The first of the Turkish ships under construction and yes, there will be masts....
This is not going at all as I imagined it would! The various bits and pieces of MDF I currently have will be more than sufficient for me to be able to build a number of types for the ‘Russo - Turkish lookalike’ mini project I have now embarked upon. I have called it a mini project simply because it will only be the naval side - the land operations will be conducted using the block armies - whereas I am planning something else for the ACW. The number of ships will probably be the same as for the ACW - around two dozen - and there will be a mix of Danube and Black Sea types. As usual scales will be all over the place and the resultant models will be ‘based upon’ rather than accurate representations. I will also be taking some liberties with the historicity in that the Russians will be bolstered by some Baltic types as well as some ships that appeared after the war.
I did say it was ‘lookalike’ project....
This was not what I expected to be building next but as I need to get some custom pieces of MDF from Warbases and they will not be looking at these types of orders until the new year I have needed to change the running order somewhat. As mentioned previously, Warbases being busy has done me a favour in the short term as it means I can properly plan the extra bits and pieces I need. I still want to keep building though so if I can’t build what I planned then I will build what I can!
40mm circular bases - now I wonder what they can be for?
In the meantime though, I have taken the opportunity to get some bits and pieces in from Peter Pig to use with some of the models I will building - this includes for the ACW as well. I have ordered some of their Hammerin’ Iron 1:600th heavy and medium deck guns along with some ships boats on davits. These will be a big help for the gunboats or indeed anything that has deck mounted (and exposed) artillery.
Once again the Rayleigh dockyard will be a hive of activity and the first of the models are already underway.
12 comments:
Frankly all far too tempting David for a poor weak soul like myself;). The Baltic and Danube ships appeal, but then anything a bit left field easily grabs my attention. As for those circular discs, I think they will look rather nice... :)
Hello there Steve J,
I have yet to finalise the roster of ships for this but I have sorted out the first dozen! There will also be some spar torpedo boats in the mix which will be fun. For background material I have downloaded Hobart’s story from Project Gutenberg and am on the look out for some RTW freebies from the same source.
I am rather looking forward to this and believe it or not I actually have generated some modelling material that could be readily used for some ACW models!
All the best,
DC
How do you get such a smooth and symmetrical finish on your" hulls? Is it simply patience and sanding? Perhaps you should publish a "How-to!"
Cheers
Simon
Hi Simon,
The ‘secret’ is using laser cut MDF in industrial quantities! Seriously though, most of the sanding I have needed to do tends to be on the casemates and getting the angles to line up is a process that requires care and a choice vocabulary.
I may do a ‘how to’ post but for the moment my construction technique is very much an impromptu affair - I almost make it up as I go along!
All the best,
DC
I can feel a Novgorod coming on.
Hi Jim,
That it is a good idea - I’ll just Popov and build one (or two....).
All the best,
DC
Thanks. Do you have the hull layers laser cut to ship shape (pun not intended!)?
Simon
Hi Simon,
The hull layers are laser cut to a template that I designed and sent to Warbases who produced it in 3mm thick MDF. The largest size - 5” x 1 1/2” is available as plain or with three holes for masts and a recess for the bowsprit. All I then do is to build up the layers, add the appropriate deck details and upper works, seal, undercoat, pain and varnish!
I deliberately went with a very conservative and generic hull shape which is sufficiently ‘boat - like’ for my needs. I have various sizes of hull - I have only used two thus far - and plan to use some of the smaller ones for the Russo Turkish ships.
All the best,
DC
Perhaps Warbases should add them to their catalogue and pay you royalties!
Simon
Hello there Simon,
I have spoken to them about making some models available in kit form based on a couple of my more generic designs and it is something we will be speaking about further in the new year.
It has been a godsend though as having these pieces laser cut saves time and means that a degree of uniformity in design is possible.
All the best,
DC
40mm Pizza! Huzzah! Look forward to seeing it afloat, going round in circles :-)
Regards, Chris.
Hello there Chris,
I think I might need some larger circles - the ones I have are 40mm across which is rather on the small side. I am tempted to make use of some old CDs....
All the best,
DC
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