stikpusher

Oh yes, I added the cowl to the Arado yesterday. I am debating what to do about the canopy for finishing. Paint to represent a clear canopy, paint to represent a tarp over it, or use clear sprue to screatch build a clear canopy...

Too bad you didn't pick up the Trumpeter Arado's  they have a clear canopy.

Yes, a Trumpeter Arado would be nice... but then I have no need for five more as the set comes with six... At best two more if I build Bismark...

Today's painting was going smoothly until... BANG..Major Snag... for some reason, the white paint (MM Acryl Marine Colors Schnellboot Weiss- did I mention that those paints bite???) which I used to paint the false bow waves cracked while drying. Now the colors that were on the hull beneath have had MONTHS to dry and cure(perhaps a year or so...), so I know that is not the cause of said snag... I will give this a fewdays to dry completely and have another crack at it next week...

In order to avoid  any further unpleasantness, I put all painting aside for today and decided to addsmall fiddly bits to the superstuctures. Railings, reels, twin 105mm FLAK, and twin 37mm FLAK added to rear superstructure.

and railings, small boats( Whaleboats? Launches? Skiffs?), one crane, and twin 37mm FLAK added to forward superstructure.

Next up is touch ups of Hellgrau, adding the Dunkelgrau camo patterns,and then washes. Next week...

I think with your white paint color you may have used too much thinner. I have some MM Acryl paint colors and have successfully used at least 4 drops of Tamiya Thinner to thin the paint enough without it cracking.  Though I am looking at the very least of getting the Trumpeter Arado's since I have a 1/720 Blucher and a 1/700 Tirpitz and 1/700 MPC Graf Spee.

stikpusher

Yes, a Trumpeter Arado would be nice... but then I have no need for five more as the set comes with six... At best two more if I build Bismark...

Today's painting was going smoothly until... BANG..Major Snag... for some reason, the white paint (MM Acryl Marine Colors Schnellboot Weiss- did I mention that those paints bite???) which I used to paint the false bow waves cracked while drying. Now the colors that were on the hull beneath have had MONTHS to dry and cure(perhaps a year or so...), so I know that is not the cause of said snag... I will give this a fewdays to dry completely and have another crack at it next week...

In order to avoid  any further unpleasantness, I put all painting aside for today and decided to addsmall fiddly bits to the superstuctures. Railings, reels, twin 105mm FLAK, and twin 37mm FLAK added to rear superstructure.

and railings, small boats( Whaleboats? Launches? Skiffs?), one crane, and twin 37mm FLAK added to forward superstructure.

Next up is touch ups of Hellgrau, adding the Dunkelgrau camo patterns,and then washes. Next week...

I think with your white paint color you may have used too much thinner. I have some MM Acryl paint colors and have successfully used at least 4 drops of Tamiya Thinner to thin the paint enough without it cracking.  Though I am looking at the very least of getting the Trumpeter Arado's since I have a 1/720 Blucher and a 1/700 Tirpitz and 1/700 MPC Graf Spee.

stikpusher

Yes, a Trumpeter Arado would be nice... but then I have no need for five more as the set comes with six... At best two more if I build Bismark...

Today's painting was going smoothly until... BANG..Major Snag... for some reason, the white paint (MM Acryl Marine Colors Schnellboot Weiss- did I mention that those paints bite???) which I used to paint the false bow waves cracked while drying. Now the colors that were on the hull beneath have had MONTHS to dry and cure(perhaps a year or so...), so I know that is not the cause of said snag... I will give this a fewdays to dry completely and have another crack at it next week...

In order to avoid  any further unpleasantness, I put all painting aside for today and decided to addsmall fiddly bits to the superstuctures. Railings, reels, twin 105mm FLAK, and twin 37mm FLAK added to rear superstructure.

and railings, small boats( Whaleboats? Launches? Skiffs?), one crane, and twin 37mm FLAK added to forward superstructure.

Next up is touch ups of Hellgrau, adding the Dunkelgrau camo patterns,and then washes. Next week...

I uses I think a 3:1 ratio of paint to thinner in this case. I accidently put in a couple extra drops. Iused Testor's Acryl Thinner.  But if was the ratio of thinner to paint, wouldnt the paint on the surrounding masking tape area have cracked as well, instead of just the paint on the painted plastic area? Well my next attempt will be at the 5:1 ratio of paint to thinner that I have found works best with Testors Acryl line.

stikpusher

I uses I think a 3:1 ratio of paint to thinner in this case. I accidently put in a couple extra drops. Iused Testor's Acryl Thinner.  But if was the ratio of thinner to paint, wouldnt the paint on the surrounding masking tape area have cracked as well, instead of just the paint on the painted plastic area? Well my next attempt will be at the 5:1 ratio of paint to thinner that I have found works best with Testors Acryl line.

Did you prep the areas good before you painted? Though I think next time you should invest in the WEM Schnellboot Weise. Oh and make sure you stir your paint before you use it by using the Badger motorized paint stirer.

When the local hobby shops carry WEM paints, I'll buy them. They carry just about every other line of paint between the three I frequent. I am not a big fan of mail/online ordering of paint. I like going to the shops for paints as my excuse to browse and impulse buy... The MM paint was sprayed over dried Gunze paints. No prep beyond that. And I stir all my paints most thoroughly before I even mix in the thinner. I spend more time on paint prep than on painting at times I think... This is the first time I have ever had this  happen...

stikpusher

Yes, a Trumpeter Arado would be nice... but then I have no need for five more as the set comes with six... At best two more if I build Bismark...

Today's painting was going smoothly until... BANG..Major Snag... for some reason, the white paint (MM Acryl Marine Colors Schnellboot Weiss- did I mention that those paints bite???) which I used to paint the false bow waves cracked while drying. Now the colors that were on the hull beneath have had MONTHS to dry and cure(perhaps a year or so...), so I know that is not the cause of said snag... I will give this a fewdays to dry completely and have another crack at it next week...

 

Ah, man that sucks stik.  

Let me just say though, up until the cracked paint problem the build is looking GREAT!!!

Just break out the Super Clean and try again later.

Yeah, the finish line was approaching too easily... I am just worried about the damaging the surrounding and underlying gray area as I am out of that color and it is no longer available.(Gunze Aqueous) I can get the same shade from from other companies, but those NEVER match precisely...

Too bad about the mishap Stik,you got a great build going there.hopefully it can be fixed after all your work put in.

Success on the repair of the cracked white paint so far. Yesterday went well sanding down the first attempt, but I did not want to overdo it and damage the masking., so some cracking texture remained. Today a successful re-coat of the MM color, but with the texture underneath visible. So tomorrow or the day after another sanding  to even it up better after the paint has dried a good 24 hrs, and then  a final topcoat to finish it all out. Pics once the repairs are complete.

well I sanded the re-coat down a bit and applied another coat of white today. Much better now. If you look real close you can see the the crack texture beneath, but overall a good recovery. Tomorrow I will touch up the spots there the masking leaked.

I also completed detail painting of the motor launches, glued their decks in place, and began painting the Arado float plane...

more to come tomorrow...

Pavlvs

Rescribing panel lines on a 1/350 plane?! Now that's impressive!!!  Will the Captain have blue eyes?

I have in some place a started bismark 350 from academy.. i need to find the courage to finish her!

One thought about the Arado canopy, although my solution was for 1/700 aircraft - Testors Steel, no. 1180 out of the little bottle, overcoated with Tamiya Smoke, no. X-19, gives a passable resemblance to canopies in that scale. Sorry the pictures isn't more of a close-up:

I was thinking along similar lines mfs, first painting RLM 02 or 66 then a coat of smoke over that. After looking at yours, I think that will work well. Thanks for the suggestion.

The past few weeks have been full of family obligations when I was not at work but I have been nickle and diming (an hour here and an hour there) progress on the Graf. I have nearly completed the Dunkelgrau 2  and Dunkelgrau 51 disruptive patterns on the superstructures and turrets. I have applied a pinwash of Burnt Umber to the hull sides on the fine details. Boy they really make those little details pop alive. Next step is to do the same on the main deck, and all the super structures. I should be able to post some pics tomorrow. Getting close...

nice save on the bow wave !!

Thanks Anthony... that was an unexpected speed bump.

Well today I finished most of the basic painting, washes on the hull, and was in the midst of taking pics when my camera ran out of juice. So once I can find the battery charger and get that taken care of, I will get the pics done and posted...

All camera issues corrected as of last night! So I will group the pics of up to last nights finishing point, and today's finishing point:

Last night Hull completed painting and washes

Bow

Amidships

Stern

Bow with completed turret

Stern with completed turret and torpedo tubes

Foretop and Stack front and quarter rear views

forward superstructure front and rear quarter views

Aft superstructure front and rear quarter views

Arado float plane

Boat cranes, boats, and float plane

and then it was quittin' time....

This morning was attaching the hull railings and the single 20mm deck guns (probably the weakest moldings of the kit) and the secondary battery of 15cm guns

Bow w/railings, 20mm deck guns, and forward main turret

amidship railings w/15cm gun turrets

stern w/railings, main turret, torpedo tubes and 20mm deck guns...

And fore and aft views of everything in place up to this point...

Friday I did touch ups on the main deck 20mm guns and railings where paint had been removed during clean up after cutting those parts off of the sprues prior to gluing. Yesterday was application of pin wash on teh fore and aft superstructures. Then last night and this morning I glued on those parts onto the main deck.

overall shot of the hull

close ups of both sides

Foretop and stack close ups

i like

First off, your buid is looking great stik!! I hadn't really paid much attention to the scheme she was in but I was looking at some plates in a Polish reference book I have and you have gotten it pretty darn close. Do you plan on knocking it down any??

Also, do you have any info on those anti-aircraft guns around the stack? Are those 20mm? They are one of the few things I noticed was rather clunky and appeared way out of scale in my kit so I was looking to replace them. Would also like to find some brass props for it to as the ktis are rather thick but havent had any luck yet.

I didn't realize the camo was that extensive...

Jester and Manny, there are a series of photos on Navsource and a few other sites that are close to a walkaround regarding the camo scheme as can be used. I followed those as best I could. In areas those were lacking I used a color plate guide. Where there was no reference (color plate and photos did not show) I went with would look like a natural continuation of the patterns in references.

Yes, the kit 20mm stack and deck guns are IMO the weakest point of the kit. Replacements are definitely in order. I wanted to do this built OOB. All the other guns (11", 105mm, twin 37mm) are quite nice and petite by comparison.

Have you found a source for aftermarket parts for the 20mm's?

stikpusher

Jester and Manny, there are a series of photos on Navsource and a few other sites that are close to a walkaround regarding the camo scheme as can be used. I followed those as best I could. In areas those were lacking I used a color plate guide. Where there was no reference (color plate and photos did not show) I went with would look like a natural continuation of the patterns in references.

Yes, the kit 20mm stack and deck guns are IMO the weakest point of the kit. Replacements are definitely in order. I wanted to do this built OOB. All the other guns (11", 105mm, twin 37mm) are quite nice and petite by comparison.

Honestly the single German 20mm guns in 1/350 and 1/700 are overscale and as far as I know there isn't any Resin AM sets to replace the 20mm guns. But if you want replacements go with PE replacement single 20mm gun sets from the usual AM manufacturers Eduard White Ensign Models and Lion Roar. Now the 10.5cm guns can be updated with Master models gun barrels along with the twin 37mm guns.

Thanks Mikey. I have the premium edition of this kit which comes with brass everything and a wooden deck. Just would really like to find something to replace those 20's with. Saw that Lionroar had a damn nice set of US Navy 20mm's that were pe and looked sharp but nothing for the German stuff.

Jester75

Thanks Mikey. I have the premium edition of this kit which comes with brass everything and a wooden deck. Just would really like to find something to replace those 20's with. Saw that Lionroar had a damn nice set of US Navy 20mm's that were pe and looked sharp but nothing for the German stuff.

You might get away with the Eduard German AA set as it includes both the single as well as the quad Flak 38 20mm guns and the 37mm Zweiling AA gun. are the 105mm guns the ones in the single barrel turrets?

No, I think the 105's were the twins like the photo here. The single turrets are 150's I think??

I believe the question of the German 20mm guns could be moot as these were stowed under normal conditions...IMO, they clutter the deck, accurate looking or not...most of my ref pics show ship sans single 20mm cannon...