Zvezda 1/350 Knyaz Suvorov - Ill fated Russian Battleship.

[Dave Ward]

Deck & hull painted - I'll need to touch up a lot, but I've got the bulk of it done............

I'll break out the small brush, to paint all the deck fittings, which may take me some time & probably several iterations. I used Vallejo 862 Black-Grey for the hull - not black as suggested & I reckon that's about right. The wooden deck planking needs a little toning down,with perhaps a drop of grey in the base colour, Vallejo 834 Natural Wood. This is where no interruptions & a soothing Spotify playlist are essential.
Dave

 

[Dave Ward]

After working on the Spitfire - I've returned to this beauty. I decided I didn't like the deck colour, so I overpainted it - with Vallejo New Wood. The hull is fixed to the base & the foredeck added...............................

The painting is an endless circle - touch up after touch up - it makes a AM wooden deck look more attractive!
I will add some streaks to the deck planking, to give a little variation.
I will score the base, before starting to apply the DAS, only thin layers, as this is quite an area to cover, with plenty of drying time between applications. I think I may start on the Airacobra during one of these periods......
Dave

 

[adt70hk]

Dave

Coming on nicely.

Andrew

 

[Dave Ward]

After a day or so drying, the first 'skin' of DAS is ready for another layer - no cracks - drying in a cool place for a day or so really does work

The second layer, I've added a bow wave - then smoothed it all over with the DAS mixed with water to a slurry. I used a coarse brush to hopefully show some ripples along the side of the ship. I won't really know until it's all dried - so it's back into the cool for a day or so

I suspect most of the sea effect will be through painting, but at least I've got a base to start on
Dave

 

[Dave Ward]

I sealed the DAS with a wash of diluted PVA, this prevents the acrylic paint being sucked down into the clay. Another day of drying, then I painted the sea with a green basecoat...............

This was just a rough coat - I'll get the smaller brush out to do the waterline, before starting to layer the paints...............
Dave

 

[Tim Marlow]

Nice to see this afloat and making progress. Seascape is coming along well...

 

[boatman]

Nice to see this afloat and making progress. Seascape is coming along well...

HI Dave whats happening on this ship build ? as it was comin on so well
chris

 

[Dave Ward]

HI Dave whats happening on this ship build ? as it was comin on so well
chris

Chris,
had a bit of a set back - the plasticard base isn't rigid enough, and as I handled the model, the 'sea' partly cracked & fell off! I've had to remove the shattered bits & refill the sea - a bit more carefully. I thought the model itself would stiffen up the base, but it's still flexible at the edges & ends. I used what I had available, should have gone for something thicker - oh well.................
Dave

 

[boatman]

Chris,
had a bit of a set back - the plasticard base isn't rigid enough, and as I handled the model, the 'sea' partly cracked & fell off! I've had to remove the shattered bits & refill the sea - a bit more carefully. I thought the model itself would stiffen up the base, but it's still flexible at the edges & ends. I used what I had available, should have gone for something thicker - oh well.................
Dave

SO Dave thats a pity as i was likein this build is that the end of it or will it make a come back ?
chris

 

[Dave Ward]

Noooooo........................ I'm now waiting for some more DAS to complete the repairs!
Dave

 

[boatman]

Noooooo........................ I'm now waiting for some more DAS to complete the repairs!
Dave

OH GREAT Dave im looking forward to seeing this finished great stuff
chris

 

[Dave Ward]

After having to procure some more DAS, I replaced a large chunk of the sea, had to wait several days for it to dry properly, seal it & get a basecoat on.......................
Here's the situation at the moment:


Painting the sea is and endless task! There's always something that you think needs improving ( the bow wave isn't white enough............. ), but there will come a time when I say enough ( not yet though ). There's all the turrets & superstructure & those myriads of boats still sitting in the box...............
Dave

 

[Tim Marlow]

Nice progress, glad to see this moving along again.

 

[spanner570]

Nice work Dave.
Take a closer look.....There might be some rigging thread giving you the evil eye from the dark depth of the box too!

 

[Dave Ward]

Nice work Dave.
Take a closer look.....There might be some rigging thread giving you the evil eye from the dark depth of the box too!

Ron,
rigging? - I've got an order in with my local spiders ( spare bedroom/stash), and they seem to be busy..........
- seriously, it's difficult - the masts are so spindly - I think a much simplified rig will be the case..............
Dave

 

[Steve Brodie]

wow, great progress on a beast (in real life)

 

[adt70hk]

Great progress Dave.

Andrew

 

[Dave Ward]

Turrets & various deck houses fitted Funnels assembled & given a rough basecoat - I'll have to mask them so I paint the tops & caps, they're only dry fitted, as they pass through various fittings....................

Virtually all the area from the front funnel to the aft secondary turrets will be covered by beams, which all the boats will sit on........................
Dave

 

[boatman]

HI Dave just lookin at your fab ship dio an is there no bridge on this ship or you havnt fitted it yet ?
chris

 

[Dave Ward]

HI Dave just lookin at your fab ship dio an is there no bridge on this ship or you havnt fitted it yet ?
chris

Chris,
Oh yes - almost two bridges, one forward, the other aft. They are rather open & spindly, and need to be painted before fitting, and it's a bit of a puzzle in which order they are added. The instructions just show where the parts fit, leaving you to work out when to paint bits that become inaccessible later ( and also invisible! ).
It's proving to be a enjoyable build so far, I almost feel it may be worth getting another, now that I'm discovering the pitfalls and shortcuts! I might just lurk on ebay for another................. ( but, then again.........)
Dave
edit - I still have about 2/3 of the parts on the sprues ( all the tiny bits! )