jspitza

Hello again:
Status report on baby:

• Still eating every 2 hours…………enough said
• Dad is sleeping much more than Mom
• Dad is starting to build the Zvezda1/350 "Kniaz Suvorov" Russian Battleship and has no clue as to how to build a battleship!

I’ve just about finished the hull assembly and have put on the primer coat. Looks pretty good! Now, the big question: would It be best to start assembling the decks, masts ect first then paint? Or completely finish the hull and build in layers, completing every deck before I reach the top? I’ve kinda come to into a brick wall and would love to here opinions. As always, thanks in advance-Jeff

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KenP

Different builders do it different ways.
Personally, I paint the hull early on.
Then I build, working upwards, the basic decks, not the detailed stuff at this stage.
But if an area is going to be difficult to get at , paint it.
Then I plank the decks, then add more detail, painting as I progress.
If you leave all the painting to last you just won't be able to get at all areas

Seaspray

I paint as I build.

Seems a better way of doing it.

If you paint the hull have a good stand made for it and well padded to protect it, as it will move about during further building.

Bunkerbarge

To be honest you're almost halfway there when you say think in advance!! You can't do better or be advised any better than that.

Take each assembly and think about how best to paint it to be able to achieve the best finish in the easiest way. Making it easy helps you to get the best finish anyway! I would tend to look for sub assemblies such as maybe the forward accomodation block including the bridge as one and the aft section as another. Assemble these sections, paint and then put on one side. I would make a handle from sprue to attach to the bottom to halp hold the assemblies. This can be broken off just prior to attaching to the deck.

I would complete the main deck and hull as a unit and maybe the first upper deck level, depending on the ship configuration. Then glue the sub assemblies to this as they are completed.

I can't emphasise enough though the basic requirement to think it through. Many times I have glues a few bits together then become annoyed with myself for not seeing the better way of doing it.

__________________

“Dirty British coaster with a salt-caked smoke stack, Butting through the Channel in the mad March days"

jspitza

As always, THANK YOU!!! I'm now developing a cold so I'm afraid I'll have to wait a bit before I start building againBut, this building from the deck up really makes sense and if I screw up-I now have my son to blame

Gerry

Wouldn't it be safer to just follow the sequence of assmbly as outlined in the instruction sheet that comes with the kit if you're afraid to try a different apporach?

Bunkerbarge

I have been making models now for over fourty years and I don't think I have ever come across one where you cannot make life easier for yourself by amending the build sequence.

Most instruction sheets are no more than an assembly sequence and do not take into consideration the easiest, and therefore the most effective, method of painting. I think this stems from the fact that painting can be very personal and individual so instructions do not get bogged down in all the differrent possibilities.

Even Tamiya instruction kits that call out detail painting aong the way do not tell you the whole picture. Take the Bismarck for instance. If you choose to apply the splinter camoflage, painted on in the Norwegian Fijord prior to her last passage, the instructions do not mention this yet it must be painted on as the build progresses. The paint scheme is shown at the end though with no indication as to how best to apply the paint.

Take another example of a model that incorporates a number of sub assemblies that you want to paint together. If I was building a motorcycle I would want to paint all the gloss bodywork at the same time so you might have to put together the fairing and other items out of sequence to get them ready to paint together as one process.

To me the instructions are a usefull guidance to be interpreted and edited as you see fit.

__________________

“Dirty British coaster with a salt-caked smoke stack, Butting through the Channel in the mad March days"

jspitza

jspitza

So sorry for not following through this post. I've decided to shelve this one until my skills improve. I'm not giving up, I'll just return to this kit without anger and more thought. Thanks, Jeff