H.M.S Warspite

[Alan 45]

Now you know how to do the PE, how about a 'how to' for the rest of us? There are some videos around on bending and making stuff like cranes and masts, but how do you bend and fit those long handrail sections? I tried with a section just a couple of inches long on a U-boat and couldn't even get close to fitting it.Gern

Gern I know exactly what you meen so what I did was cut the long pieces of rail to a more manegable leant hand I used a gel glue so you adjust the piece should you kneed too

Now the cranes were the worse part of this build for me but that is partly the fault of the instructions , they tell you to bend the crane body into shape then tell you to make the inside of the crane body and attach it I found it much easier to build the Inside first and attach it to the unbent crane body then fold the sides

The crane arm was pretty easy to bend into shape I struggled with the underneath

This doesn't cum as a box you just bend into shape ! It has a piece you fix underneath and try as I did I couldn't get it to fit properly so I left it off

Hope this has been of help

 

[Gern]

I think it must be me then Alan. I tried with Gator grip which does give you time to set the pieces into position, but I couldn't hold them steady for long enough for the glue to grab - and there's no way I'd be able to position them straight first time if I used a faster glue.

Gern

 

[Alan 45]

I think it must be me then Alan. I tried with Gator grip which does give you time to set the pieces into position, but I couldn't hold them steady for long enough for the glue to grab - and there's no way I'd be able to position them straight first time if I used a faster glue.Gern

It is difficult mate I tried various glues , bostic , ugh and none of them worked

Another way is to use a liquid Super Glue at one end so it grips straight away then use a gel Super Glue and move along the in little stages but doing it that way takes longer because you have to wait for the super glue to set properly

To speed that up you can use a bit of water as an excelerant but I find that it frosts up and leaves a clump of the glue showing

 

[Andy2035]

Hi Alan,

I'm not a ship type of person, but, this is truly stunning Sir, so much detail, you should be extremely proud of this one...

Andy...

 

[Alan 45]

Cheers Andy glad you like it

I'm very proud of it , I have five other warships in the stash and I'm in the process of buying all the pe for them , after seeing the difference between OOB and this you just can't go back but you can add an £60 to some ships if you get the complete pe for it so it's not cheep

 

[eddiesolo]

I have to mention again Alan, this is really superb and the PE work you have done is excellent. The price can be a lot to add to a ship, a member of my boat club has just bought the 1/200 Missouri at £200+ the PE kit he got was just under £200 so it makes a hefty price.

Si

 

[Alan 45]

I have to mention again Alan, this is really superb and the PE work you have done is excellent. The price can be a lot to add to a ship, a member of my boat club has just bought the 1/200 Missouri at £200+ the PE kit he got was just under £200 so it makes a hefty price.Si

Cheers Si

1/200 scale is a big kit and with the size of that then the pe must be amazingly detailed so you can see why the price is so high although hardly justified

The guy must have a big house , the 1/350 scale masouri is a big kit so that must be massive

I'd have to build an extension to put that in lol but that would be some build though don't you think

 

[eddiesolo]

Cheers Si 1/200 scale is a big kit and with the size of that then the pe must be amazingly detailed so you can see why the price is so high although hardly justified

The guy must have a big house , the 1/350 scale masouri is a big kit so that must be massive

I'd have to build an extension to put that in lol but that would be some build though don't you think

Stan is an amazing modeller and has created some masterpieces. He has sheds and garages for his building and displaying so room should be okay but as you say, a big build.

Si

 

[Gern]

Back to fitting handrails ....

Do you put them directly on the top of the deck surface or on the side? I'm wondering if it might be possible to run a piece of micro masking strip along the bottom of the verticals (parallel to the top rail and only covering say half a mm of the PE), add a tiny drop of glue to the verticals and use the tape to help position the rail and hold it in place while the glue sets.

Failing that, I also thought it might be possible to fix a thin piece of plasticard strip, say about 0.02" square, to each vertical - effectively making an extra rail along the very bottom - and then glue the plastic strip on to the edge of the decking. It should be easier to hold and fix one strip of plastic rather than the many individual verticals of the PE. You could also fix the plastic strip to the PE while it is still attached to the sheet so lining them up straight shouldn't be impossible.

What d'you reckon?

Gern

 

[Alan 45]

I always fit then on the top of the deck I find it easier

As for your ideas about fixing the rails it's worth a try but I would go with a low tack masking tape so when you remove it it doesn't take the rail with it

If your using the tamiya rails where you have to thread the wire through the posts it's best to add a piece at the bottom so it can stick the deck more securely

 

[Gern]

The microstrip masking tape I have is low tack so that's not a problem.

You're saying that the individual verticals on Tamiya railings have a small cube of plastic added before being fixed to the ship? That sounds a bit like I want to do only using individual bits of plasticard strip instead of one long piece. (I know that's not possible with Tamiya as the flat faces of the verticals face the wrong way). I'm sure I saw one of those Japanese guys on sleepylafiel using those individual Tamiya railings - in 1/700 scale! It looked like he'd drilled holes in the deck edging for them.

It's such a pity that this PE is so awkward to fix. The handrails are such an obvious part of the ship that you can't really afford to miss them out. I got a whole load of ships I'd love to build, but I can't do them until I've mastered this PE. Oh well. I guess I'll have to use some of my pack of generic railings to practice with, and get some more if I get good enough to try them on an actual ship.

Gern

 

[Alan 45]

The microstrip masking tape I have is low tack so that's not a problem.You're saying that the individual verticals on Tamiya railings have a small cube of plastic added before being fixed to the ship? That sounds a bit like I want to do only using individual bits of plasticard strip instead of one long piece. (I know that's not possible with Tamiya as the flat faces of the verticals face the wrong way). I'm sure I saw one of those Japanese guys on sleepylafiel using those individual Tamiya railings - in 1/700 scale! It looked like he'd drilled holes in the deck edging for them.

It's such a pity that this PE is so awkward to fix. The handrails are such an obvious part of the ship that you can't really afford to miss them out. I got a whole load of ships I'd love to build, but I can't do them until I've mastered this PE. Oh well. I guess I'll have to use some of my pack of generic railings to practice with, and get some more if I get good enough to try them on an actual ship.

Gern

Mate I got these the other day for my Type 23 frigate , these are like a square piece of rail so you have something to grip the base . There not so thin as the usual pe you get so not so fiddly these cost about £12 so not that expensive

These are Eduard ones , these have a line on the bottom so you can use a liquid Super Glue that drys fast and then it's easier to put the rest of the rail on View attachment 74005

 

[Gern]

Thanks Alan. I'll bear these in mind, but I'll still need some practise.

The spare I've got is the Eduard 3-bar set (I bought it for my tamiya KGV) so I can try all the methods we've talked about. Probably won't be until after Xmas now - but the way I change my mind it might equally be tomorrow!

Gern

 

[Alan 45]

Thanks Alan. I'll bear these in mind, but I'll still need some practise.The spare I've got is the Eduard 3-bar set (I bought it for my tamiya KGV) so I can try all the methods we've talked about. Probably won't be until after Xmas now - but the way I change my mind it might equally be tomorrow!

Gern

I've got the tamiya KG5 in the stash so I'll be waiting eagerly to see to see how you go about it

 

[spanner570]

Great build Alan....Top marks for your P.E. work, and patience working with it. I just couldn't have coped with such small stuff, so well done on an excellent model and presentation.

Ron

 

[Alan 45]

Thank you Ron I'm glad you like it , I don't think I'll go down the pe of this intensity again but will be adding some to other ships in the future

 

[Caledonia]

An exercise in patience as well as excellent modelling Alan, I'd give you 5 Star if I knew how to in this new layout. Cheers Derek

 

[Alan 45]

Cheers Derek I appreciate it , it was definitely an experience

 

[john i am]

Never seen these before on the forum where have you been hiding them.Are they stealth ships? They look great Alan

 

[steve scan]

Fantastic job Alan, have done a few battleships with all the Photo etch in my timeso I know the patience and effort needed, well done.