USS Bagley (DD-386) by catopower - Avangard - 1/200 - Avangard - CARD

[catopower]

Having just finished my first steel navy paper model, the German WWI torpedo boat V108, it seems appropriate to start a blog on this new paper model project, USS Bagley on Pearl Harbor Day.

 

I say appropriate, because the destroyer Bagley operated in the Pacific and was moored at Pearl Harbor on the day of the Japanese attack. Bagley's crew manned her .50cal machine guns and claimed to down a number of Japanese aircraft, though this couldn't be substantiated with all the anti-aircraft gunfire taking place. By mid-morning, she headed up the channel and out to the open sea under the command of a junior officer, as her captain, XO, and gunnery officer were still ashore at the time.

 

The ship was the lead ship of her class, built in 1937, as a "Treaty Era" destroyer, which limited her displacement to 1500 tons. She had an active wartime career and earned 12 battle stars. The ship survived the war and was decommissioned in 1946.

 

The Kit

This kit is published by the Ukrainian company Avangard, and depicts the ship in her 1944 configuration, with camouflage. She was armed at this time with 4x 5"/38cal guns in single-gun turrets, 6x 20mm anti-aircraft mounts, a twin 40mm mount, 16x 21" torpedo tubes in four quad mounts, and 2x depth charge racks.

 

Some of the printing, particularly of the decks, seems to be a bit too dark, and it’s hard to distinguish some of the printed details. I suspect I might end up having a hard time placing some of the parts because of how dark things look. I contacted the publisher about this, as I didn’t know if this was normal. As it turns out, due to the war in Ukraine, the company has been limited on available paper supplies, and the paper they have been able to get doesn’t absorb the ink the way that they would like. This may be too much of an issue for some. But, I think I will be able to manage. It will help that there is a jpeg image of this sheet posted on the company’s Facebook page, with the printed part numbers appearing more clearly.

 

One thing that threw me, which had to be explained to me by someone at Avangard, is that there is one page that is clearly out of place. It’s a second page for the lower hull of a ship, but it’s different than the Bagley’s hull, and even has a label that says IJN Asashio. Apparently, this is not a mistake. There was a measurement error in the earlier Asashio kit, and there was extra space in the Bagley kit, so the publisher just stuck in the revised sheet. I’m just glad it wasn’t a error in my kit.

 

The kit has almost no text, except the ship history. But, what text there is, is in English. The drawings seem clear enough. Of course, only an actual build will determine if there are any construction issues with the kit.

 

Along with the basic kit, I ordered the laser-cut frames set as well as the details set, which is basically all of the railings, ladders, and other fine parts. All told, I think I spent less than $60 for the kit and accessories sets.

 

I had a very hard time purchasing this kit, but no fault of the publisher. Living in the US, I discovered that it’s almost impossible to get any paper model products from Europe. I tried to buy this kit from Fentens (Germany), GPM, and Orlik, but none would ship to the USA due to tariff and customs issues. I only got lucky when I contacted Avangard directly about my situation, and they were able to help me out on a one-time basis and get this kit and accessories sets to me directly. Many thanks to Avangard for their help!

 

Instructions and Parts

I don't really have much experience with most paper models, except Shipyard kits, which are kind of their own animal I think the Avangard kits are pretty typical in terms of instructions and parts. There is no written instruction at all, only diagrams are provided. Interestingly enough, the only text is on the inside front cover and back cover, which are only written in English.

 

 

 

Building Begins...

 

The beginning stages of construction of paper models, seem pretty straight forward. These parts are from the laser-cut frames set. At 1/200 scale, this is a pretty good side hull, just about 20-1/2" long.

 

I'm not sure if I did this the way I should have, gluing the upper and lower hulls together at this stage. But, it's all a learning process.

Don't know how much time I'll spend on this model, so it may be a slow build, but construction has begun...

 

[ccoyle]

Really looking forward to watching this come together, so good luck with it!

 

5 hours ago, catopower said:

There was a measurement error in the earlier Asashio kit, and there was extra space in the Bagley kit, so the publisher just stuck in the revised sheet.

 

This practice is not unheard of. Many Halinski kits include corrected parts for previous issues. The downside, of course, is that one has to buy that issue in order to get the corrected parts in addition to already having the original kit, even if the buyer has no interest in the second kit other than obtaining the corrected parts. And this assumes that the buyer of the original kit is even aware of the errors in the first place, which may not be evident until the defective kit is already under construction.

[GrandpaPhil]

Looking forward to this one!

 

As a quick note, the CAD renders included as reference drawings/plans for my Oryol, also a Ukrainian kit, had the same issue with being so dark that they were difficult to use, probably from the same issue.

 

I thoroughly enjoy their kits though.  They are very nice and build up beautifully!

Edited December 8 by GrandpaPhil

[catopower]

These steel navy ships in paper are interesting. I'm used to building sailing ships, but with these steel vessels, there seem to be a lot more sub-assemblies. Construction seems to be, at least looking at is all at this stage, less linear. For the most part, it seems I could work on the various superstructures off the model. Then, when they're all done, just glue them to the deck.

 

I have a lot to learn about these builds, and experienced builders clearly have developed techniques to make their models superior. I suppose that's true about any type of modeling. I'm clearly a newbie here, so I'll just learn what I can and do my best.

[ccoyle]

2 hours ago, catopower said:

For the most part, it seems I could work on the various superstructures off the model. Then, when they're all done, just glue them to the deck.

 

I did that with USS England. That was, in fact, the process illustrated in the HMV diagrams.

[catopower]

Thanks Chris, I think that's basically what the Avangard instructions are showing. What's a little confusing is that it's hard to tell the placement of the assemblies. There's no master diagram that shows all the structures in place (with numbers), and It's difficult to see any numbers on the printed decks, but I can tell they're there. 

 

I'm sure I'll figure it out, but it's a bit confusing at first. I guess that's one reason they call this an "advanced" kit... 

[catopower]

So far, I've really enjoyed doing the easy part. Started making the structures for the subassemblies using the laser-cut frames set.

 

Since most of the part labels were next to the parts themselves, I made sure to write the numbers on the faces of the parts, so I wouldn't screw things up... or at least reduce the chances of me screwing things up. I'm sure I can still do it...

 

And, here are the substructure of many of the subassemblies. 

 

Meanwhile, I added some wooden blocks to help stiffen the hull framing. The larger filer blocks are balsa, but I started running out, so I just reinforced sections with some basswood pieces. This should also help to support mounting rods at a later stage. That's what I've done with other paper models, though they mostly been a lot smaller than this one.

 

I'm going to experiment with using some filler to fill and smooth out the hull shape. I've seen some models where the builder used styrofoam instead of the wood blocks or filler. Just never been keen working with that stuff.

 

Worst case with my model hull, I'll ruin it and I'll need another laser-cut frame set. Anyway, I'm considering getting a second kit, because I know I'm going to lose or mess up parts. I've scanned and printed the parts sheets, but the color is off from the original, and the color and part numbers printed on the deck pieces are pretty muddy in the original and hard to read, and even worse in the printed scan.

 

[catopower]

Good news, I don't think I've ruined my model yet!

 

I ended up using Gorilla brand wall repair spackling. The stuff is fairly soft and kind of fluffy going on, or 'in' as with the case of the framework of the paper model.

 

Doesn't look very good right after applying the stuff...

But, once dried, it was easy to sand it smooth, though I ended up having to re-apply it in a few spots. Eventually, got it as good as I think it needs to be. 

 

There are still a couple gaps, but that really doesn't matter. The filler is mostly to give the hull more strength, and to provide even out the framing, so that the exterior hull pieces will lay nicely. A few small gaps won't make a difference.

 

 

I did notice that the deck had a slight bulging in areas. Probably, when I pushed the spackling into the framing, the pressure caused a little unevenness in the deck in a few spots. The result was also that there might have been a very slight apparent twist int the hull. 

 

I found I could actually sand the heavy cardstock deck, leveling out the bulges pretty well. I was surprised at how well the card took the sanding.

 

Next step will be to start adding the hull pieces, starting with the lower hull.

 

I already went back and re-printed my scanned parts one more time, this time in "normal" output quality (according to my computer's printer settings), rather than in "best" output quality. The result was print that wasn't quite so dark, and the gray part were slightly bluer, and maybe a little less muddy. Finally, I sprayed the printed sheets with some Winsor & Newton matte varnish to help seal the paper and to protect the ink. I don't know that it really needs it, but I've followed a number of paper model builds where something similar was used.

 

No photos of this step, but I'll take more when I start adding the lower hull coverings.

[ccoyle]

I'm really keen to see how this turns out. I've always struggled with card hulls, and this is one possible solution I have thought about but not tried.

 

Quote

There are still a couple gaps, but that really doesn't matter.

I might beg to differ here slightly. In my own experience, no matter how hard I try to keep my fingers off of sensitive parts of a model, I often end up handling those areas unintentionally. In this case that means that those dimples would inevitably result in areas where the hull skins weren't perfectly smooth. My advice would be to try and get those little divots filled. I think the result would be worth the extra effort.

 

Cheers!

[Snug Harbor Johnny]

  It is most interesting to see the use of balsa to fill and stiffen the framing of a card model ... the very thing I want to do (eventually) on the USS Baltimore (CA-3  1890) 1:200 from Heinkel models.  There is a complete build on MSW with many tips and innovations that can help any builder of a steel warship:

https://modelshipworld.com/topic/37247-uss-baltimore-ca-3-1890-by-jsk-finished-heinkel-models-scale-1200-card/#comment-1066761

 

  As for availability, they sold me an economical download version for less than $20 paid by credit card, and I was able to print it out with no difficulties.  As for color and size, I imported a renamed duplicate of each file into Photoshop (not that I'm used to that very complicated - and powerful - program) and was able to do simple enhancements to the color balance and contrast by tweaking the sliders for those by clicking:  Image - Adjustments - Color balance   (or  Brightness/contrast), then I saved as a jpeg file.

 

  Buying a download from the designer gets around all the shipping and tariff expenses (besides costing less than a physical kit).  Of course, one must obtain the needed thickness of card (art board) stock to glue the paper (you print out) to, then the cut pieces out yourself.  A good art store will have various thickness of paper products, and I went to Blicks for mine (now stored flat under our bed ... with the Admiral, out of sight is out of mind).  Parts of the hull (fore-and-aft) are in two pieces meant to be printed on 8 1/2 x 11" standard paper (higher 'pound' weight stock is better) to make about an 18" model.  But by dividing the images in Photoshop (by sizing duplicates) and printing the "halves" (with overlap so no individual part is cut) at the largest scale that would fit the length of 8 1/2 x 14" paper, I was able to get pieces that will make a 24" model (about 1:150 scale) that will be easier for me to fiddle with.

 

  I imagined that using balsa to fill the large voids in the paper framing would:  1.) stiffen the hull and make it easier to work with, attach structures to, and even pin into the substrate enclosed by the paper applied to the frame;  2.)  give the model a little 'heft' so it isn't featherweight and will be more robust;  and 3.) provide great lines of the hull, once sealed, that the paper can be glued to - and will more evenly conform to (perhaps with slight moistening by a water based glue.  This means less creasing or kinking of flat paper trying to assume 3 dimensions.   The builder of Baltimore didn't like how the recurved area in the upper stern came out, and if there was a solid substrate, the paper could have been molded enough to look a lot better.

 

  So as Chris advised, getting a smooth surface with filler will prevent those divots and irregularities from 'telegraphing' through the applied paper.  'Love your progress thus far, and I'll be following your progress as you go along.  Savor each phase of the build and take whatever time is needed to go from step to step.   Clear sailing !          Johnny

 

[ccoyle]

19 minutes ago, Snug Harbor Johnny said:

Buying a download from the designer gets around all the shipping and tariff expenses (besides costing less than a physical kit).

 

And this remains a great option for anyone who decides to go that route (plus, of course, the builder isn't in deep doo-doo if he or she mangles a part; simply reprint and off you go again). I just decided for myself that I preferred not having to make all that extra effort myself. It's a plus for card that both options are widely available.

[catopower]

6 hours ago, ccoyle said:

I'm really keen to see how this turns out. 

Me too!

 

I don't know if I'd do it again. It makes the hull pretty heavy. I've seen other using carved styrofoam or insulating foam, which I might try out in the future. I do however like to use wood reinforcement in specific areas, particularly where I expect to add mounting pins or screws. I did that with the V108, and I think it helped a lot when I went to mount it using brass rods. But, in that case, I'd used small basswood blocks, and they don't extend out to the surface of the hull, but are just for internal support.

 

Chris, Johnny, I see what you're saying about perfectly filling out the hull. I was just never concerned with anything other than avoiding the distended ribcage look, and I don't think that'll be a problem now. The gaps I'm talking about in my hull, I don't expect to be a problem. But, perhaps you're right. I'll go over it one more time to get rid of what are kind of like 'nicks' in the spackle. 

 

My main concern now is that I've done a lot of sanding, and I'm concerned that this inner core of the ship will have shrunk too much. I was considering taking one of the reject sheets I printed out to test fit a few of the main hull parts to see if I've messed anything up yet.

 

Also, the stern on this model is a bit funky. The aft most frame kind of hangs out, and I have no way to judge how the paper is supposed to create the proper curve without trying it out. This also affects the shape of the filler, which at this point, is shaped based on a "best guess".