Beneath Nikko Bay- A Sunken Rufe Fighter Floatplane

[Mark Cassidy]

So had this idea for a while, this is my third build for the group build, this is only loosley based on the images below,  but the idea is a sunken fighter wreck from WW2 long abandoned and now an attractive place for kayakers and free divers in the shallow waters of Nikko Bay Paulau.

 

Its a 1/72 Airfix A6M Zero, converted to a Rufe Floatplane Fighter thats been sunken when it was hidden in the quiet secluded inlets of Nikko Bay in 1944 and forgotten, time hasnt been kind to the wreck and although lightly damage when sunken, scuttled perhaps, time and salt water has started to eat the structure away. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Mark Cassidy]

Started this unusally by cutting away the control surfaces on the wing, and using an engraver to grind a hole in the upper fuselage, next I need to print off the floats and some machine guns , I had a stab at test printing some of the airframe on the wings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Need to design and print some internal bulkheads , the floats and the wing machine guns to get this going.

 

 

[Marklo]

Welcome to the GB. I’m also planning on doing a sunken zero looking forward to seeing this one come together for inspiration  

[Trevor L]

This will be a good one. I will watch with interest.

[marvinneko]

Very cool.

 

If you design the conversion parts I'd certainly be interested in the files if you are willing to share. I'd like to do a Rufe but mostly see Zero kits.

[Mark Cassidy]

On 11/09/2023 at 04:27, marvinneko said:

Very cool.

 

If you design the conversion parts I'd certainly be interested in the files if you are willing to share. I'd like to do a Rufe but mostly see Zero kits.

Mate, 

 

Of course am more than happy to share mate, two caveats 1st most of the models, arent my models I have just scavengened them from places like Yeggi and 2nd my files are very rough and ready so they might not be much use, but more than happy to share.

[marvinneko]

2 hours ago, Mark Cassidy said:

Mate, 

 

Of course am more than happy to share mate, two caveats 1st most of the models, arent my models I have just scavengened them from places like Yeggi and 2nd my files are very rough and ready so they might not be much use, but more than happy to share.

 

Appreciated! 

[Mark Cassidy]

Apologies for the seeming abandonment of this project, it has been progressing I promise lol 

 

So I have crafted up the basics of the rock island and the cliff face in foam, made a MDF back for the cliff, cut the acrylic sides to fit the frame, just need to get them glued in and all sealed

 

 

Ive started pulling the Rufe together too , got it primed, and Ive added coral deposits to the interior , I have been experimenting printing corals on the printer so once I have those the way I want them I can stick some inside the Rufe and progress  that.  Ive made two more things for the Rufe, a mould of the canopy in clay so that I can bend florists wire over it to create the canopy framing, I also printed a engine mount that I will afix to the nose of the zero that am hoping emmulates the gubbins behind the engine as though over time corrosion has eaten the metal retaining the whole engine and its toppled off onto the seabed. 

 

 

Ive also been printing off some tropical animals and fauna, the stingray ended up being too big so i used it as a test paint,

 

 

Ive also been printing and painting corals , I bought some neon colours at scale Scotland on Saturday thinking they would be good colours but now am not so sure, so maybe not use the neons 

 

 

 

 

So as you can see its progressing and am hopeful to get it finished by the 23rd when the group build ends.

 

 

 

[marvinneko]

Very cool work on the plane and coral.

 

There is a documentary I saw on Amazon Prime called "The Silent Wrecks of Kwajalein Atoll" from 2007.

 

You might find it interesting / helpful. I seem to remember it had ships and planes from WW2.

[Svedberg]

Great job on the eaten away fuselage and wings! Looks very convincing.

[JeroenS]

3 hours ago, Svedberg said:

Great job on the eaten away fuselage and wings! Looks very convincing.

I second that!

[Mark Cassidy]

10 hours ago, marvinneko said:

Very cool work on the plane and coral.

 

There is a documentary I saw on Amazon Prime called "The Silent Wrecks of Kwajalein Atoll" from 2007.

 

You might find it interesting / helpful. I seem to remember it had ships and planes from WW2.

Aw mate I will deffo check that out sounds like exactly what I need 👍

[Mark Cassidy]

7 hours ago, Svedberg said:

Great job on the eaten away fuselage and wings! Looks very convincing.

Thanks, it was done with a Dremel with the engraving head, took ages to be honest, its hard to believe how thick the plastic is, am not sure if that's just specifically the Airfix Zero, or its like that with most kits, but its much thicker than I thought.  I had to also thin the edges of the holes to try and make it look natural, I wasn't sure if I had gone too far with the holes, I suppose I could have put more internal wing structures in but you cant really see it.

[R T Fishall]

22 hours ago, Mark Cassidy said:

Ive also been printing and painting corals , I bought some neon colours at scale Scotland on Saturday thinking they would be good colours but now am not so sure, so maybe not use the neons

Love the look of all that Coral, I think that those colours will really Pop against the plane. I wouldn't worry about the brightness of the colours, real coral can be some pretty funky colours. In fact, got any glow in the dark paint?
 

Plane's looking great too, I'd say all that Dremel work was well worth it.

[Mark Cassidy]

So a wee update, the Rufe is just about done, I think I have some small corals to add but will add them at the very end so I dont knock them off.  

 

The canopy took ages to do, I know its a little out of scale and the rear part isnt quite right but I will take that , Ive only just learned how to "bend" in 3d model software. but am reasonably happy with it, I decided to affix the canopy and various parts with clear resin, on the basis that the when I pour the resin over it to create the water, you wont see it.

 

I will add some more colour to the coral deposits on the aircraft as well to add some more colour to the effect. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[marvinneko]

Wow, that's really eye-catching work on the plane!

[JeroenS]

That's very well depicted entropy! Can't wait to see the end result. 

[rob Lyttle]

Extraordinary bit of dilapidated underwater wreckage conjured up here ❗Looking forward to the completed scene - hope the "pour" goes according to plan 👍

[Mark Cassidy]

On 09/10/2023 at 22:11, rob Lyttle said:

Extraordinary bit of dilapidated underwater wreckage conjured up here ❗Looking forward to the completed scene - hope the "pour" goes according to plan 👍

Thanks its taken a bit of time and effort lol

 

 

[Mark Cassidy]

So a wee update 

 

I have been busy printing and then speed painting corals,sponges and sea fans , still have loads to do , but the good thing is they dont take too long to print and Army Speedpainter paints are my new best friend lol Im kinda doing it in little chunks, finding what works and reprinting more.

 

 

 

 

I have finished scultping and painting up the terrain, I printed chunks of coral, didnt like the finish so stippled it with tile grout and playsand and then painted it various grey/sandy tones, its weirdly ended up being almost sandy coloured like the base, which I have glued down, the terrain will be in effect a small sea stack type rock formation and a larger main land both with think jungle foliage ontop , the rock formations are meant be a sort of limestone type so hoperfully I have managed that. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So I was thinking about some palm trees and jungle foliage, and watched a video on making palm trees on you tube, I liked the idea and tried to follow it , took some plastic sprue, heated it and tried to bend it a little, the video recommended making a milliput or clay top, hence the white sticks with white balls on top, the idea being, you then wrap brown twine around the sprue to make a tree trunk with bark, then you add card cut  palm leaves to the top on florists wire.  I tried it and it didnt work for me, so I got thinking, I decided to use a glue gun took lengths of florist wire and glued them on, the I wrapped the twine around all the way up to the top, singed off the random twine hairs, and i still need to add a brown wash to darken the bark.  I suppose you could add in some coconuts if you want, next you bend the florist wire as requires then glue the cardboard leaves on, I need to experiment some more with it , maybe airbrush some mottled effects or something to get variation in the leaf colour. 

 

I decided to try the same thing with more conventional shaped trees and added some clump foliage but its not been strong enough so need to make that better in future trees but i like the twine bark. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have also started to add some of the corals to the sea stack and a chunk of the coral, I have loads to go though, I really want to get over the sheer abundance of sea life under the sea and the density of the jungle, I need to create a thick jungle, some ground ferns and palms, some really dense leaf scatter for the decomposing jungle floor. and I need to add some sea life to the rufe wreckage. 

 

After that , its get the last side on, leak checks carried out. and kayaker printed and painted, then the big resin pour 

 

I wont lie it will be a push to get it finished in time, but I would rather take the time to get it finished to a decent standard rather than rush it. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 13, 2023 by Mark Cassidy
Forgot to add photos

[JeroenS]

Good progress. You can still do a lot in a week, but I agree rushing this would be a waste. You can still finish the thread here even if the gallery closes before you're done. 

[Mark Cassidy]

11 hours ago, JeroenS said:

Good progress. You can still do a lot in a week, but I agree rushing this would be a waste. You can still finish the thread here even if the gallery closes before you're done. 

Thanks, thats good to know, I didnt think you could finish a thread after the 22nd mate 🙂

[JeroenS]

On 16/10/2023 at 21:03, Mark Cassidy said:

Thanks, thats good to know, I didnt think you could finish a thread after the 22nd mate 🙂

Mark, we just got a 2 week extension on the GB so I'm hoping this will help you finish this one!

[Mark Cassidy]

On 19/10/2023 at 10:13, JeroenS said:

Mark, we just got a 2 week extension on the GB so I'm hoping this will help you finish this one!

Thanks thats outstanding mate thanks for taking the time to let me know, I will deffo get it finished by then, this weekend in Scotland is likely a wet weather weekend so I will get a good jump on it.

 

[Mark Cassidy]

So a wee update on this, Im glad we have a wee extension on the GB. 

 

So I feel like I have little progress to show , but I have been busy , if I ever have an idea to do a dio with a coral reef, slap me lol its just been what seems like endless printing/painting/fixing and rinse and repeat. 

 

 

Thats nearly all of it not counting what I have already attached, and Im hoping I dont have much more to do , but it will be easier to judge as I fill up the rocks

 

 

 

 

Ive also been working on the top of the cliffs as well, I have watched some videos on you tube on making palms and tried to take what I think was the best bits of the various videos, I think next time I would paint the palm leaves after I cut them to make it easier, I did try using a coloured paper but it didnt look too natural but then up have to deal with the white bits of the edge of the palms .  Ive tried to add in some of the smaller younger foliage, and I will add some clump foliage for bushes and also some leaf matter for the floor of the jungle. once the corals are completed and the jungle terrain done I can get the last side in , leak test it and then get ready for the big pour. 

 

 

 

 

Oh I do need to get my kayaker painted up and also figure out where/how to insert my hammerhead and stingray into the scene as well  

 

Any thoughts on what I can improve on or change am always happy to hear 🙂