RMS Titanic by popeye the sailor - Academy - PLASTIC - 1/400 scale

[dragzz]

hello popeye looking good so far i know a friend of mine he does de crome he used bleach just a thot u might want to try a peace off the tree to see how fast it works for u 

[popeye the sailor]

yes,  I have seen that site George.........as a matter of fact,  I posted it for Casey.    thanks for your help 

 

thanks Dragzz    I've used the brake fluid method  for quite some time.  as mentioned,  it depends on the age of the chrome process.  thank for your suggestion.......appreciate the help 

[Greg the peg leg sailor]

G'day Denis

By memory inside of the Titanic the floors were different through out the ship, but the use of marble and deep red flooring was also used. The walls were also very elegant. So the choice of colours inside is up you, if it's worth the time depending on the if you can see inside anyway.

Havagooday

Greg

[popeye the sailor]

well.......the first hurdle has arrived!   I'll get into it in a moment.  first,  I'd like to show you how the stand is coming along.

 

the holes were drilled for the hull

 

 

the brackets that will support the ship has been drilled and fitted to the hull

 

 

and then disaster struck.  the kit scheme lists the use of deck tan on the decks.  what I have is the remainder of a bottle of flat sand......seemed close enough...and looked pretty good.  touching up the decks,  I noticed that it seemed to be drying out,  a good indication that I had thinned it at the time I used it {I think I used it for the Spitfire}.  having another bottle of flat tan,  that had separated,  I poured a little of the suspension from that bottle to it.  what resulted was this.

 

 

yea.......not good.  so....pondering on this,  I continued with the stand assembly.   the pedestals were sanded and cleaned up to the point where the separation lines are gone.  the bottoms were drilled out......all I need to do now is drill out the tops of the pedestals.......I'll do that when the supports are cemented on.

 

 

......and then the hull was set in place.

 

 

going online,  I started to look for a Titanic color chart.........since I got the feeling that the instruction scheme might not be quite right {even though it was my goof to begin with}.   they do suggest mixing paint for some of the colors,  but in this day and age,  I'm sure that the spectrum offered by model companies now,  has expanded quite a bit.   I did find a site that seems quite good.......they offer a lot of insight,  and list paints that others has used with great satisfaction.

 

Titanic Paint and Color Reference

 

I got a good line for the bottom paint color.  though these look close,  I still may elect to redo the entire bottom.

 

 

a controversial color that this ship had,  was the depiction of a color called white star buff.   it was used for the funnels.  a color they suggest is British Gulf Light Stone.......and I happen to have a brand new bottle of it.   the stripe along the hull of the ship is a yellow chromate,  which I'm sure it can be found in a flat {it's a military color}

 

 

 

it is suggested to look at the colors from different angles.......computer screens can play tricks with the hue.  the big head turner is the deck color.  they do list a sand color,  but it's gloss.   I'm sure that it can be found in a flat........but the flat sand that I used is much darker,  and I need to strip it off the decks somehow.  

 

 

 

this color sand would be much better to use......I'm sure Model Master has it in a flat {as a gloss it would not be suitable}.  I was looking through my paints,  and I came across a couple of paints that may work as well.  the deck on the Titanic was a yellow pine,  so it has to be a lighter color.  the fore deck,  poop deck and well deck was planked in pitch pine,  considered a tougher wood at the time,  would be a shade darker.  teak was used sparingly,  as it was an expensive wood at the time.

    it was used for moldings and margin trims...but I may not go into that much detail  the two choices are:

 

1)  Armor Sand - Model Master       it has the light sand color,  but has a slight greenish tint to it

 

2)  US Army/Marines sand - Model Master    has the light sand color,  and a bit more on the yellow/tan side

 

if you get right down to it though.....the British Gulf Light Stone could also be used.....it too possesses the light sand color with a shade more yellow to it.   I'm in the process of stripping the decks now.   I used thinner for the bridge deck.....not much to do.  but the other decks,  I have painted them with brake fluid........I'll see how that works.

 

 

 

[popeye the sailor]

hello Greg!  I though towards those lines.......quite positive if you ask me     I was  going to lean toward mahogany,  or something lighter.  at least I can feel good about making this kind of choice    thanks for the insight!

[kpnuts]

Hi I hope you don't mind late commers I started the centenary version (which is the same kit but with wooden decks and photo etch) I have lit mine but it has sat on the shelf of doom when I started the pe seats, maybe following you will encourage me to start mine again(although I doubt it) looks like your off to a good start

[Jim Lad]

Only a mechanic would turn naturally to brake fluid for use in model making, Popeye!

 

John

[cdogg]

Thanks, I found that site too, I am building the 1/570 plastic model.  I do not have a build log, I should fire one up.  Here is a good picture of the stripe I mentioned from the site you linked.  Its very tiny but apparently it's a huge must to get it right from what I have read in forums about people building Titanic models.  

 

[hexnut]

Cool.  Tamiya deck tan (X-55) over white primer is pretty good as well, with just a touch of pastel in the shadows ...

[popeye the sailor]

Thanks KP........welcome to my nightmare      so ......your another of the lucky ones.   so far,  I seem to have gotten off on the wrong foot with the deck paint,  so I'm removing it,  and go to something a bit lighter.   what color did you use to paint your deck?  you must be close toward finishing you La Reale.....I hope you do........then you can show me the subtle differences...Hee....Hee     Academy has several versions of the Titanic........I just found out from another friend,  that he also has the Revell kit.   glad to have you following along......I hope you find it interesting.

 

 

well folks......got home from running some errands.......made the discovery that HobbyTown had moved to the next town over.   that will put a damper on the quick jaunt to get paint and stuff.   I went into Hobby Lobby instead and bought some paints for the Titanic.   I messed up though.......I bought two of insignia Yellow.  should have some kind of update soon.

[cdogg]

I think the decks were a pine wood color.  i was going to use like 1 drop of yellow to every 3 drops of white acrylic for my airbrush.

 

[popeye the sailor]

hi John.......good to remember the old methods......you never know when ya need 'em 

 

hey casey....I found out this afternoon,  that a friend in Canada has the same kit,  as you do.  yours must be a tad larger than mine......the Academy hull is 26 1/2 inches long.  they say the same about it on the TRMA site as well.......not for the faint at heart     what color are you using?

 

I don't know Bob....I have a few variants of tan......all of them seem too dark.......the proof is what I'm stripping at the moment

[popeye the sailor]

your using acrylics......your results may differ from mine.......I use enamels.   looking through the paint chart,  I see that a lot of mixing is being done to achieve some of the colors.   the decks are planked with yellow pine........the fore deck,  the pop deck and the well deck are planked with pitch pine.

[kpnuts]

Hi I didn't paint mine as it came with real wooden decking so I used that also for the funnels I just happened to have some of the original paint(not really I mixed it up to as near as I could get, can't remember what the mix was but it's near enough for me)

[popeye the sailor]

oh.......that's right!  how could I forget      yea........I guess that would be icing on the cake 

 

http://titanic-model.com/articles/planking/Deck%20Planking.htm

 

here is an article on deck paint and plank.......I think it's interesting the differences in the base colors of the decks.   I'm getting up enough nerve to pull the trigger with the new color.

[popeye the sailor]

the paint was removed from the bridge deck using thinner......can't say if I'd stand behind the use of it.  I think it may have ruined some of the deck detail.   I'll know more when I repaint it.   I guess I should count myself lucky that this isn't one of the upper decks.....some it might not be readily seen.   Still curious about the bulwarks and how they relate to the deck levels,  I tried to put them in place on the hull.   only one side stayed put though.

 

 

As mentioned,  the A deck and the boat decks got the treatment using brake fluid.

 

 

then I took a look at how the other processes are coming along

 

 

 

I used the tray with the plaque,  to draw the fluid from when the decks were painted......I have more if the need arises.  I painted on some more after a short time,  and ran our errands.  when we came back,  they got their first scrubbing with a nylon brush.

 

 

I was able to pick up most of the paint I wanted...really stinks that HobbyTown isn't close anymore.

 

 

I had a problem with the names of the paints,  wearing off the labels.  this happens due to the handling they go through,  made it hard to read what they are.....let alone getting some more.   I put scotch tape over the names and numbers to prevent this from happening.   the decks underwent another scrubbing.

 

 

they were them brought outside and given a bath of strong soapy water.  the results varied....

 

 

some of the other smaller deck parts were entered into the process.

 

 

I figured I'd get a little more assembly done on the boat deck.

 

 

I forgot about the rest of the deck parts........I had painted just about all of them

 

 

more assembly of the boat deck......and checking out the new colors

 

 

last thing I did was assemble the main parts of the funnels

 

 

once I can get past the stripping process,  I can get my main table free,  and can do other things.   what a drag!

[cdogg]

I have never used Model Master paints, I am using Vallejo, I have a bunch from painting model WW2 planes.  Sure a step up from Wal Mart Folk Art Acrylics, which not to bash them because they work great on wood.  But the way the Vallejo brush on and finish is amazing, but they are $3 a 17ml bottle, $$$

[NenadM]

Seems promissing, Denis. And complex. With many questions. But you always have ideas, and good results, so... go on

[popeye the sailor]

another paint you could try Casey,  is Jo Santos.   do you use alcohol as an accelerator,  since it's a water base paint?   cripes,  I know guys,  that have used windshield washer because of the alcohol content     don't worry about me......just because I work for Wally,  you can bash 'em all you want   

    thank you for the good word and looking in

 

Nenad.......if you have a question......ask away!  I'll try and answer as best I can.  anything for you my friend    I wish you and your the best tomorrow {which with the way time works,  may already be here}   fingers crossed my friend!

[src]

Popeye, been following along quietly the last couple of days. I haven't touched a plastic kit since my 20's this is bringing back memories.

For your paint striping, maybe I missed it, but couldn't you use your brake fluid? I seem to recall getting brake fluid on my first car as i teenager. Cox engine fuel might work also although I am not sure what it would do to the plastic.

 

Just thoughts.

Sam

[augie]

Good heavens --- the old Cox fuel is about 30-40% nitromethane.  That won't just dissove the plastic, it'll vaporize it !!

[src]

Nitromethane!!!!! um.... OH?    Best not to use that then. 

I'll go back to my corner and be quiet now.

Sam

[cog]

Sam,

 

I keep quiet for I prefere not to be in the corner ... did you do a lot of nitromethane sniffing ...

 

Popeye, love the lesson in plastic kit building ...

Edited May 24, 2015 by cog

[NenadM]

Hey Denis, your build is too much complicated for me, so everything can be question. But I enjoy when you quest yourself and gives answers. And learn

[augie]

Sam,

 

I keep quiet for I prefere not to be in the corner ... did you do a lot of nitromethane sniffing ...

 

Popeye, love the lesson in plastic it building ...

No.  It was too expensive --- even back in the 50's.  Good old clear nitrate dope worked well enough.  I love the smell of solvent in the morning 

[popeye the sailor]

I used brake fluid Sam........I've used it ever since I was a newbie {with plastic}.  the thinner was bad enough.......and the only reason why I tried it,  was that the paint was still fresh.   thanks to you folks who looked in......I haven't done much....and now it's the work week.   I did do some testing {sort of} with the new choice in paint....looks much better.   should have an update soon.

[UpstateNY]

Really enjoying your build Popeye. Great stuff and amazing attention to detail with all your care in matching the paint colors.

 

This level of kit is certainly in a completely different league than the old Airifx kits I remember. Detail level is really impressive.

 

Cheers,

 

Nigel.

[popeye the sailor]

thanks Nigel.   the Academy kit has a lot of nice detail molded into it.  the site that I linked has a lot of good info,  really neat that they include the formulas for mixing paint.   their kit of choice seems to be the minicraft kit........I've build a couple of these kits though,  and I wasn't too impressed with them.  I'm glad that you and the folks here are enjoying the build so far........I feel as though I'm just spinning my wheels for the moment.   I'm going to go with the deck color I've arrived at.......it looks much better,  in contrast to the heavier sand color I started with.  thanks for the good word and looking in my friend 

[popeye the sailor]

I though I had shown the stripped decks to you.....varying degrees of paint removal.  it might not be all bad......may tend to shadow here and there, when they are repainted.   I did show you these though

 

 

the paint that I decided on is called U.S. Army/Marines sand......it's lighter and has a bit of a yellow tint to it.

 

 

these are the parts you haven't seen.    these came out with varied success as well,  but I think it will cover nicely

 

 

I began to paint and  assemble the bridge deck.....hope to have more for tomorrow.

 

[popeye the sailor]

more of the structures were cemented on the bridge deck

 

 

there are a few small features that still need to be added.  I saw this picture and had to take a second look......the center portion looks to be unpainted.   it has been painted with the A&M sand......it's just the angle.

 

 

I kept thinking about those railings.......how was I going to make them look better?

 

 

these seem to be the only real problem with the kit.   it's a mixture of flash and mal-tooling of the molds.

 

 

I decided that I would try and save the frame work and go from there.

 

 

the bow railings came out pretty good........some fine tuning will be needed.

 

 

the stern railings gave me some fits though.......I will need to do a bit more to make them right.

 

 

the stanchions are very small......too small to drill.   I may try to use thread of thin wire to restring them.  I need to do four rows.......but if I get three,  it may just pass muster........depending how much grief they give me.