1945 GB

Bish has pretty much got it. Use the reamer in the direction of airflow. I'm also unsure whether that's the issue with the moisture trap. Sure looking forward to some finished pics of the JS-2.

 

Thanks Checkmateking: Excellent job on finishing your aircraft carrier, she looks like she just left the dry docks. Nice water effect to.

Thanks Ebergerud, GAF, Bish.

Thanks Jgeratic: Great work on your little ship.

Thanks Joe Rix my pleasure.

Rob S: Nice pre-shading on the Typhoon.

 

Thanks, Dan. CV-38 was only repainted in late February/early March of '45, so the sea wouldn't have battered her too much. The "sea" is aluminum foil, crinkled up, uncrinkled, then applied to a piece of cardboard, and painted. It's a cheap way to put a ship into natural surroundings.

Getting close to the finish line...

Working on the base, using a bit of a variation of the crumpled tinfoil that Check had presented with his Shangri-La carrier.   Instead, I've used the inner plastic bag you find in cereal boxes. 

Also made a base from sheet plastic, with some framework to hold the water.  Should of taken the picture before I had sprayed it in gloss black - difficullt to see now.  I then trimmed the plastic paper to size, and also cut out a whole based on the ship hull size.

The simulated water surface was sprayed dark blue, and some lighter green shade around the ship area, as well as to the rear.  Then glued onto the home made frame.  I brushed about four layers of future acrylic clear onto the surface, all but the first were quite heavy applications.

Above, just a test shot of how it all looks combined thus far.  Below, the ship is now secured with super glue gel.  Also, Testors clear parts cement is used to fill in gaps between the water and hull, excess wiped up with a cotton swab.  It almost would look nice as it is now, but the white will dry clear.

The gel tube that I've pictured in the back is brand new, and seems quite a bit stronger than what I have been using during construction.  Could be just the older super glue has lost it's strength.

All that is left is some retouching of the green 'surf', trying out the technique of creating white caps and foam from cotton balls, and a nameplate.

regards,

Jack

That looks really good, Jack. I may have to give that water technique a try for the future.

Holy Smokes! That is really inpressive Jack. The boat looks great. Especially in that scale. Your water method is the first time I've ever seen that done. Very clever and effective. Thanks for sharing with us.

Realy likeing the look of that jack, and that water looks really effective. Great work.

I agree, it looks really good. I've previously used acrylic gel medium which works pretty well too. I daresay your method is a fair bit cheaper though. It looks great.

I've cleared a couple of other builds over the weekend so I'm good to start on my French FW 190. I have planned to use this release of the Hasegawa kit:

as it includes two kits and I've already built one of them. However I do have the recent Airfix release and I'm just itching to build it too.

Anyways, this is what I am starting with, I hope to get cracking tonight.

Cheers

Tony

Very nice very little model. The base for something that scale looks fine and does look simple. If you do want to mess around with cotton to dress up a water base - and it will do that - I'd go on eBay and get something called "CelluCotton" which is made of 100% rayon. (A few brands use cotton - you don't want that.) I've tried them both and rayon is much easier to work with than cotton if you're doing a serious base. The stuff goes for about $5 for fifteen foot tubes of the stuff, enough to last a very long time. Seems to be popular with the ecig community of which I know nothing. If you want to check out a serious water base guru go on YouTube and search "Chris Flodberg." The guy's a professional artist and a top notch ship builder - bases are his specialty. Watching him do it is a lot easier than trial and error. If you want to see a blow by blow creation of a pretty advanced sea scape, check YTube "Admiral Graf Spee Sea-Scape Part 1" by a wonderful modeler Guido Hopp. There's a Part 2. For the occasional ship builder the "less is more" base works fine. But if you've got some kit you've worked on for three months and think it looks good, putting on a complex base adds a lot - similar to putting a tank in a nice diorama. It's actually not that hard if you get the hang of it - well not too hard. Ships aren't easy builds normally. I get nervous thinking about beginning one, but once underway they do get under your skin. I've got several coming up in the next year or two. Eric

Thanks Check, Joe, Bish, Tony and Eric.

I actually wanted to try watercolour paper (140 lb cold press) for the sea surface area, would of been ideal for the scale and calm waters, but could not find any at home. I know I used some from my college days studying art, but maybe I forget where I stored them or gave them away...

Thanks for the heads up on the cotton.  The type I have at home wouldn't suit a bigger project as it has clumps of lint in it.  I actually  resorted to pulling apart a cotton swab for cleaner strands.  Been using mainly clear parts cement for the application, with a brush in one hand and a coctail stick in the other. 

Just have the rear wake to sort out and should be ready for the photo booth, though the sun is being a bit timid to come out.  Feels like Norway winter here, which is exactly where this particular boat was based at during the war.

regards,

Jack

Nice to see you getting started Tony.

Well, never mind about uploading pics in a few days. I'm trying to get my DIY light box up, but it's fighting me.

Jack...fantastic little boat. Love the idea of using the bag from inside the cereal box as a water medium. Very innovative.

I am really wanting to get the Typhoon done by year end. I got the Ocean Grey down with some subtle post shading and the Dark Green. I am in the process of masking off now for the RAF grey underside and hope to have that done tonight.

MAYBE when Photobucket starts to cooperate, cuz, for some reason it's not letting me upload, I'll try to get some pics up 

One pic uploaded.

 

Photobucket is really acting up today

Moff and Rob S: sometimes it seems nothing wants to cooperate. Maybe it's a phase of the moon.

I've had photobucket issues from time to time, too, Rob; never seems to be a reason for it. It usually just clears up by itself.

Nice work going on! Looking really good.

Looking forward to seeing your photos, once the light box starts behaving, Moff.

Thanks Rob!

Typhoon is coming on great, I really need to get one of these.

regards,

Jack

Weather still isn't cooperating for natural lighting, so took these photos before noon:

R310  r-boat
Bergen, Norway 1945

 

not to forget, the 'money shot'

A little history ...

R-boat, or Raumboot, was a class of light minesweepers designed to work in coastal and shallow waters.  They were also employed in mine laying,  escort, patrol and sea rescue.  By war's end,  424 boats had been built, with about 140 surviving.  These vessels were ordered in blocks, with some weight and size differences among them.

R310 was launched June 10th 1944, belonging to the R301 series.  They were unique in having two 21" torpedo tubes, were the heaviest at 160 tons, and were referred to as Geleit-Räumbooten, or escort minesweepers.   All twelve ships of this series formed the 21. Räumbootsflottille, and were based in Bergen Norway.

With cessation of hostilities, all surviving ships returned to Germany.  On 21st June 1945, the German Mine Sweeping Administration (GMSA) was formed by the Allies.   Their task was to clear some 600,000 naval mines that both sides had laid in the waters of the North Sea and Baltic.  To spare the lives of Allied seamen, it was decided to use not only captured ships, but also former crewmen of the Kriegsmarine, (approx. 300 and 27,000 respectively).    Until a proper new uniform became available, the crews continued to wear their former uniform, but without any eagles or swastikas, and also received a moderate pay.

The Soviets were very suspicious of this formation, thinking it was the beginnings of a new German navy.  As a result of this pressure, it was disbanded in January 1948.  It was replaced with a civilian organization "German mine sweeping formation Cuxhaven", but still used equipment and personnel from the previous organization.  R310 did serve in these post war mine sweeping duties, but was taken, along with many other r-boats, as a war prize by the Soviets in November of 1945.

regards,
Jack

Very successful water-effects, Jack. That is really a sharp and natural-looking display. Excellent!

Very nice low maintainence base - fits the neat boat just fine. Never thought of doing the bow wake with clear parts cement - Micro makes a good brand and I've got a whole bottle. If you've got the stuff, it works really nicely to get some gloss medium (liquitex, golden, lots of makers), pour out a nice circle of it on a piece of wax paper (alum foil might work) and let it dry overnight. Than you can strip it off. Cut it into the appropriate size slice and then bend it over a toothpick. Let it sit that way for a bit and it will hold the shape. I'll do the next one better but below is ball park.

Eric

 

That's a nice base, EB. Can you give us a run-through how you made it?

Thank you Check and Eric.

That is an excellent seascape with that destroyer.  I've a few of those in the stash, so there is chance for improvement.   Made mistakes too on this first try with a water base, so upward and onward as they say.

Actually, the bow crests on mine are made of cotton.  The clear cement was used to attach them, as well as fill in gaps between the hull and water.   I did find too much cement caused the cotton to yellow.   This happened at the rear, and I had to go back in with some white paint.

regards,

Jack

Jack, that is just gorgeous, i love it. Great water effect as well. I have adde it to the temp roster, bt unfortunatly i had not put the details on before and can't recall what make of kit it is.

Thanks for sharing that with us.

Rob, some nice spray wotk there, i need to try that method for masking for a feathered edge. I know what you guys mean about PB. It can be a real pain at times.

Jack - That minesweeper is jaw-dropping, and I especially love the photo that looks like it's on the open sea. It really looks like it could be real, especially if you switched it to black and white and added some graineness. Wow!

Tony - I can't wait to see a French FW-190! I am working on the Airfix 1/72 kit now and am really enjoying it. I'm looking forward to yours.

Rob - Nice paintwork on that Tiffie. It's really coming along nicely!

Eric - Your destroyer looks like it's straight out of the war. Really nice weathing on it. You all have me wanting to try a ship sometime.

-BD-

Concerning cotton: look at that Chris Flodberg video - it makes things clear. Flodberg uses rayon but cotton works and the technique is identical. You fluff out a piece of cotton, mount it on top of a small dab of gloss varnish, shape it, then use gloss varnish and dab the tops and side of the cotton just mounted. You don't want to wet it. Just sort of coat it - so the cotton underneath is still dry. Flodberg warns that it's hard to remove cotton/rayon from the base - I found it quite possible, just had add a little gloss medium with a brush and start over. Anyway, check out that video - only about 7 minutes long. He's as good at ships as Mig Jimenez is at tanks.

But, as noted, for something of your scale, a full bore water base would have been complete overkill. So your boat looks terrific. Those are good techniques and I think would work nicely in land dios too for a stream, pond, or shoreline.

Eric

 

Brandon, think long and hard before trying a ship. They drive you up the wall and are a guaranteed lesson in humility especially if you start hanging out at place like ModelWarship. Hard core ship modelers do nothing else as near as I can see. I've never seen a non-ship kit mentioned in a post or seen one "on the bench." If a ship works, there is a kind of "wow" factor for others and a feeling a little like revenge for the modeller. But if that's what lights your fire, do biplanes. Bipe specialists are nuts and create things that knock civilians off their feet. If things get out of hand you might find yourself scratch building or getting interested in railroads and dioramas big enough to fill your back yard. Think of airplanes or tanks as gateway drugs that should be watched closely. Eric

Rob: Very nice work on your camo. It is really well done. I'm curious about your process. I noticed that you opted to leave the gun bays open and unpainted and the hatch doors open and in place while you paint your camo. I assume you paint it all afterwards. Is this a process that you are comfortable with? By no means is this any kind of critizism but, rather an observation as I don't often see this.

Jack: Your water, wake and overall presentation are just really wonderfully done. I'm impressed.

I'm certainly taking in all these excellent tips on producing water effects. Although, I'm not quite sure that I will get that far with the Richilieu. Concentrating on simply building a ship model itself.

Eric and Check, Are you guys familiar with the ship modeling book Ship Models from Kits by David Griffith? I picked it up a few years ago in preparation for my ship modeling and I find it to be an excellent book. Very thorough and extensive in my opinion.

Thanks Bish, Brandon and Joe.

Brand name of the R-boat kit was Samek Models.

I went and looked at the two videos suggested, and they are informative.    One thing I noticed right away is all that elbow room when working in a larger scale, let alone a larger class of ship.  Definitely need some of that gloss varnish when the next ship project comes along.

I made the mistake of putting a final coat over everything with the future clear.  The cotton soaked it up greedily, thinner strands all but disappeared and other portions lost their white and become a cloudy silver shade.   The other negative is it created a curved slope of 'water' against the hull, which really isn't realistic looking, but is not noticeable with the naked eye.

Sort of war time snapshopt/postcard look with the seascape background.  My Corel paint program has a snapshot effects.  I first transformed the photo to Albumen style, followed with Sepia toning, and finally Platimnum photo.

regards,
Jack