I too hope any problems are confined to the hull, mate. Many positive reviews of this kit out there, so my fingers are crossed for you.

Thanks Russ - well yes, I definitely hope so But then - I haven't seen many negative critiques about the Prinz kit either...

But eventually some progress on Hood - so here's a quick update.

After more sanding an filling I was convinced that time has come for a first coat of sprayed on surfacer.









Close inspection this morning - and I have to say, I am quite happy. Turned out even better than I expected:















Some smaller areas still need some work, but actually, the main purpose of this layer of surfacer was to bring out the areas of concern. So I am quite surprised that there are really not that many!









So that will be dealt with, and then all the other details like degaussing, props and shaft... before another layer of surfacer hopefully will bind everything together.
So that should take some time, while I will be working on other parts of the ship.
More soon - tomorrow or Monday, I hope...

For now,

Cheers,
Jan

Great to see the hull at this stage Jan, and even better that there aren't too many areas that require further work.

Cheers, D.

Making good progress on the hull. Filling and sanding...love that repetitive work

cheers
Michael

Fantastic job smoothing out the hull Jan! You should be happy! Looking forward to this one moving forward!!

Hi all

and thank you very much for following, and in particular for your kind words!!
Well, sometimes repetitive work can have an effect like meditation, but tell you the truth - I am quite happy that the better part of they filling and sanding is over with - I hope...

So here's the rest of this weekend's work.

I decided that the molded on winches are really poor, and since NorthStar Models had some replacement that looked pretty cool ( and that was not sold out yet... ) this will be the replacement:





Next the main deck was installed. Actually a real good and tight fit, nice work by Trumpi here!!





and more destructive work done - the Lion Roar kit has replacements for almost all hatches, doors... So all that needs to go.







All the PE replacements I will add before the wooden deck, and paint them accordingly. The winches will be painted separately and added after the wooden deck.

Next propulsion. The shafts were left in place originally to align everything -





- and then removed to be painted separately, I like them in metal/steel color.
Shafts cut off, the blue lines are just hidden inside the supports later on.







I will probably cut them once more, so that one part will reach from the hull to the supports and end just inside the supports. The second part I will attach to the brass props, so I can firmly install them. But that's for later.

An nice riveted structure is offered for the rudder, which requires some work be done to the rudder before it can be installed.



Shafts painted steel, as well as the nameplate, with hairy stick.



And finally - some real constructive work - installing the degaussing cable.







I know there's a 'dip' a little behind the bow, however, the Eduard (in this case it's the Eduard set, the Lion Roar was only a single cable?!?!) parts didn't allow me to bend them properly, so I decided better to skip this dip than destroying something.

Ah yes - it's not two cables all the way. Somewhere midships it is reduced from two to one bigger cable. No idea why, but I found one picture that proofs it. So Eduard is doing even this...



Some more impressions of the degaussing as installed:













The bow tip needs some glue removed with a knife tip, but that's for later on, once everything has settled properly.

So that's this weekend's update, more - hopefully - in about a week from now!

Thanks all for stopping by and looking!

For now,

Cheers,
Jan

Wow...that's a good update! Love those winches! Very nice detail, should do the rick nicely! Nice to see the shaft mounts make the scene too! Looking forward to the next installment!

Epic progress Jan,

Great job on the hull, really looking the part.

Those North Star winches look very good indeed.

Keep up the good work.

Cheers

Si

Thank you very much, Todd and Si!

Well, I'd say, that was a pretty important step. Eventually I have a feeling that I am making progress, get a handle on the new project. Due to all the sanding it was a pretty slow start, and somehow it felt as if I hadn't really started yet
But now a new ship is resting and waiting in the yard, and that makes a difference just looking at it! So motivation is up again!!

The winches look pretty cool, don't they? I can't wait to get the other stuff that I ordered from NorthStar - and even more the stuff I couldn't oder yet

Thanks and cheers,
Jan

What Si and Todd said: Great progress mate

Thanks Russ, much appreciated!!

- should have some bench time this weekend

Cheers,
Jan

All right, here comes what I could accomplish this weekend...

After last week I was expecting to get something more accomplished, but it was more like a rollercoaster - or, two steps forward, one sideways and one back. At least one back...

Start was quite smooth, PE added to the rudder



fixed the 'nose', the small bulge that I happened to sand down entirely on starboard side



and now the plan was to get all the nice, tiny brass parts - hatches etc - in place on the decks.
The Lion Roar hatches look definitely great, they are double sided and can be displayed open ore closed.



But they are just a notch bigger than the molded on plastic. Which is ok and will certainly look good, but - means I have to install them AFTER the wooden deck is in place. So put them in my 'small parts hibernating box'.

Now, before I can glue down the wooden deck, the hull has to be painted. Before that, some more small parts are needed - waiting for a set of portholes from North Star to replace all the little 'eyebrows' I sanded away. So one leads to another...

So I started with some parts of the superstructure. And this one is really complicated on HMS Hood. (though very nice...).

Ok, standard first - sanding away some details.



Replacing with PE, this time Eduard. Lion Roar had no doors for the internal parts. Will you really see them? Well...but it's good to try stuff, the doors and ladders from this kit look different than the ones I remembered from Eduard.

Doors open and closed here possible as well. Nice stuff.



Some first parts installed.







Even though there's nothing you can show - I spent quite some time going over the various instructions to make a strategy. This one's really complex, and of course I did the first foolish things already.

Well, the vertical ladders had no real chance - there needs a wooden deck to go between those parts of the superstructure. So took them off and put them in the hibernating box as well.
And the after part of the superstructure, all the way forward along the place where the 5.5"ers had been and a litte further on, is flush with the hull. Now, most of that will be brass parts. That means more surfacer and more sanding.

And that means - well, the degaussing cable was installed a little to early on

Gone hibernating, as well.





I think I managed to cut it in a way that I can re-use it. We will see; I am not really concerned here, since I'm still having the Lion Roar degaussing, which I did not use because it showed only one bigger cable. But that's correct for all the part of the ship where I had to remove the cable.

Ok, brass parts. The Lion Roar stuff comes in two strengths, one very soft and one really thick. The superstructure parts are from the thick and solid stuff, which is good. However, they are not nearly as thick as the plastic. So, to avoid some silly gap in the wooden deck, I glued down a thin stripe of wood.



The first wall comes on top of that, and whatever wood will be in the way when I put the deck in place will be cut away.



So that's actually looking not too bad, the fit of the Lion Roar parts so far seems excellent!





Due to the lacking material strength there are two holes on the inside, but those won't be visible.





Next is the first extension part that needs to go flush with the hull. To make good for the missing material thickness, I glued a plastic stripe in place.



The brass part added - not too bad.





Test-fitting the deck is very encouraging!!







Then there is this gap - of course. My plan was to close it with another stripe of plastic. Luckily I checked all instructions once more, the parts that will link later on etc - no filling. The part needs to be bent.



Ok, crack the glue - due to the strong material no bigger problem - and try to bend it properly. That needs a little trial and error, but worked in the end.







Taking shape - actually looking into what was the Captain's cabin (below) and the Admiral's cabin (one deck above).



The next problem is that the parts that are molded on the deck are higher than the very nice open doors of the Lion Roar wall. That looks quite stupid...



So I tried the material strength on a hidden place, in order not to create a hole, which would look even more stupid - material is thick.



So drilled some stuff to create a kind of a slope. Not perfect, but better...





With that came the realization that because of the very nice, big open windows etc., the Captain's and Admiral's cabins will be pretty good visible. The Captain's one not so much, but here I need to install something to prevent light shining through. Once darkened, one can hardly look in through the portholes.







Different story for the Admiral's cabin with the big, square windows. There's even a wooden deck for it in the Pontos deck set. So I start thinking what to do about that. The AOTS has one or two pictures of the Admirals cabin, so I am considering to give it some kind of buff paint inside, and have a look what I could use to install a little furniture, like a bed, a big table etc... Well, that's for later.

First - more surfacer. Not too bad, but no way without.





So that's it for today. I'll be away from my workbench for the next two weeks, so the next update will likely be in July. Time is flying - so much still to do, and just a little over ten months - well, considering my two-week-break anyway.

As always, thanks for looking and I hope you'll be watching when I have something more to report in a few weeks.

For now,

Cheers,
Jan

Nice work indeed Jan,

Like the idea of interior in the Admirals cabin, nose windows do look like they will let in enough light to make the work worth it.

Cheers

Si

Massive update Jan. It would have taken me the weekend just to put that together
I like the use of all the different aftermarket providers you have going on with this build. Plenty of ideas for the future.

cheers

Michael

Si,

thank you very much!! I found two pictures of the Admiral's cabin, that is one each of the day cabin and the dining cabin, from the world cruise 1923-24. Well, it's something. And - no bed!! Big faux pax - there's a separate Admiral's sleeping cabin, of course. Well, that'll be a little bit of a fun part...but I will come up withe something, don't know exactly what yet...

Thank you Michael!

Well, typing those updates isn't all that bad, once you get used to it
Jep, the different aftermarket parts add up - but somehow that's fun, looking around, searching, collecting... certainly there will be more over the next year

Thank you for your kind comments!!

Cheers,
Jan

Wow Jan! What a massive update!

I sure did miss a huge weekend here on MSW!

The "mighty 'ood" is looking great!

A true labor of love! Fine work on the superstructure!

Russ and Todd,

thank you so much, that's very kind!!

It's certainly a labour of love! And I am really looking forward to this build! - however, the update might be massive, and there's gone some hours of work into it, but it is still more like a 'one step forward, one step sideways, and sometimes one step back again' - this is certainly the by far most complex build I have started... (Already time to ask for an extension of the campaign?!? )

Cheers and thanks,
Jan

All part of the modelling game! If it was easy, everyone would do it! LOL!! I'm sure you won't need and extension...but there is always a way to be manipulative if need be!!

That is some very impressive work you have done so far......Cheers Mark

Thank you very much, Todd and Mark!

Well, slacking already ...well, not really, just away from the workbench for this weekend. I managed to pick up some goodies from NorthStar models anyway, so I should have everything by now to finish the hull. But that will have to wait for another week or so, will be away next weekend, as well.

Thanks all for your patience - no worries, work will continue, of course, just taking a (forced) break

Cheers,
Jan

Wow, I had to scroll quite a bit down to find my own build log! Quite busy times on MSW, that's nice!!

And I have been, well, rather lazy than busy, didn't get as much out of the weekend as I had hoped for. But such is life.

First I build a little structure for the Captain's cabin area. You can't really look in through the portholes, but since the Captains day cabin was going through the whole structure aft, you would see some light in the after two portholes, but not in them forward of that.

Basic structure, and just for effect placed on the bout deck to check dimensions.





Then I sprayed the inner parts of Captain's and Admirals Cabins with a color that I mixed for decks before I started using wooden decks. This should give a kind of buff tone to the interior.





Test fitting of the starboard brass bulkhead revealed new problems - the deck - or the doors in the brass - are at the wrong position. Why does this work on port side, at least almost and the misfit is to a degree that I hope I can conceal it once the inclined ladders are added...hm.







No easy fix here, just cutting a little bit away won't solve the issue. Since the plastic deck will be covered with a wooden Pontos deck, I came up with this:

Creating a slope. Not perfectly realistic, but should certainly look better than the original...









With the wood on top, this should be concealed. What would I have done without a wooden deck?!?

Better...





Next brass parts added - a little plastic card is needed to fill some smaller holes, so it's becoming an interesting construction, but that should all be hidden from view.

What is not hidden, however, are the portholes on the starboard forward brass part. The long row of small portholes. They are correct for the port side - actually, that's where the WC's and urinals are...on starboard, there is the XO stateroom, the Gunnery officer stateroom (portholes) and, forward of that, the Gunner's ready-use store and yes, the Billards Room (no portholes at all). So I will have to come up with a smart way to close them. We'll see...







Test fitting the boat deck - that should work. A litte filler here and there, but doesn't look too bad







While I had the airbrush out I sprayed a little over the first brass parts just to see where more filling and sanding would be needed. Yes, some, but I have to say I am rather happy!





Last thing for today - placed the wooden floor in the Admiral's cabin, so that I can start outfitting it a little...



That's it for now, and I'll have to announce another break for a week, I will be away from the workbench for just another weekend.

Thanks for watching, thanks for your patience!!

Cheers,
Jan

Nice recovery with the bulkhead. It is amazing with CAD design they still manage to get these out of alignment as much as they do. But good progress with the brass which looks very sharp itself.

cheers

Michael

Very nice progress mate, and good save with the deck alignment

Thank you very much, Russ and Michael, for your kind comments!!
Well yes, it was a little bit frustrating, but looking at it now, I am pretty pleased with the result. I only hope that my plan, to cover everything with the wooden deck will work...

Cheers,
Jan