HMS Dreadnought 1907 by RGL - FINISHED - Zvezda - 1/350- PLASTIC

[Old Collingwood]

Now, the big guns and 12 pounders are finished. I won't bore you with the sequences, but like all piece work, it's just added bit by bit. I have also added strips under the anchor chain. Plus a few other old photos which are pretty cool.

Loving all the work greg she is looking superb.

 

OC

[Old Collingwood]

There is a special room in hell for the designers of the aerials on the dreadnought. The kit comes with spreaders, and I see most people try and use stretched sprue or thin metal wire, but trying to be consistent I used the ezyline. The first attempt came out like this.

Aerials 2.jpg

 

A little more thought and going cross-eyed because of the scale, I came up with this. Aerials 3.jpgAerials 4.jpgAerials 5.jpgAerials 6.jpg

 

And hopefully I can end up with this. Aerials 1.jpg

 

I just have to attach them under tension now. Then I can finally ad some more rigging, and back to making progress.

Yikes and Gulp  that has made my eyes bleed  you are achieving amazing stuff.

 

OC

[mtaylor]

Oh dear... my eyes and brain hurt just looking that work...   Well done, Greg.

[RGL]

Seriously, I did go a little cross eyed. It took me three hours to do the first failure, absolute mess, but it's done and slung, bugger me it worked! Photos to come after the youngest gets off the computer.

Edited August 29, 2016 by Greg Lester

[cog]

I can feel the pain in my eyeballs going through the synapses to my head's slushy mass. It feels like I'm looking at the brass parts of the Fokker DR1 at 1:72 I'm building on the side.  It looks the part ... it is the part. It is astonishing. If ever I need aerials like those I come back to this very build, Greg. 

[CDW]

Love it! 

[RGL]

And done.Messy at first;

 

Then, they are supposed to be slung below but at they are under tension, they need to be tight, and as the whole assemby is very fragile, it's somewhat nerve racking.

[Keith_W]

It looks great though! All that hard and fiddly work paid off. 

[WackoWolf]

Outstanding

[CDW]

I'm trust your wife has been given a special request to please do not dust off the rigging on the Dreadnaught, no matter how tempting it might be? 

 

The Admiral is always right and everything like that, but a gentle reminder to not dust might be in order.

[cog]

Greg, That is a sight for sore eyes ...

[Jim Lad]

Beautifully executed, Greg.

 

John

[BANYAN]

Great result from your persistence and efforts Greg; the aerials look great (and those designers can stay in their special room )  What did you use to make the spreaders in the end?

 

cheers

 

Pat

[RGL]

The spreaders are steel etch that came with the upgrade. I am now in the process of bending the torpedo net Davits, comes in two pieces, so that's 84 pieces, requiring 120 folds for the base, and 42 folds for the davit itself. Eyesight fading.

[Old Collingwood]

I bet if you do a 200 scale kit like the HMS Hood one (please) it would be easy peasy for you with the extra scale,  Im only envious of your talent and skills.

 

OC

[RGL]

Considering how much even the really expensive aftermarket leaves out requiring even more internet shopping, I'm not going to go larger, as I have lots of spares now, yet alone the storage space required. It might force my hand into buying an airbrush as well which I have been putting off. This scale shows detail without the bulk.

 

Happy to watch others tackle the big stuff!

[CDW]

I am curious about how you put tension on the rigging without causing the masts to come tumbling down. I realize of course, that you probably must "tie off" a set of lines on each side of the pull at the same time so as to keep it (masts) upright. But still, it seems like one would need at least three hands to do all that. 

On my ship, there are some very flimsy horizontal photo etch pieces that attach to the mast. Pictures show that rigging should extend from these pieces to the bottom as well as the top of the masts. I just don't know how I will do that and at the same time keep those PE pieces safely glued to the masts.

[RGL]

Have you tried Ezyline? Very light, does not have to pull hard to get tension and if you knock it, it gives. Try a pinprick of CA to the joins on the rigging just to be sure. Basically very thin elastic bands.

Edited August 30, 2016 by Greg Lester

[CDW]

Have you tried Ezyline? Very light, does not have to pull hard to get tension and if you knock it, it gives. Try a pinprick of CA to the joins on the rigging just to be sure. Basically very thin elastic bands.

I bought a couple of small sample pieces in 2 different diameters just to see which I might prefer for 1:350 scale. I must still buy a 100' roll once I am sure which size to use. If I remember correctly, the smallest size was .3mm and the next size up, .6mm. Probably the very smallest size is what I'll need.  

[RGL]

You'll need differing diameters just like a tall ship. It's a pity it does not come in grey. The smallest is very hard to see and harder to work with. It sticks to the oils on your fingers.

[AnobiumPunctatum]

Really beautiful rigging

[amateur]

How durable is that ezyline? it would be a real shame if the elastic material either slackens or even crumbles in a few years.....

 

Jan

[RGL]

Apparently it does not like sunlight, I've only started 1/350 in the last 12 months, so time will tell. There are other brands out there but I expect it's all the same compounds.

[cog]

What do you mean by "Apparently it does not like sunlight" ? It gets brittle, stiffens, gets a lot of slack, etc

 

P.s. Your Ezyline is an Australian line for your laundry           Seems it is EZ-line or EZ line. Sells in the UK too and should be available in different colours (daddyrabbit)

[RGL]

Haha, you're correct. The 3 colours are white, rust and black. I actually prefer the Uschi brand. I read that it deteriorates in UV light. Still, a lot easier than stretched Sprite as you can lash it.

[cog]

Thanks mate, that will mean an UV block on the case ... or a darkroom (pun intended)

Edited August 30, 2016 by cog

[Kevin]

lovely work, love the rigging

[vossy]

hey greg, can I ask how you apply the zap a gap glue? do you squeeze some out of the bottle and dip into it? or do you squeeze straight out of the bottle as you need it? hope that makes sense? anyway I guess I am asking is how do you get the glue from the bottle, onto the model, then position the pe piece?

 

cheers

chris

[RGL]

Puddles of glue on a hard plastic surface, dip a pin in or an off it of brass etch the apply to either the piece I'm using or the place it's going (if that makes sense?). If it's load bearing I'll put a tiny drop on top of the piece that bears weight.

 

The pins get a build up of hard glue after a while which I burn off then sand back to a clean surface. Less is more with CA.

 

Like a tall ship, it's lots of pre prep, as one something has been painted off kit it will not fit as the tolerances are so small, if you paint something that fitted into a slot pre painted, it won't fit post painted, or it won't fit flush.

 

CA works best on unpainted etch or plastic but the result is usually crap after painting as the detail is lost, especially if you're going to have differing colours, so I try and do everything as piece work, and use a tiny bit of matte coat by hand on glossy bits of CA. I'm not a proponent of over spraying with a matte coat as at this scale it loses detail to my eye (I have very good close vision and it upsets my OCD).

 

I like to pre drill required holes then add eyelets afterwards otherwise the hole fills up with paint and you can't rig without having to risk major breakages clearing holes.

 

I hope this makes sense?

Edited September 4, 2016 by Greg Lester

[cog]

 

dip a pin in or an off it of brass etch the apply to either the piece I'm using or the place it's going (if that makes sense?)

What on earth do you mean, it sounds like double Dutch (which I should be able to decipher) as a DD (Daft Dutchman)