Calling all Russian Varyag/Soya (Варя́г - 1899) & Aurora (Авро́ра - 1896) fans

[G.A.G.]

Hi all,

This is a model well represented in the gallery but with no thread in this forum.

Great source of pictures on both the Varyag and its later incarnation (Japanese naval training cruiser SOYYA) can be found here:

http://navsource.narod.ru/photos/02/020/

[Charlestonguy]

With all the new kits coming out you would think this would have been picked up before. Do you want to include any type or just the Varyag/Soyya?
I'm working on the Aurora but in the post WWI fit.

[G.A.G.]

I guess they could be considered of the same family, so be my guest, but I am not sure if people will find the posts on Aurora under the heading of this thread--unless there is a way to change it. Is that possible?

I am trying to find clues as to the color of the metal decks for Varyag. Zvezda suggest a brick red in the instructions. Any clues?

[G.A.G.]

Ouao! What would we do without the ever present moderators!

Thanks TImmy!

[PetrOs]

Hey

In some close future, I consider to build Varyag from Zvezda, in 1/350 (Im hooked by the RJW ships now ). As I found out, there are 3 different PE sets on the market now, from WEM, GMM and Flyhawk. Does anyone have an experience with these, and which one is the most complete one?

Cheers
Petr

[mw 1378]

Hi Petr,

As far as I know, GMM has only this double set together with Borodino. I have the WEM set and its very complete. You can add the masts from Master and the varrel set from MASTER. There is a wooden deck from scaledecks and I think from Artwox. And I think you provided the links somewhere there are resin main guns from combrig and some other russian firm. Unfortunately I lost this link....now I search them. If you want to have a look at the real WEM set. I�m from Aschau am Inn, not far away from you, feel free to come and have a look.

Best regards

Marc

[Guest]

I have WEM and Flyhawk sets. The WEM one is more extensive but there are some mistakes in it (discussed at some forums) so the Flyhawk better be used too.

[DariusP]

Can anybody provide link to Flyhawk's Variag set please?

[Charlestonguy]

I have the GMM set, parts are not hard to work with, instructions are good and you get a full bridge set with it. I'm happy with it.

[Timmy C]

Can anybody provide link to Flyhawk's Variag set please?

Here you go: http://www.flyhawkmodel.com/en/product.asp?code=350001

[JIM BAUMANN]

As always- for a multi month 1/350 project which has the potential to be a show winner

-I would buy all three PE sets to give me the best chance of a compromise free satisfactory model---

use the best of each of them--and utilise the remainder on future models where applicable.

I saw the Flyhawk set on the NNT stand at a show in Germany- Fuldatal--and was impressed.

I have the WEM set which I partly cut up for Bouvet (!?) and even some 1/700 parts....

DO GET the master masts and yardarms--I think Burkhardt it BKM ( Germany ) stocks them as well

I also have a most helpful Kagero Polish book of 3-D renderings by Stefan Draminski which 'appears'--as far as I have been able to ascertain so far

to be pretty spot on

Guido may chime in as he also has the book and voiced an opinion--which I can no longer recall!!

[G.A.G.]

I was kindly given the GMM set by a fellow Model-worshipper ...
Just finished folding and fitting the pilot house which looks very nice. For those used to the GMM philosophy of not providing stuff you could easily scratch build, it is a lovely set.

There is an (as of now empty) thread in the Calling all fans of ... section on the Varyag. Maybe a better home for this thread? (Oh kind moderators?) It refers to a source of high resolution pics of the ship in both the Russian and Japanese stages of its career there.

Guido, I too would be interested in your comments on the book master Baumann mentioned.

[PetrOs]

Looks like I have a quite complex task now - to raise the money for both WEM and FH sets, for Wake Model's Ushakov, and for one of nice new Combrig kits... So look out for many ebay stuff from me coming

[mhainey]

I have both WM and GMM. I have used both makers on other models such as the IJN Mikasa.

But let's talk about Varyag

WEM is finer and harder to use, but has very cool extras.For example,the pilot house unit is multi-piece as opposed to the single-piece, scored GMM version

And they can be all-out or nothing as in the multi-step boat davits. But at least they provide the correct number of davits!!! I also prefer their multi-page instructions.

Change blades frequently and watching out for stretching the finer stuff such as railings.

GMM is easier to use, has great relief etching but inexplicably provides only half the required boat davits?!?!

Hope it helps.

[Charlestonguy]

I am trying to find clues as to the color of the metal decks for Varyag. Zvezda suggest a brick red in the instructions. Any clues?

As far as I know it was linoleum, so dark brick red would be about right. I used some Testers enamel rust color with a few drops of black to darken it down, but you could use the Tamiya brand if you wanted. I just happened to have a few bottoms of rust available.
Have you looked on the Aurora website? You can see from the pictures a brighter red than I think it really was at the time. Or check on IPMS/USA gallery for the Aurora, lots of good shots of the decks on there too.

Hope some of the guys from the Borodino thread will chime in here too, man do they have a wealth of info to help us!

[DariusP]

Could you explain what metal decks are you guys taking about? There were no metal decks on Variag.

[G.A.G.]

The decks at the bases of the three sternmost funnels. These are the roofs of the superstructures the funnels sit on.

[G.A.G.]

GMM is easier to use, has great relief etching but inexplicably provides only half the required boat davits?!?!

This is actually following GMM's philosophy of ony providing PE replacement parts where they would improve the plastic they replace. The 8 sternmost davits did not have weight-saving holes in them. Their sides were flat. Here is a picture, taken from the stern bridge structure looking forward: .

So a PE equivalent would not provide an impressive improvement over the plactic davits cast by Zvezda; well, maybe one can thin them a bit. This is why GMM supplies PE replacements for just the 8 davits that had the holes.

[DariusP]

They could have been brick red but look at those two fragments:



I know that interpreting colour from black & white photos is very tricky, however, colour of the roof appear to be a very close match to the buff of the lower parts of the funnels and (in the first fragment) vents. Notice also that colour looks very different from the colour of the insides of the cowls (which were almost certainly red).

In this thread: http://tsushima.su/forums/viewtopic.php?id=498&p=1 Boris2005's painted those roofs in a strange shade of pink...

In short, nobody knows for sure.

[G.A.G.]

Thanks for the input and the pics. Always an element of uncertainty there...

On another note, it is interesting that the outside of the colws is painted mostly white in one picture and buf in the other. Are these publicly available anywhere?