Landlubber Mike

Wow, that looks great Peter!!

Looking great Rob. I feel your pain. I'm in the same state of mind with my Sikorsky JRS-1 build.

One of my favorite subjects Peter!! Looking forward to this one!

Amazing work Rob! MFH really did a nice job with the assembly of those wheels, look so realistic.

Peter, not to add to the cost of your build, but one thing you might want to consider is adding resin/printed add-ons if you are not going to use the PE. For example, the guns usually end up being a ton of work if you build them up via PE with lots of folds, parts, etc. Veteran, Fine Molds and others make things easier with resin/printed guns that are mostly already complete, with just a few PE parts to add on. Here's an example: Guns can definitely be a lot of work, but things like ammo cases can be just as bad (and painful) as there are usually a lot of them. The kit ones usually are ok, but you can find resin/printed ones that have better detail and you just drop them in without needing to do all the folds (this one is for IJN ships, but I believe you can find them for US as well): These aren't necessarily inexpensive options, but I've actually moved towards buying the ammo boxes as folding dozens of tiny crates is tricky at even 1/350 scale, where you sometimes get those annoying gaps if you don't fold them perfectly.

There are some YouTube videos out there on the device. Essentially, it's more gravity/friction than anything - it does not lock into place (for that, you probably can use a similar rod held by a vice). The ball is really really heavy, and if I remember correctly, there is a rubber pad that helps keep the ball steady. For delicate painting and PE work, I think it can be of big help.

I recently ordered the ANYZ tweezers and they are really nice. I haven't used them yet, but just compared them to my Dumont tweezers and they appear to have a thinner and flatter tip than my Dumont ones. I'll try them out when I next have PE work to do, but I'm expecting that they might end up being my workhorse tweezers. Even better that they cost much less than tweezers from Dumont!

Not sure if they are still in business, but don't buy from North Star directly. They stiffed me on two orders.

Hi Peter, sorry to read your last update. The PE for ship building really is a lot more intense than that for planes, so you really have to enjoy (or be able to tolerate) folding and gluing PE minutia. You could always just build the kit from the box, but then you would be sacrificing a lot of the detail that only PE can deliver. I've built ships at 1/350 and 1/700, and I'm not sure that the PE work is any easier at larger scales. Because things are larger, there are just more tiny details that can be represented by the PE as part of either additional folds or separate tiny PE parts. And destroyers are not easy subjects to start with! I entered 1/350 scale plastic ship modeling with the Shimakaze destroyer and the Infini set (in my signature). I figured a destroyer was small and therefore it should be a simple build, but destroyers have a ton of complicated details that you don't find on the larger ships. Took me a long time to finish that kit as I didn't really know what I was doing. I build another destroyer at 1/700 (the Hatsuzakura, also in my signature), and I'm currently building a third IJN destroyer in 1/700 as part of a diorama of it being repaired by a repair ship after taking damage at Midway. They have many times reminded me of how complicated destroyers are to build. I'd echo what Rob said on tools for any scale ship builds. For me, I'd be completely lost without my Optivisor (with the clip on LED lights). Good tweezers are essential, and most tweezers for modeling are not adequate in the slightest. I have very good tweezers (both regular and reverse action) from Dumont which are used in electronics and science applications. I sometimes use wax pencils to apply tiny PE parts to avoid the dreaded tweezer ping. Folding I use a hold and fold device or the Tamiya tweezers Rob mentioned. It takes a bit of getting used to what tool works better in what application, and after you figure it out, the PE work gets much much easier. In case you are looking for something to help steady your hands, I picked up the Dspiae hand stabilizer which might be something to consider. I also picked up two of their vices which I think will help on building some of the assemblies like the bridges, etc. If you end up getting the urge to try ships again, I can share more of what works for me - tool wise, technique wise, etc. I've tried a lot of things the last few years and have a pretty good system going now.

That looks fantastic Peter! I tend to bounce around a lot on my various builds as mojo wanes, so I completely understand. Glad you found something to pique your interest back up!

Fantastic choice Peter!! I'm in for this one. I've done a 1/350 IJN destroyer (Shimakaze) using the Infini upgrade for it. The Infini sets, at least the one I had, was wonderful and great to work with. It definitely added considerable detail over the kit parts. I actually thought about starting another 1/350 IJN destroyer (Yukikaze) that also has an Infini set to it. I'm happy to help answer any questions you might have as you proceed. Next, we'll need to get you into 1/700 ships 🤔

Those look really sweet Chris!

Very cool Rob! The build of course is jaw-dropping amazing, but those figures are awfully cool too. Nice job!

Check on eBay and the MFH group on Facebook. I've found some good deals there. The FB group in particular I was able to score a couple of kits for a really good deal. Ebay I've only managed to get one or two at a good price, but that was likely because the seller had flooded the site with a bunch of kits and there just wasn't the demand to snap them all up at typical prices. By the way, the parts look fantastic coming out of the tumbler! And one of those parts trays does seem to be a must. Trying to sort all the parts to make sure the kits were complete when they arrived was a real pain.

I remember seeing you picked that kit up. Looking forward to following along as it's a really cool subject. Interesting experience with the tumbler. I have a few MFH kits that I've picked up when I could find an especially good deal. Good to know the tumbler worked out. One more bit of equipment to buy I suppose

This is looking really great Peter. You've made a lot of details pop! I particularly like the brown leather housing for the control yoke!

We have a 4-yr old mini Bernedoodle - he's 30 pounds. Great dogs!

I'm in for this one! What a great scheme!

Wow, that came out incredible!! Must...resist...urge...to start...buying...Sci Fi kits.... 🙈

Looks great Peter! Can't wait to see the decals. Can I ask how you did the propeller? It looks really good. I've been trying to figure out how to break up the black on black propellers, and saw someone took the approach of spraying a very thin coat of brown over it which came out nicely.

If WnW was still in business, this should be the marketing image for the kit. Well done!!

Hey Rob, just caught up on your build. Wow, this is really spectacular! I'm so clumsy with my builds that I'm sure I'd be constantly busting off things on it. The props look fantastic by the way - I've got those pencils and have been meaning to try them out. Delineating the lamination lines by pencil seems must easier than by brush. Hope your back is feeling better my friend!

Nice choice Peter! I love the white tail schemes.

Looking great Peter! Perfect looking foundation!

Wow, that's a beauty! Well done!