BLACK VIKING

Finally got the foretopsail yard fixed and sewn to the sail.

 
 

 
And I've now done the lateen sails as well. Here's the complete suit of sails, with yards attached.
 

 
And I've finished gluing ratlines to the lower larboard foremast shrouds.
 

 
Paper from the guide stuck to the shrouds before I put the sticky tape onto it, and glue blobs that stuck between the back of the shrouds and the sticky tape, that had to be removed.
 
  
 
I picked the paper off with tweezers. For the blobs of glue I've used water, rubbing alcohol etc.
 

 
Not a perfect result and I think I'll be revisiting these shrouds to clean them up further. And I'll need to re-think the whole process for the next sets of shrouds and ratlines.
 
Steven
 

Got a surprise build I have just pulled the trigger on  (it wont be started for some time though as I have my heart in my  Waterloo build at the moment)
 
When I was a youngster I visited my brother in London and he took me the the Natural History Museum,  I was gob smacked to see not just the Huge  skeleton of Diplodocus  - but what made me stand there open mouthed  was the skeleton of T Rex.
I always wanted to do a skeleton  model of T Rex  but factors never allowed for this  - till I found a monster of a skeleton kit on flea bay  - couldn't help it the pull was too strong.
The attraction of a skeleton over a flesh model is I have only known the skeleton and it represents  what I saw in the flesh, same with the admiral she remembers seeing the same one.
Its Three feet long by about Two feet tall.
 
So this is the bad boy kit  - 
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/110629895158
 
OC.

NEW AT VANGUARD MODELS! - 'BUY NOW, PAY LATER' (Pay In Three) from PayPal.

 
I've been helping Chris with his website and PayPal have really been bugging us with rolling out this system for VM customers. VM satisfies their criteria which allows customers to make purchases from £30 to £2000 using a three-payment system. 
 
Once you go to PayPal checkout, you will have an option to choose this. The total cost is split into three equal payments at 0% interest, and then the remainder is paid on the due dates over the following two months. 
 
The great news is you of course get your items shipped straight away as you would if you'd paid up-front.
 
That'll help break up some of those costs we all have when it comes to buying our kits and stuff!
 
https://vanguardmodels.co.uk
 
https://www.paypal.com/uk/webapps/mpp/paypal-payin3/faq
 
There are some territory restrictions, but can't remember them at moment!
 
 
 
 

So it’s been awhile since my last update, she says in my cupboard for a while between little bits and pieces. So thought I’d do an update.
planning how to do the camo was what caught me out and it just sat there.
 

primed and then some base work by airbrushing through a sponge.

 
then grey coat of paint.
 

 
took awhile how to work out the best way to mask so it has a slight feathered edge. Tape would have been a last resort. So using ziplock bags traced the camo with a pencil.
 

 
then traced it to paper 
 

 
cut them out and stuck them on with Tamiya tape turned on itself to be double sided, took a few days!
 

 

 
I then redid the base effects
 

 
and applied the green top coat
 

 

That is looking mighty fine EJ,   I agree on your decision about the Yellow Ocre  - surely the gold would have been left to the ornate carvings.
 
OC.

First set of rail decorative carvings are ready for paint. Will have to repeat these three more times for the other rails. Not sure if I am going to paint them gold as the kit shows or a yellow ochre. Thinking that I may reserve the gold for the forecastle for country showmanship, and the quarterdeck for flag status and do the midship rails in the ochre. 

Marc, OC, thank you both very much for the kind words. And thank you as always to all the likes and those following along. 
 
Another update as I have had a productive weekend. Rails are up around the bow and now I have started a in-filling the decorative pieces in the rails. These are being carved out of polystyrene sheets as I did for the other carvings. 
 

 

blew my mind too Mark.........the things one finds in research?!?!?!
 
been an interesting turn of events going on here........the Revell kit will be a separate log.  I found some interesting information to go along with it.   I went back into the Mega Hobby site to find decals.  it wasn't going too good....there are no aftermarket decals for Dornier or Heinkel aircraft {this is where I was going to get the call letters from}.  but then.......I saw them!  there is a decal sheet made by Kits World {warbird} for the B 24 'Sunshine'.  they were done depicting the captured plane.  as I looked further.......I was bummed to find that they were 1:48 scale........noooooooooooooooooooooo!
      I contacted Mega Hobby asking if they had them in 1:72 scale.......they replied with a no.......    I didn't bother inquiring about the decal I already got.....my fault for not reading thoroughly.  I did reply to them,  telling them....that's OK......I still love ya,  and proceeded to look up the Kits World site.  I not only found them,  but I found the decals too!  naturally,  I ordered them straight away!  I still need the call letters........I could use what I have,  but they may not look correct........at the moment,  I'm walking on eggshells 
 
I have the Revell / Monogram '60 Chevy Impala hardtop kit......it's what my dad drove when I was a kid.  on the old Model Kit site,  they have a '59 Chevy Impala {bel-air} hardtop........My mother drove this one {it was her first car}.  I always referred to them as Chevy Bel-airs.   the past week I was bummed to see that someone was buying it..........today I looked and they must have decided not to,  because it was back into 'cart' status.  so after a bit of 'carrying on about it',  the admiral gave in...........but I fear that I burned the last of my bridges.  she was pretty stern when she said....'no more!"
 
one thing I need to look into with these two models,  is that neither had a V8 engine.  as I recall,  they both had the L6 engine {I'll have to look up the CID}.
  my dad's car for certain........after all,  I fell on the hood with the tricycle,  piercing the hood and the valve cover! 
 

that is correct.........as I read,  they were stock.  not to get too far off track here,  the L6 was a 235 C.I.  small blocks were next  with the 283 C.I. {the best engine in my view.  larger engines were the 348 C.I. { you could get it turbo charged and with fuel injection.   the 350 C.I. ,  409C.I. and larger came into place a couple of years later.   what surprised me,  is that fuel injection went back that far.......heard about it { like the maintenance free battery},  but never read up on it.  the kit is in the post.........there will be a log     I haven't seen the '59 kit yet,  but these kits do not supply the engine as an option.  they only come with the V8......last time I looked in the box,  it had the triple carb set up. I have never seen one of these cars with a V8,  let alone this carb set up {not even four barrel}.
 
as for the Liberator,  I forgot that I had found another site devoted to captured aircraft.  some of the plane look quite interesting.......
Harold A. Skaarup web pages
......and for anyone looking at getting one of these kits?
Atlantis Plastic Model kits Made in the USA!
......and for those who are looking for decals...
kitsworld Model Decals & Photo Etch for the Modelling Enthusiast

And  how it ended up  - 
 
OC.

And on to the topgallants.
 
For a change, the main topgallant yard didn't break while I was working on it. I think that's the only one that hasn't, so far. And (just for Pat ), a matchstick for comparison.
 
Front view:
 

 
And rear view. Sewing on the "robands" is in progress. If you look carefully you can see the blocks for the lifts at the yardarms and for the clewlines attached to the yard. The fuzzy thing in the middle is the parrel truck, made entirely of cotton thread way back when I was 17 and had no idea what they were or how they worked. And at the lower corners of the sail, the blocks for the clewlines. The sheets will be added later, when everything is ready to be put in place. 
 

 
And complete.
 

 
Fore topgallant:
 
I started putting the blocks on for the lifts and - surprise! surprise! the yard broke. But being experienced at this kind of thing now, I added a fish (the lighter coloured strip attached to the yardarm)
 

 
And glued it back together
 

 
Once that's dry and secure, I'll trim it to shape and add the blocks for the clewlines. Then sew the sail to the yard.
 
Very slow and fiddly, but the result is worth the time and trouble.
 
This is the last of the square sails, and all the yards for the lateens are newly made, so I shouldn't have problems with them breaking because of age and brittleness. 
 
Steven
 
 
 
 

Planking for the first deck is complete. I am doing the rough construction of the buildings and will dry-fit to the first and second decks before opening the slots on the first deck. It looks like the misalignment of the forward building noted in other logs is present. I will probably remove the problematic mounting tab and install with pins instead.
 
Regarding the finishing of the deck, after doing a mock-up, I will varnish, trace the outlines of the building walls, then mask and sand to remove the stain and varnish on the wall footprints. Then glue the building on the deck. At least that's the plan as of now.
 
 

Part 11
 
 
Here is the bottom after a coat of Alclad II Lacquer Klear Kote matt.  The weathering was applied before the Klear Kote.  Wheels were added along with the radio antenna.

 
Starboard Bottom wheels and boarding ladder.

 
Aft view of the weathering streaking back on the booms from the turbo-superchargers.  The heat quickly damaged the paint.  The effect was a freehand airbrushing of tan followed by a light dusting of buff.  Then the heavy staining was applied powders using a brush,  followed by Klear Kote.

Port quarter view.

Focus stack of the business end.

 
Cockpit.

 
Turbo-superchargers.

 
Antenna mount.

 
Starboard Prop.

 
Starboard side.

 
Port side.

 
More to Come
 
BobW
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

no real armor on these planes to speak of.....they save the weight for the bombs   the B 24 was mostly hydraulic,  unlike the B 17......I read a lot of comments that the smell of oil was quite prevalent.   getting shot up must have been quite messy.  one thing I noticed on the model was the landing gear arrangement.  looking at the underside of the wing,  the gear itself had part of the door attached to it........but where the wheel locates,  there isn't anything at all......the tire is exposed.  there is a bit of a dome at the rear by the flaps....I'm going to have the flaps down as it's coming in for a landing.  I may make a stand for it,  since the model will be a tail dragger....unless I decide to add weight somewhere.  but this is just one of the idios of the early Revell kits......I'm certain it was the same.  on the Atlantis kit,  you can't have the wheels down,  and the gear doors closed.......didn't look right the first I laid eyes on it.  that kit being produced in the '50's,  and this one being produced in the 60's...it shows the extent of research and information they used in the production of the model.

I've done quite a bit of clean up on this one.  the 'new meat' should arrive tomorrow    I got the decal set in today's mail.....much more to scale than the other sheet I got. 

 

I cut the sheet down so it will fit in the sleeve....I also cut some off the sleeve so it will fit in the plastic bag better.  makes it easier to pull it out too!  they sent along a free sample.....a set of 3D seat belts.  they look to be for a 1:48 fighter plane...I'm going to contact them and see what they fit.  there might be another plane in my future  
 
....and if your ever asked to do a review of the product you bought,  don't do it in the e-mail.   I did it.......and I even mentioned how I thought the decals were for a larger scale {and I wasn't crabb'in}.....I hit submit and it sent me to the website.  the review I wrote was gone!......wiped out!  so the heck with it........I ain't gonna bother!

waiting for the model to arrive.......passing time by fixing a couple of the chairs in the dining room {the seat pads were coming off}.  there was another one on the front porch that my younger son sat in and it broke.......fixed it with a 'L' bracket and will serve me well at the other table in the spare room.  I also mounted the new crane light on table black.  continued on by browsing through the oldmodelkits website.....couldn't believe what I saw.  I was on page 111,  when I saw a hardware kit for the Dumas PT 109.......3 shafts,  rudders,  support brackets,  and props......3 of everything..........are you ready for this?!?!?!?!   $19.00!!!!  I paid $40 bucks apiece for the single kits!  I guess you know I snapped them up in a hurry!    it may be too late to make any mods on her,  so I'll save them for when I need them.
 
I went in the spare room and painted chromate green on the insides of the wings.  you'll see it in the wheel wells and flaps.  I also decided to put the hatches in the waste gunner's windows........I heard the familiar knock on the door.   the kit is here    
 
I am not totally happy.........more on the 'new meat' soon..........gotta go run some errands

Hi again.
 
I have now got the items I ordered and I will now continue with the work. I will go this path instead as you see in the photo. I can highly recommend these books and colors. I have played with the AK real colors and start to like them very much. In the upper right corner you can see a T90 that I am painting with the AK real color modern Russia set.
 

 

 
First I put some layers of chipping fluid with the airbrush.
 

 
The AK Real Color paint is really thick in the bottles so this is how I do to dilute them.
First I stir up the paint.
 

 
Then I add the thinner to the airbrush. Both the proper one from AK or Mr.Color leveling thinner work perfect for this color. 
 

 
Then I collect the color with the help of a brush and add it to the paint cup. I mix the color in the paint cup with the help of the brush.
 

 

 
According to The Ak Real Color book the ambush camouflage is called "Camouflage Scheme 1 and was introduces in September 1944. The dots could be brushed or sprayed on.
 

    
I start with AK RC RC060 and this color represent Dark Yellow Ral 7028 of 1943.
 

 
Then I paint the green (all colors are applied with freehand airbrushing) with AK RC 047 That is Ral 6003 Olive green.
 

 
And then the final color that is AK RC 068 Ral 8017 Rot Braun.
 
 
 
After this it is time for the spots. I use a quite diluted mix and low air pressure.
 
 
 
Here is the final result. I feel that the yellow spot got a little big so i will adjust it little with brown and green.
 

 
I am now back to to the place I was before I took the decision to strip the color. And now can the weathering trials continue. 
 
Jörgen

In the UK there is a real steam-engine scene, whole in continental Europe and much of the rest of the World these thingies may be only known as a historical phenomenon. Also, due to the industrial development lagging behind, they have not been as wide-spread, as in the UK. Having had the Matchbox model of a traction engine, I was aware of their existing from an early age on, even though I grew up in Germany, I certainly was not aware of the extensive 'steam scene' in the UK until I came to live there in 1987. I then attended various 'steam-fairs' and it turned out that the uncle of a colleague of mine actually had one ...
 
This model was built around 1989/90. I just got my watchmakers lathe, but building a working model was certainly out of scope at that time. I happened to chance upon the Keil-Kraft kit, which was still current then - the company faltered since then. Just at that time the monthly Model Engineer published a series on building a working model of a Fowler Z7 (HAINING, J.: Countryman‘s Steam - Fowler Class Z7S.- Model Engineer, 5 August 1988 - 1 June 1990.), which came very handy for detail drawings, particularly for the actual steam-engine. A local museum owned a Fowler Class BB1 ploughing engine which I could photograph and sketch for more 'typical' Fowler details - the makers followed their design practices independent of the size of the engine. The visits to various steam-fairs furnished further photographs of Fowler engines.
 

The assembled, but not yet painted model
 
The Keil-Kraft kit was ok with respect to the proportions and the principal structure, but lacked most of the technical details that are very visible on such engines. Most notably, there was big hole, were the two-cylinder compound engine is supposed to be. So most of these details were built from scratch in brass, steel, aluminium, Plexiglas, and styrene. The engine, of course, is not working, but the appearance of the engine, the gearing, the ploughing gear, etc. has been faithfully reproduced as far as it is possible at 1:76 scale.
 

 
Fowler was a very interesing and innovative company in the field and the market leader in steam-ploughing sets. A set consisted of two identical ploughing engines and a so-called balance-plough that was hauled between them across the field. The sets were expensive so that only very rich land-owners with large fields could afford them. Typically they were operated by contractors, who would move from farm to farm. Off-season they were employed in drainage work, pulling tree-stumps and everything, where a strong winding drum with a steel-cable was needed.
 

 
The winding drum has an interesting history and was the key innovation by Fowler. The invention was not made by John Fowler himself, but by a young German engineer, who came to the UK to learn and in search of work. Max Eyth also became an important sales engineer, first helping the Viceroy of Egypt to build up a cotton industry and later in his home country from where he worked also in Eastern Europe. In Germany he also became known as a writer through his memoirs and various novels.
 

Compound cyclinders with their drainage cocks, safety valve, and steam-operated whistle
 
The history of Fowler as a company is written up here:
 
LANE, M.R. (1980): The Story of the Steam Plough Works. Fowlers of Leeds.- 410 p., London (Northgate Publishing Co. Ltd.).
 
Fowler not only produced plouging engines and ploughs, but also a wide range of traction engines, locomotives, and other items.
 
 
 

The clutch-system to connect the winding drum to the steam-engine
 

Two-speed driving gear and clutch and boiler-feed injectors including water-hose
 

Driver's view
 

Driving stand with all the levers, valves and gauges
 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Bismarck is now shipping to retailers etc. with Amati's own online store carrying it from around September, so not long to wait now.
 
MSW will be having its own in-box review here too.
 
This is the box-art for the kit:
 

Hi Will, 
Nice to see your progress, your Vic is looking super.  I wrestled with the tiling also, and here are a few tips.
 
I used CA Gel, which gives about 20 sec of time to locate the tiles exactly before it grabs. Just used 5 small drops/tile - 1 at each corner and one in the middle; glue placed on the hull not on the tile.  Careful not to use too much so that it oozes onto the surface. Started on the garboard plank, adjacent to the keel as it had a nice straight line to follow. Just apply them in a staggered pattern like laying bricks.
 

 
To do the keel, I used a Mission Models bending jig to get the 90 deg bends straight.  The plates are the right size to cover the bottom of the keel, plus one face. The other face of the keel can be done with trimmed plates.
 

 

 
Work up to the waterline.  When nearing it, I added a strip of copper tape used for stained glass work, letting it overlap the waterline.  This will hide any small missing corners of tiles if they appear.
 

 
After adding the tiles to cover the waterline, apply a piece of tape and mark the finished waterline on it, then, using a very sharp Xacto knife, trim the tiles to the marked waterline.  Although I didn't do this, you can try to represent the rivets on the exposed edges of the trimmed plates.
 

 

 

 
Keep up the good work!!

Thank you GrandpaPhil and Backer, and the likes. Here are some better pics of the completed model, with more in the gallery.
 

 

 

 

 
 

I have built many 1/700 kits 25 years ago. Now I rebuilt them one by one. The last built was Yamashiro.
 

Well the President arrived today, 2 days earlier than expected so I cleared the deck, or rather the desk and opened the box. On first look she doesn't look to bad. The guide book has a step by step guide with great photos, but, as with Artisania  Latina the how to do it instructions aren't really there. Also before ordering I checked the length as I didn't want a very small ship. The length is similar to Mamoli's Golden Hind which I was happy with.  Thus I was a little disappointed with the length of the false keel and the height of the bulkheads. After dry fitting, eventually, she may not be as small as I had thought.
 
Looking at the sheets of wood supplied I am a little worried that I will run out of strips fairly quickly if I am not careful. The rest of the small parts look sufficient with the possible exception of the blocks. There do not seem to be all that many. My biggest disappointment though are the cannons. The barrels, although short aren't too bad but the carriages are hopeless especially without wheels, despite the instructions saying to carve them into shape. I am also a little disappointed that the decks are laser etched with only 2 strakes. I would have preferred to plank it myself or have 3 or 4 planks between butts. 
 
Regarding the dry fitting this was a challenge and a half. The Bulkheads and false keel have 0.00 tolerance so each notch needs to be filed down quite a lot but , little by little, to get a snug fit. When this is achieved the next hurdle is to attach part 15 the deck support. I thought I had filed down all the notches on both the deck and the bulkheads, only to snap it aft of bulkhead 5 as I tried to push it down. Luckily I had a couple of 4mm wide and 2 cm strips of wood which fitted into the notches in the bulkheads to tap the deck into place. (I didn't think I'd need to find them until too late.) This is as far as I have got this evening but have already found out this is not ideal for a beginner. No mention of filler blocks and timber having to be sanded or filed to fit never mind snapping by accident is a bit too much to ask of a novice. These are the photos of contents and progress so far though nothing  is glued but considering the tightness of the fit, I'm not sure it needs to be!! 

Finished the rigging, which wasn't overly complicated. I just followed the kit's instructions. There's probably a more complex and accurate way to do it, and I temporarily studied some photos of the reproduction, but had a really hard time following the lines. What's shown here at least makes basic operational sense to me. Note the beitass holding the windward corner of the sail (the pole wedged into the leeward hull and extending up to the sail). Balaclutha75's drakkar log has some good discussion and imagery of how this might have functioned, especially the lovely National Geographic artwork linked in this post.
 
That image also shows a few shields lashed along the bow gunwale, forward of the oars, just like I decided to do. Don't know if that's coincidental or if I subconsciously remembered that when working out my shield arrangement. It also shows shields stashed below the deck,  which I can always used as an excuse for my missing 20 shields, even though I dismissed that as an overall  solution earlier.
 
Nothing is glued in yet (hence the clamps in the photos below), so I'm curious if anyone has specific arguments for how/why I should change anything (within reason).
 
You'll also notice that I installed my figureheads. I realize these are still somewhat controversial as literary and archeological sources don't line up. But as someone who loves the Icelandic sagas and other literature from the period, I'm fine with hinting at that style of ship-building. Artist's license.
 

 

 

 
Looks like I got the focus a bit off on this last one, but don't feel like retaking it as the ship is already back inside. It gets the point across regarding rigging setup.
 

 
Once I'm comfortable with the rigging, all I have to do is add the oars back in and I'm done. Then it's time for some proper photography.
 
Please let me know what you think of this rigging setup (especially if you think any changes should be made), so I can move toward completion! Thanks so much.

thanks Blackreed.........the Atlantis model is fairly new.......a recent production of the old Revell model.  this Revell kit here......is old,  but it is in amazingly good shape.  I've built lots of older kits and I haven't had to use anything different as far as glues go.   the one thing I didn't mention,  is with the Warbirds kit,  the plastic is a lot thinner.........other model manufacturers seem to mold thicker plastics......the worst one I've done to date,  is HobbyCraft.  as I mentioned in my last post,  any decal sheet for this model would be unusable.......I learned my lesson when I ordered decals from Revell for the Cutty Sark,  now many moons ago.  even though the decal sheet looked new,  it had micro cracking,  suggesting that their stock of the decals were as old as the kit.  I'm not too concerned about the riveting........most model kits are exaggerated with this detail.  on the Atlantis model,  I actually sanded a lot of it off anyway.....would have been a total nightmare to put decals on a surface like that {unless you want to use a gallon of decal set}. another example,  is the Hasegawa U.S.S. Missouri I have.  some of the raised detail on it {especially the float plane} will need to be sanded off so it don't look so gaudy. 

finding the decals for this model would be impossible.  given the age,  no matter where I got them,  they would likely be too old.  if not yellowed,  micro cracking would have taken over rendering them useless.  so far.......none of the aftermarket sites list them..........but I smiled ear from ear with what I did come up with.  as with the B 17 Wulfe Hound,  the first B 24 to have gotten captured,  was called 'Sunshine'..B 24H-5-FO #42-52106
     
 
here's where the realization hit me.........the model of the Blue Streak is a B 24D........not an 'H'.   I'm going to have to see if I can modify the nose {at least}, if I'm going to be able to pull this off.   I just took a little time to look up a nose conversion kit,  but I fear that it's going to be a tough nut to crack  
    I do hope I didn't get this kit for nothing.......that would get me the hangman's noose for sure  💩   well........I'll show ya what I have so far.  I ordered the decals........that was a feat.  Mega Hobby didn't stock 1:72 decals for Sunshine.......only 1:48.  so I found the Kits World site and contacted them.  they do have them,  so I ordered them......they are on their way!

I will wait to compare the drab,  so the paint blotches in the decaling shows up.  I also found the story on Sunshine
The Saga of Sunshine's Forced Landing
the decaling again is going to make the model........it will go from this:
   to this:    or even this:
 

when the markings changed,  I haven't found out yet......but I like the banded one better.   keen to note that she kept her belly color,  as well as most of her markings.  I have a little more to show........and then it's back to my search  fingers crossed.