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

[Old Collingwood]

Dont foreget to  give them  some  eyes😜    where   did  you  find them  Giant fingers....

 

OC.

[RGL]

Day 2 on figures, it’s a killer on the eyes 

[RGL]

The anchors (compare the kit one above the three Micromaster ones) 

[RGL]

Furled torpedo nets; So I ended up with 1mm Tamiya braided wire (obviously for remote control cars ), I pulled out the rubber inner, then a primer coat. I tied (wrapped) very thin wire around it was well to break up the pattern.  I tried dark brown/red but wasn’t happy, so I painted it flat black and then various enamel rust washes. This will run along the length of the hull on a platform. 

[RGL]

So whilst I’m awaiting some stuff in the mail, onto the blimp. 
 

red primer coat and some sanding

 

white primer coat, but more sanding to go 

[RGL]

Now a silver basecoat. This is what I want to end up with eventually 

[RGL]

Ok, still too rough, completely sanded it back and a dark grey which will show the ribs later. All day masking. 

[Egilman]

Now that is a tedious masking job!!!!

[RGL]

Tedious indeed, dark silver respray then 4 hours more masking and still not done 

[Old Collingwood]

You having to  cut  all them  lengths  of  really thin strips?

 

OC.

[amateur]

Sanding it again helped to give the surface less of a 'plastic' look. 

Just to get the scale right: what is the lenght of this blimp? Is it around 10 inch, or even smaller?

 

Jan

[RGL]

Different width masking tape. Silver overcoat, then mask again for a full day, tan spray, remove mask, remasking at the moment 

[RGL]

Wow this has taken a while 

[RGL]

Jeeze I’m over this! 

[AJohnson]

That is outstanding, you have the patience of a Saint! 

[amateur]

This is pure paint wizardry. Nobody will believe that this started out as a rough lifeless plastic blimp covered in red primer. Al that masking was worth the effort!

 

Jan

[Thukydides]

Fantastic work, you have a lot of patience to do all that masking.

[RGL]

Now to fade it all out 

[RGL]

Righto, so tomorrow I’ll paint the tricolours on the fins 

[RGL]

I did a silver 10% overspray then a gloss coat. Decals added, I’m not going to add the big decals for the numbers as it just won’t work with what I’m trying to achieve (a 1907 ship and a 1917 blimp). 

[RGL]

Next is the pagoda 

[LED]

Wow, that is impressive.  I never saw it coming.

[RGL]

Well this bit is done 

[Canute]

That turned out well. The gondola/pagoda looks quite delicate.

 

And how do those two upper level gunners stay attached to the airship?

[RGL]

On 2/12/2024 at 3:11 AM, Canute said:

 

And how do those two upper level gunners stay attached to the airship?

I used glue….

[RGL]

So Simon from Micromaster made these up for me, 3D printed funnels 

[shipman]

I admire the results you are presenting

I'm having to re-address what I accept is modelling/model making.

It's undeniable the fidelity achievable using 3D printing is impressive.

Progress is in the eye of the beholder and its justification no doubt will be ''it's just another tool''.

No doubt this tech is here to stay and will develop, but it is another aspect of the hobby only accessible to those with deeper pockets than mine.

As I say, I admire the results displayed on a project such as this, but wonder what impact it will have on the hobby as a whole.

The paradigm has shifted.

And I just got older.

[RGL]

Yes, it’s tricky. Build, make or paint? At this scale I doubt anyone can replicate the accuracy at this scale but it is the future I think. 

[Canute]

8 hours ago, RGL said:

I used glue….

I figured that, Greg. 😀

 

I meant how did the crew members stay attached to the actual airship during aerial gyrations. web strapping, lassos, magnetic boots?. Did they reload their guns inflight.

[LED]

3 hours ago, shipman said:

I admire the results you are presenting

I'm having to re-address what I accept is modelling/model making.

It's undeniable the fidelity achievable using 3D printing is impressive.

Progress is in the eye of the beholder and its justification no doubt will be ''it's just another tool''.

No doubt this tech is here to stay and will develop, but it is another aspect of the hobby only accessible to those with deeper pockets than mine.

As I say, I admire the results displayed on a project such as this, but wonder what impact it will have on the hobby as a whole.

The paradigm has shifted.

And I just got older.

We all just have to be adult enough to look at

• What we want out of the kit
• What our skill level is
• and, our budget

I lurked this site for about a year before I built my first model in 30 years.  So, the 1:700 Tamiya HMS Repulse it was.  I didn't want to spend over the kit price for something I wanted displayable, but not museum quality - especially since this was going to be a new experience for me.  So, I had to step back from trying to duplicate the quality of RGL and others in that build.  I don't think I will ever get there, but small steps and time may get me closer.  You have to know what you want out of a kit. 

However, with the basic skills down and the enjoyment of the subject and the fact that this will be my first real 1:350 build, I am willing to spend the kit price on aftermarket for the Graf Spee.  It won't be museum quality, but it will be presentation quality for my case (that I haven't built yet😶.  So, the overall cost will be about double the cost of the kit alone.  That is not a bad investment for what will likely be 4 - 6 months of 'enjoyment'.

Not every kit will need this effort and expense.  Some will just be a break, some have no chance of getting there, some will not get there for financial reasons - but, some will.

GLHF