rvchima
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rvchima got a reaction from KurtH in HMS Sphinx 1775 by rvchima - FINISHED - Vanguard Models - 1:64 - 20 Gun Sixth Rate Frigate
26 Chains for the Port Side
Some assembly required.
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rvchima got a reaction from ccoyle in USS Arleigh Burke by rvchima - FINISHED - BlueJacket Shipcrafters - 1/16" scale - guided missile destroyer
And She's Complete - 89 days, 210 hours
Actually she's been complete except for the base since Dec. 5. Since my last post I added a lot of railings, a little rigging, and the rub-on transfers.
You can see some of the railings here.
The rigging is done with extremely fine metallic thread. There's no place to attach it, so it's just glued to the top of the yards and painted over with Haze Gray.
I expected decals but the kit came with rub-on transfers. You position them on the model and rub HARD with a blunt dowel. In fact I had to rub so hard that the solid hull was dented under the waterline numbers. The kit had multiple copies of the numbers which was lucky because several of them were ruined by the rubbing.
I used some nice quarter-sawn white oak for the base, and tapered the edges to resemble the angled sides of the ship. I ordered a bottomless plexiglass case just an inch bigger than the model on all sides. When I get the case I'll cut the bottom to fit and glue it up. So there's one more picture to follow.
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rvchima got a reaction from KARAVOKIRIS in HMS Sphinx 1775 by rvchima - FINISHED - Vanguard Models - 1:64 - 20 Gun Sixth Rate Frigate
Chains are Done, on to the Interior - Temporarily
One of the first tasks on the interior is to place 6 eye bolts around each gun port, 120 in all. As Walter says,
My curved hemostat was perfect for inserting the tiny eye bolts.
Four more bolts with tiny rings go in the floor, and a wooden ring surrounds the mizzen mast. I was getting excited about working on the cabins, but today my extra copper foil finally arrived from China. So back to the hull and rudder.
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rvchima got a reaction from schooner in HMS Sphinx 1775 by rvchima - FINISHED - Vanguard Models - 1:64 - 20 Gun Sixth Rate Frigate
26 Chains for the Port Side
Some assembly required.
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rvchima got a reaction from Ronald-V in HMS Sphinx 1775 by rvchima - FINISHED - Vanguard Models - 1:64 - 20 Gun Sixth Rate Frigate
Chains are Done, on to the Interior - Temporarily
One of the first tasks on the interior is to place 6 eye bolts around each gun port, 120 in all. As Walter says,
My curved hemostat was perfect for inserting the tiny eye bolts.
Four more bolts with tiny rings go in the floor, and a wooden ring surrounds the mizzen mast. I was getting excited about working on the cabins, but today my extra copper foil finally arrived from China. So back to the hull and rudder.
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rvchima got a reaction from Erdict in HMS Sphinx 1775 by rvchima - FINISHED - Vanguard Models - 1:64 - 20 Gun Sixth Rate Frigate
External Filigree Complete, 189 Hours, 87 days
All the external photo-etched filigree took up most of a sheet of PE, so I masked off what wasn't supposed to be gold and painted the rest in place. That was the only way to keep track of everything. Sorry about the blurry image.
The manual recommends attaching the parts with Pledge Future acrylic floor wax. Paint the area first, let it dry, put the filigree in place, then run more polish underneath to hold the part in place. Future is no longer available but the plastic modeling sites recommend Holloway Quick Shine. I got some and tried it on the first piece. It worked, but it was hard to hold the piece in place and the polish left shiny brush marks everywhere. So that didn't work well for me. Does anyone want a quart of floor polish?
I ended up cutting the filigree into manageable sections, holding each piece with my double-sided tape sticks (see previous post,) and using a glue looper to wet the back with thin CA. Then I held the piece in place for a few seconds and it was done. In a few places on the starboard side my gun ports were too close to the upper rails and I had to omit some filigree. It took about 10 hours to do all the filigree.
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rvchima got a reaction from Thukydides in HMS Sphinx 1775 by rvchima - FINISHED - Vanguard Models - 1:64 - 20 Gun Sixth Rate Frigate
My Copper Won't Turn Green!
I finished coppering the hull and rudder, and was ready to age it. In 2013 I used kitchen vinegar and salt on my Syren and it looks great. Today I made up some samples of my copper foil on wood to experiment with. I tried
6% acetic acid kitchen vinegar with salt 20% weed killer vinegar with salt 20% vinegar with Miracle Grow ammonia with salt ammonia with Miracle Grow lightly sanding or rubbing the foil with steel wool first Nothing had any effect at all on my samples. They are just as shiny as before, and I am stumped! Does anyone have other suggestions for ageing the copper foil?
I just discovered that Novacan Black Patina for Solder blackens the foil almost immediately. That's not the aged green that I was looking for but it's a start.
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rvchima got a reaction from mtaylor in HMS Sphinx 1775 by rvchima - FINISHED - Vanguard Models - 1:64 - 20 Gun Sixth Rate Frigate
My Copper Won't Turn Green!
I finished coppering the hull and rudder, and was ready to age it. In 2013 I used kitchen vinegar and salt on my Syren and it looks great. Today I made up some samples of my copper foil on wood to experiment with. I tried
6% acetic acid kitchen vinegar with salt 20% weed killer vinegar with salt 20% vinegar with Miracle Grow ammonia with salt ammonia with Miracle Grow lightly sanding or rubbing the foil with steel wool first Nothing had any effect at all on my samples. They are just as shiny as before, and I am stumped! Does anyone have other suggestions for ageing the copper foil?
I just discovered that Novacan Black Patina for Solder blackens the foil almost immediately. That's not the aged green that I was looking for but it's a start.
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rvchima got a reaction from Ronald-V in HMS Sphinx 1775 by rvchima - FINISHED - Vanguard Models - 1:64 - 20 Gun Sixth Rate Frigate
26 Chains for the Port Side
Some assembly required.
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rvchima got a reaction from schooner in HMS Sphinx 1775 by rvchima - FINISHED - Vanguard Models - 1:64 - 20 Gun Sixth Rate Frigate
Chains are Done, on to the Interior - Temporarily
One of the first tasks on the interior is to place 6 eye bolts around each gun port, 120 in all. As Walter says,
My curved hemostat was perfect for inserting the tiny eye bolts.
Four more bolts with tiny rings go in the floor, and a wooden ring surrounds the mizzen mast. I was getting excited about working on the cabins, but today my extra copper foil finally arrived from China. So back to the hull and rudder.
-
rvchima got a reaction from Theodosius in HMS Sphinx 1775 by rvchima - FINISHED - Vanguard Models - 1:64 - 20 Gun Sixth Rate Frigate
Chains are Done, on to the Interior - Temporarily
One of the first tasks on the interior is to place 6 eye bolts around each gun port, 120 in all. As Walter says,
My curved hemostat was perfect for inserting the tiny eye bolts.
Four more bolts with tiny rings go in the floor, and a wooden ring surrounds the mizzen mast. I was getting excited about working on the cabins, but today my extra copper foil finally arrived from China. So back to the hull and rudder.
-
rvchima got a reaction from KurtH in HMS Sphinx 1775 by rvchima - FINISHED - Vanguard Models - 1:64 - 20 Gun Sixth Rate Frigate
Chains are Done, on to the Interior - Temporarily
One of the first tasks on the interior is to place 6 eye bolts around each gun port, 120 in all. As Walter says,
My curved hemostat was perfect for inserting the tiny eye bolts.
Four more bolts with tiny rings go in the floor, and a wooden ring surrounds the mizzen mast. I was getting excited about working on the cabins, but today my extra copper foil finally arrived from China. So back to the hull and rudder.
-
rvchima got a reaction from wvdhee in HMS Sphinx 1775 by rvchima - FINISHED - Vanguard Models - 1:64 - 20 Gun Sixth Rate Frigate
Chains are Done, on to the Interior - Temporarily
One of the first tasks on the interior is to place 6 eye bolts around each gun port, 120 in all. As Walter says,
My curved hemostat was perfect for inserting the tiny eye bolts.
Four more bolts with tiny rings go in the floor, and a wooden ring surrounds the mizzen mast. I was getting excited about working on the cabins, but today my extra copper foil finally arrived from China. So back to the hull and rudder.
-
rvchima reacted to wvdhee in HMS Sphinx 1775 by rvchima - FINISHED - Vanguard Models - 1:64 - 20 Gun Sixth Rate Frigate
It's therapeutical 😉
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rvchima got a reaction from KARAVOKIRIS in HMS Sphinx 1775 by rvchima - FINISHED - Vanguard Models - 1:64 - 20 Gun Sixth Rate Frigate
Chain Gang
The chains comprise a zillion PE parts that have to be darkened somehow. The manual suggests paint but I blackened the entire sheet using Novacan Black Patina for Solder. One of my other hobbies is stained glass and I use this product to darken the solder. I set the PE sheet in a plastic tray, brushed on a little patina liquid, rinsed, patted dry, and sprayed with Lemon Pledge. The blakening can rub off here and there, but not back to shiny brass so it leaves a rustic appearance. The bit where the parts attached to the sheet can be touched up with a black marker.
The rings for the deadeyes must be expanded quite a bit for the deadeyes to fit. I butchered a few trying to open them with pliers, but found another way. I drilled holes in a scrap of wood slightly larger than the ID of the rings. 13/64" works well for the large deadeyes, 11/64" for the small. I placed the ring over the hole, and used a center punch to open the ring symmetrically. One tap with a small hammer and the deadeyes open right up. Drop the deadeye in, then use needle nosed pliers to tighten the rings back up.
UPDATE - I've found that I don't need the drilled wood at all. I can push the rings over the center punch by hand easily.
10 chains done, 42 more or less to go.
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rvchima got a reaction from KARAVOKIRIS in HMS Sphinx 1775 by rvchima - FINISHED - Vanguard Models - 1:64 - 20 Gun Sixth Rate Frigate
External Filigree Complete, 189 Hours, 87 days
All the external photo-etched filigree took up most of a sheet of PE, so I masked off what wasn't supposed to be gold and painted the rest in place. That was the only way to keep track of everything. Sorry about the blurry image.
The manual recommends attaching the parts with Pledge Future acrylic floor wax. Paint the area first, let it dry, put the filigree in place, then run more polish underneath to hold the part in place. Future is no longer available but the plastic modeling sites recommend Holloway Quick Shine. I got some and tried it on the first piece. It worked, but it was hard to hold the piece in place and the polish left shiny brush marks everywhere. So that didn't work well for me. Does anyone want a quart of floor polish?
I ended up cutting the filigree into manageable sections, holding each piece with my double-sided tape sticks (see previous post,) and using a glue looper to wet the back with thin CA. Then I held the piece in place for a few seconds and it was done. In a few places on the starboard side my gun ports were too close to the upper rails and I had to omit some filigree. It took about 10 hours to do all the filigree.
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rvchima got a reaction from KARAVOKIRIS in HMS Sphinx 1775 by rvchima - FINISHED - Vanguard Models - 1:64 - 20 Gun Sixth Rate Frigate
Side Trim Completed
The upper sides of the hull are mostly blue with splashes of red. The gun ports are red inside. This all required a lot of masking. I started to mask off each gun port with 4 strips of tape but realized that I could put a large piece over each port and cut out the centers.
After painting, a number of extremely delicate trim strips were attached. I stained them all with Watco natural oil stain on the top only. The bow pieces were soaked in water and pre-bent. The manual says to glue them with PVA and lots of clamps. I did exactly that, but as soon as I removed the clamps half of the pieces fell right off. It's tempting to blame the oil stain, but I was very careful to leave the wood bare on both sides of the joint. Maybe the PVA is soaking in and drying too quickly? Anyway, I cleaned off the dried PVA and reglued everything with CA. It's not going anywhere now.
Did I mention that I finished the quarter galleries a few days ago? There are a lot of pieces in there that required a lot of trial and error fitting.
Just checking that everything fits.
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rvchima got a reaction from Theodosius in HMS Sphinx 1775 by rvchima - FINISHED - Vanguard Models - 1:64 - 20 Gun Sixth Rate Frigate
26 Chains for the Port Side
Some assembly required.
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rvchima got a reaction from mgatrost in HMS Sphinx 1775 by rvchima - FINISHED - Vanguard Models - 1:64 - 20 Gun Sixth Rate Frigate
Chain Gang
The chains comprise a zillion PE parts that have to be darkened somehow. The manual suggests paint but I blackened the entire sheet using Novacan Black Patina for Solder. One of my other hobbies is stained glass and I use this product to darken the solder. I set the PE sheet in a plastic tray, brushed on a little patina liquid, rinsed, patted dry, and sprayed with Lemon Pledge. The blakening can rub off here and there, but not back to shiny brass so it leaves a rustic appearance. The bit where the parts attached to the sheet can be touched up with a black marker.
The rings for the deadeyes must be expanded quite a bit for the deadeyes to fit. I butchered a few trying to open them with pliers, but found another way. I drilled holes in a scrap of wood slightly larger than the ID of the rings. 13/64" works well for the large deadeyes, 11/64" for the small. I placed the ring over the hole, and used a center punch to open the ring symmetrically. One tap with a small hammer and the deadeyes open right up. Drop the deadeye in, then use needle nosed pliers to tighten the rings back up.
UPDATE - I've found that I don't need the drilled wood at all. I can push the rings over the center punch by hand easily.
10 chains done, 42 more or less to go.
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rvchima got a reaction from Thukydides in HMS Sphinx 1775 by rvchima - FINISHED - Vanguard Models - 1:64 - 20 Gun Sixth Rate Frigate
26 Chains for the Port Side
Some assembly required.
-
rvchima got a reaction from mtaylor in HMS Sphinx 1775 by rvchima - FINISHED - Vanguard Models - 1:64 - 20 Gun Sixth Rate Frigate
26 Chains for the Port Side
Some assembly required.
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rvchima got a reaction from DonSangria in HMS Sphinx 1775 by rvchima - FINISHED - Vanguard Models - 1:64 - 20 Gun Sixth Rate Frigate
Chain Gang
The chains comprise a zillion PE parts that have to be darkened somehow. The manual suggests paint but I blackened the entire sheet using Novacan Black Patina for Solder. One of my other hobbies is stained glass and I use this product to darken the solder. I set the PE sheet in a plastic tray, brushed on a little patina liquid, rinsed, patted dry, and sprayed with Lemon Pledge. The blakening can rub off here and there, but not back to shiny brass so it leaves a rustic appearance. The bit where the parts attached to the sheet can be touched up with a black marker.
The rings for the deadeyes must be expanded quite a bit for the deadeyes to fit. I butchered a few trying to open them with pliers, but found another way. I drilled holes in a scrap of wood slightly larger than the ID of the rings. 13/64" works well for the large deadeyes, 11/64" for the small. I placed the ring over the hole, and used a center punch to open the ring symmetrically. One tap with a small hammer and the deadeyes open right up. Drop the deadeye in, then use needle nosed pliers to tighten the rings back up.
UPDATE - I've found that I don't need the drilled wood at all. I can push the rings over the center punch by hand easily.
10 chains done, 42 more or less to go.
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rvchima got a reaction from rcweir in HMS Sphinx 1775 by rvchima - FINISHED - Vanguard Models - 1:64 - 20 Gun Sixth Rate Frigate
Chain Gang
The chains comprise a zillion PE parts that have to be darkened somehow. The manual suggests paint but I blackened the entire sheet using Novacan Black Patina for Solder. One of my other hobbies is stained glass and I use this product to darken the solder. I set the PE sheet in a plastic tray, brushed on a little patina liquid, rinsed, patted dry, and sprayed with Lemon Pledge. The blakening can rub off here and there, but not back to shiny brass so it leaves a rustic appearance. The bit where the parts attached to the sheet can be touched up with a black marker.
The rings for the deadeyes must be expanded quite a bit for the deadeyes to fit. I butchered a few trying to open them with pliers, but found another way. I drilled holes in a scrap of wood slightly larger than the ID of the rings. 13/64" works well for the large deadeyes, 11/64" for the small. I placed the ring over the hole, and used a center punch to open the ring symmetrically. One tap with a small hammer and the deadeyes open right up. Drop the deadeye in, then use needle nosed pliers to tighten the rings back up.
UPDATE - I've found that I don't need the drilled wood at all. I can push the rings over the center punch by hand easily.
10 chains done, 42 more or less to go.
-
rvchima got a reaction from Ronald-V in HMS Sphinx 1775 by rvchima - FINISHED - Vanguard Models - 1:64 - 20 Gun Sixth Rate Frigate
Chain Gang
The chains comprise a zillion PE parts that have to be darkened somehow. The manual suggests paint but I blackened the entire sheet using Novacan Black Patina for Solder. One of my other hobbies is stained glass and I use this product to darken the solder. I set the PE sheet in a plastic tray, brushed on a little patina liquid, rinsed, patted dry, and sprayed with Lemon Pledge. The blakening can rub off here and there, but not back to shiny brass so it leaves a rustic appearance. The bit where the parts attached to the sheet can be touched up with a black marker.
The rings for the deadeyes must be expanded quite a bit for the deadeyes to fit. I butchered a few trying to open them with pliers, but found another way. I drilled holes in a scrap of wood slightly larger than the ID of the rings. 13/64" works well for the large deadeyes, 11/64" for the small. I placed the ring over the hole, and used a center punch to open the ring symmetrically. One tap with a small hammer and the deadeyes open right up. Drop the deadeye in, then use needle nosed pliers to tighten the rings back up.
UPDATE - I've found that I don't need the drilled wood at all. I can push the rings over the center punch by hand easily.
10 chains done, 42 more or less to go.
-
rvchima got a reaction from KurtH in HMS Sphinx 1775 by rvchima - FINISHED - Vanguard Models - 1:64 - 20 Gun Sixth Rate Frigate
Chain Gang
The chains comprise a zillion PE parts that have to be darkened somehow. The manual suggests paint but I blackened the entire sheet using Novacan Black Patina for Solder. One of my other hobbies is stained glass and I use this product to darken the solder. I set the PE sheet in a plastic tray, brushed on a little patina liquid, rinsed, patted dry, and sprayed with Lemon Pledge. The blakening can rub off here and there, but not back to shiny brass so it leaves a rustic appearance. The bit where the parts attached to the sheet can be touched up with a black marker.
The rings for the deadeyes must be expanded quite a bit for the deadeyes to fit. I butchered a few trying to open them with pliers, but found another way. I drilled holes in a scrap of wood slightly larger than the ID of the rings. 13/64" works well for the large deadeyes, 11/64" for the small. I placed the ring over the hole, and used a center punch to open the ring symmetrically. One tap with a small hammer and the deadeyes open right up. Drop the deadeye in, then use needle nosed pliers to tighten the rings back up.
UPDATE - I've found that I don't need the drilled wood at all. I can push the rings over the center punch by hand easily.
10 chains done, 42 more or less to go.
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