I could bore you further with details about how horrible everything is on the Hobby Boss kit, but let's just be happy for a little while.
Miniatures in Multiple Scales
I could bore you further with details about how horrible everything is on the Hobby Boss kit, but let's just be happy for a little while.
The beginnings of an 18th century naval campaign are currently on my mind. The basic premises are that it is centered around an Ottoman force running the blockade at the Pirate Bay, and then trying to capture as many merchantmen as possible.
For this, harbor defenses for creative use were necessary, and I began constructing a medium-sized ship "in ordinary". However, scratchbuilding such things, while cost-effective, is very time-consuming. I started looking for alternatives, and thought that even with the worst possible results, a 3D print of an old semi-derelict vessel of war could be a good start.
While I don't own a 3D printer myself, by the suggestion of my wife, I found an on demand 3D printing service nearby. You just upload the .stl file to the website, scale it up or down, get a quote and in a few days you receive the final product by courier.
It was kind of hit or miss, but worth a try. I downloaded a free .stl template of a 1/700 scale large frigate from Wargaming3D, blew up the model to a 150% scale (to better match my own fleet of 1/500-ish ships), and made an order worth about 7 Euros including p&p for the pair.
You can see the results above. I went over the models with a lighter to remove most of the fine threads sticking out, but overall I think they look pretty fine, and there is not a lot more prep work to do on them than on some old injection-moulded stuff. Some filling and sanding required here and there. One will be the Böhnstadt flagship SMS Jagdhund, and the other an Ottoman/Tekirdag razée of 40 guns, without masts or sails, ready to be towed to battle (or not).
Some progress was made during the long weekend with the Arizona build. I sanded the hull to a better shape and corrected the torpedo bulge at the bow. The gun shields were trimmed off the deck above the secondary casemates. And finally, the metal barrels were glued to the turrets which were more or less corrected.
There are obvious mould lines and marks all across, which makes the process, erm, interesting. I'm glad I don't have to work with the plastic barrels. I'll salvage those for another project.
Next up is sanding the second deck tier to a smooth finish, and doing something about those nasty porthole-looking things. I'll probably fill them up, add some card on the outside and drill proper holes.
His Grace the Duke of Rotstein decides the build is proceeding well enough for a personal inspection. The gates will mostly be used for him and his pals to run around in an urban environment, sticking rapiers into each other.
As humidity builds up inside when PVA and the secret ingredient cures on the sides of the things, I had to drill them through at a few points, but this shall not detract from the overall effect.
Once I added a few more bits and pieces, I'll cover the walls in a stone effect plaster and paint the thing to an eggshell colour, or some similar shade.
I realize I hadn't posted anything since the end of April, but I had a good reason to do so, as I was preparing for my last exam ever for my master's degree at law, which, unbelievably, I passed. I'm very happy, because I was way overdue, and occupied with a full-time job, to and from which I have to commute more than three hours overall. I'm also very grateful for my wife, without whom I would have lost my sanity.
Until I find a job in the field, and preferably closer to our home, I finally have some time for painting a few figures and working on the Hobby Boss Arizona. It's really relaxing, something I did sort of forget about. This also means that most likely there will be fresh activity on this blog.
Some of my readers might have followed the adventures with the 1/1000 scale waterline model of the Bretagne during Spring 2020 on this blog. That model was broken and thrown out to the trash, but the interest remained. The Bretagne-class, just like most dreadnoughts designed before or during WW1 and continuing to serve in WW2, are an interesting topic, and they are probably one of my favourite ships despite their obvious flaws.