BLACK VIKING

What have I done to myself…
Washing and dry painting is extremely time-consuming.
Thousands of places that you can hardly get to and you always have to be careful that excess paint dries on places that you don’t immediately see.
 

 
But I think it’s worth it.
A nice contrast is created.
 

 
Left side up to the middle level is done.
A week of work.😵
 

Not so far away from Verrebroek 
 
 
Small "two-week" update 
location the location of the holes, drilling the holes and hammering treenails : a slow but steady work in progress 

 

Treenail update,
 
The weather forecast has been the same here for several weeks : rain and occasional showers...
So a lot of time to drill holes and add treenails...

 
After all the treenails have been applied it is time to scrape and sand. Pieces of old Stanley knives are used for scraping.

The original and the model (picture of the original is thanks to @firdajan)

After sanding, the hull was cleaned with a wet cloth.

The starboard side is ready. 
Wales still needs to be done, probably also with treenails, and bolts??.
I sent this question to the Mary Rose museum, but no response yet

Thanks for following

The engine and cowl are now mated to the fuselage. I had a couple of minor problems with this portion of the build, neither of which was due to any inherent shortcomings of the kit. First, I did not recognize until after I had finished the cowl that its three ventral openings are not centered on the aircraft's midline. This led to me improperly positioning the second of the three rings that make up the cowl. Second, I dropped the forward-most ring while I was gluing it together, and my dog got hold of it, leading to a few tense moments between master and dog, with the final result being that the ring was every so slightly, er . . . munched. I fixed it as best I could, and, happily, I don't think that either of the two errors just described will be highly noticeable on the finished model.
 

Hola fellow modelistas,

due to different reasons, I neglected my bench and MSW for some weeks and the next weeks won't be much better. Despite all obstacles, I wanted to start a new feel good build to motivate myself and so I chose my favorite F1 car for the task. Since a while, I accumulated some goodies for this project and since some weeks everything arrived at my doorstep.

The kit:
 

 
The goodies:
 

 
- Top Studio Cockpit detail set
- Top Studio PE-set
- Top Studio carbon decal set (was the hardest to find)
- TBDecals sponsor decals
- Tamiya seat belts
- PE rivets
- Colors from Zero Paints (a first for me)
I considered starting with the body, but decided to start, like the manual suggests, with the engine. Big mistake, at least motivational. As you can see on the pictures, the parts are metal plated in an aluminum finish, what's not to like about it. First of all the plating has spots and foremost it's completely superfluos, because nearly the whole engine is BLACK. You might say, no biggie, but it is, because of the plating no part fits how it should, you have to scratch, grind, and re drill all holes. Beside this, you can't use normal modeling cement, so I was forced to use CA.
That's not all. The engine parts sport all known types of plastic abnormalities, like prominent parting lines, ejector marks, burr and flash and the silver plating doesn't enhance general visibility.

Strange thing, that other versions of the kit seem to include the engine on black sprues. In all the beginning was utterly frustrating, we don't speak about an ancient short run kit, cast in some garage, it's a relatively modern incarnation, Fujimi what have you done.
This will not be a fast build, other than I sod the kit, if it continues to fight me back.
Oh, I haven't spoken about detail. The positive so far, the engine is very detailed and has a large part count. On the pictures, only half of the parts are added for better painting.
 

 
If you look at the picture above, you can see the cylinder heads with very prominent cooling ribs, which unfortunately doesn't exist on the real thing. This is how it looks, with the added PE parts from Top Studio.
 

 
Fujimi, are you the Japanese Italeri?

I'm still hoping the best for the non plated sprues and will not instantly bin the kit, but it's definitely on probation.
 
Cheers Rob

Thank you Marc. The mockup of the forecastle bulkhead is ongoing, but I'm shooting for something like on the HMS Prince of 1670 where the belfry is somewhat integrated into the bulkhead and not sitting on top of the forecastle deck, there will be single doors either side of the belfry, just giving you an idea where I'm heading with this. Also I cut in the entry port on the larboard side only, still a lot of work lies ahead.
 
Michael D.

I was looking at the pictures of the plane on the Model Expo web site today (where its been discounted another $20 from when I purchased it a couple of weeks ago). There is a picture with all the kit materials laid out. In this picture the replacement parts that I have asked them to send are not shown. I am now thinking that there may have been a quality control issue with the whole run of the model - I would not be surprised if all the kits are missing eight laser cut parts!
 
So while I will continue to hope for the best, I'm not banking on getting the rest of the parts anytime soon. If worse comes to worse, there may be enough scrap freijo to construct the parts I will need. 

Here are the finished panels in the wing jigs

The spars are 3 x 3 mm laser cut in a sheet of freijo. Not sure why Model Airways didn't just cut strips. Being laser cut, there was the residual char to clean up. The two sides flush to the sheet of wood didn't take long to clean up; the other two sides took longer. Because the spars have a square cross-section they can be released from the sheet, rotated 90 degrees and placed back into the sheet for the sanding / clean-up. This way I didn't need to worry about rounding the corners of the strips while sanding.
 
Before

and after

Notice that the spars come in two lengths. The shorter ones go on the top wing and the longer on the bottom. They have been cut to take into account the finished wing's dihedral. While labled as A1 and A2 on the sheet, unfortuately (as far as I can see) there is no note of this / direction in the instruction manual and/or plan sheet. Perhaps Model Airways will make an edit for future runs of the model!
 
I've attached the spars to one of the wings so far

The next step will be to make up and attach eight additional ribs to the wing panel. They will go where the four slots are in the jig that do not hold wing panels.
 

Log entry 10
 
I am continuing with the second planking, and managed another 2 planks on either side.
 

 

 

 

 

 
I had a small bump where the plank did not run all evenly (slightly too much taper in one location over a few planks), but I think I have rectified it now, with a slightly unorthodox plank shape. Not very visible, so I am ok with it.
 
TJM

Planking:
 
Only the top row of planks still to do:




Adding a stealer to the bow, which curves up rather dramatically. Treenails made of whatever scrap wood that came to hand.

And filling the gap on the starboard side.

But I discovered the sheer on the larboard gunwale was not correct, so I had to undo the glue and cut the treenails to move it down into a curve that worked better with the top planking:

Ah, that's more like it . . .

Planking complete on port side (old Goon show joke: Ned Seagoon, on board P & O steamer: "Purser, where's the rest room?" Purser: "Port Side". Neddy: "Port Said??? I can't wait that long!"

Antepenultimate plank:

Penultimate plank:

AAAAAND - Planking complete!

Aftercastle and masts dry fitted: (sorry about the picture quality) 

Steven

Today another 300+ nodes were added to the six wing panels - tomorrow they get painted to match the fuselage.

Thanks again for all the likes and for those who have looked in.
 
After a day or two off, I resumed working on the Sopwith Camel, painting the "wooden" struts between the wings.   That is in quotes because the pieces are in cast metal.   I painted them a medium brown then dry brushed some darker and lighter brown to try to achieve a wood look, though I kept it very subtle.  I then painted the black metal connectors at the ends of the struts, applied some "Sopwith" decals, then coated with a semi gloss acrylic.  The latter sort of reactived the brown acrylic paint, discoloring the decals just a bit.  Oh well.   These pieces are not quite done, as they have some photo etch bits that serve as the attachment points for the wing rigging and one of them has a cast metal propeller driven fuel pump to be attached.
 
I admit, though, that the siren song of the Porsche 917 model is getting louder in my ears.  Unlike some of the other cars I've built recently, I promise to do a build log if I make that diversion.

Let’s move on to mid- and high-level preshading.
 

 
Pannellining and lighting. As well as highlighting individual structures.
 

 
Now I’m back to the decals, but I’ve had enough for today. 🤤
 

 
Everything is slowly coming to fruition.
 

With the deck surgery ongoing I took a little time to rework the lower fore mast, introducing taper and fabricating the hounds, also I pulled a mold of the figures on the outside of the bulwarks and attached them to the inside for added detail and a finished look. All of this is still in the rough in stage of course and just amazed how soft and bendy the plastic is for it's age. 
 
Michael D.
 

And here is the access hatch aft, underneath the accommodation block. On the bottom is the motor and then I made a level on top for the radio receiver and ESC. I don't think I left the motor like this, I think it's aligned better, but I'd have to check. Haven't looked at that for a while.
 
You can see a small metal plate in front of the access hatch. This is part of a door magnet system, the other part is glued inside the accommodation block, it keeps it nicely in plate. Also the accommodation block fits nicely around the coaming to stay in position. For releasing the magnet, I tilt the back of the accommodation up and hinge in on the front edge, which releases the magnet from the plate. 

 
And slowly made my way aft from the forecastle. You see the mooring winch in place and the outline for the wavebreaker that protects the forward tank equipment.
 
Close-up of the detailing. A spare anchor seat, although I don't think she ever carried a spare anchor.
 
The mooring winch hydraulic lines (yes, I know, I probably overdid that...🤪)

 
Currently I'm trying to put 2 parts per day on this ship. There's an enormous amount of stuff to be placed. Which is why I stopped back then. However, by forcing myself to build and/or put 2 parts on the ship each day, I'll slowly make my way. Some parts take a long time to build, some less, however when time is too limited, I shift from a larger, more complicated piece, to a smaller one that's manageable within my available time. In the end, all parts have to be made after all... 

Thanks everyone for the likes.
 
The left side of the wing looks much better, so I guess I'll be redoing some of the lines on the right side, plus I have 2 more to do on the left side.
 

Hi all,
 
Continuing my Beginner's journey in to the world of plastic modelling, I bought the kit below, a British Army Humber MkII Scout Car. It comes with a Commander and a small diorama base. It was less than £10...no paints, glue or brush were included in this edition. I visualise it being used in North Africa.

 
A quick look at the box contents - the manual, transfers and the plastic bits. There are 65 parts in the kit - 'Level 4' on the box refers to the approximate number of parts, rather than the skill level required.

 
Below, the parts painted with a matt Black undercoat, and a different type of glue from the last kit (...Sherman tank) -  I had hoped this glue would be less smelly than the Revell glue, but it wasn't - I now have Tamiya Extra Thin glue on order...3rd time lucky?

 
The kit really is quite small. Parts can be tiny, and painting of fine details will be a challenge.

 
Below, the underside of the Humber with both wheel axles about to be fitted. The grey plastic showing through the undercoat is where I scraped off mould lines and/or removed paint for gluing.

 
My fingers found it difficult to position small parts for gluing. I tried tweezers but parts can ping out of those, so I ended up using some BluTack on a cocktail stick - that was a decent improvement on fingers.

 
Starting to think about the composition layout of the diorama, plus the Commander getting ready for the paint shop. And the spare wheel which will be mounted on the front of the vehicle.

 
Now using up what was left of the tube of smelly Humbrol Filler putty to fill in the diorama area. This time I tried a breathing mask and it was surprising successful against the Humbrol putty. I have decided to extend the 'building' as I felt it was an important part of the 'story'.

 
Where I've got to so far. Some colours added, plus some dirt. From my visits to the Middle East (...the closest I have got to North Africa) I remember desert sand as usually being close to white, and plenty of skree scattered about.  I'll just fill the crater with rubble and stones rather than with (as I think Revell suggests) water. The scout car has also been give a base colouring. And looking at it again, I may add another corner to the building.

 
Final part in a week or so,
 
Regards,
 
Richard
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Here's the windlass and anchor rope

Part 12
The Case of the Case
 
In the latter part of October, 2022, I drew up plans for the display case that would protect Victory from dust, cats, and the few individuals that can't resist touching something. I did this "Old School", something I really enjoy, with drafting tools and a mechanical pencil on my drafting table. Dimentions of the base are 54 1/2" L  x 17 5/8" W x 3 1/2" T. The case frame for the plex is 53" L x 16" x 21" T. I chose Maple for the material and Minwax "Gunstock" for the stain.
 
I've built smaller cases before and a few furniture pieces. I estimated about a month to do this. Then the rains came through the Central Coast of California.
 
To be continued.

Started the canard today. I made two copies of the plan so that I could assemble the two sides simultaneously. Giving them a little more time to dry now before lifting the sides off and then adding the top and bottom pieces to join them.

Hi Andy, that won't be necessary, I'm currently employed on a vessel built in 2019 and before that I was on a vessel built in 2016/2017 (and before that on a series of vessels built 2006-2012). The last two I followed up during construction in the yard and took them out of the yard later on. That's exactly where my doubts have originated. I believe Chaconia also had the stairwell construction of A60 already. 
The whole series of LPG tankers were built in the beginning of the 80's, with '70's technology, however they'd have to comply by the rules of those days and I do believe that fire integrity was already a requirement back then. 
 
Today's update is some of the detailing on the vessel. 
Each cargo tank was equipped with a "gas dome" or "vapour dome" and a "pump dome" containing all gas connections as well as the filling line of the tank and manholes for tank entry.
The pump dome being aft, containing the 2 cargo pumps, the level gauge and the bulkhead valve. The tanks are split in 2 longitudinally, for stability reasons, but there is a valve in the separating bulkhead to equalize the level in both sides of the tank. The top of the tanks, where normally the vapour phase of the gas would be, is also connected. 
 
I made the main structure of those domes from wood, but clad it with Litho plate, a very thin aluminum plate used in the printing industry. 

 
I also found a picture of the rudder under construction. The rudder is basically a brass plate on a brass rod, I then put a top plate for the shape and filled it with epoxy car body filler. Before all that, I added a ring, where the rudder support would come. The ring can turn independent from the rudder stock, and will be built into the support. (if that makes any sense) 

 
And here you see some mooring equipment. In the upper left corner you see 4 dry powder boxes, which are mounted on deck and contain fixed dry powder tanks for fire fighting. In the far left upper corner you see the start of the ventilation fans. Each tank had 2 large ventilation fans (with heating) installed near the vapor dome. These were used to heat up the tanks and gas free them for entry. 

 
 
And a detail shot of the mooring winch. The ones in previous picture were mounted on a plate with the drip tray around it, since they were for the aft section, the bottom plate is used to hide part of the rudder access hatch. The other winches are mounted directly on deck, without bottom plate, also with a drip tray around them.

I finally got around to building a table and a crate for the Orlop deck. I'll probably make one more of each for the port side of the deck.

Rigging the shrouds

Put on the orange base coat today. Will give this time to cure before the clear coats to come later. This was a custom orange I mixed more than a year ago when I built a Can Am McLaren M8B and wanted a match for the McLaren paint. I had plenty of it bottled up and thought it looked good for the Orange Crate. Nothing I had on hand looked the right shade of orange straight from the bottle. Can't recall my formula for this mix as primarily, I did it by eye not by specific ratios of colors.