Faraway

Don. If you read this, have a good break, take care and come back to us when you are ready. Jon

Well, that scrubbed up well, lovely job. So nice to see something that isn’t bristling with guns. Jon

Still moving slowly aft. Winch, railings, DC and a gun. Jon Out of interest, when building do you chaps listen to music or what else ? Me, I listen to the radio sometimes or more usually Audio Books. The one I'm listening to at the moment is HMS Ulysses by Alistair MacLean, and what a story this is. I've read the book, but this performance is superb. Jon

Excellent, if I hadn't seen you build the hull, I'd never guess it was scratch built. Jon

ANOTHER 1/700 ? And this time with helicopters ? Jon

1/700 ? A destroyer ? I don’t think I could even see that small, but I do love watching these little ships take shape. All praise to you chaps who build them. Jon

And so, I've got to bend the railing to fit the platform. It worked, and a lot better than I was expecting. So, now I can fit most of the remaining bits to the mast. There are still a couple of bits to fit below the platform, but, they must wait until the mast is in place as the mast goes through a part of the bridge. I'm just waiting for the glue to dry and then give it a coat of paint. There is also a radar antenna to go right on the top, but that will be the very last part after this build is finished. For the obvious reason. Jon

Jeff. PVA is a thought, araldyte is good but wasteful when end up mixing four times more than you need. Jon

Michal, thanks. The deck was a done using a sheet of 1/700 scale self adhesive wood decking. I was going to use 1/350 scale, but the planks were too wide. Jon

Yes, but the hole is very slightly larger than the diameter of the mast. If it doesn’t hold I’ll use epoxy on the underside, where it won’t show. Jon

The midships has filled up nicely. So, for a slight change in direction, I thought I'd make a start on the masts. Can't beat the smell of hot soldering iron on a Sunday afternoon. Now, I've got a bit of build planning to do. These are the instructions for the main mast. As you can see, there are one or two bits to fit to it. The first part, simply because the mast goes through a hole, is the searchlight platform. I've pinned it down, as you can see, but I need to support it somehow, as the mast doesn't go through the centre, but is slightly offset. And sadly I can't solder plastic to brass, so the first go is CA. I might have to resort to Epoxy, as this platform has railings fitted to it, and I'm not sure how good the CA bond is going to be, to stand much handling. That's it for today, but everything is coming together nicely. Jon

For paint, you might want to consider https://www.sovereignhobbies.co.uk/ Very accurate colour. Jon

Thanks. I’m just glad I don’t have to fill them with clips. Jon

Out ? You mean outside ? Surely not ? Jon

I’m thinking structural

The circular thing-a-m-bobs went into the gun tubs without too much drama. And the funnel deck housing is now in place. Funny little funnel.

I would guess 6” or 7” Jon

Jeff. I wouldn’t know where to start, I’ll stay as I am. Jon Actually there are three, you missed those who have no intention. Jon

Looking very good, I do envy you chaps who can scratch build. Jon

Indeed, but I’m thinking some of the larger ones might be due for the “breakers”. As I much prefer the smaller ships to the rufty tufty battleships. Jon

I think we all start with aeroplanes, simply because there is a HUGE selection of them, next is AFV another HUGE selection. But when you get to ships, then the selection starts to thin out a bit. But having watched some of the builds of ship models, take shape on here, I tried one and haven’t looked back, which is becoming a slight problem.(see photo above) Jon

Well that's easy for you to say.

I recently built this..... I’ve looked at this kit a few times, I’ll be interested to see how it comes out. Hope this is of some help, should you need any, that is. To get a good finish on the wood and sail, lots of dry brushing. Jon

I've added the rest of the bridge with its various controls, also, some 'bobs buckles' in preparation for the rigging. The next step will be to add the 'midships' superstructure and add detail to it. AND THEN for my sins, I have to try to fit these Into the two gun tubes.

The hand wheel is 1mm dia. and the overall height is 2mm. Jon