Hello Julian, Thanks, I'm quite happy with the way things are going so far. Your 'Wasp' looks great, and is coming along very nicely. Al

While I was waiting for my nuts & bolts to arrive, I did some work on the depth Charges.



They had some small sink marks and a seam that needed a touch of putty. I cobbled together the missing release mechanism on the back of each rack.



One of the charges set temporarily in its place.



All they need is some paint and the release cables.
Al

Hi Al,
Looking good.
May i get your attention to the small "ears" on the back of the dc frames.
You could drill a small hole in them.

I'll keep following you.

TDK(Tom)

Hello again. There is a photo of MTB 84 with the 20mm Breda mounted on the foredeck. Just in front of the gun is what appears to be a depression rail. So, I decided to add one to my boat.



With the gun temporarily in place.



TTFN Al

[Quoted text] "May i get your attention to the small "ears" on the back of the dc frames.
You could drill a small hole in them."

Thanks Tom, I thought those should be 'pierced ears' (couldn't resist) But I couldn't find a clear photo showing them that way. Al

Hi Al,

Cool work. The release mechanism looks quite thick, were they raelly that big/bulky?

Cheers

Alan

Nope. They were a pelican hook. I'll see if I can find a good photo tonight when I get home. It's 0721 right now and I'm at work.

Al

Hello Alan, It was a choice between 'scale' and easier to work with. I was planning to thin the handles down a bit. They may not be 100% accurate, but look better than nothing at all. I did think about getting two pairs of the racks made by U-model, just to steal the release mechanism. But, I discarded that because I just couldn't justify the expense. Al

Al,

You're using the gun from Italeri's MAS kit on your Vosper? Cool.

I just wish I had the money and room for both of those kits. Frakk!

Garth

Hello Garth, Actually Italeri sells the gun separately, I couldn't afford to buy a MAS kit just to get the gun. It's in a kit with two Italian soldiers and a mule (four-legged). It can be built in either the transportation mode, pulled by the mule, or in a firing position. I did need to modify the mount to match one in a photo posted by a fellow modeler. Al

Well, it's making for an interesting looking model.

Garth

Me nuts (& bolts) have arrived today. Thank you Hannants. They look very nice.



A few had broken off of the casting block, but were inside the package.



They come on four large blocks, with 90 pieces to a block. There are 7 different types, with varying amounts of each.



I didn't see any 'flash' on any, and the casting looks terrific. I hate wasting money on a poor product, but I don't have any regrets or cause for complaint here. Cheers,Al

Al

Thanks for posting the drawing Al. It's the same set up as the American racks. Al

Ditto Al R,

many thanks

Alan

Well, I spent a couple of hours adding the mounting bolts to the two torpedo tubes. I spread it out over several sessions (to give my back a break). It was tedious, but the job went faster, and was easier, than I expected.





In each pack of Nuts & Bolts, Calibre35 supplies 80 pieces of the type I used. I bought two packs thinking it would be enough. But I miscalculated, I really would have needed 84 to do each tube. So I should have ordered three sets, hindsight is always 20/20. Luckily, the saddle mounts for the twin Vickers took up the space of 8 bolts on each tube. Which means I ended up using only 76 per tube. I lost a couple and ended up with 3 pieces left over. I cheated and used a slightly different type of bolt on the Vickers mounts. The bolts certainly do add a lot to the appearance of the tubes, and I feel it was worth the effort.
AL

The Depth Charge release mechanism as it looked originally.



After further sanding and thinning.





The photos aren't the best, the racks look better in person. Al

Hi Al,

Nice work, I better order some more .

Excellent stuff.

Alan

Thanks Alan, When I am on a model building site like this one, the thing I most enjoy (besides looking at some really great models) is the sharing, of being able to learn about potential problems, avoid possible mistakes, or profit from the knowledge, or area of expertise, of another modeler. Al

Hi Al,

Just a thought, Should the depth charges rotate round so that the O ring sits on the bottom?

Same detail re your last.

Cheers

Alan

Excellent work Al,
Good observation about the ring Alan,i need to check mine.
I didn't glue them so it can be changed.
But i would put them on 9 or 3 o'clock because one side has 2 of them and then 1 of them will still be "wrong".
Or you can go the long way and cut 1 of and let it hang over the middle.
TDK

[Quoted text] Just a thought, Should the depth charges rotate round so that the O ring sits on the bottom?

Drat, Drat, and Double Drat! Having already glued the DC's to their racks, I can't rotate them, and I think it would be more trouble than it's worth to shave them off and replace them. So, I'll just have to live with them as they are, and hope that not everyone is as eagle-eyed as you. Al

Hi Al,

Murphy's Law, sorry I didn't spot it first time around. Looking good none the less.

Alan

I finally got a chance to put some paint on the Torpedo Tubes.







Inch by inch, step by step, slooooooowly I (Sorry, I was channeling Abbot & Costello for a minute there) make progress. Al

I made a lot of progress these last couple of days. It's really starting to come together. I was able to finish the Torpedo Tubes and mount them to the deck. After that I added the clear parts under the Deck and inside the Hull and finally joined them together. The Tubes had a slight warp and I was looking for a way to attach them solidly to the deck. So, I added beefed up locating pins that replaced the existing ones.



Then after inserting the pins through the deck I super-glued some short lengths of tubing over them.




It worked better than I hoped, giving me a strong, straight, and clean, joint.



Here are a couple of shots showing my progress so far.








There are 24 clear parts for the portholes and decklights. I was about to put in #23 when I thought to myself "This is going great!", I regretted it as soon as it crossed my mind. I glued in #23 without too much trouble and proceeded to # 24. I glued the last one in place and thought, "Not too bad". That's when I noticed that #23 had disappeared from it's previous location. After a fruitless search, and some mumbling to myself, I was able to cut a replacement from the sheet that the clear parts were attached to. Darn those #$&%#! Gremlins! Al