The Ship Model Forum

Fantastic gesture from Timhan - thank you so much!

I have now completed the etch for the shelter deck and the quarterdeck. Not a bad weekends work!



I have used some of the resin parts for the first time and a couple of them had air-holes. I will fill those prior to paint.





I quite enjoy working with PE, but these - I hate doing these -



As these are exposed to the elements, I will be painting these differently to last time.

Comments etc, you know what to do

Cheers, Jabb

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HMS Hood, the big one!

I used to be indecisive, now I'm not so sure.

Looking good, Jab!! Keep up the good work!

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Larry Steiner


Completed: 1:200 USS Missouri (Monster Mo)
Next project: Definitely NOT another big ship!!

Jabb, on it,s way today.
Tim.

That hull prep looks awesome, really gives that hull some depth! Awesome work

Thank you very much indeed Tim, and thank you for kind remarks Larry and Charlie.

Cheers Jabb

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HMS Hood, the big one!

I used to be indecisive, now I'm not so sure.

Hi Jabb! Dang, but those hose reels look fantastic. Can't believe the clean, neat work.

I do have a suggestion, though, if I may. In order to give viewers some indication of just how tiny these parts are and how difficult they are to assemble, Can I suggest you include something in your pictures that will give viewers of the relative size of these parts? I've seen builders include matches, even paint bottles. Me, I use a dime.

You work is so damn good that if I didn't know better, I'd think these were full size.

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Larry Steiner


Completed: 1:200 USS Missouri (Monster Mo)
Next project: Definitely NOT another big ship!!

Excellent work Jabb, and thank you for running this thread. I like the way you have painted the hull. Regards Pete in RI

Thank you Larry, I hate making those, anything else, I enjoy the challenge!

I have included a rule in today's pictures to give you an idea of size.

Glad you like the hull Pete, I have now given it a further thin coat to lessen the contrast and it looks better.

I spent a bit of time priming the previous etch and touching up the edges with diluted PVA to close-up the annoying gaps that you always get with etch. I will post pics of these when I have done them all.

Today, I have carried on with prepping the etch for the decks, concentrating on the fo'castle.

The first item was the tiny fire valve, 9 tiny parts -



the two resin valve heads fit in the top of the box -



the 'forks' fit onto the valve heads and the wheels onto the heads and forks -



Next were the clump cat-heads (presumably so named because of the ears?), quite tricky to fold and one section broke-off but fortunately quite easy to rectify.



Next up, the wild cats, six parts to make these up, the Pontos instructions were quite hard to follow here but I sussed it in the end, the forward section folds back on itself to form the top of the forward bearing block.



The only other element of interest is a panel with hoist eyelets on it -



I also have to mention my able assistant, he is currently serving his apprenticeship and I think that if he can manage to stay awake for a full shift, should end up as a capable worker.

Staying awake is the key though!



Thanks all, more soon

Cheers, Jabb

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HMS Hood, the big one!

I used to be indecisive, now I'm not so sure.

Coming along real nice!






Jose

Thank you, Jose! A little progress update and a handy tip coming up!

As I am sure that most of you are aware that smoking is on the decrease but 'vaping' is becoming more popular. I gave up smoking a few years ago but have a few friends who 'vape'. I was talking to one the other day and, just out of interest, he was showing me the ropes, I noticed that the oils that they use come in a rather nice little plastic bottle -



I asked him for some and find them rather useful. They hold 10ml and I use them to mix small amounts of paint for the airbrush, I mix three at a time and add a little light grey to one and a bit of black to the other to create shade variations.



This one has a 50/50 thinner to paint ratio (I always put the thinner first) and the next one, 65/35. The cap is child-proof and the nozzle is easily removable and, because it is quite thin, it allows for small amounts to be added to the airbrush.



However, the big advantage I have found with it is, once you have finished airbrushing, you can really easily suck out the remaining paint from the bowl with the nozzle.



Model progress.

I have now finished the deck furniture and have primed and pre-shaded these -

ammo lockers -



winches -



more winches



and a winch



Random bits



and more random bits -



I have not added any lighter pre-shading to these as I think they should be slightly darker to allow for some lighter post shading highlights.

I will be attacking the shelter deck soon and would like to ask anyone who has passed this stage to comment on their experience with the Pontos brass bulkheads. Did you fit the brass before or after attaching the deck moulding to the hull, and before or after fitting the wood decks? I would be interested in to hear your methods.

Any comments or questions - go ahead and post.

Cheers, Jabb

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HMS Hood, the big one!

I used to be indecisive, now I'm not so sure.

Sincere and grateful thanks to Timhan. Parcel received today, that will reduce the pressure, as you say, for rectifying those mistakes that will surely happen!

I have measured the new deck against the plastic backing which was removed from mine and there is a distinct difference of nearly 2mm in length and a smaller impossible to measure difference across the way. The other thing I have noticed is that the wooden decks from your box are not curling up as mine did on initial removal. It looks like I was right, there was an issue.

Once again, huge, huge thanks!

Cheers, Jabb

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HMS Hood, the big one!

I used to be indecisive, now I'm not so sure.

Hmm..... that's interesting. I will contact Pontos and see if a new deck set is available, as my deck has fit issues also.

Hi Jabb. Glad it arrived OK. Am glad it has found a good home. As i said before, i encountered no problems with
the wood decks. Cant explain what happened to your project. (and europapete). By the way, i asked you a question.
If you are too embarassed, no need to reply !!!. Keep the questions coming. Only too pleased to help.
Tim.

No embarrassment, when I was at school we studied Lewis Carrolls' 'Jabberwocky'. My surname being Abbott, my nickname was Abbo and that transmuted into Jabberwock at that time to became my new nickname, and it kind of stuck - that was an awful long time ago!

I have decided to fix the shelter-deck to the hull after a bit of fettling, supports for 4", a bit of weathering, sorting out where to place the ships boat supports etc. But first I will finish painting the etch and doing some washes which I will describe in great, but boring to some, detail!

And again, thanks

Cheers, Jabb

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HMS Hood, the big one!

I used to be indecisive, now I'm not so sure.

Time for an update.

I have now completed the painting, weathering and highlighting of the deck furniture.

We left this where I had primed and added some black pre-shading. I then sprayed the bits with thinned 'Future' and left that to dry.

I am a fan of 'oil paint dot-filtering' which I will use on the hull at a later stage, but these parts are too small for that process, so I gave it a little thought and came up with the following to replicate that effect.

Here are the parts and the paint and tools required -



I squeezed out some oil paints of the colours as seen and the put them on a metal mixing tray, leaving them in a clump, without actually mixing them -



This mix is then painted on, tops, backs and sides -





Most of the paint is then removed using a chisel brush dipped in the thinner and then most of that drained an wiped off. I would normally work from 'top-to-bottom', but in this case, worked it the opposite way to give more intensity at the top. I hardly leave any of the oil paint on the part, just enough to discolour it, but in certain, limited areas a little more streaking.



Here are some more pics.







The final pin-wash with a mix of thinner and black and a small amount of burnt sienna, mixed to a quite thin consistency, this is then just touched on to the part to highlight the small details, rivets, handles, etc.





I have also fitted the shelter-deck, more soon.

Cheers, Jabb

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HMS Hood, the big one!

I used to be indecisive, now I'm not so sure.

That was an immensely useful post. I really like the results you obtained on all these ready lockers and so on...

This picture in particular...



Thanks...!

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Bill Livingston
Cambridge

Thank you kindly Bill, I have to say that I am very pleased with the result, actually better than I expected. I tried to mix it up so some are quite streaked and others just have a light weathering. All that's left now is to give them a light matt varnish.

It was now time to fit the shelter-deck moulding, I had already carried out a bit of prep work, notably a couple of the port-holes were badly moulded.



I used some Holts Cataloy to fill these and then sanded down and re-drilled correctly

Looking at a lot of other models, one thing I have noticed is the thickness of the plastic at the rear of the Admirals deck where the openings are. I decided to reduce the thickness here with a suitable tool in the Dremel, if you compare the thickness of the main opening with the widow, you can see the difference -



I dry-fitted the deck a multitude of times, adjusting this, fettling that to get as good a fit as possible. I had also prevaricated for a long time over the location of the support columns, combining pictures of the real thing, pictures of the huge model in the Glasgow Transport museum, plans and other models. I eventually drilled the holes in the deck with a 1mm drill. I carefully dry-fitted the deck and drilled through to the best of my ability into the deck below, using just a pin-vice, not having access to a vertical drill press or anything fancy like that!

I glued the deck in position but despite all the preparation, I still ended up with this small gap, It will either be filled in due course, or more likely, hidden behind one of the brass pieces which fit here -



Once the deck was glued down I fitted the 1mm rod through the holes and into the deck to check the alignments. Here's the vertical alignment on the central row, starboard side -



Quite happy with that, and the lateral -



very, very happy with that row.

Outer row, same side -



again, quite happy, the one to the right looks out of kilter, but it is just the parallax effect of the phone lens.

The rear row next -



Immediately I could see an issue here, and when looked at from end on -



On closer inspection, it was due to one of the deck lockers being in the way, I decided on reflection, that the misalignment would not be too much of an issue as you would not be able to compare them once fitted.

The rod was now cut down to a suitable length and the columns place into position. They were pushed into the holes slightly and a spot of thick CA placed in the depression to secure.



These will be brushed with primer and the centre sections painted with an off-white in the near future (ran out of time tonight!)

What do you think? -



I see a slight misalignment but not too bad, once everything else is fitted I am sure they will melt into the background.

Any questions or comments, just fire-away.

Cheers, Jabb

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HMS Hood, the big one!

I used to be indecisive, now I'm not so sure.

Hi Jabb. Are you sure you do not have a hidden camera in my apt.?. You are following the same procedure as i did on this area.
One difference though, where the double stairs exit the shelter deck, where you have thinned the plastic, i left the top surface
alone, but thinned the side to create a kind of "shelf" on the top. Applied a timber shelf on the top surface. Have no idea if this
is the correct way to go, but looks good, if nothing else. Love your work.
Tim.

looking good Jabb. I cut that rear panel out completely, as photos show it to be thin sheet metal.I will use the Pontos brass piece to provide that and make supports for the inside. The poles look great, haven't got that far yet. I notice you have the degoussing cable on already, which makes hull edge gap filling a bit awkward, dry fitting my shelter deck shows the same gap you have. The paint dot technique is a cool idea, will have to practice, those parts came out very nice. Regards, Pete in RI

I'm watching you! Haha. Actually when you think about it, there are not that many ways of completing some things and, when we think things through, we usually end up with the best solution, as others will do. Nice idea with the wood, I know the handrails were finished in wood so that will be something to do. Thanks for the compliment.



Thanks Pete. I was thinking about doing the same with those panels but came to the conclusion that the difference in the thickness there may affect the wooden deck fitting. Hopefully, there won't be that much filling required, must admit, I didn't really think about that stage of proceedings, just wanted to get on and do something.
I practiced that oil paint dot technique on a CD case, just primed and painted it and then tried different colours. I used it to good effect on the Dreadnought that I did and put a build log on here. http://www.shipmodels.info/mws_forum/viewtopic.php?f=60&t=162754

Just one photo I missed on the last post, the poles on the other side -



Just started on the Conning tower, so that will be next.

Cheers Jabb

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HMS Hood, the big one!

I used to be indecisive, now I'm not so sure.