BLACK VIKING

Hello everyone,
 
So I have been able to receive a wonderful opportunity of continuing to a beautiful ship. The Wasa by Billing Boats. It's quite an old kit but we'll preserved and treated with much love. Right now I get to show it off and I want to try and do the best I can for this build. I will for sure take my time and really dedicate the proper time and effort into this to do my best and look for help as I travel this journey. 
this is some pictures of the plans and also came with it's instruction manual that is in good condition as well. 

this is everything that came in. I am excited to see how painting on all the plastic comes out because I haven't done that so I am going to need some advice on this for sure. 

I need to check up on all of these measurements because I feel the strakes are too long and my first starting point I decided is going to be finishing the construction of the base part of the Hull and making a good solid stand to hold the hull as I work. Hopefully you guys can join me and I hope to get some help because I am sure going to need it!! 

Then came the window panes. PVC film and matt transparent sellotape on the back ...
 

 
... gives exactly the right opacity against inside view while ...
 

 
... the outside reflects well, to be seen on both pictures on the right side window.
 

 
And then the special windows for the four old Trafalgar guns on the middle deck.
 

 

 

 
The guns sit almost on the bottom edge of the port, an indication that the windows sat higher than the former gun ports. The interior view is also funny 🙂
 

 
Then one of the 6 signal guns for saluting.
 

 
But I still have to do some work on both of them, the half ring above the old gun and the middle window bars on the signal guns are too narrow.
 
The "chasing" windows at the stern are also in now, ...
 

 

 
... and even better with paint.
 

 
XXXDAn

Following first ten rebates about low gun-ports range :
 

 

 

JC Harrison London 'Harpalyce' based on the entrance to the Royal Docks 
w/c 16.5" X 11.5"

HMS King Sol ASW Trawler hard worked little ship. Returned to owners post WW2 Scraped 1961.
watercolour 11" X 8"

Just for a change, a wee pencil drawing this afternoon. 'Baron Scott' 11” X 8”

Figures 277-278: 3x0,5mm lime strips around the window frames. This side will be the inner wall of the corridor side so let's see what kind of wall sturcure will come on top of them. Used the plan sheet for measurements.
 

 

In the meantime, all the deck beams were in place and the stove could be provisionally adjusted.
 

 
The next stage was the area between the stove and the fore capstan.
First, the capstan was removed and the bottom plate from the 1788 plans was added. No one has yet been able to tell me its purpose ...
 

 
And then glue it in and press it ...
 

 
... and public waiting, oups, the life of a model maker can be sooooo exciting ...
 

 
And with that, something had happened that no one had ever dared to dream of, that no one had thought was humanly possible, something earth-shattering:
 
This was the last piece to be fixed on the lower gundeck.
Herewith I call this adventure finished 🙂
 
It was only 12 years since October 2009 for the lower gun deck 😉
 
Respectfully, with kind regards, Daniel Fischer
(out of town after dictation)
 

It's definitely worth mentioning that that last couple/few posts represent work that was done simultaneously mostly over the holiday break from work and the last week or so.  It's not like I knocked all the stuff out one after another. I'd been thinking about how to handle the transom for quite some time - since like everyone else who's done this built I realized there's a pretty notable design flaw in that the sides of the transom just just out into nothingness with sharp edges.  Very strange. The other noticeable different from the NMM plans was the way the stern curved whereas almost every reference (and build) showed it as being straight. So these two things needed to be sorted.  First, I straightened up Peg's rear end.
 
  
 
 
 
   Next up, I addressed the weird jutting edges. I've seen a few different methods in builds - mostly adding a piece to fill in the gap. I decided my best bet would be to reshape the sides to more reflect the plans above. After sanding down and reshaping, I filled in the gaps and angles to smooth it all out.  Then I added the moulding to separate the lower stern areas to get an idea of how this would all play out. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Though the reshaping of the transom looks much better, it does create a subsequent problem that needs to be addressed - the fitting of all the carvings and decorations. Obviously, the kit provided photo-etched decorations are made to specifically fit the kit shaped transom. So - how to fit the decorations into a smaller, differently shaped area?
   First, I painted them with a few different layers and shades of yellow and yellow ochre to try and create a more three dimensional look - the same technique as I used for the quarter galleries.  Then, I installed the windows - because I know that the window locations are fixed and will serve as my benchmark for placing the rest of the decorations.  Once again as with the quarter galleries, I am using the thin microscope cover glass as 'real window panes' in my windows.
 
 
 
 
 
  Although the decorations themselves come in layers to facilitate somewhat of a 3D 'carved' look, I used the same technique as with the quarter galleries to to add to that after they were mounted - adding some thicker acrylic paint to bring out the texture. But first I had to get them to fit, so I cut apart each decoration so that it is a separate piece which allowed me to place them individually. I started withe the Pegasus centerpiece, then added the two soldiers on the outsides (the poor soldiers had to be 'trimmed' to fit the different shaped transom) and then individually placed elements to fill in the gaps in between. I even pulled a couple decorations that were intended for other areas of the ship.
 
  
 
Then, to further enhance the 'carved' effect, I filled in a small syringe with relatively thick yellow ochre acrylic paint and attached the tiny nozzle used for silver soldering. I added the painted to raised areas of the carvings to raise them even further. This took a lot of time and patience and some scraping off of extra painted when my fat-fingers splooged out too much paint on occasion. 
 
 
 
 
 
  Finally, lining up the letters was an incredible pain in the a**.  First, the laser cut letters are TINY, and very difficult to remove without damaging or bending them. Then - they were very challenging to paint, and finally- SUPER challenging to line up straight and with proper spacing. It took me almost as long to get the letters on the ship as it did to do the rest of the decorations.  Unfortunately, I'm pretty terrible at painting letters or I'd have probably just abandoned the laser cut stuff and painted.
   However, at the end of the day (though they're not perfect) I think they're pretty darn close. Of course the macro-lens shots show all the flaws, and I overall, I think it looks better to the naked eye than represented here with the super macro lens.
 

 
   Next step was to create a cap rail along the transom so it would match the rest of the ship.  I'd seen builds with and without this rail, and although I knew it'd be a bit of a challenge to get right I wanted to give it a shot.  I started by thinning out a 5 x 2 mm strip of basswood and soaking it, then using a hair dryer to bend and mold it along the curves. I used the gel gorilla glue CA to glue it down as I went along. 
 
 
 
   It was a pretty slow delicate process not to dry it too quickly and snap the wood, but it was worth it in the end.  After some trimming of the edges toward the bottom where it meets the wales, a little bit of filler in some gaps, and sanding it was ready to paint.  After it's all said and done, I am pretty pleased with the overall results. 
 
 
 
 
 

Figure 253: End of the first book! But looking at the material left, I feel the work (or fun!) is nowhere near half.

Ok the kits Lycoming O-435 basically finished except for touch ups....

I added a bit more chrome to the rocker covers so they shine a bit more... Why they put chrome on a military bird I haven't a clue... But it's there... It does have a belt and pully to drive the fan, but the upper engine mount has to go on first so it will come when it's time to mount the engine... 12 of 13 parts total.....
 
Next step is the instrument columns...
 
Onwards My friends...

Coasters
Does this help?
 

Fleet Oiler USS Pamanset AO85 in heavy weather 
w/c 11.75" X 8.25"

Installation of gun carriages on the deck of the gon-dec.

Lycoming O-435, The Model engine...
The first seven pieces, lots of painting... That is chrome on the rocker covers, no good way to get a shot of it though... (but you can see a hint of the green reflection from the build mat)
 
Next up the intake & exhaust systems, all of five parts... Few parts, all painting on this one...
 
Onwards...

Mikoyan-Gurevich MIG 15 Bis
 
Red 40 - Nikolay Shkodin, 1953
(Trumpeter 1:48)
 
Hereinafter the pictures of my completed model of this Soviet fighter. The build presented few fitting issues, but at the end I am pleased with the result. I chose not to install the jet engine inside the rear fuselage and to display it next to the aircraft. I used aftermarket seatbelt, instrument panel and resin main wheels for increased detailing.
 

 
The Jet engine Klimov-vk1 is fairly reproduced for this scale and, as said, I display it on a scratch build static stand.
 

 
The model was finished with Tamiya acrylic colors mixes and Vallejo metallic for the metallic finished parts. I tried the camouflage bands by spraying them free-hand to obtain feathered demarcations. However, perhaps the effect that I obtained is a bit out of scale.
 

 
I obtained the 2 x 23 mm gun muzzles by aluminium tubes, while the muzzle of the 37 mm cannon is an Eduard replacement.
 

 

 
 

 
I modified the oversimplified pilot seat to better reproduce the type used at the time of this aircraft.
 

 

 
The panel lines were obtained by oil colors washes. Other small stains were made with watercolor pencils.
 

 

 

 

 
I found this aircraft rather interesting to build and I hope you like my final pictures. The complete build log is reported in the above pages. I would like to thanks all those that followed my long build and especially those that have provided comments and suggestions.
 
Best regards,
Dan
 
 

I decided that I'd like to try building a card aeroplane model. Certainly not one as complex as a Halinski kit, so I searched and found that Fiddlers Green allowed you three free models (to download) if you signed up, in the hope you would buy models in the future. One of the kits I chose was the Me109.
 
This kit comprises just two A4 sheets with a total of 25 parts, there are no laser-cut pieces, no fuselage formers and no wing spars or ribs. Instructions are minimal. This build log will perhaps be the shortest one on MSW.
 
The two sheets of parts.
 

 
The basic fuselage assembled.
 

 

 
The forward fuselage is circular in section, so I added a former (scrap wood) to make it easier to attach the cowling and spinner.
 

 
The top deck, cowling and fin/rudder have been added. I have punched a hole through the fin to allow a short length of dowel to be used as a supporting spar for the tailplane as the kit simply has this glued to the fin with a short tab. This did not seem especially secure to me. And there was a problem with the tailplane anyway, which I'll come to in a minute.
 

 
The two halves of the tailplane. The starboard one is as printed and cut out. The problem here is that there would be a large gap between the fin and the inboard end of the elevator, if assembled as per kit. The inboard end of the tailplane needs to be trimmed, and the port half has had this done. The mounting tab that is visible on the untouched starboard half vanishes as a result of the surgery, making the spar mentioned above even more essential.
 

 
The tailplane (plus struts), tailwheel and canopy have been added. Also the exhaust stacks and the air filter on the side of the fuselage. The front of the cowling has been butchered slightly to allow for the fixing of the propeller.
 

 
The wing, fairly simple, one piece folded along the leading edge.
 

 
And now for the undercarriage. As cut out.
 

 
The wheel, hub plus tyre, is supposedly to be made by wrapping a length of card patterned to represent the tyre tread around two discs that are the hub/tyre. This and my attempt at doing this are shown below, though to be fair I didn't put much effort into doing this as I couldn't imagine the end result being anything like an aircraft wheel. So, I made two tyres from scrap wood and glued hubs to these to give a reasonable representation of the wheels, as shown on the right. The undercarriage legs were strengthened with strips of wood.
 

 
The fuselage and wing were joined together quite easily. Wing radiators, airscoop under the nose, wing guns (short lengths of styrene rod), the propeller and spinner were then fixed. Finally, the undercarriage. This was somewhat awkward as the kit made no provision for mounting this. Some scrap card was used to support the legs and to get, as near as I could, the correct angles. Seems to have worked.
 

 
 
There are some problems with the kit, but as it was free, I cannot complain. Interestingly, there is a notation on the bottom of one of the sheets that says "First design Spring 1987" and "Third redraw and design 9-2003".
 
Slightly frustrating at times, but a good introduction to a card model.
 

Ratlines are done
 
I have made guides for each side. It helped me to maintain parallel lines while rigging.
 

 

 

 
 

Well, I think this project is complete, although I will build a permanent display stand and clear case to display Orca eventually. 

I think this could be the first ‘public’ Orca model to be built true to the traditional method for Novi lobster boat construction using frames; ribbands; ribs and planks, with a keel close to the original, and modelling the engine, and other below decks parts; pilot house as well as the lower trunk deck details, and all the film props. If I was to do this again there are still a few mistakes I would correct, as some dimensions and proportions had to be ‘guestimated’.

It’s been an interesting project, and I have learnt a lot, with help from many members, of course. Including the research and plan drawing there are hundreds of hours in the build. If there had to be a pandemic lockdown, it was not a bad way to pass the time.
 
Thanks for the 14K+ views and many thumbs up and comments, and the helpful information and advice - it is appreciated and has significantly improved the final model.

So, here’s some final pictures of the complete boat including one showing the decks removed to reveal the interior. 
 
 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
I have an idea for a fun follow-up build, which may appear in 2022. Watch this space.
Until then, I’ve taken the actors back to their barge, filming is wrapped, and I’d better take this old girl back to Amity before she sinks.
Farewell and adieu!
 

 

They do make really fine kits.
 
OC.

The engine compartment is finished and sealed!The little transmission that I had to assemble while easy to build was a PIA to install not much of a locating pin for something hanging.I would advise anyone that does this kit brill/pin the part save some time.The back plate aligns perfectly exhaust wise to the engine and outside can't say enough about the engineering that RFM did!!Some pics ....

Ch. 14 Rudder
 
The rudder has been added. The Spitfire had only a single actuator for its rudder, mounted on the port side. On the starboard side is an actuator for the rudder trim tab. Also, the rudder should have a small navigation light; the kit has locator marks for it printed on the rudder, but provides no part for it. It is also shown on the diagrams, but without any part number.
 

 
Next up will be the horizontal stabilizers and elevators -- parts galore!
 

 
For anyone who is curious, the early marks of Spitfire differed primarily in their power plants, with newer marks of the Merlin providing increased horsepower resulting in greater aircraft performance. The three main variants of the Mk V were in turn based in the differences in their armament. The Mk Va kept the eight .303 Brownings of the earlier marks, the Mk Vb replaced four of the Brownings with a pair of 20 mm cannon whose size and ammunition drums necessitated some changes to the wing, and the Mk Vc introduced what was called the "universal wing", which could carry either combination of weapons. Both the Mk Vb and Mk Vc were produced in tropicalized versions, each characterized by having a prominent chin-mounted duct for the necessary dust filtration system.
 
Cheers!

More cabin progress has been made. Wall paneling is well underway and the LED's for two of the lamps have been installed. I finished designing the floor pattern and have begun building it. Very time consuming, but fun! A different sort of challenge than those normally faced with model ships.
 
I also took some time and milled down a pile of lumber for the outer planking. When I finish the cabin flooring I will switch back to planking to put the finish planks on.
 
To help with all of this, I got a new band saw for Christmas. Been needing one for a long time so when my tool store announced a sale, I quickly hopped in the truck and drove down to get one.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi All,
 
Part 8 is up on YouTube covering the initial assembly, painting and weathering of the cab.  To keep the videos to a reasonable time, although at 50 minutes it is still too long, I will need to cover the cab in 2 or so parts.
 
The first picture shows a partially assembled cab with pedals and assemblies fixed to the firewall, the rear bulkhead, levers and seating all cleaned up ready for prime.
 

 
 
The cab and rear firewall primed ready for paint and chipping.  The wood floor was done by first painting with Tamiya Deck Tan and then treated with artist oils to try and replicate the grain. (The photo has blown out the wood, as much darker to the eye).
 
Where I wanted to apply chipping to the ‘metal work’ I used Ammo by Mig acrylic ‘old rust’
 

 
 
After reading the label on Ammo’s chipping fluid I thought I had better try it on my ‘test cube’ first as the label said “after applying the fluid paint with acrylics” or words to that affect. My top colour coats are lacquer.
 
3 light coats of chipping fluid were applied and once dried which only took as long as flushing it out the airbrush I applied 2 coats of lacquer.
I waited just 5 minutes after spraying the lacquer and scrubbing pretty hard with a toothbrush had no effect on the paint! (lacquers are very tough!)  I had to scratch the top coat with a needle, which then allowed the water to get to the underlying chipping fluid to activate it. Once it started chipping it was okay and pretty controllable.
 

 
 
So with an idea of coats and timings it was on to the cab.
 
The finished result as covered in the video.  The thoughts were to wear and chip the paint where most foot traffic occurred such as the door entries but not under seats and where feet have rubbed and chipped the paint off the metal surfaces and polished in places with constant boot contact.
The ‘metal’ areas such as edges and corners were polished using Ammo’s Polished Metal pigment.  After the video I gave the cab a quick wash with black artist oils and still need to work it a bit.
 
I will at some stage hit it with dust and dirt pigments but need to finish the other parts first.
 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Cheers
Slog

I thought go ahead and create a new thread one things are moving along well on this build two though not make you guys look through an old thread.The Mg-42 bags added,engine and radiators I got to say the engine fit was perfect!!The instructions have you install the upper hose before going into the bay the hose fit the cutout on the r/wall and landed at the rad!!RFM does some Nice engineering their has been a couple of quirks but blame that on me and were easy to overcome.I have already test fitted the lower deck of the gun turret to the deck of the transmission area all looks good to go.I go back to work tomorrow so progress will be slower.I have got to help the son find a truck to move his stuff to New Mexico on Wednesday but do have another holiday coming the week after use it or loose it.