leighivansmith

Hi folks, Been very busy but managed to fit time in to finish this nice little kit my wife got me for Christmas. A very nice kit and well worth the effort. enjoy. Thanks for looking.

Hi all, I have been working hard on our house since the move but I have found the time to squeeze in a few small projects here and there. A failed attempt at a train (lost bits during the move), a couple of Battlestar Viper models that I enjoyed and then this…the RMS Titanic 1/700 from Revell. Overall I really enjoyed the build, not too many issues to sort. A bit fiddly in places and the transfers went all silver on me (against the black) – if anyone has any ideas on this please let me know! For your enjoyment. Thanks for looking. Leigh.

Hi Ferg, There is lots of information around on the correct colours for your hull...after a bit of trial and error, I settled on a few different greys from Vallejo Air range. I don't think they are quite true but they do display very well. I also used oils to weather the grey so it was not so uniform... One thing I will say, you need plenty of paint to cover the hull and structures! Enjoy your build, post pictures as you go. Always keen to see what folks are working on. thanks, Leigh.

Hi all, anyone had a crack at this kit? just pulled it out of my stash and took a closer look - does not look massively difficult but the detail seems very good. wondering if a build thread was in order... thanks, Leigh.

sorry for the time away - moved house so been very busy with the move. I thought the Eduard set was very good but it was my first time using this type of detail on a kit. I need to get on and finish this one :-)

I have tried (and failed) to produce something of this kit on three separate occasions…seeing what you are doing is really inspiring me to have another go! Fantastic work and really looking forward to seeing it develop

I have to say that I am really enjoying building this up but this month has been the hardest to push through - very small parts for building, PE, painting (very difficult by airbrush) then weathering...hours turn into very little progress but when it all comes together - well worth the effort! Here is where I was at about middle of July This is a sample of the small parts - next time round I think I will start with these bits and put them to the side finished :-) Anyways - onto the show and where I am today - Enjoy: So I did not like the kit part or the PE part for the chain - so I ordered some small scale chain and had a go at the above - not historically correct (could not get chain this small exactly the same) but a vast improvement on how the other parts looked. Main guns removed to allow access to fit all the smaller parts - something I will remember for the next kit I do... Up close detail... A quick detour to check out a fun mini build: back on with the show: Thats it for the up close shots - I think it is coming on nicely Almost ready for the display case - now...about that base........ Stay tuned and thanks for looking.

Hi Brad - the deck was built up using primer (grey), Vallejo yellow model air (Orce 033) then I used Mig oils thinned to give it colour and texture... Shadow brown to highlight the decks and take the shine off the yellow. Brick red (very thin) to give some colour to the decks and finally a bit of black in places. Finished off with a vallejo matt varnish (vallejo gloss varnish between the oils)... I am not sure if it is "true" to the deck colour it should be but it looks very nice. The only thing I will do different in future - paint all the decks at the same time ;-) I have actually been having a right game with the small guns! any tips on how you can hold very small parts for painting? I have tried masking tape but they keep coming loose..

Hi folks - kinda following on from this thread... I shall be moving in the near future giving me more room to display my models. I am really after a cabinet rather than an individual case as I have a few to put out... Enjoying the 1/350 scale ships at the moment so it needs plenty of space - any suggestions? thanks, Leigh

Hi everyone, Thanks for the comments and keep them coming - been a little while since my last update but progress is being made - enjoy! Guns Guns Guns....plus some extra bits. I did assemble the wave breaker but I did not like the PE so decided to finish the Revell part. Not stuck down yet hence why it is up a little Both cranes in as are the smaller guns on the decks. All of the guns have brass barrels along with plenty of extra PE detail. Still some steps to finish (tonight)... thanks for looking.

Thank you very much for the kind comments and the tips on the PVA. I was a little doubtful at first (as I had tried PVA previously without success) but the slight thinning and a touch more patience for it to grab and the results are very good! I had already finished the railings (see the pictures below) but I will use this on my next ship. It is working well on some of the remaining detail I have to do. I am learning loads on this first ship build and beginning to plan the final result. Your comments and tips are helping me massively! Now on with a few update shots: Starting to look the part! Finally - a go at PVA on some PE I am not sure the photo captures it well but there is almost no sign of any glue at all! Very pleased! Thanks, Leigh.

Folks - need some help here. I have finished applying rails to the decks and I am quite pleased with the result but the CA I have been using is a real pain to get in the right places. I have read that some folks are using a high-strength PVA glue to do the job - I have tried some PVA glue but that was useless. I was thinking of trying the No more nails express PVA glue as it dries clear and is very thick for application. For those folks who have already tried / using PVA glue, what are you using and what should I be looking for? thanks, Leigh.

Wow - just wow. Some very cool techniques used in the build as well!

Really good finish.

Well folks - it has been a while but things are moving in the right direction: enjoy A few bits of PE and I thought it was nearly finished....WOW this turned into a beast!! I am very please with how this turned out, here is how it looks on the main deck. Not going to glue it today as the deck it fits onto needs some additional railing attached... here is the last bit of progress so far - a couple of bits attached to the main deck. Keep your comments coming and thanks for looking. Leigh.

How are you planning to paint the build? I am interested in the colour scheme but also how you are planning to tackle it with so much construction completed? I have been working through the Bismarck by painting as I build but I see lots of folks on here building much futher ahead then painting. The paint jobs always look fantastic but there is so much detail that masking tape would just rip it apart...is there a trick I am missing?

I use the Vallejo model paint as well as the model air - the model air range is just pre-thinned for airbrushing. Check out the ratio of paint to thinner you are using - I start with a 70:30 (paint to thinner) and work up from there... it may sound a little strange but I have also found that a drop (single drop) of airbrush cleaner mixed in helps it go on as well - although, not always required.

saw your update regarding the Voyager paint job... The same problem happened to me when I was trying to spray my Voyager - actually made me just finish it off and put it to the side (not happy with the result). I am not sure what you are using for spray but at the time I had a compressed air can and a bottom loading airbrush - The issue I had was the bottom loader picked up too much paint and I could not control the pressure of the air... As a result of the voyager incident, I purchased a cheap (£60) compressor that came with two simple airbrushes. I also purchased a cheap (£20) top loading 0.2mm airbrush... After much practicing on a couple of models, the difference is fantastic - I get control of flow onto the kit and it works well with vallejo paints... a long way of saying that the problem (in my case) was caused by too much paint and uncontrolled pressure...

wow - really liking how this is coming together.

Very nice finish - I thought the build thread was great as well.

Thanks for the comments folks - I may pick up a few bits this evening and carry on (the BSG Viper MkII is making good progress though....but filler might need to dry this evening). As you can expect, that bottle of grey has had quite a bit of use of late - as such, all markings have come off the bottle! - I believe it is the Light grey 71-050. This is a little bright when it goes on but I wash with black (very thin) and then dry brush some faded white over some of the edges...this has quite a nice effect.

After posting the completed model, I did some research into decal softners and some folks suggested that clear vinegar was as good as any products they tried... since that was stocked at the local supermarket (for 50p) thought it was worth a shot. applied it to a decal that I quickly dropped onto another kit and this was the result: not sure if it is clear or not but it did help pull it into the cracks (with the help of a toothpick)...anyone tried this before? did not seem to damage any paint under the varnish...

i have the revell viper mk II on the bench now...with a bit of PE as well. the Bismarck may have to wait a bit longer :-)

Hi all, A quick out of the box kit to work on - no extras. Fitting is not too bad but I did have to wait a few weeks for replacement parts to come from Revell (if you have this kit, check the engine bits are ok as I have seen a few folks have had the same issue). All in all, very enjoyable and a nice break from the big build I am working on. enjoy. Although the photos might not show it, it does have a slight highlight / lowlight in areas rather than just a flat colour. I would love to know how folks are getting transfers to "suck" into any cracks on the kit...I tried varnish (Vallejo), decal medium and even a tooth pick but nothing made them stick! I know many builds have taken to a much deeper blue, I decided on a lighter shade mixed with some steel...what do you think? All the best. Leigh.

I got replacements sent from Revell in Germany - no questions and no photos required. Reported the problem and 4 weeks later the replacements arrived in the post. Another example of excellent service if anyone has misplaced the reciept (as I did).