The Ship Model Forum

Time for a bit of a diversion I think. I was immensely impressed by Bills' work on the gun housings http://www.shipmodels.info/mws_forum/viewtopic.php?f=59&t=166136 so I have decided to have a go at these next. (Thank you Bill!)

I purchased a circle cutter in anticipation of this step and had already had a practice at cutting the first circle. I found that the centre point tended to wander because it was so sharp and the plastic so thin that a perfect circle was not possible.

These however, are as near perfect as I can get -



I stuck a square of thicker sheet at the centre point and this ensured enough material was in place to stop the pivot point from enlarging the hole and wandering around -



The centres are popped out -



and tested for size and alignment -



Once a bit of fettling is completed and the 'scallops' filed in it should look a lot better -



More to come,

Cheers, Jabb

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HMS Hood, the big one!

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

Thank you Jabb... that was very kind of you to say... and needless to say, the feeling is mutual, the work you have done so far has been exceptional... really, really impressed...

Mind you... it made me look up just how long ago I last worked on them and discovered to my horror it was two years ago this coming December...!

I really need to start working on it again... but winter is coming and with my son now at university and my father finally in long term care at 93, I should have more time for some personal time...




I need to do a little bit of work on the detail on the front turret top where the fittings are... they are all a little oversized when seen in a photo (they are barely seen in real life, or even on the model with the naked eye... but I think we now model for cameras now, dont we?! )





I really need to get on with this... and you have given me a lot of inspiration. I will be using a lot of your posts when I get a chance to restart.

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Bill Livingston
Cambridge

really love your model so far, well done!

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Jacques
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Currently working on:
1/350 CVN 65 - Project Enterprise
http://www.shipmodels.info/mws_forum/viewtopic.php?f=59&t=210966

It depends a bit on the quality of the cutter. I used to own the Olfa circle cutter (garbage) but now have one bought via Hobby search (https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10313950). I typically drill a very small hole as a center and then move very very very carefully. For the first line you cannot use any force or the blade will wander. But many circles won't be any good. For anything under 4.5mm I use a Punch & Die set.

Just don't lose your mojo Bill! I want to see how you address some of the issues which I am sure we will all face. Like that searchlight control position. I need to write some more about that in a later post!



Thank you Silvershadow



Thanks EJ, it was not very expensive, but I think part of the issue was the controlling hand, the more I used it the better I got. Will need fine control of it when time comes to mask the air recognition circles atop the turret. As they say, practice makes perfect, and as you say 'very, very, very carefully'!

I have noticed that the blade tips are extremely fragile and break off really easily. Just needs a lot of care. I must investigate spare blades for it.

Cheers, Jabb

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HMS Hood, the big one!

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

Following on with the turrets, I also decided to do something with the commanders position look out. I had a look at Bill's method but thought about taking a different slant on this.

I used to make Airfix kits when a lot (lot) younger and bought the Airfix Magazine religiously. I actually had a couple of letters printed and was very proud of that. The reason I mention this is that there were always conversion articles which relied on modelling skills, rather than purchasing a piece of resin that someone else had cast and then cutting a suitable sized hole in the kit and fitting it. Not that there is anything wrong with that, it's just that we did things differently back then.

I mention this because I remember an article doing a conversion on a Sea-king Helo, adding a Radome to the spine to duplicate a Royal Naval version, and the radome was made by filing a suitable size of balsa-wood to shape and using this to push a softened piece of plasticard through a hole. Here is my updated version of the method to create the curved wind-shield on the commanders look-out.

A piece of 30thou plastic card was cut off and softened over a cooker ring (apologies for photo) -



The 'hole' was from a helix masking set that I use for spraying tank wheels -



A suitable diameter roller from an etch rolling set was chosen and the end smoothed off -



the softened card was placed over the hole and the rod pushed through -



Once removed from the hole, you should end up with this -



repeat the process and you will end up with these -



What to do with them now?

Cheers, Jabb

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HMS Hood, the big one!

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

A suitable hole is drilled in the end -



and then I rub the drilled end on a filing stick to create a flat circle on the end to act as a guide to how much material to remove -



The hole is then enlarged with a circular file until the flattened circle has disappeared, almost there in the next photo, just a bit more to do at the left hand side here -



Once the end has been filed out to your satisfaction, the part can be removed from the scrap, not too close to allow for finishing -



This is then carefully reduced in thickness on a filing stick -



until it matches the thickness of the kit part -



the resulting piece is then carefully cut into two identical pieces (I cut from the inside to avoid distorting the piece) -



You should then end up with this -



Do the same again and you end up with these -



I hope this makes sense, and, as Bill so rightly states, this is 1/200, EJ has done the same thing to his 1/350th model and to a much higher standard!

Any questions or comments about this, go ahead, fire away.

Cheers, Jabb

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HMS Hood, the big one!

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

Thank you

I have now finished the look outs. I cut a strip to match the thickness of the kit part. I cut the detail off and added the cut strip to the part -




I cut them longer than required and carefully clipped the ends at a suitable angle -



and then slid the parts into the wind deflector -



Once I was satisfied with the alignment I applied TET and secured them in position



Cheers, Jabb

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HMS Hood, the big one!

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

Dang, Jabb, you're doing a really bang-up job on this monster. I am very impressed with both your talent and your ingenuity. Sometimes we have to improvise to get what we need. Right now I'm trying to figure out how to make 1/200 scale mops. I have a couple ideas but after that I have to make some Stokes Litters and I have absolutely no idea how I'm going to come up with them.

Have fun and keep plugging away! You're doing a super job!

Stein

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Larry Steiner


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

Thanks Larry, your words are mighty encouraging!

1/200 mops??? I'll have to think about that one!

Previously, I was working on the searchlight platform (Trumpeter part N2) and need to issue an amendment to the instructions to fit the etch that Pontos supply to enhance the kit part.
After removing the sections as per Pontos, also don't forget to remove the starboard hatch and open up the doors as per http://www.hmshood.com/hoodtoday/models/trumpeter/trumpeter200.htm

The instructions give the following order of addition -





From my experience of putting this together, I would recommend the following order.

1. Bend and fit the upper section first, part 1008, care is needed to fit the insert that goes inside the kit part and take care with the bending.
2. Fit part 1004 next, you may have to file away the plastic to allow this part to fit
3. Bend and fit the box, part 1007
4. Finally fit the lower section, part 1018, bearing in mind my previous post regarding folding this part.

I slavishly followed the order as printed, and, although I managed to get it all together, the above would have resulted in a far easier order of construction.

You should end up with this -








I hope this makes sense to you, if you have any questions or queries regarding this, don't hesitate to add a post below.

More on the turrets next.

Cheers, Jabb

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HMS Hood, the big one!

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

That's a great idea on the turret look-outs Jab, well done. Thank you for the heads up on the search light platform, although it will be 6 months or more before I get there, lol. I have actually got back to the bench and re-acquainted myself with progress on the Admirals platform. Kudo's to Greenglade too on the under turret detail, I have that info stashed somewhere in the pile. Yours is looking great. Been looking at photo's of the platform railing area and have some Q's, but that belongs on my thread I guess. (??) Sooooo, will jump over there and continue, been a while since I updated that anyway! lol. You are doing a great job, Jab, I look forward to your updates. Regards, Pete in RI. P.s, I also got sidetracked with some WW1 'planes.

Thanks Pete, I will always pass on any info I get, see below for a couple of amendments to the instructions on the turrets below!

I started them off by attaching the barrels to the bloomers, or blast bags. Note that the resin parts are 'handed' and fit reasonably well.

The bottom section is sort of 'squared off' and this fits to the inner side, some seem to fit fine but others need a little filling. I have taken a couple of pics to try and show this -



I used PVA painted on with a small brush to fill the gaps



Pictures aren't actually that good, and TBH, the gaps aren't that big.

The etch goes together pretty well but there are a couple of mistakes on the Pontos instructions -



There are 2 part no's 802 shown, one of these has a fold in it, the top one is actually part No 804, also parts 812 and 807 are the wrong way round. I do have to say though that the part when made up fits almost perfectly. I have perused Bills' log here but decided to go with the etch as supplied, I may regret that later, but lets continue.

Here are the turrets as they stand at the mo. A few small additions are required, Bill has laid a path for this one. Anyway, here they are, the UP stand is not connected, I will put some paint on before this gets fixed -








Update on the main hull and bulkheads next.

'Til then,

Cheers, Jabb

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HMS Hood, the big one!

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

Too cold and wet today for that, so I decided to experiment with the funnels.



As you can see I ordered the correct sized funnel from Model Monkey, it needs quite a bit of cleaning up but once that's done it's fine.
Here's the reason why (as if you didn't already know)



However, what this does do, is give you a spare funnel to practice on!

I am going to add some stays inside as per the AOTS of the HMS Dreadnought and EJ's scratchbuild https://ontheslipway.com/?cat=11

I found some brass rod in my stash, 0.51mm, looks about right for the job so started by drilling 0.5 holes, not big enough!, so went with 0.6mm



If you do something similar, make sure you drill the holes prior to removing the details, you can count the rivets to find the right place to ensure they're square.



I've done two across and one along, don't know if that's enough, what do you think?



Once these were glued into position, I then removed all the external detail, prior to fitting the etch.



I purchased an etch roller, it has come in very handy and you really need one for the task of bending the funnel detail -



I used PVA with a touch of washing-up liquid in it -



I will use two-part epoxy when doing the ones on the model, not sure about the join though. Would have been better if they had hidden this behind one of the steam pipes!



I have made the interior walkway, just one thing, don't forget to pop the 'hangers' over the central platform BEFORE gluing it in position. Ask me how I know!



Lessons learnt? I think I will use more stays, and make them slightly closer together horizontally.

If you have any comments or suggestions on this section, don't hesitate, post away! Also has anyone any experience of adding the etch to the 3D printed funnel?

Funnels caps next, and then the right size ones!

Cheers, Jabb

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HMS Hood, the big one!

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

very impressive indeed--Ford Transit ( !! )
needed when you bring her to Telford 2020...

--suitably secured in her glass case on two mattresses to absorb the bumps in the road....

very very good work indeed--still mighty impressed!

JIM B

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....I buy them at three times the speed I build 'em.... will I live long enough to empty my stash...?
http://www.modelshipgallery.com/gallery ... index.html

IPMS UK SIG (special interest group) www.finewaterline.com

Looking good Jabb, I actually found a long lost circle cutter today, because I read your updates and a dormant memory said " I have one of those!" and after a bit of digging, yes I do! Doing work on other aspects of the ship is good advise to avoid burn out or getting bogged down in the details,( ask me how I know, LOL) and keeps the project moving, well done. Top notch work on the turrets BTW, glad everything aligned up for you and thank you for the heads up on the instructions. I have a free night on the bench today, so MAYBE I can add some progress. (yeah, right. ) lol, I am thinking of Telford next year, so if you could make it there, that would be great! Regards, Pete in RI.

Lookin' good, Jabb! Your PE work is really clean and neat!

_________________
Larry Steiner


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

Thank you kindly Jim, you never know! I won't make it this year unfortunately, but 2020 could be a good year!



Don't forget to start at the outside and work in! (No further comment necessary!)
As the old saying goes, 'variety is the spice of life.' I am going to lay some paint soon, so need to get a few things to that stage, especially the shelter deck support etch.
Will mix up some epoxy for that (and this -



as the PVA didn't work!)



Thanks Larry! I do really enjoy the etch part of the construction, I find it taxing but relaxing, and I know some folks hate it!

Having re-looked at those stays, I think more are needed, so that will be next I think.

Cheers, Jabb

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HMS Hood, the big one!

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

More stays

Looking good; I can image folding that PE sheet around the funnel is very tricky work!

Definitely more stays, as the following pics will reveal. And yes, EJ, it's not the easiest thing to bend!

But this post is not good news!

As you saw in the last post, I was practising with the spare, smaller funnel to check various processes and techniques. Until now, I had not placed the correctly sized kit front funnel and the one I purchased from Model Monkey to replace the rear one, together.

When I did, I immediately spotted this -



the funnel stay bands are at different heights. OK, no big deal, the detail will be removed anyway, to fit the Pontos etched detail, so I carried on with drilling holes for the internal stays. I then checked the fit of the walkway etch in both funnels, and noted this -



That's a good couple of mill'! Suspicions now raised, I did some further comparisons.

This is the outside measurement, seems to be about the same, but the internal, due to thickness of the material, is quite significantly different, the kit funnel -



and the 3D print -



And now the kit funnel cowl on top of the printed funnel -



I then moved on to the height, this is with all the parts attached, sitting on the cowls -



you can see the difference, but this next one illustrates this slightly better -



this one perhaps even better -



and this also shows the different profile of the apron.

I have done a quick check on the rest of the etch and it looks like it should fit.

So, where to go from here. File the top of the printed one down until the height matches and put up with the difference in the cowl apron profile. I haven't tried the external wrap-around yet, but am assuming that this will fit as the external dimensions match. The internal walkway etch will look a little odd, but I can build the two separate items as one piece and 'drop it down the chimney' so to speak! I have tried to get a replacement sprue 'C' to no avail and am reluctant to purchase another printed funnel.

Any ideas or suggestions. I need help here!

Cheers, Jabb

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HMS Hood, the big one!

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