Great job as usual Jim! Thanks for sharing this beauty.

Thank you James

Very, very nice! Good job Jim. The boats look very good, much better than with the canvas cover, good details. And good idea with the name plate. About carley floats, I have the same problem, I lose too much time with super detailing. Buttercup is fantastic. Good picture with the pen next to it, helps to realize what a little gem it is. Cheers. Don't forget to show us the Snowberry, if you have time.

I promise I wont forget to take pics of Snowberry ,shes a huge,daunting project..
I thank you for your kind words ,Dragos, and im considering just trying to scratch out a carley float just to say i did..I have a plan in mind how to do it ...hope I have time ..

In this picture we see some conduit that I added to the rear inner hull above the decks. I saw this in a CAD rendering of Snowberry on the 'net..so I added it here.

The hull was masked to save the work on the lower hull ( I didnt take pics of that , ill show it later if you want to see it)...primer used is automotive laquer based stuff..it gives a good solid foundation for the rest of the paint..

I bought a leather punch from a Tack shop to cut clear discs to use for the portholes. the holes on the kit hull were checked for round and diameter using a corresponding drill bit. The porthole kit that GLS makes has a handy little template providing appropriate diameter. ...

The holes in the hull were countersunk using a cone shaped dremel bit. This was done by hand for precision. the clear discs were glued in place using Proweld. ..after that had cured up, I used Future floor wax as an adhesive for the photo etch pieces..they are very delicate..and this also helped give the windows that nice shine..

and here the windows are complete. Masking will be done with discs of Tamiya tape cut and placed....
Im sorry that it took so long for an update guys, Ive been scrambling to find work , and have only been taking on small projects just to calm my nerves...Happily, I have finally landed a good job, and my household is now on recovery from the economic crunch ..Ill post pics later of the hull and decks..THAT was tricky!...but it looks soooo awesome!

By the way, heres a point on painting that I thought deserved its own post: if you undertake one of these ships, be prepared to buy paint..lots of paint..the project just drinks the stuff.. I went through 4 bottles of White and 1.5 bottles of red on the last one..

Hi Jim! By the way you started this project I think it will be a real masterpiece. Great work. I'm can't wait to see new pics, no matter how it takes. Good luck with the new job.

Thanks for having patience Dragos..this kit is VERY complex..(in my opinion)



The kit provides the deck in 3 pieces. Using the GLS set requires the omission of the bow piece. All of the raised parts of the decking are removed and the decks sanded smooth for lamination of the brass.

Here is the Stern decking painted and in place over the kit part.

I used some epoxy glue to fasten down the decking.

Checking the fit before committing with glue.

The bow is complicated( I thought it was anyways..). There is 3 laminate layers to go on, and the set requires you to remove several parts from the center. This requires you to cut the pieces apart..(hard to explain, I know, but I hope the pictures help ....)

and here are the decks glued in place.

My apologies, everyone, for the lenght of time I have allowed to lapse between postings on the project..
going back to my last picture, I added Tamiya putty to the joint between the new decks and the hull. This was sanded smooth.
This next pic shows the process used to put in the scuttles. the holes in the hull were drilled to a uniform size, and chamfered with a conical dremel bit. a punch was used to cut out clear discs for the glass in the scuttles.

The disc was glued in place, then the photo etch pieces were tacked in place using clearcote, then glues with CA .
Discs of Tamiya tape were punched, and added to the glass parts to facilitate painting of the hull..

I painted Future floor polish over the whole scuttle to fix and clear up the acetate.

The decks were cleaned with Laquer thinner before glueing down to the hull, and primed with Laquer based primer. White Ensign models "RN deck blue" was used to paint the decks, and variations in paint intensity provided highlights..

The decking comes with great rivet details...and boy ..theres an AWFUL lot of em to punch out..

Moving from Bow to stern in construction, I start with the bow area..the 4" gun was built ..

I had to grind out the rebate for the guns elevating gear to fit...that was the only issue I had..


The cradles for the shells were far too small and delicate for my hamfisted building skills, and i had to avoid them...I used plastic stock and stretched sprue instead..
The bandstand and gunshield are entirely photo etch..working with these sets was difficult for me initially, but im really getting into the swing of it now..

The windlass looks good, and has about 40 or so parts to it.

the various components are added, including the foreward planking..individual planks are picked out by masking and using pastel powders..

Kit lockers are built, with GLS handles being added..
[imghttp://i438.photobucket.com/albums/qq102/JimMrr/DanH096.jpg?t=1290787922][/img]
Here is another shot of the bow area under construction..

The weathering around the anchor looks naive right now, but I plan on going back in and mapping with various shades of white to get it right..

I also took care of a couple of areas not covered by the GLS sets, namely the wheelhouse, and the underside of the command deck.......

I decided to add details to the wheelhouse. Photos of the HMCS Sackville were used as reference.

I scratchbuilt the wheel and telegraph and compass..

Here all sub assemblies are painted and ready for installation..

here is the result. Acetate was cut to size for the windows using "the chopper"

a gridwork of plastic strips was added to a sheet to act as the floor under the Bridge deck photo etch..,
and all ladders were built out of plastic strip, also using"the chopper"

Splendid work, You are really spicing up that ol´ lady.

Cheers/Jan

Great Wheelhouse interior. It isoften overlooked areas like that really bring the larger scale ships to life.

Si

Thanks guys!

Absolutely beautiful work!

Thank you Ken. December is basically here now, and my project timeline is calling for me to complete the command deck this month. I started a day early today cleaning up and removing the main photo etch parts from the frets...pics to follow as I get some progress..

Here is a shot of the cable reels on the bow. I could not figure out how to build the frame following the kits instructions, so i made my own using photographs and some fret scraps..Ill need to add a hand wheel and do some paint touch- ups..

I have the oerlikons painted up nicely now. I deviated slightly form instructions by adding the bandstand braces to the bandstand before adding to the bridge..


The hedgehog was built by another modeller, and here it is painted up( before touch ups on the bombs)

Beautiful work Jim, The wheelhouse is fantastic! One of The best Flower builds I have ever seen.
Cheeta,
Julian

Thank You Julian!

I am lurking and learning.....

I have all of the sub- assemblies made up and painted for the command bridge, minus the splinter padding..once its all complete Ill do a photo update..Dan, if youre watching, I hope you like it!

So many people have helped me with various things on this group of websites that I am just pleased to be able to help others in some way..if you guys are learning stuff then you just made my day..cheers and blessings guys..