BLACK VIKING

Here we go folks. the final pictures of my Bristol Beaufort.
 
Final notes, the matt coat varnish is from Mig Ammo, I like the flat coat, but it is very fragile, just look at it and it scuffs.  Managed to avoid 'silvering' under the fuselage letter codes, which is big 'Win' for me.  Some 'losses' as with every build; the canopy is mostly clear, with the odd mark here and there and a mysterious line/crack on the lower starboard side?  But overall for a "glasshouse" not too shabby.
 
But most importantly on the prop scale of movability they are a "2" - not blow round ones, but they do freely move by finger prods. 😆
 
A couple more posts to finish before I mark this one FINISHED.  A fun little build and thank you all for following and hope you liked the trip down memory lane, courtesy of good old Airfix!

So how the hell to you weather something so bloody big? I’ve decided small bites of the elephant, first will be the metal grates, which I want to use chipping fluids. The entire top will be a dark grey, so these darker bits will be chipped to old rusty metal and the other a light grey undercoat to chip back to dark grey. Let’s see if it works….. 

No progress  as  such  as  I have had the day off  watching  tv,    not long  finished  watching  Smithsonian Channel about  War machines  -  this mornings  was about the OH6  (little bird)   one  particular  bird was  flying in NAM  as  part of a Two ship  with a Cobra  when the Cobra was  shot down and the  little bird  went in  to rescue the crew,  it landed in a paddy field  and the skids  was getting  stuck  so they had  to loose as much weigh as possible  throwing out all sorts of stuff,  it was then  able to  lift  out but only by red lining the engine.   They made it back safe  but  the engine  was not too good.
 
One of these  bad boys  - 
 
OC.

I finished a figure painting. 
 
Primer : Zinsser shellac
Paints : Tamiya and Testors enamel paints
Varnish : Vallejo polyurethane matte
Weathering (Tars only) : Vallejo oiled earth
 
I didn't draw faces because my ability would have made them emoticon faces. 🤣
 
I'll take pictures tomorrow and wrap it up.

And fits like a glove. Just needs glue 

Evening all,   I mananged to get a bit more done  today  - including  a 54th  bugler,   still  more  to be done on them yet.
 
OC.
 
 

After Indy, I do plan to develop a 'diorama mini kit' or two in 32nd, utilising my new figures. Figure that will be a nice little break after such a kit as Indy...

small update.
Most of my free time still goes to the bathroom renovation, luckily the end of this adventure is in sight. 

With more experience in rigging I attached as much rope to the main sail as possible.
This works so much easier and less stressful for arms and back 👍

 

Preparing the Strip Wood
The strip wood provided in the kit appears to be good quality bass wood. Before it can be used for the actual building, it must first be prepared through a multi-step process to add both texture and colour, as well as details such as knots and splits.
 
The initial texturing is done by creating “grain”. This is achieved using stiff wire brushes of the modeller’s choosing. In the picture below, you can see that I have commenced this process. My initial brush of choice was a brass cleaning brush (obtained at the local hardware store). Prior to brushing, the backs of each batch are marked with line across the grain to indicate the “back” side. As we are only texturing one side of these, this mark will help to identify which side is “up”. Brushing was then implemented in batches of five strips at a time.
 

 
This is the result after brushing. 
 

 
Despite the amount of “shavings” produced, I was not particularly satisfied with the result and decided a more aggressive brush was required. This is the brush I used for the second round. 
 

 
It is actually a File Card (used for cleaning the swarf from the teeth of files). The teeth are steel and quite hard. I found that around five to six firm strokes with this brush were sufficient to impart a grain-like texture.
 

 
To provide greater contrast, here is a photo of that same batch on a black background.
 

 
Note the amount of “fuzzies” left after this process. These were cleaned up by drawing each strip through some 0000 steel wool, first with firm pressure on the edges of the strip, then with light pressure on the face. Here is the result after this initial cleaning up.
 

 
This has removed around 90% of the fuzzies, which is sufficient for this stage. Next up will be adding some initial colour.

The parts trees were all crammed into one bag with many loose parts. I see a mix of recessed and raised panel lines and lots of flash here and there with a few sink marks sprinkled in. This definitely is not a new tool kit. No guarantees on outcome with this one. We shall see what we shall see.
 
 

Hi Bill - by all means, the log exists for exactly this purpose.  I am flattered that you would take the time to read through it at all.
 
The overwhelming majority of the model is hand-painted.  The only exceptions are my use of flat enamel rattle cans for my primer base, and the red interior and lower exterior (along the run of main deck guns), which I airbrushed.  Also, I airbrushed the gun carriages, but I still had to brush paint these to get complete coverage.
 
My process is very methodical.  For the upper bulwarks, for example, I masked off everything first, that wouldn’t be airbrushed red; this red is a difficult color to paint over and it would have adversely affected the blues.
 
Following red, I moved-on to paint the larger cerulean blue areas, trying not to make too much of a mess of the frieze elements.  Then, the ultra-marine, and finally the yellow ocher, finishing off with the metallics.
 
Actually, before the metallics, I do my light distress wash with the walnut ink because this cuts the intensity of these colors, while providing a sense of depth and shading to the recessed areas.
 
The paint looks like it does because I am extremely patient.  I thin my acrylics so that they are self-leveling, even if it necessitates as many as 5 passes to get the color saturation I need.  As the work progresses, I do several waves of touch-ups, when I notice flaws in the work.
 
My over-arching thought is that I have spent so much time fabricating parts, that it would be a disservice to those efforts, if I didn’t make the paint as absolutely clean as I am capable of.
 
The paint work takes me a very long time, but I have never regretted the extra effort and attention to detail.
 
The other aspect of this kind of hand-painting is that I have learned to control my breathing and I have figured out how to hold parts and the brush so that I have a stable, and steady base for picking out fine detail.  That is a difficult thing to describe, but something I have arrived at through years of trial and error.

OK, just had these renders of the almost complete second, and final, set of figures.
 
The is a Royal Marine officer and private, a ships cook, and 2 able seamen. I should have these ready within the next two weeks

Hey up a lot of posts about posts during my shuteye😁. When you get your book Keith (and well done getting out of the airport) there is a drawing of an 1845 royal navy binnacle/ compass. Not sure if you seen the post a couple of days ago regarding the wavertree which had a compass forward and both sides of the wheel - don't forget the helmsman would have been standing on the starboard side with the wheel off to his left side so the compass and binnacle in the book would look o.k. beside the skylight- but once they reached the arctic the "normal" steering compasses would have been removed and stored and navigation would have used the azzimuth steering compass (which is why i think the drawing shows the post only and the azzimuth compass would have been on a binnacle on top of that so the navigator could get his heading and keep an eye on the needle). The idea of having to climb on the table every time you wanted a bearing/ course plotted seems like hard work. Also when/  if the bridge was dismantled they could ship the post and still mount the compass on the table?... oh and guys don't forget the  average height in 1845 was around 5'6" or there abouts maybe even a couple of inches shorter!
 
Keith

Starting from the wingtip and working toward the inside are R-73E’s, R-77’s, and R-27ER’s. All these are A2A missiles.
Yes, behind the figure is an A2G, the KH-35. The other is the R-27ER
 

Almost forgot about this one until today, when I finally got word my Ranger premium sail sets are on their way to me. This particular hull shape is one of the easiest to plank.
 
Today I did this box art, I just have the manual to put together now, so this should be for sale in the next 3-4 weeks. This is the last of the historical fishing vessels of the British Isles for quite some time. For the next couple of years, all developments will have cannon...
 

Getting started on the weapons, a lot of details to add.
 

Very nice indeed 👏, feeling a bit seasick already looking at that scene! 🤢 pass the bucket!

HMS Churchill, RFA Tanker and Escort carrier in a bit of roughers! 
w/c 16" X 11" 

wow, incredible !!
 
Nils

Speaking of impressive miniatures, have you seen this?  It's the most amazing miniature art I've ever run across.  The Mount Rushmore carving is inside the eye of a needle.  The BMX rider carving is on the tip of a dog's hair.  The skateboarder is on an eyelash.  Yes, an eyelash!!      https://www.willardwiganmbe.com/
 

She’s got legs
 
 

To dress up the kit LG a bit, added brake lines from .5mm lead wire.
 
 

Not sure if he’s up to the task, but this pilot is in the driver’s seat.
 

Feels good to finally have the tail feathers glued on.