Beautiful stuff there Si! Always nice to see the wee guns out of the way!! Really doing this one justice!

Armed to the teeth!
Your detail work on the guns and the whole kit is amazing. Looking very nice, all the extra work will be rewarded in a beautiful model.
Kepp up the good work

Cheers
Bernd

Thanks Todd,

After I cracked the tweezer method of holding the back end of the 47mm to drill out the barrel mounts that stage went very smoothly. Glad that they are done and mostly glued down.

Thanks Bernd,

She certainly is armed to the teeth, a total of 56 guns, for a ship her size that is a lot.

Appreciate your kind comments, I do enjoy the challenge of trying to do something with an old kit.

Cheers for the support guys.

Si

Making great progress Simon. As always fun to follow along on these builds.

cheers

Michael

Thanks Michael,

I agree these old dogs are fun, and rewarding.

Thanks for look in,

Cheers

Si

Si

Great tip regarding the gun barrels. Need to see if I can do something along those lines for the Type 89 for the Maya. hmmm you now have the thinking juices flowing..

She is looking great. I think I am going to look into one of those old cruisers and give it a shot.

Dave

Thanks Dave,

It did make the job so much easier. Good luck with trying it out on Maya's light AA.

I do love the pre dreadnought era for their weird designs, makes them more interesting to build.

Cheers.

Si

Quick update.

railings, guns and searchlights on the after superstructure.



Deck over the bridge, or as us salty types would call it, the monkey island, done.



More soon.

Si

Railings on the catwalks,

First piece on, this has been made from a section from the Varyag fret. Didn't quite get the ends bent up right.



Finished the catwalks, I have used spare bits of railing as these are not provided on the fret.



After compass platform in place,



Ladders and vents on the quarterdeck. as the vents were solid I painted what would be the opening off white to represent a canvas cover.



Lower formast platform on.



Where the build is at, and sat on a suitable base, the base needs a little work, but the good thing is it iw wide enough to protect the 75mm casemate guns,



Cheers

Si

Nice to see all the great details added, the catwalks, stairways and hand rails giving this build the "busy" look !
Great work

Cheers
Bernd

A really enjoyable build to watch, Si.

That base will look great once it's got a nice coat of varnish on.

Still reckon you might finish it within the 3 months

Russ

Nice work on the catwalks Si!! Bringing out the details! She is looking fantastic! Keep it coming!

Looks really nice Si. I also like the idea about using the tweezers. One thing I use that I really like is a spiral push drill. Here's an example of one.

http://www.amain.com/rc-cars/model-expo-spiral-push-drill-w-extra-collet-mex-mt1013/p150609?utm_source=Google-Base&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Product-Feeds&gclid=Cj0KEQjw-tSrBRCk8bzDiO__gbwBEiQAk-D31enU9L7Z10dqIpkpBti_aRDoJ3CHM7jXhvhv76lCcYcaAomK8P8HAQ

I like the control I get with it. Plus it goes pretty quickly. I use a sharp xacto blade to put a small divot in the mount then the push drill to drill in as deep as I need. It took about three nights to get all the guns for the Graf Spee drilled out.

One quick question, why is the shaft that goes through the bridge area blue? Is that masking tape, or did the Russians paint it that way for some reason?

Thanks Bernd,

I agree they did need them, pity they weren't on the GMM fret.

Cheers Russ,

The ship maybe, the rigging is going to take me at least a month after that! The base was a lucky find my stack of bases, I wanted it wider than the casemate guns and it is a perfect fit, does look nice too.

Thanks Todd.

Please with progress to date.

Thanks Rodger,

Useful piece of kit, I just have a couple of old fashioned pin vices, will look out for one. The foremast, according to the instructions is blue. I can find no firm data on the exact shade or whether it is right or wrong, but went with it as it adds a bit more colour. If I am wrong I am wrong, but I quite like it.

Cheers guys.

Si

The Base.

Before I post the pictures I have to say I do not get with wood, hence this is not the classiest base you will see.

Test layout of the blocks.



Nailed down



The lady herself sat on the base.



Before she is pinned down the props need to fitted, the kit props, one with the blades removed ready to fit the etched blades.



One prop done.



More soon.

Si

Hmmm.. with all the hassles you are having with this one Simon I think I will get the Trumpeter versions instead!!

Doing a great job on a bit of a dog compared to their new kits.

Keep at it mate
Warren

You will be missing out on some real "fun" mate.

Don't blame you though, and to be honest I have the Trump Tsarevich in the stash too.

Cheers.

Si

Looking great Si! I think you dd fine on the base. The ship is the focal point and once you placed it on there, it looked pretty good!

Well done on the prop improvements! Much better!

PM inbound......

Cheers Todd,

The Base is ok, I may put a stain on it to bring it together, don't know yet.

Intend to get the props done and on today and start on the boats.

Replied to your PM, thanks mate.

Cheers

Si

The props painted, sprayed Chaos Black, base coat of Balthazar gold and a drybrush of scorpion bronze.



And fitted to the hull.



Must fix that crack on the stern!.

Etched keel section with rudder and props is supplied for the steam pinaces. The larger pair have half relief torpedoes moulded on, these have been removed, and after the wood deck sections are fitted they will be repaced by left overs from the CVL22's airwing. Also the funnel has been drilled out.



All four steam pinaces ready for spraying.



Pinaces sprayed black, the hull colour so makes a good bade.



The pulling boats and the torpedo net booms sprayed on the sprue. One great thing about citadel paints is the pots match the colour and sheen of the rattlecans to touch up the attachment points.



More soon,

Si

I still reckon you'll finish this in 3 months, not 5, Si, based on where you're at already

Russ

Hi Russ,

That is a touch optimistic, given three months from the start is the 4th of July and I still have all the boats to finish, gun port hatches, net booms and shelves to fit, let alone the masts and all the rigging.

I am pleased with the progress to date though .

Cheers for the optimistic support though mate.

Si

Si,

She is looking great. I am with Russ in that you will have her commissioned within the near future.

Dave

Appreciate your confidence Dave,

But there is still a lot of work to do, and a few family matters to interfere as well.

I am reckoning in all seriousness completion mid - late August, want to get Indy boxed off by 1st August so I have space to start the Scharnhorst for the Cruiser Campaign.

Cheers.

Si

Detail painting on the steam pinnaces.



Wood decks fitted.



The tow larger boats have their replacement torpedoes fitted, (Spares from my CVL22 build for the Leyte Gulf Campaign) and I am assuming from the wood deck that they had a light QF gun on the front, so I hunted round scrap sprues and found these.



Attached to the base and the torpedo booms added.



More soon

Si