HMS Tiger... In Progress

[Bill Livingston]

Hi All,

Making some progress with my 700 scale Combrig HMS Tiger. Started off by scribing panel lines on the hull using the Burt British Battleships of World War One drawings as my reference. They will look neat once a wash has gone on. Got some of the basic painting done... bridge decks need the corticene painted in and obviously all the detail painting needs to be done. Once that is done I'll do some washes on the deck and superstructure and on all the detail pieces and then start assembly. I tend to like doing as much painting and weathering as possible before assembly... maybe not the way most people do it, but it works for me. A clear matt varnish right at the end blends everything in, that way stray messy washes and touch ups are kept to a minimum, I dont trust the steadiness of my hands any more! I have just put a couple of things together to see what it looks like... A bit too clean and toy like at the moment... Once the washes and highlights and some weathering is done it look a little better... and then getting all the detail parts on will make it all a bit busier... Really nice kit, the Combrig Tiger. Definite recommendation! The WEM PE looks really good... its been a while and my eyes are not what they used to be... but I am looking forward to it! I'll post some more in a day or two. I have a Flower class that needs a coat of Future prior to washes and I might post that at the same time given that I will do both together (I'll try and finish it next... (famous last words!)



And one backlit slightly... The bridge platform decks are just dumped on top of one another look like they are about to fall off... Hope they dont look like that when they are finally assembled...!



None of the parts are glued obviously... and a couple of touch ups required, need to neaten the stripes on the funnel before fitting the grill caps and spraying the tops black. The bridge looks like it is going to be a nightmare.. especially trying to fit in all the ladders and so on... Just stacked them on top to give an idea and I am already getting a headache with the thought of cutting and placing steps and crew in there let alone getting the tripod masts straight and tidy!!!!

Just been looking at the rigging on Jim's HMS Queen Mary to give me some idea.... BLOODY HELL JIM!!!!!!!!!


Bill

[Quincy]

That is one nice looking kit. Good work on her so far Bill.



Bob Pink.

[Bill Livingston]

Managed a little more today... Boot topping, all the platform decks painted in corticence and started on the small boats... Maybe the washes will have to wait until tomorrow!



Bill

[Bill Livingston]

Managed to complete the tripod mast, scratch built from brass rod. Not easy getting all the platforms parallel and everything to line up. Had to use a touch of filler on the resin components too... but once sanded down it looks like one piece which pleased me once airbrushed...





Bill

[MichelB]

That's very sharp paintwork there. Excellent!

[Bill Livingston]

First, thank you for your comments Michel... The painting was mostly done with an airbrush. The deck was a mix of airbrushed base (WEM Teak) and then dry brushed with various colours then a light dusting of lightened WEM teak to tone it down a bit afterwards. The details were handpainted. The tops of the turrets were airbrushed carefully with dark grey and then masked with blu tac, then the sides resprayed in light grey to kill off any overspray.

Got on with re-doing the top mast as having looked at some photo's is was completely wrong! Took it all apart and did it again. Worth it though... looks much more like the top mast in my photo's from Dogger Bank and it will teach me not to rely on instructions and to do my own research!

Also did the cranes... looking quite good now, although my N95 phone doesnt have a great depth of field..!





Bill

[aleccap]

Looks great, I can already see a lot of detail going in even at this early stage, and strangely looking rather 3-D in the photo's, look forward to seeing more.

[Bill Livingston]

Managed quite a lot today... even the pipes on the funnels, which proved a lot easier than I first thought... although you can only see part of one in this picture.

This is a picture of the subassemblies placed on the hull... So not everything is perfectly straight and aligned... but I like to see where I have got to... and what to do next. I always do that every evening after a session... its the child in me!!!



Bill

[Thomas E. Johnson]

Looking really nice! I'm a 1/350 or larger builder, I can't fathom the skills of you 1/700 folks!

[Bill Livingston]

Thanks for your comments... After looking at Mike's wonderfully inspiring HMS Barham in today's 'Whats New' section I am really itching to get this weathered and on a base and the crew on board... damn that was a mighty fine ship Mike...

OK... Back to Tiger. Put all the boat racks on... nightmare in 700 scale!! Each one is much smaller than a match head and trying to get them square and level when gluing the two parts together, with my eyes, was nothing short of heart attack material... still, persevered and got it done. They will mostly be hidden once the boats are on... but I will have a couple of boats in the water when its finished so needed them placed as accurately and as neatly as possible.

Anyway... couple more pictures for you. Stll a lot to do.. main assemblies are still just sitting on the hull... only the tripod mast and bridge is glued... and the barrels on the main guns of course. Making the blast bags is going to be a problem... Still... its slowly getting there. Once the main assembly and detail painting is done and I can get on with the washes and dry-brushing and then I will be happy... unless I mess it up of course...!!





Just going to make the pipe on the front of the second funnel and then may glue them all on, hope I can get them totally square and aligned... panic, panic, panic...!

Bill

[MartinJQuinn]

Sharp looking work, Bill.

[J. Soca]

Sharp looking work, Bill.

indeed!!! that is one utterly clean work


Jose

[Bill Livingston]

Thanks guys...

Did a little more work this evening and started on the small boats... Here is a picture of the 50ft launch... Looks a bit messy in this sort of magnification... but a thin wash will tidy it up a little and add some depth and a bit of weathering will stop it looking quite so 'toy' like.... Damn small in 700 scale though... Amazing that after a couple of years or so away from the hobby, you dont really notice your eyesight has deteriorated that much... until you restart...!



Hope to get a lot more done tomorrow.

Bill

[Bill Livingston]

Hi All,

Managed to get most of the major assembly done today... Completed the pipes on the funnels. Resonably happy, apart from the right hand one of the three sits about half a mil lower than the other two and the tripod mast is bang on square from the front and sides and rear, but looks slightly twisted when viewed from above... Its not much... but I will have to see if I can get away with it or not... I tend to be very fussy with things being perfectly square and get annoyed when they are not quite spot on.

Anyway... I am sure I can overcome my madness and proceed...

Here we go...






Luckily the funnels are perfectly in line and square (although they dont look it in this photo...), so that has assuaged my distress over the starfish twisted slightly off to the port side when viewed from the top... Another day or so to do all the railings and little detail parts... then finally, I may be able to start the weathering... which is the bit I enjoy the most...

Bill

[Quincy]

Inspiring stuff Bill!!



Bob Pink.

[Bill Livingston]

Thanks for your comments Quincy...


Managed to straighten up the starfish so it is now square ... took ages with gentle pressure, but it is there... so I can go to bed happy

Anyway, couple more pictures. I am quite pleased to have got this far in less than a week.





Bill

[Neptune]

With reborn interest in the "oldies", I must say I like this one a LOT!!! Very crisp build Bill. Straight forward and clean. Very methodical, I love those lifeboats too! Lots to learn from you I guess, I'd love to see more "in progress" pics of how you did certain parts, like masking etc.

[Bill Livingston]

Just managed a little today... touching up paintwork, secondary armament and couldnt resist putting on a few crew figures just to give a sense of scale. Should be able to airbrush a coat of Future tomorrow in preparation for weathering... The rails... I airbrushed some GMM Gold Plus railings black. I will paint the uprights grey as per Jim Baumann's suggestion to me the other night and by leaving them off I will avoid thickening them too much with coats of Future and varnish. A quick spray of matt varnish once everything is done will hide any shiny spots due to glue and blend them in to the rest of the build without increasing the thickness. In the meantime it looks a bit weird without railings but with one or two figures. Especially as they all seem to be waving their arms about... I'll have to do something about that!



Bill

[Guido]

I see, that you haven't lost the "touch"!
Very nice, Bill! It's great to have you back aboard!
Cheers,
Guido

[Bill Livingston]

Thank you for your kind words Guido...

I have been posting on here every day... which probably seems a bit self indulgent to anyone that doesn't know me... but I needed something to keep me motivated and ensure I did something every day... otherwise it would just get a basic coat of paint and then disappear back into a cupboard with all the others for another few years. I think if I can get this finished, rigged and in a cabinet it may give me the incentive to get on with some of the others. The problem is, I absolutely hate the bit where you are assembling all the detail parts towards the end and I nearly stalled again. I have started the weathering and gave it a very thin wash of mid-gray followed by a wash of raw umber oil paint. Next step is to drybrush with the base colour and then drybrush the highlights with a lightened version of the base colour once the first has set. I actually like doing that bit... Then obviously a matt varnish and then some weathering powders (Carrs... to do the rust and dirt streaks. The superstructure will not look that much different apart from maybe the funnels which will get some soot... and maybe a touch of rust on the undersides of the platforms... but the hull will have rust streaks and dirt streaks down the sides and at fittings. Still, its already looking dirtier and much less pristine from the build process... so I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel...

Here is a first shot after the first two washes. A long way to go... the rough wash is still visible... and it looks better at real size... these pictures are way over normal size... another reason why I like putting them on here... I can see my mistakes and try to correct them. OK... Railings and rigging next... and then fit the boats and do the base.





The top mast is still not glued in place... and I notice one of my little sailors has tripped over something... (What on earth possessed me to put a few of them on now...?! ) Oh, and I notice how crap that PE rigging on the cranes looks now too... so that will have to go... seems you were right Jim B, you knew I would eventually agree with you, I am going to have to rig the thing properly, or at least try to. Still not going to try your method though... That takes years of practice... My method is much slower and slightly less flexible, but I know it works without much effort from me and I get very fine lines as long as they are under tension...



You can see how the tripod mast is slightly twisted. I must have made an error when putting it all together because when the platforms are all level and square to one another and the bridge sits upright in both planes it twists slightly to the port side when viewed from above. I managed to make it look right from all angles by twisting it the other way very slowly and very carefully so now the starfish is perfectly square too... The only error you can still see is the twist in the tripod mast itself, which you can see quite clearly in the picture above. Still, its 700 scale and I can live with it!

Hopefully see you at Telford Guido!

Bill