Marcello Rosa Posted April 2, 2021 Share Posted April 2, 2021 (edited) Here is my completed USS Gearing, built from the Dragon 1/350 kit, out of the box apart from railings and some home made improvisations. Little did I know that, when I was gifted this kit by some friends at work (my birthday, 2019) this was going to become my most ambitious project yet. Pretty much from day 1 you have to deal with sub-millimetre pieces (each Oerlikon has to be put together from 9 parts, including a mixture of polystyrene and photoetch). My learning curve became very, very steep (this is only my third ship). The rigging is largely human hair, although for some thicker and thinner parts I used surgical silk and Caenis thread, respectively. I also substituted the jackstaff and the aerials sticking out of the aft stack with metal (hypodermic needle and tungsten wire), since the parts provided in the kit looked unnaturally thick, and kept breaking during the build anyway. There were some problems with the instructions. I have compiled a list of tips to avoid getting into trouble in my web site (address in my signature panel below). Feel free to email me for any questions. I am sorry for the quality of my photos, particularly in comparison with some of the stunning stuff I have seen in this web site. I only have my iPhone for this. Edited April 3, 2021 by Marcello Rosa substitute photo with a damaged part which has been subsequently fixed 50 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
socjo1 Posted April 2, 2021 Share Posted April 2, 2021 (edited) Beautiful model of beautiful ship with crisp and clean details and painting. I like Gearings very much due to its low, somewhat heavy silhouette and many big guns. Edited April 2, 2021 by socjo1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArnoldAmbrose Posted April 2, 2021 Share Posted April 2, 2021 Gidday Marcello, don't worry about the photos, they're fine. I think this is a very good model, and the ship certainly packed a punch. With all those guns it is obvious how they got the name "Kamikaze Killers". Well done. Regards, Jeff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-32 Posted April 2, 2021 Share Posted April 2, 2021 That looks superb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adm Lord De Univers Posted April 3, 2021 Share Posted April 3, 2021 Oh me oh my, that's simply gorgeous, echoing above comments - v crisp details. I have also learnt that I can use human hair for rigging (or at least blame a fading hairline on modelling)...so thank you. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faraway Posted April 3, 2021 Share Posted April 3, 2021 That is a very very nice build. Well done. Jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dnl42 Posted April 3, 2021 Share Posted April 3, 2021 Very nicely built and finished! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toryu Posted April 3, 2021 Share Posted April 3, 2021 This is an extraordinary model and very realistic. Your pictures are fine. I love the one with the mirror as basis - just use some cardboard or printed sky with clouds as background next time 😉 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted April 4, 2021 Share Posted April 4, 2021 Wow, agree with the general appreciation, handsome ship, great kit and beautifully built 👏👏👏 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robgizlu Posted April 4, 2021 Share Posted April 4, 2021 Great looking build - I was intrigued to hear about rigging with human hair Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcello Rosa Posted April 4, 2021 Author Share Posted April 4, 2021 Hi all Thanks for the encouraging feedback. With respect to the use of hair for the riggings, it is not a bad option. I happen to be blessed with a daughter with very long, fine and straight hair, so when I need some supplies all I need is a quick trip to where she keeps her combs. It is a good material that is amenable to get firmly attached with quick setting cyanoacrylate. I have tried other people's hairs, and the results are not all that good - particularly if someone dyes the hair, it becomes thicker and too stiff... Apparently it is not a new technique - quite old in fact: https://blog.marinersmuseum.org/2020/10/built-with-what-bones-hair-and-prisoners-model-ships-of-war/ 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry1954 Posted April 5, 2021 Share Posted April 5, 2021 Superb looking Gearing! Terry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Law Posted April 6, 2021 Share Posted April 6, 2021 Great looking model. I really like your weathering. I can see a lot of effort has gone into getting that to look right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcello Rosa Posted June 21, 2022 Author Share Posted June 21, 2022 A little update on this one. This weekend we just had the first Australian Model Expo since the beginning of the pandemic. This was my first opportunity to show my models in public and compete. And the new is...the Gearing got first prize in the large scale/ powered ships category, and "best of brand" for Dragon! 16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MRMRL Posted July 15, 2022 Share Posted July 15, 2022 Congratulations, not bad for only your third ship, you'd not know it by looking at it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArnoldAmbrose Posted July 15, 2022 Share Posted July 15, 2022 Gidday @Marcello Rosa, I've only just seen your post of June. So please accept a belated congratulations on your award for the model. She looks a beauty. Regards, Jeff. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcello Rosa Posted July 15, 2022 Author Share Posted July 15, 2022 1 hour ago, MRMRL said: Congratulations, not bad for only your third ship, you'd not know it by looking at it. Thank you . I look forward to seeing the Shimakaze, which I think is a really good looking ship 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MRMRL Posted July 15, 2022 Share Posted July 15, 2022 19 minutes ago, Marcello Rosa said: Thank you . I look forward to seeing the Shimakaze, which I think is a really good looking ship It's been very slow progress, hopefully it'll be completed soon 😉 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mick Posted July 15, 2022 Share Posted July 15, 2022 great work 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod bettencourt Posted August 1, 2022 Share Posted August 1, 2022 That looks fantastic!! Thanks for sharing. Rod 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErikT Posted August 3, 2022 Share Posted August 3, 2022 Beautifully done! The award was certainly well-deserved! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Model Monkey Posted August 6, 2022 Share Posted August 6, 2022 Brilliant. Well-deserved award. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Micha_Pol Posted August 8, 2022 Share Posted August 8, 2022 Lovey-looking ship, tons of great detail and well-painted. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael M Posted August 17, 2022 Share Posted August 17, 2022 (edited) Very nice model of a great looking ship. I'm hoping that Dragon will re-release them, you can't get them for normal money anymore. One thing that strikes me though is the fact that you swapped the screws, left is right and right is left. RH should rotate clockwise and LH anticlockwise. There are exemptions from that rule, but they're are the ships optimized for maneuvering at very low speeds. Cheers Mick Edited August 17, 2022 by Michael M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcello Rosa Posted August 17, 2022 Author Share Posted August 17, 2022 4 hours ago, Michael M said: Very nice model of a great looking ship. I'm hoping that Dragon will re-release them, you can't get them for normal money anymore. One thing that strokes me though is the fact that you swapped the screws, left is right and right is left. RH should rotate clockwise and LH anticlockwise. There are exemptions from that rule, but they're are the ships optimised for manoeuvring at very low speeds. Cheers Mick Thanks for the tip. I will get this fixed and try to remember for future builds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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