1/350 HMS Ark Royal, 1987 - sailing back from the Shelf of Doom

[Martian]

Forgive me Martin but when it is this good has anybody ever stopped you making a comment

This is why I joined this site so much info from real people

Stunning build keep those WIP coming the info book kneads filling

Beefy

Last time I commented on the flight deck I sort of jinxed the whole thing and feel this time roundI need to keep quiet until Crisp feels that it no longer jinxable!

Martin

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

Martin, you are clear to launch; relative wind Red 20, 35 knots

[Martian]

Martin, you are clear to launch; relative wind Red 20, 35 knots

Right, you asked for it! I think the re-painted deck is looking rather splendid. Just keep it away from pots of solvent this time. Sits back and waits for some other disaster to follow his words of praise.

Martin

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

A relatively short session today, but some achievement.

1. The 1022 radar; I finally managed to glue the waveguide to the rest of it (you need about 5 hands, and steady ones at that):

...from end-on:

...and balanced somewhat precariously (& probably not at all level) in its eventual destination, using friendly piece of BluTac:

2. Our friend the starboard catwalk, now complete ready for detailing and primer (though most of the detail - fire hoses etc.) actually fits onto the side of the ship after this is fitted. Anyway, 6 liferaft racks in place, of which the forward two are doubles:

Edited December 6, 2015 by Ex-FAAWAFU

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

And 3. another successful solder, this time of the back end of the port (& much more complex, and longer) catwalk. This has been bugging me, because as you can see from the second picture, it has quite complex curves to accommodate. Happy Crisp!

[foxy]

Lovely work on your soldering.

Coming together nicely.

Cheers foxy

[hendie]

now that's what we want to see !

[Martian]

Great etch work!

Martin

[brianthemodeller]

Wow - you're getting pretty good at this soldering business! Wish I was half as good...

[longshanks]

Great ' Ironing '

Kev

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

Odds & sods day, somewhat dotting about the hull gradually fixing things. The good news for me personally is that I have recovered, so will be going back to work tomorrow - though inevitably this will slow the build down again!

Anyway...

1. I have started to re-mask a few areas of the flight deck that need patching - notably the two lifts:

2. I have cut down the Airfix part for the starboard CIWS (Phalanx) platform - much bigger in Lusty, where it is both wider and taller.

Before (having marked the section that needed to be removed:

After:

3. i have also started work on the sponson for the chaff launchers and 20mm cannon on the port side. I had already worked out that Ark's was a different shape (of course it was - sometimes I think the Navy sat down and deliberately put in as many small changes as possible, just to annoy future modellers!), with the sticky-out section further aft, because in Ark the cannon is forward and the chaff launchers aft (other way round in Lusty). What I hadn't realised until I started looking closely at photos and plans today was that Illustrious' whole platform was extended forwards. You have no idea what I am talking about, probably, so again before (seen from below):

And after seen from below (obviously not finished yet!):

...and seen from above:

I am especially pleased with the new sticky-out bit (all this naval jargon, eh?), which is made from a section of the Airfix stand for a full hull model.

More at the weekend.

Crisp

P.S. Note newly clean keyboard; you have shamed me into housekeeping!

Edited December 7, 2015 by Ex-FAAWAFU

[xffw45343tg]

There's a boaty thing in the way on some of those shots.

Other than that it all seems to be coming along very nicely. Of course there's a little bit to do on the top of the "F" key but apart from that, it's one of the best keyboards on the forum.

Kirk

[phildagreek]

Nice. Keyboard that is, the ship's quite smart too, I quite like it in black.

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

After thinking about it for a couple of days, I decided that there were some areas that I simply couldn't live with, so some more masking action...

Followed by a respray of the deck grey (which is actually Vallejo 71.049 Medium Sea Grey):

You can see that where things already looked OK, I masked a big section with straight edges, so that it will show up like a section of deck that has just been patched (which happened a lot in real life). This seems to have worked quite well - the section just behind the island (5 Spot), for instance.

MUCH happier now, especially in places like the forward lift:

There are a couple more minor touch-ups required, plus a small section of the aft lift on the runway stripe, but this is much more like it. Now I just leave it to dry out completely, then seal it in preparation for the transfers (deck spots, distance to go marks etc.).

Pleased.

Edited December 11, 2015 by Ex-FAAWAFU

[AntPhillips]

Nice rework of the deck markings, and I think the tonal difference of the greys will become less apparent and quite realistic once you start to weather it.

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

Nice rework of the deck markings, and I think the tonal difference of the greys will become less apparent and quite realistic once you start to weather it.

That's the plan, so let's hope so!

[beefy66]

See Martin he has not managed to bugger it up even though you said he would

cracking job so far there Crisp keep the tutorial coming the note book is wanting more info if you please

Beefy

[Martian]

That looks much better Crisp, now just keep it clear of solvents!

See Martin he has not managed to bugger it up even though you said he would

cracking job so far there Crisp keep the tutorial coming the note book is wanting more info if you please

Beefy

No Beefy, I said I was worried about jinxing the job for him but Crisp has now said I can comment so if something goes wrong now it is his fault for unsilencing me!

Martin

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

And now the deck following touching up the black (actually Vallejo 71.056 Dunkelgrau / "Panzer Grey"). Essentially, that's the painting done now; just some micro meshing to even out the surface, then a layer of Tamiya Clear and onto the transfers.

[hendie]

that's looking rather tasty

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

I would just like to introduce you all to a new part of this build, namely HMS Paintbitch. This is in fact the upturned (unused!) lower hull of Ark, on the basis that it is exactly the same plastic etc. so should behave in a very similar manner, if not identically. I have primed it with Tamiya white primer, masked it and now sprayed the deck base colour (Vallejo Medium Sea Grey - still wet in this picture). Once dry the Vallejo Dunkelgrau "runway stripe" will also be sprayed.

Its first duty will be to make bloody certain that Tamiya X-22 Clear doesn't have any nasty interactions with Vallejo paint - I really think my sense of humour might be significantly tried were it to do anything nasty (though I don't see why it should). Assuming no nasties in that department, I will then apply a spare decal or two and then seal it again, just as with the real deck.

The primary purpose of the Paintbitch is to use as a basis for experimenting with weathering effects. I have a very clear idea of what I want the deck to look like in the end, and lots of theories about how to achieve it, but I think it's a lot safer to try things first somewhere safe.

For the record, at this stage I anticipate that the weathering will be a combination of:

- oil dotting (a technique much loved by our clanking tank friends, I understand, and which I have seen give amazing results in the paint fading department);

- pastels; and

- some judicious (and relatively sparing) application of Tamiya Smoke, especially around 4 Spot, which bore the brunt of a lot of Pegasus exhaust gas at high pressure.

I suspect that the voyage of the Paintbitch will almost certainly amend one or all of those plans. That's why I have told you the plan now; it will be interesting to look back in due course and laugh at how I actually ended up doing it in some completely different way. (That's half the fun, isn't it?)

More soon!

Crisp

Edited December 14, 2015 by Ex-FAAWAFU

[AntPhillips]

Good plan Crisp, after all the effort and detail you've put into it, it would be such a shame for it to get damaged by a 'it should have been OK' moment during painting.

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

...and here we have the Paintbitch 'deck', markings successfully applied; more than good enough for these purposes (the paint bleed towards the top of the picture is to do with the curvature of the piece of plastic, which obviously does not apply to a flight deck)

I will let it dry thoroughly overnight, then try the X-22.

[Foghorn Leghorn]

- oil dotting (a technique much loved by our clanking tank friends, I understand, and which I have seen give amazing results in the paint fading department);

A technique that I just can't seem to master for some reason, so I'll be watching with interest. Step by step guide please

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

...and while we are on the topic of test material, I present to you USS Norman Stanley, a Revell 1/700 Fletcher class destroyer chucked together in about 20 minutes. She is as finished as she is ever going to be, and is a deeply rubbish piece of modelling...

...but Norman Stanley will serve me well in acting as the vessel for test runs of my seascape, which is a technique I have never attempted before; once again, I don't want to be making & learning from hideous mistakes around Ark Royal after about 3 years of work (we are already over 2).

Incidentally, even throwing together a cheapo kit (£2 at LMS) like this has convinced me that 1/700 is definitely not for me!

[And no, despite her name she will no be floating on porridge].

Edited December 14, 2015 by Ex-FAAWAFU