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1/350 Carriers Taiho and Graf Zeppelin


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4 hours ago, Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies said:

I really like that. I vote "Go for it". I'd also agree with switching out Hellgrau for one of the Baltic blue-greys.

So a second shade of blue grey instead of hellgrau 50? 

 

Something akin to norwegian blaugrau km08 or Blaugrau hell km09? 

 

I need to put an order in anyway for some colours for Taiho, especially the anti-fouling b, 

 

Thanks 

 

Sam

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4 hours ago, Faraway said:

Gets my vote, go for it. You know it makes sense. And use a blue-grey, always nice to see something that has a bit of colour.

Jon

I'm now pretty much set on it, but equally terrified to try and do it, masking is going to be fun, 

 

I'm guessing it's best to leave the railing until later rather than try and cater for that as well with the masking, 

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On 3/1/2022 at 9:11 PM, S-boat 55 said:

 

Example below of the etch gussets etc in place on her forward port lower level, any idea what the misting is. I've been using loctite to make the assemblies and then gorilla super glue to fit them in place as it sets slower, I've not touched those areas with glue all i can figure is its from the glue as it evaporates a little?

That looks like bloom (sublimation?) from the superglue fumes which is why it is a good idea not to use the stuff anywhere near clear parts even 'though 'non misting' varieties are available.

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Just now, gunzo said:

That looks like bloom (sublimation?) from the superglue fumes which is why it is a good idea not to use the stuff anywhere near clear parts even 'though 'non misting' varieties are available.

Ah my suspicion confirmed thanks, wonder why it only does it sometimes,  

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Quick question all, as you know Graf Zeppelin is a little stripey at the moment, - do i need to now prime her all in black to cover what ive done or will just going straight for the final colour work?

 

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1 hour ago, S-boat 55 said:

Quick question all, as you know Graf Zeppelin is a little stripey at the moment, - do i need to now prime her all in black to cover what ive done or will just going straight for the final colour work?

 

depends if you still want to use the preshading effect it will give through your paint or not. It will probably remain slightly visible as an effect, so if you want that panel effect then by all means leave it be. IF you do not want that then I would definitely put on a full black coat. My own instinct would say full black, but that is because I rely on postshading instead of preshading. 

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7 minutes ago, IJNfan said:

depends if you still want to use the preshading effect it will give through your paint or not. It will probably remain slightly visible as an effect, so if you want that panel effect then by all means leave it be. IF you do not want that then I would definitely put on a full black coat. My own instinct would say full black, but that is because I rely on postshading instead of preshading. 

Okay, thanks, full black coat it is, 

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Well clement weather = airbrushing, the wife and kids also have covid so keeping outside suits me well atm, 

 

Im still getting the hand of this airbrushing malarkay

 

However - went with white for Taihos enclosed bow, i'll do the deck by brush, then, I tried doing the hangar wells white but they were awkward to do as i think all the angles made the paint mainly blow off and I couldn't get into the positions without being close in, so switched to a light grey instead which worked a treat. So the Japanese carrier now has German hellgrau 50 in her hangars but i think it works. 

 

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Then it was Graf Zeppelins chance to become Stealth Zeppelin:

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She's almost totally black, the hope is that the very slight difference in 'primer' will show through ever so slightly to the top coat to give it variation. Of course if the camo comes off then it'll be plenty varied but you get the idea. 

 

Marked the waterline off by using the trusty pencil as below, putting her on a thin sheet of foam was important as it stopped her rocking otherwise it would have been crooked. According to her stats the draught should be 2.1cm's, this is 1.9, trumpy would have it even less but their painting schemes are as we know kinda fictional, as Carriers went she wasn't a light weight by any means coming in at 33,000t+

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Then got the anti fouling on her, had a few issues as you will see in the photo's, im not sure if there was grit in the paint, id doubt it or surely it wouldnt have gone through the airbrush so i guess this is the downside of doing it on a breezy day outside, i'll have to carefully put it right,

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Chuffed though that the slight raised plating detail has come good, i was worried the paint wasnt thick enough. I dont know if the black paint lifted because it hadnt been left long enough, Its not major though, I just dont want the same thing to happen when I come to the camouflage scheme,

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As you can see i used Tamiyas masking tape with plastic sheeting attached, i bought rhe 550 wide variant so i could lay it out and hop the bottom off with a blade and used tamiya 18mm tape to make it to the other side of the ship and basically cocoon the upper half. That has the upside of if any photo etch is knocked off its safe inside the cocoon to be re-attached later. Also means i get twice the length of masking for the same price, I did have to use thinner tape to make the line off though as there isnt enough play in the wider type. 

 

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The hangar's also painted up, need to do the floor by hand but just thinking now about build order, whether to paint the camo up then put the hangar etc in and or vice versa. Hangar first would mean the deck could go on and have the edge gussets etc painted, but it would also mean I'd need to mask of the bays on each side and try and fit the railing etc after. Both are doable but not sure which would be less hassle,

 

Thanks for stopping in

 

 

 

 

Edited by S-boat 55
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52 minutes ago, Courageous said:

Taiho's enclosed bow looks intricate, paint job looks nice to me. 'Zep' is looking rather sinister. Good work.

 

Stuart

I'll confess part of me wants to leave her black, wonder if there ever were ships just painted completely black, 

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2 hours ago, Ex-FAAWAFU said:

Zep bears a passing resemblance to the (80s) Invincible class there.  Half as big again, obvs, but all she needs is a ramp…

Funny you mention them,  I think I've been very much hooked on carriers now and been thinking about doing a modern one,

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8 hours ago, S-boat 55 said:

Funny you mention them,  I think I've been very much hooked on carriers now and been thinking about doing a modern one,


Somewhere deep in the depths of thus forum (in fact…. here) you will find my long-stalled attempt at converting the Airfix Illustrious to her sister ship, Ark Royal (née Indomitable).  

 

A bit like the Merit 1940s Ark, the Airfix Lusty has many flaws - for example many of them have warped hull parts, though mine were not too bad (and I think even the bad ones are fixable) - but it’s the only game in town for a 1/350 CVS, and with work you can make a good model out of it.  
 

I am somewhat depressed to find that I started it 9 years ago, so it’s fair to say it’s well aground on the Shoal of Doom.  I do, however, still intend to finish it one day; probably next off the rank once her 1940s aunt is done.  [Quiet in the cheap seats about how long this might take!]

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This is a great build. 

You are meticulous, and I admire your focus on details. 

Both ships are interesting. The Japanese ship has a "modern" beauty to it. 

I am looking forward to seeing more. 

Bravo!

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@Ex-FAAWAFU I nearly bought the airfix kit a while back but tried their type 45 and gave up on it for the same week known issues, but i may have to take the punt one day, as you say she's the only one out there

 

@SallysDad thank you that's very kind,  

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How easy is it to take a standard 'stick on' deck and colour it? Akin to this;

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I am toying with getting a wood deck for Taiho but hers was stained black shortly before her loss, so if i were to do it I would need to be able to stain it black in a convincing way, 

 

Been working on bit and pieces the past few days, some of the painting for the hangar, did Zeppelins lower then joined it to the upper hangar but I'm not sure about the deck colour now that its in place, also noticed there is much more of a joint between the two hangars than I thought would show on the well wall. From looking at that I've decided the brass detail I added to sit either side of the lift/pad will be going, I'm working on sorting something better from thin evergreen sheet. Not a lot I can do about the deck colour now for the lower although I could do different for the upper hangar, would look odd I guess. I don't want to have to try and separate the two hangars again as that's a recipe for disaster but really not sure on the colour at the moment its a very dark blueish grey, wonder if a more neutral grey would have been better, Ive no idea what colour hangar decks were normally, thoughts?

 

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So thats parked a minute while I think on it, and went back to my 'thinking project' - I have a few small models that i pull out when i fancy a change from the big tasks as I can see actual progress from an hour or two spent on them. This is the latest - revells 1/350 Type VII uboat with eduards etch, she is now ready to paint and will sit next to Zeppelin in the cabinet one day, 

 

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And then I figured it was about time I started looking at the airwing for Taiho - I may regret deciding to go whole hog on it but I hope to build Akagi one day so it will be shared between the two should that ever happen, I'm a touch special I think as i need to be able to see something to help me get it done and know that i am making progress, its why I have a spreadsheet measuring my progress through my builds, retentive that may make me, but it works for me, 

 

Laid them all out and so it begins;

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Not much of an update really but still plugging away. Curious on thoughts re the deck staining and colour of the hangar floor?

 

thanks

 

Sam

 

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55 minutes ago, Courageous said:

Sorry, can't help with your deck query. The 'thinking project' looks nice and tidy. I don't envy the job of your air wing, you might need a 'sanity project'.

 

Stuart

I did quite enjoy knocking the sub up must be said, she's the right variant to go with my Ark Royal when I get to her, gonna let another somewhat well known project reach completion first though to save me having to do the research lol 😉

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Planes take a long time, the Veryfire ones are beautifully detailed but each I taking 25 mins as there are several connections to the sprue that need tidying up, so after a few hours the first batch are done - all the Judy's and the two Val's (which are out of shot). Think I said before that you only get etch for 1 Val which is odd so the other will be in the hangar. There was also one spare Judy so that will likewise be sat inside, these still need the photo etch canopy adding (once pre painted) and the etch props and resin nose cones, so much still to do, 

 

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The crane opening is going to be in the way, as much as it would be nice to show it off I'm likely going to just have it as closed, I dont think it would look right being up and the deck being full of planes,

 

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Pre painting cockpits for the Jill's - did all of them in the end so they are ready for when I summon up more patience, I'll have to come back to it and pick out the seat with a tan colour, 

 

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You can see the multiple connection points on the wings on this closeup, - they are a pain in the proverbial...., Trumpys planes by comparison are quicker to put together but not as nicely moulded. Odd issue i have found though id that on a couple of the Judy's fuselage, part 1 is slightly too long which doenst show until you put the main wing on, the result is a slightly banana shaped fuselage,

 

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I'll need to be ordering some paints for the plane exteriors from Sovereign, 

 

To take a break on the planes i started the island, this is 19 parts so far, there are a few awkward seams that week need sorting, i love the internal railing though, gives a nice 3d pull to the structure,

 

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The starboard side is far the more interesting, when I get a proper case or cabinet I will definitely need a  mirror to be able to see the detail the other side, 

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This is where she is at, have a busy weekend but hopefully get a bit more done and then do a shot with her and Zeppy together, 

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Thanks for stopping by, 

 

S-boat

Edited by S-boat 55
Grammar grammar grammar
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