BLACK VIKING

Quick update -- wings and stabilizers attached to fuselage. I'm still impressed by the aircraft's sheer size. The model is a bit over 11 in. in length and has an almost 16 in. wingspan. I couldn't clear away enough clutter off my workbench to make room for this shot, so I had to move the 'Cat to a different table.
 

 
 

To get the effect I want, used a white grey oil to tone down the heavily chipped areas. Stowage is carried on the most heavily paint-damaged areas and is yet to be added toward the finish of this project.
 
 

The curve part of the stern was planked in. Due to the extreme curvature and trying to keep the plank as the same size as others presented a challenge.

The solution was to make number of parallel cuts (1/2 the plank thickness) from the back side of the plank strip. Those cuts allows the plank to be spread out into the curvature as needed.

The main mast channel was installed according to the drawing.

Top view of the installed main mast channel.

The quarter deck hull edge was cap off with a 2x7 mm end piece. A notch was cut into the strip to accommodate for the upper shield rail.

Quarter deck hull edge piece installed.

Rough cut outs for the lower knees were attached to the main master channel. It was pointless trying to cut accordingly to the printed outline from the component board (which are identically inform), as the hull shape is constantly changing and unique. The rough cut out just need to be larger and longer than what the final knee shape needs to be. 

The lower knees were shaped individually to the final dimension.

A side view of the main mast channel & shaped lower knees.

 

Future ones should look even better, as I have an 8k 3-d printer on pre order. I will do 48th and 96th versions at some point.

Chris mentions above the likeness has been simplified, from just behind the hub where the propeller root clamps are. That’s maybe why it looks “in line” to you. Added a picture of my 1/24 Cat prop for comparison- I had the luxury of a plastic moulding for mine and only had to paint it! 🤣

So, I promised a shot of the finished propeller, so here it is. Yay.
 

 
My joy upon completing this task was cut short once I started work on the canopy. The vacu-formed canopy has proved to be roughly 20% too large for the frames. 🙄  Are the frames too small, or the canopy too large? Yet more puzzles to solve for this kit. 😑

No matter which way I try to shake it out, a lot of interior detail will be buried inside this model.
 
 

Model will be finished in a winter, Russian scheme. There is a inner 37 mm gun and a machine gun cupola to be finished before I can move on to outer paint.
 
 

Regarding the differing sizes of the printed parts sheets, I was strongly advised to not keep them scale, due to piracy concerns, unfortunately. The main plans for hull profiles, masts and yards are to scale though.
 
The un numbered triangular parts are jut spare quarter gallery patterns, in case you mess up...

Evening all,   right  thats Two  Hussar  horses  painted and weathered  - given them quite dirty legs, they still need their  flat coats.
 
OC.

Quick update, I now have Saucy jack sail sets in stock (the premium ones), they finally arrived.
 
Also had another 20 sets each for Nisha and Erycina, with ranger sets being produced now. Also being produced is a small quantity of premium Alert sail sets (only 8 sets due to high cost). I will have one set available soon, the one shown in the pics. Alert sets will be £120 per set, but they are very expensive and very time consuming to produce, with the bolt ropes being hand sewn.

And yet they started off so refined, here is a pic of the master carvings for Vanguard, Elephant and Bellerophon. A world away for the semi crushed, undersized white metal castings they turned into.
 
For digital carvings, printed directly from the original file is always the best way to go, as they're not duplicates of duplicates. 

Look at this for example (Granado). I wish there was some kind of aftermarket products I could buy to improve it. Its going to be painted anyway so why didnt they do it in resin instead? I even need to bend it straight....

As it turns out, 79 links appears to be right on the money.
 

Evening all,   next bunch of French  started  -  primmed  then hands/hands  basic covering.
 
OC.

Evening all,   this  small group is done  minus  flat coating.
 
OC.

On the 'D' Lossimouth 1960’s The DP was normally positioned on a small hill in the centre of the Airfield. Only the painter knows why it is on the D with Rescue One. (still some details to do) ps me in the 6x6 !  w/c 16” x11”

You'll want some sort of strategy to assemble the track links. Mine was to use masking tape to hold everything in place while link parts are positioned then cemented into place. It's intended the links be operable, but it will require careful placement of cement to keep from fouling each link hinge mechanism.

 
 
Just took a close-up photo of a road wheel truck to show the level of detail molded into the parts. The trucks carry the serial numbers and the wheels the name of manufacturer and wheel size. Excellent detail.
 

I am calling this one finished guys.I did add with a bit of a cuss factor the external gun sights.

Thanks, Druxey. That certainly reduces the mucking around I have to do. I made sure I got some cotton thread today - not a perfect colour match, but close enough (particularly as thread thread this thin it's hard to make out the exact colour anyway).
 
I thought I'd post a few progress pics of the ship as it looks overall. Coming along nicely, but so many ropes. But I'm finding it gives me a more than just intellectual understanding of how everything works together - it's all been a bit vague and conceptual up to now, so the hands-on stuff is doing me good. Oh, and the painted sails are looking nice, too - (they're actually more colourful than they show in the photos).
 

 

 

 

Steven

Evening all,   some more  progress  today  - firstly  I  had an error  to  rectify after doing more reserch  - my Tirailleurs   that I  had made  where  not  part of the attack on LHS  they were sent in to deffend  Pappolette  Farm  against the Prussians,   the  biggest  difference  is the different  Shakos  with extra brass  braids  and  Higher plumes,   so  I decided a little surgery  was needed  "off with there heads"   I was able to swap them over  for the correct heads.
I also  made up some more 54th/55th   including another  injured  fello.
 
OC.

Once it’s all done it will look like this closed up
 

 
and liked this opened up
 

 
The panel fit is tight enough that magnets will not be needed.

In consideration of Thomas’s request, I’ve been photographing the headrails as I carve the horse ornament.  The starting place was to carve the fanned relief in the inner scroll:

From there, carving the horse is mostly about establishing levels within the carving.  Here, I’ve determined that where the mane meets the horse’s back will be the lowest-depth cut of the carving, my baseline:

After undercutting the mane a bit, which helps give dimension, later during the modeling of the mane, I decided to proceed from the tail to snout, as this Roman skirt was an easy thing to understand and model:

It all proceeds smoothly enough, until the head, which presents some challenges.  For the record, I have not done any involved study of horse anatomy.  I am merely attempting to hint at the major muscle groups that animate the animal’s jaw and face.
 
I wanted to experiment with my idea to add the bordering of the headrails.  It was easy enough to induce a curl into this square styrene strip (.020) with my finger nail.  I anchor the starting point with thin CA, and then I work my way around the scroll, 1/4” by 1/4”, with liquid styrene cement.  It turned out about as well as I could have hoped.


Today, I finished up with the modeling of the head and mane.

I still need to add a few applied “buttons” to the two bands that wrap around the horse’s body, but this is a simple thing.  It is not an anatomically perfect study, but there is shape and movement that will catch the light and create shadows when painted.
 
In other news, I have installed the pass-through archways.  Because boxwood carvings will sit upon these, I wanted to ensure that they were very securely affixed.  After much fitting and strategic scraping of paint, I fit two pins (from a paper clip) into each bracket:


The plan was to glue these in using CA in the sections where the pins are, and liquid styrene cement in-between and at the foot.
 
I got the correct rake and alignment for the port side, on the first try.  There were, however, a pair of gaps that needed filling for a secure welded bond:

I added styrene pads to the foot and below the lower pin and then faired these to fit seamlessly.
 
With these brackets in place, my conception of the way Berain’s stern relates to these quarter galleries can be clearly understood:


As a side note: it was really challenging to get the foot of each bracket to align with the pilaster of the gallery bulwark beneath it.  The starboard side is acceptable, but the port side (showing the merely acceptable side) came out perfectly:

I also wanted the brackets to follow the round-up of the stern, so their in-board surfaces had to be beveled, accordingly:



In natural light, this is a very accurate reflection of my colors.  Presently, I continue to do all of the necessary touchups, distress washing (not applied to brackets yet, in these pictures), and blackening of the upper main wales and channels, on the starboard side.
 
My least favorite aspect of this build is attempting to cut super-clean lines directly onto the model.  The plywood base is a tremendous asset for these circumstances, but it is always awkward and difficult.  Here, my line began to waver, after I had been at it for a few hours:

The back and forth process of revision is on-going.  The Heller kit has many flaws, but I do think it is fair to say that they get the aft sheer, pretty close to the mark:

More to follow!
 

Have not decided yet, but I may build magnetic fasteners to allow removal of panels to allow major parts of the interior to be viewed. The engine bay cover is an example.