SS Canberra by Old Rentner - FINISHED - Airfix - 1/600 - PLASTIC

ccoyle · January 29

24 minutes ago, Old Rentner said:

Now I feel like throwing the whole thing into the waste basket

I feel your pain. I don't use the waste basket for builds like this, but I do have a "shelf of shame" where incomplete models go to languish in whatever state my lack of mojo left them in.

Old Rentner · January 30

On 1/29/2024 at 2:41 PM, jerome said:

Perhaps you could sand the ink runs off with 400 grit?

light pressure on the sand paper of course.

Thank you. I did try sanding but the staining seemed to be quite deep and there were too many other structures (windows etc) nearby that were prone to further damage. I did not want to make the mess even worse. When it happened the first time I did sand, repaint white and redo the windows but it was not a great success.

Old Rentner · January 31

I’ve painted the ‘tears’ white but, of course, the white in my paint pot is not the exact white of the hull, and I’ve covered the whole ‘mess’ with matt varnish from a bottle (no spray solvent) and I don’t think that I should mess with it anymore. I won’t respray it - too much of a risk! Now it’s a bit like the English man’s view of the bagpipes - fine when heard/viewed from afar (preferably from Scotland to England) but although I agree about my Canberra, I love the pipes.

The next problem is the rigging and radio wires which abound around the bridge. The scale necessitates that they be very fine but more importantly they have to be attached somewhere. The mast attachments should not be too difficult but where/how can they be attached to the bridge structures?

Old Rentner · February 1

It’s nearly ‘finished’! The funnels, railings, propellor mechanisms and the stabilizers are in place. It’s difficult to understand how the latter could stabilize a big hull but I guess that they did? The mast and foredeck structures remain and then it’s the railings and ariels etc. How to do them, how to fix them and where to fix them, I know not!

Help please!!

Without railings the aft decks look pretty dangerous!!!

Edited March 2 by Old Rentner

Old Collingwood · February 1

2 hours ago, Old Rentner said:

It’s nearly ‘finished’! The funnels, railings propellor mechanisms and the stabilizers are in place. It’s difficult to understand how the latter could stabilize a big hull but I guess that they did? The mast and foredeck structures remain and then it’s the railings and ariels etc. How to do them, how to fix them and where to fix them, I know not!

Help please!!

Without railings the aft decks look pretty dangerous!!!

Not quite sure how you could create the hand rails without having some PE ones to hand, might be difficult, I have found two pics of the front masts etc and securing lines, also the rear showing the railings - double click on both or drag them with the right click mouse to enlarge them.

OC.

Old Rentner · February 1

On 2/1/2024 at 9:15 PM, Old Collingwood said:

Not quite sure how you could create the hand rails without having some PE ones to hand, might be difficult, I have found two pics of the front masts etc and securing lines, also the rear showing the railings - double click on both or drag them with the right click mouse to enlarge them.

OC.

The problem is how to make them, tension them and fix them to the bridge structures. Thank you for the pictures. The scale makes them very thin!

Edited February 23 by Old Rentner

Old Collingwood · February 1

44 minutes ago, Old Rentner said:

The problem is how to make them, tension them and fix them to the bridge structures. Thank you for the pictures. The scale makes them very thin!

You could buy the PE railing sets I thunk they do them in 600scale or you might get away with 700scale, because they are thin metal you would need to use super glue to attach them.

OC.

Old Rentner · February 2

21 hours ago, Old Collingwood said:

You could buy the PE railing sets I thunk they do them in 600scale or you might get away with 700scale, because they are thin metal you would need to use super glue to attach them.

OC.

I did manage to get a set finally! My god they are small!

Old Collingwood · February 2

1 minute ago, Old Rentner said:

I did manage to get a set finally! My god they are small!

Indeed - requires some delicate handling, but very nice when on, there are different ways to attach them - some people like to do small lengths at a time, others do longer runs, also there are different ways to apply the glue (super glue) you can use a fine wire or needle to apply on the ship where you want to fix the railing, or you could make a small puddle on a scrap piece of flat board etc, and gently tip the bottom of the railing using some fine tweezers just to coat the bottom of the railing - then place on the ship. Its all about finding the way that works best for you.

OC.

Old Collingwood · February 2

Also be Very Careful cutting them off the fret - they need a very sharp blade and a solid flat surface underneath - like a tile or similar to stop them from bending.

OC.

Old Rentner · February 3

Ready for the rigging and railings but they are both so fine I wonder how I’ll manage? The superglue that I have (Locktight) seems to take a while to dry - is it too old?

Old Rentner · February 3

15 hours ago, Old Collingwood said:

Also be Very Careful cutting them off the fret - they need a very sharp blade and a solid flat surface underneath - like a tile or similar to stop them from bending.

OC.

Thank you very much for the tips, may I ask about painting? If I use primer and a top coat how can I avoid clogging the spaces between the rails. The spaces between the rails are thinner than four coats of paint I think?

Old Collingwood · February 3

6 hours ago, Old Rentner said:

Thank you very much for the tips, may I ask about painting? If I use primer and a top coat how can I avoid clogging the spaces between the rails. The spaces between the rails are thinner than four coats of paint I think?

Just a case of playing with the brush to get the paint on while clearing the gaps, just technique - a bit fiddly but do able.

OC.

Old Rentner · February 11

I tried soaking the PE sheet in vinegar as advised but the paint did not stick! I then lightly sanded the surfaces and sprayed them with primer. It seemed to work and there was no ‘clogging’.

Dilute white acrylic (two coats) was applied with the PE sheet on a paper underlay so that the paper seemed to absorb the paint between the railings. Cutting the railing presented no problems but trying to glue the railing to the aft games deck was another disaster! The super glue took so long to dry that I could not hold the rail in position correctly so I abandoned the task. I must get some quicker drying super glue I think?

Old Collingwood · February 11

What you could do (Dont know if you have any Tamiya Tape) is to attach it around the edge of the decks where you want the railings to go, then place the railings touching the tape - but gently, then remove the tape (gently) when set, this might help to keep the railings in place till set.

OC.

mcb · February 12

Hi,

Assuming your super glue is CA there is a product, CA accelerator, in an aerosol spray can, that will almost instantly cure the glue joint with just a slight squirt.

I think the one I use (not often) is called Zip Kicker. I would test it on some expendable painted parts before hitting your model with it just to be safe.

Of course, you may still need three hands to hold everything together and give it a shot.

That's a nice looking ship btw.

Good Luck,

mcb

Old Rentner · February 13

Thanks for the suggestions. I had read about using tape but was frightened that, with my luck, I would not get it off without major damage!

I also read about accelerators but with all the problems that I seem to have had with ‘spraying’ I decided against trying one.

I’ve ordered some quicker drying super glues so will have a go again tomorrow. They’ll probably dry before I get the rail in place though!!!

Roger Pellett · February 14

I’m personally not a CA glue user but have read, here an the forum and elsewhere, that the hardening reaction depends on moisture. Blowing on it gently can speed the reaction.

An alternative to CA glue is nitrocellulose based clear nail polish; a close relation to the model airplane cement that we used as kids. I prefer it to CA.

Roger

Old Rentner · February 19

I’m not sure that nail varnish sets quickly - thank you Roger for the suggestion. If my ‘new’ superglues don’t work I will try nail varnish next.

Old Rentner · February 20

Well, at last, passengers on the upper decks won’t fall off the aft areas! I plucked up courage and set to work with the newly arrived glues. The ‘3 second’ one did not set in three seconds but it was much better than the gel. I managed to hold sections of the rail sequentially around the edge and was fairly pleased with the result. Unfortunately some areas of paint came off and the glue when dry is glossy so I will have to do a lot of touching up. Ladder rails were very difficult because the rails were so small!

Touching up won’t be easy I fear?

Old Collingwood · February 20

Thats made a big difference - they really add to the details.

OC.

Old Rentner · February 22

On 2/20/2024 at 8:06 PM, Old Collingwood said:

Thats made a big difference - they really add to the details.

OC.

Thank you. The rails were very small and the ladder rails were even smaller and I found it very difficult getting the parts in the right place!

Ferrus Manus · February 22

I think your Canberra looks about as good as it possibly could, given the fact that plastic putty is notoriously hard to work with.

Old Rentner · February 24

At last, the more difficult railings are in place! I redid one but the others were as good as I could make them I thought. Placing the very small ladder rails, with my wobbly hands, was not too easy!!! The final gluing will have to do for my model.

Now for the boat deck rails - I’ll have to do each one separately I’m afraid - there is no quick way as far as I can think. If I just put in an entire strip of PE rail it would either be too far inboard (I could not glue it either) or it would be outside of the hull!

After the boat deck rails, some filling and retouching the areas where paint came off during gluing and manipulation with my tweezers. Then, finally, I hope, the wireless/radar wires etc. How to do that, at reasonable scale, with tension, I have not worked out yet!

Edited February 24 by Old Rentner

Old Collingwood · February 24

Looking really nice - all those additions so make a difference.

OC.

Old Rentner · February 25

Yes, the kit as Airfix intended looks pretty ‘albino’-like. Thank you for your encouragement.

IMG_5171.jpeg.f4cda7d0e23ac9ee0f74e53ee7bc5473.jpeg

Edited February 25 by Old Rentner

Old Rentner · February 28

At last, 40 individual boat deck and upper deck railings glued in ‘place’. Sadly, they are not all as ‘squarely’ glued as they might be but my wobbly hands could not do better. Overall, the boat looks more realistic. During gluing some paint came off the rails so now it’s time for the mass ‘touch up’. After I’ll apply some clear matt varnish to help protect the paint on the rails which has not bonded very well to the PE brass.

To glue the rails I used curved tweezers, a darning needle and a tool that I made by knocking a needle into a meat skewer and then cutting off 3/4 of the ‘eye’. I used the latter to spread glue where I wanted the rail, then applied glue to the bottom of the rail by drawing the rail through a drop of glue on a piece of baking paper(learnt from you tube), and then held the rail in place in till the glue was firm. When the glue was set I adjusted the angle of the rail to straighten it as well as I could.