RadMan

A DILEMMA

I have been attempting a copper-shaded-patch-work of the hull.  I noticed while taping that I could not really see what I had shaded and what I did not.  I also was spending a lot of time doing this.  Today, I decided to free-hand a coat of paint on the opposite side of the hull.  Since I am normally putting on 2-3 coats to fully cover, any mistakes are easily eliminated.

Now, the question...and I would appreciate some candid opinions.  What is your opinion of the effect so far?   Quite frankly I am 80% of the opinion to scrap the shading and just paint the hull pristine copper.   Would this effect look strange next to the pristine black and white paint above the waterline?

Texxn5, I just found your build log!  I added you to my "follow" list so it will be easier to keep up with your great work.  Looks excellent!  I noticed you painted your gunport covers black (on top).  I did the same, though I notice a lot of folks paint them white.  I looked at some old photos of the Constitution and noticed they were painted with white interiors and black exteriors.

I also noticed on some of your other photos that you have some kind of swivel stand that you mount the ship on?? Is that what it is?  Looks like an excellent piece of hardware to have, can you give me some details about it?

Thanks for the tip Dave (lambsbk).  I will definitely use it.  It is a simple and elegant idea for my shaky hand.

Andy, I can't tell you how much you build log means to me and others here on MSW.  I have been watching your build for months and can only hope mine turns out half as well.  1 year 8 months sounds about right...you can't rush artistic perfection.  BRAVO!    It really was an amazing job Andy, and something that will last decades.  A real treasure.

Hey Dave, the detail on your decks are beautiful.  I hope I can produce a similar effect.

As for the wear, I was worried about this from the beginning, which is why I waited to paint the hull until now.  However, for the parts I handle frequently, I keep them covered with a nice fat piece of frog tape.  The frog tape doesn't leave residue and protects the parts I handled from accidental paint-fingerprint accidents as well as from wear.

The build keeps looking better and better.  Keep up the good work.

Rick

INSANITY... THE INSANITY OF IT....

Well, I decided early on that I was not going to just spray paint the copper hull.  For one, I couldn't get any copper enamel spray here in Bulgaria and didn't want to mix acrylics with my enamels.... hence, I decided early on to hand paint the copper plates.  After some thought, my idea was to add some slight variation to the color of the plates.  I didn't just want homogeneously painted copper.  So, I have experimented with adding some black, white, green, and metallic steel to the copper.  In my opinion, the green worked best, and it added a slight shade to what aged copper might really look like.

So, I have been taping off portions of the hull and I am trying my best to randomly discolor some of the plates.  I have no idea yet if this is going to work or not.  But I can tell you that I have already finished off half a roll of Tamiya 6mm, and have hardly finished anything.  Lots and lots of taping.  I want really clean lines between my plates and I am not skilled enough to do it by hand.  The primary reason being I can use a nicer more even brush stroke if the plate is taped off.  

In any case, here is my progress to date, more updates soon:

lots to do.. this is only the first of many tapings.  Ahhh, the agony of it... just kidding

Hmmm, I didn't even realize they made brushed that small.  The smallest I have is a Italeri 10/0 synthetic.  I guess I will start looking for smaller brushes. 

The white stripe is done... or mostly.  I think it looks much better than the pearl white (see photo of pearl white above).  I was worried about the thickness as I had a coat of primer, many coats of pearl white, followed by many coats of Acrylic white.  It was my first time using acrylic paint and I would say I prefer the laquer spray.  My paint had a bit of a "powder-coat" affect probably because I was spraying too far from the ship.

In any case, here is the result:

You can see from the photo below that there is some slag from buildup on the tape I had behind the windows.  I will need to cut this or sand it or something. Advice?

Another view:

Texxn5.  The only way I know how to back it up is by printing the whole blog as a pdf file.

Hey Lambsbk.  I was looking at your blog again today as I will be painting the Gallery Stern soon.  First, I must say your paint job on the stern looks amazing.  I also noticed you deviated a bit from the Revell instructions...and I noticed you even painted the hair on the figurines!  Can I ask what kind of brush you used for this?  Any advice?  Did you thin down your gold paint?

Thanks PiperMat!!  I will definitely take a look at those modeling shops.  I could use a reliable source with decent inventory.  I am almost down to crushing bugs and berries to make colored paints here in Bulgaria! LOL

Popeye - no eyebrows raised here.     I was just frustrated with the pearl white color... now I am frustrated with the acrylic white! LOL.  Photos coming soon.

Well the only way I know how to make a backup is to print the entire blog as a pdf, page-by-page.

Ok, I admit, a drunken hungover guy with an x-acto knife is bad, and painting with your hungover shaky hand is worse... but the Tamiya masking tape is so good that... nevermind...

How can you have so many builds going simultaneously? (i.e builds on "table" on "hold".  I bet you must have a nice workshop!  

In any case, I am patient and look forward to you finishing your United States build among others.  Thanks for you kind comments on my blog, its appreciated.

Thank you all.  I appreciate your kind comments, but my point was that while the paint job may be nice, I am very disappointed in the color.   It's the grey (pearl white) that is the culprit.  I should get the bright white acrylic paint tomorrow and will re-paint the stripe.   I want it WHITE!   Popeye, maybe it will look good yellow, don't know.. I am just on a mission now to get the stripe nice and white!

ScottRC, I used Tamiya fine grey primer over everything before I started, then used mostly TS-14 black (this is laquer) for the black.  It was my intention to do the same for the white.  I was extremely happy with the Tamiya lacquers, but the TS-45 pearl white lacquer I used just is not the right color.  

Now have no choice but to put white acrylic over the lacquer primer and the existing fat layer of pearl white lacquer paint... hope it works.

Andy... looks amazing.  Truly a first-class job!  Seems like your almost finished.  Maybe it's time for me to make a backup copy your blog again

The lamps are truly impressive.  I laughed at your "hind-sight" about the lanterns.  I could probably start another blog for the "correct" order to build the Constitution in hind-sight... for instance I should have painted the interior bulkheads white before gluing the hull together.  Just one of many hind-sights.  I look forward to seeing more of your great "micro" work.

Force 9.... awesome work so far.  I am still on page 3 of your build admiring those K&S windows on the stern.  Brilliant!  I really like how sharp and clean the lines look with those windows.

Question for you:  When you fitted your stern to the rest of the hull...how did it fit?  I seem to have a gap between the bottom of the stern and the two halves of the hull.  It just doesn't seem to line up good and I am afraid about trimming it too much.  Thoughts???

UPDATE ON THE WHITE STRIPE:

UPDATE:  I have found some Tamiya TS-26 Pure White spray paint...at great expense at Amazon.uk.  Whew!!  I think I'll buy two since shipping costs are three times the cost of the paint.

UPDATE 2:  They won't ship it too me over the pond because it's flammable... had to settle for Humbrol white acrylic paint.  I have only used enamels in my build.  Hope it works.

Here is the pic of the terrible "gray" (Pearl white) stripe.  Notice that you can still see the pink in the frog tape.  Also, for contrast, I put a dab of white matt paint under one cannon window, that is what color the stripe should be.  Also, compare the stripe to the hull....it looks like CRAP!   I will use the acrylic paint and hopefully it will be white, and without too thick a layer.

Well, I have been working in Poland for a couple weeks, but will return back to Bulgaria tomorrow.  Before I left, I spray painted the white stripe (see taping of stripe above) using Tamiya TS-45 Pearl White.  I wanted to use TS-26 Pure White, but couldn't find any in Bulgaria.    I didn't realize that the TS-45 pearl white was semi-translucent (duh! it looks like a pearl) and I used an entire can to paint the stripe.... it still looks like the paint didn't cover but upon closer observation there is a nice thick layer of translucent white.  

So now I am searching "all of Europe" for a fraking can of TS-26 white paint.  

I really like the Tamiya spray paint and while expensive it is very, very, forgiving... and as I am an amateur spray painter, this has been a real godsend.  

Yes, the pink tape above is frog tape, but I cannot find any high quality frog tape here in Bulgaria, thus, it's better for me to use the Tamiya tape.

Thanks for the brush stroke comment... sometimes pure chance can work in your favor!  

Thanks, I will be careful and take your advice... somehow it is more reassuring to know all the kits have the same defect.  LOL!  To get those "intense" thoughts of the wooden decks out of your head, I might advise a few pints of Guinness.  

Cool build.  You've said you eliminated seems between the pieces of the gun deck, then lined the top with wood.  Is this now one large piece?  If so, how do you get it inside the ship?

Hey Popeye, I guess maybe I mis-named the part I was talking about.  See your earlier pic below.  At the bottom of this piece is a small "V" and some slight curvature which doesn't seem to exactly match the hull curvature where its suppose to fit.  Then, when I fit it up (dry), there is a gap between the bottom of this piece and the hull.   Does yours fit perfectly? or did you need to do a lot of trimming?

I am thinking that before I trim this piece I should dry-fit the upper and lower decks as these may "stretch" the hull a little bit.  If I can't get rid of the gap, I'll use your advice regarding the styrene.

Wow Andy!  I haven't checked your blog in a bit and it looks like your almost finished!!  Everything looks amazing.  I need to start stepping up my pace!!

Hey Popeye, the build looks great.  I noticed that the Pres is almost identical to the Constitution.  Regarding your rear Gallery.  I have tried to dry-fit my rear gallery to the hull and notice that there seems to be a gap between the bottom of the gallery and the the two halves of the hull (or something just doesn't fit right).  Did you have a similar fit issue?  I will be getting to that part soon and need to fix it somehow... if you have an opinion, I am listening.