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DocRob

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  1. DocRob
    Thank you Mike. Annealing alters the crystalline structure inside a metal due to applying a defined amount of heat. I use a candle and hold the parts a bit over the tip of the flame, until it changes into a blue color, then I move the part, let the blue wander with the heat, until the part is finished. If you hold it with tweezers or clamps, you have to change position and anneal the clamped section as well. The clamp, tweezer or pliers take the heat and hinder the annealing process. Don't glow the parts, they might receive structural damage, when you do. Sounds complicated, but really isn't and helps a lot, when it comes to bend curves. The brass is less springy after annealing and softer as well. For that reason, I anneal only curved parts, to not loose structural strength. Cheers Rob
  2. DocRob
    The aft mast section took me three days to get there. First the basic construction, than the traverses and finally the railings, which were very complicated to form, following the shape of the masts decks. Without annealing, I couldn't have done it. Half a liter of CA later, the tower construction misses only some antennas, the searchlights and AA-guns and some other minor details, which I will add later. The entire midship section starts to look busy now. There is not that much plastic left and there is more PE to come, along with the boats, davits,... Cheers Rob
  3. DocRob
    Hi Phil, the manual from Eduard is not bad. It mostly shows what plastic has to be removed (a lot) and the placement of the PE is shown mostly correct. There are some detailed plans for the complicated mast construction with a measured side view, that helped a lot. Where the manual lacks, is sequence, which is not overly logical and in case of subassemblies there is non given, you have to figure out the building sequence yourself. As you have to plan the building steps ahead properly, that's not so hard to come by. It seems that your equipment needs a proper update, what will happen, when you run out of masking tape and can't open the lid. My good old Rega Planet CD-player has decent sound quality and no resonance problems with a lid as it has none. You have to manually open the starship Enterprise shaped opening, and put in the CD, no levers no nada. It's like many Rega products a non nonsense product, but a bit unusual. I don't hear Cd's that often and therefore will stay for another while in my rack You say something about good sounding music. It's so nice to hear all the bells and whistles. I don't own too many classic recordings and the Gorecki Sinfonie #3 is on my search list, sung by Beth Gibbons from Portishead. Cheers Rob
  4. DocRob
    The pit looks fantastic, Peter. Quinta sets are great, but it needs a knowing hand to integrate them that well. Cheers Rob
  5. DocRob
    Indeed, one pic is better than thousand words . Cheers Rob
  6. DocRob
    Should be a good start, low part count, only some bits and pieces in PE, but the casting quality is not on par with the Japanese offerings. I built the Fokker D. VIII from Mikro Mir and it needed a bit of scratch building and improvisation. Cheers Rob
  7. DocRob
    Thank you Kevin, hmm, well, ships, yes, I will build others, but I like to do different things. There are so many nice kits in my stash, so many projects in my head. The next will be a ship too, I will rig my wooden sailing ship, the Duchess of Kingston. Cheers Rob
  8. DocRob
    So far, I haven't lost a part Peter, that equals the loss of the complete PE-set, that I can't find anymore, for the originally planned Schnellboot build . Cheers Rob
  9. DocRob
    Fantastic and different looking Corsair John. I love the huge contrast on that bird, makes it look special. Somebody here mentioned during my Corsair build, that the wings fold only simultaneously and not single sided, don't know if that is true. Cheers Rob
  10. DocRob
    Thank you Peter, the mast assembly sans flying bridge is seven centimeters high, really not that large. The CA causes white residues which look very ugly and the annealed parts, well look dark and dirty. Nothing a coat of primer couldn't cover. But before, I have to install all the railings and ladders to this section, but this is for another day. Cheers Rob
  11. DocRob
    More PE-madness was on todays schedule. I wanted to finish the basic construction of the back masts and flying bridge. First was creating the masts, using 2 mm brass tube cut to length like mentioned in the manual. Luckily the manual contains a precise drawing of this subassembly with measurements added. The single aft mast was used to mark the height of the different decks with a pencil and then glue on the first deck, using a steel angle for orientation. Then I added the two decks above with just a drop of CA and put the assembly in it's designated place on the deck and added the other two masts. I tried to do this step as quick as possible, to have some wiggling time, before the CA cured. Later, all was secured with more CA . After all was aligned and the CA had hardened, I added all the traverses to the decks undersides, leaving a very delicate construction. The flying bridge was bent and the circular or rounded parts got bent using a rubber mat and some steel rod, after annealing the brass. Not all looks totally clean after the CA mess, but keep in mind, these pics are heavily macroed and everything will hopefully look proper under primer and paint. Cheers Rob
  12. DocRob
    Thanks for showing Gary, I don't mind having pics of other builds in my log. You never know, what comes of it. Your GK looks absolutely great and these holes for the secondary artillery only show, when heavily macroed. You definitely have a point in assuming a historical scenery and make the ship fit accurately. You have to do a lot of research to get everything right. With the Arizona, I'm absolutely no expert and I will not dig too deep into reference material. With such a well known subject, I'm in the minefield with my approach, but if it looks Arizona in the end, I'm ok with that. The water base looks great and adds a lot of 'real feel'. I will decide later, if I go this route. Figures are planned for the USS Arizona. I have a set of sailors made by Ion, which look really good. Cheers Rob
  13. DocRob
    Thank you Peter and Mike, you should have seen the original plastic . They were some of the worst kit parts, I've ever seen. Cheers Rob
  14. DocRob
    Wow, you did marvels with these pilots Chris, they do look very natural in their poses and are painted very convincingly. Cheers Rob
  15. DocRob
    Congratulations Peter, you not only finished first, but in quality and style as well. Your Arizona bound birdie will be one of the more colorful contributions to the GB and I have to say, it's very high up the wow-meter. You took that good ole' kit and made it look special. My contribution, the platform for yours will take a while longer to be finished . Cheers Rob
  16. DocRob
    My Albatros B.II is on it's way too Bill. Thanks again for your generous offer. I had a Dolphin on Backorder as well, but skipped it. I have too many British fighters in my stash. I bought some sheets of Aviatic linen decals instead, for the Albatros and other projects. I have the early Halberstadt here, which will receive a very complicated paint scheme. Cheers Rob
  17. DocRob
    This is shaping up beautifully. I really like your way, fading the black camo and make it look interesting, which is not easy. Cheers Rob
  18. DocRob
    Patience is the key to this build. While having Youtube videos on about esoteric hifi discussions - sigh-, I spent some hours with these two cranes. Again the fit of the PE is very good luckily and what's left of the plastic needed a heavy dose of cutting and sanding The roundels where annealed, an absolute must to my eye. The deck starts to look busy with all the sub assemblies joined together, at the same time it becomes more difficult to plan ahead considering the later wooden deck application. Every part hasto be checked, if it fits into the pre cut deck openings. Cheers Rob Cheers Rob
  19. DocRob
    Thank you Gary, shipbuilding in these small scales is definitely another cup of tea, but once you're in a groove it's fun and sometimes even rewarding. To see the ship in it's almost entire form put the spurs in my sides again. I'd like to see, what you are doing with the Kurfürst. I have a soft spot for these early vessels and had considered buying the 1/200 Mikasa in the 1902 livery, along with some brass, a very appealing ship to my eyes and a better kit in every aspect for sure. Cheers Rob
  20. DocRob
    Have you never done a super detailed cockpit Peter ? Cheers Rob
  21. DocRob
    Thank you Peter and Chris, with this base kit, it was absolutely necessary to improve. I have no idea, how that piece of junk could have be thrown on the market by a major company. There are parts in the kit, which are so unbelievable ugly, I sometimes can only stare and laugh. Eduard did a good job, addressing the shortcomings with their boxing, luckily. Cheers Rob
  22. DocRob
    Thank you Carl, it's the first time the heap of plastic and brass looks like a ship, which really motivates me to continue. I haven't seen the video about the dio before, but similar ones, possibly by the same creator. He possesses great skills and imagination, to realize his project. I never thought about displaying the Arizona this way. It's maybe a bit hypocritical, but I don't want to show the moment of death of so many sailors. Cheers Rob
  23. DocRob
    My shaky approach to figures is, when I think about a project, I plan for the best possibly available choice of figures, quality wise. I have so many ways to ruin a paintjob, that I don't need figures, which don't support me with detailed and sharp casting, good believable poses and correct sizes. Apart from modifying the position of a hand, I haven't done major surgery to figures though. I know, it doesn't really help with your actual project, its only my planning process considering figures for projects. Cheers Rob
  24. DocRob
    My condolences as well Kevin, I hope modelling relieves the pressures of the losses a bit, when time comes. Your Schnellboot looks great with the mines on. Cheers Rob
  25. DocRob
    Sorry to hear about your hand issues Carl, accidents and other maltreatments sum up with the years as well as different inner problems, like blood pressure , carpal tunnel syndrom or just artritis add to that. Is it advisable with your symptoms to train the hand with rubber balls or other power enforcing. My hands are relatively stable, not that it shows on my skills like figure painting , but I tend to cramp up after a while of micro work and loosening and strenghtening helps a lot. Cheers Rob
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