1:700 BAP Independencia

[Peter Rathgeb]

Hey Michel,

glad to see you are back at work on the Independencia!

She's a beauty, I look forward to see the next phase.

Best,
Peter

[moomoon]

You didn't chose the easiest subject for that scale... looks good so far

[MichelB]

Some progress this day: I've added the small anchor handling cranes and the anchors. You can see the black paint on the hull wearing down, this is from handling the ship. Touching up and weathering the hull will be the last thing I'll do, obviously. I also touched up various stuff around the masts and yards. Still no guns, sadly.

[moomoon]

Do you plan to scratch the guns?

To avoid damaging paint with my sweaty fingers, I always glue my models on a support with 2 or 3 very small drops of CA.
Of course for mast alignments it must be horizontal.
For Le Tonkinois I used a rectangular piece of wood over a refurbished computer cover.
I keep an access to the underside all around the hull to make it easier handling the masking tape for waterline painting.

Keep posting

[MichelB]

That is a good idea, moomoon. So I went ahead and glued a wooden icecream scoop to the bottom: I once bought a 100x sack of those for stirring resing. Your Le Tonkinois is fantastic!

I might end up having to scratch the guns. I'll use a cocktail stick in my Dremel, and so turn the little chubby 19th-century barrels from wood. I did do some testing allready, but initially I discarded the results. Still, what is a frigate without her guns?

[JIM BAUMANN]

Michel B

Cocltail sticks turn ok--I have had better experiece doing that after I had soaked the stick in super thin CA...

but the very nicest thing for 'tuning' in a dremel is resin-- unlkike plastic there is no heat distortion

I use discarded resin kit masts or gun barrels as the source for round (ish) resin stock...

theser are some vents I made for Massena French battleship


cheers

JB

[MichelB]

Here we are again. In stead of writing on the final assignment of the course I'm taking (due tomorrow), I find myself working on the Independencia . I've added the davits, and fixed the middle boats. They still need more paint touch-ups, of course, but it's a milestone. I've started adding the white glue for the furled lateen sail.

[Gone Asiatic]

Outstanding work! Very motivational!

Tomorrow I`ll continue my S-models kit

[MichelB]

I managed to get a decent barrel for the main gun turned out from a toothpick. Here she is, sitting on her carriage. Second shot shows her first layer of black paint. Needs some more work of course. Will add a small shell handling crane, she was a muzzleloader after all.

[moomoon]

When I see what you can do with a toothpic.. I'll never dare to use one on my poor teeth anymore

[MichelB]

Jay! Progress! I find it quite difficult to get myself to the modelling table again, hopefully it'll pass quickly. Today I managed to create the aft Parrott rifle and the small boat dangling off the stern. I didn't use a toothpick this time, but bought some small wooden rods from the store, and this wood worked like a charm. The Parrott rifle is almost as long as the Blakely gun, but smaller in diameter and with only one step. Not a big challenge. Next are the smaller details: I think I'll place some boarding ladders against the bulwark next to the entry, a compass of sorts on the bridge, and the final paint touch-ups things like that. And I'll have to start thinking about packaging and sending this little fragile thing. This photo with my cell phone, my other camera is missing, hopefully beneath a pile of newspapers somewhere on the floor.

[Neptune]

Pretty awesome job there! Picking a larger scale would have saved you a lot of trouble though
What kind of rigging are you going to put on it? The full rigging or a simplified version???

[MichelB]

So, final stages. Did the rigging. Will have to smooth them out a bit more, to create the sag. This thin copper wire is great, but has its drawback; it's bendy and wants to stay that way. I have also repainted the hull, nice big 19th century mass of black there. Will need more paint touch-ups, have ordered new supply of Buff paint. I will experiment with homemade decals for the big furling naval ensigns.

Home stretch!

[Ziga]

I can't believe I missed this thread. Your Independencia is absolutely amazing!

[JIM BAUMANN]

constructive criticism if I may...?

if offended--read no further..



I think the copper wire is overwhelming your otherwise very niece piece of work....


If I may suggest....


Do please try again with some stretched sprue for the braces .... if applied in light compression the sprue will retain sag--and evenly too....

have a look here at the end for ideas to create sag

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=37536

ie

[MichelB]

Jim, I'm not offended and you criticism is always welcome. The point: I have tried, many, many times, to work with stretched sprue, but it just won't work in my hands. I find the copper wire in this case a good compromise between having no rigging (which, on a ship of this era won't work) and going full out with stretched sprue (which I can't).

But onto the Independencia: she is really minutes from completion: the anchor chain is up, the weathering is there, the last paint touchups have been done, the Peruvian Naval Flag is unfurled. I will stare at her some more tomorrow, trying to figure the last items, and building the specially reinforced cardboard box she will be shipped in. A cardboard box, i hear you scream, for such a delicate model? Well, cardboard is very strong in a single direction, so one has to build struts and girders of rolled-up cardboard and aim them at the right direction. And if you anchor the ship properly to the bottom, she'll won't move an inch and be solidly protected.

Some of the last shots before she's off to Switzerland:

[Ziga]

Your Independencia is excellent! Are you going to add her famous steam launch?
Have you seen these photos of the model built by Jose Antonio Bedoya?
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set= ... 874&type=3

[MichelB]

Ziga, thanks for your comment! I have seen the (great) model of the launch, and read about her famous action, but I will not add her to the ship, as she represents the ship on her last day, the 21st of may 1879. The steam launch was not on board that day.

[Ziga]

Michel, thanks for explanation. Will the Independencia be alone on a diorama or with the gunboat Covadonga?
By the way, it's kind of hard to believe that she went aground and became a total loss while chasing a small Chilean gunboat.

[MichelB]

How does one transport a fragile ship 700 kilometers via international mail? You build a specially reinforced box, that's how.

Here's the ship, with a tie-wrap put gently through her side ports, through holes in the (reinforced) cardboard box and tied securely in place.

Four rolled-up pillars of corrugated cardboard, giving a very high strength in the vertical direction. These are joined by four tubes laterally attached to the pillars horizontally, for strength in that direction.

Surround this with the outer layer of cardboard, a large helping of duct tape and packing tape, and creat a lid of sort. Under that lid is a stack of cardboard, which will fit snuggle between the two upper horizontal girders, preventing them from collapsing in on each other on impact. The side boards also overlap the inner floor board for extra strength, with another floor board overlapping the sides again.
With all said and done, one can easily throw around the box without anything moving, or coming near the masts and rigging. Now just hope the Mail Gods look to this undertaking favourably.