JohnWS

One more 'awesome' here, Kev. The weathered wood & the brickwork look amazing. Very realistic. John

Hi Rob, Like you, I made up my mind to stay with "old style" scratch building ... until I received the 3D printer as a surprise gift. However, now that i have the printer, I'm committed to give it a go. Taking the time to learn using 3D design software is going to be the major challenge for me. So, it will be interesting to see how quickly I can get up to speed. I just hope this old sea dog can still learn some new tricks. I will keep you posted. John

Awesome work on the details, Steve. I can relate to the amount of time it takes to identify, research, & build those relatively tiny details. It's those details that set your model a part from the mainstream when the project's finished. John

I'm looking forward to watching those builds mentioned above, in 2022. Like past years, I'm not quite as aggressive as others. I have very short modelling list again this year; 1) Finish my HMCS Regina build. 2) Select, learn &, start using a 3D CAD program to support 3D printing. 3) Start using my brand new 3D printer. (a surprise & unexpected gift from our two boys at Christmas) 4) Based on how successful I am with 1), 2), & 3), hopefully I can select my next (unique) modelling project. John

Happy New Year Stuart. She's coming along nicely. John

Happy New Year Dmitriy! 🎉 John

Hi Kev. I like the blue weathered & faded look. I'm wondering if the bottom of the doors should look more weathered, e.g. peeled paint & bare wood slivers showing some rot or maybe some moss growth. Happy New Year to you & your family. Stay safe! John

John

Dmitriy, have a look at this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXbRJX8l_K8&t=135s. There are a few frames showing post-war torpedo colours. John

🎄Same to you & your family, beefy!🎄 John

The hull is coming together nicely, Dmitriy. The turbine exhaust holes set her apart. That 1:1 workshop model is a real beauty, as well. John

I've shut my boatyard down over Christmas. Here's wishing everyone on Britmodeller a Happy Christmas, & a safe & healthy New Year. John

Another gorgeous master build, Rob. She could very easily be mistaken for a much larger scale model. The addition of the crew really brings the small size of these little ships into perspective. John

Another beauty, Rob. Nice job weathering. John

Looking forward to another entertaining build from the master, as well. John

Thanks everyone for the supportive comments. Sorry again, David. Sounds like a helmet with a face mask might be in order. John

beefy, I guess I'll have to loan you my Hubble. lol John

Continuing on with the tiny theme ... I've completed scratch building the two knuckle cranes used for launching & recovering the small rescue RIBs. The cranes were assembled from pieces cut from Evergreen plastic sheet & rod. Here's a photo of the finished cranes, with photo inserts showing the actual crane for comparison. While I was searching for photos of the cranes, I came across a photo of the actual rescue RIB cradle used on Regina, as shown below. My first attempt to build the cradles (described in my earlier post) looked a bit bulky compared to the actual cradle shown in the photo. So, I decided to take on the challenge of replicating the actual cradles. I needed to find some building material that was small enough to build the cradles in 1/350 scale. After digging through my parts bin, I came up with a solution ... photo etched 1/350 hand rails. I was able to cut, bend & glue four sections of the handrails to look similar to the actual cradles. Here's a photo comparing my first attempt at building the cradles to the second attempt using the PE rails. I think the new cradles look much better. ... and a photo showing the new crane & cradle dry fitted on the model's deck. Changing the subject, while researching the knuckle crane & zodiac cradles, I came across the following photo of USS Port Royal, a USN Ticonderoga class of guided-missile cruiser. The photo was taken of her in dry dock in 2009 during repair, after hitting a reef in Hawaiian waters. Notice anything different? Yep, she has a blue bottom similar to Regina's. Looks like the USN was experimenting with the blue anti-fouling paint, as well. Next up for Regina's build, scratch building two Multi Ammunition Soft-kill System (MASS) defensive weapons. Thanks for checking in. Stay Safe! John

Rob, the paint peeling/lifting issue is my worse nightmare. I've mentioned before that I've been using a generic grey automotive primer in rattle can. Dries quickly & hard. sands easily, & most importantly sticks like glue to bare unpainted wood, plastic & resin surfaces. The Scotsman in me likes it too, since it's cheap. I've applied top coats of both oil based & acrylic paint over this primer with no lifting or peeling issues (so far 🤞). The only caution I have (based on experience ) is the the automotive primer shouldn't be applied on pre-painted uncured surfaces (other than coats of the same primer) as it will lift the paint. John

Not quite, beefy! But, just think of the possibilities if it was.

Not too shabby for a sick guy, Rob. Hope you're feeling better soon. John

Stay warm beefy. We've been looking at pics of Northern England's snow. They make our dusting of snow look pretty insignificant ... so far. John

Thanks Rob! For some reason these small scale bits fought my full scale fingers at every turn, not to mention having unintentionally fed the carpet monster. Glad they're done now & put away in a safe place 'til final assembly. John

Thanks everyone for the likes. ... and Kev ... John

Another tiny update. HMCS Regina carries two small two person rescue RIB's amidships, one on each side of the ship. The resin model kit included the two RIB's but did not include the cradles to stow the RIB's on board. I scratch built the cradles using square plastic rod & pieces cut from plastic sheet. To finish off the cradles, I added a tie scrap to each made from wine bottle foil. 🍷 The next photo shows the RIB's & cradles assembled & dry fitted on the model's deck. Next up, I'll be scratch building two Folding Knuckle Cranes used to launch & recover the rescue RIB's. Thanks for checking in. Stay safe! John