Photo Etch/ Detail Kit Help!

that sounds good. hows the progress coming along? did you get the sets from the Gold Medals website or somewhere else? also do they come with any diagrams or instructions on how to install them correctly  in the right positions?

Hi,

I've done Tamiya's 1:350 HMS KG V, DKM Bismark and USS New Jersey all using GMM parts. After using several other types on different kits and scales I have to say I like the GMM sets best. The 1:700 GMM are good as well but there doesn't seem to be the great difference in quality between them and other manufactures of  PE .  I guess there is only so much you can doo with the smaller scales. Good luck

Jack

I'm a 1/700 ship guy but have used a number of Gold Medal Model's sets, and I will say this - Loren Perry's stuff is excellent as far as both fit and instructions. With a lot of PE sets, you get good PE and miserable instructions. His are almost exhaustive in their detail, and you know that the parts are going to fit the model you are building. I've never had any problems with any of his sets.

Order by mail directly from his website and cut out the middleman and their sometimes insane shippnig charges: http://goldmm.com/order.htm . His turnaround time is quick and the PE is mailed in a sturdy envelope.  

P.S. 1/350 is hugeeeeeeeeeeeee. You want small? This is getting close to small:

Progress is slow but steady.  I ordered the sets from the GMM website and yes, they do come with instructions.  I've got to say the instructions are not the greatest but they are VERY usable and do list The kit part numbers that the photo-etch will replace.  There are also diagrams.   I've been using ZAP-A-GAP CA glue to attach the parts.

Ray

GMM sets are excellent and having used a number of them I recommend them heartily.  White Ensign Models sets are also excellent and they have extensive documentation with each set to help you assemble it.

Ray, I'm curious, if you don't think GMM's instructions are the greatest, whose are?

I have ordered plenty of PE sets that have, at most, a vague, hand-drawn sketch of where the big pieces go ... you have to figure out where all the little bits go on your own. I'm not going to name any names but I'm sure it rings a bell with other ship modelers. GMM's instructions are far and away the best - NO guesswork involved no matter now small the bit.

I have to agree . . . GMM's instructions are outstanding, as is their overall fit and appearance.  I have used them on Tamiya's Bismarck, Enterprise, Missouri, and KGV with excellent results.

Bill Morrison

wow it looks like GMM is the way to go! im very much looking forward to building this thing. im glad they come with fitting instructions, that will save a lot of time. this is going to be my first large scale use of Photo Etch parts. is the best way to use them; cut-out, assemble then prime and paint before installation? or some other way.

One thing i am also worried about, is that Antenna wires that are not included with the kit. i think they are the black radio antennas that are all across the super-structure, does ANYONE have some tips on how to best do this?

also, is there anything i can do with the large anchors and anchor chains on the bow side.

thanks for the help guys! much appreciated

Can't go wrong with GMM.

I've learned a number of things about PE over the years. First of all, they sometimes are incorrect about some details, it's the usual thing where ships in a class vary. A little research or looking at photos really helps. Second, there's often a lot of stuff on the fret that's not noted in the instructions. I just wrapped up the Borodino, and maybe half of the parts were shown in the instructions, the other half had the part number they replaced listed in parenthesis next to the part on the list inside the front page, only.

I also usually read reviews online, because often one set while costing much more, has many more parts.

let us know what you think as you go along.

Hmmm ... antenna wires? On the Bismark ... all across the superstructure. If you're talking about the black 'lines" that are going from the ends of the masts to various points on other masts and on the superstructure, that is the rigging, and in 1/350 can be replicated with a number of materials, including stretched sprue, thin monofilament thread or thin fishing line, colored with a permanent black marker or paint.

mfsob

Ray, I'm curious, if you don't think GMM's instructions are the greatest, whose are?

I have ordered plenty of PE sets that have, at most, a vague, hand-drawn sketch of where the big pieces go ... you have to figure out where all the little bits go on your own. I'm not going to name any names but I'm sure it rings a bell with other ship modelers. GMM's instructions are far and away the best - NO guesswork involved no matter now small the bit.

What you describe is pretty much how the GMM instructions for the Lexington are.  A single sheet with hand drawn diagrams on both sides.  They ARE usable.  I guess my biggest complaint about them is the microscopic print.  But, my magnifying visor makes it readable.  Also, as I said in my first post on this thread, this is my first attempt at a PE set of this size and complexity.  I'm normally an airplane guy...

Ray

The BEST rigging line, IMO, is this:

http://www.jsflyfishing.com/cgi-bin/item/TW-030020-0000/63500/UNI-Products-Caenis-Thread.html

It's really thin and knots very well.

ohhh, thanks for clarifying that. im new to building ships, this is my first one. i usually build aircraft. do you have any tips on how to do this? are there any diagrams or drawings of how to set them up?

thanks

First things first - build the basic ship structures and get them painted. PE and rigging are the last things that go on, and those go on from the inside out and the bottom up, so you don't knock pieces off as you add new ones.

OK thanks for that mfsob.  i was also wondering, what is the best option with the Bags that hang around the main guns of the turrets? whats the best way to immitate these?

thank you

Options vary but the most popular choice in 350 is probably putty of one sort or another.  One of the easiest ones to use is Apoxie Sculpt.  It is a two part putty that you mix together then apply.  What I like about it is that you can them shape it with simply wet fingers!  (This is really useful for filling hard to sand seams.)  You could also use Squadron White Putty, Blue Tac, various body fillers but with those you must be careful not to use something that will attack the plastic you are working on (another good reason to use a product like Apoxie).  Still another option is white glue and tissue paper.  Armor modelers have been using that for years.  WS

Dreadnought52

Options vary but the most popular choice in 350 is probably putty of one sort or another.  One of the easiest ones to use is Apoxie Sculpt.  It is a two part putty that you mix together then apply.  What I like about it is that you can them shape it with simply wet fingers!  (This is really useful for filling hard to sand seams.)  You could also use Squadron White Putty, Blue Tac, various body fillers but with those you must be careful not to use something that will attack the plastic you are working on (another good reason to use a product like Apoxie).  Still another option is white glue and tissue paper.  Armor modelers have been using that for years.  WS

Thanks for your help Dreadnought,

That seem like a really good idea. upon doing a quick internet search it seem like Apoxie Sculpt comes in a few colors. would you recommend using the 'natural' or 'white'. which is the closest? also, do the real gun bags have much texture to them that i would need to replicate on the Apoxie Sculpt?

thanks again!

I use the natural but I don't think it makes a difference, you'll have to paint it when it's dry anyway.  By texture I assume you mean sag because in 700 or 350 scale you certainly won't see any kind of texture.  Sag or folds or whatever you want to call it is best determined by checking out photos of the ship your are working on or a member of the same class or type.  NavSource is an excellent place online to check out plenty of photos of the real thing when it comes to USN ships.   There is a really great one for Imperial Russian ships as well but it is a little hard to navigate in as most of the text is in Russian.  You would do well to visit the gallery sections of SteelNavy.com and Modelwarships.com.  There are a number of how to sections on the Modelwarships.com site that you as a first time shipmodeler will find valuable.  WS

I did a little research on this when I built CA-38, the Trumpeter USS San Francisco.

A couple three things.

As far as color, on CA-38 these were maintained with the same paint that was in the lockers for other canvas items, in particular boat covers. That means they were Deck Blue in 1942.

Which pretty much matched the colors of the turrets, which were Sea Blue.

I built up the anemic kit ones with white glue.

I've only been able to find good references to the function of those seals in regards to the Iowas. The make up of a turret though is a very sophisticated affair, with a series (on an Iowa; 4) of chambers differentiated in pressure. The main gun room up top was divided on an Iowa into three separate chambers,each under lower pressure than the hoists and and magazines below.

How that works on Bismark I have no clue, but those seals were for more than to keep the seagulls out. They were part of a pretty controlled atmosphere inside the gun room(s).