Faraway

Sorry, but not my intention. But not having to work, does give me the time. Jon

Me to, not a lot of contrast between the two colours. Jon

Yup, you are right, I really thought it was spot on, but.......... You can’t see, but it leans a bit to starboard. Just wasn’t my day. Jon

I would, maybe. Jon

Time to reveal my next build. Another Black Cat Models ship, this time from the U.S. Navy. I'me going to paint her in dazzle camo from when she served in Alaskan waters, so the main colour will be white with the camo 'Thayer Blue' (a very pale blue' So, without any more waffle, here is a camo plan I found online And on to the parts. Resin Hull, the detail will be more apparent once it's painted. All the parts are 3D printed. PE and brass masts etc. Work hopefully will commence tomorrow. Jon

And then.....................don't worry we all know the rest. Jon

That is very wise. I am very much inspired by lots of fellow modellers on this forum, and have picked up a huge amount of ‘how to’ knowledge. I think the only ways to really enjoy this hobby, is as you say build to your own standards, built at your own speed, but above all know when to stop fiddling and call it finished. Jon

And nor should you try. I don’t feel I rush them, they just seem to come together at their own speed. I’ve really no idea why people think I build fast, I just do it at a comfortable pace, two or four hours a day. Jon

THAT is something I cannot do. All my life I’ve always had the mind set ‘one job at a time’. Although sometimes, it’s hard not to rush to get onto the next one. Jon

Retirement is a wonderful thing. MY time is MINE, just don’t say this out loud to my wife. Jon

Which as we all well know, is a load of BS. The finish you achieve on your wooden wonders is brilliant. Jon

All done. I've used most of the parts supplied. But I did change the mast from plastic to brass, to make it more sturdy. I added the two davits on the stern, as none were supplied. I added the railings to the gunwales and replaced the plastic ones on the gun platforms all with PE. I replaced the kit guns with two from Black Cat Models 3D printed ones. A few bits and bobs added to the dock and some puddles created with transparent water gel from AK Interactive. Lastly the paint for the deck was Model Air Burnt Umber, then dry brushed with Tamiya XF78 Deck Tan. The hull, deck house and fittings was Colourcoats KM02 Dunkelgrau 51 and KM06 Dunkelgrau 2. Thanks to you all who followed along with this quick build, if you're interested the length of the boat, stem to stern is 67mm Jon

KFK Kriegsfischkutter (Armed Trawler) 1/350 by ICM

Very impressive. Jon

It is indeed, up to the usual Black Cat Models high standards. Jon

I think that’s the point, they don’t soak in much. If they did, then the card/paper would delaminate or distort. Jon

Did you test the paints that were included with the kit ? I thought the ones I got with my HMS Alert kit were quite good. Jon

Bit cold to start, but the frost has melted and the sun has come out, briefly. Today has seen a bit more progress, both gun platforms added, with the from one getting its railings. Life raft and roof added to the wheelhouse. Oh, and I've finished painting the hull. That little lump sticking out of the aft gun platform is supposed to be where the mast is attached, but given that the plastic mast is SO flimsy, I've drilled through here and will add a brass mast. So tomorrow, out will come the soldering iron so I can attach the crosstrees to the mast. That's it for now. Back tomorrow. Jon

Are you going to finish the wings with the hexagonal pattern ? I do hope so. Jon

Interesting. In the last photo, what are those grey lines ? I presume decals, but what for ? Jon

A good days work indeed. Those planks look beautiful, far better then the printed effort. Jon

Cut down trees with that knife, mate.

Another cold, clear and frosty day here, in sunny Somerset and a little bit of progress on my diminutive boat. But first, I've almost finished the quay, I think I'll add a bit of 'stuff' otherwise it's going to look a bit barren. Now, back to the boat. This is the wheel house which had no ladders provided in the kit, so.......... here's one that was a spare from another build. And it fits. Next up. What to do with the gunwale railing stantions ? I did consider attaching some stretchy line along the top. But with after further consideration I decided that I should fit this. And so........ Right, next the deck. I've painted the attached fittings. Then given the planks a coat of burnt umber and then a dry brush of deck tan And fitted the deck to the hull. Finally the two gun platforms These have railings supplied with the kit, but these railings are a bit chunky, so I expect I'll replace them with the same railing as I used on the hull. That's todays progress, see you all soon. Jon

Ah, I understand. It’s not bad on moulded detail, given its diminutive size. The deck planking is fair as you’ll see later. I do think that had it been 3D printed the detail would have been better. Jon

Yup, lots and lots of lovely masking tape. Jon