Here is my Delta III. The decals turned out to be too old and they weren't coming off clear enough for my taste. The kit came together good enough though.

Let us know how all of you are coming along with your builds. Now is the time to bring us up to speed on any issues that you may be having whether or not they are directly related to modeling. I myself have been continuously delayed by extra work hours and family issues. Every one of you have been making good progress and we want to see all of you finish.

Cheers and happy modeling
Jeremy

Hello All,
I have seen some great builds either going on or finished.
My build has been delayed as I was waiting for the kit. It has arrived and I should get some photo's up in the next few days if the snow will stop ( about 3-4 feet this week ).
As Jeremy as said lets get a SITREP from everyone so SOUND OFF.
Cheers,
Bruce

Here is my sitrep. The Kilo is still on hold. But, I am hoping to get some work done on it this coming week. I also have a good idea on some figures to use. N-Scale is approximately 1/160, so that is slightly smaller than 1/144.

Hopefully I can get some figures and repaint them as Russian sailors.

Ok that sounds like 3 of us that could benefit from a little extra time, I am amenable to that.

Anyone else?

Yeah, what he said!!

Very good then, it looks like it just may be the three of us so how does an unofficial extension of 2-3 weeks sound? Will this be enough time gentlemen?

This extension will be granted to anyone else who has started this campaign but has not had the time/means to finish.

Happy New Years!

I've been waiting to start until my Slava Photo-etch set came in the mail. So, the extension helps a lot!

- steve

Hello All,
The campaign will now end 5/15/12
I hope that will be enough time.
Cheers,
Bruce

Sounds good to me. I had not abandoned the GB, but Christmas/ life meant that there were other things that needed to be done. Got some painting done, and have started to assemble the smaller bits into bigger bits (which will eventually become much larger bits, and then, hopefully, a ship)

Pics to follow in the next few days...

Grant

It's here! Now I can finally start this up.

Great! I'm so glad you guys will have a chance to finish now
School/family/work have really been taxing on me and I haven't been able to get as much done as I had hoped. I will be working on my sub kit along with you guys.

I am working on the Bronco Gepard, which really isn't one, and I was wondering if it would be a proper rendition of one of the normal Alpha class subs?

Dear Sirs,

a very late joiner but here I am
Hopefully with a little surprise as well.

I just got this little kit and could not resist the temptation to build it right away (also there will be a review coming shortly, so stay tuned).



It is MikroMir 1/350 Alfa SSN (or, according to Soviet designation, project 705k "Lyra"). It has come out in Ukraine a few weeks ago and arrived Saturday at my doorstep. The images are enough of a teaser, for more details you will have to wait for the review.

In the box:

Hull halves


The only real sprue


Dry fit of the hull


And here is this little sweet kit completed








Note that all you see is OOB. Yes, that does include the vortex cruciform attenuator !!

Now let's see if I can finish the paintjob, decaling and weathering before the end of the campaign (and not ruin the kit trying!).

Ah!
Jeremy,

in my excitment to post I forgot to answer your question!

As you may know I have reviewed your kit right here on MSW.
Bronco Akula is unfortunately a mixed-result effort to represent the Gepard.
If you want to turn it into a "generic" Akula, as you say, your best bet would be to turn it into the Vepr (K-157) which is, to my knowledge, the only Akula II boat. This is due to the fact that only these two boats have a longer hull, also most of the fittings of the Bronco kit - not to mention the shape of the sail - would look more correct for Vepr than for Gepard anyhow!
In order to do this, only a very minor change would be required: you would need to source or scratch a towed array pod to fit on top of the stern upper rudder. This would have been a very minor and easy thing to do for Bronco but somehow they stubbornly concentrated on the "Gepard"

Your best chance would be to try and see if you can find the old and now OOP Akula kit by Alanger (there is one up on e-bay now) and use the rudder+pod from that kit: be warned that this may take some effort.

Then, if you are really into rivet counting, you would also have to add a raised lip where the doors of the communication buoy housing meet (this is a hatch in the centerline, just aft of the sail).

I hope this helps.

Nicola: Nice job on the screws!
Thanks for the guidance, those mods don't seem too difficult especially when compared to trying to modify this kit to actually resemble the Gepard. I will look into the towed array and see what I can do. If need be, I can always finish the kit and add that part later.

Steve: Get to work on that Cruiser!

Jim & Grant: How are your builds coming along?

Greetings,

My apologies to all for being a missing member of this (and other!) group builds. This past December through mid-March were spent trying to help my folks deal with my father's 3rd year of Stage 4 cancer. He lost his battle on March 12. I haven't had the heart to post pics or entries for a while, but I think the time is about right to try to get my life moving again. I had just purchased the 1/350 Prinz Eugen from one of our very own, Michael Satin, to build for my Dad as a special Thank You gift. My father gave me my first model when I was very young; the Revell 1/720 Prinz Eugen. That warship has remained one of my all-time favorites ever since. Although I wasn't even close to finishing the P.E. for my Dad, I'll finish the build and display it in a case along with his picture. A heartfelt Thank You goes out to Michael Satin for his amazing kindness and generosity.

For this GB, I actually finished my Alfa entry before the "old" deadline, but have not posted any pics as yet. I'll try to get In Progress and Completed pics up in the next few days.

To all who read this, go hug your Loved Ones!!

Daniel

Thoughts and prayers out to you and your family. In all the sadness that a loss brings, you should find comfort that any time you will be going to the work bench your father will be there with you.

Daniel,

My sincere condolences on your loss.

While the last few months have presented their own challenges keeping me from my build, these have been nothing on the scale of losing a family member.

Grant

Hello All,

@Daniel,
I hope that you and your family will find the peace after your lost.

I am going to extend the build 1 more month to June 1, 2012. I am hoping this will help all of us (me included) to either finish or get work done on your build.

Cheers,
Bruce

Daniel: My sincerest thoughts and prayers go out to you and yours. Real life comes first period, especially in such circumstances. Take your time and do what you feel you're up to, we'll work with you.

Bruce: Thank you for extending the campaign an extra month, it seems that most of us will benefit from the time.

Alright with some luck I've been able to get some bench time and actually get my photos edited and loaded gentlemen. Here is my build thus far:



I had to add reinforcement ribs because the hull pieces are so soft and flexible






Now I have a question for those with more experience than me.
The upper hull piece doesn't quite align properly with the lower hull assembly, leaving a small lip around the circumference of the vessel. What is the best way to address this? Should I just run a layer of putty/filler around the hull line just above the protruding lip and then sand smooth and rescribe the details? Or is there a better option?

Hello All,
This campaign ends on June 1, 2012. That gives all of us 8 days to get done.
Cheers,
Bruce

Hi Bruce, I'm working on building up the Hull on my Akula with putty as we speak. It's proving to be a bit time consuming so I may only get to primer by that date.

Hello Jeremy,
On June 2nd, I will change the thread to a folder instead of a sticky. I will then leave it open for 1 week so everyone can get the photo's into the gallery and the Campaign Leader can award the ribbons.
I think that will be enough time for everyone to get the Photo's in the gallery.
Cheers,
Bruce

Great, thanks Bruce! I can't wait to lay down some paint on this hull