Imai 1/50 Catalan Ship Completed

Here is a quick update. I finished the yellow but will not touch it until the paint cures. So, I decided to paint the "bowsprit". I am going to paint the carved dragon on the stern red so , I painted the dragon's head red. The head, I am not sure if this would constitute a knightshead or not, I decided to paint in different colors. Looking at the picture, I see I need to touch up a bit before the oils go on.

Steve

Thanks Bill and Dave, I appreciate the input.

Actually Bill, I do not use a black wash, just the oils, but they do tend to mute the colors down which is why I try now to use a sharper contrast on colors on some kits. I was originally thinking about painting this as really worn wood, with the patina being basically silver/grays. Maybe I'll try that on another kit.

Dave, I agree that after all the prep work it is very cool to see the kit start to come together. I also really like when I get the hull and masts constructed and start in on the rigging, for me, that is when the ship becomes a sailing ship.

Thanks again guys,

Steve

Looking sweet, Steve!

I love seeing parts go from sprue to base, to final coats and assembly....it's an exciting transformation, and your builds are a joy to follow!

Plus, such a rare model as the Catalan makes this an important thread within the community....  :)

Keep it up!

Dave

This is looking good.

David K made a wise observation in his Golden Hind build, where base colors get blended to be alike after a black wash.

I'm tending to extremes on my Viking ship.

Another update on the continuing saga of Bungalow Bill, I mean the Catalan ship. Been busy with a new job, so I have not had time at the desk; however, I have been making small progress just the same. 

After going through each piece and sanding the heck out of the injection seams I finally got to prime the pieces. After priming, I found where I missed, including some injection marks. As I have stated earlier in this WIP, the plastic on this kit is really thick and tough which makes for some heavy duty seams, etc.... needless to say, I have gone through a considerable amount of sanding sticks.

Next came blackening the anchors. The kit supplied anchors were white metal, britannia or lead, not really sure but this is an Imai kit and it might be from the 1970's. One cool thing that happened was that Blacken It not only blackened them but also gave them some rust! A Happy Accident as Bob Ross would have said.

And I have been repainting the structural beams and rails to MM Earth Red, which is a color DavidK recommended(thanks again, bud). Here is and example of the quarter deck's fore railing. I will touch up the sanding marks.

And the final bit of insanity tonight is the taping. After thinking about how many coats of Yellow I will need to cover the section of the hull with, I decided it might be better to spray it. So, the Tamiya tape and pieces of paper came out....... I'll post the results later.

Steve

Thanks guys, I appreciate the input! 

Dave, I agree the Catalan ship model has become expensive if and when they come up on evilBay. The other two Imai sailing ships that I lust in my heart for, are the Napoleon and the Venetian Galleass. A little too rich for my pocketbook at this time.

Rob,

I agree that this is an important model not only for Iberian ship fans but I think for all sailing ship fans. Heck I would love to see other models that are historically accurate for this period. Heck, I would love to see more sailing ship models period!

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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...

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

Steve

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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