Ray S

Yes, Jeff, very true. I have done that in the past and regretted it. Nowadays it depends on the subject that I am building - the more important it is to me, the more I will do to make it as good as I can. Today was a day dealing with fiddly stuff. On went a representation of the anchor chains (an old White Ensign etch set used rather than the Combrig chains), four loading davits (super delicate) and the port forward railings (Atlantic Models superfine) which were even more delicate. With the railings, I had to cut a section out of the bottom 'rail' to go over an etch platform forward, so I trimmed that out and the railings above it collapsed! Thankfully I was able to straighten them, and it was my fault. However, I neglected to trim out another section for some bollards a bit nearer the bow, and I said 'oops' or something similar. I was again thankful that I was able to pull the railings off (the thin smear of PVA hadn't grabbed yet), trim out the offending base (very carefully this time!) and reattached the rails. I left it at that for the day while my nerves settled. The railings are so fine they hardly show up. That is it for today, thanks again for looking, Ray

That is a fabulous result on a great looking ship. I hope mine comes out as well as yours has. Having the underwater hull really shows off the character of the ship which can never be seen with a waterline one. I do wish there was that option on all 1/700 model ships, especially from the pre-WWI era. All the best, Ray

Hello all, thank you for the kind thoughts that have been said. As regards HMS Gloucester, I was not overly happy with the masts that I had soldered up, so today I gave it another go, and now have this: The pair on the left are the originals, on the right the new ones. I think the new ones look better, they are certainly more robust now. The lower foremast yardarm was slightly twisted fore/aft, but I have been able to correct that. I will give them a bit of a wash shortly to remove any flux that is left, so they should not get blemished later. That was a big step, and feel happier now. Thanks for looking, Ray

Hello all. I am currently trying to build a 1/700 WWI Light Cruiser, and need to scratch build the masts. The manufacturer suggests 0.6mm rod for them. Ideally, I would like to rig the ship too, so that would mean that I need some structural strength. I have tried soldering some 0.5mm brass rod to create them, but they seem to be a little flimsy. Going online, I find that 0.6mm brass rod is rarer than hen's teeth. Albion Alloys for example do 0.5 then 0.8mm. However, Phoenix Precision Paints do some 0.6mm Brass Wire. In their illustration... https://www.phoenix-paints.co.uk/products/0-90909 ... it looks like rod to me. The question is, would 'wire' be less stiff than 'rod'? Any help would be greatly appreciated if any of you have used the 'wire'. I do have 0.6mm plastic rod which I could use if I chickened out of rigging (or came to my senses more like), but I would prefer to rig. Albion Alloys do have 0.6mm Nickel Silver rod - would that solder the same as brass? This is what I have managed to do with the 0.5mm brass rod At a pinch, I could always redo them and try to solder them more solidly. Many thanks for reading this, any advice will be greatly appreciated. Ray

Hello all/ Crikey, it is over two and a half years since I did anything to this ship! I had put this on hold as I was getting stuck with over-thinking some of the many perceived problems that were lying in wait. Over the last few months, I have had a bit of a reality check and found things that were much more important than modelling. Both parents were in hospital, and Mum passed away on Easter Sunday. During that time I was pretty much a full-time carer before they went into hospital within 36 hours of each other, but then modelling became a sanity-saver for me. Having just finished another kit, I did not really want to start a new kit, and I remembered that I had this one on the go. Today I have added the final two funnels (rigging will follow), their required steam pipes and funnel grilles. A bit of paint has been added, and I finally have a four-stacker-looking ship on the slipway: I have also added some of the bridge furniture and the searchlights on the bridge platform. One broke when I trimmed it from the pour block, but it soon got repaired. I need to re-touch some of the paintwork. That is it for today, I am hopeful that this one will now continue until completion, it is over four years since I actually started it! Thanks for looking, and advice will be always appreciated Ray

@AdrianMF and @JOCKNEY, thank you for those kind comments, they mean a lot Ray

@JOCKNEY, sadly they have not changed for the better. Both of my parents are now in hospital, and we have been told that Mum is fading away, Dad is not much better. I have been doing some model building to keep me grounded, but cannot concentrate properly to do a Group Build justice, as I found out in the WWII Twins GB earlier I think I will have to give this a miss, so sorry Ray

Hi Geoff, I have seen one of the Kelloggs Comets built. It was done to a very high standard by an excellent modeller, Les Cooper (he used to design and make moulds for vacform kits, as well as being a superb scratch-builder). He had put quite a bit of work into it. I have just trawled through my model club photo archive, and sadly it was not there. I certainly would not mind having a go at one. @PatG, I have built the Airfix one a few times, it went together well when I was about 7 (1964), okay in the 1970's, and I struggled in the 2000's. I also struggled with the KP version, the instruction guide was not that clear (or my interpretation of same was wrong), most parts needed cleaning up and there were quite a few very small parts, which could be a problem for your friend. I have read that the Frog one was okay, generally better than the Airfix, so I would probably chose that one if I were in your situation. I hope this helps, but all the best to you, your friend and his wife Ray

This one would be right up my street. Please add me to the list. I have my Robert Calvert CD/LP/Cassette tape lined up already!* Ray * see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Lockheed_and_the_Starfighters

I am really looking forward to this one! Those images just shown seem to be fabulous. Ray

Nice progress on this. I have been looking at the kit on Aerocraft's website for a while now, it keeps drawing me back. I will hit the 'order' button sometime soon, but for the 1/144th scale version. All the best, Ray

Yes, it is another 'sanity restorer' for me, the Heller 1/100 Soleil Royal. I use it to keep me grounded in reality and take my mind off other things. I will be popping up to the stash in a mo to find another, simpler kit to keep me going too. There are 108 cannon altogether in that sailing ship and something like 350 dead-eyes to thread and rig too! Thanks for the comments and for all your encouragement through the build James Ray

Hello all, here is my old-tool Airfix B-25 Mitchell, loosely masquerading as a Mitchell III NO*C of 320 (Dutch) Squadron. Brush-painted with Humbrol enamels and a Vallejo Matt acrylic brush-coat finish, transfers by Xtradecal. The build log is here: Thanks to all who helped with this build, it was all very much appreciated. All the best with the rest of the Group Build, Ray

Hello all, I am calling this one done now as the final bits have been finished. I decided not to weather it. The small, slim undercarriage doors fitted 'well', as did the side glazing with their associated guns. There were no frame lines on the upper turret, so I masked where I thought they would be (using the box top illustration as a guide) and added paint. The landing lights fitted reasonably for a kit this old, Glue'N'Glaze did the rest. The nose gun was attached at a jaunty angle as per Troy's reference photograph, and the props painted and attached. I am not happy with the way the upper turret fits, it left a big gap around the base which is not echoed in the photograph. I am sure I glued the support in properly, but you never know, it may have been my fault. Here is how it was fitted: The cockpit floor fitted into slots in the bulkheads, so that should be at the correct level, but this is how it has ended up: That aside, I am quite pleased with how this turned out all things considered. I have enjoyed building it, which is the whole point in the end, isn't it? @AdrianMF, is this what you meant earlier in the build about 'droopy wings'? - I am always thrown by the wing alignment on Mitchells: My favourite photo of the completed model is this one: Thanks to all who dropped in for a shufty, liked and commented, and especially for those who offered encouragement and helpful advice! I will put a few more pictures into the Gallery, and if I am lucky, it will be in the correct one. All the best evryone, Ray

No James, it's as it comes out of the box. I was very surprised I must say. Thanks for the comment. Ray

I cannot see any black/darker leading edge material on Troy's image, so maybe they did. I think I am going to leave well alone, and have this 'just painted' and un-weathered. @modelling minion, @Wings unlevel and @81-er, thank you for those kind words. Something positive today! The aircraft now has wheels, all of the transfers are on, a good covering of Vallejo Matt Varnish has been brushed on, and the glazing unmasked. I now have: I am quite pleased with this view (the other side not so). The glazing though is where I have been really pleased: They were self-made masks, and I had virtually no paint bleed under them. It is just a shame that Airfix back in the day put a release pin in the middle of the glass on at least two parts. The glazing is surprisingly clear too. That upper nose panel was fitted nicely to the starboard side but on the port side it overhung quite a bit, as you can see next: It does not look too bad in the photo, but it is quite badly offset in real life, something that really came to the fore when I was unmasking the glazing and I noticed that the central panels were not, well, central. I also found that the fin flashes in the Xtradecal sheet were too big for their location, so they were too big, or the fins too small, or maybe different Mitchells had different size fins (but I don't think they did). The Xtradecal transfers did settle nicely over the rivets in the main. It is good to have had a good couple of days on this, thanks for looking and for all of the comments and views. All the best everyone, Ray

Hello, thank you all very much indeed for the suggestions! They were all gratefully received. Last night I was nattering to some friends in NZ and one of them said about PDF's. Well, tyro that I am I knew how to convert a Word document into a PDF, so the question was, would a Vista machine ever have heard of PDF? Well, I gave it a go, and the answer was no! It did give an option for an .xps file though, so I 'printed' it at that, popped it on a 128mb (told you it was old!) memory stick, put it in my computer back home and lo! and behold, lovely wonderful text on my screen, which printed of very nicely indeed! I can now go back and do the same for Dad's Life Story and make copies for all the family. Thank you again so much for all your help, it has meant a lot at this time Ray PS It didn't sadly, but all is well now PPS Mike, it is Word 2016, I should have mentioned it in the original post, my apologies

@Circloy, I will try that and see what happens. I will let you know tomorrow. Thanks so much for the advice Ray

Hello all. My Dad has an old computer upon which he has made a few important documents. Unfortunately they are in Microsoft Works. I have Microsoft Word on my computer, and I cannot read them. Do any of you, my friends, have any suggestions for this? I have tried Googling for advice, but I am getting nowhere. One suggestion was to get from Microsoft a converter, but their site said it was no longer available. I don't think Dad used his printer for a good 6-7 years, but will try to get some ink and see what happens, otherwise I will see if I can photograph the pages on-screen and print them. I don't think me latching my printer to his computer would help (it is a Windows Vista machine). It appears that there are third party converters, but I am loathe to download anything like that due to security issues, so any recommendations would be handy. One document is a story of his life, so it would mean a lot to get this sorted. Thanks in advance for any help offered, all the best everyone Ray

@vppelt68, @modelling minion, @Wings unlevel and @81-er, thanks very much indeed for your comments, they are very much appreciated. This model is progressing very slowly now, and I am afraid that my enthusiasm is waning - not the model's fault nor the Group Build's I have to add, it is something I will just have to cope with. I have a horrible feeling that I will soon become the eldest member of our branch of the family Over the last couple of weeks I have been able to give this an overall brush coat of Humbrol 128 followed by Humbrol 155 Olive Drab enamels where required. The OD seems to have gone on very well and covered nicely in two thinned layers. A gloss coat of Revell acrylic (thinned with water) gave a decent finish, and I have started to add the transfers. I have decided to represent (somewhat loosely) the aircraft that @Troy Smith posted up-thread, a Mitchell III NO*C. Neither the kit nor the Xtradecal transfers supplied the prop warning red band, but I found an old Almark sheet which had a red border, complete with carrier film which did the trick. I did not have any C-Type roundels in stock for the upper wing surfaces, so I have gone with the Xtradecal-supplied ones. Micro Set and Sol seemed to pull the markings down over the retained rivets which made me rather happy (which was much needed). I have only done a few, but here is where the Mitchell is at at the moment (it looks like it might be a bit drafty for the upper turret gunner): On Troy's image that he posted, it looks like there could be scope for a great deal of weathering, especially on the wing leading edges, I may well try and immerse myself in trying a bit of that if I can. Thanks for looking, and I am very sorry for not looking in on the other builds at the moment Ray

Hello all, a little bit more has been done. First up was fitting the twin fins - a very sloppy fit did not help much. However with a bit of bracing, they ended up straight-ish: I then had a merry couple of hours which resulted in: That was quite delicate work. This is one of the many occasions where I think raised frame lines on glazing is a Good Thing, it certainly made trimming the tape easier. The rear gunner's glazing was the most tricky to do as the frames were not so well defined, and it was smaller! Some interior green was then brushed on: This afternoon I should be able to start getting some paint onto the undersides. I am going with the new-mould Airfix RAF B25 for the colours, so will use Humbrol 128 for that, and 155 for the Olive Drab uppers when I get the chance. That is it for now. This is coming along slowly but surely, so thanks for looking in, Ray

I was pleased to see the Twin Otter on that list, so many schemes for it, and they have history with DHC types so I have fingers crossed for that! Ray

Thanks for that vote! Rivets 1, no rivets 0 is the final score, it was a game of one half and there was no overtime, referee's decision is final! Sames me hoovering up for a while too... Thanks MM, I always liked this kit, and I am rediscovering why! Cheers James, it took me a long time to realise that it was short shot, and I am glad I noticed before assembly rather than later, which could easily have happened! All the best everyone, Ray

Hello all. There has been a little progress with this Mitchell. Mindful of it being a notorious tail-sitter, some heavy metal was positioned forward: There was a considerable quantity of aquatic plant weight fitted, a nice lead-like (if not actually lead) malleable product, given a ribbed profile by a sturdy set of pliers, which also straightened the shape of the stuff. Was it enough, I asked myself. Well, a quick dry fit later and all seemed okay: Ahh, look at all those rivets! Lovely. I am wondering whether to keep them on or not. I think they really add to the vintage-ness of these old kits, so it is likely I will retain them. I then realised that I could not keep this totally OOB, as I needed to do some scratch building to one of the engine parts: The left hand part was short shot. I found some Contrail tube fitted the hole perfectly, so I shaped one end to roughly conical shape, and then the prop shaft fitted very nicely indeed: Those engines are again very nicely done for a 1964 kit, the designers really knew what they were doing way back then. The engines were then popped into their cowlings and securely glued to the wings. I have had to use a fair bit of filler on this, only to be expected. The wings were a very good friction fit, and probably could have been attached without glue. There were also hardly any gaps along the wing/fuselage join. It all looks a bit messy at the moment, but hopefully I can clean up a lot of that Perfect Plastic Putty dust later. That is it for now, I am glad that this is progressing, albeit slowly. Thanks for looking, more soon Ray

Sign me up please! I have the Javelin T.3 in a Humbrol box, and have started the 1/100 Le Soleil Royal (purely for medicinal reasons) and I am pretty sure it will still be less than 25% completed by the time this GB starts. 2,300 parts, 756 of which are for 108 cannons, 7 parts each. It is testing my eyesight, and will test my knot-tying skills as there are lots of dead-eyes in the kit too, which I have never dealt with before. You never know, it may even still qualify for Heller Classic GB III in 2028! I am away from the bench a lot at the moment, and started LSR as a way of taking my mind off things. Ray