Kevin

lol Maybe you are looking at the wrong modelling site, these are my slippers which have so far not been destroyed by the boi's

Good morning everyone Track bed (rail) The kit comes with aluminium rails, which have been primed and then painted in Red Ochre, the running surfaces will then be cleaned off I put some of the units together to see what the effect would be when complete,- the jury is out, looks far to clean

good evening everyone Track Base spent the last few days working on the base, i read that if the barrel to reduced to the correct size i will only need 3x30cm beds and the end caps so thats what i have gone with i had been hoping to use some trumpeter rolling stock on it as well but the track width distances are quite a way out, in grey primer and black top coat ballast reds and greys paints used for the wood XF-78 wooden deck tan oils burnt umber

good evening, thank you for comments and likes the bogies had the forward sections planked, this replaced the plastic profile, and a grime wash added this completes these units other than the hand rails and storage boxes all the walkways have to be replaced as they are just a solid plastic profiles, but were steel mesh in real life, i found a cheap alternative to buy some for a fraction of the cost the walkways supports were constructed from wood, for my first attempt i think they turned out ok as you can see i am much further ahead in the build, but i am doing other jobs between paint drying. and not jump around to much if it stops raining i will get some outside shots

Good evening everyone thank you for comments and likes All the plastic on the carriages is now complete with the exception of the rails, the plastic decking is being replaced by wood. Primed in Hycote spay grey primer, and using Greman Grey by Tamiya as the top coat Test patch with dark grey and German grey (recommended) opposite ends with most of the detailing on in primer makeshift spray booth German Grey top coat still in primer some now in German Grey

Good morning I have not tried them on the actual rails yet, the photos are just on the kit plain track bed, had thought about replacing the wheels, for about 20 seconds, will look and see what they look like when in the final colours, im going to find it difficult the throw large amounts of cash at this project, when ships are my favourite subject, however i still want the final build to look ok. Went and failed to get Tamiya German Grey XF-63 paint yesterday as out of stock, purchased XF-24, instead, but after a test last night i have now ordered XF-63

thats just so lovely to look at

good evening everyone day 7 chassis well I cut the carriages in half, to equal 8 and never thought anymore about it for a day or so, and last night thought well it dont make any difference, i have not actually gained anything as the two chaasis beds are still tight against one another. spent hours on the web and came across the answer, i had two options 1 - take 2.5mm off each end that has been cut or 2 - move the pivots on the link bridge further apart, and when placed down onto the chassis they will force the new gap I chose option 2 link bridge having moved the pivots towards the ends i now have this gap at the same time i am continuing to complete the brake fittings

they look better when the shoes are fitted, photos later or tomorrow

everyone says to do so, and is obvious on a curved track, i doubt i am going to get any sort on non straight track. But i know its done

Carriages day 3 continued some of the part to make the kit required 4 units, But we want 8 surgery required as i cut through the centre line, and did so on one large carriage as a test piece top and bottom glued and test fit of the braking assemblies

carriages day 3 page one of the instructions start by the building up of the wheel braking systems, compared to the chunky thick plastic for the rest of the kit big parts this is quite thin and soft these are made up of 16 units with 8 of them with one extra piece (P11) when they have all been made up they can then be set aside to be used after the carriages are sorted out

Good morning everyone without doubt this is quite a large build, and full of issues, and as a result i dont quite know where to start, as going by the instructions i need to go back and forth to show where i am and how I got there so bear with me, as i stumble through another build Carriages the real gun weighed in at over 1000 tons, and to evenly distribute the weight she was set up onto 8 carriages spread over two parallel rail tracks, However the kit makers decided, oh sod that, we are going to give her 4 carriages, so she cannot go around corners Day 3 Sunday 9 feb so at COP last night this was where i left the build,

good Morning everyone well as you can see this is my latest kit for me to spoil I had been talked out of the purchase, due to the price and amount of issues with the kit, but it was on my bucket list, Jadlams here in the UK then brought the price down by about £300, and i was coming to the end of a build (Belle Poule) plus Christmas, and a whole load of other excuses, Wife said go for it, Kevin did i have one project to complete before Easter and thats the Indefatigable, and have promised to start and complete the OcCre San Felipe this year. i will be doing regular updates like I used to do, and im always taking photos of progress, even if they are not in an update, i will not however be doing a 100% contents of the kit, just to much of it the box

Taken from Wikki- not my work In 1934, the German Army High Command (Oberkommando des Heeres (OKH)) commissioned Krupp of Essen to design a gun to destroy the forts of the French Maginot Line that were nearing completion. The gun's shells had to punch through seven metres of reinforced concrete or one full metre of steel armour plate, from beyond the range of French artillery.[7] Krupp engineer Erich Müller calculated that the task would require a weapon with a calibre of around 80 centimetres (31 in), firing a projectile weighing seven tonnes (15,000 lb) from a barrel 30 metres (98 ft) long. The weapon would have a weight of over 1,000 tonnes (1,100 short tons). The size and weight meant that to be at all movable it would need to be supported on twin sets of railway tracks. The railway tracks were specifically engineered to accommodate the immense weight and size of Schwerer Gustav. Constructed with reinforced steel, these tracks provided a stable foundation for the weapon's movement. Specialized locomotives and cranes were employed to transport and position the gun with precision.[8] In common with smaller railway guns, the only barrel movement on the mount itself would be elevation, traverse being managed by moving the weapon along a curved section of railway line. Krupp prepared plans for calibres of 70 cm, 80 cm, 85 cm, and 1 m.[9] Nothing further happened until March 1936 when, during a visit to Essen, Adolf Hitler inquired as to the giant guns' feasibility. No definite commitment was given by Hitler, but design work began on an 80 cm model. The resulting plans were completed in early 1937 and approved. Fabrication of the first gun started in mid-1937. Technical complications in the forging of such massive pieces of steel made it apparent that the original completion date of early 1940 could not be met.[10] Krupp built a test model in late 1939 and sent it to the Hillersleben proving ground for testing. Penetration was tested on this occasion. Firing at high elevation, the 7,100-kilogram (15,700 lb) shell was able to penetrate the specified seven metres of concrete and the one metre armour plate.[11] When the tests were completed in mid-1940 the complex carriage was further developed. Alfried Krupp, after whose father the gun was named, personally hosted Hitler at the Rügenwalde Proving Ground during the formal acceptance trials of the Gustav Gun in early 1941. Two guns were ordered. The first round was test-fired from the commissioned gun barrel on 10 September 1941 from a makeshift gun carriage at Hillersleben. In November 1941, the barrel was taken to Rügenwalde [de], now Darłowo, Poland, where eight further firing tests were carried out using the 7,100 kilogram armour-piercing (AP) shell out to a range of 37,210 metres (23.12 miles). In combat, the gun was mounted on a specially designed chassis, supported by eight bogies on two parallel railway tracks. Each of the bogies had five axles, giving a total of 40 axles (80 wheels). Krupp named the gun Schwerer Gustav (Heavy Gustav) after the senior director of the firm, Gustav Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach. The gun could fire a heavy concrete-piercing shell and a lighter high-explosive shell. An extremely-long-range rocket projectile was also planned with a range of 150 kilometres (93 mi), that would require the barrel being extended to 84 metres (276 ft).[12] In keeping with the tradition of the Krupp company, no payment was asked for the first gun.[13] They charged seven million Reichsmark (approximately 24 million USD in 2015) for the second gun, Dora, named after the senior engineer's wife. Schwerer Gustav In February 1942, Heavy Artillery Unit (E) 672 reorganised and went on the march, and Schwerer Gustav began its long ride to Crimea. The train carrying the gun was of 25 cars, a total length of 1.5 kilometres (0.9 mi). The gun reached the Perekop Isthmus in early March 1942, where it was held until early April. The Germans built a special railway spur line to the Simferopol-Sevastopol railway 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) north of the target. At the end of the spur, they built four semi-circular tracks especially for the Gustav to traverse. Outer tracks were required for the cranes that assembled Gustav. The siege of Sevastopol was the gun's first combat test. 4,000 men and five weeks were needed to get the gun into firing position; 500 men were needed to fire it.[14] Installation began in early May, and by 5 June the gun was ready to fire.[15] The following targets were engaged: 5 June Coastal guns at a range of 25,000 m. Eight shells fired. Fort Stalin. Six shells fired. 6 June Fort Molotov. Seven shells fired. "White Cliff" also known as "Ammunition Mountain": an undersea ammunition magazine in Severnaya ("Northern") Bay. The magazine was sited 30 metres under the sea with at least 10 metres of concrete protection. After nine shells were fired, the magazine was ruined and one of the boats in the bay sunk.[16] 7 June Firing in support of an infantry attack on Südwestspitze, an outlying fortification. Seven shells fired. 11 June Fort Siberia knocked out of action. Five shells fired. 17 June Maxim Gorky Fortresses bombarded. Five shells fired. By the end of the siege on 4 July the city of Sevastopol lay in ruins, and 30,000 tons of artillery ammunition had been fired. Gustav had fired 47 rounds and worn out its original barrel, which had already fired around 250 rounds during testing and development. The gun was fitted with the spare barrel and the original was sent back to Krupp's factory in Essen for relining.[17] The gun was then dismantled and moved to the northern part of the Eastern Front, where an attack was planned on Leningrad. The gun was placed 30 km (18.6 mi) from the city near the railway station of Taytsy. The gun was fully operational when the attack was cancelled. The gun then spent the winter of 1942/43 near Leningrad.[18] Dora was the second gun produced. It was deployed briefly during the Battle of Stalingrad, where the gun arrived at its emplacement 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) west of the city towards the end of August 1942.[19] It was ready to fire on 13 September. It was withdrawn when Soviet forces threatened to encircle the German forces. When the Germans began their long retreat, they took Dora with them. Langer Gustav [edit] The Langer Gustav was a long cannon with 52 centimetre (20.5 in) calibre and a 43-metre barrel. It was intended to fire super-long-range rocket projectiles weighing 680 kilograms to a range of 190 kilometres (118 mi). This gave it the range to hit London from Calais, France. It was never completed after being damaged during construction by one of the many RAF bombing raids on Essen. Landkreuzer P. 1500 Monster Project Main article: Landkreuzer P. 1500 Monster The Monster was to be a 1,500 tonne mobile, self-propelled platform for an 80-cm K (E) gun, along with two 15 cm sFH 18 heavy howitzers, and multiple MG 151 autocannons normally used on combat aircraft. It was deemed impractical, and in 1943 was cancelled by Albert Speer. It never left the drawing board and no progress was made. It would have surpassed the Panzer VIII Maus (the heaviest tank ever built) and the Landkreuzer P. 1000 Ratte (never built) in weight and size. Postwar whereabouts On 14 April 1945, one day before the arrival of US troops, Schwerer Gustav was destroyed to prevent its capture. On 22 April 1945, its ruins were discovered in a forest 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) north of Auerbach and about 50 kilometres (31 mi) southwest of Chemnitz. In summer 1945 Schwerer Gustav was studied by Soviet specialists and in autumn of the same year was transferred to Merseburg, where the Soviets were gathering German material.[20] In March 1945, Dora was transferred to Grafenwöhr and was destroyed on 19 April 1945. The debris was discovered by American troops sometime after the discovery of Schwerer Gustav's ruins. The debris was scrapped in the 1950s. Part of the third (52 centimetre) gun was found after the war in the Krupp production facilities in Essen. The world's largest "Dora ensemble" is located in the Bundeswehr Military History Museum in Dresden. Ammunition [edit] High explosive Armour piercing Length 3.6 m (11 ft 10 in) Weight 4,800 kg (10,600 lb) 7,100 kg (15,700 lb) Muzzle velocity 820 m/s (2,700 ft/s) 720 m/s (2,400 ft/s) Maximum range 48 km (30 mi) 38 km (24 mi) Explosive weight 700 kg (1,500 lb) 250 kg (550 lb) Effect Crater size: 9.1 m (30 ft) wide 9.1 m (30 ft) deep[citation needed] Penetration: 7 m (23 ft) of concrete at maximum elevation (beyond that available during combat) with a special charge.[11] Notes The gun fired a rudimentary high explosive round which was similar in design to most of German HE rounds at the time. The main body was made of chrome-nickel steel, fitted with an aluminum alloy ballistic nose cone.

link to the gallery https://modelshipworld.com/gallery/album/2979-belle-poule-1834-by-kevin-occre-190-french-frigate/

Good evening, everyone. Well after 183 days that is the Belle Poule completed, there are several things I may do in the future, like add more ships boats, and some extra rope coils. I started this build June 2024 having put the Indefatigable to one side due to personal reasons, but felt the need to do something, I set aside a six-month time slot and build just OOB. Very quickly I concluded that as she is a large vessel, I needed to do some things to her to set her aside from other builds, so OOB went out of the window. Copper tiling was added, I may have gone a bit small in tile size but the result was ok Deadeyes were not used on this vessel but a type of turnbuckle, although not that realistic I made these up rather than bare brass wire Gunports, I wanted them shut with muzzles poking through, with meant increasing the height of the carriages and filing the muzzle ends down the fit through Hammocks I made individually, rather than the one piece folded Belaying pins changed from being oversized to 1/64 scale brass ones I discarded the OcCre rigging thread and used another company and down scaled everything Blocks, the kit supplied 4mm single and double this was reduced to 3mm and various other sizes based on my limited skills. I reduced a lot of the deck fittings in height, like pin rails, and added some things like the chicken run under the deck fitted ships boat I quite happy with how she turned out I would like to thank OcCre and James Hatch for passing the kit to me for review and build Thank you to all that followed and with likes and comments

Morning @Patrick Haw nice to hear from you, in 2021 i moved out of the garage into the conservatory, and made a display area in the empty space, there are now far more models in there, but thats where they are nowadays

wonder where my phots went to

good evening everyone this will my penultimate entry for this very short build log I have added more rigging, not included in the kit, i have made so many changes to her i will try and list a few when i do the reveal in a few days rope coils, and a lot of tidying up to do before then

Yes i did remove a post on that very subject. i had already been told what they were, but i failed to read the message, BUT here are the photo's (which are not mine)

black primer is also an option, not criticising yr work, just suggestions to stop light bleed

Light bleed, is that going to be an issue, the 2nd layer of planking wont stop any issues, if you build the kit like OcCre suggests

that would be a real shame, after all the hard work and research you have put into this project, is there no way it could go into storage/ friends house/ garage? until you are settled in

brilliant, i have just found this, you can tell i have been out of it for the last year, well done