BLACK VIKING

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.
 
 

Morning all,    just  been  surfing the  net  when  I  came across  a bit  of info  about  Napoleon  -  after his  defeat  at  Waterloo and  his surrender to Captain Frederick Maitland of HMS Bellerophon off Rochefort in 1815, he was taken to Plymouth Sound UK  where he remained on board, 26 July – 4 August, while his future was decided. This event caused a local and national sensation as thousands took to the water,  here  is   a  painting  showing  his  holding  before  his  departure.
 
I think  it  was  very  interesting   due  to  my build  and also  our  previous  past  living   in Plymouth  over looking the  Sound  Harbour.
 
Drawing off the  net  not  mine   (not  quite  that  old  lol)
 
OC.

Dry fit (again, for motivation). The chassis fits right down on top of a belly pan. The pan will be orange eventually.

 
I love those Offenhauser valve covers. WhennI was a teen, I bought an Offenhauser triple single barrel carb intake manifold for my ‘51 Chevy, and the matching Offy valve cover, too. I thought I was the cat’s pajamas with that setup back then. My dad throttled me back more than once. I guess a lot of us my age went through that stage back then.

1:84 Santisima Trinidad – Trafalgar 1805
Artesania Latina
Catalogue #22901
Available from Artesania Latina for €749.99
 

 
The Santisima Trinidad (full name: Nuestra Señora de la Santísima Trinidad), was a Spanish first-rate ship of the line with 112 guns. This was increased in 1795–96 to 130 guns by closing in the spar deck between the quarterdeck and forecastle, and to 136 guns around 1802 (plus 4 small guns on the poop), thus creating what was in effect a continuous fourth gundeck although the extra guns added were actually relatively small. She was the heaviest-armed ship in the world when rebuilt and bore the most guns of any ship of the line outfitted in the Age of Sail. She was built at Havana, Cuba, to a design by Irish naval architect Matthew Mullan (domiciled in Spain under the name Mateo Mullán), originally intended as a ship of 112 guns. He died on 25 November 1767, and the construction of the ship was continued by his son, Ignacio Mullán. and the ship was launched in March 1769 and completed in August 1769 as a 116-gun three-decker. She was considerably larger than her British contemporary Victory and somewhat bigger than the French Bretagne.
 
Commanded by Francisco Javier Uriarte and the flagship of Rear Admiral Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros, she took part in the Battle of Trafalgar on October 21, 1805, as part of the combined Franco-Spanish fleet. Due to her great bulk, her helm was unresponsive in the light winds on the day, contributing to her ineffective service in the combined fleet's cause. Her great size and position immediately ahead of the fleet flagship Bucentaure made her a target for the British fleet, and she came under concentrated attack by several ships. She lost her mast and eventually surrendered to the Neptune; a 98-gun second rate commanded by Captain Thomas Fremantle. She was taken in tow by the 98-gun second rate Prince but was eventually scuttled by her British captors northwest of Cádiz.
History abridged from Wikipedia.
 
The kit
 

 
Before I post my own information on this new release, I’ll give you the details of the kit, as per Artesania Latina’s own blurb.
 
“In addition, the naval modeling kit of the Spanish vessel comes with several paper templates to make the building process of the model easier. Among other functions, they are used to arrange the elements on the decks and to place the embrasures and other objects on the sides of the hull. Speaking of the hull, its structure can be assembled as if it were a 3D puzzle. With this faithful 1:84 scale replica, you can represent correctly the appearance and artillery of the Santísima Trinidad in the battle of Trafalgar since it brings the howitzers that the ship carried in great detail -144 cannons-. Likewise, modelers who wish to line the hull of the magnificent model of the Spanish ship are in luck because the kit includes copper tape to be able to do it below the waterline.
 
Once it is assembled, the model of Santísima Trinidad (22901), measures 46.88'' (1191 mm) length, 35.63'' (905 mm) height and 18.26'' (464 mm) width. Its design using a false keel and frames brings its assembly closer to the real ship. As a bonus, the kit of Santísima Trinidad comes with 5 die-cast figures.”
 
This new generation of large Artesania kits certainly pack a whole load of contents for your money, and of course, the boxes are very large…and heavy. Definitely another kit where you need to try hard to fit everything back under the lid if you intend to repack for a later date. 
 





 
This new release comes with FOURTEEN sheets of laser cut and engraved ply sheet in a varying number of sizes and thicknesses. The material, in my sample kit, is perfectly flat, without warp or defect, and all of the cutting and engraving is clean with no laser blow-back. All parts are also laser numbered too. Included with the timber sheets is a set of three A4 parts plans which you can use to quickly locate the part you want without fumbling through the actual sheets. All of the timber parts in this kit are cellophane wrapped and not too tightly as to cause deformation. 
 




 
As you look through these sheets, you’ll see the unusual manner in which the parts are supplied. You won’t find a single-piece hull, or even a two-part solution. The hull is built up from three parts, and the bulkheads are multi-part creations that use dovetail joints to hold the parts under glue. The hull itself is built up in sections and expanded as you progress from bow to stern. This is a lot like the system used in the monthly magazine partwork builds. The various elements of construction should mean that the build proceeds with minimal risk of the keel being twisted (although I would always ensure this is the case, as you build). 
 





 
You will find a number of parts on these sheets that relate to things which aren’t frames or bulkheads etc. such as the deck grates. I’m not absolutely sure I like this aspect, as these aren’t engraved. To fix this, you would need to varnish, then score along the grates to show the main batons running bow to stern, and then apply a dark ‘wash’ to make the grate look like it’s made from individual parts. You also won’t see any deck sections in the parts sheets. There aren’t any. All decking is single planked, directly onto the top of the various frames/bulkheads. You will need to ensure that your plank joints are very tight together, and I would also think along each edge too, or the deck wouldn’t be solid.
 

 
Another point that’s important to mention here is that the hull is single-planked. You will need to tread carefully here if you are used to double layer planking. You will need to ensure that your timber doesn’t sag anywhere as you won’t have the fallback of another layer. The good news is that the planking timber is superb quality and it’s 2mm x 5mm (300mm long). You also won’t see any bare timber in the finished build, so you have a little extra leeway too. The lower hull is coppered (5mm wide tape) and above the waterline, the colours are black, red, and white.
 
Multiple packs of high quality strip timber are supplied in cellophaned bundles, and clearly labelled for size. I very much do like the quality of the timber elements in this kit. They are a world away from my first build…ironically, an Artesania kit!
 


 
Another pack of timber is included. This time its dowel of various diameters. The material used is birch, with the small quantity of 2mm being bamboo. Thankfully, the latter does look fine, but I don’t go a bundle on bamboo for mast/yard material. 
 

 
There are FOUR fittings boxes with this kit. Here are the photographs to see for yourself. The rigging blocks are deadeyes are perfectly good as far as quality goes, with the metal parts being cast in a zinc alloy. This includes the cannon. Some seams are present on some of these parts, and you’ll need a rotary tool to remove these. Other zinc alloy metal parts include buckets, anchors, stern décor, ship’s wheels, lower quarter gallery sections, belaying pins, belfry roof, etc. The figurehead is also far nicer than many of those supplied in other contemporary releases, with this one being cast in multiple pieces to eliminate the problems with single-part casting techniques. There are some brass parts too, such as the lantern tops, bell, anchor rings etc. 
 












 
The fittings boxes also include brass wire, netting, eyelets, glass parral beads, brass nails, turned metal stanchion, capstan, brass chain, metal cannon balls etc. You will note that the lower decks have stub barrels and not whole guns. You won’t see them down there anyway, especially in 1:84.
 

 
Love them or loathe them, Artesania has supplied a full set of sails. The material is quite thin, and the stitching is good, apart from that which edges the material. This is way too much and not nicely done. If you want to use these sails, I suggest picking out that stitching and redoing in yourself. However, I would simply leave the sails OFF a model of this type. 
 

 
A number of other items are packed within another clear sleeve. These include some very nice silk screen printed flags, a roll of 5mm copper tape, acetate sheets for glazing, and various paper templates that you lay onto the planked hull, in order to position gun ports, fenders etc. 
 

 
If you like photo-etch, then this kit has in in abundance. All of the SIX sheets of this is produced in brass, using multi-layer etching processes, and cellophaned to a thick card backing to protect it. You will see that a lot of the parts, certainly the larger ones, concern the stern fascias. While these are very nice, I would use them in conjunction with timber to enliven them further and produce something which looks more 3D. The same applies to the quarter galleries, but if you install the supplied materials properly, then you will still have a very nice result.
 





 
Now…rigging cord. There is quite a lot of this, as you would imagine, and generally the quality is ‘ok’. There is a small degree of fuzz on the spools I looked at, although not as bad as that of a number of other manufacturers. I would consider either replacing the rig or using one of a number of techniques to reduce the fuzz. 
 

 
This kit supplies a few printed sheets, and what looks like a full-size colour side profile photo which will be very useful for reference. A full colour parts list and fittings sheet is also included. At this point, I have to tell you that there isn’t a printed manual. All of the instructions are available for download from the product page on Artesania’s website. There over FIFTEEN downloads too, so you’ll see why this isn’t included in print. Ideally, you could do with a laptop or tablet in the workshop and access the instructions from there. The instructions are graphically driven, and the sheer number of photos is astounding. Around 8000 photos are included, over 800 pages. I know Chris would kill me if I submitted that number for his kits! Everything looks extremely easy to understand with just about every angle of the build covered, multiple times. I’ve included a few photos from the various instruction downloads. If you head to Artesania’s YouTube page, you will also find a number of tutorial videos for this specific kit.
 


















 
Conclusion
While I’ve seen numerous unboxings of some of Artesania’s recent large kit releases, this is the first time I’ve seen one for myself. Construction is generally quite different to what you’d expect with regards to bulkheads and hull skeleton construction. I’m not at all averse to this methodology at all. In some respects, it seems almost modular, and highly unconventional. It does appear to work well for the builder, having researched a number of online builds. I still have to get my head around a single-planked hull. It’s something I need to try and align with as I do intend to build this in the future. The hull is fully painted/coppered, so there is a lot of flexibility with the underlying timber if you need to fill and cut back…albeit carefully. You most certainly will need to be more careful than you perhaps would normally be on your lime planking. I know I’ve certainly improved in that area over the years, and you’re best employing a good method of tapering, such as the one that many use here…Chuck’s method. 
 
Another unusual element here is that ‘missing’ manual I mentioned. There is a QR code that you can scan which will take you to the product page on the AL website. Here you can download the manual directly. If you like a printed manual, you’re going to need some serious ink to print this. I know this aspect can be difficult for those that like a manual supplied, as is traditional.
 
In all, this is a kit I actually quite like, and I know Artesania are proud of their products. I’ve been discussing their products with them over the years, and this is one they are excited about. As far as price point is concerned, I think this is pitched correctly, considering the size of the overall model and the quality of materials supplied. Another contemporary manufacturer has released a limited-edition kit which is twice this price, and around the same scale, and slightly smaller. In comparison to that, minus the other kit’s gimmicks, this kit still stands head and shoulders above that with regards to quality and value for money. I’ve often said that I have a fondness for AL kits as that is how I started in the hobby, but I wouldn’t steer you wrong. This is a very nice kit; with the caveats and things I’ve mentioned. If you have the skills to build an intermediate to advanced kit, this is definitely one to consider.
 
My sincere thanks to Artesania Latina for the kit you see reviewed here on Model Ship World. To buy directly, click the link at the top of the article. 







 
 
Related Products
Before I mention these, Artesania have also designed this model so that the grand cabin can be illuminated. Installation of the specific AL set is shown within the many photographs for this kit. The lighting set can be bought from AL for €24.99, here.
 
Ok, I have been sent two additional sets that are designed to be used with this kit. These are a figure set (to add to the small number included within the kit) and a paint set. 

 
The paint set, which is available here for €31.99, includes TWELVE 20ml bottles of acrylic paint. These paints can be applied with a brush or thinned for use in an airbrush. The website says they can be thinned with alcohol or thinner. From this, I presume you can use either isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol, or possibly something like Tamiya X20A. For the latter, do a small test to make sure the paint doesn’t congeal. The paints in this set are:
 
·      Off White x 2
·      Off Black x 2
·      Bright Red x 1
·      Red x 2
·      Ice Yellow x 1
·      Buff x 1
·      Cocoa Brown x 1
·      Dark Red Leather x 1
·      Gold x 1
 

The Figure set I have for this release, can be bought here for €29.99. This set consists of SIXTEEN figures and accessories which are period-correct. The figures appear to be cast in zinc alloy and look quite nice for this scale. Included in this kit are:
 
·      Captain x 1
·      Officers x 4
·      Surgeon x 1
·      Marines x 2
·      Grenadiers x 2
·      Gun Crew x 5
·      Sailor x 1
 
Also included are accessories, such as sabres, gun crew tools, ammunition etc.


 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Hi Ulises! Your Soleil is looking great, I like the aged patina, very unique!

Thank you, ASAT!!

Hello all. Glad to be back after a long hiatus.
I am starting this build log of my A.L. Soleil Royal after a few months of having started the  build. At this moment I have almost finished the decks planking, hull planking, gunports, and a few other minor things.
Don't ask me why, but I don't like painting my ships. And in this case I went one step ahead, and decided to make it looking "used and abused". Some may argue that Soleil Royal never looked like this, and thus this can't be "named" Soleil Royal. Well, sorry... it is my ship and I will do as I please.
 
So, here are a few photos.
 





At this point I still had not decided on the weathered finish



The porcupine. I used bamboo toothpicks glued to a previously drilled hole, to simulate the nailing 

Jig to cut the gunports frames.



This is how it finally looks



Making doors using toothpicks







 
That's it for today. Bye all!

Afternoon all,
 
Joined recently after an email conversation with the very talented Chuck. My name is Simon and I'm the prototypical middle aged chap in north east Scotland. I'm my wife's carer and I'm hoping model boats can be a relaxation when time is available. I have a mild brain injury so while I'm not too bad with the doing but I'm not great with the remembering of lots of names for new things, apologies in advance. I used to do a reasonable amount of woodwork with just hand tools but arthritis put a stop to that. Smaller tools seem, so far, to be kinder.
I'm nearly finished my first kit, the Occre Polaris starter kit, and I'll get some pics next time it's out. It's taken me about five weeks to get to standing rigging and I'm quite pleased with how I've got on. There are plenty of errors but most I've found my way round or been able to repair. Having taken a lot of time looking at the various manufacturers and folk's results here I now have two Vanguard kits in the stash to work on. It seemed they are expensive compared to most but the quality and level of detail as standard makes them great value for money in comparison. Hopefully I'm realistic though and will do one or more of the fishing boats before progressing to any of the fighting boats. Personally I'd rather not model the fighting ships but as Vanguard kits seem so good I'd rather attempt them than not.
 
Look forward to speaking with you all and hope to do a build log for the next kit.
 
Simon

Here she is:
 

 

Hi Johnny. Thanks for the input. I never know what to make of the rigging on historic models. They've either aged several centuries themselves or the ropes have been replaced in restoration. Either way, the lines probably aren't the original color.  And I don't know how close they were to reality in the first place.

For my model, maybe I should just stain the ratlines dark brown.
 

 

 

 

This is the painted and glued in forecastle deck:
One thing that really bothered me up to this point was that no one in their depictions of the Mayflower showed just how old and beat the ship was. So, i decided to weather the entire exterior of the hull, as well as the interior bulkheads. 

I admit it looks much better.