HMS Colombo - C Class Cruiser, Trumpeter 1/350

[TomTango]

Beautiful build, a true inspiration.

[Mcdood]

Well done, another piece of stunning work. 
Although not in your league, your work gives inspiration to aim for. 
Thank you, 

Martin. 

[robgizlu]

Thanks for all your very kind comments - they are very much appreciated.

As to the big "R" - I'm loving it though don't seem to have much more modelling time 

Too much cycling to be done at the moment.

 

So onwards.  A dark deck wash is applied over the wood deck (after you've applied a light coat of "Klear")

 

 

Allow it to dry for 10-15 minutes and then with a slightly white-spirit whetted cotton bud - gently run this along so as to pick up the wash that remains on the raised bits

 

 

 

The non slip dark grey is then sprayed onto the superstructure decks

 

 

 

There is a small contrats between the "wood" 507A decks and the Non-slip Grey decks

 

 

 

The rather splendid automatic Micromater twin Oerlikons are completed.  The Detail is, as we've come to expect from Simon's products, simply stunning.

 

 

How nice are they!!

 

And whilst we're on the subject - another order arrived from sunny New Zealand -

 

 

It's one of modelling's pleasures to open these........

 

 

You can work out some of the future builds by seeing what's within.  I'm needing to plan 4-5 builds ahead 

 

 

The Flower vents are just wonderful as are several of Simon's newst offerings

 

I petitioned Simon to produce some "Not in use" 20mm Oerlikons - the ones with the barrell pointing vertically.  They appear like this in a surprisingly high number of original wartime photographs

 

 

He's also produced stairs that are a) Very detailed and b) A cowards way out of folding etch that I mange to muck-up a depressing amount of times

 

 

 

Having scratched one of these in 1/72, I'm pleased to announce that Simon's is 3 x more detailed at the much smaller scale

 

 

These 20mm ammo lockers will feature on this build and many more - mundane but hugely valuable

 

 

And finally an increasing necessity is to label the pots which prevents frantic rummaging

 

 

So back to to the build.  I always spray Klear over ALL of the hull and superstructure paintwork.  That's partly because I can then use oils and enamels to weather without fear of "lifting" the Colourcoats paint, though I'd do the same if I used acrylics.  You can handle the model with the light varnish without fear of wearing paint down and Klear gives a very slight sheen whch I find pleasing versus a very dull matt.

Hull was duly sprayed and then masked and the below waterline hull was sprayed with a Grey enamel.  It won't be seen when the ship os "planted" in the base and is really only done for you all to see what the ship looks like.  I warm to @dickrd's research regarding the colour of antifouling and I find it aesthetically more pleasing.

 

 

 

It's so warm currently that paint dries within an hour so it's not long to the reveal

 

 

The hull is now nearly complete

 

 

 

Detailing and base next.

Thanks for looking 

Rob

[Bertie McBoatface]

That’s a really crisp paint job. Essential in the scale of course. I like the camouflage colours. 

[dickrd]

9 hours ago, robgizlu said:

 

Hull was duly sprayed and then masked and the below waterline hull was sprayed with a Grey enamel.  It won't be seen when the ship os "planted" in the base and is really only done for you all to see what the ship looks like.  I warm to @dickrd's research regarding the colour of antifouling and I find it aesthetically more pleasing.

 

 

 

Just to be clear for everyone's benefit, I have so far found no information regarding the lower hull colour on HMS Colombo nor made any suggestions as to what it might have been. My research into the anti fouling paint colours worn on RN ships suggests that it would most likely have been a red or a grey, but it could have been black (although this is less/un likely), and even conceivably a green (although this is highly unlikely). 

Edited July 27, 2022 by dickrd

[Faraway]

9 hours ago, robgizlu said:

He's also produced stairs that are a) Very detailed and b) A cowards way out of folding etch that I mange to muck-up a depressing amount of times

Bending PE stairs. 

Has to be my most disliked task of any build.
Jon

[Adm Lord De Univers]

Gaw-geous!

[RGL]

Looking great Rob. 

Edited July 27, 2022 by RGL

[Courageous]

Great stuff Rob, Looking fantastic. That haul from NZ must've put a dent into pension lump sum...

 

Stuart

[steve5]

thanks for the link , I haven't heard of micro master before , they have some good stuff .

nice work on your build too , it looks great .

[Faraway]

6 hours ago, steve5 said:

I haven't heard of micro master

At least they are closer to you 😜

Jon

[robgizlu]

On 7/31/2022 at 1:16 AM, steve5 said:

thanks for the link , I haven't heard of micro master before , they have some good stuff .

nice work on your build too , it looks great .

 

Steve - Micromaster AKA Simon Percival is a God.  His products sadly become totally addictive 

 

Well I 'm concscious that this build is beginning to stretch out so - note to self - "Get a move on".

But before I wibble on - just a shout out to a thread in "Shows" regarding the Avon IPMS show that next To Scale model World is regularly the best that I attend.  It tends to get buried out of site so check  it out if you are interested 

 

 

However I'll publish some of the maritime pics from the "Mulberry Harbour SIG" that went onto win "Best of show".  The SIG has a Facebook presence 

 

Alan Blyth is a superb modeller from IPMS London/The Assocation of London Modellers and here are some pics of his work in 1/350 for the stand

 

 

 

 

 

 

And his work in 1/700

 

 

And some from Richard Allen

 

 

 

Alan has generously shared with me his sea sculpt technique and I'll report back in due course as it seems delightfully straightforward.

 

So the Colombo build has now dragged on - so - note to self - "Pull finger out"

 

The etched Carley paddles that come with ship frets often seem oversized and no-one does a specific fret when they feature prominently in wartime pics...

 

 

In a moment of (unusual) clarity I experimented with 0.3mm styrene rod 

 

 

Clearly forgetting to switch my macro on 

Take the end of some tweezers or a a scalpel handle and just firmly press down 

 

 

whcih takes you to this

 

 

The other technique I've trie with Carley rafts is "dry-brushing" a technique that I normally try to avoid.  I've peviously used washes but I can rport - dry brushing with oils is far more effective and will be my preferred way of depictign the ropework henceforth.

 

I've spent some time detailing the bridge with speaking tubes and even though the plans and don't iinstructions don't show them - I've added Micromaster 20" signal lamps to "pedestals" at the rear of the bridge that come moulded

 

 

 

You can see in the above pic what a difference the 20mm lockers make over the kit supplied "boxes".

 

One of the advantages of building a second ship of the same class is that you can learn form your mistakes on the first.  On Calcutta I failed to deal iwht the join on the shelter deck superstructure support that is just plain ugly and offends me every time I look at it.  I corrected it on Colombo by filing down and then respraying - lesson learnt

 

 

I began soome deck weathering and was struck by this modern phot of a Type 23 as to how rust a Foc'sle can get...

 

 

I believe the 2 principles of weathering that are successful are 

1)  Build up iin layers so as to give depth 

2)  Less is ALWAYS more

 

I was struck by this tutorial that I stumbled across whilst thinking aboout weathering my Centruion AVRE

 

https://www.facebook.com/DBScaleModelStudio/posts/pfbid02TseLHwdnsHGGYNTf4EpNz2iWTQgi1xNoG68Hf5nSEufW74pSo5c3mkf8okrB1Lf5l

 

Lifecolor Tensocrom products are always useful and I bought some Tensocrom (acrylic) "Rust 1" which is half wash/half filter.

 

 

 

It provides an initila rust/weathering base that you can then add oils to later

 

 

it's important to try to aim for a "layering" look - do a very little at a time

 

 

And as always with oils and enamels - if you over do it, providing you dont leave it too long, you can remove with white spirit.  Do little bits a t a time - have a thin and then if needs be do some more

 

Work continues on the base and mindful of Jon's comment about the stern of Calcutta riding high - I kept whittling until I got Colombo sitting nice and flat.  Then Mig ammo One shot primer 

 

 

To be followed by repeat layering of Liquitex Gloss medium being as rndom as possibel in it's application

 

 

And a pic of what the final layout will look like

 

 

Time for etch superstructure supports, superstructure railings etc and I now nearly always prime the fret first

 

 

More soon 

Thanks for looking

Rob

[robgizlu]

For some reason - it didn't "publish"  ??

[S-boat 55]

Rob, she continues to be impressive at each step you take, that's a handy tip re the paddles as well, 

[beefy66]

6 hours ago, S-boat 55 said:

that's a handy tip re the paddles as well, 

 

Would that just be be without heat could you get the same effect with flat nose smooth grip pliers do you think.  🤔

 

Stay Safe

beefy

[Richard E]

9 hours ago, robgizlu said:

And a pic of what the final layout will look like

 

 

 

Excellent progress - it's the small details like the paddles in the Carley Floats and trademark small boats working around around the principal subject which help bring the whole scene to life.

[robgizlu]

Thanks Fellas

Railings means we are finally getting close to the end

 

 

The Main mast was stepped bu the kit parts were too distorted so some 0.8mm Plastruct came to the rescue.  The war time pics do show it that the supports were quite substantial

 

 

 

Funnel stays were fitted using pre drilled and placed "Bob's Buckles"...

 

 

And then to weathering with my 4 trusty  oils - Smoke black, Faded grey, Faded UN white and the most useful Industrial Earth...

 

 

The hull took about 2 hours of very gentle oil application and then a combination of mostly dry brushing and using white spirit to "feather" occasionally

 

 

It brings the hull immediately alive

The original photos show a lot of blck/darkish fender rub marks especailly on the starboard hull...

 

 

The foc'sle received further washes of rust

 

 

 

and I forgot to say the depth marks are decals from the excellent "Bergemot - Royal Navy" sheet

 

 

The model was then left to dry for 24 hours sitting in the base

 

 

More soon and hopefully this will be finished in time to move directly onto Starling's new S-Class

Thanks for looking 

Rob

[longshanks]

The master of Subtle  

 

Whose oil paints are you using Rob

 

Kev

[robgizlu]

5 hours ago, longshanks said:

The master of Subtle  

 

Whose oil paints are you using Rob

 

Kev

 

Hi Kev

They are "502 Abteilung" originally done by Mig productions.  They are nearly 20 yrs old and barely touched.

I have some AK oils that offer different more specific shades but are not as dense or as satisfactory IMHO (Except for the "Black smoke").

 

You'll only need to buy oils ONCE if you are only using them for modelling.

 

 

And the single most useful colour is the "Industrial Earth" 

 

Continue staying Safe

Rob

[robgizlu]

I've replaced all of the Trumpeter Ammo bins and deck lockers with Micromaster pieces, and this pic hopefully highlights the difference that they make.  As a small aside the Trumpeter intructions do not mention the forward 4" gun lockers but the wartime pics definitey confirm that they were there!

 

 

Spent all day working on this today, and as is often the case, end up with not a lot to show for it.  The Foremast was steeped which involved prethreading all the signal halyards prior to fixing it in place as it would have been really difficult to thread the eyelets with the mast in place

 

 

The superstructure deck rails were all ttached and painted - a lengthy old job

 

 

 

And a Micromaster deck ladder was used for the first time, hugely detailed and so much less frustrating than an etch offering.  The steps still need painting anti-slip

 

 

The base also got some attention and I filled the "micro-bubbles" that form sometines with the Gloss medium & Varnish, before applying 5 coats of "High Gloss Varnish", which really only takes about 30mins per coat to dry in this warm spell.

 

 

Just the main mast, final detailing and crew to go....

Thanks for looking 

Rob

[steve5]

lovely work rob , I bet those funnels were fun to rig .

[beefy66]

Looking great Rob like the idea of the stairs but still think that is cheating just saying 

 

Stay Safe 

beefy 

[robgizlu]

3 hours ago, steve5 said:

lovely work rob , I bet those funnels were fun to rig .

 

Steve - compared to your efforts - this rigging seems trivial 

 

1 hour ago, beefy66 said:

Looking great Rob like the idea of the stairs but still think that is cheating just saying 

 

Stay Safe 

beefy 

 

  I'm just lazy and anything to speed these builds along!  And the steps on etched offerings always break for me, usually because i twist them the wrong way 

Rob

[ArnoldAmbrose]

Gidday Rob, well done with all those guard rails. They and the ladder look good. Regards, Jeff.

[longshanks]

Really coming together now buddy.

Good job with the rigging.... what material did you use?

 

Stay safe

 

Kev