1/350 USS Bennington (CV-20)

[Rdutnell]

Update 117
The Future test went well. I painted half of my test piece with the foam and bristle brushes last night. They both worked well, although the foam seemed to have a few less bubbles form on the Future than the bristle, but after it dried most of the bubbles disappeared anyway.

I just got through spraying the other half, and OMG, was that easy. I had the gun all hooked up and the jar full of Future, before I went outside to spray it, and I�ll swear it took me longer to get out there than it did to spray it. I set the model down, screwed in the plunger on the propellant, but it was leaking around the sides, so I unscrewed it, tightened everything hand tight and tried again. I still had some leakage but went ahead and tried spraying. I pointed the gun away from anything, pulled the trigger, and adjusted the spray nozzle slightly until it gave what looked like a good spray pattern. I then swiped it across the test piece 3 or 4 times and it was done.

Easy as pie, uniformly applied, and no air bubbles. And I wasn�t at it long enough for the can to start freezing up. It got cold, but not icy. Spraying is definitely the way to go. I think when this can of propellant runs out I�m going to take Secondo�s advice and buy a compressor, because I�m sure I will be using the spray gun more in the future.

In the pictures below, I intentionally took them so that glare was reflecting off of the test piece so the Future coat would be more visible. The uneven spots and blobs seen in the pictures are not from the Future coat, they are from my sloppy paint job. And I can definitely see why people use Future. It covers smoothly by brush or spray and it looks like it provides one heck of protective barrier.

Hopefully tomorrow, after the Future dries, I can try weathering the test piece.

CHEERS!!!

[Rdutnell]

Update 118
Well, I finally got to try weathering my test piece, and strangely enough the smell of turpentine seems to bother me more than the CiC. Of course, it doesn�t seem to permeate the whole house like the Polycrylic did. It�s a good thing, because it�s getting friggin cold outside.

The test went well. I followed David Griffith�s directions and mixed oils paint ~1:20 with turpentine, not that I measured or anything. I just put a small dab of paint in a water color paint pallet I have and poured in some turpentine, which due to shape of the spout is a somewhat messy affair. I did a few tests, wiping it off with turpentine between tests.

I learned a couple of things from the tests. The first thing I learned is that the process takes patience, because, as David says, each coat is barely noticeable. The times it was noticeable, it dried rather obnoxiously. The second thing I learned is that it is best to get it right the first time, because there are a couple of spots where it appears that I went through the base paint. I figure this is due to one of two things or a combination of both; I either was a little too aggressive cleaning off one of the tests, or the Future was thin in the area. Since I have no way of knowing which, it seems safest to minimize removing layers.

Here are a couple pix of the test piece after the last test. Compare the first one with the first pic in the last update.

On the final test, shown in the photos, I used 3 or 4 layers of black, 4 or 5 layers of white, 2 layers of burnt umber and 2 or 3 layers of ultramarine. I think that on the model I will use at least 8-10 layers of white.

A couple of other things that I am thinking about�

Adding seam lines using pastel pencils after all of the oils have been applied, right before applying the dull coat? I think Christian�s method of applying it before the base coat is probably better, but it seems that it could be done late in the process as well.

Using actual rust from steel wool left sitting in water for a week or so? I read somewhere about people using this method. Has anyone tried it? What do you think?

Moving on, I also swabbed the deck of the model using a stiff paint brush, warm water and paper towels. After it dried, I took her outside and sprayed her down with Future. I applied it a little too thick in a couple of places, but I had a foam brush with me and just lightly touched the areas where it was trying to pool. Man, I can really see why people like using Future as a top coat for water. It is SHINY!!! It really makes the details pop too. The detail I put on the Gallery Deck bulkheads really stand out, but then what before looked like small scratches on the flight deck now appear as gaping wounds with Future on them. In any case, this is a transitional stage and the final dull coat will change everything yet again.

Below are the last pix you will see of her before weathering. They don�t really show how shiny she is, but you can tell she definitely looks brighter.

I hope to start weathering later today, though I must admit that even after the tests, I�m still somewhat intimidated by it. But, I guess it won�t be the first time and I am sure that it won�t be the last time either.

GO SOONERS!!!

[Rdutnell]

Update 119
Before jumping whole hog into the weathering, I decided to see if I could use water color pencils to help in this process. The pic below is a close up of my test piece. The water color pencils I have are made by Loew Cornell. For the plate lines I tried both black and gray and found black to be better. Most of the lines are too heavy handed, like the ones in the center of the photo. I did them over the Future and thought that the dull coat might have the same effect on water color pencil as I�ve read that it does pastel. This isn�t the case, as the dull coat had very little effect. The lines I did later (like the horizontal line at the top) I think are good. I did them over the dull coat using a straight edge and one line since the dull coat took them a lot better than the Future did. In places where I thought the line was too dark, I simply blended it out with a water soaked paint brush. Out of curiosity, I applied a couple of layers of the 20:1 varnish: white oil paint mixture over it, and it does not interact with the water color.

For the rust streaks I used Burnt Umber, Burnt Sienna and Light Brown, in different combinations (the �holes� are Black. The middle one is perhaps a little much, the right a little light. Somewhere between the left one and right one would probably be about right. I did all of these on the Future. Since taking the photo below, I tried one over the dull coat and got a result I like.

Still, I�m not sure if this is the method I will use for the rust. I might do them in the �Pin wash� phase of the weathering process, or possibly use real rust. But, I will definitely use this method for the plate lines after a dull coat is applied.

So, now I think I will go ahead and start adding the �filters� component of the process.

CHEERS!!!

[Rdutnell]

Update 120
The first thing that I would like to say is that my heart goes out to all of you suffering from the impacts of Sandy. For the last few days, everything I do, that we normally take for granted, I think of the millions of people who can�t even enjoy the simple everyday things we do in life, and I feel their pain. Best of wishes to all of you impacted!

On a lighter, far less significant note, I didn�t get to do much modeling this week. However, I did get a start on the weathering process. When applying the filters, Griffith starts with black, but it doesn�t seem to me that the order the filters are applied is important, and since I didn�t lighten my base coat for �Scale colour�, I decided to start with white.

I used Daler-Rowney Georgian Titanium White Oil Colour thinned in Grumbacher Turpentine, to the point that it ended �up as slightly coloured turpentine, rather than thin paint�, as recommended by Griffith. So far, I have applied 7 or 8 layers (I lost count) to both the hull and the flight deck, and although it is far from finished, I thought I would post a couple of pix to show the first stage.

Interestingly, unlike in most cases, it actually looks better to me in the pictures than in real. I�m happy with the hull so far, but plan on adding a few more layers of white to it. The flight deck is another matter, as I am not thrilled with the way it looks at this stage, because it�s a little too light. I�m definitely not going to add any more white to it, except in a few spots on the edges that didn�t get covered. I�m hoping that the brown and black layers, specifically the brown, will improve the look of the flight deck.

I should know by the end of the day.

CHEERS!!!

[ArizonaBB39]

Looking excellent!

[LE BOSCO]

Hi Rdutnell

always nice to see your project
cheers
Nicolas

[Rdutnell]

Hey Thanks Abram and Nicolas!

Although I didn�t spend as much time on it as I had hoped, I continued weathering Bennington by adding 3 more layers of white to the upper hull, followed by 3 layers of Burnt Umber (Winsor & Newton Artisan oil colour) to the flight deck and upper hull. I still have a lot more weathering to do, but stopped to take pictures and ponder what to do next.

In places, I really like the way it looks, in others, not so much. The Burnt Umber really improved the flight deck and really enhances the weathered look. Unfortunately, even though I hit the catwalk bulkheads hard on every layer, it hardly looks like it.

After looking at the pictures, I think I will add another layer or two of Burnt Umber concentrating on the bulkheads, perhaps using a smaller brush. I think I have to be careful here though, because I have a feeling that it is easy to overdo it. I will follow this with two or three layers of black, and finish with a couple of layers of ultramarine blue to complete the filtering process.

Happy trails�

[Christian M.]

Hi Russ,

looks very good and well done until now!

After looking at the pictures, I think I will add another layer or two of Burnt Umber concentrating on the bulkheads, perhaps using a smaller brush. I think I have to be careful here though, because I have a feeling that it is easy to overdo it. I will follow this with two or three layers of black, and finish with a couple of layers of ultramarine blue to complete the filtering process.

"Overdoing" is indeed a danger which always flys as threat above head of modeller if making weathering and aging effect on model.
Sure, only looking on some originals of today, they really look sometimes more as a wreck wth all the rust, several layers of re-paint and the scratches and dents etc. But to get the middle way is the miracle at least to make it awsome.
I think you are making here a good job with it until now and some things could be improved with another layer as you told.

[Rdutnell]

Update 122
Thanks again Christian!

I hear you when you say that sometimes ships look a wreck. In the pictures of Bennington, after the typhoon, she barely has any paint left. My skills aren�t good enough to match the pix at this point, I don�t think, but some weathering had to be done, and I�m just hoping for a miracle.

Anyway, I continued applying the filters by applying 1 more layer of Burnt Umber and a layer of Daler-Rowne Georgian Lamp Black to the flight deck and sides, and two layers of Daler-Rowne Georgian French Ultramarine to the sides, again thinned heavily with Grumbacher Turpentine.

I�m fairly happy with the sides at this point, but I�m not crazy about the flight deck. Most of it looks OK, except for an area around the forward joint. This is probably because I didn�t do such a great job of fixing the gross misalignment of the two parts. I�m going to try another layer of Burnt Umber and perhaps another layer of black on the flight deck and maybe a few select spots on the sides.

After I finish applying the filters, I will apply the �Pin wash� and �Dry brushing� as described by Griffith. The pin wash phase seems straightforward enough, as long as I work slowly and carefully. The dry brushing phase worries me somewhat because I have to mix four shades of gray (a disadvantage of the dazzle scheme). It has to be well mixed and of sufficient quantities to cover not just the main ship, but the island and other accessories as they are added as well. Dry brushing in painting typically uses little paint, but I don�t want to underestimate the amount I need, because I think it would be difficult to mix the same color twice. Or is it even that important that the colors are exactly the same?

When the pin wash and dry brushing is complete I think I�m going to try using water color pencils to faintly outline the plate seams before I apply the dull coat. I�ll have some time to think about it though because I�m not sure that I will get to do any modeling this week.

CHEERS!

[sgtryan13]

Very subtle, yet highly effective weathering, I like it a lot, well done!

[J. Aguilar]

I really like the painting of the flight deck, very realistic, congrats.

cheers
JAM

[Capt652]

Looking good

[Rdutnell]

Update 123
Thanks for the kind words Ryan, JAM, and Timm. I really appreciate it.

Well, I reached another milestone in my modeling �career� tonight, as I have mostly completed my first attempt at weathering. All I have yet to do is apply the dull coat. After the last update, I added a little more brown filter to the flight deck and a few spots on the sides. I then made up a pin wash mixture of mostly brown with a touch of black thinned about 10:1 with Turpentine, as described by Griffith. I applied this sparingly to recesses and area in shadow. I also, flicked a few random spots on the deck to simulate oil stains, an idea I got from Chris Toops who applied the same technique, using Gouache paint, on his recently posted Gambier Bay, which is a must see beauty. (http://www.modelshipgallery.com/gallery ... /index.htm)

At this point, I really liked the way it looked, and since others seemed to as well, I decided to quit while I was ahead. I also, decided to forego the dry brushing, mainly because I was concerned that I wouldn�t mix my paints correctly and would mess everything up, and I thought that it already looked good enough without risking it.

I also decided not to use the water color pencils to make the hull plate seams. Instead, taking another cue from Chris Toops, who used masking tape and Gouache paint on his excellently crafted Essex (http://www.modelshipgallery.com/gallery ... index.html) to represent the plate seams, I decided to try using masking tape and a brown filter, thinned slightly less than the usual filter but more than the pin wash. I think it worked out pretty good and to be honest, even though it isn't perfect, the results are way better than I thought they would be on my first attempt, and I think it will look even better with the dull coat applied.

When I first started the weathering process, I must say, it was not one of my favorite parts of modeling, but the more I did it, and the better the model started to look, I started to get into it. Where initially, I thought that I would never try weathering again, I am now looking forward to my next chance to try it again.

Now, with the main weathering behind me, it�s time to continue assembly. The question is; what should I do next?

[ArizonaBB39]

Looks really good so far! Keep up the great work!

[Rdutnell]

Thanks Arizona!

This may be too soon, and I apologize if I offend anybody, but my wife just cracked me up when she walked in and said, "You know, if you wanted your ship to look like it went through a hurricane, you could have just sent it to my sister."

[Rdutnell]

Update 124

After giving some thought about what to do next I decided that I needed to attach the hull because I didn�t want to have to do it after PE was attached. I started by spraying the hull with a couple of coats of Tamiya Mica Red. I know that it isn�t exactly the right color of red, but since the hull is going to be submerged in �water� it doesn�t really matter, because it won�t be visible, and I already had it.

Before I could attach it though, I had to accommodate the wiring for the lights. This required connecting and soldering all of the wiring, making sure that each light went to the correct circuit. The light posts for the island lights, that I had previously made, were glued in place. I didn�t want to attach the island at this point, so I ran the wires for the navigation lights through the forward light post and left the ends dangling, hopefully with enough to complete the connection when I am ready to attach the island.

The next step was to drill a hole in the hull to get the wires out of the ship. My original plan was to drill the hole near the aft end, but I ran out of wire and although I ordered more, I didn�t want to wait for it to arrive, so I drilled it more or less in the middle of the hull. The hull was then glued on and left to dry. Once again Mark�s Standard Handbook for Mechanical Engineers came in handy, as it was used as a weight to hold the hull in place as it dried.

The next step is to apply the boot topping, which I plan on using 1/16� black pin striping to accomplish. I�m not exactly sure where the boot topping goes. Does it go, above the match line? Under it? Or on top of it? I guess I need to look at some pictures, but since I don�t even have the pin striping yet, I have some time. Does anyone have any suggestions?

[Russ2146]

Well, the draft is given as 28.5 feet.
As I understand it, that is the vertical distance up from the keel. I am ASSUMING that is measured when fully loaded.
The boot topping extends above and below the fully loaded waterline.
Again ASSUMING that Trumpeter put the waterline where it is supposed to be, the boot topping should start above that waterline and extend below it to the vicinity of of the light-load waterline.

As usual, Tracy's site has the details as to how far above and below

[ArizonaBB39]

Again looking great so far. An interesting concept too.

[Christian M.]

Hi Russel,

paint- / weathering job looks still great and very well done!

About your LED lights, a very good idea you had here... slowly I become unsure if it is not better that I install also some in hangar deck.

Cheers,
Christian

[Rdutnell]

Update 125
Thanks again Arizona and Christian.

As for lights Christian, it really depends on what you want to show. There are a lot of really cool CV models out there without lights, and from what I�ve seen of your work yours will look good whatever you decide to do. If you decide to do lights, it�s a bit more work, not just for the lights, but if you light the hangar up, you have to have stuff in there t look at. I�m glad I did it, but a lot of time went into things that will rarely if ever be seen.

Also, if I was to do it again, I probably wouldn�t do it the same way. There is a kit available now that you might look into, http://www.freetimehobbies.com/MML-35001.aspx, but I think it is geared more toward modern carriers, and I don�t think I would use it. I would look at the LED strips that are available, or at least use only the chip LEDs as they are smaller.

You also have the choice of using batteries or an adapter. I was going to use batteries, but then you have to find a place for the battery pack that isn�t too difficult to access when you have to change them, so I decided to use an adapter. I read somewhere that someone did both, so that when he took it to shows he could use batteries if power wasn�t available. Mine�s not going anywhere, so that isn�t an issue for me, but if you think you may travel with it, that is something you may want to consider.

The other thing I found is that when you push the limit on the number of lights a battery is supposed to power, the brightness drops considerably. My lights are a LOT brighter with the adapter than with a battery. Good luck whatever you decide.

Well, Russ, as much as I appreciate the input, as always, I decided to follow the KISS principle on this one. I looked at other models, assumed that Trumpeter got it right and bought a roll of 1/8� pin striping for $2.50 that has enough striping to do more ships than I could possibly ever build. I placed it so that the upper edge just covered the seam between the top and bottom sections and it was extremely easy to do as the flight deck allows the ship to sit at just the perfect angle for applying the �tape�.

It is amazing how one little addition can drastically alter the appearance of a model, as it is now starting to look more like a ship. As one of my mentors often says, �I�m a likin� it!� Still, I�m thinking that I might try weathering the boot topping and hull a little. I�m going to try thinning out some of the haze grey or light grey acrylic with water and applying it much in the same way as I did the oils and turpentine. This will avoid me having to apply the Future and if it works good, great. If not, they mostly won�t be visible anyway when the ship is in the �water�.

It�s about time to start putting PE on the sides, but since I want to include figures in and around the flight deck openings my next session is probably going to be spent deciding how to best use the figures I have and preparing them (If I don't do the weathering). The figures I currently have include the Tamiya 144 piece crew set (unpainted, and unbendable I presume), Tom�s Wodelworks� PE Figures Set #3509 (unpainted) and Eduard�s 3-D Carrier figures (painted). I was hoping that North Star Models new US Navy 3D Figure Set would get released so I could try them too, but the last report I heard said end of October-first of November and although Free Time Hobbies shows them, they still don�t have a price listed for them and they are reportedly �Out of Stock�. If they don�t come out soon, they are going to miss this ship.

CHEERS!!!