hexnut

Bob - The acrylics seem to allow more versatility when it comes to scrubbing, wiping away, using steel wool to create the weather effects. Using several underlying colors also gives the illusion of years of built up paint. 
   I plan to hide the small coin battery inside the base. I'm still toying with ideas for my base. The on/off switch will be on the back side of base.
   Wood would have worked but I had a lot of different sizes of Evergreen styrene sheets in my stock. Here's a test run with one Pico light that I did in the dark. 
* the cabin's top deck is not glued to cabin
 

Until this build, I have always used rattle can sprays and either Testors or Model Masters enamels in jars. My wife does a lot of crafting and she turned me on to using acrylic craft paints from HobbyLobby. For this kit, I basically am using an Oyster White, AC Flesh and Khaki Tan for most of my weathering by brush. Two brands are Delta Creamcoat and DecoArt Americana that come in 2oz. containers and are very inexpensive.
   With that said, here is the start of my cabin. I'm sorry I did not show all of the pieces but they consist of four panels and the top deck. I had to do some sanding in order to get all of them even for gluing. I then went about weathering the cabin to match up with the hull. The cabin sits over a large opening in the deck. A gentleman by the name of Don Stauffer put in a floor for the front of his cabin. He has some fine models and great work! At this point I decided to borrow his idea and create a total floor and cabin furniture for some interest. Almost all of this will never be scene but I had a good time putting it together. I also decided I would add lighting to the inside of cabin.
   For my lighting, I am using a 3v Pico size warm white light and coin battery with on/off switch by Evan Designs. His products are so easy to work with and produce great results. I highly recommend checking out his sight!
   The floor, bed and desk were created with Evergreen styrene sheets and rods. The stove was created by using a plastic safety covering over a computer plug. I doodled around for a couple of weeks and finally completed everything. Again, most of this will not be visible. Here is what it looks like at this point.
 
 
 
 

Taped off upper hull and used water and salt once again before spraying red oxide to lower hull. After drying, I then brushed off loose particles of salt. I sponged dark grey on the springer rail. Added a little more rust weathering to the hull. I also added the Jenny name plate to both sides of the bow.
 

I washed all of the parts with soap and water and let dry. I sprayed all parts with grey primer. After watching a couple of videos on youtube using hairspray and salt techniques to create weathered paint, I painted some blotches of yellow, bluish green, and brown on the hull. I sprayed a layer of hairspray and then sprayed a thin layer of flat white paint over the hull. After drying, I scraped the surface with a toothbrush to expose the under colors. 
 
I wet the entire surface of hull with water and sprinkled course salt and let dry. I then sprayed another coat of flat white paint and allowed to dry. I then went in and used a toothbrush to remove the salt crystals.
 
I'm sorry that I did not take any pictures of piecing together the cabin structure. The cabin roof is not glued nor is the cabin structure to the deck in these photos. The deck was weathered by brushing blotches of the yellow, bluish green and brown over the primer and then spraying the deck with flat white. I then used a stiff bristle brush and a little steel wool to remove some of the white to expose the under colors.
 
I used enamel spray paint for primer grey and flat white and decided to use acrylic craft paints purchased from HobbyLobby for brush work on my boat.
 
 
 
 
 

Working on the 'Belle'.  The interior is weak and the crew members are blobs of styrene.  I will replace the gun barrels with wire.  The main issue is the windows.  I may have to make my own.  They are way too thick and I'm having fit issues with them.  I got the wings together!
 
 

Thanks Lou  Welcome aboard . 
 
I tried my hand at weathering the plaster. First I coated it in Tamiya Fine Grey primary, then I applied a coat of Floquil Cement color paint, then a wash of Floquil Engine Black.  Followed by a few more alternated coats of acrylic Mars Black and Floquil Mud.
 
Grey primer coat applied

First pass at weathering

I put it aside for a while until I get the half track vehicle assembled and painted. Then I will revisit the weathering of the church ruins once I decide on what other accessories I will add to the diorama.

I decided to dig into my stash of plastic 1:35 scale kits and do the Tamiya M6 Multiple Gun Motor Carriage or half-track and the Verlinden Church ruin kits together as a diorama. The Verlinden kit is cast hydrocal plaster and is now out of production since Verlinden retired some decades back. I picked up the last two kits my local brick and mortar hobby store had just before they closed their doors forever.  I will be doing the diorama somewhat similar to what is shown on the Verlinden box art with some additional Tamiya figures/accessories from my collection of completed Tamiya kits.
 
Box art and contents shown below
 
Verlinden Kit
 

 
Tamiya Kit
 

 
The Verlinden kit consists of two large castings of two walls of the church and 3 smaller castings of rubble from the church walls.  To assemble them I used 5 minute epoxy
 

Earlier this year, I managed to acquire a relatively new kit produced by the Polish card model kit maker Shipyard. The kit is one of two that were released at least a year ago, maybe longer. Both kits represent medieval Cogs from the 1300s.
 
Unlike other Shipyard kits I've worked on (yes, I only finished one paper ship model kit, but started a couple of them) which were paper kits and required cutting out pre-printed parts, this is a laser-cut card stock kit. Everything is already cut out in this type of kit, and the model requires painting.
 
The kit I am building the kit listed by Shipyard as the Hanse Kogge - Bremen 1380. It is a 1/72 scale laser-cut kit based on the Bremen Cog. The completed model measures a little over 13" long and about 12.5" high. I decided to go ahead and take on this kit, though I have other projects, as the laser-cut design should make construction much simpler than the paper kits I've worked on. Ages of Sail, which is how I got my kit, sells this kit for about $125.
 
There is a second Cog kit available called the Wütender Hund. It's a slightly bigger kit, maybe a little more complex, that sells for about $10 more.
 
If you're interested in buying one, I'd really like to see other build logs! Here's a link to the kits on Ages of Sail: https://www.agesofsail.com/ecommerce/catalogsearch/result/index/?cat=72&q=Kogge
 
So, taking a look at the contents of the kit...

The laser-cut parts are in a cellophane envelope, individual carboard boxes keep things from knocking around in the main box and contain parts, paints, etc.

The instructions make up a full-color booklet filled with photos. There's very little text, and what there is in multiple languages. 


 
Parts that aren't part of the laser cut sheets are provided in a couple cardboard boxes that include rigging line, laser-cut blocks and deadeye sets, paints, brushes, dowels, metal accessories, etc.

The sail is pre-cut and pre-marked, but will need to be painted.
There are several sheets of laser-cut card stock in various thicknesses and finishes. Some of the sheets have a glossy finish. Here are just some of the sheets.
 

There are a couple sheets of plans included, which mostly cover rigging details.
 

This looks like a very good kit and I'm pretty happy to be able to work on it. Next time, I'll post the start of construction.
 
Clare
 
 

I have a picture and where she was built.. 

 
 

Thanks, gentlemen ! The work continues:
******************************************
 
The lower carriage of the 30.5 cm gun
 
The lower carriage of the gun was a rather complex construction from rolled L-profiles and thick steel sheet. Unfortunately only the drawings in GALSTER (1885) and the coloured synoptic drawing from the Admiralty have come to us. Many construction details are superimposed onto each other with dashed lines, so that the interpretation of the drawings is rather difficult in places. As aids to interpretation with have one close-up photograph, the large demonstration model in the navy museum in Copenhagen, and the preserved guns of Suomenlinna Fortress off Helsinki. The carriage for the Danish iron-clad HELGOLAND, however, differs from that of SMS WESPE in some details, being actually a turret-carriage. The carriages in Suomenlinna are Russian copies of Krupp fortress carriages, but they allow to verify certain construction details that are not clear from the drawings.
 

Synoptic drawing of the 30.5 cm gun (from http://www.dreadnoughtproject.org/)
 
Originally I had planned to construct the lower carriage, like the upper carriage, from surface-etched brass parts. To this end I produced some time ago already the needed detail drawings. Surface etching is a very good process to simulate rivetting. In the meantime, however, I had purchased the laser-cutter, so that laser-cut parts would be an alternative. I had hoped to cut the parts from bakelite paper. Various trials with different cutting parameters unfortunately were not very successfull for the intricate parts. The 5 mW laser ist too weak to burn the material fast enough. Burrs of molten and partially carbonised resin form. Therefore, I fell back onto Canson-paper, which is a bit over scale with its thickness of 0.15 mm.
 

Base-plate and races laser-cut from Canson-paper
 
The drawings for the etching masks had to be reworked for laser cutting. It turned out during assembly that I had made several mistakes or misinterpretations. If I had send them off for etching this would have been costly, as both masks and etching would have to be redone. When cutting paper with a laser such corrections can be made quickly and easily – and the material costs practically nothing.
 

The basic frame of the lower carriage from the rear
 
The laser-cut parts were soaked in nitrocellulose wood-filler and once dry rubbed with very fine steel wool. To double up parts and for assembly zapon lacquer was used. This dries so fast that no special arrangements for fixing the parts are needed.
 

The basic frame of the lower carriage from the front
 
I did not take pictures of the different steps of assembly, as this would have rather impeded the process. First all parts to be doubled up were cemented together using zapon lacquer and weighed down to keep them flat during drying. The longitudinal parts of the carriage had slots cut into them, so that the transveral parts could be positioned exactly. The frame assembly then was cemented to the base plate (which in reality was not a plate, but rather the frame was put together from L-profiles and steel sheets). The racers, again in one piece, where glued on top of this assembly. Underneath the base plate the housing for the training gears (which will be very much simplified as they will be barely visible upon completion of the model).
 

The basic frame of the lower carriage from underneath with the housing for the training gears
 
One can see on the laser-cut parts marks for the rivets. These will be added as tiny spots of white glue. More details will be added in the next steps, but have not all been drawn yet.
 

 

The basis frame of the lower carriage with the upper carriage and the gun put temporarily in place
 
To be continued ...

Thank you !
*************
 
Doors in the foredeck and the decks house
 
Foredeck and decks-house were accessible through various doors. These were cut from 0.1 mm bakelite paper with the laser-cutter. The hinges were laser-cut from thin paper. In both cases various tries were needed with different cutting parameters and slightly altered drawings in order to arrive at the correct size. Die parts were assembled using zapon-lacquer. Zapon-lacquer was also used to glue the door into place.
 

Laser-cut doors from bakelite paper before clean-up 
 
On historical photographs I noticed that each door had a narrow step. These were represented by shaped and laser-cut tiny strips of paper.
 

View of deck-house and back of the fore-deck with the doors installed
 
Once the door were in place the hole for the bullseyes were drilled out. The laser-cut hole served as a guide. Once the boat is painted, the glazing will be installed in form of short lengths of 1 mm Plexiglas rods. The front of the rods will be faced and polished carefully on the lathe.
At a later moment also the door-knobs will be turned from brass and installed.
P.S. Apologies for the somewhat poor quality of the photographs, but I have been too lazy to take out the SLR camera and took them with the telephone.
 
To be continued ...
 

Thank you ! Trying to do my best to keep up with you guys
 
***************************************************************
 
Freeing Ports
 
Originally I had planned to surface-etch the lids and the frames on the inside of the bulwark. The drawings for the masks were ready, but I never got around to actually etch or have the parts etched. Since I now have the laser-cutter, these parts were cut from printer-paper (80 g/m2 = 0.1 mm thick). With a width of the frames of only 0.5 mm, the surface-etched rivets may not have come out anyway. The same for the rivets on the hinges of the lids. At least not with my somewhat primitve home-etching arrangement. If I had etched the parts from 0.1 mm nickel-brass, the overall thickness would have been reduced to a more correct 0.05 mm (= 8 mm for the prototype).
 
The lids have no latches to lock them and the ports no bars across them to prevent items or people being washed over board. This makes their construction simpler.
 
Papers, even the smoothest ones, alway have a certain surface-roughness, at least compared to the bakelite of the bulwark. Therefore, the chosen paper was soaked in wood filler and spread to dry on a thick glass-plate that was covered in cling-film. The latter allowed to remove the paper without it rolling up. The surface was then smoothed with very fine steel-wool. The lids were cut from the thus prepared paper, but it needed several trials to find the right cutting parameters in order to arrive at parts of the correct dimensions. This is a disadvantage of such simple laser-cutters and their software. As the material is practically free, this is only a nuisance, but no other loss. Also the etching may not work out right in the first go, which may mean a considerable loss of money and time, if the process had been outsourced.
 

Laser-cut lids for the freeing-ports
 
Unfortunately, it does not work for very small parts with the paper prepared as above. It turned out to better for the very small parts, including the frames, to cut them from unprepared paper. Perhaps I should switch to dark paper. Due to its lower albedo (reflectivity) it absorbs more energy from the laser. Unfortunately, all the coloured papers I have come by so far are quite rough on the surface.
 
I cheated somewhat for the freeing-ports. As I was afraid that I would not been able to cut them out cleanly and evenly, I abstained from it. Also, the bakelite-paper used for the bulwark for reasons of stability would have had a scale-thickness of 64 mm, when looked on from the side. Therefore, frames and lids were glued flat onto the inside and outside of the bulwark respectively. I hope one will not notice this too much, once the stanchions are in as well.
 
Frames and lids were glued on with zapon-lacquer. Little laser-cut rectangles of 0.3 mm x 0.5 mm were stuck onto lids to simulate the hinges.
 

Installation of frames and lids 
 
To be continued ...

Thank you very much, gentlemen 
😇
 
*******************************************
 
Steering-stands
 
The steering-stands consists of two pillars supporting a pair of wheels. These pillars were somehow bolted to the deck, but drawings and photographs do not show how it was done. On the model this detail will be barely visible, as the lower part of the columns will be hidden by the gratings platform.
The grating actually were photo-etched a long time ago. However, I did not like the rounded-out corners, which are due to my somewhat primitive etching process. Therefore, I cut the gratings also with the laser from Canson-paper. By playing around with the settings of the laser-cutter, I managed to produce reasonably square field and sharp corners. The fields resp. the ‘laths’ are only 0.3 mm wide and the grating is 0.3 mm thick (0.3 mm in 1:160 scale is equivalent to just under 50 mm for the prototype). I would have found it impossible to produce a grating in these dimensions prototype fashion.
 

Steering-stand gratings: JPG-image as input for the laser-cutter
 
The gratings are made up from two layers of paper 0.15 mm thick each. Imitating the prototype to some degree the lower layer only had transversal laths. Both layers were glued together with lacquer. The transversal reenforcing bars are built up from three layers of paper and glued to the gratings again with lacquer.
 
The platforms are raised above the deck by four short columns that were turned from brass rod. They were slotted for the reenforcing bars on the micro-mill.
 
The steering-wheel pillars were designed on the basis of the photographie showen earlier and what can be deducted from the lithographs. There is a pole protruding from the front pillar of the stand on the bridge, the function of which is unclear to me. It may have supported an indicator for the rudder or just the lanyard for the steam-pipe. The only known photograph that shows a boat before the armoured command tower was installed is too grainy from the printing grid (it is only known from a publication) to allow to discern such details.
 

Steering-wheel pillars: JPG-image as input for the laser-cutter
 
The pillars where built up from three layers of Canson-paer, which allowed to represent the cannelures. The pillar appears to be rather thin, but this is how it is drawn on the lithograph.
 
The axle of the steering-wheel rests in bearings that are clad in brass or bronze. A piece of 2 mm brass rod was bored out for the round heads of the pillars and then a thin disc was parted off. For further machining the discs were held in special insert collets with a low recess turned into the front (so-calle jewelling collets, used by watchmakers to machine watch jewels or bushings).
 

Machining the bearing caps in a 'jewelling' collet
 
The profile on the front was turned with a small boring tool and the dome-shaped cap over the axle was formed with a cup burr, as used by jewellery-makers to round off wires.
 

Shaping the covering cap of the wheel-axle using a cup burr
 
The caps are actually only segments of a disc and were milled of on the micro-mill accordingly.
 

Milling of the segment-shaped caps
 
All parts were glued together using lacquer

The individual parts of the steering-stands
 

Steering-stand on the bridge loosely assembled (a 1 €-cent coin for reference)
 
To be continued ...

The Showcase Models of Australia Kit
The HMAS Vendetta kit comes in a sturdy cardboard box with an artwork of the ship at sea in 1917 .
You get 5 five sprues , and 3 sheets of photo-etch including etch anchor chain .
I found all the details of the Model to be lovely , and were on a par with a Tamiya or Trumpeter kit
- it was that well made and also surprisingly well-designed ( a real tribute to Australian Showcase Models )
and it above all fitted well together with no flash or any awkward injection-ports visible on the Model when made .


HMS Walker
Admiralty W-Class Destroyer ordered from William Denny of Dumbarton under the 10th Order of the 1916-17 Programme on 9th December 1916.
The ship was laid down on 26th March 1917 and was launched as the first RN warship to bear the name on 29th November 1917. Build was completed on 12th February 1918 and included facilities for use as a minelayer. She served briefly in WW1. After the Armistice she was deployed in the Baltic was in action against Russian warships.
In 1921 she was in 1st Destroyer Flotilla, Atlantic Fleet and went into Reserve after 1930. HMS WALKER was not deployed operationally after the end of hostilities and was Paid-off.
The ship reduced to Reserve status and was placed was placed on the Disposal Lost.
Sold to BISCO for breaking up in 1946 she arrived in tow at the breaker’s at Troon on 15th March that year.
 
Note - the Showcase Models of Australia kit only came out at the start of 2017 and is produced as a 1917 era ship - so it needs work to make it a 1939 era ship = ( it needs a wider and taller rangefinder , director control and an extended bridge - with a 2 pounder AA gun needing to be fitted instead of the Kit 3 inch AA gun , depth charge racks and depth charge throwers ) .
I would also sadly stress that Showcase Models went out of business last year - due to the death of the owner / designer -
but his memory is carried on with this lovely model kit - I think the only way now to source one of these models - is to buy one second-hand off Ebay ( I bought mine in 2017 direct from Showcase Models as soon as it became available for sale ) .

The Prior Research
I had the National Maritime Museum plans of HMS Walpole ( cost me £ 70 ) scanned specially for me -
this was necessary as it had never ever been done before by the NMM so it cost me a lot more than normal -
but I got state of the art scanning of the Plans for HMS Walpole in 1/46 scale -
This was of the same class of Destroyer as HMS Walker  , to allow me to get the fine details
so I could get parts designed by Shapeways .
I would estimate that research and buying special Model Kit aftermarket parts from abroad - took 3 months -
and took longer than I first thought would be necessary - due to waiting for replies from Glasgow University and the National Maritime Museum , and then getting parts designed , printed and shipped to me but the hard effort finally paid off .

I must explain I first tried Glasgow University ( as HMS Walker was built by William Denny of Dumbarton ) but discovered that what they had was just described by them as ' nuts and bolts ' drawings - and not detailed line drawings and ship plans suitable for my purposes .

I needed a clear idea of the stern and the bridge as these were vital to understanding what to change from the Kit Model and detailed exactly what HMS Walker was actually like in 1939/1940 after she had a Refit Bridge fitted in the late 1920's .
Note that the Director Fire Control Hood that the ships had fitted in 1917/1918 during completion and was used throughout their careers , but is not present on the Showcase Model !!
 
I knew from my personal collection of Original interwar Postcards that proved HMS Walker had her extended ' Refit ' Bridge fitted much later than other V & W Class Ships ( often in the early 1920's ) and as always research is vital to discover for your own choice of ship , and the timeframe you wish to portray for the particular V & W Class Ship you wish to Model .

This made completely obvious through the looking at the marked changes to the plans , in 1928 and 1929 with refits added in different coloured pen marks to the original 1917 plans for HMS Walpole -
These were that -
Firstly , the original 3 inch HA gun was replaced with a single 2pdr pom-pom AA gun
Secondly , the Galley Exhaust Pipe was moved and trunked into the existing exhaust pipe at the front of the forward funnel .
Thirdly , the Compass Binnacle was moved forward ( when the Destroyer had a Bridge Extension at the Front )
and the new 9 Foot Rangefinder was moved aft - with the Bridge based semaphore moved to the bridge wings instead .
The HMS Walpole plans ( when they arrived as a huge JPEG scan ) solved the Bridge details puzzle -
and luckily I found on the internet , a line drawing of original plans for the stern of a V & W Class Destroyer
that had the mine rails fitted - this was HMS Vanquisher .

I got a Shapeways Designer to make me Mine Rail fairings ( or sponsons ) for the Model ( in the first photo attached to the stern and made in white plastic ) which you can see , are very realistic , and I made special mine rails in photo-etch using 1/350 railings as the ship I will make was constructed as a minelayer with 60 mines on deck - I could not source etch 1/350 Royal Navy Mine Deck Rails .

I also sourced the Polish made AJM Models single mounting 2 pounder pom-pom AA gun set and also added to it to replace the plastic gun barrel - a separate 2pr brass barrel from Master Models ( from another Quadruple Mounting pom-pom AA mounting set ) 2 pounder pom-pom gun barrel ( This Single 1/350 Gun brass 2-pdr pom-pom gun barrel has a hollow end ) .
The Deck was given NorthStar 1/350 Royal Navy Cable Reels - and Alliance Destroyer Bollards
( made for IJN 1/350 Destroyer ships but at that scale not a big deal ) -
The White Ensign Flag was printed off and originally I planned to use a fabric BECC Flag - but the print quality was not good enough .


I also show the finished stern showing the completed mine deck rail section , and the aft mine rail sponsons .
Note , also the aftermarket Metal Flag Pole ( by Orange Hobby - my only source of 1/350 Jack and Ensign Flag Poles ) - for the Bridge was added two 1/350 NorthStar Royal Navy Signal Searchlights - and 4 Brass IJN Voice Pipes - which all added to the realism .
The 2 Funnels were given added photo-etch grilles ( designed for a different Resin British G/H Class Destroyer ) to the tops ,
and then it was given the new Refit Ships Bridge - where it had fitted aftermarket items to add super detail .

I found the model to be well fitting and I would point out in this review that it is a lovely Model .
1/350 Scale HMS Walker Refit Bridge from Micromaster ( Shapeways ) .
Highly detailed part for those wishing to model the HMS Walker using the Showcase models 1/350 HMS Vendetta model, created to sit atop the model bridge. Accurately created using plans and reference photographs (which were specially supplied by me , to him from the National Maritime Museum HMS Walpole Plans ) .
Details include: Binnacle , Canvas texture around bridge railing , Inset Map reading tables , Bow lights and Bridge instrumentation .
I finally also bought for the Model , a bespoke nameplate made for me on the Shapeways site to replace the Kit Supplied Nameplate - which was well worth the expense .

several important points to note -
( 1 ) - The Model does NOT have etch railings provided for the 2 ' bandstands ' for the two 4 inch gun positions ( B and X guns ) -
so you need to remember to fit that , as the kit instructions do not mention this -
above all , I recommend you source and fit the ' Master Model of Poland ' HMS Repulse gun barrels set
for four examples of 4 inch guns to replace the kit examples .

( 2 ) There are NO Funnel photo-etch grilles , provided with the model kit - so again you need to source some - I recommend the
( originally made for the resin G and H Class Destroyers ) by White Ensign - the G and H Class Destroyers etch set -
https://www.sovereignhobbies.co.uk/coll ... destroyers
which have 4 different sized etch grilles - and they also offer extra railings and above all , the semaphores for the 2 bridge wings
( the kit provides a horrid plastic semaphore - located on the upper 1917 era bridge )

( 3 ) you will need to source 1/350 Depth Charge Throwers as there are none in the kit provided -
I realise that the V & W Class had two per side but I frankly struggled to locate where they would have been exactly 
fitted at the aft part of the ship - so just went for one as a compromise .
I sourced Rainbow ( 1/350 Rb3545 ) IJN Depth Charges
I had mine made with no Depth Charge loaded ( an empty thrower )- and used Brass aftermarket IJN Depth Charges
that were fitted on top of these and also fitted inside the White Ensign photo-etch depth charge racks at the stern .
This was well worth the effort and you get 40 Metal Brass Depth Charges so you have plenty spare for other projects !
The effort was well worth it , as you don't get any depth charges provided separate with the kit - and the 4 depth charges with the kit
are correctly ( for 1917-18 ) moulded onto the deck - but they are needed to be removed - if you want an inter-war or WW2 Ship .

( 4 ) As stated earlier if you want 1/350 depth charge racks , rather than the kit paravanes at the stern - you need to source some -
( the WEM G & H set provides them ) and you will need to remove the 4 x 1917 era depth charges at the stern in the little deck racks - as kit plastic - as mentioned earlier .

( 5 ) the aft mast - is 1917 era - and has no upper pole provided - so you need to ideally source suitable brass rod and make it yourself

( 6 ) the Shapeways 3D HMS Walker Refit Bridge had the Bridge windows moulded on , but these need to be removed and replaced
using the White Ensign etch set 1/350 Deck Railings adapted to size ( necessary as sadly the etch supplies H Class 1/350 Bridge Windows are to wide and also don't fit neatly onto the HMS Walker Bridge - this is important to note !!

( 7 ) I highly recommend this Book above all others for research and modelling purposes -
Raven, Alan & Roberts, John (1979). 'V' and 'W' Class Destroyers. Man o'War. 2. London: Arms & Armour.
This is a Soft-Back Booklet that has some wonderful line-drawing detail and original Shipyard photographs found nowhere else !

Hopefully my first ever Ship review on this site is not too bad , but I will happily take any constructive criticism .

More work  today   starting by  cleaning up both fuselage sides  - there was quite a bit to trim/sand off,  next  I glued the front engine bay  firewall bulkhead  (I decided to remove the engine mount  from the Merlin  as it was going to foul the fuselage)  I will still fit the engine as it has the exhaust manifolds attached to it.
I  also had some small fitting to add inside the cockpit  - I have to say the quality of the moldings and engraving is very high  and frankly wouldn't really benefit form PE  - this is the status before I add some paint.
 
OC.

So  after dinner  I carried on  - next up was the cradle, this comes in three sections  and the firewall -  I had to glue the one side to the main section (this had to left secured while it set)  then after an hour or so  I glued the other side, this was put a side while cleaned up the fire wall - then I positioned the cradle and glued it to the firewall (this strengthened the cradle  up).
Then it was a case of painting the  cradle and firewall  the same cockpit green as the inside of the Mossie  (it is a generic  RAF  interior colour)  then a bit of a dirty wash followed by some dry brushing.
 
OC.

Hi all,   another  rainy day  so the mossie remains un painted,   so  back on with this,   I managed to finish assembling  the Merlin  then paint and weathering - so  the power plant is complete  but Im currently working on the engine bay cradle for the merlin.
 
OC.

Evening all,
 
So I decided to start this today  - the kit calls for the power plant to be assembled first, its a lovely  rendition of the superb Merlin,   it starts with the lower end and sump, to this are attached the two lower cylinder heads  and to each of these the exhaust manifolds  and oil feeds,  I still have more to add  before I start painting and weathering.
 
OC.

I have decided to start this  along with my  Mossie kit,   as there will be times when I can not get the spraying done  outside  due to the weather, so it gives me things to get on with.
 
I won this  in ebay for a knock down price   - it is an open box  but all bags are sealed,    the ICM  version of the Spit  IX   is  renowned for being the most accurate  model of a Spit  in this scale,  I will build her more or less  straight out the box  as  I understand the cockpit  and parts are very very good.
 
So to start with  - here's the  top box art  and  quick look at the bag  contents.
 
I do apologize I put the complete wrong box pic up  - how I dont know  - This is the Right One.
 
OC.
 

She is now complete! Thank you for following this thread! 

Work on the details of the Sultana's hull is nearly complete.  Soon I will be moving on to the masts, spars, and rigging.  Here is what the Sultana looks like now.

Actually, that's the real Sultana back in December, when her masts were removed for maintenance.  The picture is from the video Winter Maintenance on SULTANA’s Masts.
 
Here is what my Sultana looks like.

Details that have been added include:
Rope railing and white cover on the main hatch.  I was originally planning to omit these details, but the hatch looked too plain as it was. Metal, oval-shaped mystery hatch at the bow, port side.  Maybe for refueling? Box for storing propane gas at the bow, starboard side. Various eyebolts and cleats. Additional signage on the hatches and opposite the ladder.
The next steps include understanding and planning out the rigging, and making the figurehead.
 

Here is my attempt at the gun rigging, with a fitting Greek 2 cents eurocoin

The tartane is almost complete, so hopefully tomorrow, once the ship is ready, to have a full set of photos.  

Amazing results for a plastic model. Kudos. That is a beautiful boat with a Latin rigging.
 
Yves

The rigging progressed quite fast this week. Its almost done.