bhermann

A small diversion...
Need some jaws....

 
So this is a scratch build right?
Milliput to the rescue. Soft copper rod soldered to shape and a rough daub of epoxy.

 
Bit o' sanding...

 
Trip to the dentist...

 

 
Cosmetics..

 
A little root canal work and tidying up...

 
Well it's a start... think I can go from here to something like the original later on.
 
 
 
 

Once again Test fitting the superstructure , always looking  for flaws , the hull colour will  lighten up, by mixing in some battleship grey, still thinking about the deck & topside weathering & chipping

Those are some great ideas for future builds.  I did their Titanic (might have posted it here, or on the old site) and recall the difficulty getting the hull to line up properly with no twists.  I also recall that after completing the deck assembly and seeing the instruction on attaching it to the hull, I thought to myself "you've got to be kidding!".  I had a second run at it a couple of years later and the second version turned out much better.
 
Bob

Those are some great ideas for future builds.  I did their Titanic (might have posted it here, or on the old site) and recall the difficulty getting the hull to line up properly with no twists.  I also recall that after completing the deck assembly and seeing the instruction on attaching it to the hull, I thought to myself "you've got to be kidding!".  I had a second run at it a couple of years later and the second version turned out much better.
 
Bob

Those are some great ideas for future builds.  I did their Titanic (might have posted it here, or on the old site) and recall the difficulty getting the hull to line up properly with no twists.  I also recall that after completing the deck assembly and seeing the instruction on attaching it to the hull, I thought to myself "you've got to be kidding!".  I had a second run at it a couple of years later and the second version turned out much better.
 
Bob

Those are some great ideas for future builds.  I did their Titanic (might have posted it here, or on the old site) and recall the difficulty getting the hull to line up properly with no twists.  I also recall that after completing the deck assembly and seeing the instruction on attaching it to the hull, I thought to myself "you've got to be kidding!".  I had a second run at it a couple of years later and the second version turned out much better.
 
Bob

Those are some great ideas for future builds.  I did their Titanic (might have posted it here, or on the old site) and recall the difficulty getting the hull to line up properly with no twists.  I also recall that after completing the deck assembly and seeing the instruction on attaching it to the hull, I thought to myself "you've got to be kidding!".  I had a second run at it a couple of years later and the second version turned out much better.
 
Bob

A few tweaks have improved the fit of the bottom from what they were (seen in the photos).  Something not easily seen in the photos (but seen on broadside images of the same kit) is that the act of forming the stern together (the last phase of attaching the hull sides to the deck/superstructure) causes the an upward deformation of the deck ... a little like a banana curves - although not as much.  The railings want to flair outward as well.  I blush with the positive comments on the build, since (as many builders are) I see every fault ... yet have learned enough to do better on round two as noted below.
 
  I looked at the components of the Metal Earth (Iconic deluxe kit) Missouri and saw that the rear hull sides have been laser cut with a 'compensating' downward arc that should deform upward on assembly so that the deck will stay level.  'Guess they learned this from the Arizona.  The Big Mo kit has actual turned gun barrels for the main armament.  Build observations on-line have noted that when assembled as-is, there is some 'wiggle' in the big guns and they don't align well ... unless one uses epoxy in the tiny gun mounts before attaching to the turret pieces.  Secondary armaments are flat and bent up like that of the Arizona - so I intend to clip them off, fill the small turrets with kneadable epoxy and insert steel pins as the guns from the outside (going into the yet-to-cure epoxy) for a more realistic effect.  In fact, I might try to scare-up a few hypodermic needles to cut off with a Dremel so they'll have a 'bore'.
  Idea #2 is to have small screws imbedded (centered with a jig) into the turret epoxy on the main turrets so that the finished turrets can be mounted (secured with a nut under the mounting plate) so that they can swivel - as if BB63 were about to deliver a broadside for a shore bombardment.  The Missouri is 887' in length and the model measures right about 1 foot ... so I guess you could call that around 1:900.  Will it be any easier than the Arizona (e.g. larger parts)?  Well, it seems the designers have put in more detail and there are more parts total - and some of them are just as tiny.  After a session on the last model I was a little cross-eyed.
 
  From doing the last model, as levels are stacked to make the superstructure, there is cumulative 'play' that needs to be addressed.  So idea #3 is to 'fill' the various layers that will get stacked in order with kneadable epoxy, making sure to level-off the epoxy at the bottom before it cures.  Then when that level is attached to the one below (having a solid metal 'roof') a dab of regular epoxy in the center of the filled bottom will bond with the surface below upon attachment.  That way there will not only be twisted (or bent) metal tabs holding the higher level on, but a glue bond as well - which should eliminate any 'wiggle' between parts altogether.
 
  'Guess these would be 'minor busts' to the kit as supplied.  In between household chores, I'm reading Underhill's "Masting & Rigging the Clipper Ship" ... a good balance of both text and illustrations that make a good primer for any would-be modeler of sailing ships - wood or plastic.
 
Fair weather and smooth sailing to all !     Johnny

Great job, Johnny. I've only done one of those Metal Earth kits - made the Hubble space telescope for our astronomer son for
Christmas a few  years ago. Not as much work as your Arizona but definitely good practice for fiddly bits! I put it in a shadow
box for display...perhaps you could do that for yours?

A very nice job, Johnny.  I love the pluses you added along the way.  I have done a bunch of these Metal Earth models over time, mostly famous buildings and spacecraft.  I love the detail they are able to build into the designs.  You have given me some good ideas for doing curved pieces that  I can add to future efforts.  Thanks for sharing!
 
Bob

A very nice job, Johnny.  I love the pluses you added along the way.  I have done a bunch of these Metal Earth models over time, mostly famous buildings and spacecraft.  I love the detail they are able to build into the designs.  You have given me some good ideas for doing curved pieces that  I can add to future efforts.  Thanks for sharing!
 
Bob

A very nice job, Johnny.  I love the pluses you added along the way.  I have done a bunch of these Metal Earth models over time, mostly famous buildings and spacecraft.  I love the detail they are able to build into the designs.  You have given me some good ideas for doing curved pieces that  I can add to future efforts.  Thanks for sharing!
 
Bob

A very nice job, Johnny.  I love the pluses you added along the way.  I have done a bunch of these Metal Earth models over time, mostly famous buildings and spacecraft.  I love the detail they are able to build into the designs.  You have given me some good ideas for doing curved pieces that  I can add to future efforts.  Thanks for sharing!
 
Bob

A very nice job, Johnny.  I love the pluses you added along the way.  I have done a bunch of these Metal Earth models over time, mostly famous buildings and spacecraft.  I love the detail they are able to build into the designs.  You have given me some good ideas for doing curved pieces that  I can add to future efforts.  Thanks for sharing!
 
Bob

A very nice job, Johnny.  I love the pluses you added along the way.  I have done a bunch of these Metal Earth models over time, mostly famous buildings and spacecraft.  I love the detail they are able to build into the designs.  You have given me some good ideas for doing curved pieces that  I can add to future efforts.  Thanks for sharing!
 
Bob

Ahoy mates,  I was looking at the Scarnhorst build and that was enough to spur me to built a little metal kit of the U.S.S. Arizona thats been laying around since last Christmas.  I've been very busy trying to keep the Admiral happy, so have not made further progress on my long term build (Wasa) - so I found some You Tube sites with tips for the Arizona (and other metal models as well), and it looked like something I could actually FINISH in a day.  The caveat on this model is the SMALL scale - 1:1325 - based on a 608' prototype shrunk down to 5.51" long!
 
  The Arizona was built in 1915 and refurbished in 1931 ... we all know of her fate on December 7th 1941at Pearl Harbor.  The model is configured to that time, and has a surprising amount of detail for something so small.  Of course, compromises were made - but the product will not take up much space on the shelf.
 

 
  The picture above shows the tools needed - actually the flush cutters were still a little large to sever the 'clip points' on the laser-cut stainless steel sheets (2), so I had to touch them up with a grinder to refine them.  The drill bits were to form small curves in the pliable metal, or to form small cylinders.  My lighted magnifier was a MUST, as I found it hard to work with some of the tiny pieces ... or even see some of them.  The metal is actually delicate, and I accidentally broke a couple of small bits off ... there were a couple of small repairs made with 1 minute epoxy.  Building this was a 'crash course' in dealing with this type of model, and in future will take on a better kit of this type (not as small) of the U.S.S. Missouri.

 
 
  Zowie, here are the sheets with a hand shown for scale.  I applied a wash of diluted Testors enamel red to the hull where it had anti-fouling paint, and light brown to the wooden areas of the deck (not shown here) - those area had some laser-etched texture.  The rest of the parts were left bright metal, since the paint doesn't stick well to dead-flat shiny surfaces.
 
  
 
 
  Here is where I had over-bent a tiny compartment and broke off part of the wall.  I did this repair with kneadable J-B putty to fill the compartment to be a backing for the broken section of wall.  When mounted, the repair was a success, as the cured putty (6 minute set variety) is not visible from the outside.  Fine tweezers,  and finely tapered needle-nose pliers (no serrations) a dental tool and also an X-acto knife were wielded as need to push, prod, tease, bend and otherwise work this thin-metal medium.
 
 

 
Above is a substantial part of the superstructure.
 

Here are the aft guns.
 
 

 
 
  Now I've got the deck together ... this is an ABBREVIATED build log, since this sort of model was (as stated at the start of the log) just a break from the many things I have yet to do on my 'honey do' list.  Lat year the Admiral got a new deck.  Now I have to put  a spa next to the deck.  But really, the model has a certain 'charm'.  The total build time turned out to be 10 hours over two days.  There was a lot of fiddling with it, and some errors had to be un-done and corrected, but it is very good practice at manipulating small objects.
 

 
 
  And here she is ... all of 5 1/2 inches in length.  You can see the applied red and tan paint in the areas mentioned before.
 
 

 
  Here you can see that there is a lot of detail etched into the metal.  I think that for the Missouri I will apply the lessons learned to be able to do a better job on a better model - one etched on larger sheets.  
 

 
 
  Here is a view from the stern.  Other than for the aforementioned repairs, no glue was needed ... just a lot of patience.
 
Smooth sailing and fair weather !  Johnny
 
 

Scratch built  Weathered life raft to be stowed on the day cabin.    Salt, tropical conditions, sun all  took there tole on the rafts

Today worked on the Samson Post platform and Bowsprit Bits. Also fabricated and installed the jumbo jib boom traveler block and gammon iron.

When I put the bowsprit into the model I discovered the alignment of front and the square part at the rear was not correct. Note the rotation of the square part when the front is rotated correctly.

 
To fix this I decided to slice the dowel under the fore part of the rail where it won't show.

 
I then drilled a hole in the center of each part and inserted a pin to hold it together. I used epoxy to glue the two halves back together, carefully rotating the two pieces into alignment.

 
This actually was helpful. I was able to paint each half before gluing without worrying about masking. All black for the front piece and all white for the rearward. Once installed you can't tell it wasn't made that way. Per was right about it looking great after painting!

 

Back to metalwork. I procured butane fuel for my mini torch and silver solder paste. These lugs are so small they're hard to hold.
 
I experimented with various clamps and cleaned the parts. Everything was arranged on a suitable fire-proof surface.

 
There was a lot of fussing getting everything arranged just right and a tiny bit of solder paste on the lugs. The actual soldering was the easy part. It took just a few seconds heating with the torch then the solder melted and flowed nicely. Surface tension pulled the lugs against the ring. It would be easy to use too much paste or heat too long. Just a wave of the torch over the part and it's done.
 
Both rings had the lugs soldered on and were installed on the bowsprit. The eyes and staple were then glued on with epoxy.

 
Not my best work, but looks nice at viewing distance.

With 5 of the 6 pairs of shrouds completed the next step is to tie in the ratlines to them. Spaced 3/16" apart they should factor out to 106 ratlines for the entire foremast when completed. 

Making progress with the foremast. Backstays and running tackle has been reeved and belayed on deck cleats (top photo). Both the double and single forestays have been made fast by belaying them under the bow grate ( 2nd photo). And the forward most shrouds are made taut and served to their turnbuckles which are wired to the chainplates. (3rd photo). With the foremast now stepped, minus  the remaining 5 pairs of shrouds yet to be rigged, I've been profiling the mast rake ( about 1.5 degrees abaft ) against the sail plan throughout the masting process. 





 

While reviewing the plans, I realized I had not installed the dory buffer blocks along the outside waist. The board the waist was made from turned out to be the correct thickness and width for these blocs. There was a discrepancy noted between the plans and the photos of the prototype. The actual ship had five of these blocks but the plans show six. I opted to go with the actual implementation.

 
Rather than reapply the masking, I opted to carefully hand paint the blocks.

Rails are ready for paint. The deck was masked. The hull was masked from the top of the yellow line down. A coat of grey primer was airbrushed inside and outside of the rails and waist. Initially I had inserted wires in all the pre-drilled holes to insure they would not be filled when the paint was sprayed on. It turned out the wires were unnecessary as the airbrush coats were thin and uniform enough there was not excess paint to fill the holes. It's a wonderful tool!

 
After the primer dried thoroughly the wires were removed and the surface was prepped for the final coat. A light sanding and any areas needing wood filler were touched up. A couple coats of white were sprayed on the inside of the waist and the tops of the rails.
 
When the white had dried the rails and inside of the waist were masked. In the pictures of the prototype the hull paint comes slightly over the edge of the rail. The masking was laid down to create the same effect. The outside of the waist and rails were spayed with the hull black. After the paint dried the masking was removed and areas needing touch-up were taken care of.
 
All the eyebolts and belaying pins were installed now. The belaying pings used PVA glue for installation. Because the eyebolts have tiny surface area and will have lines pulling directly along their axis, I used epoxy for fixing them in their holes for additional holding power.



 
Looking good!
 

Thanks for the demonstration, Eric.  Now there is yet another possibility to consider. I like the construction method that follows actual practice this closely.
 
Bob