Imai 1/50 Catalan Ship Completed

This is something I never thought I would find with a Imai kit, flash.  The piece of decking that is second from the right has a hunk of flash in the hatchway.  Easily removed but....... dang.

Steve

Steve

 Good luck with your build.The biggest thing is when you glue the hull sides together.you have to put the main deck in at the same time.Painting the deck and the inside of the hull is must.Plus its a real tight fit.I normal put the hulls together then slip the main deck in but not on this one.Questions or a problem you know how to get a hold of me.

Rod

Rod,

Thanks for checking out my build log.  I actually did go over your build log again for pointers.  Not only did I find the post about the deck and glueing it in with the hull, but also the post where you had some heavy duty clamps on the keel.  You can be sure I will ask if I run into any trouble or have a question.

Thanks,

Steve

Here is some of the beautiful detailing on the hull.  This is one of the reasons I am loving this kit.  Another is the ease of construction as well as the density of the parts.  The are some ejection marks I will have to deal with soon but most of them are fairly hidden.

Steve

It really is a compelling kit.  Despite its simplicity, there's something awesome about it.

A great example of Imai's ability to make details really pop....

Can't wait to see what you do with her, Steve!

Dave

Thanks Dave!  I have some new ideas for this kit and hopefully they will work out.  And thank you for commenting.  I have noticed a slow down in build logs lately so I figured I would start one.

Steve

Here is a small update and since I am on the iPad I'll only post one picture.

On the inside of the hull parts are a number of large ejection pin marks.  So I filled them in with some Green Putty from Squadron.  After that dried, I sanded them down for the first time.  The picture shows the location of these marks after my first sanding.  I will fill them again and then sand them smooth.  I will replace the detail with some styrene rod and then prime.

Steve

Rinse, repeat ad infinitum........

This is what I eventually want to get to.  No I have not finished filling and sanding and the styrene rods are only dry fitted at this time.

Looks like progress!  Woot!

I've never had too much against E. Pin marks...I usually just let them go...but I can see the difference it makes to remove them...big improvement!

I agree...there's not a lot of action in the way of sailing ship builds on here these days...

Most likely I'll just be observing for awhile...I've made some preliminary progress on the SR, but I don't expect I'll be posting too much about it, at least for awhile....and it's going to be a LONG time before I get 'er done!

Good work, Mister Steve...love the updates!

Dave

Thanks Dave.

Ejection pin marks are one of those things that you either leave alone or try to make disappear. Mike Ashey recommends sheet styrene punched to the size of the mark, glued and then putty around and over and finally sand.  I think I should have gone that way considering the depth of the marks on the hull.  Live and learn.  

The other issue I am dealing with right now are molding seams. Most are fairly easy to sand, such as the mast and yard but the one on the rudder took some sanding to get rid of it.

Steve

Looking great!  I love models of very old ships, so I will pick up that kit if i ever see it around.

Don,

It is a really cool model.  Being an Imai kit, it is well engineered but I have found some issues, although they are minor compared with other models I have built.

Good luck finding one though, when they come up on eBay they can be fairly pricey.  There is a gold plated one that comes up every now and then that the seller wants 300 plus dollars....... Needless to say, he hasn't found a buyer yet.

Steve

I saw one recently that was mostly painted (in terrible colors!) but mostly unassembled...the seller wanted 25 plus 15 shipping (or so)....I almost went for it, but I didn't want to re-do someone's abandoned project...plus there was no guarantee that all the parts were there....it was a great deal, though, and someone snatched it up within a day.  I'll get my shot to build one someday!

Meanwhile, I'll enjoy watching yours come to life, Steve!

D

Dave,

I know exactly which auction that was. I looked at it very carefully and pulled my instructions out to see if anything was missing.  There was about 3 parts missing that were rather important but at the moment I cannot remember which ones.

The paint job was rather "interesting".

You made a wise decision my former Padawan.

I posted a response to your deadeye question and hopefully helped.

Steve

I also got the first set of starboard main shrouds rigged on the Nina this morning before my Doctor visit.  It felt really good although my hand went numb by the end of it.  I plan on trying to do another one tomorrow!

Another small update on this construction. I borrowed an idea that Evan used on his Constitution thread on ring bolts.

This is the hatch for the cargo hold made up a number of planks. I drilled holes at the ends of each plank to add the hardware to. You can see the components for the rings above the hatch. I will attach the jacks to the rings and then blacken them. After that, I will weather the hatch with oil paints as usual and then glue in the rings.

Steve

Good idea on using the metal rings, you wont regret it.  

Thanks Scott, I agree. I had used metal jacks on the Cog builds that I did and it was okay.  When I saw Even(Force9) using this method I knew that it was the way to go.

Steve

Here are a couple of pictures of the rings blackened but not attached yet and the hatch weathered with oils.

Steve

I'm still amazed to see what you guys do with oils. I also use oil washes and oil dry brushing for weathering, and results are not even close! Looking forward to see this build progress...

Thanks Roberto. I hit on this technique after much trial and error with acrylic and enamel washes. I keep experimenting with oils now to see how to make a even better wood effect. Sometimes it works and others ..... well not so much.

If you want to see my first construction log where I used oils on, you can check out this thread.

Steve

cs.finescale.com/.../150254.aspx

david , said he would like to see you do a tutorial on your weathering techniques., I would pay to see it., if you ever decide to do one , please let us hnow

Steve,

I am setting up a website that will have "How To" videos such as the weathering technique, etc... on it for nominal fees. I'll let everyone know when it is up and running.

Steve

Here is the cargo hatch completed with the rings inserted.  I used Even's(Force9) technique for making them and then blackened them. I don't think they came out too badly.

Steve

Got the base colors on the rudder. Will add the oils tomorrow.

Steve

Here are a couple more pictures of the Catalan model construction. The first one shows the base color on the deck. The next shows the detailing work before the oil goes on. The decks still need some of the details painted so that is the next step.

Steve

Getting back to the Catalan kit to save my hands a bit. Here is the the hull with colors on it. I am not sure if I am totally happy with the color choices so far. I feel the Red Brown is a liitle too Red although once the Artist Oils go on it will tone it down. I used the colors of the Catalonian flag, Yellow and Red for the upper works.

Steve

Looks good, Steve!  I'm excited to see how this one turns out.

BTW, I think you're right about the wales...that color will totally tone down once you get some oils on there...it's gonna look sweet!

These Imai Catalans are so rare, and so cool looking....I still have hope that one day I'll find one for an affordable price :)

Dave

The IMAI Catalan Ship. A model of a model. 

Looking forward to seeing this. One of the most important models for fans of Iberian shipbuilding from the period. 

Great work as usual, Steve!