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

[popeye the sailor]

no,  I won't be doing that Mark.........although,  do you know what I'd end up with?    a really long table candle   

 

 

thanks for the good words........I'm really enjoying the suggestions.    they'd be neat to try,  but I think the scale would stop me cold 

 

thanks for the likes as well.........update soon 

[Greg the peg leg sailor]

G'day Denis

I've got a "blond moment". Why did you use 3 different size drill bits. Aren't they all the same size portholes? Sorry for the dumb question mate!

about the brass ring around the portholes, maybe if you can get some very very small beads with a hole in them and paint them a brass colour, you might get away with that.

Havagooday mate

Greg

[BenF89]

Greg - there were multiple sizes of portholes. The main first class dining saloon, for example, had larger portholes than the staterooms and cabins for the Second and Third class.

[kpnuts]

That hole in the stern has a brass flagpole in the centenary edition (that's the one I was building).

[Greg the peg leg sailor]

Thanks Ben, I learn something every day!

Cheers

Greg

[popeye the sailor]

two different size drill bits took care of the first row,  along the bulwark.......the other three to four rows was the third size.  I probably should have mentioned it earlier.   thanks for the good word gents! 

[popeye the sailor]

Tuesday,  I began work with the bottom paint.   I kept my fingers crossed I was right about the spray primer.

 

 

it wasn't........I did a review of the color chart on the TRMA site.

 

 

it seemed a lot redder and flatter,  than the rustoleum example.   I added some light brown to it,  and fiddled with the paint I had decanted into a 1/4 oz bottle....I knew where I'd be going with this.  especially when I saw how this paint looked,  after I had touched up one of the screw tunnels.

 

 

 

I lost some of the red tint,  but I got closer to the rustoleum......and the Floquil examples.  the only thing to do now,  is touch up the other tunnel,  and paint the entire bottom.

 

 

[popeye the sailor]

today......it was the upper hull that got focused on.  I need to mix a special black,  according to the TRMA  site

 

 

I had noticed that there was raised lettering where the name should be.   I trimmed it off and sanded the area

 

 

the final hole was drilled through the pedestals.  they are ready to paint.

 

 

I didn't want to use Testor's gold for them.......it would be too shiny.   I decided on the Billing's gold paint.  after they were dry,  gave them a coat of dull coat.

 

 

the props were painted with it as well.   I'll later give them some green patina....perhaps a touch of flat black.

 

 

now......I wanna warn you...the next two pictures will scare you {they did me}.  I had mixed light gray and a touch of med green to what was left of the flat black I had on the table......until I had what matched the last example on the chart.   I took these with normal light,,,,I think the camera adjusted it as well.

 

 

 

I thought I had painted it with battleship gray.....or something!  it had time to cure when I put on the overhead crane light for these next photos.   I felt better about  it when I saw them 

 

 

 

 

I did a little bit more to the cranes.........work in progress

 

 

[popeye the sailor]

with the remainder of last week liquidating into one complete bummer {getting pulled away from the table to do other chores}, I figured I'd try and redeem myself.   Tuesday though,  revealed a few things I wasn't pleased about.   I guess i'll just have to figure it out when I get to them.   looking ahead in the instructions,  I still find the way they want me to do the deck assembly,  a bit weird.......I'm not seeing a good outcome.   so I decided that I would work on getting the decks on the hull,  and do the railings and stuff afterwards.

 

first thing I did was get the stand together.  once the yellow stripe is done,  it can be cemented on the stand.

 

 

the wire additions on the cranes were painted  Steel........a bit more touch ups need to be done yet.

 

 

....and this is where thing started to get muddy.   I assembled the main parts of the funnels.......I didn't add the other parts yet due to paint reasons.   I wish I had.   as we know,  they are numbered 1 through 4.   I took it for granted that there might be embossed part numbers on the insides of the funnels.......there aren't.   they are not all the same either,  so now it's pretty confusing as to what order they are to be at.   I did find one saving grace......I noticed that one of the ladders was a tad shorter than the others.   I'm thinking this is #1.  the others differ in height as well.......a very tiny increment....  .5 to 1 mm.   this changes my plans just a little bit,  since they all need to be rigged before the decks are assembled.

 

 

the other bummer is with the front fascia of the decks.   there are two small sections of wall that the base of the fascia is to be cemented to.   the problem here,  is that the width of the base doesn't match the wall spacing......it falls short about .5 mm

 

 

the bridge deck and A deck can be assembled along with the mid bulwark parts.......I'll have to figure a way to fix the width problem,  before this can be done.

 

 

the railings on these two deck can also be done after they are assembled.

 

 

[Jim Lad]

Looks like this is starting to get a bit complex, Popeye.  I always thought that kits like this fitted perfectly - shows my ignorance of the the type!

 

John

[GLakie]

You're making progress Dennis, and getting things sorted out at least. The numbers for the funnels were on the sprues no doubt, but with a little dry-fitting and trial and error, you'll get them figured out. 

 

Cheers 

[src]

I would assume the stacks would grow taller as you work towards the stern. IMO that makes sense aesthetically, is there anything in the overall profile that gives a hint?

Sam

[popeye the sailor]

you think I was finished with those railings?????   ohhhhhhh noooooo,  this kit isn't through running me through the ringer yet     I found out that there are two other parts that go along with the bow and stern railings.   the railings were cemented on the bow section.......minus the tip of the railing.

 

 

on with the stripe.........the hull was masked and redied for paint.

 

 

 

man.....I pressed the living crap out of the tape.....to insure that the plastic's detail was sealed away,  to give me a good line.

 

 

and then my heart stopped!   since it was such a small area to paint......I figured that I didn't need to mask up the entire hull.

     I think this should be a warning to those who are just starting out with their airbrushes.......never misjudge over spray!

 

 

I put into action,  a technique I used to do long ago.   got a clean rag and some thinner and gave it a gentle wash over. 

   the bottom paint has been on there about a week now.......plenty of time to cure.   the yellow overs pray is new and hasn't cured yet.....as long as you don't scrub,  it should come off very easy.   gentle strokes in one direction and move very fast.......don't dwell on any part of the hull,  this is what it looks like now.

 

 

the stern railings were cemented in place at this time.   you can see the section that's missing at the very aft

 

 

there is some repair and touch up to be done with the stripe.   I tried so hard to get the tape to stick completely.   I made the stripe a wee bit wider than it probably should,  but I think once it's touched up and the deck / bulwark assemblies are in place,  it should look OK.

 

 

 

I left the name plates at the bow open for the name decals.

[src]

You have probably already seen this but this guy is offering CAD plans of Titanic. It could be wishful thinking on my part, but the image at the top of the page seems to appear that they grow taller towards the stern - without being able to measure I may just be seeing what I want to see. 

http://www.titanic-cad-plans.com/titanic/

Sam

 

Edit - Nace save on the overspray, looks like we posted on top of each other.

Edited June 18, 2015 by src

[GLakie]

Good save on the over-spray Dennis!   Wow, must have been a little bit of a heart-thumper!  If you keep going like this though, you'll have her done in 2 or 3 days.   

[popeye the sailor]

thanks for the good word gents!   I recap the comments from the previous posts

 

John:   we see this all the time......it's not really a surprise.  the build was going too good.......there had to be a chink in the armor somewhere.  I wish I could say that it's seen less in wood modeling,  but I've heard my share of sad tales,   where measurements were off and laser cutting had gone awry.   the two wall pieces {as for most of the wall parts},  sit in a slight impression of a slot in the deck.   they have the tabs as well,  so there only one way to fit the parts.  it's a pretty easy fix.......

 

Sam:   that's my thought on the funnels as well.   I'm going with that in mind.   I haven't looked at the link yet......I wonder what scale it's in?

 

George:   I've done kits before that also had the numbers on the parts.......never gave it a thought.  just chalk it up to me being me    I got lucky with the over spray.......I had a few occasions where it didn't go as planned.  it was worth a try....what would have been the worst thing....a repaint?  I only mixed up 1/4 oz of the paint..........I have very little left.

 

also...thanks to all of you who hit the like button 

Edited June 18, 2015 by popeye the sailor

[src]

 

 

Sam:   that's my thought on the funnels as well.   I'm going with that in mind.   I haven't looked at the link yet......I wonder what scale it's in?

 

 

1:144 I believe I read somewhere.

Sam

[cog]

Nace (according to Sam) save on the paint job Pops. You should have known about the numbering ... always something tricky dicky when you least expect it. Lucky we're at MSW, there's bound to be someone whom shows up with a solution ...

[Greg the peg leg sailor]

G'day Denis

Re the overspray, it proves that you are human after all. Good job on the save anyway.

Re the funnels, what a mm among friends!

Havagooday

Greg

[mtaylor]

Looking better and better, Denis.  What's a bit of overspray among friends?  The drawing in the link Sam gave... maybe it's my eyes and probably is, but I swear that the third stack back is the tallest.  But that wouldn't make any sense.  Maybe it's past my bedtime or I've inhaled too much boxwood smoke today....

[mobbsie]

Titanic is asking as many questions as your AG but obviously in a different medium, I love the thought process's and solutions mate.

 

She's gonna look awesome.

 

Be Good

 

mobbsie

[popeye the sailor]

thanks you for the good comments and the help      yea......I have the last structure to assemble for the boat deck,  and then I can do a mock up with the funnels.  at least one of the structures is taller than the others......I will need to figure out which one.   as I look at how these decks assemble,  the boat deck will have to be done later,  due to the rigging of the funnels anyway......the problem that I was looking at that made me change the way this deck is assembled,  is the two lower level structure roofs that lie in between the funnels.   I was thinking that when these funnel;s are rigged,  it will be very hard to get these structure roofs in place.  we shall see 

 

I agree Mobbsie......there are differences between wood and plastic,  but the process taken between the two mediums.....and the problems that arise,   are so similar,  that it is quite hard for either one to boast that they are the more complex medium.   plastic does tend to lean on paint more for it's added detail,  than wood does.   wood also suffers less with miss - measurements........that is,  unless the laser cutter person is sleeping on the job.   it is up to the modeler to make most of the educated cuts.  it's my belief that the manufacturer is doing a pretty good job of keeping us fit and trim.......keeping our mind sharp,  with all the thought that goes into these models.........and body,  with all the pacing,  jumping up and down,  fist waving,  and model pitching 

[BenF89]

Re: the funnels - the first was shortest, the second was larger than the first, the third was larger than the second (and is the largest), and the fourth is slightly smaller than the third. (Apparently, the reasoning was to improve the flow of smoke from them.)

[mtaylor]

I guess these old eyes didn't deceive me then...?  It does seem strange though.

[popeye the sailor]

I think that may be the reason why they are slanted to the degree they are,  is to give the smoke direction,  and decrease fall out onto the aft decks.  I will be concentrating on getting a mock up of the boat deck together.  here is a good diagram as to how they look

 

 

I did manage to clean up the stripe yesterday.........but sadly that's about all I could do.   ended up mowing the lawns,  trimming the back yard trees,  running errands,  and putting up window blinds.   then my pesky neighbor.....{I still believe he was watching for when I got home},  stopped the admiral and asked if I'd come out to diagnose a lawn mower problem for him.    you know the drill.........by the time I was done explaining it to him,  the mower was in my garage,  to wait till I had some spare time to look into it further.   sounds like simple tweaking,  but it needs a primer button....I can get it for him and put it in.

 

I do have these as well to show you......just contrasting pictures of the stripe to deck {bulwark} mating.   it also uncovered another minor problem that I'm weighing out.  here is a shot of the bow section.

 

 

I'm using the small table crane light {remind me to shoot that bulb}....lighting is terrible!  you might be able to see the tip of the railing,  that is missing.   same for the stern section.

 

 

the stripe may look a little thick.......but looking at the hull in it's entirety,  it looks better.

 

 

here is a better picture.......not sure if it would be worth trying to retro...it's a very small part.

 

 

when the bow and stern sections are in place,  a small section of the inner hull can be seen.  these I painted white.  you will notice that on the starboard side of the aft section,  there is a touch of black.   this is the aft section of the hull being slightly warped.   I'm wondering if cementing these sections to the bridge deck,  would straighten all this out,  since there are tabs that the sections slide onto.

 

 

 

well gotta take the dog out............perhaps I'll snap a couple better picts for you.

 

 

[GLakie]

She's looking better and better Dennis!  I know exactly what you mean about pesky neighbors bugging you all the time for free diagnostic skills. It's like once they get wind of your talent, every time they have a problem, it becomes yours. 

[src]

That happens to our programmer at work, every time somebody has a computer problem they go to him, some people expect him to diagnose and fix for free because they are friends/coworkers. He is such a nice guy he just does it.

 

Dennis, regarding your lighting, what kind of camera are you using? If its an SLR type with a hot shoe for the flash, try turning your flash either up to bounce off the ceiling or off to the side to bounce off the walls. That should help with the lighting some. Assuming of course you don't have wild colored walls then that presents another problem with the color reflecting on your subject.

 

Sam

[Jack12477]

Dennis, re: lighting: If your camera is not a DSLR type but has a built-in pop-up flash, try using it with a layer of either handkerchief or Kleenex type tissue over the flash - you will have to experiment a little to determine the number of folds to use - but it will cut the intensity of the light  so you can move in close for macro use. Make sure the handkerchief/tissue is WHITE or it will take on the color of the material.

 

What Sam (SRC) says above is another solution.

[popeye the sailor]

I have a Kodak easy share......just a simple camera.   it does have auto focus,  so I have to wait the min or so, for it to focus in.   it will even adjust lighting to a certain degree.   I had one of those energy saving bulbs in the crane light,  but I didn't like how it made the pictures come out.  I have since switched it over to a regular bulb,  but I'm going to look at the main table light to see what I'm running in that one.   it seems to make a difference if it's a cool white,  or a frosted bulb.   as far as background goes.......yea,  it's kinda busy...........on my table with wood grain paneling.   I will find a solution........but first,  I moved the hull over to the main table.   I think you'll see a difference.

 

 

 

 

 

the first one came out a little blurry.......I didn't add that one 

[GLakie]

Those pics show a definite improvement Dennis. I like the over-all shots of her.