Walrus (Airfix 1/48), NeOmega Catapult, and HMS Albatross (Niko 1/700) by Landlubber Mike

[Landlubber Mike]

While putting off thinking about the rigging, I did start on the Albatross build.  I didn't realize this, but Niko makes two kits for this ship - one from 1939, and the other from 1942.  The 1939 version has a plain gray camo scheme, while the 1942 version has the more intricate dazzle scheme.  Otherwise, except for a few minor modifications, the kit/ship is the same between the two versions.  

 

 

 

I have the 1939 kit - fortunately or unfortunately - which matches up with the 1939-1940 schemes for the Walrus I'm planning to model.  I still haven't fully decided which of the two versions I'm planning to model.  I'm heavily leaning towards the 9F (first below) over the 9U, as I have the 1/32 HpH Walrus on the shelf and the scheme I like from that kit is very similar to the 9U.

 

 

 

Back to the Albatross, the Niko kit is very nice.  It's a mostly resin kit with a sheet of PE.  It's a welcome change from having a plastic kit where you need to eliminate details to replace them with tiny PE parts that you need to glue and fold together.  Building guns in 1/700 using PE is not fun!  Much easier when the guns or other parts are already fully, or mostly fully, molded in resin.

 

The hull is nicely cast, and didn't require much cleanup.  There is a small tab on the stern platform that you need to remove, but that's about it.  I gave it a lot of thought, and whereas some builders first paint the hull, then add the various details, I decided to add as many details as I can, then will paint the hull -- first painting the wooden decks, and then taping it and painting the rest of the ship.  I think in the long run that will be easier, though there are always advantages and disadvantages to either approach.

 

I built most of the bridge and side platforms up.  Here's where I was glad I took the approach of building before painting as it's pretty fiddly trying to get all the various parts to line up.  If I painted the bridge assembly first and then tried to install it, there was a good chance it wouldn't fit right.  That being said, I'll add the top level of the bridge separately after priming with black primer as there are lots of nooks and crannies that I might not be able to get to with the top level installed.

 

 

 

I also built up the AA guns, and mostly built up the three bow cranes which will get cables and hooks.  Very nice details on these parts.

 

 

Thanks for looking in!

[Canute]

Mike, that canister looking ordnance may be a smoke float/marker dropped to show where the sub was

[realworkingsailor]

36 minutes ago, Landlubber Mike said:

Anyone know what Parts E34 and E35 are intended to be?  It's some kind of tube that fits on the under-wing bomb racks.  I wasn't planning on adding bombs to the build (at least not the E38 small bombs), but might add this tube thing.

 

It’s possibly an air dropped depth charge, pre-1941.

 

Andy

[ccoyle]

Mike, I'm betting those are a variant of the RAF's Mk VIII depth charge, as seen in this photo from Wikimedia.

 

[Landlubber Mike]

Thanks guys!  I think you're right that they are likely Mark VIII depth charges.  Chris' picture looks spot on.

[Javlin]

It's so small but looks really Nice Mike

[Landlubber Mike]

2 minutes ago, Javlin said:

It's so small but looks really Nice Mike

Thanks Kevin!  Yeah, the Albatross is a tiny model, but the Walrus isn't very big either.  I was surprised at how small it actually is.

[Javlin]

On 5/24/2023 at 2:09 PM, Landlubber Mike said:

 I was surprised at how small it actually is.

Hell Mike the ship is small also

[Landlubber Mike]

I made a lot more progress on the Albatross the past few nights.  Managed to get the bridge completed, and added a bunch of other items to the rear half of the ship.  I changed my mind and am going to paint the deck before adding all the various deck items.  Part of the issue is that if I put on some of the platforms, I really won't be able to paint the deck underneath.  Plus, a lot of the deck items are resin with their bottoms attached to the plug, so I can paint them off the model, cut them off, and then glue them onto the deck - at least that's the idea.

 

 

 

 

Next I worked on the Walruses.  I probably only need one, but built the second up as a spare.  I thought building a biplane in 1/72 was tricky - at 1/700, it's a completely different story!  Good practice for future builds I suppose as I have a few 1/700 aircraft carriers in the stash.

 

 

 

Thanks for looking in!

[Landlubber Mike]

Hope everyone had a nice Memorial Day weekend, at least for those in the US and other places around the world where this important day of remembrance is observed.  Thank you to all our veterans! 

 

I managed to find some time this weekend to move the Albatross along.  I have to say that I'm very impressed with the kit.  The resin parts are very nice, and the PE is very well done for great details.  Everything fits together very nicely, and seems to be accurate relative to the real thing from the sources I have.

 

I decided that I'm going to install the deck items after painting the deck, as I think in the long run it will be easier, particularly with some of the hard to reach areas on the build.  So, I primed the deck with a thin coat of Mr Surfacer 1500, then sprayed the decks with Tamiya Deck Tan.  I also started to work on the main mast.  My kit didn't include the rod for the main or rear masts, so I used 0.8mm rod for the main mast and installed the PE for the crows nest and other details.  There is an upper section of the mast that needs to be included as well - I have some 1/700 aftermarket mast sections that I'm hoping will work.

 

 

 

 

I also worked on assembling the catapult components.  The kit allows you to built the catapult extended or retracted.  I built out the extended version which I think will match up with the extended version of the NeOmega catapult I'm planning on building for the 1/48 Walrus.  Here's a picture of the guns, cranes, and catapult parts that will be painted and then separately added to the model after it gets painted.

 

 

Next steps are to finish building the main and rear masts, and rather than use the 2D PE parts for the bow and stern posts, I will scratch build them for a three-dimensional look.  At that point, I can start painting the hull - light grey for the hull sides, and a darker gray for the sections above the decks.  

 

Thanks for looking in!

Edited June 2, 2023 by Landlubber Mike

[Landlubber Mike]

I've made some good progress on the Albatross.  Added the bow and stern posts, and finished building the masts.  I use cut down insect pins - which I think are stainless steel - for things like the posts that need a little more structural integrity and won't bend like brass or other materials when I invariably end up bumping into them.  

 

 

 

 

After taping the wooden decks - which was a project in itself - I ended up trying to replicate the plating runs on the hull by taping off alternating rows, and then spraying a heavy coat of Mr. Surfacer 1200.  We'll see how it goes - it's tricky in that you don't want to go overboard with too thick of paint as it will look out of scale.

 

 

 

 

 

I also managed to finish the cranes by adding aftermarket hooks from Rainbow and put together the catapult:

 

 

 

Next up I will clean up the hull plating lines and prime the full hull, deck structures, railings and other deck items using Mr. Surfacer 1500 black.  That will give a good base to paint the ship, which is pretty simple with a light grey hull, and darker gray above the deck.

 

Thanks for looking in!

[popeye the sailor]

hey Mike   very nice project you have here!  the interior looks really sweet!  look'in forward in seeing how all this gets put together   

[Landlubber Mike]

Thanks Popeye!  I'm hoping it all comes together ok  

[Landlubber Mike]

Primed, painted, and now adding in the remaining details before weathering and rigging.  I've been very pleased with the details on the PE and resin parts for this kit.  Niko did a really great job with this kit.

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for looking in!

[AJohnson]

19 hours ago, Landlubber Mike said:Niko did a really great job with this kit.

 

And you have done a great job building it Mike!  

[CDW]

25 minutes ago, AJohnson said:

And you have done a great job building it Mike!  

Yes, what Andrew said. You've done an outstanding job on this little jewel Mike.

[Landlubber Mike]

Thanks guys, really appreciate the kind words. 

[Old Collingwood]

Amazing work  at that scale.

 

OC.

[Egilman]

Amazing work indeed! Brother, that's majic wand stuff... {chuckle}

[Landlubber Mike]

Thanks guys, really appreciate it!

[Landlubber Mike]

I've made good progress on the Albatross - everything is now installed except for the Walrus (to be seated on the catapult) and the small boats.  I also have two cover options for that entryway into the bowels of the ship where the Walrus and other big items were stored.  I can model it closed or open with the cover pulled back.  I'm considering open just for a little more visual interest.

 

 

 

 

 

Next up is to clear coat, add a little shadowing/highlighting/weathering, add the remaining items, final clear coat, then rigging (which there is a lot of) and ensign.  This has been a really fun kit of quite an interesting subject.

 

Thanks for looking in!

[CDW]

That's an awesome model Mike!

[Landlubber Mike]

Thanks Craig!  Niko did a great job on this kit - I'm just trying not to mess it up too much.

[Javlin]

Looking really Nice Mike!!

[Landlubber Mike]

Thanks Kevin!!

[Dave_E]

Insane micro-modeling! You have a talent that most would not endeavor to even try (me included). Finish line is near. 👍😀

[Landlubber Mike]

Thanks Dave!  It's not as bad as it looks.  My Optivisor with lighting element and very fine micro tweezers are my two main tools.  A good hold and fold for the PE is worth getting as well.  Physically, my eyesight isn't that great but with glasses, good lighting, and the Optivisor, it's doable.  

 

Thankfully, I have very steady hands at the moment - unless I drink too much coffee so I try not to drink more than one cup before any PE session.  I did buy one of these just in case my finger dexterity changes - I haven't used it yet, but it is a really nice tool.  Very stable and easy to use.

One thing I've been looking to improve is how I hold the 1/700 model.  Right now I just blue tack the base to a Tamiya paint jar.  That works pretty well, but typically requires me to hold the jar/ship in my left hand and work with my right.  There are times though that I've felt the need to have two hands available, so I've been considering alternatives.  I could also put the jar in a vise, but on a Facebook 1/700 ship forum, I recently came across this item from CnCraft in Korea that I might try.  

[king derelict]

Beautiful details Mike. Thats a lovely model. I should attempt a resin kit. I have alway considered them to difficult for my skills

Congratulations

Alan

[Landlubber Mike]

Thanks Alan!  I’m not sure there is any more difficulty per se in a resin kit versus an injected molded plastic kit when it comes to these 1/700 ship kits (probably different story when it comes to 1/32 plane kits for example). I think you can get crisper details in resin versus plastic, and there may be flash just like with plastic kits.  Resin kits could have pin hole air bubbles, but these are easy to fill and sand.  You also supposedly have to be more careful with resin dust, but I haven’t found much dust working with these 1/700 kits.

 

I think a big benefit with the resin kits is that they tend to be all-in-one kits where you don’t need a separate PE details kit that requires you to remove plastic parts and details to replace them with PE.  Instead, these kits and designed with the included PE and detail parts in mind, so there is less removal and replacement, and more just building.  At least this is what I’ve found with this Niko kit as well as my FiveStar Yaeyama build that I’m just about done with.

 

Try one out - these are pretty fun.

[king derelict]

Thanks for the information Mike

The Niko kits have some really interesting subjects. I will have to spend some of my recent earnings on a couple to try. I'm missing 1/700 world

Alan