Hi Julian

Looking good, nice work on the etch on the galleries.

Flight deck fit is a lot better that the Airfix Illustrious.

Si

Hi Simon,
Thanks!
the overall fit is excellent on this model, so that makes life easier. The MK 1 photo etch is great to work with too.
Cheers,
Julian

February 18th update: Deck edge supports nearly finished. First coat of grey on the flight deck. Progress..........................................:










About time the grey and gloomy weather was replaced by Spring:



Cheers,
Julian

Nice progress, Julian. Spring weather is quite a temperature shock, at least in Switzerland.

Hi Daniel, I remember visiting Lauterbrunnen years ago in May. I hired a camper and went through Switzerland and France. There was still a lot of snow and the difference between the temperature during the day and the night was amazing. I was very glad the camper had a very good heater
The Wasp is progressing nicely now. Starting to look like something
cheers,
Julian

Fantastic jiob so far Julien. I love it.....Cheers Mark

Thank you Mark !

Wow! That vignette of the hamster/mouse in the flower is amazing!! Must have taken many hours to do! What scale is it mate??
Now, seriously, it is looking good Mr Sallows. Keep at it mate.

Fitting the PE whiskers was a major pain
Julian

Very good advances Julian. The evil time help him concentrate full in LHD 1. Now in Uruguay a lot of heat 36 Degrees
MK1 PE are excellent!!
Best regards

Thanks Daniel, and even more progress today
February 19th update:
After spraying the flightdeck I had a brush in with the decals supplied with model. After about an hour of combat I gave in to the decals and threw them in the trashcan. I masked the centerline and hand painted it, ( quite happy with the result too I must say , after all, if you don't tickle yourself no one will ).
Okay, piccies:






Enough for today, time for a very good Pinot Noir.
Cheers,
Julian

Hmmm.. That is not good news on the decal front my friend...
Lets hope you don't have to use the raised bits on the deck to paint the other markings.
I saw a photo of the paint on the deck the other day and it looked very thick and ragged. Looks like the don't bother masking things up just slap a quick, thick coat on whenever it is needed.
Keep at it Julian, the LHD-1 not the wine..

Really nice work, Julian. Looks like you've had a calm weekend, so lots of time to do some work on your LHD.

Its a bit of a dilema Warren, the decals tear if you look at them. Having said that, if you get them in position they lay down like a paint job with a bit of micro sol and set.
I have considered putting a layer of liquid decal film on but that might effect the thickness. So,........................................ I might indeed end up painting all the markings on the flight deck.
Think I'll have another Pinot while I mull this over

Hi Daniel, not as quiet as I had hoped but found a couple of hours this afternoon.
The decals are a bit of a disappointment, Cartograph or not at the moment they suck big time.
Julian

Hi Julian

Coming on great, love the subtle weathering, and the painted flight deck markings.

keep up the good work.

Si

Thank you Simon, still much too clean for a flight deck. Need to get all the markings on before any further weathering. The brownish stains are Vallejo acryllic "Smoke", even better than Tamiya smoke IMHO due to the brownish tinge.
The hand painted centerline was a dire necessity due to the rather crap decals, (love hate relationship already).The entire package is turning out quite nicely though,
cheers,
Julian

Hey Julian, Great build so far, shes looking beautiful!! I would like to know what colors you used for the hull and anti-fowling paint? They look like a dead on match to me. Thanks in advance and keep the pics coming!!

Hi Dave, glad you like the build so far. The colours:
Hull sides: Vallejo Model Color Light Grey 70990
Decks: Vallejo Model Color Dark Seagreen 70868
Underwatership: Lifecolor UA 606 Rot 5 Schiffsbodenfarbe

Cheers,
Julian

February 23rd update:
The yellow stripe on flight deck has been applied , set and sealed with matt varnish. Applying the stripe was sheer murder, instead of two decals I cut it into small sections, all of which shattered on contact with water. The two decals became about 50 seperate pieces which had to be coaxed into position.
If you look along the stripe from stern to bow it's a bit wobbly but considering the problems I am very happy with how it turned out. Total effect looks okay up til now:







Cheers,
Julian

Julian, looking good! I am going to practice your hull weathering techniques on an old ship before I try it for real on my CVN. If it turns out half as good as yours, I will be happy! Keep up the great work!

Thanks Thomas,
If you need any clarification on the weathering drop a PM.
Cheers,
Julian

More decals:
I have been applying the "parking spaces" on the flight deck. One decal dissintegrated completely so one of the spots you see was brush painted.
I couldn't resist putting a little weathering on to see the effect. I'm happy :






cheers,
Julian

Hi Julian - are the decals you have problems with the kit decals or aftermarket?

EJ

No, it's the kit decals. The after market decals are excellent.
I am very disappointed, with a carrier the markings on deck are very important for the overall look of the model. For the less experienced modeller these decals are going to be hell.
Julian