Adler IV by ccoyle - HMV - 1/250 - CARD - TERMINATED

[ccoyle]

Hello, and welcome to another new adventure in card! This time around I will be building the Adler IV published by HMV.

 

 

A little back story: When I was an exchange student living in Aurich, West Germany, in 1980, I had the opportunity to experience a Wattwanderung -- a hike across the mudflats between the mainland and the East Frisian Islands. We hiked over to Baltrum, had lunch, and then took a ferry back to the mainland. I don't remember the name of the ferry, and sadly I no longer have the photos I took that day, but I feel fairly certain it was a small ferry much like this one, perhaps this very ship or one of her sisters -- they remain in service down to the present and do operate in the area.

 

Adler IV, launched in 1977 (courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

 

I have many HMV kits in my stash, but I have only completed a few of them. My early HMV efforts were more or less doomed from the start for one reason or another. One incorporated PE brass, which I decided I did not like working with. The other was simply "too much model" for a builder of my experience. About half of my current HMV inventory consists of civilian vessels, and a number of them are ferries and coastal excursion ships. Adler IV is the smallest of them. It seemed advisable to start small and then work through the incrementally more difficult builds.

 

Adler IV is a small ship, only 104 ft long overall, so at 1/250 she'll be a small model, about 5" in length, with a small parts count -- there are only two pages of parts.

 

 

Curiously, the 'diagrams' for this kit consist of a single one-page series of in-progress photos.

 

 

I have the laser-cut detail set as well.

 

 

Look for first cuts soon!

 

[Ronald-V]

Love how fast you can "produce" models with card   looking forward to see this project come alive!  

[ccoyle]

First batch of hull parts cut out and base plate + internal frames assembled.

 

[ccoyle]

Zipping the hull up.

 

 

 

I'm not entirely happy with the hull. These 'egg crate' style hulls are very tricky, IMO, to get just right. The best one I have done was for USS England, and that one doesn't really count, because I had a 3D-printed hull to use as a base.

[amateur]

Nice start!

Are you going to ‘upgrade’ on the windows? Those blue squares don’t look very ‘glassy’.
(although I know that all designers use this style when it comes to larger windows)

 

Jan

Edited August 6 by amateur

[ccoyle]

40 minutes ago, amateur said:

Are you going to ‘upgrade’ on the windows?

 

Nope. There are no parts for internal structure, so unless one chooses to scratch-build, then there isn't even the option.

[ccoyle]

A bit of progress forward . . .

 

 

. . . and aft.

 

[Dave_E]

I’m in! 👍😀

[ccoyle]

I'm straying a bit off the beaten path here. The superstructure is another egg-crate structure to be placed atop the egg-crate hull. That just doesn't strike me as a sturdy building method, so I'm doing something a little different. I trimmed all of the fold tabs off the upper deck and glued it down to a 1mm piece of cardboard. This should provide very stiff edges that are less likely to produce the dreaded 'starving cow' effect, while still providing ample gluing area for the superstructure sides. Of course, I had to trim down all of the internal egg crate frames to allow for the thicker deck, and it remains to be seen whether everything will go together the way I imagine it will.

 

 

Fingers crossed!

[ccoyle]

Superstructure assembled and test-fitted.

 

 

A slight fit problem at the back that will need to be addressed before moving forward.

 

 

Stay tuned!

[yvesvidal]

Lovely ship.

 

Yves

[amateur]

Is it the deck curvature, or the height of the backwall? Inboth cases: scissors solve everything

 

Jan

[ccoyle]

State of Play

 

Well, I'm thinking long and hard about this model. Point of fact is that it is proving to be much more of a challenge than I anticipated -- I wasn't expecting the need to formulate so many solutions for such a small and 'simple' project. Among the issues have been:

• fit (some of these issues are undoubtedly due to my attempt to create a more solid hull structure)
• lack of clarity in the 'diagrams' (which as mentioned consist of only a few photos)
• print registration (these are often tiny, but they are there, and they affect the cutting out of parts, which in turn affects fit)
• very unsightly 'fixes' (these are entirely on me)
• subject matter fidelity (minor differences between model and subject -- could be due to refits made on the subject vessel over nearly 50 years of service, or could be design concessions aimed at simplifying the build process)

As usual for any model kit, every minor issue contributes to a declining 'fun factor' for a build, and the question is always, "Is the diminishing fun factor enough to merit suspending the build?" I don't know if I'm quite to the point of suspension yet, but I'm thinking about it. If I do decide to put this one on the shelf of shame, the comforting fact is that I'd only be out less than $20 for the kit and laser-cut parts, so not a big financial loss.

[GrandpaPhil]

You’ve got the hull built, which is the hardest part, at least for me.

You’ve got this!

[Dave_E]

I feel ya Chris! My first attempt of the P-40 got to a point where I stopped. My second attempt is underway and hearing your story now is something I am also experiencing. Kit quality seems to matter! 😊

[ccoyle]

I have come to a decision.

 

Here is the hull thus far:

 

I know that some of you will think that this looks great so far, but when I look at it, what I see are nearly a dozen construction errors and fit issues. My latest flub was adding the roof over the sun deck without first adding the benches that go beneath it. I tried adding one afterward, but without success. I could simply choose to omit those benches, but that would be just another glaring shortcoming added to a lengthening list of shortcomings. In the final analysis, the first modeler one has to please is himself. Since each problematic step of the construction shrinks the remaining will to push on, I have decided to suspend this build -- I have too many other projects awaiting my attention, so I can't justify more frustration with this one.

 

So, this model will take its place on the Shelf of Shame, where it will remain mostly invisible due to its small size. In the meantime, I have decided to return to work on Phoenix. See ya there!

 

[yvesvidal]

Excellent decision !!! Too many projects to justify loosing sleep with a single one.

 

Yves

[Dave_E]

To thine own self be true… I appreciate that. ☺️ Can’t wait to see what’s next! 

[ccoyle]

2 hours ago, Dave_E said:

Can’t wait to see what’s next! 

 

I will work on Phoenix until I can no longer resist the urge to build another card model. I have some ideas about what project to do next, but I can never be 100% certain until I actually start cutting.