Banshee II by Glen McGuire - FINISHED - 1/700 - BOTTLE

FriedClams · August 2

Excellent progress on the base, Glen. I particularly like the front row of pilings, those sticks really look fantastic!

Gary

Javelin · August 2

Thanks for the clear explanation.

Even if the waves/ripples wouldn't hide creep up, for sure they'll merge the front pilings with the water surface.

A very sharp result and good reference for future projects.

BANYAN · August 3

Bravo Glen, those front piles look so authentic and scale correct. Looking good mate.

cheers

Pat

Glen McGuire · August 7

Dang Olympics have been distracting me from finishing this build. I can't seem to pull myself away from the TV even if it's the most obscure sport. A couple of hours watching mixed doubles ping pong? Are you kidding me?

Summoning great will power, I finally managed to stop my binge-watching and get some work done on the water. With the pilings in place, the next step was adding some texture to the water. I started by applying a layer of Woodland Scenics Water Ripples to the smooth base of epoxy resin.

The product is clear and goes on with some nice ripples/small waves. While drying, however, it settles itself down and smooths out much of the original texture. In this case, a little too much for what I wanted. So for the next step, I did two things. The water was just a little bit too clear and too blue (we are talking about the Galveston Bay, right?). So I thinned out a very light gray wash and spread it over the surface. Then I added a different Woodland Scenics product called Water Waves, which is thicker and holds its shape much better than the Ripples product.

In the pic below, you can see on the right side how much the Ripples product settled and smoothed itself out. You can also see the slight clouding effects of the light gray wash. On the left side, you can see where I began applying the Water Waves product.

Here's the whole thing after application of the Water Waves product.

As a final touch, I added light brushes of white to some of the wave crests to give the water just a bit of action.

Next step is adding the deck planks for the wharf. The finish line is in sight!

Edited August 7 by Glen McGuire

Knocklouder · August 7

A Gold Metal performance my freind.

:cheers: Bob M.

FriedClams · August 7

That's a great water effect, Glen, and I think that added white really brought it to life. Just the right amount of surface agitation.

Gary

Ian_Grant · August 7

Looks great Glen! So you just apply those products (with a brush? a popsicle stick?) and they blob up of their own accord? Or do you need to do some rough sculpting on application?

Thinking of my future Soleil Royale as a waterline model since the Heller u/w hull is so implausible........

Glen McGuire · August 7

10 minutes ago, Ian_Grant said:

Looks great Glen! So you just apply those products (with a brush? a popsicle stick?) and they blob up of their own accord? Or do you need to do some rough sculpting on application?

Thanks, Ian. I dab it on with a stiff-bristled paint brush that's about 1cm in width (the stiffer the bristles, the better it seems to work). I'll dab it sideways (parallel with the rows of pilings) to create ripples and some small rolling waves. With the thicker Water Waves product, it does not take much shaping beyond the dabbing to get some nice light ripple/wave action. If I do want to create some larger waves, I'll use a small plastic spatula. A popsicle stick would work just as well. If I get some areas that look too smooth or glassy, I'll take a small brush and rough it up a bit with some light dibbing. The Woodland Scenics products work really well.

Thukydides · August 7

Looking really good, water is hard to do right.

Glen McGuire · August 7

2 hours ago, FriedClams said:

Just the right amount of surface agitation.

51 minutes ago, Thukydides said:

Looking really good, water is hard to do right.

Thanks, Gary and Thukydides. I appreciate y'all saying that. Knowing when to stop is the thing I struggle with the most. I add a little bit, back off and look, add a bit more, back off and look, etc... And then I force myself to stop before I really want to.

Bryan Woods · August 7

Great work Glen! Thanks for explaining each step. You definitely have have the artistic skill.

Keith Black · August 7

Glen, when it comes time to float my pile driver would you please come fill my pool?

That's some nice looking water.

Javelin · August 7

Mr McGuire that's a brilliant piece of water. Great call on the grey wash between the layers!

Glen McGuire · August 9

Thank you @Knocklouder, @Ian_Grant, @Keith Black, @FriedClams, @Thukydides, @Bryan Woods, @Javelin for the comments on the water effects. It's definitely a challenge for me and one that I'm trying to improve on with each effort.

Now for some planking! Except it's waaaaay easier than the planking that all you real ship model builders face. This is just completing the wharf with deck planks. I had already colored and weathered them earlier, so now it was just a matter affixing them to the pilings and support beams. As a reminder, here's the wharf idea I'm trying to suggest with the base. The painting depicts the Galveston, Texas waterfront of the mid 1800's.

Waterfront2.png.f0899a829ee0f270f6bbc3886af6ec21.png

Here's some pics showing the stages of my planking efforts.

Next, I added a layer of veneer on the front panel of the base using poached plank strips from my USS Constellation kit.

Edited August 9 by Glen McGuire

Keith Black · August 9

That's so nice, Glen. The overall affect is very peaceful and relaxing.

Rick310 · August 9

Really really impressive!!

Rick

Ian_Grant · August 9

Looks like a theatre stage. Maybe for a production of "Showboat", one of my favourites.

BANYAN · August 10

That's looking great Glen, and you have created a great little stage for those pesky penguins to perform on Seriously, I very much like the combination of the Texas backdrop and the wharf, a unique and very effective concept.

cheers

Pat

Glen McGuire · August 10

50 minutes ago, BANYAN said:

and you have created a great little stage for those pesky penguins to perform on

You just had to go there, didn't you Pat!!

Ian_Grant · August 10

Oh, it's Texas! I hadn't twigged the shape. Now I see. Very creative Glen!

Knocklouder · August 10

27 minutes ago, Ian_Grant said:

Oh, it's Texas! I hadn't twigged the shape. Now I see. Very creative Glen!

Yes @Ian_Grant it eazy to mistake the back drop withall those Canadian Penguins blocking the veiw.

Well done my freind :cheers:

Bob M.

G P

Glen McGuire · August 10

21 hours ago, Ian_Grant said:

Oh, it's Texas! I hadn't twigged the shape.

"Twigged the shape"?? WTH does that mean? I thought y'all talked normal up there, but I guess I gotta go get me a book on how to speak Canadian as well as 'strine! 😃

Keith Black · August 10

6 minutes ago, Glen McGuire said:

WTH does that mean?

I had to look it up, Glen. The world has passed us by.

https://www.quora.com/What-does-it-mean-to-not-twig-or-to-twig-something-Where-and-how-did-this-word-originate

Glen McGuire · August 11

2 hours ago, Keith Black said:

The world has passed us by.

Indeed it has, Keith!

Ian_Grant · August 11

3 hours ago, Glen McGuire said:

"Twigged the shape"?? WTH does that mean? I thought y'all talked normal up there, but I guess I gotta go get me a book on how to speak Canadian as well as 'strine! 😃

It's more a British-ism, many of which I picked up from my parents (remember the Scots slang words from an earlier post in some log or other?). 😉

FriedClams · August 11

Nice looking planking, Glen! Oh, the many uses of 1-2-3 blocks.

Gary

Glen McGuire · August 11

8 hours ago, FriedClams said:

Oh, the many uses of 1-2-3 blocks.

Amen to that, Gary! With those blocks, old pieces of railroad track, and duct tape, I can pretty much do anything!!

Glen McGuire · August 12

Another SIB adventure comes to a close here on MSW. I put the finishing touches on the Banshee II project last night and it’s ready for the shelf. I want to give a personal thanks to everyone that took part in this journey.

@Keith Black, @Knocklouder, @BANYAN, @Javelin, @Ian_Grant, @Canute, @gjdale, @FriedClams, @Landlubber Mike, @KeithAug, @GrandpaPhil, @Thukydides, @PvG Aussie, @gsdpic, @JacquesCousteau, @Paul Le Wol, @ccoyle, @Harvey Golden, @mtaylor, @CDR_Ret, @John Fox III, @Roger Pellett, @berhard, @Rick310, @Desertanimal, @Ryland Craze, @rookie, @rwiederrich, @Dave boatswain, @cotrecerf, @Charter33, @Snug Harbor Johnny, @Dan Poirier, @Charles Roseberry, @JEFFRAV, @downeaster.

Whether you popped in every now and then or managed to endure each step along the way, I am very appreciative of your support, comments, and suggestions. You make everything I try to do so much better and I can never say thank you enough.

Also, because of y’all, this was the most interesting and entertaining build log I can remember. Along the way, you gave me a number of great recommendations which helped tremendously – ship plans/drawings from Grandpa Phil, Bare Metal foil and painting tips from Landlubber Mike, Funnel schematics from Pat (Banyan), and corrections to my cowlings from Rob (rwiederrich). Y’all also provided fascinating discussions on a variety of subjects like fire ants, Venetian and Czech beads, Philly cheesesteaks, stropping 2mm deadeyes, and Norfolk Island just to name a few. Furthermore, I was so very fortunate to receive free language lessons where I learned what an egg nishner is and how to talk some strine, as well as Keith Black adding a couple more B words to my cow's forbidden vocabulary. And finally, there’s Knocklouder who kept me laughing the whole time with his comments like the one about “whack a mole”. Bob, you are one of a kind!

On to the final reveal. Here's the original concept drawing and how the completed project turned out.