Russian night group build! Jan 13 - August 3

[GTDEATH13]

Fiddly bits and pieces were painted, boats added. All that is left is a few touch ups here and there, some more details and next we go on to the weathering.

[D-Boy]

Nick, I admire your consistent progress. Just last week, I finished my first ship in 11 months!

[GTDEATH13]

You are making me blush.... Here are some general aspect photos I took... I think that the deck colour is about right...

[GTDEATH13]

Decals, wash, matt varnish... I will make the model with a satin finish. The matt varnish was used for a more unified surface after the decals and the wash...





Sorry for the bad photos...

Come on the rest of you guys... Where are the other participants... Get something done...

[California Bound]

Looks good Nick.

How long does that model come out to?

No update from me this week, I'm still sanding the basic shape of the conning tower on my typhoon.

Dan.

[GTDEATH13]

Dan the length is a little over 30 inches...

Started adding the rails... They are a little challenge, since Trumpeter has provided only one type, 4 bar railing, without a bottom line... I am improvising a bit...

[GTDEATH13]

Railing done... Next are some touchups to the paint here and there, a satin varnish and the rigging...

Since there is no point in trying to be accurate with the rails to such an inaccurate kit I improvised a lot.. .the biggest blunder is the top bridge deck, where the rails shouldnot extend beyond the radar dome but behind it and the deck outside the rail area should be grey but I got nowhere near that....

[DanCinSD]

Help!! I am not sure where to post this.... I want to enter this group by building the Trumpeter, 1/700th, Slava class cruiser, Marshal Ustinov. My question is this, long ago I bought the Lion Roar "USSR Navy Radar update set" with plans to use it on this kit.

My limited knowledge of Russian ships has me thinking I am missing some radar types to complete this ship. It looks to me that the "Front Door" and half of the "Top Pair" radar system. The p/e has the "Top Sail" but not the "Big Net" array from the "Top Pair".

Any help on what is a good set to complete these radars and add other parts to the kit that I don't have??

My reference is the book Slava, Udaloy and Sovremenniy by Steven Zaloga (thought he was a tank guy?) and the CASF for the Slava's.

[GTDEATH13]

Dan are you sure the parts are not there?

From what I can see the set includes:
Top Sail x 9 parts
Top Plate x 6 parts
Plate Steer x 7 parts
Strut Pair x 10 parts
Top Steer x 11 parts
Cross Sword x 8 parts
Palm Frond x 8 parts
Head light x 14 parts
Pop group x 4 parts

There is a dedicated pe set for the Kirov class ships, perhaps this helps you. It is set no. #E700003

[California Bound]

Nick,

30 inches sounds like a nice size to work with and your railing work looks fine to me. If the class is anything like the Udaloy class, railings and deck color locations aren't identical from ship to ship anyway.

Dan,

I did a google image search. It appears that Lion Roar sells two different PE sets. Both numbered 700029. One is probably older and has been relaced by the other. I don't know which is which but will assume that the older set is the less complete set. One PE set has the radars neatly labeled and seperated by lines. It is missing the "Front Door" and the "Big Net". The other PE set doesn't label the radars on the fret or seperate the different ones with lines. It includes the "Front Door" radar (but no mounting bracket) and shows both "Top Sail" and "Big Net" to be included in their mock up photo.

Dan.

[GTDEATH13]

thank you Dan, but the problem is with the rails supplied and the kit itself... Highly inaccurate in every aspect...

I did most of the rigging, the only thing left is the old fashion ring antenna on the right side....



I think I will replace the cranes provided in the kit...

[California Bound]

The cranes do look a little too simple. I'm curious to see how you make the ring antenna and whether or not I could replicated it in 1/350. I couldn't figure out how to make one small enough for my Udaloy.

Dan.

[GTDEATH13]

Dan WEM is soon releasing pe rings for making these kinds of antennas...

In my case, I have already made the rings from wire and am thinking of a vertival contruption for making the two ring antennas required...

I hope to have it done by tomorrow morning...

We are discussing the crane issue over at the CASF thread for the Sovremennys...

[California Bound]

Dan (DanCinSD),

I would guess that since it might be hard to determine which one you're getting if you were to try and get a second Lion Roar set, that the better choice would be to get the Flyhawk 1/700 Slava set. It's probably a bit more spendy by comparison, but looks to have everything you want.

Dan.

[DanCinSD]

Nick and Dan, thanks for the help.
I will think about this some more. I will probably go with a flyhawk set as it will have more of everything for the ship in it. I do have a back-up in a Kombrig 1/700 kit of the Admiral Nakhmov armored cruiser.
But of course with building USS Albany and Long Beach, and Virginia I will need a Slava soon too......

[California Bound]

Round 1 of my reshaping with epoxy putty and a large file is done.

Round 2 will be a little more of the same in order to replace some of the shape that I went too far on, such as the ridge around the top of the tower and along the very bottom near the back. Once that is repaired I will be able to do the more basic regular putty and sand paper.


Dan.

[GTDEATH13]

I made the base and attached the ship on it. The finials are from kitchen cabinet handles painted brass...
The whole model is satin varnished and the only things left are the whip antennas and the round antenna on the right side between the two masts...

[GTDEATH13]

I decided not to deal with the boat cranes, just let them be... I added the whip antennas and the ring antenna on the right side. Almost done, just a few touchups to the varnish:

[sirpaul]

I decided not to deal with the boat cranes, just let them be... I added the whip antennas and the ring antenna on the right side. Almost done, just a few touchups to the varnish:

Sweet looking build.

[Mike W]

Is it too late to join in? Can prizes be sent to the UK?

I currently have a Skywave 1/700 Krivak I building and the Trumpeter 1/700 Kiev. The Kiev, was started a few years ago and I dug it out to finish it off, so it won't be the one I want judged, but I can always send pics when it's done. I'll wait and see how the Krivak turns out (I wasn't building it to comp standards!), other than that, the next to be built is the Slava class Varyag, also in 1/700 by Trumpter.

All my modern Russian ships are being done to a theme. The theme is 'what if the Berlin wall didn't come down in 1989, what would the Soviet fleet be like in the 90's?'

So I'm making an imaginary Pacific fleet battlegroup, centred around Kuznetsov (assuming the other Kuznetsov, completed and entered service). Other ships in the battlegroup include Kiev (with plenty of Yak-38's and a couple of Yak-141's on test), Kirov class (probably Frunze), Varyag (Slava), a Sovremenny, 2 Udaloys, 2 Krivak I's and 2 Nanuchka's. I'm still debating whether or not to get a Kynda (always liked the look of them!), as I'm guessing if the cold war went on longer than it did, the Russians would have kept some ships for longer, even maybe in reserve.

thanks
Mike