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mikegr
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Everything posted by mikegr
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I made the catapults and the crane. Instructions are horrible so I research onine to see real pics. Its called Mk6 catapult. Test fitting is essential. The catapults are colliding with the rear gun platforms. Thats because PE instructions calling for the base to be glued at the middle of the catapults which is wrong. They should be put at the 2/3 of the length of it. So I need to make another mini operation, detach and relocate the base without causing damage to the fragile PE part
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Move on forward The PE instructions looked terrible, many tiny pieces. I managed to make a simplified version of the SK 2 radar, far from perfect but acceptable in appearance. Fortunately the rest construction of the mast went smooth so overall the built was good
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Consider using a mini file as well to flatten the surfaces.
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Next project is the rear mast. Some PE parts were incredibly small. I didn't loose anything but managed to loose two spare airbrush noses while trying to replace a clogged one. Fortunately I have spare airbrush as well Brass was used extensively to make a rigid and durable piece. One thing that made me happy is that I found a way to make strong masts without use of messy soldering. With my low rpm rotary tool and a disc cutter I made a slot, filled it with ca glue and attach thehe yarddam vertically. How come I haven't thing of it early would have saved big mess and effort
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Thank you I will be very relieved if I finish this by August 4 where I be out for some weeks Looks like I had to rebuilt all except the hull
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This i noticed after uploading the picture few days ago Upon inspection I found out that there was an error on the diagram which lead me to faulty measurement The base of the funnel is actually at the same level of the 5" gun. This is the correct one Under the new circumstances and as I didn't want my model to look like a Japanese battleshiip with a unusual high superstructure, I had to replace the funnel. However these were glued with CA as it was considered a "finished" job and no corrections needed. Especially the front funnel was very hard to remove without damaging the AA gun platform. Therefore I used a rotary tool to "detele" the upper part of the funnel and add a 5mm section, a quite risky business. Somehow the vibrations caused the part to be detached. Then I removed the rear one, relatively easy and made the correct replacement parts So I got rid of the "ISE" effect of my model, without casualties. Final step for today, 16" gun turrets, painted ready to be fitted
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Nice liitle model I agree the CA glue is less messy than PVA. I use liquid and get type. However their rapid drying time is a problem as they are not forgiving, therefore some are using retarder. For resin parts is a different story. There is a also a PVA called tacky which supposed to be as strong and fast as a regular glue but I haven't tried it yet
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I finally decided to make new turrets at the desired dimensions about 2 mm shorter than the previous one They look better, barrels also look bit longer maybe because they are thinner compared to the plastic ones
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Today's work is at the 16" guns. Not much to do just add blast bags, brass barrels and hand ladders. As usual problem occurred. The blast bags were too big to fit along with ladders. At my stash I found replacement gun houses a bit wider. They looked great. However there were also bit longer. Like they are in 1/600 scale but I haven't built anything like this in 1/600 scale. Maybe these are from an Iowa class model, their 50 caliber guns needed bigger turrets. At test fitting they look slightly cramped. Maybe keep maybe replace, will decide tomorrow
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The tower was a bit higher and had to be aligned with the funnels so I sand it carefully reducing it by 2 mm. There is a radar called Mk 8 at the top of the Mk 38 director. The instructions for this PE are horrible, can't understand anything. Instead, I designed and printed my own Mk13 radar for them like those installed on Iowa class. Not sure if NC had them in 1944 but its better than a wrongly made PE part. Anyway after a couple of test printings it turned very satisfactory in detail regarding the scale. Some details added on tower, platforms, cases for Mk51 directors, doors etc. The whole superstructure piece is ready. It fitted perfectly on deck, some check tomorrow before I glue it. A hard two evenings works with two steps forward and one and half step back. But I got the desired result.
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Lot of work, lot of study, little progress. Good thing I found a picture of deck layout on X and along with some drone footage of the real ship I managed to make the superstructure quite close to the real one or at least far better than the original part For the lower piece I cut the rear half, reprinted it modified and attached it to the front. I'm good on such operations. The other pieces designed separately and prepared to be fitted all together. Some details like ladders, hoses and door hatches were added at lower part. Will add on more on the way.
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This method seems accurate and easy but its not. Making your own parts and fit them together requires a lot of tests and evaluation. In this scale every mm is crucial In my case though funnel height was calculated precisely they turned out somewhat sort. So I made new ones taller but shorter than the plastic ones. My reference point is the Mk 37 towers, they need at lower level than the funnel. I measured again and they proved to be 2mm longer, so I sanded them down. However after installing PE on them, they gained considerable height. Instead of making new funnels and wasting some hours I put an additional base made of 1mm thick plastic. Both parts were glued I only left the forward section unglued
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I used the above pics as a reference and designed a piece what it looks precise and definitely more accurate than the standard one. Its not huge just 20mm wide. Looking at the main superstructure part. There are some side bulges that are not appear in the real ship. Looks like all parts are faulty on this kit I have a layout in 1/435. I measured ther part width there at 20.76mm, That means 20.76 X 0.62 = 12.87 in 1/700. At its narrow point the width is 2 mm already thicker. However if I make it more narrow there will be left a large empty space on the deck with markings and glue leftovers, not easy to delete without damaging the deck lines. I'm thinking of making a part again at 12.8mm wide but without the side bulges
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Yes but not for me as this is in 1/350. Randomly looking I found that this set cost around 350$. I think the Eduards option is far more decent for 100$ even less detailed.
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So my next work is on the middle platform. Maybe the worst part of the kit. The funnel seats on the platform but in reality its base is quite lower. The kit This is what I need to make. A separate from the superstructure base and a Π shaped gun platform, on the top. On the lower side there is another gun platform for 2 Oerlikons I think, at the corners.Note this is in 1/350 thus of so much detail. I moved on to remove carefully the main piece without causing damage And mark the area where needs to be cut but not before I make the central platform and see how will it fit in the middle
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Perhaps. I am using complete models and 3d drawings mostly as a reference instead of old low res photos. https://www.artstation.com/artwork/nEnQ96 Such an old model can hardly be accurate.
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I worked at the rear section, added as Mich details as possible.scratch built, 3d print + PE work.
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Trumpeter has good detailed and reasonably priced kits. Great Value for money. The selection of kits also is getting better every year
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Another day with lot of work but zero progress. The resin foredeck got warped. Not much, but I decided to replace it with another one made from less flexible resin, also got the chance to work on the gun shields, giving them a more realistic shape. Of course this didn't came with out damage. But I'm good on such kind of surgeries. The foredeck is glued on a 1mm plastic to improve stiffness, left overnight under pressure. It will be installed permanently on a later stage, want to make sure that it won't warp again.
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I continued painting the hull. Googling for color codes AI interacted and suggested than in 1/700 colors should be mixed with 20% white. Sounded reasonable but I prefer to cover apply lighter shades upon completion before oil weathering
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With 39°C impossible to airbrush. Paint would get dry instantly. Therefore I finished the job on the right antitorpedo belt this using a more powerful tool. Result with some had work came pretty nice, much better that the original Today painting was possible. The PE guns shields proved too fragile and hard to be glued on deck. I removed them and replaced them with 3d ones I made, bit thicker with reasonable detail. Unfortunately some glue spots and scratches on deck are visible. Some can be covered but few will remain visible on close looking
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this makes all plastic models useless
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I trimmed down the belt at an angle. Using a proper tool I created a slopping effect which is only visible only at close distance. Left side, done need to work at the right. Then I added new bases for the 40mm guns. Those at the bow did not exist at the original model so I added myself
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These old kits doesn't refer the time period but I expect to put 40 Oerlikons which means 1944? So you mean in 1/700 the ideal belt thickness is 0.5mm? That means I need to remove more material
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