Cheers Jan,

Got a some more done on both yesterday, will post the pics either tomorrow or Wednesday, life has just got in the way a bit.

Admit it is a bit of a workload, but that can be fun and I am off work next week so plenty of hope.

All the best.

Si

Well a lot of family stuff has been keeping me busy so have not been able to do much until now
I have been following all the builds and this has to be one of the best campaigns for a long time lots of different stuff getting done here.
So this is my Z 25 complete







Keith

A beautiful display, Keith!

Nice work with water and waves.

Hi Keith,

Great to see the Z25 finished, very nice job.

Si

Hey Keith,

Spiffy Zerstörer, and the beautiful seascape and base set it off quite nicely!

Nice build, Keith. Beautiful Zerstörer and nicely framed on the base.

Thanks for participating

Thanks for the kind words there Gent,s now I just have to get the old backside into gear for the Battleship campaign

Keith

I liked the kingposts for the tiny Liberty, but compared with pictures of the real thing the kit assemblies (pictured) seemed a little too slender. I went back and separated the crosstrees from the posts and replaced the kit-supplied pins with thicker .033 inch brass wire. Closer to accurate scale thickness, they look much better.

Now for the cargo booms and rigging!

Very fine work Tim, looking good.

On with the Type XXI

The boat was sprayed Humbrol 64 out of a rattlecan, matches the light grey for the upper works, and will make a good primer for the dark grey lower hull.



The upper works masked off ready for spraying.



And done.



Masking removed.

Keith, excellent work on the destroyer. The etch railings are very nicely done and I like the seascape.

Simon, the sub is coming along nicely and quickly. The XXI's are much more sleaker looking than the older VII's.

My build is nearing the final stretch. I added pennant numbers from an RAF serials decal sheet. They looked pretty close to those in the pictures. After matting over those I gave it a little bit of weathering, mainly some rust staining around the anchor. Not too much, I had to keep in mind my plan of showing the vessel soon after completion. I then fitted the guns, hedgehog and superstructure permanently. And then finally glued it to the base. I made sure to use plenty of PVA around the lower hull to fill any gaps between the hull and base. When this is dry I'll add the wake and do the final painting. I like to leave off any fiddly bits till the end to reduce the risk of breakages.


I might actually this campaign in time!

Pushing on with the Jupiter,

The tripod foremast, the rear legs placed in their location holes and joined at the top. At this point I found out the forward funnel stays go outside the tripod legs.



The white metal mast added. Should I have had more time I would have replaced it with a brass structure.



Once the mast structure was solid it was removed and all the etched parts were fitted.



Railings fitted around the X gun deck.



B gun deck railings also in place, and all painted to match the camouflage.



And the mast in place. railings, rigging and anchors to go, and a base.

Si

You're such a show off, Si. How many kits have you done for this campaign, now?

I nice clean work on your XXI. How do you plan to weather her (if you plan to). I really want the 1/144 Revell kit but NOT the cut-away version, which is what seems to be the only on out there at the moment.

I've got some pics for my Blyscawika to post but I don't think I'll get her done in time.

Michael I know what you mean about Simon ( Speedy Gonzales or what ) but he always make it look sooo easy.
Tim the small detail you work to is always amazing tiny.
Stephen not that far to go come on you know you can do it if I can.

Keith

Indeed. I expect nothing less than 5 ships for the cruiser campaign and at least 10 boats for the submarine campaign from him!

Hi Michael,

It will be three builds for this campaign, one from time period, one air, one surface and one undersea.

I will weather the Type XXI, but quite lightly, as they only just made it no the water before the end of the war. I have some lifecolour weathering sets, so next job will gloss, decals and weather.

Cheers Keith,

Not so much speedy, as efficient use of time at the bench! enough models (usually four of five on the go at any one time) so that I am not idle waiting for glue or paint to dry.

Might do more than one fro the submarine campaign, but the Dragon Scharnhorst, If I can build that in a year that is not bad going.

Thanks guys.

Si

Si, you are a modeling machine!



As for my Liberty, with the kingposts duly beefed up with the thicker .033 inch brass wire, I added cargo booms and kingpost top masts using 32 gauge steel wire. Even though the booms would all have probably have been secured in the “up” postition against the kingposts for sea, for variety I showed some up, some lowered part way, and others lowered to all the way to horizontal.

Support stays for the kingposts and the topping lift cables to the booms were made from some copper wire I literally found in the street near my home.

I have no idea what this thing was originally, but I’ve been using it for rigging since I found it while on a walk with my then-toddler (who is in college now)!

The rigging wire is so delicate I found it easiest to attach it to the booms and kingposts using a paintbrush dampened with dilute Elmer’s glue, a PVA type white glue common here in the U.S. Although not as strong as super glue (cyanoacrylate), I find PVA (polyvinyl acetate) a lot easier to use and quite strong enough for delicate assemblies such as these. It is a fiddly, sometimes tedious process, but the non-toxic PVA is very forgiving and can be loosened with water for precise adjustment. I also like that it dries clear and without any shine.

The kit also required barrels for the one 5 inch, one 4 inch, and eight 20mm guns. These were added from various sizes of wire (although the instructions recommended toothbrush bristle for the 20mms!)

As soon as I finish the rigging, it will be time to put her to sea.

Almost there!

Cheers Tim,

The liberty is a miniature masterclass.

Si

Si, great progress on your Jupiter, really almost there now!! Your white metal mast looks pretty fair to me!

Tim, your micro-modeling skills are absolutely amazing!! Half-off topic (different campaign) - are you using the two extra months on the battleship campaign to super-detail your Yamato to the new tooled 1/350 Tamiya standard now?? Great work!

Cheers,

Jan

LOL! Thanks Si and Jan! I haven't decided about the Yamato... the Liberty is a MUCH better model, so much more satisfying to work on. I'm a little disenchanted with the primitive Yamato kit, I might just finish her up quickly and move on.


Anyway, most of my effort at present will be devoted to completing an ocean base for the Liberty before the end of the campaign next week!

Small progress on the Jupiter,

The etch anchors are way too skinny, and a bit underscale.

I found a couple of spare anchors from the old ISW Hesperus kit, not brilliant, but with a bit of a rework they will do.

Below, from bottom to top, the kit anchor, the ISW anchor, and the modified anchor.



Anchor fitted.



The screws painted.



Staffs, railings and rigging, oh and a base would be handy!

Si

The type XXI, or as she is now U2513, glossed and decaled.



Weathering is not quite as subtle as I planned, but ok, matted down, and the periscopes etc. added (I know they would not all be up at once on the real thing), but in this case, why not.



A bit of an oily wash and the heads painted on the periscopes and snorkel, the stand finished. Job done, two down, one to go.






I cannot remember where I read it, but somewhere, the screws were steel, not bronze, not sure if it is correct, but I have gone that way.



two down one to go!.

Si

Wow, Si, I'm breathless watching your one man fleet fly into commission as I amble along with my one little project!

I am desperately trying to keep up with things in the past week....

Keith...out-freaking-standing!! A fine looking Z-25 and an excellent looking base it sits one!!

Stephen, that base is looking really great!! You guys are killing me!! I need to work on a watery theme now!!

Si...not sure what to say bortha....the XXI is just looking fantastic as does the Jupiter!! Well done all around!.

Tim...you are just making my eyes hurt now..LOL! Some amazingly delicate work there my friend!

Great stuff fellas....hands down!

Si,

great Type XXI sub! Wrong number though... just kidding. But seriously, a late relative of mine, died in 2005, served is final tour in WWII on U 2512, KptLt Nordheimer: http://uboat.net/boats/u2512.htm

He was 'Maschinen Maat', in US it would be MM2, 2nd Class Petty Officer for Main Propulsion. He served on two IX C boats before as an able seaman and transferred to 2512 after completing petty officer school. I remember him talking about his last CO, Nordheimer - must have been a strange guy, he did not feel comfortable with him.

Great work on the sub - and extremely swift...

Cheers,
Jan

Just as I was about to put the final touches on the rigging, my super-cheapo Dollar Store eyeglasses slipped off and fell – you guessed it – right on top of the model!


Mercifully, damage was limited to the rigging and kingpost tops – but I still hate redoing work!