The Ship Model Forum

@pieter, Havock looks very good so far, thank you to share!
(I also started one)

Pictures? If you are working at you usual speed you will probably finish her before I do...-:(

Finally! I completed the Ward last week and here is a couple of completed shots from the OHMS show in Micminnville,OR last weekend. I will post some more here shortly and get some submitted to the gallery.
Matt

That's a beautiful 4 stacker you have there, Matt!
I have a small update. The rudder has been made from two spare parts from the WEM 1/700 aircraft set. I have made the prop shafts + brackets in .3mm steel and build up the thicker parts in Micro Kristal Klear. Likewise the propellers are WEM aircraft propellers cut down to 4mm in diameter and fattened out with Kristal Klear. Now I still have to add the propeller guards (also WEM) and it's off to the basement for priming.

More progress. One of the nicer things of working to a deadline is the fact that I had to stop making small parts and details at a certain point and start painting them. This works against developing advance modeler syndrome but it also means I'm not overcrowding this 83*10mm piece of styrene. So these are the small parts I will still add to Havock, 'frozen' by the need to have them primed and painted by the weekend as I'll be away most of next week . Railings will be from my GMM IJN superfine stash which are already primed and painted. And my first attempt at painting the hull:

Display base is ready for water!


Base is basswood with basswood strips glued to the top and 300lbs Arches Watercolor paper layed in for the sea base. I had some scrap left over from a painting and it fit perfectly!


I also picked up some goodies for the DEs



I can't say enough about these little gems. If you want aftermarket parts and Paper Lab makes then go buy them, period!

I'll start in on with the acrylic gel medium tomorrow after everything has a good amount of time to dry. You'll notice the 3rd hull in the center there. That's a Skywave Bogue-Class CVE I picked up off a fellow forum member a while back. It won't be done in time for the deadline (I don't think anyway....hmmmm) but its pair of escorts will be. The carrier will be the USS Nassau (CVE-16) in either Ms 22 or 32, not sure yet. I saw the CVE in the stash and couldn't resist making this a whiff hunter-killer group!

I changed up the camo schemes on the DEs. The AAW version will be in Ms 22 while the ASW version will be in an altered Ms 32/2D with 5-O or 5-N subbed for BK. Just need to tape off the darker color and they'll be ready for PE.

Any thoughts, comments, ideas, etc... are appreciated as always.

-Mike

Nice work, fellas. Matt, I especially like your Ward.

Good job, Cliffy!

Never knew the Butlers had an AAW modification. Oh well, that just means it has more guns!!!

Thanks dude but remember both DEs are whiffs. The ASW one is solely my idea where the AAW one is based on a set of sketches made by BuShips. There's still one more I'd like to make but I need one of the high bridge DEs. The second sketch was for a shore bombardment version with five 5"/25s and next to no ASW weapons save for a few DCs.

Paper Lab over on the ever fantastic WEM site, they list over 10 items in 1-700 - only wish there were more Japinese stuff, fine moulds are okay but -------------- well ------------- no where near as good as WEM.
Just my thought.

Great builds you guys!

I've been progressing nicely on Akikaze. Thank you Bobby C for the inspiration! I've recently added LionRoar ammo boxes on the main gun platforms, torpedo tubes and various lumber lashed down to rear gun platform. I used Northern lumber strips and copper wire to lash it down to the structure. Next on the agenda will be themain guns and smoke stacks. I also used copper wire to simulate the life preservers fore and aft.
Also, I added some photos of my IJN minesweeper W.5, It is a metal kit from Kobo Hiryu. Cadman gave a good review of it a couple of years back, and it is IMHO a very nice kit indeed.





















Bob Pink.

Trying to get to the finish line.









Bob Pink.

Looking good there Quincy! At least you have most/all of your PE on unlike me

I'm going to be entering the dio in a local model contest on the 16th so I'll forgo the water base until the this weekend or early next week so I can get the CVE hull fully prepped and then stick all 3 in the water.

My DEs are drying at the moment after some last minute fabrication. I swear, every time I look at them and think, "Man, I'm finally ready to put them all together!" I find some little feature I omitted PE is cleaned and ready for some primer. I'll attach it all and then brush on the final colors. I'm just glad that there isn't much railing on these little ships; just a few inches in total for each!

Looks like an all nighter to the finish line!

Thanks Cliffy. Yea but, everytime I think I'm getting closer to finish , I keep forgetting/adding more detail to the build. I'm leaving my railings off until I get everthing done ie: masts, torpedo jigs etc. then I'll put them on so as not to crush them during handling. I've done that before and its not pretty.



Bob Pink.

Looking nice, Bob.
I took a quick picture of Havock yesterday before dullcoating. Will post pictures the finished Havock later today.

Finished. The brass rod which supported the hull in a third hand was partially cut off, painted in Vallejo white gold and placed in pre-drilled hole in the (trumpeter) small base set and that's it. All in all it was about 60 hours of work, I didn't count the parts. Total cost of materials: about 20 euros, mainly the PE and the base. I really liked being part of this group build and this is actually the first project I've managed to complete in 2010...If I'm not careful I will start to like deadlines.

Its 7:30 PM EST here. Just about 4 and a half hours to go until the deadline! Who else is going to be working all night alongside me? All-nighters are awesome!

Alrighty, I got the AAW DE 99% finished. The railings gave me more trouble than I'd expected and after ripping several lengths off while removing tape, I'm going to to leave them to dry overnight. After that the only need a final coat of 5-H and then I can glue on all of the guns and the mast. I realized earlier today that I wouldn't be able to finish both so I said screw it and concentrated on the AAW version. I've been awake for way too long today so I'll add the last the little bits and put up photos sometime tomorrow if that's not too late. Time for bed gents. This group build was a blast. We need to do another one soon!

I know not everybodies builds are done. I'm taking photo submissions to my inbox to make things easier or ( jds560 at gmail.com) and I'll pass them on to the other judges. Prizes are looking something like a 1/350 HMS Hood for the "Champ" and some other things for runner up and third.

Even if your build isn't "complete" don't be afraid to send in a submission!

Alright, my eyes hurt too darn much to keep fiddlin' with 1/700 PE for one night. My 1/700 AAW Butler-Class DE is 99% done so here it is.

The USS Eversole (DE-425) named after DE-404 (lost off Leyte 10/28/1944). She is the first of her type to receive the AAW DE modification to provide added AA protection for the Atlantic convoys starting in late 1945.

Its 99% complete. I wasn't able to add the 20mms or the decals but that's about it. I'll add those last little details after I get it into the water base along with the other DE and the CVE.













Mods to basic Butler-Class DE are as follows:

-Triple Torpedo Tubes replaced by two Twin 40mm Bofors and one 5"/38 turret.
-Air Search radar upgraded to an SC-2.
-Gun director upgraded to a Mk-56 GFCS with ballistics for 5" and 40mm guns.
-ASW weapons reduced to one single Depth Charge track with 8 DCs.

Armament stands at:
-Three 5"/38s
-Three Twin 40mm Bofors
-Four-Six Twin 20mm Oerlikons
-One Depth Charge Track

Any thoughts, comments, questions, etc... are appreciated as always.

-Mike