Airfix 1/600 HMS Ark Royal + PE + crew - Finished

[ArnoldAmbrose]

Gidday @AdrianMF, those octuple mountings you've made are terrific! 👍 And yeah, I don't think it hurts to have a spare.

Those jigs you've made are very clever and I agree, jigs can be very useful.

Regards, Jeff.

[AdrianMF]

2 hours ago, Dave Slowbuild said:

Who needs a 3D printer??

I have to say I find it quite hard to unsee these. They aren't even that expensive, which is my usual excuse for avoiding aftermarket.

 

Mind you, I had fun making my own and I can't tell the difference from normal distance (i.e. not macro photography).

 

I'll start 3D printing when I retire, honest 🤥.

 

Although do I really want a computer-based hobby involving sensitive machinery and noxious chemicals in my life? 🤔

 

Regards,

Adrian

 

 

 

 

[Dave Slowbuild]

I certainly don’t want to spend too much of my newly retired life in front of a computer screen, having spent most of my working life doing just that.  
It’s done for my eyesight, I have to wear an optivisor type thingy to do any modelling at all.  🤓

[AdrianMF]

14 hours ago, Dave Slowbuild said:

It’s done for my eyesight

I fear it's not down to computers but ageing. I had the good sense and foresight to develop short-sightedness as a child, which means that as my lenses harden with age, my eyesight is actually getting better. By the time I'm 110, I won't need glasses at all - what could possibly go wrong!!

 

One of the many things I didn't know is that people who have laser surgery to correct their eyesight have to either repeat it or wear glasses again as their eyesight changes with age. Glad I never felt the need - I thought I would always be panicking about where I had left my specs!

 

Regards,

Adrian 

[81-er]

I've gone the other way to you, Adrian, I was slightly long-sighted (but not enough to need glasses), with the amount of long-sightedness diminishing as I get older. So the knock-on effect of my eyesight getting worse is I'll end up with 20-20 vision at some point 🤣

 

Another fun fact like your laser surgery one; if you have cataract surgery, they replace the lens with an artificial one with the same prescription as your last set of glasses. But while it sorts your eyesight out generally, you lose the close-up focusing, so you’ll still need glasses to read. Which my mum was most put out about as she'd hoped to get rid of her glasses entirely

 

James

[Dave Slowbuild]

I also developed short-sightedness as a child (why could all the other kids read the blackboard and I couldn’t?), but my eye sight is sadly not improving.  I think it’s down to staring at an object a fixed distance away for hours at a time, day after day.  Happened to be a computer screen.  I don’t seem to stare at books quite the same way.

I have 3 pairs of glasses on the go:-

Distance.

Reading.

Occupational (for something an arm’s length away, ie a computer screen).

 

Ah but there’s also my prescription sunglasses, so 4 pairs.  I have 4 pairs of glasses on the go…..  this is turning into a Monty Python sketch!

 

I would have had to give up modelling, but the optivisor type affair I picked up at SMW a few years back has kept me going.  I do find that I need a break after an hour or so, even then.

 

[ArnoldAmbrose]

22 minutes ago, Dave Slowbuild said:

have 3 pairs of glasses on the go:-

Distance.

Reading.

Occupational (for something an arm’s length away, ie a computer screen).

       Me too, occupational being computer screen for modeling research, and modeling itself (not the cat-walk kind). The last two are interchangeable with me. I can do without the long distance if I have to (I'm long sighted) but have to wear them legally to drive, as I sometimes drive a fire truck. (It's nice to know what I'm hitting. 😁) It's convenient to simply wear them all the time so I know where they are.

       And more specifically for modeling, I use an optivisor as well as the glasses for close-up work, which is nearly all of it. And regardless of your eyes @AdrianMF, those octuple mountings you made are extremely good.

Regards, Jeff.

[Old Man]

On 5/28/2023 at 12:25 PM, AdrianMF said:

At last, I think I'm getting somewhere! I've finally broken out of AMS/analysis paralysis, and realised that I just need to build anything that moves in the kit box until I run out of things to build.

 

I constructed some more templates:

The cards with the notches allow me to cut 1.5, 2.5and 4mm wide strip without having to measure. Simply stick the card in the notch and cut with the blade pressed up against the template. The jig in the middle allows me to drop in a scored-out disk, drill the hole in the middle, add the raised rear quarter decking and cut off the front without having to do any measuring.

The first two look promising with an undercoat:

 

And a full set with a spare:

 

I think they look better than either the kit or the PE ones, and they scale out correctly. I may add PE railings to them later.

 

Although I was slowly getting there, I'd like to send a big thank you to @ArnoldAmbrose for so generously sharing his techniques for building these damn' things!

 

 

That's a slick trick with the notches, Adrian. I'll remember that one.

 

The quads look just like the ones they make downtown.

 

James

[Mr T]

Very nice work on the guns, they are going to look really nice on the finished model. What I want to know is what are you going to use to rig the Swordfish? 😉

I am very shortsighted. At 69 my eyesight is slightly better in so far as my minimum focusing distance is now about five inches instead of four and my feet are now in focus. 

[The Spadgent]

Beautiful old school modelling . Or is that “just” modelling on the guns. 👏👏👏 They look great. 
 

Johnny

[AdrianMF]

On 08/06/2023 at 18:49, The Spadgent said:

modelling

"Old school" probably covers it but then my Dad was very prone to dragging out the odd block of balsa wood!

 

I have hauled myself back to this build because suddenly we are nearly half way through the GB. So I will ignore my DH9A and that stack of inviting Sword Fiat G55s.

 

Sometimes things are just frustrating. All the pins on the turrets are too large for the holes so they needed trimming, the turrets and the armour round the ledges are flared out towards the bottom so they needed sanding down, and the turrets all have sink marks on all three sides! Waiting for the putty to dry so I can sand 24 sides back to shape

 

I also have a suspicion that the turrets are actually shields, so they might need some detail behind them, like hollowing out or at least some breech detail. More picture studying required. (Edit - they are open at the back. I will paint them black at the back and add a small offcut of plastic to look like the gun breech.)
 

Next up will be detailing the quad 0.5" guns with magazines and maybe some controls to make them look a bit less stark:

I had a go at using the PE ones but they are utterly beyond me.

 

Then getting some perforated ribs into the fore and aft openings and getting those decks in, which will be my first contact with the PE railings.

 

It's a good job there's no strong drink in the house...

 

Regards,

Adrian

[AdrianMF]

Less moaning and more getting on:

 

There are now two magazines either side and a blob at the back to represent the gunner's controls. Pretty messy close up but it will all look busy later on (I hope!). 
 

(edit) And the 4.5" gun shields are sanded down and some rudimentary breeches added to the back so they can poke out of the black:

(more edit) And the barrels in, all pointing level apart from one set for a bit of visual interest:

(even more edit) Do the boats have sink marks? Is the Pope religious??

 

Time to look for the strong drink while that dries. Or just a nice cuppa.

[AdrianMF]

And I have got some colour on! Probably not the right one, and probably not the one i will end up with:

 

Good old Humbrol 27 acrylic "Dark Sea Grey". It's possibly a little dark for 507A but it's a blueish grey. I will be doing a lot of dry-brushing and weathering and blending, so it's a starting point. It's amazing how many greys one can have and still not find the right one. I might look at RLM 74/75 (the lighter of the two) as well.

 

507C will be somewhere around Humbrol 64 or Revell 76 Hellgrau, possibly mixed with white - I'll see how it looks.
 

I'd love to be using Colourcoats, but, y'know, enamels.

[TonyW]

5 hours ago, AdrianMF said:

 

 

 

Do the boats have sink marks? Is the Pope religious??

 

Time to look for the strong drink while that dries. Or just a nice cuppa.

 

The last thing you want in a lifeboat is a sink mark.

 

It's a Royal Navy ship that's fighting you. A suitable drink to fight back might be Pussers Rum although hide anything sharp before you get stuck in.

[81-er]

Definitely good progress there, Adrian, even if challenging. I hope you've managed to now acquire a suitably strong alcoholic beverage? And RLM 75 is the lighter grey FYI.

 

James

[AdrianMF]

I didn't get much modelling time today but i wanted to keep the momentum up. I thought I'd start on the base - this requires lots of handling the hull to get the fit right, so best out of the way before any fragile bits get added.

The base is made from the box my last EBay delivery came in:

 

The draught is incredibly shallow - it will fit into my usual 1.5cm base height:

 

Having got it all set up, I'm now not sure whether I wouldn't rather have it steaming towards the near left corner:

 

I will knock up an alternative this week from the next parcel that drops through the door. Now I've worked out the measurements and the fit it shouldn't take long to make another.

 

[edit] I might adjust the position slightly too, so that the dropped aerial masts stay well within the base parimeter.

 

[more edit] I mentioned my directional dilemma to Mrs MF and she said "why don't you just turn it over and move the zigzags to the other side?". The gal's a keeper!

 

And if the mast does overhang the base I can just add another cm to what will now be the front.

[Dave Slowbuild]

I’ve never made a diorama, or even any kind of base, so I’m eager to see how yours develops Adrian.  Impressive start, looks a very neat fit with the model!

[81-er]

I was thinking of suggesting just flipping it over while reading your post, then I saw Mrs MF beat me to it. She's definitely a keeper

 

James

[AdrianMF]

So here we go, with an extra cm at the front to keep the aerials inside the perimeter:

Looks much better that way around.
 

I can't believe I couldn't work that out for myself! 🫢😳

[CliffB]

9 hours ago, AdrianMF said:

I'm now not sure whether I wouldn't rather have it steaming towards the near left corner:

 

 

I don't know why most of us prefer this orientation - but we seem too.  There's probably some deep psychological reason!

[ArnoldAmbrose]

2 hours ago, CliffB said:

I don't know why most of us prefer this orientation - but we seem too.  There's probably some deep psychological reason!

Yeah, quite possibly. If I photograph a full ship model I usually have it diagonal to get that little bit closer. I take photos of the model both diagonally pointing towards and away, as in @AdrianMF's photos above, but if I show a single photo it's usually bows closer to the viewer.       Regards, Jeff.

[AdrianMF]

4 hours ago, CliffB said:

I don't know why most of us prefer this orientation

Same with aeroplanes - front left/port three-quarters is the classic view. Most three views of aeroplanes show the LHS too.

 

2 hours ago, ArnoldAmbrose said:

bows closer to the viewer

Maybe it's an association with arrival and engagement? If the bows are pointing away it's either leaving or it's ignoring us.

[Fritag]

Adrain, the thread continues to offer great entertainment and the modelling continues to impress.  Also impressed by how the Mr F/Mrs F  skills clearly compliment each other…

Edited June 12 by Fritag

[Alex Gordon]

Many moons ago I seem to recall reading something about Airfix box art,the jist of which was everything looks right when it's heading from the top right to the bottom left.

You're making a cracking job of that,keep up the good work.

[TonyW]

It all starts with the Greeks and their angles and whatnot on the Parthenon. Bring it more up to date and the publishing world has all kinds of rules about gutters, edges and orientation of pictures. All we are doing is re inventing the wheel again.

 

Had you shown the carrier from a rear three quarter view it would have looked wrong somehow. Add a Swordfish on it's final approach, over to you with the method, and all would somehow slot into place.

 

It looks magnificent in its new heading.

 

Tony./