yvesvidal

I wish I could hire you to weather my Submarine.... Fantastic job on the Essex and what a collection. Yves

Superb work. Yves

I am very happy that you are starting (actually resurrecting) this build, of such an iconic ship. I built the Billing Boat kit quite a few years ago, with my first paycheck from IBM, when I was still on the French Riviera. I built it for RC and my model has sailed on the sea (Cagnes Sur Mer harbor) and many lakes, including Boston, MA and Raleigh, NC. I have been thinking about renovating it, but have been derailed by many other projects. I never thought about planking the ABS hull, but you have a fantastic idea, there. Below is the presentation of my model, not a Build log as you will (hopefully) present us: Looking forward to seeing your progress. Yves

Yes, it is a camera/picture issue. When you look at it, it actually is not so bright and you can see some of the controls. It is just that the control lights are so recessed that it is almost impossible to see them. Yves

I like a little bit of action on a model..... Yves

You are doing a very fine job. It is superb and very clean. I love the meshing.... Yves

Moving along with no coming back..... I created a little cross of styrene, with 5 micro-LEDs: The fifth LED is not yet connected: We now mount the cross on top of the cockpit deck: Our first trial: from the outside, it looks good....but the inside remains kind of a mystery as the window is so small: You can see some of the control panels below: Trying different angles.... yes, twisting your neck you can see some of the controls..... The electrical connections to the main bus are done. There is enough slack in the wires to remove the sphere: It is now time to glue the cockpit deck inside the upper half, and to glue the upper half to the rear bulkhead. The rear bulkhead (and the sphere..) holds by a very tight coupling (that brass tube over the spine) and three strong magnets. The three small prongs of the kit are helping too. We will not loose the living spaces on our way to Jupiter: Quite a tall model..... Yves

This is turning into a plastic model..... :-) Yves

Trying to finish this Discovery vessel. I am still waiting for "Cold" white LEDs to finish the cockpit and create the light chamber with both halves of the sphere. In the meantime, I did paint some panels, as seen in the movie and other reference materials. It takes a lot of masking, but the result is worth it: There are basically three shades of paint used on these parts. The sphere is also getting a similar treatment: And the bottom part is getting ready for its white coat and panels tainting: There are different schools for painting the panels, including a study of the movie and still frames which is not the easiest to do. I am basing my approach on the fantastic model of the Discovery done by a Japanese company. Their model (absolutely unreachable for us at $13,000 in the scale of 1/10 of the movie prop) is the closest and most realistic rendition ever made of the Discovery. My model is an approximation of their masterpiece..... Yves

Beautiful. The early Mustang is a little marvel, too. Yves

Beautiful cockpit. It helps to work at 1/32nd or 1/48th scale..... I cannot stand the 1/144th of my Space Discovery interiors. Yves

Some progress on the crew space, the sphere. As mentioned earlier, I am limiting myself to the cockpit and the hallway right behind it. The Paragrafix kit also offers the main corridor between the exit door and the deck (the exit David Bowman uses after being denied access to the ship by the neurotic HAL 9000) as seen below: The PE set has also a couple of parts to depict the emergency hatch: The cockpit is basically composed of one main piece that is folded in multiple directions and of two seats: The brass is of excellent manufacture and rather thick, which is ideal to keep the walls flat and straight. The cuts representing the various screens and controls are exquisitely done and mimic perfectly the movie prop. However, they are flat like all PE parts. Using styrene pieces, it is possible to make the deck more realistic. I am using half-round 1 mm pieces and the tiniest flat strips you can find: The rear hallway is another part that is folded to form the corridor: Again, lots of precision and details are available. The black box on the left is the HAL 9000 eye. The seats are microscopic and require an intricate folding: Again, I am using 0.5 mm round strips to simulate the cushions where the crew can sit. The outer shell of the seats is made using the 1.0 mm half-round styrene bits. Overall, this cockpit is a lot of work for what you end up seeing through the front shield. The deck is pretty much ready to be closed: You can see some of the colored controls, done with a piece of Scotch tape glued on the PE: I am using clear color Tamiya acrylic paint applied with a tiny brush. Other sections are done with colored markers. It is very, very small and frankly a waste of time. But it looks good. Only a fraction of what you see below will be visible when the deck is placed behind the window frame: My camera is completely unable to focus and take decent Macro shots. Maybe it is better this way, as you cannot see my sloppy work.... The deck is glued to the window frame: here again, perfect fit from the PE parts. Below is pretty much what you can see..... My next work is to seal all the cracks with thick cement and paint the seams matt black. I want to make sure that the light will not leak and only comes from the controls and from the hallway. The entire sphere will be the light chamber. Honestly, an enormous amount of work for very little return. Modelers attempting the PODs bay will have more fun but also a lot more work. Yves

Very efficient obviously !!! I'd rather land on the water...and swim to the boat. Yves

What a fantastic build and what a beautiful model. Like many others following this Build-Log, I have a few questions: - Scale? From the size of your tree nails (0.5 mm -> 24 mm) I assume this is 1/48th scale. - Plans? I assume these are from the French Publications ANCRE. I could be wrong. - Wood(s) used ? - Are you using glue? I see nails all over the place and practically no evidence of glue, anywhere. You are an artist and it shows. If you use a little bit of glue, what is it? Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions and all my gratitude for showing us such a masterpiece. Yves

You are not sparing your energy and creativity to represent Sultana as it is today. Fantastic work. Yves

Tom, Chuck, Thanks a lot for the detailed explanations. Being French, let me know if there is anything I can do to help you with your negotiations between CAF and ANCRE. ANCRE's researches are exceptional and their work on various subjects deserved to be acknowledged. I certainly hope you will quickly obtain an agreement with them, as it would be a pity that their work do not get translated into kits. Both parties would benefit from it, in the sales of kits and of books. Please, let me know when you are in a position to resume the manufacturing of that beautiful kit. Thanks Yves

I was wondering if anybody on this forum has had some experience with CAF Models? I see that they are advertising on the side Bar of the FOrum, but tried to contact the owner of the company at the suggested E-Mail with no success. The E-Mail address is invalid. Specifically, I wanted to know more about their Chebec (Le Requin) in the 1/48 scale. From the pictures, it looks like a fabulous vessel and I have always loved the shape of that boat. Yves

Really impressive model. You and the new owner did a fantastic work. Yves

Time to sand the hull and prepare it for painting..... Yves

Your kits seems to bring the hobby to a whole new level. Yves

So precious: A little gem. Yves

Glad to see you back, with more marvels to show us. Yves

Gorgeous colors. Glad to see that you resurrected that beautiful boat. Yves

Beautiful diorama that you are preparing. Yves

Magnifique!!! C'est superbe. Yves