The Ship Model Forum

Thanks for the kind comments fellas. Much appreciated.

After my last update, I glued the next level of the superstructure in place. I then wanted to start railing the superstructure, then realized I was out of two-bar rails, so I had to order more.

While waiting for those to arrive, I finished one project and started another.
[attachment=1]M22Locust.jpg[/attachment]
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When those finally arrived, they were primed, and then I got to work.
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Once the first two levels were done, I added rod to replicate the braces that help up the platforms for the small directors that were added to each side of the superstructure, as well as some small poles at the back of the superstructure, before starting the rail the pilot house level. I also added inclined ladders. The rails and the inclined ladders are from Infini Models.

The small directors are dry fit in the next two pictures, to make sure they clear the rails.
[attachment=6]CA_062126_01.jpg[/attachment]
[attachment=5]CA_062126_02.jpg[/attachment]
[attachment=4]CA_062126_04.jpg[/attachment]
The pilot house level comes printed with the cage mast attached. In advance of adding this to the model, I attached the two Mk19 directors and the spotting top to this part. I will detail most of this - especially the spotting top, before permanently attaching to the model.
[attachment=3]CA_062126_03.jpg[/attachment]
[attachment=2]CA_062126_05.jpg[/attachment]

Argh, photographs! Why do they insist on hiding details from your eyes until you've already put the parts together?
It is astounding how things will appear in an image you've been reviewing repeatedly after you think it's done.

These are great works, and I'm enjoying your journey.

The paint issue is barely noticeable anymore; it looks more like intentional aging.

So, nice progress! :thumbs_up_1:

[quote=BB62vet post_id=1104139 time=1779843608 user_id=15752]
Martin,

Regarding the splotchy painting photo - I get that when I'm spraying parts and the can is about to go bust on paint, or if the can's spray hole is getting clogged. You didn't say that you sprayed the items, but it looks like it to me.

One thing I'm finding out about Tru-Color enamels (lacquers) is that they don't work well when overpainting with a different color - i.e. touching up haze gray items/areas after painting with deck blue - the colors (in spite of drying overnight) tend to bleed into each other. I don't get this problem with Mr. Color lacquers.

But, your overall superstructure looks OK; I don't think those small areas will be visible once the model is complete.

Hank
[/quote]

Thanks Hank. Appreciate the comments. I am painting with Colorcoats Enamels. Initial coats are airbrushed, with some touch ups with a hairy stick.

Very nice recovery!

Martin,

Regarding the splotchy painting photo - I get that when I'm spraying parts and the can is about to go bust on paint, or if the can's spray hole is getting clogged. You didn't say that you sprayed the items, but it looks like it to me.

One thing I'm finding out about Tru-Color enamels (lacquers) is that they don't work well when overpainting with a different color - i.e. touching up haze gray items/areas after painting with deck blue - the colors (in spite of drying overnight) tend to bleed into each other. I don't get this problem with Mr. Color lacquers.

But, your overall superstructure looks OK; I don't think those small areas will be visible once the model is complete.

Hank

Looks good. The self leveled area just looks like it sees heavy foot traffic.

I decided to take the "f*ck it" approach, hoping that directors and other deck gear would hide any offending areas. Having thus decided to give no f*cks, I used slow set CA glue to attach the next level of the superstructure in place.
[attachment=5]PruneBarge01_052626.jpg[/attachment]
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I then used water soluble putty to fill in the seams. After that dried, I used small Q-tips, dipped in water, to smooth down the excess.
[attachment=3]PruneBarge03_052626.jpg[/attachment]
I then touched up the paint, then added the highest level of the conning tower and the 3in gun tubs to this level.
[attachment=2]PruneBarge04_052626.jpg[/attachment]
[attachment=1]PruneBarge05_052626.jpg[/attachment]
[attachment=0]PruneBarge06_052626.jpg[/attachment]
I also added a pair of inclined ladders to the back of the superstructure, and filled in a seam around the back of the water soluble putty.

[quote="Timmy C" post_id=1103967 time=1779651303 user_id=73]
No guarantee, but I would just brush the gloss on top and see if that helps. It can't get worse, right?
[/quote]
lol Famous last words!! :faint:

No guarantee, but I would just brush the gloss on top and see if that helps. It can't get worse, right?

Been a busy couple of months since my last post. Started a new job and my son got married. All that's conspired to limit my time at the bench.

Figures (300+, in both 1/700 and 1/350) are painted. Some of them have been put in place, so I can put the superstructure part over top of them.
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Among other things I was working on was adding while glue to the opening where the barrels protrude from the turret, to replicate blast bags.
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Everything that's been painted got a coat of gloss...
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For some reason, the gloss did not self-level on these parts.
[attachment=0]IMG_1315.JPG[/attachment]
That definitely a de-motivator, especially because it happened on some very prominent parts. There were the only three parts that came out like this after glossing. I weathered everything with an oil wash after leaving it all to dry for several days.

Not sure what I'm going to do with these parts, other than say "f*ck it". I've have no interest in trying to strip them and repaint. Nor do I want to buy replacements and start all over again. California might become a "shelf of doom" model until I figure out next steps.

[quote="Jon C Ryckert" post_id=1098083 time=1773687471 user_id=6668]
Nice work as always. Do you lighten your colors? maybe it's my monitor as the 5D looks not as dark as my Colourcoats 5D.
[/quote]
Thanks! I do not. That's Colourcoats 5D straight out of the tin.

Nice work as always. Do you lighten your colors? maybe it's my monitor as the 5D looks not as dark as my Colourcoats 5D.

Broke out the airbrush and gave the funnels, cranes and boat stowage another coat of 5D.

[attachment=4]Prune Barge 031626.jpg[/attachment]
[attachment=3]Prune Barge 031626a.jpg[/attachment]
[attachment=2]Prune Barge 031626b.jpg[/attachment]
[attachment=1]Prune Barge 031626c.jpg[/attachment]

Also airbrushed ION figures white in advance of detail painting.

[attachment=0]Prune Barge 031626d.jpg[/attachment]
I'll check those for any additional touch-ups, then figure out next steps.

Plain ole soldering irons. They hate me, and I them,

I spent most of the day looking at archival photos. Realized my initial interpretation of the funnels was wrong, so I redid the forward one. Also added vertical ladders to the aft funnel
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are you talking about the soldering irons used on circuit boards & not solder guns used by diy? self trained on the use of soldering irons then properly trained while working at Celestica in the late 1990's. used that skill to replace the left switch on 2 computer mice with gaming switch of 80 million clicks. have not used a solder gun in decades, maybe late 70's into early 80's.

Before I broke out the airbrush, I spent some time seeing if there was anything else that needed work before painting. Of course, there was.

The small cranes on the quarterdeck needed some attention. I added PE ladders, wire booms, then grafted on the ends of the PE booms that came wit the kit onto the wire with CA. If I could manage to use a soldering iron properly, I would have soldered them, but solder and I are no bueno, as the folks in my office like to say.
[attachment=2]IMG_E0642.JPG[/attachment]

I also spent a lot of time going through photos of California, especially Pearl Harbor photos. I noticed details on the funnels that weren't included in the kit.
[attachment=0]bb-44-001_01.jpg[/attachment]

So, I took out some brass tubing, cut to approximate length, and added those. More wire and "sh*t" need to be added to the forward funnel to finish making them resemble the photos.
[attachment=1]IMG_E0643.JPG[/attachment]

"Thingys" added to both cranes. Another round of painting next. Then some rigging from the top of the kingpost to the tip of the boom.
[attachment=0]IMG_0621.JPG[/attachment]
Given that I'll probably bump into these while handling, I decided to fix the alignment of the PE hooks right before attaching these to the ship.

Huh. I've never noticed that item before. A quick looksee of the Big Five shows it for all their boat cranes. If I had to guess, I'd say it was some kind of hydraulic cylinder with a cable extending to the pulley to maintain tension on the cable(s) used to lift the boats. Exactly how, I'm not sure.

Your cranes continue to impress.

Thank you Jim! Much appreciated. :)

I've continued working on the cranes, using photos for reference to add details. The supports from the king post to the boom are .15 plastic rod, while the rails are cut down two bar rail from a GMM PE set designed for the old Revell Olympia.
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I think they are starting to look the part.

Next up, I'll replicate these thingys.
[attachment=0]BB44_cranes.jpg[/attachment]