1:350 Trumpeter Pyotr Velikiy WIP

Good point- a temporary building base would be ideal.

Right, thats sensible. The only way I've been able to save time on bases is that I had about a dozen made at once in various lengths, by a friend of mine, I paid him something but it was pretty economical.

When I build a ship, I put it on a temporary base. I've got a couple that have a row of holes down the mid line, counter sunk on the bottom. And I tighten down the nuts but don't glue them; just glue the ones in the hull (or the bolt head usually. I also often try to get the pedestal under some deck opening like a turret ring, so that if I have to get at it again I at least have a chance.

Thanks for the advice. I don't own a dremel and since theft is illegal I won't be seeing one anytime soon. I'll probably go with the bolt cutter idea. But I'll try a hacksaw first. I guess I was hoping there was somehow an alternative to using cutting instruments so close to the model. Such is life I guess, I'll try to take all precautions and post plenty of pictures.

As for the dimension/size/intoxication levels of the ship base.. I'm really not concerned. I hate building bases. More often than not I use the kit supplied one because I enjoy building ships but (for me) why add another lengthy chore to the process? The ship is set firmly where it is and has withstood endless handling. I doubt more pedestals or a longer base would have corrected my error.

Take your Dremel with cutting disc and grind out the bottom of the base to cut through the epoxy and nuts.  Cut just deep enough to get the nuts.  New base and set your nut holes a little deeper and can still use original studs, or as said, get threaded sleeve and rod to make longer.

Might even get the nut hot enough grinding to release the epoxy and be able to just run the nuts off.

one other tip.

looks like a drunk on a bicycle. needs a three or four point stance.

Chisel, hammer, split the base apart. Make new base.

Well there's another problem. Your base is way too short. It really needs to be longer than the ship.

Oh by the way that's one heck of a good looking model.

Go get a big set of bolt cutters and chop off the stands.

Just do it.

It won't be hard to put new ones on.

And this time work at getting the lengths.

I was hoping you had not meant epoxy on the wood base, too.

What you could do is add some "feet" to the wood base.   Start with, oh, a 3 x 6 x 3/4 and let that "stick out" from the existing base 1" fore & aft, and 1"  P&S.  You'd then cut a notch (blind rabbet) about 1/2" deep where the two overlap.  Those could then be shimmed to correct the list, before being set with wood screws.

Your base bord has a good 'chunky' thickness,  So, I'd go browse the specialty parts bins at the home supply big box store for some threaded feet.   I'd then move over a couple of bins, and find the threaded inserts and see if a match can be made.  The inserts have  wood screw outer profile, and a machine screw threaded inside.  You'd drill a pilot hole for the shaft of the foot, then set the insert at the top of that hole, threading it into the wood.  The feet can then be screwed into that.   I'd counter bore all of that a bit, it tools and dimensions allowed.  If only just to better get some Locktite on the threads

Either of those, despite the efforts required would be easier than grabbing a pile of ball mills and Dremel-ing the epoxy off the nuts & washers in the base.

For future reference, remember that lockwashers and Locktite are your friends :-)

Correction- not epoxy putty- its covered in 2 part epoxy glue

Thanks for your reply. The real issue for me is how to separate the ship from the base. I'll make a new base setup once they're apart. I just have no idea how to get them apart without catastrophic damage. 

Here's a terrible and simply drawing of what I'm working with.

If I understand you rightly, the bolts AND the bases are epoxied to the hull--correct?

So, you can get hull & bases loose of the wooden base, correct?

If so, I's down to finding a way to change the geometry where spindles meet base..

Easy answer would be that the spindles have a base diameter that matches a Forstner bit.    The Forstner would 'pilot' on the existing hole.  You could tip the drill, and give you a nice counterbore in the wooden base.    A brass washer cut in half could then be sued to shim the spindles to bring the hull true.  If you ned to trim fore-and-aft, just cur the meedful spindle location that much deeper.

A spade drill bit, at very low speed could be used to score the counterbore's circumference.  Skill with a chisel could then be applied.

Worst case, you find a hank of tubing the right outside diameter, and Dremel a bevel on the inside, leaving a sharp edge.  Center that on the wood base holes, and give a smack or twain to cut down the circumference.  Then, out with the chisels again.

OK now I'll fastforward to why I've been at a standstill. I decided to use brass pedestals to mount my ship to a wooden base. This was my first time using pedestals to mount a ship and I screwed it up. 

Obviously I started before I mounted the deck to the hull and drilled holes in my board and ship- lined them up and eyeballed it level. I brilliantly decided it would never need adjustments and epoxied over the bolt heads inside the ship and on the bottom of the base. But alas! Once I built up the superstructure it was clear the ship was crooked. Now it's glued quite firmly on the base and I'm screwed. I live in an appt and don't have any power tools or anything handy to help me get it off this base. 

Basically, I want some help as to how to get the ship apart from it's base with limited space and resources. All help AND critical feedback is appreciated.. 

Here is how she sits now..

AND FINALLY.. a view of the crook..

Here's some pics of pre and post weathering. Just a couple washes of lamp black and burnt umber oils.

BEFORE

AFTER

oops. missed this one. Fully masked.

Heres the superstructure pictures. Most of the pieces were very long and flimsy- about half of them clear styrene. 

Since everything was so flimsy I glued sprue rods in place for support.

Jump forward a bit..

Lots and lots of masking.

and then...

and then...

OK so here's some pics of the deck pieces. The deck of this ship isn't your standard color- it's a strange sticky looking burgundy. I custom mixed vallejo paints to recreate it. 

I'll only show one sequence of the endless fine masking the deck required. This is from the bow.

Those are tiny strips of tamiya tape -maybe 1/16 inch wide- I removed the molded on anchor chains and tunnel.

So I waited for it all to cure and dry. Then I fixed and filled the breakage will sculpted milliput. 

That was all sanded super smoothed, painstakingly masked and reprimed.

It has since been masked again and repainted.