hexnut

Main superstructures done and dryfitted. I calculate I’m about 2/3 done 

So I tried this new modeling putty. Nope, don’t like it.  
This is now really fiddly and slow as I’m using individual stanchions. Fading done with an airbrush and then dry brushing to bring out the details. None of this is glued yet, there are a heap of details to go. 

About 3 hours of masking, using a pencil on the masking to ensure the oilcanning lines up, sea blue, and the same process as with grey, I’m pretty happy with the outcome so far. 

 

Side plates pre shaded, a few shades of grey and oilcanning. I need to put another diluted coat over the top then cut some templates and overspray with dark blue for the camo. 

Deck faded, walkways are in a darker blue. First layer of masking removed. 

Grunge and green. That’ll do I think, now onto the decks. 

Lower hull, using a piece of card, overspray of red to highlight the ribs, then diluted coco brown to dull it down, the very dilute burnt occre to highlight. Next will be grunge which will make most of this go away, but as this is 1942, the damage and grunge would not be so bad. 

Now to make the brass disappear. Base coats of the lower hull and blue deck done. I’ll give it a day to dry before I start working on them properly to add the oilcanning and highlights. 
 
 

I have a question - What do you use to mask off when painting? I find that painter's tape does not leave a clean line. 
 
Update - The problem above is resolved and Conor (my grandson) spent a day sanding & priming. We have now finished painting one color. And today begins masking and the rest of the painting. The goal is to complete the painting this week. Tomorrow I will be in the lab wiring the pilot house.

Epoxy for structural patches, but good ol' Bondo automotive filler works great for cosmetic fill/surface coating, with Nitrostan/Red Lead as a final skim coat.  Additionally, cabinet scrapers and box cutter blades work well over PLA for knocking down the FDM print lines...
 

while I was browsing here,  I have been working on the Coke mobile.   still more to paint.......still a ways to go yet.   I've seen it in the so many dry fits,  that I'm getting all peckish........I want it together!  to start off....the glass was cemented into the fire wall yesterday...it is painted and ready to install,  but I wanted to make sure it was fully dry.  the darn thing was getting red on the interior roof!  so it was installed,  and the red was removed by a light coat of paint.  there was no cement applied with it......it slid into place very snug.

yes......the steering wheel,  pedals,  and E-brake lever has also been added to the body.   because of how I had the body propped,  the column appears to be almost perpendicular........an innovation by Wenzel's auto body......it's a tilt column  


while this was drying,  a few more parts were being assembled and painted.   the side mirrors....there are holes drilled on each side,  half way up the windshield for mounting {you may see the dimples}.

they are made from the number tabs on a sprue....ca'd to some thin wire.   the license plates are being painted.

....and I'm adding a step platform at the rear.

when all was dry and ready to go,  they were added.........but I took one last stab aligning the body to the frame.  I'm not sure what it is......the circumference of the tires has changed.........I shortened the drive shaft,  but that was because of the transmission length.  the only thing I can think of, is that perhaps I should have cemented the fenders further back on the body.  it's a good thing I didn't though......the engine goes back into the recess in the fire wall.  to have done that would have meant a larger cover....it's pretty close to being 1/4 of an inch deep as it is.  I also removed the two pins that were on both sides,  on top of the frame.  I think the fire wall butted up against them.......not shown in the instructions {or so vague,  I couldn't tell}.   I added another .5 mm shim to the first pair....probably could have added another......but all is said and done now.  the body and frame are one.
     I added the new parts as well........even the radiator cap  




it's still missing a few odds and ends....most important,  the exhaust.   still another update or two to go     the Batmobile is finished........all of the parts are on the car,  and now it's waiting for decals.   all 'n all.....it was a productive day! 

oh bother.......what to do?!?!  I took the two pieces of wood off the frame....I think I already mentioned that.......this lessened the interruption with the generator,  but there still seems to be a gap between the frame and the under body.   so while I was pondering this dilemma,  I was looking for something to do in the meantime.   I could work on the General.......but my mind kept coming up with the Adam West Batmobile.  so..........the heck with it,  I'll bring it back out.   it had been tabled since January of 2018....very unhappy results from the paint job.  it's odd........I did the Michael Keaton Batmobile........as well as the Bat Boat at the same bat time,  with the same paint,  and didn't encounter the results I got with this model.  this is the Polar Lights Batmobile......I believe this to be an old MPC kit.  someone mentioned in another log,  that some model companies don't produce their kits....they are manufactured somewhere else with their name on it.  this is true......Polar Lights,  a division of Round 2 LLC. is located in South Bend, Indiana,  but the kits are produced in China.  Revell is another....you have Revell Germany......their kits are made in Poland.  whether this is a factor or not is unclear......I just looked through a Revell kit that was produced in 1969,  but I could find no definitive idea as to where it was produced.
     I have heard comments about the plastic........some find it hard.....some find it soft........some find it easy to bend,  while others do not.  I am convinced that the stryene plastic of today,  has changed since the good 'ole days.   I could feel it when I handled some of the kit parts.....the plastic in that kit felt a lot more rigid.  what I have also noticed,  is today's plastic is becoming paint sensitive.  I do like to use automotive grade paint here and there,  as well as the primers.........but with today's kits,  this is becoming harder to do.  auto grade paints are too harsh for the plastic........it will eat at the plastic finish and cause it to appear rough and blotchy.  that is what happened to the Batmobile......the body shines.....but the feel is rough to the touch.   the paint I used is the Billing's paint,  that I still seem to have a fair amount of.   I've stopped using it in my airbrush.....clogs in a heartbeat!.........and if I thin it down too much,  it's like shooting spackle...dries as it hits the model.   the paint is great......my initial assumption when I started to use it.......but it was old when I got it,  and has gotten worse since then {that was quite a while ago}.   Billing's paint can be grouped in with auto grade paint.......it contains pretty much the same ingredients.  it gives a great finish....I love the shine....as a matter of fact,  when I did the Michael Keaton Batmobile,  I had to tone down the shine.......used dull coat to do it!   I've since stopped using it for plastic models........now primarily on wood.   the wood sucks up the paint,  since it has no real finish to speak of.   I hate to throw it out.......I've used up quite a bit of it,  but there's still too much to contemplate the heave ho.  so,  basically....the body looks all peckish...but shiny.......let's not forget shiny    

I probably shouldn't post it here.......but it was part of my thought process.  besides,  it's almost finished anyway.  this kit was plagued with fit problems.......getting the back deck to fit meant whittling part of it away.  I've done away with the removable stuff......like the trunk,  which houses the bat computer.   if it was a hinged lid,  I might have been OK with it,  but it's not.......like the hood,  it simply comes off.   the hood comes off.......only because there is an engine under there...can't very well hide that,  no can I?!?!  the glass is merely fitted on there at the moment........I'm not a Picasso with the canopy frames,  and I still need to fix them.   the holes need to be drilled out a tiny bit larger,  for the fit to be better.  the paint doesn't look too bad here,  but a closer inspection reveals it all.  it looks horrible.........I do want to get another and strive for better results.   too bad they didn't include the parts to build it stock.......1955 Lincoln Futura.

I added the jet nozzle on the rear.   the biggest phu-bar with the model,  lie with the two grille plates in each side of the rear......that's where the tail lights are to be located.   the plates go over them,  but it's a shame that the plates are molded in black plastic {kinda moot that bit of detail}.  I'm going to make some tail lights and fit them in the fin recesses.


the windshield wasn't too bad,  but the rear canopy had some sloppy paint work......I fixed a lot of it here.   thanks to Mr. Camera,  I see a couple more.........Grrrrrrr!

the two front grille inserts needed to be fitted into place.  they are in there with no glue at all.

just a few of the parts left to assemble.......they didn't goof on the headlights though....clear plastic     then I added the headlights.

you can just make them out......I hope that with the covers on them,  they can still be seen.   there's the antenna....sweet FM baby!  oh......NO!!!!  I've got happy feet!!!!!! 
the canopies are in place now......a spigot look'in thing on the front cowling.......9 more parts and I'll have the whole car    then it can be decal time!

    just in time too.........I've got some decal work to do on the General.   as for the Coke mobile,  I did some brain storming {just waiting for the clouds to dissipate} and came up with a plan.   I've done some minor touching up so far,  and added the headlight lenses.

the steering wheel,  the parking brake handle,  the pedals have been painted.   I've made adjustments to the fire wall......breaking off a corner of the cover,  which I've also repaired.   those parts can be added after the body is installed....then perhaps I can stop fixing the frame,  because of all the dry fitting.

Another thing I need to make are the side mirrors....none in the kit.  they are only concerned with what's in front of them.........you know,  I had a suspicion that having to see what's behind you as well,  was confusing the issue!  my word........this mode of travel is trickier than I thought!   you passed it already..........forget 'bout it!!!!  the good 'ole days were so much simpler    
  I thought I'd start small this time..........I added a .5 mm shim on the frame this time

I can always add more if needed      more soon  
 

it's been said that fish is good brain food........I agree I should have eaten a whale     a whole different tail of moby proportion.
 
where's a good Moe slap when you need one!  
 
I'd have been back sooner,  but I caught up on a couple of episodes that I missed.  where was I?.........oh yes....the continuation of my crazy zany log on this half baked project of mine.  well......I took myself up on the idea of raising the body......3/16ths should be plenty.

this will enable me to move the body forward,  so the fenders aren't touching the rear tires.

you get a small peek at the rear differential.   there was a bit of trouble assembling the rear.....I ended up cementing the rear tires {they don't move}.
    under the body,  I added the two last pieces of cross members.  

they will be painted when dry.  the seat is now painted......

...and began to put the finishing touches on the radiator.

I started to paint the fire wall,  but I felt I should add the instrument box and the other parts first.   next was to do the rear wall of the body......don't know why I put it off this long.  I did correct one of the moldings......it wasn't pretty.  one other is a bit off......but I didn't correct it.  what I experienced with the one I did correct,  was what I expected would happen if I had tried it on the one I goofed up on earlier in the build.  I still need to do some hardware for the doors.

the fenders are painted now........I used a brush on them.  I may go over them again.

there is some ghosting here and there.......tell tale strokes.  as long as you don't get too close up,  it appears fine.   here are a couple of shots of the second attempt to assemble the differential......I forgot to rearrange the photo lineup.......I usually do.


once this had set enough,  it was touched up and the rear tires were reinstalled {I didn't get that far before the trouble began}.  it was here that I found that the metal shaft was too short.  so,  before any problems could resurface,  glue was applied to the hole in the rim and the tire was slid in place,  flipping it over in the same movement.   there it sat for the time being to dry.  during the drying time,  the seat was cemented in place,  and the headlights were installed and painted.  the rest will be done later.

when the chassis was able to be worked on again,  the exhaust manifolds were added and the wood additions were painted..

the drive belt is being painted by this time......and the other parts for the interior were being fleshed out.  two holes were drilled through the floor board for the steering column and pedals.  the emergency brake lever is also in the works.  the fire wall has also been painted........it's waiting on the detail touch ups and the glass.

I will see how all this plays out,  as to whether or not I can complete the steering linkage.  I'm getting close to the dry fit I've been waiting for   

drat!..........I was hoping to have an interesting picture at the end of this update!  oh...well.......next time    this after noon,  since I did practically nothing yesterday,  I started to chip away at some of the modifications that need to get done.  I still am surprised at how much I got done.  for starters.....I needed to do something about the rear differential.  it would be unthinkable,  to have a rip roaring V8,  to be turning the gears in a rear end,  that was cutting edge before I was a gleam in me mother's eye     not having a up to date rear end to shove under this soda popper,  I guess I'll have to modify the one I have     still a bit shy in the spare parts dept.,  I have these diamond looking parts from something or another,  that might do the trick in extending the housing..

I've already shortened the drive shaft and bars,  and reoriented the spring.  all around the edges of this add on,  I've filled it in....so painted,  it will look better.  I also cut out more material from the engine well.

this will also make it a bit easier to install the fire wall.   I can fill the open area back in if I need to,  once the engine and exhaust is in place.  the steering is another issue........it won't work the way it was intended.  I will have to change it.  first,  the extra part of the steering linkage was removed from the tie rod part.  then,  it was cleaned up and painted aluminum.   in fitting the engine,  I also noted that the way I left the mounts jutting out on both sides of the frame,  might be in the way of the exhaust.  these two areas were trimmed flush with the frame and touched up.  the fan and drive belt is added to the engine to get an idea how close to the radiator the fan would be.

using the front suspension as a guide,  I can now get an idea of how far back the assembly will need to sit.  I'm judging...about 1/4 of an inch....to be safe,  mind you......   taking some 1/32 basswood,  I cut a strip in the way I can make use of the wood grain flexibility....and I wet it down.  once set long enough..........not long.........it was dried off till it was just damp.

then it was super glued around the opening,  starting from the height of the tabs that can be seen........on both sides.   a face was added to the addition,  after it was sanded and trimmed to fit the body.   it then went through another round of sanding,  finishing off with fine paper to smooth it out.  the preliminary fit looks.......not too bad.  perhaps a bit more touching up.



now I can cut that extra wood out of there,  finishing the tunnel.  that I did soon after.  a dry fit revealed that I will need to sand in an indention into the underside of the floor.  the transmission rises above the frame,  so I will need to remove material to clear it.  I can't show you a picture of the dry fit for this reason...bummer.   one thing I can do,  is add 1/16 to the frame.......I may have to anyway.........but try not to jack 'er up too much though,  it will spoil the looks.  knowing where the engine will sit.......it was cemented in place,  waiting on the newly painted rear end {still in the process at the moment} to lift the rear up,  so I can fit the body.

now to find the right sprue to make the exhaust.........this rig is scream'in for side pipes!   too bad I don't have 'em  

I managed to get more done.......errands took up the afternoon.
 
after figuring out where the engine should be.......I made up some mounts for it.  this part is a cross member for the front suspension,  that would be in the way of the oil pan.  cemented on both sides of the frame,  they were sanded to accept the engine block.

there is enough room for the drive belt and the fan......the radiator fit on the front of the cross member.  I had cemented the spring on the rear differential,  but I see that there is a problem here.  the spring need to sit forward and at an angle,  to make up for when the drive shaft is connected to the transmission.   I'll adjust it later.


rather than cut the tail shaft off of the trans,  I'll cut the drive shaft down to length.  there too much of a mismatch there....seem the best thing to do.
    I did paint some of the window maker on the backs of the windows.......it worked about half way.  they are clear,  but the 'frosting' can still be seen.

I remove them all from the tape......exposing the back sides to the air hastened the drying time.  they look a lot better in that respect     this is the differential as it sits now.

I cut off the pin at the front of the drive shaft and drilled a hole for the tail shaft to locate into.   then I cut off the spring,  cleaned everything up,  and relocated the spring forward and at an angle,  so that when the front of the drive shaft is connected to the trans,  the spring will sit perpendicular to the frame.  now I need to shorten the drive shaft about a half an inch.   I will wait till the engine is cemented in place,  so it won't move as I get the measurement right.

as for the front suspension.......the tie rod and drag link has been added,  and stabilizer bars have been added.   another part that had to be modified.
   the frame had also been painted......


the engine well has been widened.......cutting out the splash guards that were on both sides of the well itself.   I left off on this ,  trying to fit the fire wall.  there is no 'give' to the body.......so this makes it harder to do.   but I will get it in there.   I think I should get the seat in place first though........I may not be able to remove the fire wall once I fit it in    minor problems..........gotta love 'em!

Thank you John - I appreciate it.  And thanks to those looking in and hitting the like button. 
 
Fish and Ice Hold Hatches
I intended to include the equipment storage and checkers in this post, but that will be the next one.
 

The fish hold hatch sits slightly forward of center on the aft deck. It measures 8 feet long by 4 feet wide and has three covers.  The hatch coamings are 11” high, but I’m building the box out of slightly wider material.  This will allow me to profile the bottom edges to conform to the crown and sheer of the deck without loosing the 11 inches in height.  The ice hold sits aft of the fish hatch and is 4.5 feet x 2.5 and stands 8” high.
 
I begin by drawing up the hatch coamings and covers for both fish and ice holds.
 


From 1/16” thick stock, I cut the coamings needed for both hatches.
 


 

I use a 1-2-3 block as an aid in producing a square corner.  CA is being used because I’ll be using alcohol to color them.  And as you know, PVA and alcohol don’t play well together.
 


 

I use a flat sanding surface to maintain flat square surfaces all around.  I find it easier to push pieces around on a stationary flat surface than to sand a stationary piece with a moving sanding surface.  I’ve made several of these surfaces - different grits of paper and emery that are glued down to both sides of a 4” x 7” piece of craft plywood.  Having grit on both sides keeps them from sliding around.
 


 

Before I begin the hatch covers, I confirm the frame size.
 


 

To make the covers, appropriate sized strips of wood are glued directly to the drawing extending across all three covers.
 


 

I then cut along the dashed location lines with a straight edge and blade.  They are left wide and will be adjusted later.
 


 

Coloring the frames starts with applying a mixture of India ink and 70% ethyl alcohol.  (Any alcohol works.)
 


 

Then the frames are painted with an off-white acrylic and allowed to dry for about ten minutes.  Applying regular cellophane tape to selected areas of the paint and then tearing it off like an old bandage leaves a peeled paint appearance.  More paint can be pulled off in areas where you burnish through the tape surface.  There is a window of time when this technique works most effectively – letting the paint dry too long or too little produces disappointing results.  Experimentation on scrap is essential.  Different species of wood and stain/paint combinations work with varying degrees of success.  But it always works.  (Batteries not included and your mileage may vary.)
 


 

The hatch covers are stained next.  They are placed on a sheet of paper with double-sided tape.  Chalk is scrapped off the side of soft pastel sticks (dry, not oil based) into three small piles – black, brown and white.  After applying a wash of ink/alcohol, I highlight areas with the chalk.  Black and brown for general coloration, and white to simulate sun and water bleaching.  The chalk is applied with a brush wet with straight alcohol.  Touching the chalk dust with the brush produces a puddle of wash as subtle or bold as you wish depending on the amount of alcohol applied.  It penetrates the wood and can be blended and re-worked with straight clean alcohol.  White is the most difficult to work because you can’t see it while wet.  You have to wait for the alcohol to evaporate off to see the results.
 

Where too much chalk was applied, I remove and/or blend it back with clean alcohol.
 

This photo shows the three-stage progression.
 


 

For lifting rings I found some guy wire eyes in my styrene junk yard that scale to 3” in diameter.  They were painted flat black enamel and glued into indents in the hatch covers.  Brown chalk was used to simulate traces of rust on and around the pulls.  This helped in visually setting the pulls into place.
 


 

Finally an insert is placed into the frame to hold the covers. 
 

The ice hatch was built in the same way.
 


 

I’m going to hold off placing these hatches on the deck for now, as they would interfere with upcoming work.
 

Next - equipment storage and checkers.
 

Thanks for taking a look.
 

Gary

Keith and John - Thank you for your comments and interest in my build.  And thanks to all who have stopped by and for hitting the like button.
 
Railcaps
Here is a short update showing the rail cap and stern area bitts installed.
 

To begin I needed a pattern for the rails.
 

I took a sheet of letter-sized paper and placed it on the deck/bulwarks of the model.  Running my finger over the paper and along the edge of the boat left a nice clearly defined crease in the paper.  I did this for both P/S rails.  Care was needed to keep from shifting the paper while tracing the edges.  I found this much easier than tracing with a pencil.
 

Using a French curve, I refined both creases into smooth arcs.  I then cut along these lines and held them to the model to check for accuracy.  Satisfied, I then transfer the arcs to cardboard and cut them out.  These were then glued to a cardboard base.  This would serve as my forms for the railcaps.
 

To make up the caps, I laminated two strips of basswood with PVA and pinned them to forms to dry.  Waxed paper was put down to keep them from sticking to the cardboard.
 

Once dry, they were sanded flat and smooth then trimmed and fitted.  They were attached to the model using CA.
 

 Extra material was added for a wider rail at the aft deck.  Inwales were installed and rail cap was added across the top of the transom.  All were base painted white.
 
Bitts were made up and installed through the railcap in each corner of the stern.  This turned out to be one of those tasks that you think will be simple and fast, but ends up taking a lot longer.  The bitts took no time to make – a square piece of wood cut to length with a piece of blackened brass stuck through it.  But cutting the square holes through the railcap took much longer.  They have to be positioned the same on each side. They have to stand parallel with the deck boards rather than the railcap.  And one errant stroke of the file and the hole would be out of square, crooked or worst of all - too big. 


 


 Some other views. 


 


 


 Next, I begin on the equipment storage area, ice and fish hold hatches and the checkers.
 

Thanks for taking a look.
 

Gary

Here you go -  with the kit being 1/87 scale(HO scale I believe), it`s not very big.  Many of the details are molded on - hand rails & so forth - so a bit of work needs to be done to make it more realistic.  With so many details molded on,there isn`t a lot of parts.
 

 

 
Mark

not having done any more to her,  I guess this would be a good time to post an update.   the pony truck is in place,  after a serious game of tug 'o war,  as I tried to spread the frame away from the boiler to fit the bottom smoke box floor.  I ultimately had to break free the front cross member,  so I could get it on top of the frame rails.   the plate was cemented in place in two sessions.......first to the frame,  and then to the smoke box.  her it is being cemented to the frame rails.

you can see the front cross member broken free on the right side.   the reverse gear actuator rod was next to add......it was painted and set aside until now.  I wanted to wait till I could do a good amount of assembly.  the walkways that run along both sides of the boiler as painted and ready as well.

...hard to see,  I know......it runs along the boiler,  back to the engineer's booth.  the head light is finished,  waiting to be added.


by this time,  I could cement the smoke box floor to the box,  and finish the assembly there.  after it was done,  the cross member was cemented back in place.

once cleaned up,  the cylinder / valve chests can be installed.   they are in the paint booth at the moment.   the wheels for the pony truck and the tender trucks have also been given the first step of their paint job.  the reverse actuator lever was added to the rod,  and connected to the gear assembly.  it was hard to see where exactly it went,  but once I saw how it fit,  it was added fairly easily.

the iron work on the walkways need to be done still........they are on the underside of each side.  once done and dry,  they were added as well.

I wanted to add the engineer's booth floor,  but I still need to paint the floor part.   seeing that it had wood grain,  it was a safe bet to paint it a wood color.  the boiler door was also added to the boiler face.  here is a good question..........on the shut offs and valve knobs.........do they have any specific color denotation?  red for emergency.........green or blue for other purposes?  if not...should they be silver or brass.......or just plain black?
 
I started to paint the sand dome and stream dome too........more on her soon     

looks like an interesting kit.......post the link so others can see it    it may peak their interest too!
 
I finally took the parts out of the brake fluid.........it looked like where I had painted wasn't affected...

the badge that goes on the front of the smoke box was entirely stripped.......a little scrubbing on the back was all it needed.

this part will get painted in three different colors....the sand dome behind it will be painted yellow.  I use Dawn dish washing liquid to do this....after all.........Dawn takes grease....out of the way!      I did find out differently about the paint on the stream dome......once in the water and I messed around with it,  it came right off.

now,  outside of the tub of soapy water and the faucet,  these are all the tools I use.........a stiff wire brush and a pair of long tweezers

the end result after they have been washed and dried....be sure to let them air dry as well,  before painting them.  again.......if your rinsing them in the sink....remember to put some sort of fine mesh strainer in the drain.........or you'll stand a chance to loose small parts  

now I can clean up the stream dome and get rid of those nasty lines!

Floyd:
Tamiya tape is good.  I had been using 3M Fine Line tape - an automotive painting tape that is available at a lot of auto parts stores - as it leaves a very nice line and it doesn't lift underlying paint and it is very similar to the Tamiya stuff.  However I recently started using FBS K-UTG Gold Crepe Masking Tape from Coast Airbrush (link below) as it out performs the 3M Fine Line and Tamiya tapes - in my opinion.  It's not expensive and it is able to follow a curved line a bit better than the 3M tape.
 
One tip for masking between colors.  When masking off to do the next color burnish the tape down for good contact and then lightly spray the edge of the tape on the edge where the next color is to go with the underlying first color.  This way, if anything is going to creep under the tape it will be the exact color of the first paint.  Let it dry and then paint the second color.  remove the tape and you will have a very clean straight edge w/o any creep of the 2nd color over the first.  Don't spay against the tape edge either with the first color or the second so paint doesn't build up against the tape's edge.  Try to spray at a right angle to the surface of the tape to minimize buildup.  And when removing the masking tape pull it back over itself rather than straight up to minimize the risk of lifting the underlying paint - per the sketch.

http://www.coastairbrush.com/proddetail.asp?prod=FBS_K-UTG_Gold_Crepe_Masking_Tape

I use Tamiya brand masking tape

And here it is! a picture of the exterior of the hull with Primer applied. There is still a bit of sanding on the interior and primer to go but we can really see progress.  
 
So I have a question. When cleaning your air brush what do you do? Mine is a badger 150 with siphon feed. It appears that after a week of not painting I can't get the paint to feed. I am thinking that the siphon tube is blocked. So tell me what the procedure is to change paint colors?

So, Floyd isn't alone in this project as you may have notice.
There's Neal who has done all the drafting from real sketches of the tugboat Alert class named Alert as well.
Neals experience with Fusion360 is amazing who knows a lot of tricks. And he is self taught!
I am behind the drafting and design of the barge, this barge is a hybrid, between two different barges.
One is a 400' and the second is a 250', considering the scale we are working at the barge is very long. Measures 85 inches plus ( 7ft +) or in metric 217 cm plus long.
 
Here is three renderings I have done, there are no post photo editing.



Position lights and work lights will all be fully functional via a switch-board.

Hello everyone...this is the last installment of the Sparrowhawk build, she is complete...
The wing support rigging was completed with 0.015 stainless steel wire...the radio antenna is line from my rigging box, the attachment points are small hooks made from the stainless wire CA'ed into predrilled holes...I was able to use most of the kit decals though they all broke at one point or another, the stripe borders were a total lose though, so those are really thin pieces of masking tape, they were painted  with a pointer brush after the green had dried, that was a pita...my thanks to all who've participated in this log your support is much appreciated...on to the photos