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Blue Ridge 1/700 SS Normandie


ChrisSC

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I’m giving my first resin model a try, a 1/700 SS Normandie. Unfortunately, the bottom half of the hull was considerably wider than the top. This has taken a bunch of time and aggravation to join but it seems like it looks reasonable enough to proceed. I epoxied some nuts to the inside of the hull so I can mount it to a display stand.

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Gidday Chris, it looks like you've done a good job with the hull width issues. I thought you'd banged her nose, needing a repair, until I rechecked the box art and noticed that an anchor goes there. Regards, Jeff.

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One of the most elegant Liners of all, it will be great to see how she turns out.

 

I will give it to the French they sure did make some good looking ships, the Normandie, France and the Ile De France all ooze class, my Dad actually crewed on the Ile De France during 2nd WW, when she was gutted throughout and impresed as a troop ship.

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Thanks! I did some masking and painting. Between the resin and the scale I'm finding it very hard to do a decent paint job. Being basically one big piece there is way too much masking. This is definitely a challenge for me. I'm not sure how I'm going to paint the windows...they are TINY! The black is in gloss now until I get the decals on, then I will tone it down with some flat clear. I prefer styrene lol.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I had to take a break from this 1/700 resin Normandie to preserve my sanity. I now attached one side of the lower hull PE window frames and decals. This model is beyond my abilities and patience but I will finish it. The size of the PE and resin combination is not something I will do again lol!

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Gidday Chris,I don't do PE so anyone who even tries it is ahead of me. Mind you, I've got very little sanity left to preserve. 🤪 It's still an impressive model you're doing, and good to see you persevering with it. I hope it doesn't become too much of a chore. I've lost interest in a model from time to time but when I finished it I'm glad I continued with it. Even if it didn't quite turn out as I'd hoped.  Regards, Jeff.

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On 2/5/2021 at 4:18 AM, ArnoldAmbrose said:

Gidday Chris,I don't do PE so anyone who even tries it is ahead of me. Mind you, I've got very little sanity left to preserve. 🤪 It's still an impressive model you're doing, and good to see you persevering with it. I hope it doesn't become too much of a chore. I've lost interest in a model from time to time but when I finished it I'm glad I continued with it. Even if it didn't quite turn out as I'd hoped.  Regards, Jeff.

Thanks Jeff. I'm determined to finish it regardless of how it turns out lol! It's very slow going though.

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Thanks Norman and Murdo. Yes the PE is insane on this scale in a resin model. 

I wasn’t happy with the forecastle paint so I tried to touch it up with a brush. This turned into a disaster as there was a bad paint reaction that ruined the whole forecastle. I thought the model was trash. I stripped it all off with acetone which caused a gloppy mess. After it was cleaned up I sanded, carefully masked and sprayed it again. Thankfully it looks OK to me now. I need to learn to leave well enough alone lol. New paint is on the right in the photo.

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The Normandie was certainly a stunning looking vessel. If only the mainstream plastic manufacturers noticed that there were other liners than just the Titanic! Looks like you are doing a brilliant job of a complicated kit. I bet a good percentage of those who buy it never actually build it!

 

 

Will

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2 hours ago, Killingholme said:

The Normandie was certainly a stunning looking vessel. If only the mainstream plastic manufacturers noticed that there were other liners than just the Titanic! Looks like you are doing a brilliant job of a complicated kit. I bet a good percentage of those who buy it never actually build it!

 

 

Will

Thanks Will, it's a very hard model to put together. I didn't say put together well lol, just put together. I have searched everywhere to see this model built by someone else and have come up empty so I think you're right about people not building it. The photos on the manufacturers site appear to be digital renderings of what it should look like built which is telling.

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11 hours ago, Killingholme said:

The Normandie was certainly a stunning looking vessel. If only the mainstream plastic manufacturers noticed that there were other liners than just the Titanic! Looks like you are doing a brilliant job of a complicated kit. I bet a good percentage of those who buy it never actually build it!

 

 

Will


There is a reason for this, all the plans of the company's liners are protected by copyright by the French Line museum in Le Havre. Impossible to make a commercial model of Normandie or others liniers without going through them. It's quite possible that this is the reason why this model of Blueridge  you are building is so expensive, I think the manufacturer must have paid a significant amount for the copyright. 


https://www.frenchlines.com/en/


https://www.frenchlines.com/ressources/centre-de-consultation/

 

https://www.frenchlines.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/FLC_Tarifs_2019.pdf

 

https://freetimehobbies.com/1-700-blue-ridge-models-ss-normandie-uss-lafayette-model-kit/

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I am particularly attached to this ship, she is very elegant, the most aesthetically successful liner built in " Les Chantiers de l'Atlantique" in Saint Nazaire, France, in my humble opinion, less at the technical level, she vibrated a lot ... 

 

And also because my grandfather was on board during the last voyage to New York as an engineer, he returned to France after his relief on October 20, 1939 on board the De Grasse of the same company.

 

He was also present on board the liner "Paris" of the same company during a probable criminal action in Le Havre when it was alongside the quay. The ship capsized in the same way as the Normandy to New York, a premonition of those dark years...
But that's another story.

 

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In my grandfather's seaman's book, the bible of each seaman (like me), we can see that he embarked on Normandy (listed ship n°743 in the French maritime affair) on July 25, 1939, probably as a master engineer. The ship will leave for her last voyage on August 23rd 1939 from Le Havre to N-Y. My grandfather will be relieved on October 20th 1939.

 

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A picture took by my grand father, from the Liner "Paris" in Le Havre during its maneuver.

 

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The US  aircraft carrier project for "Normandie":

 

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16 hours ago, Norman said:

Good save on the forecastle ! she's looking lovely !

Thank you Norman.

 

16 hours ago, beefy66 said:

Really enjoying following along something very different with these liners might have to give one ago soon.  👍

 

Stay Safe

beefy

Thanks beefy. Since childhood I've always been fascinated with the old liners. Unfortunately kits are hard to find. Either they're mostly long out of production or you have to take your chances with resin which is expensive and a roll of the dice on the quality you find when you open the package. Unless you feel like building a Titanic, you can build Titanics non stop for years and never run out of kits lol.

 

8 hours ago, Iceman 29 said:


There is a reason for this, all the plans of the company's liners are protected by copyright by the French Line museum in Le Havre. Impossible to make a commercial model of Normandie or others liniers without going through them. It's quite possible that this is the reason why this model of Blueridge  you are building is so expensive, I think the manufacturer must have paid a significant amount for the copyright. 


https://www.frenchlines.com/en/


https://www.frenchlines.com/ressources/centre-de-consultation/

 

https://www.frenchlines.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/FLC_Tarifs_2019.pdf

 

https://freetimehobbies.com/1-700-blue-ridge-models-ss-normandie-uss-lafayette-model-kit/

Iceman 29 thanks so much for all the photos and history of this beautiful ship. Of all the ocean liners ever built Normandie and the original Queen Elizabeth rise above all the rest in my opinion. When you also consider their interiors Normandie was unmatched IMO. I like her so much I actually bought a very expensive resin version of her in 1/350 scale. In speaking with the manufacturer of that kit he explained as you had mentioned that the licensing fees from the French Line were quite expensive which is reflected in the kit price. This is a photo of the upper hull of this kit next to a 1/350 Lusitania hull. She makes Lusitania look tiny!

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On 2/17/2021 at 4:53 PM, Iceman 29 said:

Tks Chris!

 

I'm very interested in this 1:350 model, is it available? You have to pre-order it by mail?

 

https://www.oldmodelkits.com/ss-normandie-ocean-liner-model-kit.php

I'm not sure if he has any left. I would send him an email and inquire. He doesn't sell with an online cart, you have to mail him a check.

 

Some of these 1/700 parts are crazy small. The spotlights and speakers are like specs of dirt. Too small for tweezers. A wax pencil and holding my breath sometimes works lol.

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