IJN Amatsukaze by Dan Vadas - FINISHED - Halinski - 1:200 scale - CARD and Brass - WW2 Japanese Destroyer -

[CDW]

Totally impressed with the way the model is looking and the speed with which you are accomplishing it all. It's a strong encouragement to those who may be contemplating their first card model build.

[Captain Slog]

Looking good Danny.  Don't be so hard on yourself it is your first attempt at the most difficult parts of the build. 

 

With regards to order of placement of the skins, perhaps the part numbers would have indicated where to start. 

 

I notice  you mentioned about edge painting; try and keep all colouring off the printed surface that way the edge colours don't need to be exact and still look okay. 

 

Cheers

Slog

 

 

[Dan Vadas]

Thanks Popeye and CDW.

 

47 minutes ago, Captain Slog said:

Looking good Danny.  Don't be so hard on yourself it is your first attempt at the most difficult parts of the build. 

Thanks Slog . In regard to that botched job on the bow I've come up with a cunning plan :

 

Quote

On 11 January 1944, while escorting a convoy of four ships in the South China Sea, Amatsukaze was torpedoed by the submarine USS Redfin. The resulting magazine explosion severed the bow of the ship and killed 80 crewman. Miraculously, the ship did not sink. Presumed sunk, the ship was not discovered for six days until she was spotted by a patrol plane. Amatsukaze was eventually towed to Singapore where a temporary bow was rigged.

I'll change the date that I'm presenting Amatsukaze and claim the fault lies with the dockyard workers .

 

47 minutes ago, Captain Slog said:

With regards to order of placement of the skins, perhaps the part numbers would have indicated where to start.

They did, and I followed instructions. That's what I'm whining about .

 

47 minutes ago, Captain Slog said:

I notice  you mentioned about edge painting; try and keep all colouring off the printed surface that way the edge colours don't need to be exact and still look okay.

I've been doing that wherever possible. There was a fair bit of printing damaged in the bow section which needed touching up, I can probably tidy up the (watercolour) painting before the final coat of matte clear. It's nowhere near as obvious to the naked eye .

 

  Danny

[cog]

37 minutes ago, Dan Vad said:

I'll change the date that I'm presenting Amatsukaze and claim the fault lies with the dockyard workers

The problem is, you are the dockyard workers

 

They did, and I followed instructions. That's what I'm whining about

We'll just have to take your word for it now, don't we

 

[Dan Vadas]

Moving on from that debacle . Part numbers 10aP and 10aL were a weird shape. All I had to go on were a rendered photo of the forecastle deck and the instructions were a little vague (to put it mildly ) :

 

Quote

In part 1O before it is glued to the deck paste the molded part funnel 1Oa.

Here's part 10aP (the letters "L" and "P" are "Left" and Right"). Part 10aL is the rolled cone to it's left :

And here they are fitted to the false deck. I found it much easier to glue the pieces into this deck than to try gluing it under the proper deck, though it was a bit scary - if I'd have dropped one into the hull it would have been there to stay  :

The Forecastle Deck glued in with the Hawse "Funnels" in place :

  Danny

 

 

[Jim Lad]

Not only a good learning experience for you, Danny, but your detailed explanation of your work is also an excellent tutorial for any of us thinking of trying a card model.

 

John

[BANYAN]

Good progress there Danny and you seem to be overcoming the challenges being put to you (despite the dockyard workers :)).  Interesting build you have going.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[Dan Vadas]

Thanks John and Pat.

 

Some new tools came yesterday, including a precision hole punch set. The set can make perfect holes from 0.5mm to 2.0mm in 0.1mm increments. Here's a pic of the set, using the punch and the results in one of the decks (the view is from the back side) :

 

I could only use the set for 3 of the holes, the largest ones at 0.6mm. The others are 3 x 0.4mm done with a micro-drill, and 4 x 0.2mm done with a sharp needle.

 

  Danny

[Captain Slog]

Hi Danny,

 

That punch set is on my list of tools to get for the same purpose you are using it for. 

 

How sharp and clean is the hole edge from the printed side?  The sharpened brass tube I usually use gives nice clean cuts but doesn't have size range your new punch set has. 

 

A close up of the hole produced would be interesting to see. 

 

Cheers

Slog

[Dan Vadas]

5 hours ago, Captain Slog said:

That punch set is on my list of tools to get for the same purpose you are using it for.

How sharp and clean is the hole edge from the printed side?  The sharpened brass tube I usually use gives nice clean cuts but doesn't have size range your new punch set has.

A close up of the hole produced would be interesting to see.

Slog, it cuts so cleanly that you can actually make 0.5mm discs from the plugs, not just holes. The first pic is a closeup of the 0.6mm holes in the 0.27mm thick deck - it's the largest one :

Here are two 0.5mm holes in 80gsm copier paper. A disc is on the right :

I can highly recommend the punch set. About the only drawback would be the width of paper you can put in it, but it'll probably do any part in a 1:200 ship.

 

Here's the Link to the place in Melbourne I got it from. And a Link to the manufacturer.

 

  Danny

[Captain Slog]

Hi Danny,

 

Thanks for the info.  I did wonder about the locating pins restricting the size of the part but your right shouldn't be an issue.  The main driver for me getting this is punching the series of progressively smaller holes on things like braces/supports on the underside of decks etc. which are pretty narrow anyway.

 

Thanks for the link, I have used BNA many times and was going to get this and a few bits and pieces to get the order up to meet the free shipping requirements. 

 

What you've shown has convinced me I need this.  They also do a larger set to continue on from the 2 mm up to 4mm if I remember correctly but your set is more useful for my needs.

 

Cheers

Slog

[Dan Vadas]

I've spent most of today cutting and edge painting all the lower hull panels. 10 of the sheets are straight on the port/starboard edges, but every other edge has a curve of some description which takes a while to cut accurately. None of the fore/aft edges are perfectly straight.

 

To paint the edges I used a 50/50 mix of Crimson and Burnt Umber, which is as close to perfect as anyone could wish .

 

Next job is fitting them, starting from the bow and stern and working toward the middle from both ends. If there is a slight anomaly in their lengths I can adjust it on the last sheet :

 

  Danny

[Dan Vadas]

I've started fitting the lower Hull Skins, beginning at the bow. The first one was a little tricky, but it finished up fairly good with only a slight bulge on each where I had to make a small cut (as per instructions). The second one was easy, I only had to sand 0.3mm off the front of the keel end to get it to fit perfectly . No touchup has been done yet. I'll get a tube of Tamiya Putty tomorrow :

 

Notice the pattern printed into the red underwater skins. I guess it is supposed to represent barnacles and rust, I think it looks a lot better than plain red .

I've taped some thin foam to the decks to protect them while I'm working upside-down.

 

  Danny

[Captain Slog]

Very impressive Danny, I've done a hull and a half now and nowhere near as good as your first attempt.

 

I would be wary putting on modelling putty unless absolutely necessary, it is a lot harder than the surrounding paper which makes it difficult to sand without damaging the area round it further. (I tried crappy Humbrol filler though so the tamiya stuff may be better)

 

If you don't mind me saying, with the Tamiya tape on the hull l would advise bending one end over a little bit and sticking it to itself to to form a tab to allow you go grab it with tweezers for removing.  It reduces the chance of damaging the skin trying to pick away at the edge to get it lifted up.

 

Also I found when removing it, it is best to pull it down back over itself rather than pulling directly away from the paper to reduce the chance of tearing the top surface off the firmly glued side but that's me, see what works for you.

 

Cheers

slog

 

edit:  I agree with you on the finish.  Their Fuso has very subtle weathering/ colouration differences which looks really nice.

[Dan Vadas]

Thanks Slog . I do have a little bit of "Starving Cow" on the grey panels, probably due to over-handling. I have to get used to not handling a Card model like I could a wooden one . A lighter grip is needed.

 

I'll only be using the Tamiya Putty to fill a few little gaps between skins on 90 degree corners, not on any flat areas. Sanding that will be easy enough, if I even need to at all. I've used Tamiya putty in the past, it's quite easy to sand.

 

I have no problem with the Tamiya tape - I use a blunt awl to get under the end of the tape where the serrated edge is left from the dispenser (it doesn't stick down hard on the end). I gave the printed sheets two coats of Nitrocellulose Lacquer before I started any cutting. The surface of the paper is as hard as concrete (I exaggerate a little ) and doesn't mark or tear at all. The tape always lifts off with no damage (I did some testing before I started using it). I highly recommend using the lacquer on any Card model - I didn't on Cerberus and had a lot of problems with the tape pulling off the black printing.

 

In past years I painted quite a few (real) cars, so I've had a lot of experience with removing masking tape , but thanks for the advice anyway.

 

  Danny

[ccoyle]

Halinski are among the very few designers who routinely apply weathering to their designs. It makes a big difference in the appearance of the finished product.

[Dan Vadas]

Lower Hull skins continued. No major problems, the stern ones were actually quite easy. The thin strip between the two forward ones actually took me longer to do than the two with the wild curves :

 

The "gaps between the sheets are actually invisible - it's just a trick of the lights coupled with the macro lens that make them appear rather large . I still have a little bit of work to do on the "peak", once the glue dries properly.

 

 

  Danny

[maaaslo]

I think Danny, you will again experience the gap between the plates... i dont like to be saying things like that, as you are doing great job here.

[Jim Lad]

Still coming along very nicely, Danny!

 

John

[Dan Vadas]

On 26/06/2017 at 5:06 PM, maaaslo said:

I think Danny, you will again experience the gap between the plates... i dont like to be saying things like that, as you are doing great job here.

Thanks Pav. I did indeed experience a few more gaps, but I think I have worked out the cause of every one of them and it will stand me in good stead for when I do Bismarck's hull .

 

Speaking of hulls - I've finished skinning this one . It isn't the best job I've seen, but it's by no means the worst either . A bit of "Starving Cow" overall, but at least it's reasonably even in that regard. Halinski give you absolutely NO margin for error in the fit of the sheets - I cut each one EXACTLY as printed, but still managed to get a few small gaps. It was a good lesson for future card builds. Here are some pics of the completed hull :

 

The starving cow is not as pronounced as the pics indicate. I used a rounded piece of Castello on each join to press the cut edges down after the glue dried. This leaves a shiny mark which brings up the effect of a ridge where in fact the join is flat. The shininess will disappear later when I spray the hull with matte nitrocellulose lacquer.

 

According to the instructions sheet #29, the last to be fitted in the mid-section, should have been a touch long and would need trimming to fit. Guess what - it was a touch SHORT and will need a bit of filler :

I bought a tube of Testors Plastic Filler (the model shop didn't carry Tamiya filler ) and tried it out on a test piece to see how hard it would be to use. Not too bad, although it dries VERY quickly and will need to be done in very small lengths at a time :

Here's a bit I tried on the hull. It takes watercolour very well and shouldn't be a problem to paint :

 

  Danny

[BANYAN]

Looks good despite the gaps Danny.  Great to see you continuing on with your informative approach similar to when you worked in wood; we all learn from that.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[maaaslo]

Looks a lot, sorry i meant LOT better than my second hull... that was not "starving cow", that was cow dead for a month...

[maaaslo]

Regarding no tolerancies, i think you are meant to fair and sand the hull until it all fits exactly. That is meant for the bow and stern ends of keel. Pretty much, the sheet needs to fit from centre of one former to the centre of next one, with exception of the bow and stern.

[cog]

How do you skin a rabbit, Dan. Put on his fur coat?

Your hull turned out rather nicely, better than what I would make. When looked at from a normal distance we probably won't see a gap at all.

Cheers

[Dan Vadas]

Thank you Pat, Pav and Carl .

 

5 hours ago, maaaslo said:

Regarding no tolerancies, i think you are meant to fair and sand the hull until it all fits exactly. That is meant for the bow and stern ends of keel. Pretty much, the sheet needs to fit from centre of one former to the centre of next one, with exception of the bow and stern.

Pav, I spent a full day Fairing the hull - it was spot-on according to the laser-cut frames. Most of the gaps were the result of a slight miscalculation of the placement of the very first skins. They should have been 1mm further aft. The gaps between the grey and red sheets came from some sloppy cutting on the first few skins . I improved the cutting later on.

 

I've filled all the gaps, they have turned out rather well. The pics below show the sequence of my method.

 

Because the putty dried so quickly I needed to thin it with Acetone to make it workable. I did some testing to see if the acetone would damage the printing - I found that if I worked quickly enough it would flash off before it could get to the print.

 

I applied the putty with a toothpick, pushing it into the gap rather than trying to spread it to minimise the width of the filling. It looks lumpy and bumpy because it is :

Next I carefully scraped off the majority of it with a narrow chisel :

Then I used a Q-tip dipped in Acetone to remove the rest of the excess. Here's a finished gap :

There were quite a few to fill. I probably could have gotten away with doing about half as many, but they were easy enough to do once I started :

And the hull all filled and ready for touch-up paint :

 

  Danny

[CDW]

Very educational for me. Great primer on card models.

[ccoyle]

Oh, Danny, I wish you well on the gap touch-ups. That is something I have not had great success with. The main issue I think is that paints, even though they may be made with a blend of different pigment powders, still give the appearance of being a single, solid color. The printed colors, OTOH, are the result of a four-color printing process, and the perceived colors (such as IJN gray or anti-fouling red) are a trick of the eye. Touch-up paints in my experience never quite match the nuanced shades present in four-color printing. It's part of the reason I prefer waterline models. Nevertheless, I hope yours comes out great.

[Dan Vadas]

And thank you for dropping in again CDW .

 

3 hours ago, ccoyle said:

Oh, Danny, I wish you well on the gap touch-ups. That is something I have not had great success with. The main issue I think is that paints, even though they may be made with a blend of different pigment powders, still give the appearance of being a single, solid color. The printed colors, OTOH, are the result of a four-color printing process, and the perceived colors (such as IJN gray or anti-fouling red) are a trick of the eye. Touch-up paints in my experience never quite match the nuanced shades present in four-color printing. It's part of the reason I prefer waterline models. Nevertheless, I hope yours comes out great.

Chris, I realise all that about the "perceived" colours in the printing - I've been staring at them through a 3.5x magnifier for nearly a week now . The printed pixel colours actually change as they approach the edge of a sheet, ending in an almost black which was the cut line that I had to cut outside of to make sure I wasn't short .

 

It was a case of "damned if I do or damned if I don't" - either leave the gaps, or fill them and touch-up. I chose the latter, so we'll have to wait and see if I made a good choice .

 

  Danny

[popeye the sailor]

the hull's look'in really nice ........having never worked with paper before.....I'd be a lost puppy    did you have any luck with the gray touch up paint?.......you mention here that you have the red dialed in.  mak'in some good progress here  

[Jim Lad]

I think you're doing really well, Danny.  I wouldn't be game to touch a card model.

 

John