Castles of Steel, 1880 - 1914 *Group Build* (pg 17)...

Very sweet San Francisco. I've got one in the stash. Not sure how to approach it. Might make it half hull, or not. Don't think it'll get heavy weather. We'll check the ship's log in DANFS. In 1942 a lot of our ships spent a lot of time in the New Hebrides at rest (patrolling was getting ships torpedoed.) Now a members of the class of 44 that were out there for months with the spare stop at temporary ports like Manus can show some very serious wear. I've got a photo of one of Oldendorff's BBs and it looks like about a third of one side was slopped over with lord knows what color of paint to keep the rust from sinking the ship. I have another photo of one of the "Presidents" that looks like rust is sinking the ship. Ditto with some of the DDs. (I've got a color film on US subs: when returning from patrol they look pounded: when going out they're nice and tidy - at least above the waterline.)  But the early war ships were limited to periodic sorties, not extended service 24 X 7: no idea how those sailors were able to stay awake during some of those campaigns.  

Come to think about it, Veterans Day tomorrow. Lot of folk will be at the San Francisco memorial at Lands End. It is a very sobering place.

Eric

I thought that was you ;)

It's the USS San Francisco, CA38 Trumpeter kit in 1/350. New Orleans class you are correct.

Pavlus, the host of the original GB seems to be on a cruise around the world, so I suppose it's an open field. I for one would enjoy seeing more builds by folks here. Deadlines are for newspapers and college applications. I get enough of those 9-5, so I would say "get building!".

Is this a true group build?  If so, I have the Zvezda HMS Dreadnought and the Hasegawa IJNS Mikasa as well as the Encore USS Olympia and the Pyro USS Maine.  May I jump in? And when is the deadline?

One more example of uni caenis 20 denier,

BTW for those who have enquiring minds that want to know, a denier is a unit of measurement of thread. The unit is the mass in grams of thread per 9,000 meters.

20 denier thread is about 0.002 inches in diameter. Or about 3/4" at 1/350 scale.

Nice to meet you Mr. Webb. There was a famous architect by that name, my profession BTW.

Hey, I live in California and Minnesota. Probably would be okay in either place.

Eric

We're talking different skill sets here. Thats a lovely model that very well rigged. (Heard the Borodino and company were not easy builds either. They're selling them for $25 some places and I had my crack at a Ukrainian Dreadnought via ICM: not an experience I'm looking forward to repeating. Varyag looks very good though.) I doubt I could do what you did with a gun to my head - although it would be an incentive I suppose. I rigged Konig with 70 den fly tying line. It may well be out of scale, but unless you're very close, you can only tell that's it's rigged. That maybe be as it should, but if you're trying to "evoke" rigging than show something that people can see, a lot of that fine detail work goes to naught outside the eye of a judge or a very good camera. I used 2lb mono for rigging Oregon (not much there really) but that was 1/225. But from ten feet away you can see it. From ten feet away, Konig's rigging is very indistinct (which in my case is good) but I wasn't feeling sad that I hadn't walked the extra few miles to really do it up. I guess this is akin to a good aircraft modeler really taking time to get the cockpit right. Nobody looks into my cockpits so I don't bust my skull in that problem. Just a different level of the hobby.

Eric

All but the stack stays (paint brush bristle) and foot ropes (PE) are uni caenis. It mikes at about 0.002. At 1/350 I figure that's 3/4" cable.

Unrelated question. It always takes me two tries to paste the url of a photobucket file into this forum. Why?

I got the picture. If you're using Uni-Caenis 20 denier you're a better man than I. David Griffth who has one of the few books out on plastic ship building is a fan of the stuff so I got a spool of black from Stockhard. I have to admit that I find it hard to use under any circumstances: the fly tying line I use is about 70 denier (Danville 6/0). I'd use that for a 700 scale ship and find it  pretty easy to tie with. I don't doubt that 20 denier Uni is more accurate for 700. (Just bought some 1lb mono that ice fishermen use: .06 mm so it'll be plenty thin.) But I'd say at 350 scale Danville is too fine for display purposes even if appropriate to scale. As for 20, I don't know what gurus would say, but I'm not sure it would be in scale, and lord knows it's hard to see. If one gives a hoot about display it was driven home to me when I made a biplane a while back. It was at best ok. But it was rigged with 2lb line which is a little over scale, but you can see the stuff. Of all my models that's the one people look at first even though it's far from the best.  We'll be able to tell from your models when done. If we can admire the rigging I guess it's thick enough. BTW: I saw two different rigging diagram for the Ting Yuen and one was much more complex than the other. Sure know which one I'd use. My Ting Yuen is still in the stash, but I liked the look of the Chinese cruiser so much I bought it too and think I'll build that one first. After an airplane and  a tank.

Eric

EBergerud

That looks like a very nice build, but hate to say, it needs rigging. I've looked at a few million models in the gallery over at Model Ship and it's true that the real ship junkies must have fingers with brains and eyes implanted. But rigging patterns varied all over the map depending upon what the ship was doing and you can add greatly to the impact of a kit by giving it a minimalist treatment. (Actually a ship of that era would not have super elaborate rigging: the mast as locomotion was going out and there was no wireless which is makes rigging a WWI vessel a real challenge.)

Eric

In hindsight that sounds like a recipe for insanity by self infliction, so I am going to rig her and the Emden right away.

I use 20 denier monofilament. It's perhaps too invisible, but it knots like a dream.

The Ting Yuen seems to have been sailed (as in with canvas set) from Stetten in Germany where she was built, to China.

VanceCrozier

Love these old "transitional" machines... Am I a sailing ship, am I a steamship... The drama, the tension!!!!

That looks like a very nice build, but hate to say, it needs rigging. I've looked at a few million models in the gallery over at Model Ship and it's true that the real ship junkies must have fingers with brains and eyes implanted. But rigging patterns varied all over the map depending upon what the ship was doing and you can add greatly to the impact of a kit by giving it a minimalist treatment. (Actually a ship of that era would not have super elaborate rigging: the mast as locomotion was going out and there was no wireless which is makes rigging a WWI vessel a real challenge.)  Everyone has their own method but for a 350 scale I like 2lb mono fishing line. I've found that ships are impressive display models and if you model rigging to true scale, you can't see it more than a few feet away. So overdoing it just a bit (and as ropes and cables varied considerably in width there really isn't a perfect answer unless you're a ship loonie and will spend a year per project) also makes it a little easier to deal with. One of the the best ship builders out there is a gent named Jim Baumann (a Model Ship moderator) who is very fond of pre-1914 ships. He he is a very keen advocate of stretched sprue. There's a tutorial over there on how to make it but it's really pretty simple. (Far better in my view than more traditional methods.) You take a piece of cardboard or even a postcard. Take a piece of sprue in one hand and with the other light it on fire with a cigarette lighter. Only let it burn about a second. Blow it out and right away put the melted end onto the cardboard and then pull back pretty slowly. In about 20 minutes you'll have figured it out and be able to make sprue in huge quantities of almost any thickness very quickly. Now, if you haven't changed your yards to brass (which I always do and so does Baumann) I'd think the stuff would attach very nicely with simple plastic cement - maybe Testors style rather than Tamiya. You'd be attaching plastic to plastic - should work great. Bauman uses Testors style with sprue on brass and I can't get the hang of it. (I tie a simple half-knot and give a small dot of CA when tight.) One of the nice things about sprue (also true with mono) is that you can tighten a line but warming it with some kind of smoke. Baumann uses incense sticks and it works really well. If you haven't done so check out Model Warship http://www.modelwarships.com - their board has lots tutorial info and the gallery includes examples of ship modelling at its best - but well combined with normal person builds too. A great resource.

Eric

Eric- I thought your Oregon was superb. It's a darn fine model of a really basic old kit. Well done, son.

I like earlier 20th Century stuff and look forward to more of it. I recently added both Heller's 1/100 Pourquoi Pas? and Airfix's 1/144 Discovery to my pile.

There are a couple of 350 scale Aoshima models of Japanese coal transports that carried full masts into WWII. I saw a review of one and it was actually very neat - "funky" as we used to say.

Eric

Love these old "transitional" machines... Am I a sailing ship, am I a steamship... The drama, the tension!!!!

Mr. Manstein, sorry to see you are on eternal patrol...

I have stuck at this model because you started a GB that really appealed to me and I wanted to do it justice.

The earlier photo does show it as it was in battle, however that was a stage to completion, which is as delivered. There were some earlier paint color decisions that had to be made for either version, noticably the white and yellow topsides.

Here's my latest, using an aftermarket deck. It's the Bronco Ting Yuen battleship in 1/350. I think KA made the deck, but it's been so long that I no longer have the bag it came in.

All tha'ts left to do is the gilded decorations and the rigging.

I stained the deck with a diluted flat polyurethane stain that's a driftwood color. Like it myself.

Comments welcome. This is a nice kit, typical Asian product with a squazillion little parts.

Next pre-dread: the old Heller Potemkin 1/400. Maybe after that Mikasa...

I think I'll get two or three assembled and then go on a rigging tear.

Very nice---looks like you are going for the battle configuration where most of the deck fittings and other items were removed to reduce shell splintering....

Here's where the model is so far.

8 on a difficulty meter.

What was annoying was a number of pit falls built into the kit.I like it over all so far, but it's a trial.

Yes...

Beautiful work there EBergerud! A very interesting ship done justice by you!

That looks fantastic, very well done.

USS Oregon
Glencoe, 1/225
Tom's Modelworks PE; Vallejo Model Colors; Golden Fluid Acrylics; Iwata Com-Art Weathering





Above are photos of USS Oregon immediately after the Battle of Santiago and my attempt to emulate the vessel at that moment using Glencoe's 1/225 ancient kit and Tom's Model Works Photo Etch. The model is complete and anyone wanting to know the details of the build can check a post I made in "Ships" Here's one Castle of Steel which was instrumental that sent patriotic Americans into heaven, ended the Civil War and laid the seeds for WWII. The pics below include one of the crew taken as rounds began to straddle the Critabol Colon the only Spanish ship with a chance to run the blockade - as you can see, it didn't make it.

Eric

Why do I always find these threads after I've nearly finished a build!!! I started Zvezdas Varyag back in February as a gift for my father whos old stomping groung is the coast where the Varyag finished her colourful career. Great  kit and so is the WEM etch sheet and Master barrels to go with her! Bugger! Bugger! Bugger!

*BUMP*

.....you're welcome.......

*BUMP*

...thank you...

Manstein's revenge

Wow---I just noticed this thread has been viewed over 26,000 times!  

congrats on that, Herr Colonel

Wow---I just noticed this thread has been viewed over 26,000 times!  

Nice Job !

I love it, has that 19th century crossing into the 20th century look.