Coolpiece HMS Prince of Wales

That's just for the attempt! I have enough trouble with PE seatbelts let alone a kit like that.

Good Luck!

Jim 

Stay Safe.

Hi Fox!

      I know what you mean. I for instance, have taken a great interest in " Metal Earth by Fascinations" Kits. Why? Well, the constant referral to the instructions and teensy bending and folding, Keeps my hands in a fairly good rendition of " Younger Normal" instead of Shaky Old Digits"

     Besides that. These kits can be amazing in and of itself because of, in some cases, the incredible detail! Oh! It may not all be little pieces, but the etching on the surfaces to help make it be a model are nothing short of amazing to me. Yes, Even though I understand the process fully, it still does Amaze!

      Sadly though, They do not have any civilian ships I've seen except the Poor old Titanic.  A nice selection of civilian yachts and boats from the late 50s up to the early 90s would be nice. I have the tanker and Offshore Platform. Not bad, But how a "Stick Ship" or L.N.G Tanker ?

Yes, Ditto what TB said.  Im hoping to keep my not very old fingers more nimble.  But i am finding with these smaller ones that my readers are not enough and find myself grabing for the no. 7 magnifying headset..... 

I hear you about needing help. We need help to keep the hands from shaking. We need help for the eyes for seeing. We need help for the ears for hearing. I'd love to get my hands on the guy that said that "these are our golden years". 

Jim 

Stay Safe.

Hi Jim and Mrchntmarine;

 I hear both of you. I acquired the "Disney/Harper Goff( the designer) of the Nautilus as we know her. Watch out if you get her.This has got to be the smallest "Metal Earth" model with fiddly parts I have recently gotten into. But with patience and some Jewelers tools I am getting it built. It's pre-Colored too!  TB.

For PE, I find a curved blade (like a #10) that can be "rolled" over the "sprue" on the PE is best.  This while atop a glazed tile or glass sheet, to give a firm surface to cut "against."

YMMV

Yep on the curved blade.  I have a curved one i do use on PE and tried it on this kit.  But this metal is thicker than the usual pe.  I did buy a new set of pe snippers and the small tip barely gets in to where i have to clip off the piece.   It ends up leaving a small tag on the piece.  I was hoping to find a small not so wide box shaped snipper on the end to be able to clip off the remnant.  so far no luck.  Im worried if i try to file it, ill end up bending the pieces unless im able to grip them with a flat neednose for support while filing - which i do have and am going to try.  

i did just get in the mail a set of alumium dowels of differt diameters to help with the bending.

Hi;

     I found a chrome plated(Big Deal!) set of cutters at H.L that are made for cutting heavier jewelry wire and beads. It works for me and it is straight edged at the cutting surface!

So i picked up the other day a pair of smaller pliars and they are not small enough! 

Here is one of the 1st pieces and i cant get in to the tab to bend it with what i have so ill be off tomorrow to try and find a skinnier tipped pair.

Heres a pic of a normal needle nose compared to the new ones

and the alumium rods for bending

Hi;

         I feel ya. I forgot to tell you yesterday. Take a good pair of Xuron cutters that still cut well, but that are your oldest ones. Now very gently sand down the top of the tips. Not the cutting side! Make sure you are gentle about this! Do NOT let the tips get hot!

        I wish I could easily send you a photo, But I am not on a photo site at present. I would show you mine. They are thin enough to get the job done, but not brittle at the tips. I did this after my second " Metal Earth " kit.

      You can do this on the belt side of a Belt/Disc sander or a carefully applied Dremel type sanding drum. You do have to be careful in shaping them, but I know you can do it! I forgot to ask, What scale do you think this is? I notice it does NOT indicate scale.

Thanks but no thanks,I already do the minimum PE

But it does look interesting.

Mrchntmarine

 

i did just get in the mail a set of alumium dowels of differt diameters to help with the bending.

Instead of a bespoke [read as $$] set of PE bending dowels, check the hardware store for a set of drill bits.  Wrap and roll the PE around the shank to form round bends

I have to admit that I have never seen any of these kits.  I don't even know where to buy them.  I seem to be in the minority here!

Bill

Tanker-Builder

Hi;

         I feel ya. I forgot to tell you yesterday. Take a good pair of Xuron cutters that still cut well, but that are your oldest ones. Now very gently sand down the top of the tips. Not the cutting side! Make sure you are gentle about this! Do NOT let the tips get hot!

        I wish I could easily send you a photo, But I am not on a photo site at present. I would show you mine. They are thin enough to get the job done, but not brittle at the tips. I did this after my second " Metal Earth " kit.

      You can do this on the belt side of a Belt/Disc sander or a carefully applied Dremel type sanding drum. You do have to be careful in shaping them, but I know you can do it! I forgot to ask, What scale do you think this is? I notice it does NOT indicate scale.

 

Tojo72

Thanks but no thanks,I already do the minimum PE

But it does look interesting.

 

I get that!  I havent been back at modelling long enough to like or dislike it yet.  But, the little bit of PE ive done so far i have enjoyed.  BUT, this has gotten a little crazy early on with these tiny pieces.  We'll see - haha.

EdGrune

 

 

Mrchntmarine

 

i did just get in the mail a set of alumium dowels of differt diameters to help with the bending.

 

 

 

Instead of a bespoke [read as $$] set of PE bending dowels, check the hardware store for a set of drill bits.  Wrap and roll the PE around the shank to form round bends

 

Ahh.  Didnt think of that.  Look at the pic above - even the dowells i bought didnt have a rod that small!  I had to use the shaft of an old eye glasses screwdriver that i had busted 1/2 the tip off.  Not only is the shaft a good size for small pieces - but the flat head is sheared off just enough to make a good push stick to reach in and bend tabs up/down.  This is gonna make the rest of my hair fall out!!  Excellent idea on the bits - i have plenty laying around and will check there for any more sizes i may need.  Have to say - the dowell set i bough is nice though and i think was cheaper than bits??   It only set me back 11 bucks.

Check with a major discount chain for bit sets.  Most will run from 1/16 and up.  Once in awhile you can find a cheap set that includes lettered and numbered,up to around 3/8 or 1/2.  Look at harbor freight, once in awhile you can catch them on a coupon.  Don't last for drilling, but.........

So, looking for a little help.  Not sure what this means in step 18 - "when connecting 2 parts.... do the red arow piece 1st then the blue piece".  I see a tiny blue arrow next to the "Step 18" Box, but i dont see a red arrow other than the red Progression Arrow.  What are they referring to?

Also, in steps 7 and 8, when parts are shaded red, this is where they want you to do the red indicated bend 1st?  I think the red shading is just highighting bends, right?

where i am now - up to Step 15

Every night when i stop, the last think i continue to say is, "This is crazy!"

That's really cool. For you. Not for me.

Unbelievable! You are doing amazing work.

Jim 

Stay Safe.

Mrchntmarine

So, looking for a little help.  Not sure what this means in step 18 - "when connecting 2 parts.... do the red arow piece 1st then the blue piece".  I see a tiny blue arrow next to the "Step 18" Box, but i dont see a red arrow other than the red Progression Arrow.  What are they referring to?

Also, in steps 7 and 8, when parts are shaded red, this is where they want you to do the red indicated bend 1st?  I think the red shading is just highighting bends, right?

where i am now - up to Step 15

Every night when i stop, the last think i continue to say is, "This is crazy!"

 

 

i believe the reference to the red arrow piece means the finished subassembly. Essentially the poece you just finished - use it to start the next step. Seems like you would ake for granted that's where to start fom but i guess because of those exploded views and call-outs on the sides that they felt they had to reference a specific assembly pic.

IDK, confusing as there is no red arrow - besides the large ones moving on to the the next iteration of the step....  And for instance in Step 18 you can't put down the deck on the wall before bending the walls.  Guess I'll just take it as a "be careful and examine closely before proceeding". Haha. 

So this is one of the better ideas ive come up with for this build - a paper towel catch all to wipe off all the metal shrads to keep from getting all of them on the jeans or the floor!!

This is whats done so far

So, here it is....  Ill say it again, This is crazy.  Im confident though that i have increased my ability to better handle PE now.  While most parts were straight forward in what was to be done, some were not.  Particuliarly confusing were the "etched colored parts outward" where there was no etching and the shiny silver was the same all the way around - at least to these eyes.  Some of the pins for the main superstructure sections did not want to line up with the tiny deck holes when attaching, so i ended up clipping a pin or 2 off.  Likewise, when attaching the hull sides to the deck, i had to clip a tiny section of the rail that impeded the sides from being attached.  Also, for the life of me i could not get the last bit of the stern hull and topside to match pin into receivng hole, so i had to just bend the clip around....

FORGET trying to get the final nibs off of PE with a smaller nipper - Get yourself a Tamiya diamond needle file #400, or something similar.

It has a flat side and a gently rounded side. Either is a way, way easier way to get the PE edges smooth.

That really looks great.  Quite the accomplishment as I have a fear of PE for the most part.

That's one shiny BB! 

it really came out looking great. I like the thought of using it as practice for PE work. Going to look impressive on your display shelf!

Boy, I am inspired by your build.  I think I might try one.

Also I see they have a great looking Notre Dame cathedral kit.  Anyone build that kit?

missileman2000

Boy, I am inspired by your build.  I think I might try one.

Also I see they have a great looking Notre Dame cathedral kit.  Anyone build that kit?

 

I have not.  FYI - the smallest nose pliars i could find in person were sometimes not small enough to get to sone of the tabs to bend them.  I had to use a blade to pop the pin out a little to get to it in order to be able to get a hold of both sides in order to twist to lock them in.  I found it to be an addictive build.  Also I found myself wanting a 3rd hand at times - like when trying to figure out how to get the 1st 1/2 of the side hull attached.  Then the 2nd half - haha.  The sides are each in 2 halves so it flops around when trying to attach to the deck.  Then there was that problem with part of the rail getting in the way.  Also, if  you can see - the cranes on either side came up short and dont reach the resting platform on the end.  I also bougth a new pair of PE snippers but it was tough most of the time removing pieces from the sprue w/o getting a bend in the part.  But all but the tiniest ones easily straightened out with flat pliars.