I think I'm finally ready to call it finished
Here's some pics for your scrutiny and viewing enjoyment, with my very scenic backyard as a backdrop
:
Build time was about 6-months of weekends... I didn't count the hours (and don't want to know either
). The paint job is all rattle-can and by hand with off-the-shelf colors and artist oils. I got the Trumpeter upgrade kit w/new 5" gun barrels and stairs, drilled out the portholes, added a window on the front of the bridge but otherwise it's an "out of the box" build.
All and all it was a GREAT kit; it's hard to
not end up with something spectacular if you can at least manage a clean build. My weak point is painting... I need some practice with weathering and the deck didn't turn out quite as good as I wanted to. I was also looking to go more "pretty" than accurate, so I didn't paint the turret tops red because I think they look better all-grey, and didn't really obsess on having everything exactly as the Arizona was on 12/6/41.
I spent hours puttying and re-scribing the plank lines with an exact-o knife that had a broken tip to hide the deck seams, then used various shades of brown oils to make it look like wood. It looked great wet, but dried too yellow. Oh well... now I know why people pay another 100 bucks for a wood deck! It still looks OK, I guess.
The PE was another hassle... they were just too soft, and required a delicate hand to get them on and keep them straight. About half-way through I spray-painted the PE while it was still on the sprue and found they were A LOT easier to deal with pre-painted (especially the stairways).
I did the rigging with the thinnest metal wiring I could find at the hobby shop, as well as black and brown thread from the wife's sewing stuff. I painted the metal wiring black but probably shouldn't have as it makes them a bit too thick.
I'm now chomping at the bit for Trumpeter's new 1/200 Bismarck and hope the lessons learned here will help me make a nautical
magnum opus later in the year!
Feel free to give me any constructive criticism, as I really
do want to get better!