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Bangor Lad's Boatyard


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Ok, here we go.

 

This is Meng Models' 1/700 USS Lexington. Must admit that when I bought it I hadn't realised it was a 'no glue' snap together kit! Moulded in four colours it reminds me a bit of Matchbox but with more sensible colours!

 

image_zpsxuwhvvag.jpeg

 

To to be honest it's a well engineered kit with a good level of detail considering the low part count and the simplified construction. All told it took about three hours to put it together.

 

I've come to the conclusion I'm not going to do any extra detailing on it but will concentrate on trying out a few paint and weathering techniques as soon as I get a chance.

Cheers

Edited by Bangor Lad
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I managed to get a little done to Lexington this morning. I couldn't get on with the different coloured plastic so I applied an overall coat of Halford's primer to give a better base to work on.

 

DSCF3095_zpsoq55rtkn.jpg

 

Now that the colour has been unified I think you can appreciate the model better IMHO.

DSCF3097_zpsphjjrgvp.jpg

 

The undercoat has helped highlight a few gaps hat need to be dealt with. You can also see that some of the details are a but crude but what would you expect from a snap-together kit. That said the overall moulding quality is pretty good in my view. I'd already decided not to do any additional detailing but focus on a half decent paint and weathering job.

DSCF3098_zps8dw54xlh.jpg

 

DSCF3099_zpsdkfeyjw2.jpg

 

Thanks for looking.

Cheers

 

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This will  be a small diorama of Ark Royal following her being torpedoed.

 

Both are Airfix's 1/1200 kits. I'm going to use the Tribal as basis for a conversion to HMS Legion which was in attendance and took off many of Ark Royal's crew.

DSCF0447_zpsbpxpunip.jpg

Ark Royal will be set into the foamboard surface to show her list to starboard.

Cheers

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3 hours ago, TheBaron said:

I will look forward to seeing the Ark Royal piece develop.

Tony

Cheers Tony

This project has been bubbling away for some time. Tha images of the Ark following her torpedoing have inspired this idea. Hope I can do her justice.

 

Edited by Bangor Lad
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  • 3 weeks later...

Well, I got a bit of painting done yesterday but not as much as I had hoped to get done as my airbrush was playing up when I changed colours.

DSCF3215_zpsrobk3dcp.jpg

 

Had a bit of bleed on the other side and found a seam that needs attention on the bow too! Hope to sort these out by next weekend when I hope to get the flightdeck painted.

Thanks for looking!

Cheers

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  • 1 month later...

I wasn't at all happy with the way brush painting the flight deck turned out so, last night, out with the masking tape...

IMG_2243_zpsaxspsfpz.jpg

Followed by a quick repaint with Lifecolor Deck Blue through the airbrush and I was much happier :D

DSCF3281_zpsm9gjlona.jpg

 

I added a little pale grey to the mix to introduce a bit of tonal variety to the deck which will be weathered before the aircraft arrive.

 

Thanks for looking!

 

Cheers

Edited by Bangor Lad
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It's coming on well but Deck Blue is the wrong Blue to use on the flight deck. Deck Blue should be used on all decks except the flight deck which should be painted with the No 250 Blue Flight Deck Stain colour, which is lighter. Later in the war, the carriers had their flight decks stained with a darker Blue, similar to Deck Blue. See the link below for all the USN WW2 ship painting info you would probably ever need.

 

http://www.shipcamouflage.com/specialtopics/BlueFlightDecks.html

 

thanks

Mike

Edited by Mikemx
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1 hour ago, Mikemx said:

It's coming on well but Deck Blue is the wrong Blue to use on the flight deck. Deck Blue should be used on all decks except the flight deck which should be painted with the No 250 Blue Flight Deck Stain colour, which is lighter. Later in the war, the carriers had their flight decks stained with a darker Blue, similar to Deck Blue. See the link below for all the USN WW2 ship painting info you would probably ever need.

 

http://www.shipcamouflage.com/specialtopics/BlueFlightDecks.html

 

thanks

Mike

My mistake, I posted while away from my workbench and couldn't check exactly what I'd used. Colour used is Flight Deck Blue, slightly lightened. Thanks for the link but it's a gnarly subject isn't it? I'm happy with the way it's turning out but by the time I've done some weathering with washes, dry brushing, pastels etc Lord knows what colour it will end up as.

Cheers

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17 minutes ago, Bangor Lad said:

My mistake, I posted while away from my workbench and couldn't check exactly what I'd used. Colour used is Flight Deck Blue, slightly lightened. Thanks for the link but it's a gnarly subject isn't it? I'm happy with the way it's turning out but by the time I've done some weathering with washes, dry brushing, pastels etc Lord knows what colour it will end up as.

Cheers

 

At least it's Blue, some people make awesome USN WW2 carrier models but make the big mistake of painting the flight deck in natural wood. If you could be bothered you could have some small patches of natural wood showing through, where there has been more use. I need to get my Trumpeter Lexington done, I've got specific etch for it and a replacement bridge. The worst thing about the Meng Lex (and indeed the Trumpy Lex) is the moulded on flight deck netting, which looks far too thick.

 

thanks

Mike 

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1 hour ago, Mikemx said:

 

At least it's Blue, some people make awesome USN WW2 carrier models but make the big mistake of painting the flight deck in natural wood. If you could be bothered you could have some small patches of natural wood showing through, where there has been more use. I need to get my Trumpeter Lexington done, I've got specific etch for it and a replacement bridge. The worst thing about the Meng Lex (and indeed the Trumpy Lex) is the moulded on flight deck netting, which looks far too thick.

 

thanks

Mike 

True. I've seen some fantastic US carriers but with decks that wouldn't look out of place on Antiques Roadshow! I'm going to have a go at getting some wood showing through.

Cheers

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9 hours ago, beefy66 said:

Very neat paint job so far should look well with a and pastels  :yes:

 

beefy

Cheers, Beefy

Looking forward to having some time to crack on with this one.

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