|
Post by loyalist on Nov 28, 2016 0:59:41 GMT
I finished the 6 'starfish' arms supporting the spotting top platform and 1 of the 2 rear tripod legs this evening. The end of the superstructure modifications is in sight; next the turrets will get some attention - all will have roof hatches added and the 7" turret will get a 1 pdr coil gun barrel.
|
|
|
Post by loyalist on Nov 29, 2016 16:23:04 GMT
Defects in the spotting top and turret castings were filled will gelcoat last night and will be sanded smooth this evening. Other than a few details to be added to the roof the spotting top structure was completed last night with the rear pair of tripod legs being installed. They were made from sections of 1/4" OD styrene rod and required more than an hour of careful filing to get the angles where they contact the superstructure correct and the contacting surfaces of the tubes completely flat on the deck. Installing tripod legs is quite 'fiddly' and the part of building British ship models I dislike most - I'm glad that's done!
|
|
|
Post by loyalist on Nov 29, 2016 23:31:46 GMT
|
|
|
Post by Quendil on Nov 30, 2016 12:02:36 GMT
That is looking so good
|
|
|
Post by boxholder on Nov 30, 2016 13:57:31 GMT
Nice job, loyalist. That is one serious-looking land ironclad
|
|
|
Post by David N.Tanner 07011959 on Nov 30, 2016 15:26:48 GMT
WOW! Magnificent!
|
|
|
Post by tenchuu on Nov 30, 2016 15:47:32 GMT
Can we get a mold of that?
|
|
|
Post by terrance on Nov 30, 2016 16:35:02 GMT
Really looks great. It is motivating me to get mine out and start working on it.
|
|
|
Post by loyalist on Nov 30, 2016 20:31:14 GMT
The spotting top is primed and ready to paint; some details for the roof have been ordered from the UK and will be installed after being painted.
I'm working on the turrets today. The 5" turrets didn't sit securely on their mounts; I'd thought of using magnets but came up with a simpler and cheaper method of installing them. I marked the center of the turrets on the top, then drilled a 3/32" hole through them on the drill press. The turrets had to sit on a piece of 3mm thick styrene with a hole cut out for the round plug that goes inside the turret ring. This allowed the turret to sit relatively level on the drill press, after some filing of the somewhat uneven bottom edges. The turrets were placed on the sponsons, held down firmly and a 3/32" hole was drilled through the them into the sponsons.
Each turret had a short length of 3/32" brass rod glued into the bottom. When inserted into the hole in the sponson this provides a secure mounting system. I had to do a fair amount of work with a coarse file to remove material from the uneven 'round' plugs on the underside until the turrets could be rotated freely. The small holes in the turret roofs were filled with modelling putty. The finishing touch for all turrets will be a top hatch (two on the 7" and 12" turrets). I'm making these from the round tops of surplus 4" guns from the AQ tank kits, adding a 3mm length of styrene rod as a hinge
Gun barrels are glued on except for the 7" turret. I have to make another 1 pdr coil gun barrel for it - the lengths of the two guns are almost identical.
|
|
|
Post by loyalist on Dec 1, 2016 23:44:39 GMT
Other than a Royal Navy flag and a ship's siren on order from the UK the BEF land ironclad conversion work is done. I have to wait until tomorrow for some green stuff repairs of molding defects to harden, then complete the painting and apply decals.
I'm trying to decide on a name for the ironclad. I'm considering General Wolfe (he defeated the French at Quebec and made Canada a British territory; had a 12" gunned Royal Navy coastal monitor named after him in WWI), and traditional Royal Navy names such as Warspite, Valiant, Victory, Courageous and Repulse. Ideas?
|
|
|
Post by Quendil on Dec 2, 2016 7:56:33 GMT
Warspite is my favourite
|
|
|
Post by boxholder on Dec 2, 2016 13:51:56 GMT
Indefatigable -- if you can handle lots of syllables. Furious -- is pretty appropriate Vengeance --following the "V"ships above Agincourt -- a big win for British archers over the French knights and also the WW-I battleship with the largest number of turreted big guns (I believe it was 14) ever.
|
|
|
Post by loyalist on Dec 2, 2016 14:04:57 GMT
The post-1937 version of Warspite was my most effective 1/144 scale R/C naval combat battleship, so I'm a bit inclined toward that name. (Green stuff repairs of defects in the LI's wheelhouse visor and 7" gun turret's blast bag were successful so the LI model is ready for painting. Kim's having a group of friends over this evening for donation 'shoe box' gift wrapping, so I'll retreat to the basement and paint.)
|
|
|
Post by loyalist on Dec 2, 2016 14:21:03 GMT
Indefatigable -- if you can handle lots of syllables. Furious -- is pretty appropriate Vengeance --following the "V"ships above Agincourt -- a big win for British archers over the French knights and also the WW-I battleship with the largest number of turreted big guns (I believe it was 14) ever. I've got a 1/144 scale HMS Indefatigable under construction for R/C naval combat so probably won't use that name. The length of the name has to be considered too due to the limited room on the bows for 24" or even 16" HO scale letters. I had to eliminate 'General Wolfe' for that reason. I did think of Furious, having built a 1/144 R/C combat model of half-sister Courageous and having a fiberglass 1/144 Furious hull on the shelf awaiting construction. You're right about HMS Agincourt; it had 14 x 12" guns in 7 turrets named after the days of the week. Relatively weak armour though. I've narrowed the choices down to Warspite, Repulse and Valiant. All of those WWI ships were named and commissioned in 1915 or later so the names would have been available for Royal Navy land ironclads pre-1915. (I shouldn't have included Victory because the name was still in use by Nelson's former flagship at Portsmouth, and remains in use today.)
|
|
|
Post by boxholder on Dec 2, 2016 19:31:17 GMT
VALIANT My $0.02
|
|