher than a surgeon. I simply cut the lower part of the hull and replaced with a triangle one. The shaping effort now was tremendously less

This is the hull after a few hours of work. A plastic sheet was glued as a main deck. I need to work on details and give the bow the right shape. If I was given this in the age of 10 I would probably be the happiest child and would go straight for bathtub tests. But im a greedy adult and i need mode detailed work, rigging, photo etching and more, to satisfy my self

Snowy dockyard is finished. I worked on the base and made a drawing of the layout

Done painting the dock. Epoxy primer, grey paint, (red brown road), dark weathering, light weathering, black wash. Finally put the cable holding the rubber fenders. I may add some green at the base were dock meets the water. And some light rust streaks at the base of those black things that ships are using to tie the ropes which I can't recall the name and I am too lazy to google it

So I decided to print the hull. But the shape is not that simple as in Horizon class or like type 45 Destroyer that I was looking. Spend quite some time without having the desired effect. After printing drawings to 1:1 scale, hull was estimated to 16 cm. Deck plan was glued to the most -close dimension- piece of wood I could find. The smell of sanded wood filled the air replacing the resin odor. I kinda missed that. Let the fun begin.

Normally this is a scratch built not a model. However its too small compared to other mega projects here and I like to have it in the same section with my other 1/700 built, with mods permission. Not sure how I came up with this idea. , probably found some detailed drawings while searching online for modern frigates info material, so I convinced my self to give it a try. Modern ships are easy to be built especially as waterline models, cause of the less complicated lines. The Type 053H3 (Jiangwei II) is the first multi role frigate of the PLAN Navy. They displace 2.500 tones at 112 meters long. They are replaced by type 054 frigates.

I made the dockyard. The second taller one is for 1/700 scale. It was a success, easy to design and print. A few rubber fenders also made in 1/700 and 1/350 just for fun. Design took 8+ hours but results are good. Still improving it a bit though.

Literally ready to fire!

No update for 3 weeks depsite 3 weeks of daily work from half an hour to whole evening. Typhoon was a different story. First I had to fit extra bulges around the tower area like in the real sub Then I tried for a snow effect. But those large areas actually gives the optical illusion of a larger scale so more detailed job should be considered. For my bad luck I didn't want to give an easy flat snow finish, something more challenging caught my attention After few failed attempts I noticed that engraved details, particularly the cover of missile silos have gone. It was time to not only reprint the front hull part but to interfere in the file and make the lines more clean. With the right modification this was successful. Painting failures went on for several evenings. Finding the right thickness on white paint to spray over large black area was a disaster. From, say 30 hours of work, 29,5 was spend on paint testing and airbrush cleaning. I even suffered a break down but thanks to online information airbrush was repaired quick without need of wasting time ordering spare parts online. The missile silo hatch missing is due to a file problem. After a not so good scratch built attempt and new paint failures it was time for a re print. And as usual, further design modifications were necessary. This time were also more extended. New tactics were used, a home made snow paste was used and some chalk powder. After several tests I scored a result that prompts me at least to proceed to the next stage Perhaps the hull leftovers can be modified to shelters or bunkers😁

Small update I have been working on the bow. I used some epoxy putty to shape the bow. Very easy to shape but hard to sand. Smaller gaps filled with body car filler. Some hull imperfections were covered with glaze putty as well as epoxy in order to make a smooth surface. After bow shaping I will concentrate on eliminating last minor hull bumps and gaps. Nexts pictures won't look much difference but there definitely some work to be done

After slow progress and piece by piece assembly all sections are into place. I painted white the internal part and grey the upper side. Externally putty was applied at joints then sanded but not primed yet. I need to do some work on the bow. The deck at the anchor area is a bit "fat" and it should be trimmed somehow to meet the slim frame. The bow is also quite sharper on the upper end like the real ship and needs to be aligned with the rest of it. Finally there are some design lines that must be deleted so frame will have a smooth finish like the rest pieces.

you save it pretty well there are tones of building info for Beagle, online as well as full tutorial step by step on you tube

Spend quite a lot of time on the 2nd sub. Gray black color sprayed, then I added some lighter shades. Using cotton swab a fade effect was achieved However it will be of little importance. I sprayed white but airbrush was spitting paint creating a mess. Had to experiment with color thickness, cleaning the nidle many times and testing paints specialized for airbrush. So after many layers, chipping and brush weathering I managed to get a decent result. Or perhaps I felt convenient with it because I got tired. Tomorrow a closer look may change my mind. A comparison photo with both model subs and two test models

just noticed that this is another submarine project. Those drills are really fragile especially the thinner ones, i'm only left with a couple of these

I did some research and found that most model companies recommend a dark grey/flat black color for Russian subs. Wasn't sure what to do so I gave it an airbrush paint with black and dark grey in 1:1 proportion to both test and proper model then I added some heavy weathering with tiny brush with more concentration this time. For wet areas I used Tamiya glue, quick drying and very glossy effect as I like The one with the raised antennas is the freshly arrived on harbor, so there will be no snow effect on it. I will proceed to the other Akula , the stationed one with less weathering and in icy condition

Recovered from the covid isolation, not much trouble and found time to do some other activities Back to the project I am working on the middle and forward sections. I design them myself as these are straight pieces. Besides with some heat applied resin can be curved without the risk of distortion like plastic. I forget to add buckles for rigging so added some with brass wire. Etch primer were used then white color for the internal section

Probably surpass in quality every model kit in the market