1/20 Italian motor torpedo boat MAS 527

[Secondo]

Hello everybody
As my firs post in this forum I would like to show you some photos of my first scratchbuild model, the MAS 527
You know... as I'm still young i LOVE everything that's (or may I say "that was"?) fast and noisy... no wonder if I chose to build a 42-knots MAS instead of a battlewagon

The hull and deck are fiberglass-molded, originally it was intended to be an RC model, then I resigned to keep it on my floor (it's far too big to sit on my shelf, being almost 90 cm long).
Nearly everything else is made of plasticard; the air intakes over the bridge had to be vacuum-formed. Torpedoes are resin-molded.
I'll submit some more photos as soon as I'll have reduced them to proper size... meanwhile, I hope you'll enjoy my work. Questions and comments are welcome.

[Rui Matos]

Ciao Secondo!

First of all, welcome to the board!
Second, your MAS looks terrific! I am sure it is a real one you have kept there
I would like to suggest something that could make it even better: find some flag that fall naturally, instead of having a "boarded one"

Auguri di Lisbonna
Rui

[les]

Good looking build.

[Secondo]

Thank you everybody, for your welcome and comments
The flag in fact was one of the few commercial items I used:it is made of a thin fabric, and usually it looks good, but on that day when I took those shots a very strong wind was blowing. That's why the flag looks a bit rigid:I swear that when it's indoor it acts quite naturally

In fact, the model does have many faults, concerning mainly the hull... but I'm not gonna confess my errors unless there's somebody who wants to build the same

[JIM BAUMANN]

Welcome to Modelwarships.com

What a great introduction!-- super looking model!

would be very interetsed in seeing more of the build process etc

90 com eh?--thats a Biig model!

Congratulations--hope to see more soon


Jim Baumann

this thread may interest you...
viewtopic.php?f=13&t=22735

[Secondo]

(Thanks Jim )

The more interesting point about the building process is, to my opinion, the fiberglass molding: I would like to discuss about this with you all, because I still have mixed opinions about it.
What I'm still asking myself is: finally, was it worth all that work? Could it be a useful modelling technique for large scale RC models?
It was not an idea of me, however: it was my father, used to work on real boats, that suggested me to use the molding, offering me the materials. Even if I'm sure that most of you already know the process, I'll shortly resume it.
First of all, a traditional wooden hull has to be built: this will be used as the plug for the mold. As the mold itself will be almost impossible to correct when finished, the plug must be without any defect. Then, it must be covered with several layers of a release agent, that can be a special wax or PVA (polyvinyl alcohol), but I had many troubles with PVA and I definitely prefer to use the wax.
Gelcoat, a very durable resin, can then be applied, followed by layers of fiberglass and resin (4 or more). Finally, the plug has to be separated from the mold.
Then, to get the fiberglass hull, apply wax to the mold, then fiberglass and resin; Gelcoat is not necessary for the hull, as it will have to be painted anyway.

It's not really difficult: the problems are that the process is time-consuming, resin must be manipulated with caution, and those materials may not be easy to find.

[JIM BAUMANN]

You could have a look through some of the building threads in scratchtbuilding!
viewforum.php?f=13
plenty to read there!!

ARH among others is an exponent of fiberglass hulls- see MOFFETT/Duane
below are some links in the scratchbuilding forum--right here at MW.com

Great to see your model--please show us your future models also!

Links to fiberglass and alternative methods :

Duane-- making a plug of frames and plaster
viewtopic.php?f=13&t=21678&st=0&sk=t&sd=a

Moffett - making a master similar to above--but different core

viewtopic.php?f=13&t=8912

Making a plug of foam blocks- in 1/72...- for a carrier!
viewtopic.php?f=13&t=24011


Have fun

JIM B

[Francisco P. de Nanclares]

Welcome to the board Secondo. Great model you brought along!. Clean and crisp build, even more so when taking scale into account.

Congratulations, and I hope you enjoy your time here.

Cheers.
Pachi.

[Secondo]

Thanks Jim for the links, and Pachi for your welcome
I am now trying to put together a semi-kit of the battleship Giulio Cesare, and I will start a new post about it as soon as I will have enough photos.
For now, I submit a detailed wiew of the depht charge rack (built with Evergreen beams, depht charges are sections of a plastic tube) and one of the few photos I found of my work in progress, where the fiberglass hull can be seen; the mold for the torpedoes is barely visible at the right, between my gloves and a screwdriver .

[Garth]

Just how big is that model?

[JIM BAUMANN]

90 cm= about 3 feet!

decent size!

JIM B