Hi Jan,
Thanks for the advice. The dot wash was in the planning, I'll try the different shades on th hull.
Cheers,
Julian

Hello Julian, Now she truly is starting to look like a battleship. She looks great. I hope this scale catches on and we see some more ships released in it. It would be a good size for destroyers, cruisers, and baby flat-tops. I find 1/350 a daunting scale to work in, particularly the photo-etch bits. As for the guys who do such amazing work in 1/700, I think they must have their own personal electron microscope, or sold their souls to the devil. Al

Hi Al, I have trouble doing this without my optivisor. 1/700 is no longer in my reach.
1/200 also has a problem though: you will need a bigger house
How is progress on the MAS? Still hoping you will post some pictures
Here is a small update on the Arizona:
I have fitted the storage frames and catwalks on B and C turret mounts (for want of a better name or description ). Not a particularly difficult job but finicky and I didn't want to mess these parts up:


I have also started masking the decks so that the details can be sprayed:

This is a time consuming part of the build that has to be done right.
Cheers for now,
Julian

Julian, I am making headway with the MAS. I have the deck with its ID stripes painted. The stripes were easier than I feared they would be.The hull with its camo pattern is also painted. I sure did use up an awful lot of masking tape doing it. I added a partial interior up forward. I didn't go as far as Alan did, just some eye candy to be seen through a few open hatches. I am planning on posting pictures soon, I just need to get some technical assistance from an overworked computer savant, my son. Al

I used more Tamiya tape on the MAS than I have masking the deck of the Arizona.
It consumed tape in prodigious amounts.
cheers,
Julian

hello julian

you arizona is very bieautifull.very great job your paint is nice and the working is made properly.i like how you made yours savety boats.they are super!i am very happy because i dont no how to paint them.now i know
cheers
stef

Thank you Stephane, the boat's colour scheme was an "educated guess" based on what an old US Navy guy I sailed with on US Suppliers once said: "If it don't move paint it".
Cheers,
Julian

July 17th upgrade, and it is quite a hefty one. I finished masking the Arizona using a combo of tape and professional masking fluid which looks disgusting and smells worse. I have added some WEM PE parts before grounding the build including the name on the stern. After finishing that I sprayed a layer of Vallejo grey ground in preparation for the black waterline stripe. I used Lifecolour Railway weathered black and I have sprayed the whole hull with it for some pre shading.
Now in the process of letting everything dry thoroughly before I try out my new airbrush, ( a shameless Chinese copy of a well known Japanese top end airbrush. Testing has been a joy Total price about 45 Euros ).
Okido, photos:







Yes, this is weathered black looking very blue due to the flash



grills to cover the hawse pipes when the anchors are home and tight.



That looks suspiciously like a fuel line along the port side. Wonder where that came from

All for now,
Julian

Update July 18th:
My new toy:

A Fengda made clone of something else made in Japan and marketed under the name MAR and sold in Poland by www.jadarhobby.pl . Retails for 44 Euros. I have polished the needles and nozzles with Brasso and lubed everything up and it works like a treat
I used it to spray the hull of the Arizona:



Lots of touching up and repainting to do after stripping off the masking.
Julian

Small update:

I like the dark hull very much, it looks like its very much alive.

This is gonna be a great build!

Cheers/jan

Thanks Jan, the underwater hull will take some weathering too. When combined the parts should look ok,
Cheers,
Julian

Absolutely fantastic work Julien. Getting better and better each time I see it.....Cheers Mark

Thank you Mark !
cheers,
Julian

Darn Jules I am going through the build yeah looks real good then I think I am lost.I see all the SS gone, turrets and a blank ship all taped up"what the heck".Maybe thats why only dabble in ships.Everything looking real good Jules and the darker gray I concurr looks better ATM.Cheers Kevin

Oh by the way when you get another 1/200 ship were will you be living out of Jules?:)

Hi Kevin ! This is my fuzzy logic style of building, (think there was an instruction booklet somewhere around ). It is big isn't it? When it's finished I will be able to see my work desk again
Julian

July 22nd update:
Secondary battery fitted along with deck house and canvas screens:



Julian

Hello Julian, Instruction book? We don't need no stinking instruction book! Seriously, I think we all skip around a bit during a build sometimes. I might not have time for paint, so I might skip ahead to a sub-assembly, or cleaning up a few parts instead. Sometimes, I just don't agree with the recommended sequence of assembly. Like putting a bunch of small, delicate parts on the deck before attaching the deck to the hull. You really are making great progress, no matter just how you're doing it. Al

Hi Julian,

it looks really nice so far, and your painting does keep what could end up in a very boring chunk of plastic interesting.

And I hope I am not being a pedantick p*** - and you might have spotted it yourself already - but it looks in the 2nd pick that you have missed a gap in the front-corner of the deckhouse - bottom half of the seam, right in between the two front secondary guns (and underneath the front AA gun.

Looking forward to your next update.

Cheers,

Harm

OH MY GOD ! You spotted it. ARGHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhh..........
That is the bane of zoom photography Harm, I noticed it on the photo too.
Was hoping no one else would
You got me though. I'll have to fix that
Julian

Thanks Al, To avoid any misunderstandings here: I do study the instruction sheet before starting a build. Once I get going though anything can happen
Cheers,
Julian

Looking good Julian

Thank you very much Jon,
cheers,
Julian

I never doubted it Julian, you have to study any instructions thoroughly for a build as complex as the Arizona. It is the first thing I do (after looking over the parts) before starting a build. I just meant I don't always follow their recommended building sequence. With the MAS, for example, the first thing I did was glue the transom and exhaust outlets to the hull, and that was Step#19. But, I didn't add the props, shafts, or rudder at that time, to facilitate painting the hull later. Then I went back to Step#18 to finish the hull. I still haven't added the little Photo-etch vane to the bottom of the hull at this time, because I know it would get knocked off (if not lost) several times during the rest of the build. Al

I wonder how much effect that little shark fin had stuck to the bottom of the hull?
cheers,
Julian