GazzaS

Thank you, Peter! The only thing I hate more than poor masking is poor hand painting. And I do both. Anyway... update time. I'm on a long weekend, so I've been nose to the grindstone on the upper works, mostly. Try as I might, I couldn't find a single photo of how the torpedoes were restrained. On most models, they seem to be held in place by friction. In the photo below, you can see that the torpedo is attached to some trolley by two straps or chains. And there are two rails that lead to the torpedo tubes... but none of these are modeled on any kit I have seen. If those rails aren't there... and if there is no crane, it means the guys have to carry them to the tubes... and that just ain't hap'nin. Moving on... These salmon colored patches.... In the Kaiserliche Marine days, a supposedly peach colored linoleum was use on the upper decks of the Kaiser's ships. This linoleum was held down by brass strips. The Japanese were still using linoleum in WWII. Brown linoleum. I have seen the Kaiser's linoleum depicted quite brightly. But I reckon once I hit it with a brown wash, it'll suit my needs for colors that aren't too bright for scale. You'll also notice that the after deck is empty. The kit depth charge rails are just too thick and too tall to be real. And the depth charges... They look more like earth-mover tires. So I'm leaving a minimum of deck furnishings. The barrel of the 20mm AA gun was bent in two places. I replaced with with some fine brass tube. It doesn't look as goods as what might be made by Master... but it will do. All of these parts are just dry fitted by the way. I've already put some black and white oils on a cardboard pallet for tomorrow. I will tell you something... unless you are depicting rust, wood, or linoleum, there is no good reason to use brown, yellow, or red to weather your gray warship. It just looks wrong... So, I'll have to stick with grays. I've already done some subtle color modulation in the deck and hull. Finally, our S-boat has a name. S-Boote 10. It's an easy mask, not a decal. There must have been a lot of different directives on hull markings. I've seen black. White. None at all. ... Anyway... that's it for today. Happy modelling!

That is sharp work, Phil! I like fixing the little things that aren't too complicated... gives me a feeling of satisfaction.

Damn, Carl. So sorry to hear about your hand. I hope the shaking gets better. Have you had your ticker checked? My hands get shaky when I get palpitations. My palpitations are hereditary, even though my father didn't realize he had them until after both my half brother and I found out we had them.

Rob, The recent work looks great! Starting to look like a warship, now. I'm glad you've become un-distracted. On my Grosser Kurfurst build, the brass barrels I put in the lightest guns were too wide for the barbettes... I made them fit... but it kind of helped me take a long break from it. I'm hoping that watching you will help me get into the shipbuilding mood once again.

My condolences, Kevin. The boat is looking awesome and Mavis is one cool lady.

Ammonia based glass cleaner! Please don;t use anything abrasive. Great looking build. I used those kinds of washes once... never again. Oil paint is more controllable.

Good looking work, Martin. Very pleased to see build log from you.

Very nice work, Ernie. As much as I mask... I still prefer a good decal. So much less work and, face it... they usually look the part.

I had all of these in my yard at one time... now down to one.

Sorry for your loss, Ern.

I've dropped my poor torpedoes repeatedly. I fear another drop will result in a rebuild. I painted them today. The Despite the warlike artwork printed on the box by Airfix, this boat is in a prewar configuration. The Reichsadler is still on the upper hull, the mast is still in place, and the armament hasn't been augmented. It would be a major research work to find the proper mountings for her wartime outfit. So, due to it's prewar appearance, I went with practice torpedoes. But they didn't turn out as well as hoped. No masking material I have would hand the curves of the torpedo head. Don't look too close. As usual the red and white have been de-saturated with gray. I'm not sure about the sparkly paint, I will add some pencil shine once a matte coat is down all over the boat. I learned a new form of masochism... Trying to mask low-height deck details. Honestly... If I was gonna design a maritime model kit, all deck details would be added on later. I did some clean-up of the torpedo tubes this week, but still have a long way to go on them.

Welcome to the forum Luke. I'm impressed by your Ki-44. I'm building one, too, but not from scratch. I'm covering mine in foil, and can't tell from your photo whether you've made a metal skin, or not. Hope to see more of your work! Gaz

Looks awesome, Peter. Love it when masking comes off cleanly.

I would just leave the part off. it's way out of scale thickness and would probably be a visual distraction. In 32nd scale, the brave and well-kitted resourceful person might try vacforming the part.

Chris, Here is where your window attachment point.

Armageddon!

Great job, Chris! Lovely result.

Happy Valentines day!

Those cabinets are kick ass.

Nice work, Kevin!

I hate to nit pick. But the Germans had a few captured examples they used. Don't ask me when, how, and what... but Wikipedia told me... so it must be true.

Nice progress on those figgies!

Love the mine!

Wow! Very sharp!