The Ship Model Forum

After six years out of the hobby, searching for inspiration after a WWI biplane burn out, surprise, surprise, a little read up on the history of HMS Warspite inspired me.

I have started building the Academy HMS Warspite (about one month in). Being the person I am, It had to have additional details and it had to be weathered.

When I received the Pontosmodel set, I was delighted. I have used a lot of resin and brass in the past, but this set surpassed any of these. Well done Pontosmodel!!!! I had never even heard of you until a month ago.

Here is your starter for ten.



The wooden deck went on beautifully, but I have noticed one or two areas where it has lifted slightly. Nothing that can`t be fixed easily. I didn`t want to start a WIP until the deck was on, because these wooden decks are the one thing that is completely new to me, and I was very concerned about messing it up. Perhaps I should have waited until after my first attempt at a seascape.

My only reservation is that it looks far too pristine against what will be a weathered hull and superstructure, so I got started with the pastel chalks and fine point brush. So far, I have only gone up to B turret, to show a before and after, or, to be more accurate, a before and in the middle of.

In terms of weathering, I am purely ad libbing my way through this. With aircraft, stains etc streak rearwards, whereas on ships, they seem to streak downwards. I shall be applying a lot of the usual logic that relates to ships just as much as aircraft ie weather more heavily in areas of high usage.

Thanks for looking.

Regards, Dave.

Nice work, Dave. The deck looks great where you've weathered it. Can you expand a bit on what you're doing with the pastels to achieve that effect?

Hi Bill.

Basically, I am using a powdered brown pastel with a fine brush, trying to pick out individual planks, and concentrating on high wear areas, and areas I think will be susceptible to more staining. I am also toying with the idea of a little oil staining around the aircraft handling area.

I think that this weathering is going to need a little flattening and blending in once I am finished with the pastels. It looks a little too stark at the moment, although this works well if I am going for the wet look. I`m not quite sure how I am going to do this just yet, but maybe a touch of pale brown or pale tan/flesh added to clear varnish and sprayed on in successive, thin layers will do the trick.

Any suggestions are welcome, as ships are a whole new ball game to me.

Regards, Dave.

Apologies if this is a stupid question, but are you applying the pigments dry or wet? Also, if you go over the pigments with varnish won't that negate their effect?

I like what you have done with your deck Dave; the shadows add a great deal of depth. I�m also new to this branch of the hobby but I would be tempted to temporarily place some of the deck fittings before passing final judgement, they will help indicate areas of greater shadow. They also draw the eye and give multiple areas of interest; at the moment your deck is the only thing on show so will look starker. Just my opinion.

I�ll be following with interest.
Rob.

Looking great! I just got the Premium Edition of the Warspite which includes the Pontos set.. So I will be watching this for sure!

Forgot to ask what did you use to glue the deck down? Also being a aircraft guy this is completely new too me too!

Bill Gormley wrote:Apologies if this is a stupid question, but are you applying the pigments dry or wet? Also, if you go over the pigments with varnish won't that negate their effect?

They are being applied dry, Bill, in this case. They are applied wet and with a little washing up liquid for washes, panel lines etc.

Rob 2 wrote:I�m also new to this branch of the hobby but I would be tempted to temporarily place some of the deck fittings before passing final judgement, they will help indicate areas of greater shadow. Rob.

Good thinking, Rob2. I`ll wait until I get abetter view of the whole picture.

Moeggo wrote:Looking great! I just got the Premium Edition of the Warspite which includes the Pontos set.. So I will be watching this for sure!

You are watching me, and I am watching Captain Pugwash.

viewtopic.php?f=59&t=106217

Regards, Dave.

Dave Spencer wrote: You are watching me, and I am watching Captain Pugwash.

viewtopic.php?f=59&t=106217

Regards, Dave.

[/quote]

Ah I missed that one! I will have to check that one out too! Looking forward to your next update!

Cheers!

Hi Dave.
Looking good.
Rob2 has a point on the shadow thing, I have left the deck weathering till I have all superstructures in place, did a little on the stern.
You will find that some area's of the decking rise up, but with a flat knife or such you can press thease down, also some area's the deck does not line up, but you can also stretch the deck to fit with care over raised area's.
If you break the decking, its no problem to repair as you have loads of spare decking which you may want to use for another smaller ship later.
One thing that does not look right is the darker colour for the side's, this looks like 507A and should be 507B, the lighter colour looks ok for 507C.
But it might be the light and I am talking out of me hat .

For the water, Jim B has a very good article as doe's Phil R a very good way of making water effect.
Browse them and you will not go far wrong.

Great start - love the weathering on the deck.

as Martin replied, this is a good start and it would be fine to see some more progress in the near future

Thanks for the comments, chaps.

I hope to have a little more to report when I get of my holidays.

Regards, Dave.

Here are a couple more pics of my progress. Weathering has been done in some areas with oils and pastels, and dry brushing has been done with oils.





I need to rethink the angle of the line of the camouflage between the funnel and the aircraft hangar. There is so much spraying and respraying to do anyway, this shouldn`t be a biggie.

As there was no anchor chain with my Pontosmodel detail set, I am a little unsure as to how to proceed with the chain. I shall give the kit parts a go and see how they turn out, I think. I also have an issue with a missing 6" barrel. I have seven of these, but nine of the 4" barrels, when it should be eight of each.

I must say, though, the the etched brass is a joy to work with.

Regards, Dave.

Dave, I recall someone else whose Pontos set was missing a piece or two - he got them by contacting Pontos on this forum, so definitely try that: memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=9897

Hi Dave.
As timmy say's, I was the culprit to the loss of just one item.

Just email Pontos and you will get it sorted.
I only needed one replacement but got four of the same, so it pays to contact Pontos.
Looking good on your progress, but again the darker camoflage looks to dark lol .
Like the weathering effect.

Thanks Captain and Timmy. Pontosmodel did offer to send me some chain, but I said it wouldn`t be worth the expense. What I shall probably do is wait until I send off for their KGV and/or Bismarck set and ask that they send me the missing bits with that order.

Captain pugwash wrote: Looking good on your progress, but again the darker camoflage looks to dark lol .
Like the weathering effect.

It is looking a little dark compared to most other builds, Captain. A bit more work with some oils and I should be able to tone it down a little. Personally, I don`t get too bogged down with colours/shades as weathering etc. usually alters what comes out of the tin quite a bit, but maybe my dark grey isn`t yet in the ball park.

Still, no worries. Weathering has always been my favourite part.

Regards, Dave.

Dave
I have been watching this post and am happy to watch your work.

And all,
of course we supply any missed parts to you directly at anytime with free shipping.

And we also supply PE or turned brass parts even these may be broken or lost during work.
At this case, we just get 2USD or less shipping fee.

Recently we shipped extra Funnel cap set to one modeler in U.K. because his cat has bitten out this funnel cap assembly...

So take it easy in working with our set not to be sensitive for missing or breaking parts.

So if you have any problem during your work just email to me.

Anyway Dave, I hope to see your nice finished Warspite.

Thank you
Kim

Pontosmodel wrote: So if you have any problem during your work just email to me.

Kim

Thanks for that, Kim.

Despite my problems, your detail set is first class, and I will definitely be ordering further sets from you. Hopefully, you will be able to send the barrel(s) then.

I am glad you are watching because I will have one or two questions about the placement of certain items.

Regards, Dave.

Also Dave If you have any problems/questions just post here and some one will have the answer I am sure.

Maybe give some hints on your weathering technique, nice to know other ways of doing it.

For instance what did you do the rust effect near the anchor outlets with, I need to do that to mine later.