It’s been a while since I last posted about the HMS Warspite, but that doesn’t mean I’ve not been making progress! Well… it does a little bit. I’ve been busy with other things, and it is Summer after all!

First of all, the hull is pretty much fully sanded and ready for paint! I’ve not photographed it again because it still looks exactly like it did before. Before I paint the hull, though, I plan on drilling out the portholes with a 0.6mm, 0.7mm or 0.8mm drill bit. This step will take some time, but I think it’ll be worth it!

I’ve also begun cleaning up and glueing some of the other bits.

Above you can see one of the almost-finished gun turrets. Obviously the gun barrels aren’t in there yet and they’re not painted, but most of the preparation is done.

Below is one of the far from finished machine guns from the side of the ship. They still need a lot of cleaning up and glueing, and then painting, of course.

Now on to the photoetch kit.

I decided to attempt my first assembly of one of the photoetch parts this evening, and I think i’ve made a bit of a mess of it.

In the image below you can see the grey plastic crane arm which came with the original kit and the photoetch equivalent folded and glued by myself.

As you can see from the image below, I’ve made quite a mess of it! First of all, it’s bent at one end because I accidentally crushed part of it (very easily done with metal this thin and flimsy), it’s warped and bent all the way along it because I kept glueing my fingers and the tweezers to it and having to forcefully remove them, and for two reasons, which I’ll come to in a second, a lot of the gaps in the structure are filled in with glue!

So, there are two reasons the gaps are filled with glue… first of all, picking up tiny blobs of superglue on the end of a toothpick and then getting rid of most of it before applying it to the model is actually very difficult. You always get too much glue and if you try to wipe it off, you lose too much of it. Secondly, applying glue to only the edges of the metal and hoping they will stick is pointless – glueing such a small surface area simply doesnt work. You need a small bead of glue running along the inside edge of the structure, but given that this entire structure is only about 4mm wide and 30mm long, that’s almost impossible to achieve!

The only other thing is that part of me things the photoetch actually looks slightly out of place… the crane “body” is that grey plastic triangular part with the “stick” sticking out of it, which can be seen in the first photo of the crane arm above. If you remove the plastic crane arm from it and attach the photoetch crane arm instead, I think it might actually look so fragile compared to the thick, sturdy plastic crane body that i’d be better off with the plastic crane arm!

I’m still undecided on that though… maybe with more photoetch parts they’ll start to fit in more… who knows!

• Enjoy this post? Why not
• Get Updates by Email
• or
• Subscribe to RSS
• ?

Related posts:

1. A New Project – HMS Warspite!
2. Warspite photo etch has arrived, workspace has been improved
3. The Warspite model has arrived, but a few bits are missing…

It’s been a while since my last blog post. This is mainly because not a lot has happened!

Before I get on to our latest steam rally, I’ll briefly mention the modelling I’ve been doing…

I have been learning various techniques for use on the Warspite model and mainly practising my airbrushing technique. Airbrushing in itself isn’t too difficult, but finding the correct paint/thinner mix is the tricky part; get that right and the rest just happens!

Above you can see the tail end of a 1:72 scale Lockheed Martin F 16C Fighting Falcon by PM Models. This model was kindly donated to me by a work colleague for practising on. The paint finish isn’t perfect, but it’s significantly better than it would be with a brush, and once it’s had a coat of clear varnish, I’m sure it’ll look good enough for me!

The other thing I’ve started is sanding the base of the hull! A while ago I glued the two halves of the hull together and now I’m sanding them down with 1500 and 2000 grit wet-and-dry paper ready for their first coat of primer.

Above you can see the nearly finished bow and below you can see the not-yet-started stern.

The next thing to do is to fill the gap down the middle to make it perfectly smooth. I’ll do this just before the primer goes on, and hopefully it’ll then be ready for it’s first coat of paint!

The other thing that’s happened since the last blog post is Strumpshaw Steam Rally!

We didn’t take the Matchless to Strumpshaw because we were a bit late booking in, so Sarah and I paid our entry fee and stayed from Friday evening until Monday evening without the bike. We had a great time too; the weather was great and there was lots going on!

While I think of it, something I don’t think I’ve done before is explain that a Steam Rally isn’t actually just about steam engines. Above you can see some of the many Land Rovers that were on display amongst the military vehicles.

There were also tractors…

Motorcycles…

Goats…

Ostriches…

Scratch-built model boats…

An entire steam museum…

Cars…

A beer tent…

Live music…

An entire fairground…

Powered by Showman’s engines…

Wood sawing…

Train rides…

And a sheep dog demonstration!

The other thing that happened at Strumpshaw was a road run on Saturday and Sunday evening to a local pub. Sarah and I went along on Sunday having hitched a lift from a very generous Mr. Garrod in the back of his Foden steam wagon.

Above is S. Garrod’s steam wagon and below is the view over the roof as we were travelling down the road!

You can see our trip to the pub, plus almost every other aspect of the rally in the high quality 720p HD video below…

If the video above doesn’t work, you can also watch it in slightly lower quality here.

Photos of Strumpshaw Steam Rally 2010

Video of Strumpshaw Steam Rally 2010 (Also available on Youtube in HD!)

• Enjoy this post? Why not
• Get Updates by Email
• or
• Subscribe to RSS
• ?

Related posts:

1. A series of five more fantastic steam rallies – Part 1
2. A series of five more fantastic steam rallies – Part 4
3. A series of five more fantastic steam rallies – Part 2

Some progress has been made on the Warspite project again today!

First of all, Airfix are kindly going to send me replacement parts for the broken part and missing part from the Warspite model free-of-charge. These parts will arrive within 2 weeks apparently which seems quite slow, but I don’t actually need these parts for a few weeks so it’s not a problem.

As you can see above, the photo etch has also arrived! It got slightly damaged in transit unfortunately, but White Ensign Models are kindly going to send me a new one free-of-charge! I would like to say, however, that the damage was not done as a result of the packaging or any bad handling done by WEM. The item was packaged superbly, and I believe the damage was just the result of bad luck.

For those of you unfamiliar with these photo etch kits, the one above is A5 size (210x148mm / 8.2″x5.8″). The individual parts are therefore tiny!

Anyway, the damage can be seen below…

3 bent railing posts

Aerial (maybe?) bent

Entire photo etch kit slightly creased

On a separate note, some of the paint has also arrived as well as colour map showing the 1942 camouflage and all other painted areas.

I have also paid Screwfix another visit and purchased a kitchen extraction fan to replace the underpowered fan I had already installed into the modelling workspace/box and a light, also to be installed into the box. Both of these modifications are now complete!

I’m planning trip soon to the craft store to buy knife, cutting mat and other stuff too, because at this stage, despite all this preparation, I still have no way of removing the plastic parts from their casting “spruce”!

The other thing I need to do is to look into active carbon filters vs. extracting directly to outside world. My original intention with the extraction fan is that I will attach a tube to it and poke the tube out of a door or window. Given that this fan shifts 230 cubic meters per hour, however, during winter it has the potential to empty my house of warm air very quickly! A work colleague has therefore suggested potential use of active carbon filters. So far I know nothing about these, but my investigation has begun!

• Enjoy this post? Why not
• Get Updates by Email
• or
• Subscribe to RSS
• ?

Related posts:

1. The Warspite model has arrived, but a few bits are missing…
2. Progress on the Warspite and the difficulties of photoetch!
3. A busy weekend woodworking!

With a motorcycle, an interest in photography and a job working with computers I don’t often have a chance or a reason to put my basic carpentry skills to work. Due to the Warspite project, however, this weekend has been spent doing exactly that!

Because I’m already relatively short of time day by day I needed a permanent workspace for the Warspite project (and possibly other model building projects in future!) to save having to spend 20 minutes each time getting everything set up and putting everything away again afterwards. This workspace was going to be the kitchen counter. However, I didn’t want to be cutting into the kitchen work surface or airbrushing the kitchen wall. I also didn’t want to be inhaling enamel paint fumes and I didn’t want our dinner trays, recyclable items or anything else falling on the half-built model and damaging it. I also didn’t want it all getting dusty!

So, this weekend, I’ve built this:

This started life as a 4ft x 4ft x 7ft wooden crate designed for transporting very heavy items safely across the world. This weekend I have dismantled it, sawn it into pieces, attached the pieces together in various ways and put a coat of paint or two on it in order to turn it into what you see above – a 2.5ft x 2.5ft x 3.5ft modelling workspace. These photos show it after its first coat of paint. Coat 2 is drying as I write this post.

I still need to put a handle or two on the front lower edge, but other than that, it’s pretty much finished. The front and top are hinged and lift up to reveal what is inside.

There are a couple of shelves on the left hand side and a 230V extraction fan on the right. The idea is that the fan will have a tumble drier hose attached to it which will be shoved out the door or window to keep the paint fumes away. When the painting is finished, I can then close the lid on the box (which is far from airtight) and let the extraction fan keep sucking the fumes out of the box and drying the paint at the same time!

Depending on how the lighting proves to be in my kitchen, I might put some lights in the box too. I haven’t decided about that yet.

Anyway, that’s it for now. Now I just need the missing Airfix parts, the photo etch kit, the paint, an airbrush and compressor, a cutting mat, a knife, some paint brushes, some sandpaper, some filler and some glue! Maybe a few other bits too. Who knows!

UPDATE (evening of 16 May 2010): The box now has its second coat of paint and is installed onto the kitchen counter!

…and now with the door/cover open!

• Enjoy this post? Why not
• Get Updates by Email
• or
• Subscribe to RSS
• ?

Related posts:

1. Warspite photo etch has arrived, workspace has been improved

Well, my Airfix 1:600 HMS Warspite model has arrived!

As you can see below, it is made of quite a few bits, but having looked through the instructions, this model isn’t diffcult to assemble. It will be time consuming because I want it to look immaculate, but I would compare it to the Lego truck with grabber arm I built when I was much younger than I am today! That truck has working pneumatics and a mechanically sound V8 engine!

However, as you can see below, part number 74 is slightly damaged. Depending on what the photo etch kit that I have ordered contains, this may not be an issue, but I won’t know until the PE kit actually arrives.

Also, as you can see below, part number 38 is completely missing!

This is going to be more of an issue, but I believe Airfix will send out missing parts if you ask for them. They may charge for that service, but on the basis that I have bought an item which has been sent incomplete, I’m hoping I can get the missing part and the damaged part replaced for free!

Anyway, that’s all for now. I’ll report more when more actually happens!

• Enjoy this post? Why not
• Get Updates by Email
• or
• Subscribe to RSS
• ?

Related posts:

1. Warspite photo etch has arrived, workspace has been improved
2. Progress on the Warspite and the difficulties of photoetch!
3. A New Project – HMS Warspite!

Amongst everything else going on in life currently (work, steam rallies, motorcycle events, motorcycle maintenance, photography, computers, Xbox 360 and interacting with other humans), I have decided to start a new project – building a 1:600 scale model of the battleship HMS Warspite.

HMS Warspite (Courtesy of MaritimeQuest)

Needless to say, the picture above is not a model. It’s HMS Warspite off Normandy, France in June 1944. This image, many other images and lots of other information, by the way, can be found at MaritimeQuest.

Anyway, this all started when Sarah and I were in Hobbycraft. Sarah was searching for supplies and I was bored. I therefore ventured to the back isle in the store where I found model cars, Lego, Hornby trains, model planes, all sorts of Airfix models and various other things of vague interest to me.

It was there I spotted an Airfix model of HMS Hood. I thought the Hood looked a lot like the Warspite, the ship my Grandad served on during World War II, and pondered building a model of the Warspite if I could find one. If I was to undertake such a challenge, however, I would want it done properly, with lots of detail, nothing missing, painted to perfection and placed inside a custom case to keep the dust off, and perhaps displayed somewhere within the house, but would I have the discipline and skills to pull it off given that I have never attempted anyhing like this before? I retreated to think some more and eventually we left Hobbycraft (they didn’t have a model of the Warspite anyway) and I have spent the last week researching it on the Internet.

HMS Warspite (Courtesy of MaritimeQuest)

This week I have learned that the Warspite was a Queen Elizabeth class battleship and the Hood was an Admiral class battlecruiser. Therefore, although they look similar at first glance, a model of the Hood would not do. I needed the Warspite specifically. This seems to restrict me to either a 1:600 Airfix plastic model or a 1:700 resin model and as I’ve never dealt with resin in any form before and 700 to 1 feels a bit small, I have decided to go for the 1:600 Airfix HMS Warspite model!

HMS Warspite (Courtesy of MaritimeQuest)

Having also read about Dr. George Pek’s Warspite model building attempt between 2000 and 2003, I have decided to pick up the “PE 614″ Warspite Photo-etch kit from White Ensign Models.

So far, I have not purchased anything – I have no model, no photo-etch kit, no glue, no paint and no brushes. I intend on buying the model and the rest of the kit some time in the next couple of weeks though (time permitting) and getting to work ASAP! I also have the advantage of knowing someone who builds lots of models, has lots of equipment (airbrushes, compressors, paints) and lots of knowledge on this topic, so given enough time (and that might be a year or two) I hope to produce a fairly accurate version of the ship my Grandad served on during WWII!

If you are interested in keeping up with my progress, feel free to either subscribe to my blog’s RSS Feed or keep checking my HMS Warspite page!

• Enjoy this post? Why not
• Get Updates by Email
• or
• Subscribe to RSS
• ?

Related posts:

1. The Warspite model has arrived, but a few bits are missing…
2. Warspite photo etch has arrived, workspace has been improved
3. Progress on the Warspite and the difficulties of photoetch!