The Ship Model Forum

So here are some of the pictures I have of the ongoing build of the Billings kit Zwarte Zee 592, the kit is pretty good, instructions can be a bit vague, and also the drawings on the plans are not too clear sometimes, but overall I have really enjoyed attempting this build so far. I think the kit is aimed at someone with more building experience than we have, but we seem to be getting the hang of things now.
Some of the difficulties has lain in the order we have gone through the build, attatching things before painting and vice versa, and other mistakes that I think all would have been avoided by someone with more experience, but the mistakes have all been rectified fairly successfully and we are learning as we go, so all is good.
The vessel is starting to take shape now, but will start the pictures from early on and then for those of you who are not familiar with the Billings kits, or the ZZ herself, you can see what is in the kit and what is required for a good build.

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Working on; Zwarte Zee 592 and Hermes Hamburg Tug Scratchbuild.

So after a little encouragement I decided to share some pics of our ZZ 592. We are actually pretty happy with it, and the only thing we are struggling with a little is the paint finish, which is odd as I am actually a half decent artist when its on canvas but on the model, I am still trying to find a good method with the enamel paints and straight edges, but will figure it out.....maybe try thinning them a little. Gotta find a way because it really lets the model down at the minute.
We are a fair way tgrough the build now, but will start from earlier days with the pics and see what you pros think.....
Have only added a few as I am a bit short on time and wanted to try out adding some pics, will add a few more later on.

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Working on; Zwarte Zee 592 and Hermes Hamburg Tug Scratchbuild.

Oh so this is a motorized model. cool

Looking good so far. When you're painting are you brushing by hand or using an airbrush? I've found that I run into problems hand brushing and am looking to get an airbrush to add to the workbench for larger areas for more even coverage.

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-Shane

Dallas, Tx

Working on: Revell 1/426 USS Arizona BB-39

In the Stash: USS Arizona 1/700 Dragon Premium, DKM Bismarck 1/700 Dragon Premium, Admiral Graf Spee 1/700 Trumpeter, & Prinz Eugen 1/700 Trumpeter

As you will see in a few pictures time, I am using brushes. Airbrush is top of my Christmas wish list by a very long way. I have more pics to go on here probably a little later this evening, so I think you will see the sad finish, but I won´t stop until I am happy with it, no matter how many times I have to sand it down, mask it up and repaint it.....

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Working on; Zwarte Zee 592 and Hermes Hamburg Tug Scratchbuild.

Dullcoat and Glosscoat, whichever is applicable, helps hide a LOT of bad brushwork. Trust me. I know.

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-Shane

Dallas, Tx

Working on: Revell 1/426 USS Arizona BB-39

In the Stash: USS Arizona 1/700 Dragon Premium, DKM Bismarck 1/700 Dragon Premium, Admiral Graf Spee 1/700 Trumpeter, & Prinz Eugen 1/700 Trumpeter

Thanks for the tip, will look into those and see if they will be of any help, but my best plan would be to by an airbrush I think, fabulous finish, and extremely versatile. Well worth the coupla hundred euros I think.

Few more pictures to add from the early days of the project......

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Working on; Zwarte Zee 592 and Hermes Hamburg Tug Scratchbuild.

This is what it will hopefully look like when it´s finished.

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Working on; Zwarte Zee 592 and Hermes Hamburg Tug Scratchbuild.

http://www.modelshipgallery.com/gallery/misc/tugs/zwartezeeiv-200-ms/ms-index.html

And the real ship:
http://www.hoppenbrouwer-home.nl/ikarus/mijnmodellen/zz-fotos.htm

Good luck!

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"I've heard there's a wicked war a-blazing, and the taste of war I know so very well
Even now I see the foreign flag a-raising, their guns on fire as we sail into hell"
Roger Whittaker +9/13/2023

Hi every one !
I'm new in this forum. I've just bought the Zwarte Zee kit and I'd like to know what are the references of the paints to be used for the different parts of the ships. I'll be using an airbrush for the hull and other parts that do not need manual painting.
Could you help ?
Thanks a lot.

Alain

P.S: I'll likely be asking more questions later but that's all for today