JohnWS

Looking great Jon. Although, I'm a little biased toward blue & black disruptive camo schemes. John

Thanks Rob. We're on the home stretch. John

Thanks Stuart. I've learned that 1/350 scale is as small as I can go for scratch building & detail painting. John

Thanks beefy. This kit has been a challenge at almost every turn. I'm really glad that most of the major issues could be resolved. Completing this build is even more satisfying knowing all the unforeseen problems that were fixed, starting with missing parts when I first opened the box to finishing the railings. John

Finally, I've completed painting Regina's PE railings & glued them in place on the model. I ran into the typical problem working with the kit's PE - paint adhesion & chipping. Other PE problems included 1) some of the required PE sheets were not supplied with the model (Once I advised the supplier of the shortages, they were quick to send a full replacement PE set.), 2) the PE supplied was very thin resulting in the PE not keeping its shape after bending, and 3) some of the PE railings supplied were too short to fit properly on the model. Most of the RCN Halifax class frigates' railings have white stanchions connected with flexible black railings. Knowing my problems with PE parts, I still wanted to paint the kit's PE railings to simulate the real ones. I changed the black railing colour to dark grey per a suggestion from a fellow modeller. Luckily, I had some spare PE railing pieces, so I was able to add sections to correct the short parts. Here's a pic showing some of the painted parts - So. after lots of paint chips & repainting, I was able to carefully add the finished railings to the model. Here's a couple of photos showing the end result; Now, the end of this build is really in sight. Next up, I'll be adding the flag lanyards, aerials & other rigging. Thanks for checking in. Stay safe. John

Funny, I've never thought about, but I'm left handed & have always displayed my models showing the starboard side. Go figure. John

York is coming along great beefy. John

Rob, sorry to hear that you're still feeling the effects of the flu. The Cruel Sea is one of my fav's, as well. If you feel the urge to do a little more reading about Corvettes & the Battle of the Atlantic, here's a few other books I like; Three Corvettes - by Nicholas Monsarrat (does his name sound familiar? :-)) - It's a collection of 3 short books published during WWII. The Corvette Navy - by James B. Lamb - A collection of true stories from Canada's Atlantic war. The Battle of the Atlantic - by Terry Hughes & John Costello - a documentary examination Battle of the Atlantic campaign. And if you ever get the 'eh' urge to learn more about the Canadian Navy's role during WWII - Far Distant Ships - by Joseph Schull - all 515 pages. BTW, HMS Mignonette is looking really good. Hope you feel back to normal soon. John

Works for me, too. John

Very nice, Jon. "When the going gets tough, the tough get going" John

I've taken a break from painting and mounting Regina's railings and focused on another tiny scratch building project for Regina - the Hammerhead Unmanned Surface Vehicle. HMCS Regina and other Canadian frigates carry two of these 'vehicles' mounted one on top of the other, in a rack located on the port side amidships. What is a Hammerhead Unmanned Surface Vehicle you ask? Well, I did a little digging & found that these small craft (17 ft. long) are used for tactical training scenarios at sea. They are remotely controlled & equipped with a 3.0L four cylinder engine, capable of propelling them up to 40 knots at sea. The Hammerhead can be equipped with smoke, flags, strobe lights, naval navigational lights, flares, and forward looking IR signatures, radar and forward looking video. These craft are used to train warship crews in fending off attacks by small enemy speed boats, similar to those currently used by terror groups in the mid east. Here's a pic of the actual craft & my attempt to scratch build them; Now back to the railings. Thanks again for looking in. Stay safe. John

Sometimes I feel that the PE supplied for the railings is an afterthought. I'm currently dealing with similar issues on my Regina build. In my case, the supplied PE is very thin & flimsy. They bends too easily & don't hold their shape very well. My instructions aren't very detailed, so I'm having to use photographs for railing shape & placement. This has resulted in many supplied railing sections being too short. Luckily the manufacturer sent me an extra set of PE so I'm modifying the supplied railing sections to get the right length. John

Gee, and I thought the flag was on upside down. John

How true! Looking forward to another one of your gems Rob. John

Nice work beefy. The PE detail iooks very impressive. John

My wife likes making the rounds of local antique stores/markets with me tagging along. Every once in while I'll see one of those unique out-of-producttion jewels. John

Looking forward to following along Jon. Like you, I'm a fan of the different & unusual. John

Thanks Rob. The eyes are coming in handy when trying the add the handrails ... & repainting the chipped paint. I'm going to stick with the static rotor blades. My excuse is that a number of my reference photos of the helicopter coming in for a landing show the rotor blades with only a very small amount of blurring.at the edges. I feel duplicating this look at this scale is beyond my skill level, new eyes & all. e.g. John

Thanks Stuart, much appreciated. John

Hello again! A quick update showing the current status of the HMCS Regina build. I've assembled the main mast adding the radar antennas, communication equipment & a camera. The main mast and the midship pole mast have been glued in place Here's a closeup of the masts glued in place. I'm getting close to finishing the build. Only the PE hand rails, rigging, paint touch up & a couple of small details are left. Thanks for checking in. Stay safe! John

Great work David. When you said you're going to add interiors, my chin hit the floor. Looking at the photo of the 'big bit', the first thing that came to mind was that it would be a great idea for a dining room table. She's a real beauty ... or should I say an awesome beauty. John

Funny, my wife has the same impression about the man flu. They must learn that at wife school. Hope you're feeling better Rob. John

Hi David, We've been in the middle of a deep freeze here for the last couple of weeks & all my spiders have gone into hibernation. But, I'm very sure you will be able to handle it. I'm looking forward to seeing what awesomeness you will achieve building the mast. BTW, nice work on the aircraft. Regards, John

Thanks for providing the model detail summary Rob. As aways, your summaries provide new (for me) information regarding building tips and techniques. Speaking of blue duffel coats in winter, reminded me of a photo of my Dad standing dockside next to an RCN corvette. John

Another beauty Rob. John