Calling all Udaloy-class (Фрегат-M) & Sovremennyy-class (сарыч) fans

[jgrease]

Hello all. I am hoping for some guidance here with my Christmas gift - the Trumpy 1/350 Sovremenny. I am an experinced modeller, but I haven't worked much with ships yet (mostly cars and planes). My questions are as follows:
-when does one apply PE parts (I have the Gold Medal PE set for the ship) such as rails and radars? I can see placing doors and ladders prior to painting, but the railings seem to be in the way of masking and painting later on.
-when do you paint decks and superstructures? Does one assemble the superstructures to the hull/deck and then paint? I'm trying to imagine how I'm getting the hull assembled, then paint that great orange/brown color for the decks and then adding railings and details.
Someone please point me in the right direction. This kit is too good to screw up.

[jgrease]

So I started my wife's Xmas gift to me - my Trumpy 1/350 Sovremenny. I decided to build from the hull up, and from the center of the deck out to the edges. So far, I've built the hull and painted it, and I've assembled the rear bridge without the details added on, just the structure. I figured I'd build all of the superstructures first, paint them and attach them, then add the details afterwards. I'd really like to get some feedback from you hardcore shipbuilders:







I know the forward and rear decks are suppose dto be a metallic grey, but I do so like the brown deck color.

[Timmy C]

Sovremenny's looking good!

[Francisco P. de Nanclares]

Looking really good. And don�t be that sure about the decks being grey. I have seen pictures of some Sovremennys with all the decks painted in that reddish brown. I like yours, by the way.

Keep it up!

Cheers.
Pachi.

[jgrease]

So can anyone else tell me their order for building a ship like this? As I said earlier, I'm building all of the superstructures and placing them o the ship, then I will add details from the center out to the edges, ending with the railings. Also, I'm using the Gold Metal Models PE set. All input and observations are welcome!

[Timmy C]

I'd put as much PE on as you can safely handle before putting the subcomponents onto the hull.

[Francisco P. de Nanclares]

I d� not trust myself to follow that path. I build the basic superstructure, fit it on the hull and then continue on with small fittings and PE. The goal is to handle finished, crowded subassemblies as less as possible. In this direction, I sometimes screw the hull to a robot, or base, so I can turn, tilt it and work on fittings, almost without touching it.

Cheers.
Pachi.

[jgrease]

I have to agree with Francisco - I think the details will go on much easier later. I have the hull screwed to the base in the photos, and it's much easier to move and work when the ship ain't going nowhere! So today I added the remaining superstructure components, with the exception of a couple of the wing sections of the middle bridge and the missile tubes. I'll add them, do some touchups and add another coat of Future floor polish to even out the finish while I work more on it. It was quite a feat to add the middle bridge structure and the corresponding decks - I had a hatch and a PE ladder come off during assembly, and some paint rubbed off of another hatch. The only major piece of PE that's been added yet is the tower platform.







The more I work on this, the more I hate PE. My fat fingers and the tiny parts don't mix.

[Sean Hert]

According to Stevens International, who I had a talk with today, Slava and Udaloy are on schedule, to the best of their knowledge.

YEAH!

[Timmy C]

Yay! I look forward to their reviews ^^

[graham]

there is a review of the UDALOY box contents here
http://www.1999.co.jp/10052948#PAGETOP
so its not too far away but boy does it look good in the box
Just the fact that trumper have release this makes me very enternly greatful that this company have revitalizied ship modeling now if the japanese take note times could gert even better

Graham Murdoch

[Timmy C]

Hey, thanks for the link, Graham! Certainly does look like a busy build. Too bad some of the PE parts seem to lack the protrusions of the Plastic counterparts.

[jgrease]

The new Udaloy looks awesome! I look forward to adding it to the work pile. Also, an update on my Soveremenny build-
I've done the PE foremast and Top Steer (using the GMM PE set). I used Testors CA accelerator a lot! Thanks to that stuff I'm sure to have cut 2 or 3 years off of my life. Nonetheless, the radar and foremast look really good, but I'm sure when painted I'll find all of those super glue spots from the hardener. I also think I partially blinded myself trying to put those microscopic anemometers into their slots on the foremast. After I paint and install, I'll post more pics. By the way, if anyone thinks my pics are just taking up space, please let me know - I do it because I like feedback during the build, and you guys have been generous so far.

[jgrease]

**I've edited my pics from yesterday - they were just too dark. So I worked on the lifeboats today, and they look good inperson, but zoomed in on the scans they look like as$. But I'm happy with them. I started attaching liferaft cannisters, but again, I'm not happy with their placement - my fingers and tiny parts ain't cutting it. I will remove the ones I attached to the deck and replace them properly.
Here's an overall of the area in the center I've been working on:


Right side lifeboat area - the boat needs a little touch-up:


My horrible cannister placement is evident here:


Left side overall shot:

[Timmy C]

Very nice work =)

[jgrease]

By the way, I know others have stated it, so let me join them - the white decals in the Trumpeter kit are horrible! Every one with the exception of the numbers has broken apart when applied! The stripes for the doors of the hangar, and part of the landing stripes on the hangar deck as well have broken and needed patching. Ugh. I've really found that you have to walk away from your projects in order to avoid the temptation to throw them at the wall.
Also, as I've worked on this, I wondered what others have done with the areas on both sides of the ship where those sections rise up from the hull and conncet to the superstructure - the two areas are immediately under the gun turret on the hangar deck and the area under the tower in front of the motor launch. I can't see a way to attach them prior to painting so that they can be puttied and blended.

[Timmy C]

Guess I was lucky, as my Sovremenny decals were just fine, although the ones on the Franklin suffered from breakage problems.

I'd suggest you paint the inside of the supports, glue them on, then putty the outside, where it will be seen. Additionally, you might also want to try using the more "congealed" paints in the bottle to try to act as pre-coloured putty.

[Sean Hert]

I just talked Stevens Int, and the 1/350 Udaloys are in country, and are shipping to Hobbystores today. I hope to have my hands on one by Tuesday....

[jgrease]

Any word on the Udaloys Sean? I've been pounding away on my Sovremenny all week, and I'll post pics later today. I've done a lot of the railings and details on the center of the ship. I've also started assembling the helo, and that was when I wanted to throw the whole thing at the wall! Those stupid wheels...AAAAHHHHH! I also had another catastrophe while I was placing life rings on the superstructure. I was holding the ship at an angle when the stand slipped from my hand and my thumb went straight thru the top sail radar! I found the three pieces it broke into and did my best to reset them on the front mast. I was beside myself for making such a bonehead maneuver. In any event, I'm learning lessons to make that Udaloy build that much better. Anyone have tips on assembling and painting that damn helo? I'm trying to decide just what color to paint it since I'm doing an older Soviet ship.

[Rui Matos]

Sorry for the late reply on this post, but as we say, better late than ever
Here's some of my photos of a Surveillance my ship took in 1989, during the cold war:
Marshal Ustinov 088, Admiral Makarov 659, Kresta II 959

With the exception of the Kresta II all the other ships are in boxes waiting for the right moment to "attack" them - in a very near future.
If anyone needs these images in higher resolution, please ask.

Cheers and thanks for a great Thread!
Rui