USS Constitution by MikeU48 - Revell - 1:96 - PLASTIC - with sails

[MikeU48]

My oak veneer deck came in as well from HiSModel (Czeck Republic...Thanks LOU!!!) SO I decided while I was waiting for the other slotted brass pedestal I'd read over the install instructions and get moving on the deck refit. 

Seeing the deck had to be glued together to install the veneer sheets I scratched my head trying to figure out how to do it. Looking at the instructions I notice plastic looking pieces glued and used as joiners. Hey...wait a minute...I've been saving popsicle sticks for months not know what they could be used for....WALA!!! ...this is IT...

Seeing the separate sections of the deck are not  equal thicknesses I had to shim just a few areas using some pieces of cut up cassette tape boxes.

 

I carefully cut out the decks from the sheet and trial fitted them on the decks. They will need just some minor sanding along the outside edges where the decks were removed from the sheet. I only found one area by a hatch opening that needed to be opened up a little larger. 30-minute epoxy will be used to glue the veneer to the plastic decks. Went to the local hardware store but they only carried 5 min. Amazon... here I come. Will be here Saturday!!!

 

 

[lmagna]

49 minutes ago, MikeU48 said:

Thanks LOU!!!

I hope that is "Thanks Lou" Not "Thanks Lou"

The decks are looking like a good fit. It is interesting that they didn't continue the planking ion the lower deck at the bow and stern. I know it won't be visible unless you use an endoscope but it just seems like an unnecessary shortcut. You may want to paint the squares in the great cabin black and white instead of leaving them tan and brown before you cover them up though.

 

Funny about the pedestal. I did that one time with some drapes that looked really nice. Checked with the wife and she agreed and sent out the order. A couple of weeks later and found that the price was for EACH panel, not the full set that would be needed to cover the window! Went back to order the additional drapes and they were out of stock!

[MikeU48]

1 hour ago, lmagna said:

I hope that is "Thanks Lou" Not "Thanks Lou"

Honestly Lou... it's a BIG THANK YOU!!! 

I love the stuff I've gotten from HiSModel AND will be ordering more.

 

I was baffled by the spilt decking for the gun deck myself but most of it is hidden anyway. I'll most likely leave the parque flooring alone in the Captain's quarters because it will only be "visible" thru those itsy bitsy window openings in the back.

 

Question on the pic below. As mentioned earlier the black plastic was partially dulled by ELO paint remover. My plan is to finish the painting of the scrolls and windows but to bring the background back to a matching sheen with the rest of the ship...What if I gave this a light coat or two of semi-gloss clear to recapture it's original black sheen??? Thoughts???

 

[lmagna]

I have a dumb question Mike. Why do you want to recapture the original plastic look of the unpainted transom?

 

Most people hate the look of unpainted plastic. They say it looks.................. like plastic! I think you would be better served by painting the black areas in black. Whether you use flat, satin, or gloss I suppose it's up to you but I think you may like the painted surface better than the raw plastic. 

Edited October 5, 2018 by lmagna

[Jim Rogers]

Have to agree with Lou. Paint it flat black. Now would also be a good time to invest in an air brush and learn how to use it. 

Edited October 5, 2018 by Jim Rogers

[CDW]

You could test it by recreating an ELO "stain" on a scrap piece of plastic like maybe a sprue or something similar. But I believe the results will be negative. A clear coat will not hide the stain. If anything, it will probably intensify it. 

[MikeU48]

Lou and Jim,

Thanks for the advice. 

Not a dumb question Lou. The only dumb question is one you don't ask. I was only following the painting instructions for the rear...excuse me..TRANSOM...lol...I'm learning slowly but Shirley (You remember Shirley???)

The majority of the painting for the Conny is the hull AND transom and except for the transom I'm 99% done. I believe the acrylic paints that OC recommended are flat so that's what I'll do.

Thanks guys...that's why I'm here...to learn

[lmagna]

2 hours ago, MikeU48 said:

You remember Shirley???

Oh I remember her well, except in my case her name was Laurie! Surely you know who she is.

Even though it may be a little late for the hull and other large parts on the Connie I agree with Jim. You have already spent the kids inheritance on extra parts, why not put them in debt and buy an airbrush? Even fairly inexpensive ones can do a pretty nice job. Can't say they are any faster as you will have to spend all your time masking but they can make a thin coat of paint go a long way.

Edited October 5, 2018 by lmagna

[MikeU48]

15 hours ago, lmagna said:

Oh I remember her well, except in my case her name was Laurie! Surely you know who she is.

I think, Lou, most of us have had...well.. I mean have know of...he he he ... a Shirley or Laurie once or twice in our lives...maybe even a Monica...lol

Nuff said.

 

OK, guys.... YOU made me do it.... Did you know you can make extra money every month by donating PLASMA!!!

Now you can teach me how to use it on these.....

 

[Old Collingwood]

56 minutes ago, MikeU48 said:

I think, Lou, most of us have had...well.. I mean have know of...he he he ... a Shirley or Laurie once or twice in our lives...maybe even a Monica...lol

Nuff said.

 

OK, guys.... YOU made me do it.... Did you know you can make extra money every month by donating PLASMA!!!

Now you can teach me how to use it on these.....

 

Wowzer!   no good asking me I know as much about sprayers as I do  Rap music.

 

OC.

[lmagna]

Is that SIX brushes with hoses and etc? WOW when you by tools you really don't cut any corners! I think I paid about $30 for my Japanese, (Or Chinese) airbrush with compressor!

 

All I have ever done is put paint in one end thin it down a little, adjust the knob thingy at the other end until I get the spray coming out that I want, point it at the model and watch as it turns color, (Hopefully). Rinse and repeat. That is about the extent of my knowledge. Hopefully someone will wander by and straighten us both out. If you rely on me I will probably just teach you bad habits.  

[MikeU48]

4 hours ago, lmagna said:

Is that SIX brushes with hoses and etc? WOW when you by tools you really don't cut any corners!

Well, Lou , at age 70 I tend to buy things that my son and grandkids will use in the future. Who knows how many more summers I'll see...

Nuff Said

 

Don't anyone worry about airbrushing techniques as that will be for another day and forum.

 

Off topic. Is there a way when I open my building log that I will automatically go to the last post? Right now I start on the first page, 18th post. Just a pain in the **** to have to maneuver my way to the last post.

Thanks in advance.

[pontiachedmark]

I agree with Old Collingwood re spraying. The only things I know about rap  music are you can't hum it and its spelt with a silent c.

All the best,

Mark

[Jim Rogers]

55 minutes ago, pontiachedmark said:

I agree with Old Collingwood re spraying. The only things I know about rap  music are you can't hum it and its spelt with a silent c.

All the best,

Mark

The “C”is not silent in my house. Just like candy when the good candy is gone you throw the rapper away.

[lmagna]

1 hour ago, MikeU48 said:

how many more summers I'll see.

This day and age you could easily see twenty or thirty more with ease. In my wife's family her grandfather was in his upper 90s, her grandmother lived to 102, her aunt to upper 90s, and her mother is in her late 90s and other than her hypochondria looks and acts like she will still be a pest twenty years from now! She doesn't even look 80!

I'm only about a year behind you and plan on being an irritant in my kids old age, and that is the kids I'm raising right now, not the grown ones.

 

I think you can search the forum and find some discussions on airbrush use and may find a few ideas there but the real thing to do is load it up and start spraying. I think I have seen some utube stuff on double action airbursh use as well.

 

I don't know what browser you use but the only way I know how to pick up on where you left off is to make a desktop shortcut before you close the page. I use Google Chrome and when I open the shortcut it takes me directly to whatever I was last reading. I have no idea if other browsers will do the same thing. 

[MikeU48]

OC, Jim and Mark

I would NEVER use rap and music together. Disgusting. Take me back to the 60's and 70's!!! THAT was MUSIC.....

 

Lou,

I really have NO desire to live into my 90's OR 100's. I live alone and my son lives in New Mexico. I love him and his family dearly but never want to live anywhere but in MY home.

Nuff said

 

Taking a short break as my next step will be putting the oak veneer decks on the plastic decks. Probably will spray a thin coat of clear semi-gloss polyurethane as recommended by HiSmodel before gluing the veneer to the plastic decks. Need to cogitate and ruminate for awhile...lol

 

Oh and Lou, 

Thanks for the shortcut suggestion. I too use chrome. I've been on other forums that give you an option to start viewing at the end of a thread. A shortcut will work fine.

Edited October 6, 2018 by MikeU48

[lmagna]

4 hours ago, MikeU48 said:

A shortcut will work fine.

That is just the way I do it. Others may have better ways that I don't know about.  Be careful on your ruminating, There are a bunch of food recalls going around.

[MikeU48]

2 hours ago, lmagna said:

Be careful on your ruminating, There are a bunch of food recalls going around.

Most ALL of the food I eat, Lou, is recalled.... in the bathroom.....ROTFLMAO!!!

Sorry...couldn't help myself.

 

Working on the oak veneer deck as I type. Second coat of poly applied. The goal is to glue it to the plastic decks tomorrow night.

[MikeU48]

Decks coated with 2 coats of clear semi-gloss poly. Will be epoxied (30 min) to decks tonight. Granddaughter over for the day. Just moved here from Florida and is working TWO....yes I said TWO JOBS. Put in 70 hours this week between Tim Horton's and Starbucks. I'm all her's till 8:30 pm.

 

Before:

 

AFTER:

The LOOK I want but the pics are impossible to very on the horizontal. Even tried reducing the size of the pic in my photo editor but no joy...ARGH!!!@#^$%

Edited 10-8 and fixed photo problem.

 

Edited October 8, 2018 by MikeU48
trying to rotate picture.

[lmagna]

Mike

I wonder if the pictures are too long and the program here on the forum that allows you to upload directly is rotating them to make them fit the page?

 

Everything is looking nice though even in vertical view!

[MikeU48]

Lou,

 I thought that on my first pic posts. Even tried flipping them from horizontal to vertical in my photo program to see if this forum flips them but no joy. Kept trying and deleting and it finally kept the horizontal view initially so I don't think it's the length of the photo. Even tried the photo edit here and reduced the pic size and again no joy. Maybe someone else has some pointers. Sure would like to post them as taken. (horizontally).

[Old Collingwood]

20 minutes ago, MikeU48 said:

Lou,

 I thought that on my first pic posts. Even tried flipping them from horizontal to vertical in my photo program to see if this forum flips them but no joy. Kept trying and deleting and it finally kept the horizontal view initially so I don't think it's the length of the photo. Even tried the photo edit here and reduced the pic size and again no joy. Maybe someone else has some pointers. Sure would like to post them as taken. (horizontally).

Interesting  -  I thought it might have been a photo editor (if you use one)  that defaults the camera angle to how you took the shot, but no my editors save the image however I change the perspective of the photo  - Landcape/Portrait  etc,   so its not that.

 

OC.

[MikeU48]

OC,

I always use my cell to take pics horizontally because you get more vertical. When I download load the here they get changed automatically to vertical. All the pics except the last two were downloaded several times before they stayed on the horizontal. It's only the last two that are stubborn.

[Old Collingwood]

Could be your phone that is saving them as a portrait (longways upways)   and doing this by default in the settings.

 

OC.

[CDW]

53 minutes ago, Old Collingwood said:

Could be your phone that is saving them as a portrait (longways upways)   and doing this by default in the settings.

 

OC.

Agreed, that's the problem.

[MikeU48]

Well, guys ....this is weird. When I take my build pics on my cell phone I always save them on my computer in a Conny folder. They are all on the horizontal view. I checked my camera settings on the phone and there's no option to change the orientation. The pic is saved based on the orientation of the cell phone when you take the pic. Just for the hell of it I checked the pics I had saved on the cell and for some strange reason, a lot of the pics were the wrong orientation. I got the wrong ones rotated on the cell phone and resent them to my computer then I put them in the Conny folder (Again, the Conny folder had the right horizontal orientation on all pics) 

Anyway, I resaved the pics here and wala...horizontal pics....WOOWHOOO!!!!! 

[lmagna]

As usual old age and cunning overcomes youth and ability! Who says we need a teenager around to solve computer problems!

[MikeU48]

On 10/8/2018 at 10:11 AM, lmagna said:

As usual old age and cunning overcomes youth and ability! Who says we need a teenager around to solve computer problems!

You're absolutely right Lou... We STILL got it!!! 

Also thanks for the painting tip of using the paint in the cap. That and using a fairly dry brush has really helped me. I decided NOT to use a tiny

haired brush.

 

.

 

.

[lmagna]

Hi Mike

If you managed that paint job using THAT brush then my hat is truly off to you. You are in fact a MUCH better man than I!

 

Very nice paint job. 

[MikeU48]

You may have thought I was asleep at the wheel but I've been busy working as you will see.

 

Time to glue the Oak Venner decks from HisModel to the plastic decks. The instructions for the Connie do not call for the decks to be glued together but for the Oak decking, it is a must. I found that the different sections of plastic decking were different thicknesses so I used popsicles sticks and where necessary I used plastic shims (from a cut up cassette tape box) to make up the difference as best as possible. I went with 30- minute expoy as that gave me more work time than the other two types of glue mentioned in the PDF file from HisModel. 

 

Now time to get real. Got out the 30-minute epoxy and read the directions. Hummm "for large areas working time is reduced to under 10 minute"

Yikes!!!

Decided to do the small piece for the gun deck back by the Captains cabin first. Used a small spatula and brush to spread it around and try for a thin but adequate coating... Holes in the oak deck taped so epoxy does ooze all over the place.

 

That went fairly well being a small piece. Now for the bigger areas....Not too nervous...lol

Needless to say got expoy all over my hands a some on the deck but had a rag with thinner next to it and that saved the day.

Opps....pics not loaded and have to leave shortly. Will edit and post tomorrow...

 

Edit: Venner glued on decks finally!!!

 

Edited October 13, 2018 by MikeU48
pic added