HMS Vanguard by RMC - FINISHED - Amati/Victory Models - scale 1:72

[RMC]

Well it didn't. 

 

Finally, joy.

 

 

The gratings are dry fitted.  The painting of all the components is taking forever.  The yellow Humbrol paint needs to dry a full 3 days if it is to be sanded.

 

 

Edited May 6, 2014 by RMC

[Timmo]

Hints of the glorious bow to come. Nice solution there.

[aliluke]

Hell Bob - forget the tidy up the kit solutions - well done too. The fact that the curve of the kit made part exactly fits your bow curve is a testimony to your precision. It is looking very sharp. As for paint drying...I say to myself wait, wait, wait and then go what the....and then I regret my haste.

[RMC]

Thanks all for the kind comments, though it's a bit early to claim success.  Hubris has got me before.

[RMC]

I am still painting the headrails etc. While waitng for the paint to dry (about as exciting as Formula 1 motor racing) it occurred to me that a couple of painting tips may be useful. At the risk of telling people what they know, here goes.

 

To avoid getting fingers in the way, I have found Tamiya tape is excellent in holdng small flat pieces steady for painting and spraying. 

 

For holding pieces that need coats on more than one side, a pin and a clamp are useful.

 

 

For those using enamel paints (I use Humbrol) whenever possible use 2 or 3 coats of spray polyurethane to finish off. It both protects and gives a far better finish than paint alone. Incidentally, I no longer shake the Humbrol cans to mix the paint. For flat paints it doesn't do a very good job. The esters (I think that's the term) that make the paint flat are often left in the bottom of the can; and when you shake the can the paint builds up on the inside lid and sides of the can - so it won't close properly.  The paint then goes off.  I think the latter is part of a cunning plan by Humbrol ... Consequently I use a piece of wood strip to stir the paint for about a minute or so.

 

I have started on the cathead using Mitsuaki and Arthur's work as a guide.  I had no idea drilling 6 slots whould take all day.

 

 

Edited May 11, 2014 by RMC

[RMC]

I was going to say 'as interesting as watching paint dry', but somehow I couldn't bring myself to write it.

 

Though I do think that Fomula 1 is like watching very loud paint dry - or going round in circles.

[RMC]

Getting the supports for the gratings both square and level proved tricky. For the first, I finally used 2 pieces of sqare stock clamped to the prow to provide the square, then leveled it by eye against the bottom of the doorway.  Once the first was correctly positioned and glued, the positioning of the middle and forward supports was fairly easy. 

 

 

 

 

 

I used PVA wood glue which allows adjustment before setting. A medical hypodermic syringe (point ground off) is really useful for positioning small amounts of glue accurately.  The glue also lasts indefinitely.

 

However, bringing the last grating flush with the end of forward support (ie: +2mm forward) has brought an unforseen consequence.  Without adjustment to the forward support, the angle of the forward grating is at too severe an angle to allow the top head rail to be flush with the top of that grating.  It was therefore necessary to file down the top of the support by about 1mm to provide the appropriate angle.

 

 

Once the glue has fully set further adjustment  - and another coat of paint - may be necessary.

 

Edited May 12, 2014 by RMC

[RMC]

The bits and pieces that decorate the bow are proving to be quite demanding. Bevelling the cheeks was very time-consuming and fiddly.

 

 

 

 

 

Once the top cheeks were attached it was then easy to glue the hause hole patterns and the lower short decorative strip (which must be parallel to the middle headrail - the tape that can be seen is there to mark consistent slopes  for the cheeks on both sides).  Then things got interesting. With the lower cheeks sloping upwards at the same angle as the lower decorative strip, getting a nice close fit of the lower cheek and the hause hole pattern  required the hause hole pattern to be bevelled as well - on the model.  This was not good for my nerves. 

 

Fortunately things turned out acceptably, though I have to repaint the lower cheeks which will take the best part of 3 or 4 days before I can attach them.

 

 

 

 

I have also been working on the masts and have finally got around to the the bowsprit and jib boom.  The following pictures show the bow sprit.  The cap is dry-fitted - getting the correct angle of the holes is a bit of a pain.  I found using a small conical abrasive attachment for my ersatz dremel worked better than trying to use a drill.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 20, 2014 by RMC

[Blue Ensign]

Nice progress Bob, she looks very good in those head on shots.

 

B.E.

[RMC]

While waiting for more paint to dry, I finally got around to putting the name on the stern.  As suggested by Jason, I used a Letraset transfer.  Unfortunately the largest Times New Roman transfers are only 5mm high, rather than the 10mm of the kit etchings.  I do think the kit letters are a bit obtrusive, but I am concerned that the 5mm letters are just too small (comments welcome). Incidentally the 'burnisher' supplied with the Letraset turns out to be a Paddle Pop stick (a 'water ice' may be more familiar to non- Australians) and is not worth a sausage. With the irregularities in the surface, I found a baboo skewer with the point shaped like a flat scewdriver did the trick.

 

I used Mitsuaki's method of spacing.

 

 

 

 

I put the lettering up a mill or 2 higher than I intended, but at this stage I'm going to leave that problem. I have to put on the decorative strip above it and I'll then see how the whole thing looks.  The decorative strip supplied is not long enough to go across the stern,  nor is it of particularly good quality.  Rather than try to seemlessly join 2 pieces I will use a strip of 2x2mm and a strip of 1x1mm and see how that works out.

Edited May 23, 2014 by RMC

[aliluke]

Looks perfect to me. Absolutely spot on. Much better than PE brass letters. The height of the lettering doses not seem an issue and I think that 1 or 2mm too high set out will disappear in your minds eye as the build goes on. Clean and very crisp. Bravo!  It seems that a full stop was added after the name - might be a nice addition?

[RMC]

A full stop? Really?

[AON]

possibly a cannon ball indentation!  

[aliluke]

Yep for sure. The ship name ended in a full stop. Here is the stern of Fly with a full stop from NNM contemporary drawings. The FFM is very clear about this as well. Pegasus was painted on the counter PEGASUS . (full stop). I guess it was a rule of the time - a singular title ended in a full stop. It doesn't need to change the centring of the letters, it is just a little add that is apparently accurate.

 

Edit - found the reference in the FFM, page 310 VII - "...don't forget the period (full stop) which was added after the name".

Edited May 23, 2014 by aliluke

[RMC]

Well I guess it's a full stop then.

[AON]

now that is interesting     never saw this before

[aliluke]

Period - full stop :D .

[RMC]

If I stuff this up - it's on your head ...

Edited May 23, 2014 by RMC

[aliluke]

Yikes! Leave it off no one will know!! You have done such a good job on that Letraset and I was one of those who sent you there and sent some letters. I didn't include any full stops with what I sent - carry on regardless of my trainspotting! I'd have included lots of full stops if I'd known at the time.

[Beef Wellington]

Lettering looks great, well done.  Think the size doesn't look way off at all, and will probably look even sharper once you get the other decorative strip in place.  I'm sure Alistair is right with the full stop - it maybe goes into the same category as painting the ends of cannons red which seems to be commonly omitted - historically accurate, but distracting when looking at a model with modern eyes.  I wonder if time period plays into this, I see Victory doesn't have the full stop on her, but her name looks a lot better since they got rid of the horrible cartouche some years ago.

[RMC]

Hi Alistair

 

I ran out of the letters you kindly sent - the 'U's.   I ended up buying 2 sets of letters just in case, and of course this time I didn't screw up a single letter when I was applying them. (I think using the bamboo skewer (the bamboo is a little softer than the paddle pop stick and being sharper allows you to get into the small impressions between the planks) made the difference.  I now have more letters than I know what to  do with - so if anyone wants them ...

 

...and I will put on the fullstop.

[RMC]

Lucky they didn't use hash tags.

[RMC]

The full stop is now on.  The name is a bit high, but replacing it doesn't bear thinking about.

 

The strip above (2x2mm and 1x1m)has now been attached and seems to have worked out acceptably. It is the same width as the decorative strip supplied and I hope my 'strip' and the kit's which will go on side galleries will not look inconsistent.

 

I have just sprayed that stern panel with polyurethane (the photos were taken beforehand).  The letraset letters are a bit more fragile than the advertising would suggest and the poly should protect them.

 

 

 

I am at the stage now when I can complete the bow and stern decorations.  Once that is done the guns are supposed to go on, then the next deck.  Until now I have been able to put the model upside down to do various bits and pieces. Once the guns etc, are on, it would be difficult to turn the model upside down again.  Can anyone think of anything that can be done now before the thing is irrevocably the right side up?

Edited May 27, 2014 by RMC

[aliluke]

Looks magnificent Bob full stop!

[RMC]

The bow grating and decoration are proceding very slowly.  I found the middle headrails very frustrating. 

 

The first few photos show the completion of the hawse hole and grating.  For those who have not reached this stage, before final fitting make sure you trim and prepare the supports for the gratings so that the decorative trim for the middle and lower headrails is flush with the top of the notches provided.  You will need to put wallnut strip over them later - which I suspect will be very difficult indeed - particularly for the front support.  My solution is shown later.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Preparation for fitting the top head rails.  I got a bit carried away with sanding, but a bit of touch-up paint has already disguised it.

 

 

Here are the headrails dry-fitted.  A bit of touching up needs to be done.

 

 

 

 

 

This is where things turned nasty. It took hours to get the middle headrails fitted and symmetric.  I had not anticipated the need to adjust the notches to receive them.  Doing it on the model was rather fraught.  As well, to enable the wallnut strip to cover the grating supports I found it necessary to file the decorative strip.  The last photo shows this.  Even with this it's going to be difficult. The decoration here looks a bit messy but looks fine on the model.

 

 

 

Edited May 30, 2014 by RMC

[Sailor1234567890]

Now that is a beautiful ship.

[Mirabell61]

Very good looking model Bob,

 

nice and

clean built in all datails

Well done !

 

Nils

[RMC]

Thank you all for your 'likes' and kind remarks.  I have been away for a few days which has at least enabled some of my painting to dry properly.  I am hoping to have the headrails and all the other bits of the bow finished towards the end of the week.

[RMC]

Small warning. 

 

While waiting for still more paint to dry, I decided to partially complete the poop bulkhead assembly - and here is a small trap.  If you are one who, where possible, paints the various components while still attached to the sheets of ply, there may be  a small unpleasant surprise here. There are two sets of Parts 54 and 55.  On the plywood sheet when viewed from any one side the the two sets are (unfortunately) identical.  They should be mirror images.  Having not noticed this, I painted the all of the components on the same side of the plywood sheet and thus the wrong side of one of the sets. I am now waiting for even more paint to dry.

[RMC]

Arthur: I hadn't noticed  the mistake in the instructions on p.11.  I simply read the bits about painting parts 52 and 53, installed them, and passed over the reference to part 46 completely.  I put it down to age. I've been told it has some advantages, though remain to be convinced.