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RMS Queen Elizabeth +++FINISHED+++


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Hello all!

 

I have been wondering what to do for this group build, I had loads of ancient Airfix in stock and I know I could opt to do them all (ahem!), but I seriously wanted to get in with a ship. I had Mauretania (x2), RMS Queen Elizabeth, HMS Iron Duke (plus photo-etch), Repulse and the Prinz Eugen. I think the latter pair were too new to qualify. I chose the QE. It was first issued in 1962, this is from the 2000 boxing.

 

Here are the pre-build shots:

 

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I have built this a few times in the past, and I think the last time was when I lived in Leuchars and was about 14 years old. I am wondering whether to build it in the style of a 14-year-old kid, or whether to try and actually do it justice!

 

I normally put a load of photo-etch-work onto my ships, but I have nothing at all for this one. I know there is stuff available, but I think I will do without this time. I will still try to rig it.

 

As usual, please let me know if I am about to make a boo-boo if I say I am going to try and do something to the ship, I have been known to make some quite big errors in interpretation!

 

See you soon!

 

Ray

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This will be a good watch Ray,we must have all tried one of Airfix's liner's at some point I know I did the Mauritania,I remember working on it

at the dining table back in the seventies and my Dad looking at the box and casually saying Oh I remember watching her leave the Tyne  after

she was build,He would have only been about 6-7 at the time.!

Edited by stevej60
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Hello all!

 

The plastic for the Queen Elizabeth looks quite weird, it looks like the white colouring had not mixed properly and has created some odd patterns:

 

27689197127_30cd942ce6_z.jpg

 

Not that it matters, I hope a good blast of primer and paint will cover these. It is also very prominent on the two hull sides, fore and aft. It makes the mould look very strange!

 

Anyway, talking of hull halves, the hull parts are quite flimsy so they needed a bit of bracing and strengthening. I added some 40thou card slabs to the bottom of one hull halve, suitably overlapping, and then got the halves together. Then, using some of the plentiful spare runners, I cut out some cross-hull braces (x3), and got them in position. I was able to dry fit the upper deck to ensure they were the correct width. These braces are not to widen the hull to fit the deck, more like to pull the hull together to fit the deck, as there was a bit of warpage (although not as bad as when I built Illustrious!).

 

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I have now added the forward deck, and that needed a little persuasion too:

 

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Again it was due to excess splaying on the hull.

 

My plan now is to let that set, fit the bridge and main upper deck and all the major fittings, and also add the remaining rear decks, mask off the gaps for the two 'upper' rear decks then spray the lot with a white primer and white gloss. Then I can mask off the waterline and upper decks, and paint the underwater hull red and the main hull colour black.

 

Talking of the waterline, I have tried google but am a bit unsure about the white waterline. On the kit, there is a guide which shows the white quite high at the bow and aft, and it then narrows towards the hull midships. The paint guide shows NO white waterline, online images do. Built kits show a continuous size waterline. Confused! I am minded to sand off the kits representation and go for a continuous depth waterline.

 

I will post more soon,

 

All the best,

 

Ray

 

PS, I just found out that if I am typing up a post, then open up other tabs to check what I am writing about (waterlines!) then click the cross at the top of the internet page by mistake rather than the cross in the tab- thus closing down the whole internet session (doh!) when I opened up my favourite Model Forum and go back to the topic and hit 'reply', everything I had already typed up was still there and had not got lost in the ether! Result!

Edited by Ray S
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Hello all!

 

Just a small update today. I have fitted all the main superstructure (except two overhanging decks), and sprayed the lot with white primer. The fit so far has been pretty good, and I have only needed some filler on the prop shaft fairings and an the two funnels (where there were sink marks where the location pins are). Overnight I will decide whether to leave the ship in primer and varnish later or whether to spray again tomorrow gloss white. I am still surprised at how big the ship is.

 

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She should start getting some colour on soon!

 

The main thing I really need to work out is how to deal with the portholes and windows - when I last built it I used a cocktail stick and blobbed in black into all the round windows. Whatever I choose, it will need to be neat and regular - two qualities that stretch my skills!

 

Thanks for looking,

 

Ray

Edited by Ray S
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18 hours ago, Ray S said:

Hello all!

 

Just a small update today. I have fitted all the main superstructure (except two overhanging decks), and sprayed the lot with white primer. The fit so far has been pretty good, and I have only needed some filler on the prop shaft fairings and an the two funnels (where there were sink marks where the location pins are). Overnight I will decide whether to leave the ship in primer and varnish later or whether to spray again tomorrow gloss white. I am still surprised at how big the ship is.

 

40812985780_885abca743_z.jpg

 

She should start getting some colour on soon!

 

The main thing I really need to work out is how to deal with the portholes and windows - when I last built it I used a cocktail stick and blobbed in black into all the round windows. Whatever I choose, it will need to be neat and regular - two qualities that stretch my skills!

 

Thanks for looking,

 

Ray

Excellent build, Ray. (I've maxed out on my 'Likes' again so am banned until tomorrow, I think, so doing a note instead.) I have used the blunt end of a tiny drill bit when blobbing on circles but I have seen others actually drill out all the portholes....not suggesting that here, though! Enjoying this!

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7 hours ago, Ventora3300 said:

...I've maxed out on my 'Likes' again so am banned until tomorrow

If you 'like' everything doesn't that make it all Standard?   Likes should be used sparingly, to acknowledge something special; otherwise they will become meaningless.  I tend to like almost everything on this forum..  the builds, the helpful contributions and advice, the hints and tips, and of course all the friendly chat and banter; however I reserve my 'Likes' for that something special that has given me pleasure.

 

Mike  (liking all contributors and thanking you for it).

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Nice going Ray. I've never built a ship before however would really like to build the 'Oriana' one day as it has a strong family connection. Watching your QE build progress is most helpful so thanks for the tips I've picked up so far. She's looking good. 

 

Cheers.. Dave. 

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On 6/8/2018 at 11:22 AM, Rabbit Leader said:

Nice going Ray. I've never built a ship before however would really like to build the 'Oriana' one day as it has a strong family connection. Watching your QE build progress is most helpful so thanks for the tips I've picked up so far. She's looking good. 

 

Cheers.. Dave. 

 

Hello Dave, I hope I do it justice for you!

 

Hello all, yesterday was an interesting day. I think I may have done this in the wrong sequence, and caused myself a bit more masking than I should have done. Nonetheless, I set to with a will and spent a few happy minutes using up all my spare, used masking tape. I always stick used stuff down onto a melamine board and re-use it as much as possible. Anyway, I used paper, masking tape, sellotape and an old Hovis bread bag to mask this ship up, and she looked rather patriotic as befits a Queen at the end!

 

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I tried to ensure every bit of tape of tape was well pressed down, then into the paint shop (garage) she went, and was liberally sprayed with Simoniz red oxide primer, twice:

 

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The masking then came off after a couple of hours, and I found (you know what is coming!) that the primer flaked off the plastic bag aplenty, and paint flakes went everywhere! Thankfully, with only one or two exceptions, there was no paint bleed, and my masking looked reasonably good. Next up was a thin masking tape stripe along the top of the red hull - I used a 2mm wide strip, but in hindsight I could have got away with a narrower strip, and another wider stripe towards the top of the hull in preparation for the black:

 

42642798152_d81cfa10d1_z.jpg

 

I used Revell Black (matt) for the main hull colour using a wide flat brush. The paint had been thinned with some de-ionised water and brushed on well, and after two hours and three coats produced:

 

42642802042_4dfe7ae874_z.jpg

 

The black went down very nicely with virtually no sign of brush marks, but, despite being matt, still had a nice sheen. Again very little bled under the tape, thank goodness!

 

Having said at the outset that this would be out-of-the-box, I seem to have made a boo-boo and ordered some etch for it - various railings and a generic liner set, all from Tom's Modelworks, as I could not find anything in dear old Blighty. I found it difficult building a ship without the extra finesse the etch gives!

 

I am now in the process of painting the decks, I have decided to use Colourcoats Teak for that, and the first coat has gone down well by brush, but still have to do all the fiddly bits around the moulded-on detailing on the fore and aft decks.

 

I still have lots to do with this but if I grind to a halt it is because I am still waiting for the etch to arrive. Oh yes, I also seem to have ordered some for the Airfix Prinz Eugen too, but that is beyond the time-frame of this GB.

 

Well, that is it for now, thanks for looking in,

 

Ray

 

 

Edited by Ray S
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  • 1 month later...

I hope that etch arrives soon because the excellent finish on the hull just begs this liner to get finished. I actually saw the QE2 close up, berthed in Hong Kong in 1997 or 1998, and it was a lovely sleek ship. Looking forward to the next installment.

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On 7/18/2018 at 4:37 PM, Ventora3300 said:

I hope that etch arrives soon because the excellent finish on the hull just begs this liner to get finished. I actually saw the QE2 close up, berthed in Hong Kong in 1997 or 1998, and it was a lovely sleek ship. Looking forward to the next installment.

Hello Ventora3300, the etch arrived safe and sound from good ole Amerikee, and was just pushed through my letterbox without any ransom! It all looks pretty good. I think I will be able to use the railings, but the generic merchant sets may be less useful on this. I have got white primer on the etch now. I have had issues with broadband recently, but the provider has come through and got it sorted, so I will get back on with the Queen Elizabeth very shortly. Thanks for the interest!

On 7/18/2018 at 8:00 PM, Lawzer said:

Don't know how I missed this - looking great so far! 👍

Thanks Lawzer!

 

All the best everyone,

 

Ray

Edited by Ray S
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Hello all! The Queen Elizabeth has taken a back seat recently due to waiting for the photo-etch (all of 8 days from America!), loss of liner mojo, and loss of internet (0.33mbps download, 0.02mbps upload - I am sure that means something to the technical people) where it took 10 minutes to load up the first page of my favourite website Britmodeller. Anyhow, I have finally got back to this, so here is a progress report:

 

43568721041_677674c16c_b.jpg

 

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The photoetch from Tom's Modelworks. The railings are two- and three-bar and will be useful, the generic set less so methinks for this model. It too has a selection of railings, plus some 'railing breaks' where egress is possible from ladders etc. There are some inclined ladders, but not enough for the whole model, so the 'Aztec steps' are going to stay, and I will see If I can arrange some handrails somehow. I am not sure why the generic set has bent like it has, it was like it when it came out of the very flat undamaged pack.

 

I have painted up the deck (mostly) using Colourcoats/White Ensign Teak, but it has gone rather streaky despite thinning it with their own thinners. I applied that by brush and was trying (badly) to miss the moulded on deck detailing, so I suspect it was my fault. I ended up re-touching the detail with Revell Gloss White acrylics, but am not really happy with the deck.  I also got the funnels built and painted and they give a splash of colour. They are just dry-fitted at the moment:

 

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Today I have started the whole reason I lost my mojo, namely painting the port-holes and cabin windows. I used a brand new Creative Models 10/0 brush for this, and I popped some water in a mixing pallet and some black acrylic in a slot next to the water and wet the brush, dipped it into the paint and did a couple of windows, before repeating the process. This kept the paint thin and stopped the brush clogging. I found I could do only two or three windows before needing to replenish the brush, but soon got into a rhythm and the hour and a half went by quite quickly. I only need to do the starboard side now...oh yes, and clean up some overpaint

 

The only problems I encountered were:

  1. My eyes would not stay focused on the port-holes
  2. I have got the shakes and
  3. I got backache through leaning over and getting close to the model!

Note: none of these issues are anything to do with the kit, just an aging modeller!

 

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I have only highlighted the windows that are moulded onto the kit, so please don't expect to see any that are not! Life is too short for that, and my references non-existent! Once I have done the other side, I will start adding some of the railings, again using my intuition rather than fact, but hopefully it should be in the right ball-park.

 

I hope the photo's will work, but when I got the internet sorted out I found that my Flikr settings had been reset so I am hoping I have put them back correctly.

 

Anyway, thanks for looking, and with luck progress should be somewhat swifter from now on.

 

All the best,

 

Ray

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Hello all!

 

I have been pottering around with the ship for a couple of days and got a little bit of progress. I managed to do the starboard side portholes and windows, but had to do them in three separate sessions to save my back and eyes! I have glossed up the decks and added the transfers so the passengers can play tennis or quoits. The transfers went on really well, I used the new Klear replacement Pledge as the setting solution and it worked a treat, there has been no silvering despite the wooden planking and rather gritty surface of the paint.

 

42712025295_b6ac83b36e_k.jpg

 

I have also painted some of the top colours required - the instructions called out Humbrol 27 grey and 10 Gloss Brown, I used 29 Dark Earth for the latter as I have never had success with 10, it always going rather thin and streaky. It will get a gloss coat when it has dried thoroughly:

 

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The ship also has its name on now, so she has a personality at last!

 

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It is only when you do a real close-up like in the last photo do you realise that something is not right! There is a large arc right by the EE in Queen that even though I know it is there on both sides (now) I cannot see it with the unaided eye...I am also not sure about the font Airfix used for the title, and I did notice the 'Queen Elizabeth Liverpool' on the stern was slightly out of register (yellow and white) but looked okay on the backing sheet. C'est la vie...

 

Thanks for looking and the encouragement,

 

Ray

Edited by Ray S
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Crumbs, I don't know what happened to the picture size, I did not set that one on Flikr, it seems to have reset itself to that! It made the photos even worse, all that dust and raggedy plastic!

 

Sorry!

 

Ray

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Very tidy modelling there!  The portholes look just right.

 

I've got one of these part built, up in the loft. It's too built up to add to the Group Build, but I'm looking forward to finishing it someday. I think your build will give me the boot up the jacksie needed!

 

Like you, I did the red area of the hull with red primer. It looked so much better than my gloss bright red attempts as a nipper.

 

To add to the nautical flavor of the GB, I've dug out an SS France to keep you company.

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On ‎24‎/‎07‎/‎2018 at 19:13, Ray S said:

29745852758_c75cefeb7f_k.jpg

 

It is only when you do a real close-up like in the last photo do you realise that something is not right! There is a large arc right by the EE in Queen that even though I know it is there on both sides (now) I cannot see it with the unaided eye...

That is quite strange.  It looks as though it is meant to be there as some form of reinforcement plate but none of the reference photos I have of QE or the ones I can find on www show it. 

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