Time for another update, still iphone pics but at least Ill make it a long one!
First I started to sort out all the small bits, like cranes and boats. For the boats, I have gone initially with a red bottom - as seen on the pic. However - when installing I did change it back to black as my other KMS builts were all with black boat bottoms and didnt want to change tradition.
Dont laugh but I also folded the access ladders in a rather crude way to place it along side aft superstructure. It looks better once placed, believe me.
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Next, Ive installed the cranes and the Arado plane (how many Ive built those by now...), to what an already fierce looking ship. I pointed the plane out to port, and played a bit with crane elevation. They look a bit livelier. I actually wanted to suspend the plane from a crane over the open hangar, but there were two issues with that. One, is the hangar door was closed, and two - the plane with folded wings somehow was missing the tail fin section, and I had no idea where it went. So - we have to make do with a plane on a catapult and cranes kinda eclectically pointing up.
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I also had a bright idea to build the base for the ship stylised as a floor of a floating dock. Basically a chunk of rust. I may have over done it as it somehow dominates everything, but my sneaky plan is to tone it down with more browns, but not sure if it should be dark browns or brighter orange browns. Either way, it will bury underneath the rather well textured and beautiful floor. I quite like the effect that I got by painting and chipping and weathering it with pigments in very random fashion. I really really like how pigments weather everything, the trouble is every time you try to fix them with means I have (lacquer for instance) - I end up right away with losing like 80% of the effect. I then repeat it, and may be it gives layers but still I am yet to find the final form..
Here are some shots of the floating dry dock base progress from plastic to paint with chipping fluid to semi-final:
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Keel blocks are just square rods (someone who 3D prints, make yourself some money and 3D print proper to scale dry dock keel blocks please? like few hundred Id buy from you). Wont ask this again, Ill do it myself.
Also - anchor chains installed from PE. Not sure, from upclose they look very 2D, but afar - very good impression. I think will keep them.
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After this I turn to rigging (which is my current stage). Again, using A. Bonomi's book Anatomy of Ship, I proceed thread by thread. The result is pretty nice, but it sure is taking time. I have avoided doing double lines for flag lines, and instead go with thicker single line which may be seen. I am afraid to overwhelm the masts and the model. I do like how the whole thing looks of course, and I also simulated the sagging of the lines on port and starboard side of the main mast depicted in the book. Perhaps too much, but this is best I could get with tungsten wire, it was a little tricky. If you think it is terrible and I need to fully redo it, please let me know. Yet not too late.
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As a sign of things seeing light of tunnel here, Ive built up the flagstaff as well - and I mean this in a way that I always add flag last to the model. Here it is just from different gauges of tungsten wire.
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Speaking of rigging, there are a 8 of those triangle shape splitters or whatchacallem that connects main mast and forward mast, at connection points. And they have to be made (on a Bismarck I shamefully omitted them). Here I will do them, and just like on Prinz Eugen build in the past. Using an assembly method I have bent 8-9 of the tungsten wires at an angle (eyeing it) using an exact knife that is plunged into cutting mat JUST ahead of the wire and then scoring the wire just enough to give it a perfect bend. Tungsten has good memory and holds the wire, so I get these bent pieces and stick them to the single wire. I plan to cut off them later piece by piece as I install the main wires between masts.
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I also did the screws.
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What's next?
- finish the rigging
- install screw protecting boom in extended position
- install booms alongside the hull also
- install railings on main deck
- add flag staff
- add few small calibre guns to main deck which I held back off till last also
- weather the base a little more (may be go for many smaller plates)
Call it a day...? Cannot wait as my next two projects I plan to do will be Missouri and Haruna, and probably an odd bit of work on my other KMS ship, Admiral Hipper with straight stem.