FRUNZE - 1:72 scale Soviet Navy Kirov Class CGN

[InchHigh]

Spectacular build, I'm looking forward to seeing her complete!

[spottier60]

Just a magnificent ship and a beautiful model !
These Russian ships are strikingly handsome and elegant and I can't help thinking that someone at the very top of the organization asked for a nice looking design... They match most luxurious civilian yachts for style, to my eyes at least (I'm an industrial designer by trade) : general lines are so clean and dynamic, and there are none of all those equipments seemingly dropped at random as so many warships. Everything seems to have been integrated and thought-out from the outset, as any good design should be done !
They just express speed and power even when stationary.
American ships are maybe/probably more efficient yet don't look half as good as those : Russian sailors must feel very proud indeed to serve aboard, even if unfortunately their state organization is somewhat not up to the task...

[K494]

She's a very impressive ship,well done!

Scott

[Neptune]

Looking ever more impressive. The only 1/72 model that made it this far that I've seen. There was a time that three or so were started on this board at/on around the same time... But it takes some real patience to get this far! Great job

[HvyCgn9]

Looking ever more impressive. The only 1/72 model that made it this far that I've seen. There was a time that three or so were started on this board at/on around the same time... But it takes some real patience to get this far! Great job

(Also on this forum) Rob Ritchee's Peter the Great is finished and looks great as well LOL

[CarlLinkenbagh]

Base livery applied. Now moving into painting all the smaller details such as the pennant numbers, plimsoll line, boats, liferings, SATCOM domes and then general touch up.

A few tips on painting for new modellers (for anyone interested).

One big lesson I've learned on this project is that really pays dividends to do a lot of research and testing (and to be patient) when selecting final colours for a ship and when matching them. Especially when you don't have access to the real thing and are relying on third party sources such as photos that may old, faded, under-exposed, over-exposed or some combination these. This can make things very difficult when trying to work out the final colour palette for a ship.

In my case my primary colour reference for FRUNZE is photos (of varying quality) of her and/or other Soviet ships in the 1980s, usually taken by people hanging out of helicopters at sea. In addition to this, Russian ships of any era (including today) can be almost any shade of grey to green to blue and the distinctive red lead paint used on the decks can be anything from a deep red to bright orange depending on how it has weathered. This makes life very interesting when you're trying to work out what's what.

After a lot of effort I've got the three primary colours just about right. But not before I thoroughly pissed off the paint shop guy at Bunnings. It was worth it though, because they've come up nicely.

It's amazing the impact that the different the properties of paint can have. These include:

1. How the colour changes under different light. The red lead colour I've used for FRUNZE's deck looks like a deep blood orange colour under natural light (which is what I wanted) but under the artificial lights in my garage, it has a fluorescent quality. The grey/green used on the superstructure is the same as I used on the Krivak frigate I built about 10 years ago - but it too changes depending on the light. What's the point? Before you commit to a paint for a model (and buying paint in bulk), do some tests under different lights to make sure it all looks right.

2. Experiment with paint type, thickness and application. Some paints are more opaque than others, meaning you may have to build up several coats before you get to the colour and texture you're after. I've used opaque acrylic paints with the same base across all the colours and have tried to apply it as evenly as possible to try and get a consistent finish over the model. It seems to have worked. I also tried a much thinner water based enamel, which was a nightmare.

3. Good surface preparation and primer is your best friend. I painted the ship all over in a flat light grey auto primer before I started on the top coats, and I'm glad I did. It makes for a much more even and consistent top coat and helps the ship to look 'real'.

4. Have a plan. Painting a model of any size is a process, so have a think about how you're going to go about it - and then stick to it. The more colours you have, the more you need to plan.

5. Put some soothing music, an audio book or movie on in the background. I've found that I paint a lot more carefully and accurately when I've got a chick flick on as opposed to an action film.

Cheers

[CarlLinkenbagh]

Over the past 2 weeks I've been painting the ship in her Soviet Navy colours.

She's now complete. Photos below.

Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to read this forum, follow the build and post comments

[CarlLinkenbagh]

Some more photos of the completed model....

[InchHigh]

Brilliant work, and in the proper scale as well! I have to wonder what people driving past must have thought!

[K494]

Top Notch work!

Scott

[CarlLinkenbagh]

Thanks for the comments, much appreciated. It's been a long road but I'm happy she's finally complete.

I took her out for a run on Lake Burley Griffin today. Here are some happy snaps.

[CarlLinkenbagh]

And a few more.

Once again thanks to everyone who's taken the time to read this blog and follow the build. I hope you've enjoyed it and gotten something out of it.

[DrPR]

It is a beautiful model! Congratulations on completion.

Phil

[boatman2]

HI there yes congrats she turned out fantastic this is one of the ships I wanted to build but never got round to it as there is a lot of detail on her
chris

[Jaguar]

Wow, beautiful ship. Congratulations

Jorge

[Soothsayer]

Awesome model! I have a 1/100 Kirov and at 8� 3�, I thought that was big! Do you have any recent updates or photos you can share?