The Ship Model Forum

For shaping styrene, I use diamond and regular files, sandpaper, and sandpaper glued to plastic sheet. But most of the work is done by cutting, carving and scraping with scalpel knives.

For smoothing the surfaces, I don't use diamond files, because they are too rough and never give a smooth surface. Regular files are better (but clog more easily), but still not really smooth. So I mostly use sand paper in a couple of grades, glued to plastic sheet (like home-made sanding sticks) or not. But for very small or thin surfaces (for example edges), I find that simply scraping with the scalpel blade gets a smooth surface very quickly. I only use steel wool for irregular surfaces that are hard to reach uniformly by the other methods.
And you?

most excellent wok Marijinn...

and it stands up well to extreme close up photos !

I am envious of your progress--I have alomst stalled ...

not quite but almost...

Best wishes
JIM B

Thanks Jim!

Owning only a small garden, I'm less susceptible to my modelling stalling during the summer than most modellers.
Letting it grow into a miniature Amazon rainforest also helps...

Hoping to see you get back at the bench soon. I'm looking forward to progress on your Normandie!

Cheers,

Marijn

I don't know how you do it Marijn, every build you do excels the last

I also using all of the above, but find that wet-and-dry sandpaper has the tendency to smear and leave dark traces. I don't use the normal diamond files, but rather nail files that have a fine and a coarser side - the diamonds tend to be finer than what is sold to hobbyist. Of course, I also use scalpels and razor blades as scrapers.
Recently I discovered diamond-coated steel-strips that come in various grades and are used by the dental trade. Dito. plastic strips covered in diamond dust of various grades, as used by dentists to work on interdental spaces. Ebay is your friend and gives you access to all sorts of fancy speciality tools and materials.

Hello Marijn,

I just found your thread and I am gobsmacked by your work! My model of VICTORY was pretty much right out of he box but what you are achieving is amazing. How you are building REDOUBTABLE in styrene is fabulous. I have long been an admirer of your model soldiers but your talents are inspiring!

Warmest regards,

Kerry

Kerry Jang
Vancouver, Canada

What is it about HMS Victory that brings out the insanity in people? Incredible, work! Can't wait to see the finished products.

marijn van gils wrote:Thanks Jim!

Owning only a small garden, I'm less susceptible to my modelling stalling during the summer than most modellers.
Letting it grow into a miniature Amazon rainforest also helps...

Hoping to see you get back at the bench soon. I'm looking forward to progress on your Normandie!

Cheers,

Marijn

How goes the modelling stalling?

Looking forward to your next madness.

I hope this project is still alive, Marijn

Thanks for the interest guys!

I took a break from actual building since juli for a book project. But I should get the manuscript finished in the early months of 2020, and then I will start building again on this project. My fingers are already itching!

So, stay tuned!

Marijn

Hello everyone,

I�m finally back at the bench, so it�s time for an update.

Here is where I left off with the stern:

The stern bulkhead and gallery were glued in place, and so were the quarter gallery decks:


The entire facing of the stern was cut from a single piece of plastic sheet. It is left detachable so I have better access to construct and later paint the stern gallery.





Now, I glued thin plastic sheet around the quarter gallery decks and trimmed the edges.






Now, the horizontal subdivisions were made with thin plastic sheet and square rod.


The columns were added with plastic sheet and strips of PE, cut from the degaussing cable in the Lexington CV2 set from Eduard.


The stern facing received the same treatment.


Most of the windows in the quarter galleries were mock windows, so they were left closed. The �real windows� were now opened with a sharp scalpel.
The stern gallery railing started with 5 pieces of 0,2mm brass rod, glued in drilled holes.


The other balusters were made from stretched sprue. The brass ones provide strength, while the stretched sprue is much easier to glue in straight. Note that balusters are also added to the quarter galleries.
I made the top railing of the quarter galleries from copper wire rings (twisted around a drill shank) and plastic rod.


Finally, I carefully applied drops of white glue to the balusters with a sharp brush to give them a profile. I added a bit of acrylic paint to the glue for increased visibility.


I then added the window frames. As there is no PE I can use for this (all the windows have slightly different angles to them), I made them from small pieces of stretched sprue. With 7 pieces per frame, this took a bit of time!


The stern facing was decorated with copper wire and sculpting in Magic Sculp. It is still detachable, with only minor gaps to fill after painting.
The lower finishings of the quarter galleries and the seal of the rudder were also sculpted with Magic Sculp.
There are 4 doors in the stern gallery bulhead, 3 of which were positioned open. There are still loose now and not in perfect position yet.








And a gentle reminder of the scale:


All the best,

Marijn

Perfect!

XXXDAn

Fantastic workmanship!

Well, I only can say that the waiting was worthwhile!

Excellent craftsmanship and planning is really showing!
Congrats and please carry on

Cheers,
Rui

Very good

This has been a looOOoong wait... but well worth the wait
_Bruno

Stunning work! Very nicely executed

Marijn = Scotty.

Many thanks guys!

I'm really glad to be back at the bench!

ModelMonkey wrote:

Marijn = Scotty.

I envy Scotties moustache!