Current parts count: 55 (Hull: 3, Secondary casemates: 52)
As I mentioned in the previous post, the secondary casemate batteries are a pain in the bum to complete. After some hesitation, I set myself on the task. This required looking at reference pictures a lot, then drawing some sketches, after which I finally became enlightened and found a procedure to do this correctly. (While looking for different angles on the secondaries, I also found out that a major feature, the ring preventing spent casings to roll under the turret, does not appear on my blueprints, so a point for historical references.)
The method chosen for the Viribus Unitis was way too simplistic, which showed on the model - I'm never going to make that mistake again.
These are 3mm diameter bamboo bits soaked in PVA. This holds the fibers together and makes them more resistant to drilling compared to their dry state.
Starting with the level of the deck, I made four clones of the same template, and the casemates and walls will be sandwiched between these.
The PVA is set, so I'm inserting 0.8mm paper clips to the drilled holes. This is one compared to the blueprints.
Only 11 more to go.
The casemates are placed in their positions (no.4 from the bow in the wrong place, which has been remedied later), and the rest of the pieces will be inserted based on this.
2mm balsa strips are added for the walls.
The first test fit shows the results are OK.
I have sliced up the other two pieces of the template to produce the small "lip" under each gun emplacement. Now a test fit with these as well...
And finally I have covered the flat stretches of the walls with paper for a more even surface.
This is all the work done for the day, perhaps a bit lengthy post, but I'm hoping someone might learn from them.
No comments:
Post a Comment