agyoung33

Hey Jeff and Rob, thanks for the encouragement! I think what drives me to try building ship models is the challenge of "looking closer". Making the illusion of noticing more detail than at first, second and third glance! Hey Stuart go for it! Mind, I've always been one for adding detail that the manufacturer decided wasn't fit to see the light. It's made for some very lengthy armour builds in the past. Hopefully this one can be quicker in execution! Cheers Gary

Hey nice one Jeff! Told you I'd get around to following one of your builds - even though I'm months late! And what a build! Right! I'll just quietly amble back to the back of the hall! Cheers Gary

Wow, what a beauty - and what a tremendous job you're doing as well! I'm going to get one of these sometime - I think it blows every other 1/700 scale 'Hood out of the water! Happy holidays to you! Gary

Well, it's been a long time coming - apologies for that. Life etc has been busy and I'd forgotten just how obsessive modelling can be..... Anyway, this set of photos will show you the progress I've made since last August. I delayed the full blown onset of etch for as long as possible, trying to do small increments which would help train my fingers and tweezers. I've got to say I wasn't expecting just how susceptible the brass is to being bent out of kink. Ah, the pleasures of doing something over and over again. Thankfully, the WE models brass set for the Sheffield class includes 2 of everything. What I messed up could either be recovered, or if frustration got the better of me, retried using the second set. Well, what have I been doing then? Alot of photo study. One thing led to another in this case. I first wanted to add detail to the open deck below the helicopter pad. Then the photos gave me a kicking when I realised that the transom is considerably squared off when compared to the batch 1+2's. So, I squared that off before continuing in my search for the elusive space below the helo pad. I ran through what must have been 100 pics, slowly getting an idea of what may have gone where. The only thing I'm sure of is the ladder, and 2 of the 3 door positions. I had to carve away into the back wall to get it to sit at right angles to the deck. I doubt if this is at all visible when everything else is in place but, you know.....It also kind of struck me that it would've been easier to have puttied and sanded back the stern before putting the fragile detail in. I blame the glue. I decided to get the rails up in the heli bay as a way of acquainting myself with the my journey into further brass nightmares. There's a fair bit of wonk, but I comforted myself with the fact that nobody will ever know.....And it was good practise. This led me on to the fore and mainmast. Found these incredibly hard. How you are to fit 3 spindly legs that each piece rested on to the masts was certainly at that point out of my league. So, I cheated by only using 1 leg and the base. Again, the photos relating to the actual ship meant having to improvise, as the number of yards changed as the ship was upgraded. This was the spot where I was thankful for the "spares" found in the PE fret. As an added bonus, it initially took about 2hrs to attach a pair of yards, getting quicker as I got used to it. Emboldened, I added detail onto the stack as well. Except it isn't covered by the PE set, so I decided to invest in some home made metal wire I had lying around. (ball point pen spring flattened and annealed). This seemed to do the job and was easier to handle than the soft brass of the PE set. Abit thick, but I wasn't caring too much for that at the time. It will handle the rigging. Progress is slow, but getting quicker. I fitted the fairleads and the towing hook (since the kit didn't have them) and replaced the mooring bollards, all from plastic sheet and rod. As she stands without small detail bits. I've started detailing the 4.5in gun installation. More bits of plastic sheet, a piece of rod for the barrel and PE ladders I'm afraid. I've also experimented on the next builds hull - a plating "thing" using primer and masking tape. I wanted to go for more detail on this kit - I still want to simulate some form of "oil canning" and may have come up with an idea to get it subtly done. Till next time and hope you had a nice break. Cheers Gary

Been a long week of work, which has dragged on into the evenings in most cases. However, I did manage to do some research, and found a rather decent pic and article on the transom flap that the Manchester was fitted with, circa 2007. Here's the link for interested parties. https://autodocbox.com/Diesel/66084315-Retrofit-of-transom-flaps-to-rn-warships.html It's about halfway through the article, which starts with similar work done to a Type 21 (I think?) Please excuse the sometimes substandard photography. I used to have a camera I could focus manually which was fantastic for getting into the nooks and crannies. The pics that follow are me experimenting with a "zoom focus" app on my phone. So far, its crashed after each pic.... Anyway here is my "rendition" of the transom flap in plastic. I found that the transom wasn't "flat" on the model, and had to build it up alittle for my plastic bits to fit properly. Another round of plastic cutting occurred when I thought it would be a good idea to have the helo hanger open. A chance to put some innards in. The etch has gone better than expected. I went out and got a decent pair of tweezers, rather than stick with the clapped out ones I have. And using a tooth pick end after dabbing it into a ball of blu-tac seems to be the way to pick up small bits of brass hassle free. My present thinking in terms of build order would be - build the etch yard arms and set them aside. Tape the hull up and spray primer to simulate hull plating and then continue applying the deck colour. Mask and apply light grey to the sides etc. Glue the railings and etch radar - I can't see myself not knocking off railings etc, if I was to build them at this point. What do you think? Gaz

Thanks Geoff! Yeah I had a decent look online at the sprues, and sure enough - it wasn't just my deteriorating eyesight. In other news, I note, with a shake of the head, that Cyberhobby are putting out a 3 in 1 box of Sheffield class destroyers. Build any ship from all 3 batches..... Anyway, we'll keep on with this since I've started!

Hiya Jeff - it's all tools in the "tool bag" - something will pop up and if the tool is there - sweet - so don't sweat it mate! I've always felt scratch was the imprint of yourself into a project; it makes it unique so that's always cool! Each to their own! I was around Perth for a few days about 2yrs ago - had a job up in Kalbarri for afew months. Beautiful countryside but hotter than sin! Perth is a beautiful city too - its got a vibe different to the eastern seaboard. Cheers Gary

Thanks David! Yeah, those bloody walkways... I've already broken them afew times now! Kirov's? Absolute stunner of a design. There's one in the closet too.... Cheers Gaz

Thanks guys! I'll hopefully be moving on to some of the other closet cloggers in due course ~ there's afew Ww2 battleships waiting their turn! In the meantime it's back to the "answer"! I'll have to take a gander at some of your builds Jeff for ship wrangling tips! Chees Gaz

Well okay. The boring bit about myself. I've been building 1/35 armour on and off for years, but this time around the block I thought I'd really try and challenge myself. And so a foray into ships! I've got to say I'm excited - I've always loved the idea of building miniatures of these huge chunks of steel and although I've owned ship kits for years, I've only once or twice managed to finish one. The kit I've chosen to learn on is the Revell rendition of HMS Manchester, put out in 1998 and supposedly a repop of a Dragon kit. There are spaces in the sprues because the build has been going on for the last month or so. There are 3 sprues altogether, but one of them is taken up by the stand and name plate and propeller shafts ect. So in reality really only 2 sprues. Part of sprue B, which is in the main weapons, more than half of which won't be used. I only have armour kits to measure sharpness against these sprues; but I seem to remember Dragon being very crisp. These seem alittle hazy/chunky in detail. Any opinions? I used to love scratching pieces for my armour kits out of different materials; copper/tin foil, but mostly sheet styrene. But 1/700 means much less scope for that. Only one sheet, but having never built a ship using etch this will be a big learning experience. The build so far - major structures blu-tacked together. I've gone to the point where I need to get with the etch and start sticking it on. Or, I could procrastinate and paint the hull.... CONS so far. I am abit disappointed with the kit. There were some pretty huge sink marks in the upper hull, especially near the bow. The funnel, and a box just after the main radar post had minor, but annoying sink marks as well. I'm not sure as to the initial fitting out of the Manchester, but going by the pics I have (these are admittedly late in her career I think), there seemed a need to change the upper deck walkways (excuse the non sailor lingo); movement of the inflatable boats and their cranes to the correct position, deleting and adding different weapons. All this has also resulted in a fair amount of time on the sanding block, AND cutting sheet styrene in an effort to compensate. PROS so far I'm enjoying the build. The stretch 42's just has to be one of the most eye catching of warship designs. It's a beauty, and it's slowly coming together. AND I'm cutting styrene again! Who'd a thought! Gaz

For me one of the positives of gluing extremely small bits of thin brass to my fingers is that at least I'll know where it is.... Gaz

Thanks very much for the warm welcome Steve, Dennis, Chris, Herrick, Lee, Bertie, Arnold, and John!! Fantastic to be here. Right! Where's the plastic!! Cheers Gary

How are you doing? Its been a few years since I last built and painted a model - busy as heck and a detour into boardgames meant a time squeeze. Anyway, I used to build 1/35 armour - and unsurprisingly there's afew unfinished builds from last time - one of my things was doing some scratch. But, it seems this time I'm destined to give, well, attempt, 1/700 ships. I've always thought PE at that scale was the preserve of the mad genius.... Gaz