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PostPosted: Wed Jul 28, 2021 9:12 pm 
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Joined: Fri Sep 17, 2010 5:49 pm
Posts: 447
I haven't posted a project here in years. I also haven't actually finished a build in years either. Everything I've started, continued, or tried to finish, has one by one ended up in the dumpster.

My thought is that maybe by going back to a subject similar to a prior success, I'll be able to get out of this psychological funk and actually finish something...

I will try to post the first pictures this weekend.

Dan


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PostPosted: Fri Jul 30, 2021 3:00 am 
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Joined: Tue Feb 06, 2007 10:24 am
Posts: 2482
Location: Belgium
California Bound wrote:
I also haven't actually finished a build in years either. Everything I've started, continued, or tried to finish, has one by one ended up in the dumpster.


Perfectionism can make us do great things, but it can also be our worst enemy... In French there is a saying 'le mieux est l'ennemi du bien'.

Just remember that for any modeller, there no such thing as a 'problem-free build'. There is always something that doesn't go according to plan, always something that needs a second (or third' or fourth, or ...) attempt. Problem-solving and some persistence necessary for each and every build.
And even with that, no model will ever be perfect in our own eyes. There will always areas that we wish we could have finished better.
So it is futile to try and make a perfect model, because that simply doens't exsist! (at least not in the eyes of the builder... ;) )

So, if we realize that, there is no reason why we could not enjoy or be happy and proud with our imperfect models. And the imperfections can motivate us to improve with the next build.

So, I wish you luck, and mostly a lot of enjoyment, with your project!


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PostPosted: Fri Jul 30, 2021 11:59 am 
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Location: Detroit area
Indeed, perfect is the enemy of good.

And no, I didn't have to run that thru Google Translate (and no, I don't speak French)...

_________________
Sean Nash, ACG (aircraft camo gestapo)

On the ways:
1/200 Trumpeter HMS Nelson
1/700 Tamiya USS Yorktown CV-5

In the stash:
1/35 Italiari PT-109
1/35 Tamiya "Pibber" Patrol Boat
1/350 Trumpeter USS Yorktown CV-10


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PostPosted: Fri Jul 30, 2021 3:01 pm 
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Location: The beautiful PNW
Dan,

Good to hear from you again! Seeing your work first hand, I am glad you are trying to get going again but don't let perfection keep you from completion. It's about having fun!

Matt

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USS Utah AG-16
On Hold
1/350 USS Portland CA-33 1942
1/350 Trumpeter Texas with a twist


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PostPosted: Fri Jul 30, 2021 4:14 pm 
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Thanks for the kind words of encouragement and support. Yes it was a sense of wanting things to be perfect, that took a lot if the enjoyment out of it for me.

Unfortunately, that wasn't all. Model building is my oldest and most enjoyable hobby. About 40 years now.

This will probably sound crazy...

As of 2015, i started to view any modeling problem as an absolute "betrayal" of me by my project. And "how dare it do that to me". "I am it's creator and I will be it's destroyer for that betrayal".

That was my state of mind. There was a lot of feelings of guilt and failure.

My best friend of 35 years (the one I built LCS 3 for) killed himself with gunshot to the head.

Then the best dog I've ever had, developed spinal disease and had to be put down.

And a few months later, my dad got cancer and died.

So, as I said, psychological funk...

Need to get to moving on with life and hobbies too :smallsmile: .

Dan.


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PostPosted: Fri Jul 30, 2021 8:56 pm 
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Location: Detroit area
Ouch.

That'll definitely put a damper on things; it's no wonder you fell into such a funk. It takes a certain measure of courage to come forward, and I for one am happy to lend what support I can as you return to the hobby you've loved for so long.

_________________
Sean Nash, ACG (aircraft camo gestapo)

On the ways:
1/200 Trumpeter HMS Nelson
1/700 Tamiya USS Yorktown CV-5

In the stash:
1/35 Italiari PT-109
1/35 Tamiya "Pibber" Patrol Boat
1/350 Trumpeter USS Yorktown CV-10


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PostPosted: Sat Jul 31, 2021 9:15 pm 
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Lets see if I remember how to post pics here.

My earlier Marshal Shaposhnikov.

Image

It worked after only 4 tries...

Dan


Last edited by California Bound on Sat Jul 31, 2021 10:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: Sat Jul 31, 2021 10:06 pm 
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Ok...

First post.

The hull is nearly identical to Shaposhnikov, so I want to do a waterline instead. There isn't an option for it in this kit. A lot of cutting is in the near future. I'm not sure about the faint line on the side of the hull. Waterline mark? Accurate? Top, mid, or bottom of waterline? Or just a mold seam...?

I am going to start with the rear deck and superstructure because the large stern hatch will determine the waterline.

I am aiming for a 2008 appearance, when Chabanenko was dark and fierce looking.

The deck looks black but it is actually a Rust-oleum brand brown color called satin dark walnut.
The superstructure is Krylon chalky Anvil Gray.
The landing pad is another Rust-oleum color satin paprika.

I jumped the gun by applying paint so early, but I couldn't resist checking the colors. I also want to attempt the red & white stripe that runs along the walls contacting the main deck. This experiment is a combination of 1/32" red masking tape painted over with insignia red, and a white vinyl stripe at 1/64". From a distance it is ok, but up close, the white stripe isn't sticking as much as I'd like. More experiments will be needed.

The white dot on top of the hanger is where a girder tower would go, but Chabanenko doesn't have that tower. An example of Trumpeter reusing previous instructions. I'll cover it with plastic sheet.

There are accuracy issues around the crossed sword pedestal that I will be looking into.

There are problems with the landing pad as well. Supplied decal is wrong. Port side staircase hole is missing, and the zipper-like trench details have to be removed. Chabanenko's trench details are either not there at all, or covered over with flat plates. So I will be doing some cutting, scraping, and puttying once new blades arrive.

I don't know how long these images will last(free hosting) so download any you want to keep. As always, questions, comments, recommendations, and even complaints are ok.
Image

Dan


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PostPosted: Tue Aug 03, 2021 12:39 pm 
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I want to point out that it was very stupid for me to glue all the support legs on so early. My original plan was to glue the legs on prior to paint to get a good bond. Then spray the two colors and continue with assembly. And only do a minor correction by cutting off the part of the decal that is Wrong.

But then I noticed the (obvious, yet so obvious that they weren't obvious) errors on the landing pad. I decided to improve it. So now, all those support posts are really getting in the way...

Dan


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PostPosted: Sun Aug 08, 2021 7:17 pm 
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Part 2

I haven't been able to come up with anything better for the white line except cutting and starting a new piece at each corner.
It at least reduces the tendency of the tape to try to pull away from the corners.

The rear deck has had random details painted.

The landing pad has been scraped, puttied, and sanded. Port side ladder hole has been added in an estimated location. It's also probably a little too big.

First bits of photo etch and plain metal rod have been added. Another five metal rods to go...

Chabanenko's hanger doors should only have 1 box on the outside, so I've scraped off the other 2. And removed the faint details representing the missile tubes on the top of the silos. Only the center detail and the 1 strongly detailed hatch should be there as far as I can tell.

I plan to have the helicopter on the pad, which for me would mean an open hanger, but since these hanger doors swing outwards, instead of rolling up, or sliding sideways, I suspect that the doors are closed when the helicopter is getting ready to land or take off.

Things are proceeding very slowly. Definitely feeling bogged down.

Image

Image

Dan


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PostPosted: Sun Aug 15, 2021 10:37 pm 
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part 3

I've got enough of the parts built that I have finally been able to glue all three together.

For a better fit, I ended up cutting off all the support posts, and replacing them with painted plastic rod shoved up from under the deck and glued into place. What a waste of time it was trying to preserve them in the first place. I probably did the same thing on Shaposhnikov, but it was so long ago that I forgot.

On the front of the superstructure, I've added the red and white stripe for the later attachment of the other deck piece.

Image

At the back, I still have door stripes to add, but it's coming along. I did the remaining rails in a rust color, and what is supposed to be deck stripes in a intermediate blue. The rectangle is strips of pin striping. The decal is stock, but with the small horizontal line cut off. The decal had me worried because it curled up and lifted off the paper while only briefly soaking in water. The landing pad could still be more accurate, but just not by me. I'm pleased with it, and its closer to Chabanenko than what came in the box.

Image

I will be glad when this section is done. Most of the accuracy problems are in this area. So the rest of the build will be quicker, easier, and more straight forward, at least until I get to the main deck area below the bridge. Then the corrections will start again.

A couple observations:
1) the faint waterline in the hull isn't the water line. It looks to be 3mm too high.
2) The corrected landing pad with the rails removed, means that the photo etch nets wont fit. I will be looking to combine the 3 piece late style nets with some strips of the early style nets as well.

Dan


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PostPosted: Mon Aug 23, 2021 5:43 pm 
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Part 4

Not much has gotten done.

Trumpeter provides a "flat 10 pack" of life rafts for each side of the hanger level deck. But Chabanenko carries a "slanted 8 pack". I purchased a set of 5 Star life raft holders from Freetime Hobbies to both correct the angle and improve the looks. The two extra rafts will be used later in a corrected location.

Image
Image

I measured and cut the p.e. mesh with a plan to glue them in an over-under pattern, but I didn't like the rippled look so I re attached them in a side by side pattern to keep them flat. This led to the attachment points being twice as wide as every other line and threw my original measurements off a bit. I painted it light brown to hide the thick lines, but that looked like a woman's nylon and just wasn't right. So I repainted the mesh in the dark walnut color. It's glued down now and the rest of the decals are applied.

Image

Photos show that there is something under the forward side of the crossed sword platform that prevents viewing through from one side to the other, and that the plain circle platform shape is wrong. I tried to reshape the original platform but sanded too much and had to start from scratch. The result is basically correct. I've added the "something" under the platform and the four simple support legs(slanted on the sides, straight down on the stern).

Image

A few more parts have been added, and the platform is getting a test fit.

Image

A lot of stupid little things are still left to do...

Thanks for looking,

Dan.


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PostPosted: Fri Aug 27, 2021 4:42 pm 
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Just a couple quick observations.

While I was looking at reference photos for other information, I noticed that Trumpeter is "almost" wrong. They instruct you to attach the resupply equipment in a position pointing forward. "Almost" all photos show the equipment stored in a position pointing towards the back. I only saw 1 photo their way. So while not technically wrong, it isn't the standard position. I plan to cut them off and rotate them 180° once my photo etch saw blades arrive.

Another new observation is that the life rafts on the right side of the hanger are positioned further forward than those on the left side. My guess, is that the large elevated box in the rear right hanger corner, forced everything on the right side forward.

Dan


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PostPosted: Mon Aug 30, 2021 8:13 pm 
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Part 5

I got a little more done than I thought I would.

On the left side, I've reversed the refueling equipment to point towards the back, as seen in most photos. Some sort of missing wall or locker? has been added to the front of the hanger level platform. The life rafts have been done in a different gray for a change, and surrounded by a missing wall detail, and the missing diagonal support near the rear of the hanger wall.
Image

The same changes have been done to the right side, along with more missing support posts under the small platform at the rear corner of the hanger.

At some point after building Shaposhnikov I started painting cable railing a different color than the rest of the railing. This is just a personal choice of mine to set the railing types apart. I prefer black because it is harder to see from a distance and helps with the illusion that it is thinner than the regular railing.

One of the mistakes I made on Shaposhnikov, I had rolled the railing into a ring to go around the crossed sword platform. This isn't a problem normally, however what I later realized is that cable railing doesn't curve. It would go straight from one post to the next. Here on Chabanenko, I've corrected that problem by putting the railing on one piece at a time. It isn't as neat, borderline sloppy in fact, but it's more accurate.
Image

I didn't want to do the crossed sword platform railing yet, but the additional metal rods that will be added are going to really get in the way. So i had to do it now. In the overhead view, you can see the offset life raft positions from each side.
Image

At only 3 hours a week, I hope to have this section done in about 5 more weeks... good grief, this is slow.

Thanks for looking,

Dan


Last edited by California Bound on Mon Sep 06, 2021 5:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: Tue Aug 31, 2021 3:02 pm 
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Joined: Sun Mar 13, 2005 11:51 am
Posts: 2406
Location: Belgium
Great job Dan,

I do think she's a bit too dark, but in the last pics it actually did look a bit lighter and better. Seems the Russian vessels fade very rapidly from dark to light grey over time.

All in all very fine job on an interesting vessel, love the helo deck markings as well. :thumbs_up_1:

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PostPosted: Tue Aug 31, 2021 7:54 pm 
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Thanks Neptune

I agree with you, it is a little to dark for me as well. There are a lot of other factors involved also.

I've got a mixture of warm LED room lighting and cool LED table top lighting. And a phone camera that can't seem to get its colors correct.

This section of superstructure got a coat of peacock blue, which I rejected because it came out more of a dark teal color. The rest of the superstructure won't have that teal first layer of paint, so hopefully it will lighten up some. I have also limited my color choices. No air brushing, I am only using spray cans and brush paints that I can see and purchase in person.

But I will be adding lighter grays as I go along to add variety and maybe represent different degrees of fading, or how often items get painted. Nothing really specific beyond the basic things that should be either redish, white, or some shade of gray.

Yeah, the pad markings are a bit unusual. Why would you bother with the gray lines when you could just run the helo's wheels against the metal rust colored barrier? The white rectangle appears to designate where to set the rolled up landing net.

Dan


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PostPosted: Tue Aug 31, 2021 8:18 pm 
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Posts: 447
Now I'm wondering...

Is the net stored some place "far away"?
Is the net placed in the rectangle by the crane??
Is the crane even long enough to reach that far???

Dan


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PostPosted: Mon Sep 06, 2021 5:51 pm 
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Part 6

I've assembled the Cross Sword system. I had planned to do it as a separate assembly, but it was too delicate, so I had to assemble and attach it as I went along. I was going to take a pic of it unpainted, to make it easier to see the photo etch, but next thing I knew, it was painted and no pic had been taken. I used the GMM Kuznetsov P.E. it is more complete in this area. I mangled quite a few bits of it to get this one piece assembled. The second metal rod antenna has been added to the roof also.

The unpainted parts still aren't glued down yet. I blocked off the open rear side of the box on the platform and added a rod for the windsock. On Shaposhnikov I made the sock based on a pencil. It was ok, but the proportions weren't right. I'm gonna try to base it on a toothpick this time. Hopefully the shape will be better.

As usual, I failed to finish the helicopter. I just can't seem to build them. The Trumpeter ones have that terrible black plastic landing gear that doesn't like to glue in place, and the one rear strut always seems too short and out of shape to fit the mounting holes. I was going to order a resin one from Orange Hobby, but found this one loose in a box of assorted paint jars. I don't know who makes it. It has a more detailed landing gear set and rear wing details made out of standard plastic, combined with Trumpeter style clear plastic body.
Image

Image

Thanks for looking.

Dan


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PostPosted: Mon Sep 13, 2021 9:20 pm 
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Part 7

Things didn't go like I thought they would this week.

I decided to stop work on the helicopter since I wont need it for quite a while yet. Chabanenko's unique landing pad safety rails will be postponed for the same reason.

The two platforms for the left side and one platform for the right side of the hanger have been replaced with a more accurate shape for both sides.
Image

Trumpeter wants you to put two searchlights on the bow missile launcher. I've only seen them on Chabanenko in a couple photos of the Panama Canal at night. So I've relocated them to the top of the landing pad control room where they're needed. Unfortunately, one of them went flying from the tweezers.
I tried to wrap a toothpick with tape to form the windsock, but it was too small for me to do it. So, I just cut off the end of the toothpick and used it instead. I only saw it in one photo and looked to be yellow, brown, and white.
All platforms and metal rods have been added now.
Image

This sub assembly is almost finished.

Still to do:
Replace the missing searchlight.

Build a more accurate dish for the center platform on each side of the hanger.

Build some very basic flare? countermeasure launchers. Chabanenko needs 12 of them. Trumpeter only includes 10 and 2 of them are the wrong shape. I want them to all look similar. I tried to make a simple mold for quick duplication, but that didn't work. So, I'll have to make the missing two for the landing pad and 10 replacements for the others on the ship.

Thanks for looking.

Dan


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PostPosted: Sun Sep 19, 2021 6:39 pm 
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Part 8

I'm posting a day early because I won't get any more done this weekend. I ended up having to correct a couple mistakes I made. The metal rods needed to be a light color instead of black. And the rod for the windsock needed to be about twice as tall. I still haven't fixed the spotlight problem.
Image

I did manage to replace the dish on each side of the hanger. I couldn't even figure out what the original piece was supposed to be until I saw it in photos.

Trumpeter supplies a couple dishes for the foremast, but Chabanenko doesn't use them. So I used them and some wire to try and mimick the original support frame shape.
Image

At this point, my magnifying glasses broke. So I'm stuck until I can replace them.

Thanks for looking.

Dan


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