Community Build Project #4 - Ship

I found my kit in my dad's attic.

Miss Budweiser! The old Testors kit.

It's all white, so...I'm gonna prime it and than paint it glossy white...

There isn't a bunch of detail, although the engine is pretty detailed.

The decals are gonna be tough for a couple of reasons:
1. It's really old (20 years old?)
2. They aren't regular decals..more like a hybrid of sticker/decal. They have really specific instructions on how to put them on...using laundry detergent and water...very odd.

Hey DJ,

When did italeri make a Graf Spee and what scale is it. I thought monogram had one also (well a few years ago atleast, it was very tiny I think).

OK guys, here's what I'm planning to build:

If you're at all interested in this 'paper' model thing then you should visit www.digitalnavy.com. There's some amazing stuff there.

I've already downloaded the 'kit' and have it printed out from a color laser printer (2 copies). I'll post some pics/info later...

Murray

Wow Murray that's kick ass!

Snoopy, their Graf Spee has been around for a while now... I'm pretty sure it's scaled at 1/700. Checking on Hannants website, it appears to be out of catalogue at the moment, but apparently Fujimi has got one at that scale and Heller has it at 1/400. Then there's the Airfix one too...

That's cool, Murray. It's amazing what they can do with just paper.

Ray

OK guys, here's a bit of an introduction to the paper 'kit' I'm gonna build for this CBP. Basically the final result should be a representation of the lightship 'Ambrose' in 1:250 scale. http://www.digitalnavy.com gives a short history of the ship and several photos of it as it sits today. As I mentioned before, the entire thing will be made from paper, not plastic.

I have to stop for a second and really hand credit to http://www.digitalnavy.com. There are several 'paper model' sights out there, but I am really impressed with this one. Some of their more intricate models (ie. Yamato, USS Oregon, USS Arizona, etc) are fairly complicated and they distribute these on CD rom for a charge that looks to be anywhere from $15 to $30. They have some neat airplanes as well. The kit that I chose was in their 'free downloads' section along with a 1:700 version of the HMS Dreadnought, a 1:250 version of an admiral class mine sweeper, and a v108 torpedo boat. I don't have any connection to this site, but I thought it would be good to explain where I got the kit since it is not the 'norm' for this forum (ie. it's made from paper, not plastic).

Downloading the 'kit' was very easy and I happen to have access to a color laser printer so I printed out a couple of copies just in case I make a boo-boo. See picture below for what comes out of the printer:



The sheets themselves print out very nicely. I'm not sure what the resolution would be, but I'd guess they are 600 dpi. Everything is quite nice indeed. There's two pages of parts, plus a third page that shows an 'explosion' diagram that is intended to be the assembly instructions. A shmuck like me might have a few troublesome moments with the explosion diagram, but there are several smaller explosion diagrams for the itsy bits that anyone is likely to have questions about. All-in-all I'd say this 'kit' is topnotch for a free download!

So that's it for now. The only thing I anticipate might give me trouble is that regular printer paper might be too thin and a bit more difficult to work with. It sounds like most people use 'cardstock', so I think I'll get a couple color copies run on some heavier paper just in case.

Good luck to everyone else in the CBP!!

Murray

cheater, that's prepainted!!!!!!, sniff, sniff, why can't plastic come that way. (just kidding, I like painting) looks fairly detailed for paper, Good Luck, Murray!

Yes, 'prepainted' it is. Unfortunately, something like this is my only chance to get something done! Maybe I'll suck the images into photoshop and change the colors. Would that count as 'painting'? Would I need to 'strip' it first and if so, what do you guys recommend for a good 'ink' stripper?

Murray : )

print it off with an ink jet printer and wipe it as fast as you can! LOL [:0] going to the airshow this weekend?

(2) 1/350Guided Missle Destroyers (Zhencdefu)
Hey they were $2.00 per kit at Hobby Lobby not bad kits either
(1) 1/350 Fletcher class WWII Destroyer (Tamyia)
(1) 1/700 WWII Sumner class destroyer Skywave)
All in progress right now. Build a little Paint a little, Wife complaint a lot.

Ive changed my mind...think I am going to do a 1/400 Scharnhorst. Of course their is the Prinz Eugene also...hmmm, nope Scharnhorst then Eugene...Yeah!

Is that the Heller kit?

That is correct my friend ;)

after further looking i too have changed my mind, and am going to try the Heller 1/400 Lutzow (was thinking about the scharnhorst, but its now taken ) i have been doing some research on it, it looks like a kewl ship

It just arrived...lotso parts. Should be interesting

Hey all, count me in. I may not have time to finish by the deadline, but ill give it a shot. I have no idea what I’ll be building, a row boat?

And a suggestion for a group build… how about we only use pieces from our scrap boxes? There have to be parts from at least 3 different kits.

Edog, I like the idea! Maybe for the next CBP if everyones agrees....

Anyway, I've decided on my subject for CBP #4... I'll give the Olympic and the Graf Spee a go another time, when I've found the right kits and the right PE bits to go with them... In the meantime this is the kit I got:



It's Academy's 1/250 Roman Warship. I'm sure it's not a real Academy kit 'cause I've seen it somewhere else under a different guise and from what I can make out, Academy is slightly wrong with the scale of the ship, as it appears to be MUCH closer to 1/48 than 1/250!!!

Anyway, my idea is to build not the warship but a merchant vessel from the second Century BC. The hull of the kit is fine for what I have in mind but I will need to re-configure the deck to accommodate the cargo.

Allright, I've adjusted my plan for this CBP. Not that I've EVER had a change of plan before when scheduling my kits' completion.

My 5-year-old son REALLY wants to see the Shinano done at the same time as the Yamato. He's as entertained by my kitbuilding as he is by most TV shows or kids' videos. Maybe I'm being overly indulgent, but I've decided to try to get both ships ( the Tamiya 1:700 waterline kits ) done by the deadline.

I just hope it fits into the rules of a CBP that I'm not promising anyone ( including myself ) that I'll get all the 1:700 scale planes for Shinano done along with the ship!

Waaaay too many "meatball" decals for the time!

Well, since the project officially starts tomorrow I guess I can reveal my choice. I'm actually feeling a little out of place here among all the warships but I hope you'll cut me a little slack. Mine can't really be classified as a 'ship' but it is a water vehicle. And the kit I have chosen is...(drum roll please)...Mike Follmer's Personal Watercraft Racer. It looks like a cool little kit. It comes with a prepainted base and rider to go along with it. I think the hardest part will probable be trying to get a good color match for the paint. I have a cheap little webcam kickin' around here too so I'll try and get some pictures up although I don't know how good they'll be. Anyway, Best of Luck to everyone and let's have a great CBP #4.

Ray

Don't worry, Ray, your choice is fine by me. I think this is going to be an interesting round of CBP. I haven't built a ship in over 23 years other than the Titanic' sister ship RMS Britannic, but as a wreck as it lays at the botton of the Mediterranean Sea, more of a diorama than a real 'ship' model).

Good luck everyone. Keep posting updates and pics if poss!

Domi

So...Is everyone off to the races? I started my Scharnhorst last night, if they made the plastic any thinner, I would be putting it together with a childs glue stick vice tenax. Anyway, the hull halves have been joined and sanded, plus 1 side of the portholes drilled out. Only gonna have a month to work on it though, had to start my wife's swordfish so I am alternating days...so many little parts in the cockpit, my eyes hurt. :D

I did cut and glue my first plastic yesterday. The hull is in 3 parts, with only 1/4 of the hull's bottom molded in with the sides of the hull. That means that 3/4 of the hull's bottom is actually a separate part. Given the fact that the hull was made of wood and that the planks were running all the way from one tip of the ship to the other, there's going to be some Milliput neeeded to 'camouflage' this joint...

Other than that, no problem so far!

Started both of mine, Wolfp, and now I'm trying to decide if I should just give up ships altogether.

Silly me, thinking that 1:700 scale waterline ships would be less hassle than the larger ones. The first thing I did for the Shinano was to assemble the 12 rocket launcher emplacements, and the very first one ended up being the first lost part I've had in years. Carefully trying to place the rack on the base with tweezers and ZING! The tweezers slipped and off it went to where it might be found someday by the sweeper.

Hopefully, it'll end up being one of those "bad omens" that ends up just getting all the bad karma out of the way early on.

Ok guys, so I went to the hobby store, and searched for my ship to build. I could not find an interesting kit under $30. Since I am a broke college student, I did not get anything yet. Was wondering, would the Italeri LTV be cheating

Did anyone catch this little tidbit this morning? http://apnews.excite.com/article/20030904/D7TBN1D80.html

Now that would be a cool model!!! Anyone want to try scratchbuilding that?

Ray

Edog, I'm fine with it. Ray, this is quite cool!

This weekend is the weekend that I get underway with the USS United States. I think I will leave the sails down though. This will be my first Sailing Ship...wait....my first ship period. fun times ahead.

Scott

Too Gain Success, One Must First Try!

oh I guess I should say what I'm doing. tamiya's 1/700 waterline z destroyer.

Well, I got my kit unpacked today and took a couple of really crappy pictures with my webcam but I was having some problems trying to post them on Ron's website so you'll just have to wait to see the pictures.

It comes with a pre-painted base and figure which are really cool. The kit itself it relatively simple which hopefully means that I'll be able to finish on time. I'm going to do some work on it tonight and I'll keep you all posted on my progress.

Ray