Baby steps... the blast bags are painted.

Oh cool, love that Scott! Very cool!!!

That looks to be an outstanding kit Scott. It's going to be a thrill to watch you build that interesting subject.

Hi Steve, yes, please put me down as building the Kansas.  

A USS Kansas City is also on my bucket list  Along with a USS Neosho, since I live in Neosho County.

GM, 

I am very impressed with Combrig. Pin holes are non-existant. This is a mult-media kit, and requires me to provide materials for the masts, booms, and spars.  Since I have built a number of 1/700 and 1/1200 sailing ships, this is not a problem.  

I cannot believe some of the PE assemblies in this kit, they are insane.  There are thirteen 1 lb MKII deck guns to assemble with six parts each, and the whole gun assembly is less that 1/8" complete.  That includes a sighting scope!

I tried to make one and after a half and hour of neurosurgery, I was completly in awe with myself at what I had made, then as I moved it off my vise, it shot off my tweezer and into infinity, never to be seen again. In the name of sanity, I decided to modify a bunch of PE 50 cals I have. 

I am going to start the anchor winch cranes.  These have four small PE parts and the whole assembly is about 1/4" in size.

Scott

Looks cool Scott. I am looking forward to seeing it develope. And to the other builders here, keep up the good work.

Here you go

These steam launches are about 3/8" long.  The cutters are even smaller.

Scott

Combrig makes high quality stuff, so you’ll enjoy it.

Having built a few, my thoughts.

Resin kits allows subjects of limited interest to be released.

It also allows one part to replace twenty or thirty plastic parts.

Removing the parts from the casting block is the first critical step.

Snipping leads to shattering. A small saw is really useful. Cut with a saw and finish by sanding.

After washing, prime and check for bubble holes. Combrig is good, but they do occur. Fix those first.

Analyze what they provide. It’s like PE. In an attempt to provide all the parts, some are more successful than other. Masts, poles, yards are a good example. Brass wire is often a better choice and you will want to use it.

CA, don’t breathe the resin dust.

Looks fun Scott. I never built a resin kit either.

Did you want me to put you down for the kit?

If so, I assume the USS Kansas (I was born in Kansas City, KS BTW)

Let me know buddy 

Scott this looks really cool. Can you take a closeup of the hull? I've never seen a resin hull and am really interested in the details they have!

Merry belated Christmas GB buddies.

I got my kit in my stocking and am now home from a week at the in-laws to start on it.  This is my very first resin model.  I have used resin for accessories, but never did a complete kit before, so here I go....

Since I live in Kansas, I wanted to do a model of the pre-dreadnought. Combrig made the kit but its now OOP but they still make the Louisiana, which is the same kit with a few added parts.  I was able to download the instructions for the Kansas.

Here are the opening shots:

Got a PE bender, for all the microscopic PE in this kit.

The hull is really detailed.  I now see why resin is so popular in 1/700.  I really need to focus on keeping my paint layers thin.

Not a lot of parts. But boy are they small and fragile. I started washing them this morning.

These ships were not very big.  I compared the hull to the Warsprite, Prinz Eugen, and this old SprueCan I build 30 years ago.  

Scott

GH: Yeah that big hunk of PE with 6 different parts cemented together looks like a pain to me! Good work!!! 

Steve: The Perry looks cool, looking forward to you digging into her. 

GH, that is some fine PE handiwork there. Well done and nice progress.

Thanks guys...looks better in pics than in hand.  At least it's twice as big as the 1/144 I gave up on.

Very nice GH , neater than l could do mate .

Thanks Joe,

GH, that PE looks great, 10 fat thumbs my foot.

Well, I received a 1/350 Oliver Hazard Perry from my Secret Santa so that goes on the bench. Since it's a gift it gets top priority LOL. Oh boy, 3 kits on the bench . I received a set of PE to go with it so, off we go.

Man, I'm going to be busy.

Here is where I'm at with the Gato.  There are 6 pieces of PE in this pic.  Finally got the outer legs glued up, and working on the inner piece now.  Tedious when you have 10 big thumbs...

Have the raised section of this piece of deck cut off and the PE decking glued onboth ends.  This is the front gun platform and the cig. deck on the fairwater.

Merry Christmas everyone!

My regrets that I have not tuned in in a while. There is is certainly a lot of wonderful ship building that I need to get caught up on. Had to set the Oakland aside for the time being until I got past the majority of Holiday activities and obligations. Look to be getting back at it tomorrow. 

With that said, let me hand out some oohs and aahs.

Steve: Your Spruance is a remarkable work of art. Beautiful workmanship there. I'm enjoying the tutorial on creating your base. That there is yet another bridge I have yet to cross and your example is certainly an inspiration. Your NC is coming along very nicely also. Love your attention to detail and the superb paint work so far. Kudos Admiral!

Brandon: Looks like your on solid footing now with the Peleliu. Nice start on a very cool subject.

Terry: Your choice to build the SS United States is outstanding. Nice to see you get a good start on some ambitious corrective action. That will definitely make a huge difference in the overall build. 

Bakster: I am indeed sorry to hear that your initial attempts to salvage the original did not meet with your expectations. Yet, I am immensely encouraged that you did not throw in the towel and opted to have a go at another kit. I've been there done that. The work you have done so far on the turrets and superstructure is really top notch and looks great. You've got this my friend.

Here's to hoping I have some progress to post right directly.

Cheers All, Joe

Gamera

Bakster: Ack that sucks! In any case nice work there with the turrets! 

 

Thanks Cliff!

Gamera

Bakster: Ack that sucks! In any case nice work there with the turrets! 

 

modelcrazy

Well, that's good looking Steve. Too bad you had to resort to plan C 

 

Thanks Steve. Yeah I hear you about resorting. Big picture it's a minor thing, little picture it sucks. But hey, it's all part of the process and if I am gonna spend all this time working on a model, another $21 and more time is a minor sacrifice. What comes out of this is that I need to learn how to hand paint better. It always looks streaky, blotchy, thick, and inconsisent in every way. I have read that this is a common problem with acrylics. If I could hand-paint a finish that an AB produces, (is it possible?), it might take me a long way to maybe cut time and solve some vexing masking issues.

This could be a good segway to start a hand painting discussion. 

Bakster: Ack that sucks! In any case nice work there with the turrets! 

Well, that's good looking Steve. Too bad you had to resort to plan C 

steve5

Good to see you back on her Steve . $21 you must be a light eater and drinker my friend .

 

Yeah buddy, I am cheap. 

Good to see you back on her Steve . $21 you must be a light eater and drinker my friend .

mach71

SS-326, the original Blueback. Does anyone have a suggestions on a kit?

I would like to build something bigger than 1/700 scale. 

Since the Balao was very close to the Gato, can I use a Gato kit and update?

From my very limited research, It seems the major change was hull strength.

 

Any thoughts/sugestions/ideas?

 

Thanks

 

Mark

 

 

Model Monkey has a replacement Balao style fairwater that is probably available on Shapeways.

As is true of all subs, no two are ever quite the same, and change over time through refits while in theatre.Those guys on the tenders were real steel butchers.

So--here is how my boondoggle came out.

Plan A, because of all the intricate masking it entailed, I attempted to hand paint the decks instead. Well, that came out looking like total "CxxP." Option B was not an option at all. Plan B was to disassemble and paint strip, but I did too good a job gluing. So--that leaves plan C. I purchased a second kit and started over with those sections. Fortunately, the kit was only $21. Heck, I blow that amount on a good meal with grog. ARRR me mateys... 

With that said, what a pain this turned out be. Cleaning up, refitting, repainting, and reweathering all those parts was time consuming. Hence, why I hate do-overs. 

Basically, I am now back to the point where I had left off. Sigh...  Next I will reattempt to add PE railing. We shall see how that goes. After that, I may turn towards painting the hull. 

I did a little weathering via oil washes, but the camera does a bad job showing it. I should have imaged it in RAW, more detail would have come through. I will do that with future images, maybe the final reveal.

That's all for now and Merry Christmas everyone.

Mach...AFV makes a couple of Gatos in 1/350, but are in the $30 range.  They do an early war and late war.  Different limber hole setups on them, and the late one has the cut down tower that you would want.Don't know what shapeways would have in the way of hardware in that scale....quick look at wiki says she had a 5"/25 cal, 40 and 20mm.

MC ..havent done much, been busy at work.  Still working on the PE shears and fairwater decking and trying to finish up last years SS GB.

Thanks guys,

Gam, the chain race is PE that came with the wood deck, as well as anchor chain which I'll install last.

Nice work Terry.

Mach, I agree with GH, the 1/350 should be a nice size. The 1/144 is quite large. Of course, you could be completly out of your mind and get a 1/72. LOL

How's yours comming along GH? 

Sorry for the double post.

Thanks for the info! 1/350 would be ideal. 

Shapeways is a great idea.

I've visited the USS Bowfin and USS Pampanito so I have some reference photos.

Nice work Terry , enjoying your build .