Prinz Eugen 1942 by CDW - FINISHED - Trumpeter - 1:700 Scale - PLASTIC

[CDW]

43 minutes ago, Old Collingwood said:

They look splendid mate.

 

OC.

Thanks OC. I thought they might look more precise than what I could do making my own paint mask. The flags are vastly better than the Trumpeter ones that come with the kit.

[CDW]

The next piece I was waiting on were the wooden deck stickers. Those finally arrived from Asia this week. I've been assembling all the little sub-structures that make up the overall superstructure of the Prinz Eugen. I have to say, this model's superstructure and decks will pose as significant a conundrum as I have dealt with before now. There are a LOT of tiny, individual deck pieces, and all the superstructure sub assemblies need to be painted before assembly so once the deck applications are in place, I can then assemble the sub assemblies on top of the deck/s. This becomes one of those kits where the sequence of assembly I choose or fail to choose will have an impact on the final appearance of the model. 

Edited September 11, 2021 by CDW

[CDW]

The Prinz Eugen photo etch set

 

Rather ambitious, maybe more. 😳

Edited September 13, 2021 by CDW

[king derelict]

17 minutes ago, CDW said:

The Prinz Eugen photo etch set

 

Rather ambitious, maybe more. 😳

Some delicate stuff there

[CDW]

Just now, king derelict said:

Some delicate stuff there

Look at the upper right hand corner of sheet D. There's a piece there that has some "hair-like" projections, and while handling the sheet, I almost broke those off. They certainly cannot stand another incident of bending and straightening due to clumsy handling. Building the anti aircraft weapons is going to be particularly tedious. 

[Old Collingwood]

Think this is pushing it about as  far as possible  - almost like it requires  robots to assemble  these things   - or humans with incredible  skill and  rock solid surgeons hands.

 

OC.

[RGL]

You’ll be fine! 

[Louie da fly]

Thus speaks a man who knows what he's talking about. 

 

Steven

[RogerF]

This is, to my mind, a further example of taking detail too far, especially in this scale where so many parts require almost super-human skills in just removing them from the sheet. Following my own less than satisfactory entry into PE at 1/700 scale, I shall now only deal with PE parts that:

a. represent a quantum leap in detail compared with the plastic part they are intended to replace

and more importantly:

b. I have a realistic chance of mastering without breakages and deformation.

With the Flyhawk kits the detail of the plastic parts is so good that I can do without much, if not most, of the PE parts but the Trumpeter kits in 1/700 are just not of the same high standard as Flyhawk offerings so I guess choosing which PE parts to tackle and which to ignore will prove not so easy.

Good luck and keep us updated on the progress.

[RGL]

I must say i agree. I see some parts are soo small that the glue used (even thin glue) would be bigger than the piece itself thus making it pointless. BUT PE is your friend.

[CDW]

In the past 1:700 scale ships I've done, I attempt the parts first just to see whether it's feasible (for me) and go from there. Some parts turn out to be a bridge too far while others are not as difficult as they first appear. Choosing the right adhesive is crucial. 

[RogerF]

The voices of experience.

The PE is almost worth the money just to get the railings set but some of the railing parts themselves are no easy walk-in-the-park! I will add some stairways, assuming I can bend them satisfactorily, and anything else that 'makes sense'!

[CDW]

[CDW]

The above superstructure piece will be representative of a number of such sub assemblies where some of the parts are dry fitted while the photo etch is securely glued in place. Once all the sub assemblies are ready, they will all be dry fitted together in one big superstructure, painted, disassembled, wood deck stickers added, then glued back together for final assembly and detailing.

[king derelict]

50 minutes ago, CDW said:

The above superstructure piece will be representative of a number of such sub assemblies where some of the parts are dry fitted while the photo etch is securely glued in place. Once all the sub assemblies are ready, they will all be dry fitted together in one big superstructure, painted, disassembled, wood deck stickers added, then glued back together for final assembly and detailing.

Craig

Thats very, very nice. Its definitely worth putting PE on something like that. The moulded detail would very be as good. Railings and girders really pop in PE.

Alan

[RogerF]

The handrails look to have been a challenge. Are they glued directly on to the superstructure or did you have to drill out holes for the mounts? The handrails on my U-Boot which are similar to those you have just added, required 0,3mm holes to be pre-drilled using a (PE!) template for each attachment point - I just said... "Nope. Pass!"

Great stuff and I love the way your progress is marching on, it helps me to understand some of the processes and decisions that need to be taken with regard to the sequence of superstructure build that I will be facing soon with 'Hood'.

[CDW]

Roger

The handrails are glued on without any holes drilled using acrylic adhesive.

[CDW]

The gangways (not certain what they are called) that lead off each side of the superstructure are extremely thin. So much so, they will break apart without so much as a gentle bend which are necessary to complete construction. Even with great care, these could become a loss. Will certainly be lost if they are “bumped” during the final construction or painting stages.

 

[RogerF]

You've made a great job of all that PE Craig. I know just what you mean about some things being mega delicate, just waiting to be touched so they can bend or drop off. We need three pairs of eyes and very steady hands when handling these parts and also in-and-around them once fitted. Good luck, I'll be following your progress closely.

[lmagna]

2 hours ago, CDW said:

The gangways (not certain what they are called)

They are most commonly called Bridge Wings and are used when docking and other maneuvers where the Captain might want to see down the entire length of the ship.

 

In your case, if you somehow knock one or the other off, they can be glued in the more normal stowed position along side the bridge instead  of sticking out. 

[Landlubber Mike]

Great work on a really nice subject Craig.  Fantastic!  Can't believe I missed this one.

 

I don't want to bring up too many things from prior posts, but:

 

1.  Some of the PE on my destroyer was so thin, you could breathe on it and it would bend.  I'd say just do the best you can.  If it works, great, if not, the detail is probably so small nobody will notice anyway.

 

2.  On the acrylic primers, I was just PM'ing with Craig the other day.  I was a big fan of Vallejo, and still am to some extent, but now that I've figured out airbrushing a little better, I think I'm going to be moving to paints/primers like Mr. Color/Mr Surfacer, Tamiya, etc.  At least for bigger areas.  I've gotten decent results thinning Vallejo a bit, but the annoying clogged airbrush gets frustrating.  It's almost like you need to shoot lacquer thinner through the airbrush at the end of the session to ensure you have removed the invisible sticky remnants.  I'm ok with the smells because I vent outside.  For things like cockpit interiors and other small details, I'll probably stick with Vallejo for ease of use.

 

 

 

 

[CDW]

[king derelict]

2 minutes ago, CDW said:

Lovely PE work

Alan

[CDW]

4 minutes ago, king derelict said:

Lovely PE work

Alan

Thanks Alan, with this, I had to give it a rest for a while for the eyes to become uncrossed.

[Old Collingwood]

2 hours ago, CDW said:

Thanks Alan, with this, I had to give it a rest for a while for the eyes to become uncrossed.

Hope your  Right to Left  or Left to Righ cross eyed soon  recovers,    other wise you will be  sticking bow pieces and the stern  wrong way round and vica versa.

 

OC.

[RogerF]

That's some pretty impressive PE work there Craig, no mean feat in1/700. You mentioned using acrylic adhesive on the hand rails so I'm assuming you use that for most or all PE attachment, am I right? I've never heard of acrylic adhesive, what brand are you using if may ask? With my usual luck it'll be a brand only available in the US!

[CDW]

Just now, RogerF said:

That's some pretty impressive PE work there Craig, no mean feat in1/700. You mentioned using acrylic adhesive on the hand rails so I'm assuming you use that for most or all PE attachment, am I right? I've never heard of acrylic adhesive, what brand are you using if may ask? With my usual luck it'll be a brand only available in the US!

Thank you Roger. Yes, it is a USA manufactured glue called Gator Grip Gator’s Grip Hobby Glue – Gator's Model Studio (gatorsmodelstudio.com)

I use the Thin Blend type. It's possible that a shop in your country may carry this item in inventory. It is not an instant set. However, it usually holds the PE to the location placed by surface tension, then it sets up in minutes. I like it because it's easily cleaned up with water, can be diluted, and gives me the extra time I need to position the parts where I want them. But there are times when I want an instant set, then I use CA glue for that.

[RGL]

Lovely detail for a 1/700 kit. 

[CDW]

Add some masts, radar arrays, build and detail some boats, then will be ready to do some painting.

 

[Old Collingwood]

39 minutes ago, CDW said:

Add some masts, radar arrays, build and detail some boats, then will be ready to do some painting.

 

Whats your work ethic  with the painting  -  assemble the sub assmblies  including the PE, then  spray primer then colour  then if  you are fitting them the wood decks?    just getting a flow for when I start my Hood.

 

OC.