discussion tamiya 1/350 ships

[Guest]

Richard

the detail sets are superb but i suggest you get both as the radar and other bits really set the kit off!! they are not hard to do honest and there is a couple of tricks that make them so much easier than you would think! trust me the ship would not look anywhere near as good without both sets! also i know how to do the wood planking that is also easy if you want il tell you how you will be surprised

 

[Guest]

i would very much like to know how to do the decking. please nigel, share your wisdom!

and so whats this little trick your talking about?

i know there is these 2 kits, but there is also an "ultimate kit" do you think that is just the two kits combined?

 

[Guest]

With P.E if your gonna try and do some hefty bending anneal the metal first in other words heat it untill its almost red hot then let it cool the brass will bend much more easily and it wont have a tendacy to spring away from you this makes life much easier then attatch parts with super glue but use a needle as an applicator

 

[Guest]

With the decking first sand away all the raised plank detail then paint the deck with a white base coat now heres the good bit mix up or buy a basic teak deck colour from that add white or dark brown so you have eight different shades now spray the deck with the lightest shade! now using a stel rule and laying some masking tape down on a flat suface (glass is best) get a craft knife and cut some thin strips of tape (the same thickness as the planking ) cut the tape to roughly 3" strips and lay some down on the deck to replicate the planking! make sure you burnish the tape down !! now spray the next lightest colour ! then more tape then the next colour in line untill you have completed the deck ! when dry remove the tape and give it a spray of mat varnish voila perfect decking !!!!!

 

[Guest]

lol, you lost me at the part where you say "then more tape" any chance you could do a video tutorial on a bit of scrap plastic? or maybe try and simplify the instructions down into nice bullit points (so simply explained a monkey could do it!)

lol, im feeling a bit slow today!

what do you paint the p/e stuff with? normal acrylics/enamels?

 

[Guest]

for heating up the brass for p/e, i have a dewalt industrial heat gun (very hot blow dryer ) would this do the job or will i have to by a flame gun?

 

[Guest]

Richard whatever you do do not take on anything that is too difficult for you or is going to take too long. The last thing you want is to become disheartened in the middle of a project so practise on scrap plasticard and go for whatever you feel is achievable.

You are far better off with something that is successfull but doesn't look quite as realistic than if you make a mess of trying to do something you are not comforatble with and you spoil the model completely.

Bear in mind the time you have to spend, your own skill levels and what you want to realistically achieve.

For annealling PE I would get hold of one of the small cheap Lighter gas powered burners that ignite with a Piezo sparker. Very handy and safe and sit in a nice firm base.

You could do the job just as well with a match or a lighter but will probably singe your fingers in the process!!

 

[Guest]

i hear what you are saying, but if i dont give it a go i will never know how and will never do it. i want to put alot into this project, but maybe i could get a cheap model and some cheap p/e details to practice with before i put the practice onto the main prject?

 

[Guest]

Excellent idea.

I was reading an article on today in Model Boat International. They were making a pair of Airfix kits, the Manxman and HMS Suffolk and enhancing them with Eduards generic handrail PE sets.

Try something like that first or if you want a similar scale to play with find a destroyer or something and fit generic PE to it. You should practise on something first.

I have just been working on the Revel 1/72nd U-Boat and even that can have very tricky bits that take a lot of patience to get right.

Although it can be very satisfying and very effective I would never say PE is easy.

 

[Guest]

well i could get either an airfix Moskva or tamiya USS Indianapolis (as in you can get p.e detail sets for them at about £11) and the kits are about £10-15) but these kits are 1:600/1:700 so surly it will be harder as the details are smaller?

maybe i should just give it ago on the final thing but practice with a cheatp pe set on some wood or something?

 

[Guest]

any sugestions on that idea???

 

[Guest]

At the end of the day Richard we can't make the decision for you, we can only offer suggestions and advice. It is up to you to make the decision based on what you want to get out of it and what you want to put into it.

The Musashi is a big kit but will take a great deal of time, patience and skill to do it justice and I would not recommend you learn how to fit PE on a kit like that. It will almost certainly end in dissapointment.

Start with something smaller, big scale if you want, such as a 1/72nd MTB if you can get a PE set for one of them.

My advice is learn to walk before you try to run and enjoy the whole process.

PE sets such as the super detailed set for the Musashi is incredibly delicate and is not something I would want to take on and I have been modelling for over 40 years.

 

[Guest]

lol, with that said i will stick to the standard model!!!

dont get my wrong richard, i didnt want anyone to make any desisions for me. i just wanted to know if smaller scale p/e would be harder to do (such as a 1:600)

and to be honest i want this model to be my best so far, i am going to take my time, be ingredably patiant with it and hope to learn much from doing it!

thanks for all you guys help in making my mind up. what does everyone thing to a long-term build thread on this one?

to be honest i think it would help me as i have never done anything like this and the excellant guidcance i could get whilst making it from you guys would be very valuable!!!

 

[Guest]

I think the build threads are the most valuable resource of this forum.

I look forward to it Richard and I know that we all will be more than willing to help along the way in any way we can.

I think of modelling in parallel to my motorcycling. Over the 30 years I have been doing that I have bought slightly bigger and more powerfull bikes each time so I had a learning curve I could cope with. I also do advanced motorcycle training to keep me up to date with latest developments and to keep my skills up to scratch.

I still enjoyed every bike I rode though and saw it as a development path that will never actually end. Too many people go out and get the biggest bike they can afford and seem suprised when they find that they can't handle them and it ends in someone getting hurt.

By the way smaller scale PE is harder to do but not as hard as the super detail stuff on the Musashi!

 

[Guest]

richard....that sounds almost like a piece of advise that would come from yoda himself!!!!

...reworded and that could fit in EVERYTHING in life!!!

 

[Guest]

Sorry i disagree!! a big ship like that is much easier to build in sub assemblies inc the pe i would go for it!!!!

 

[Guest]

lol...ok i do really want to do the p/e detail but seeing as someone with 40 years experience who makes a lot of ships says he would even try tacklng it i dont know... maybe i could buy it and see how it goes (make the bits without attaching them for a start...see how they turn out and ifs all good use them???

 

[Guest]

Rich i am in the process of doing a pe set for the uss enterprise 1/350 tamiya now that has to be seen to be beleived compicated doesnt come into it but thats the challenge

 

[Guest]

Nigel,

Richard has never used PE before. He is in a slightly differrent situation than yourself. You have to see things through his eyes not yours.

Apert from which, if he bites off too much and it doesn't work out he will be dissapointed but if he starts at a simpler lever and feels he could have done more then he can and he hasn't lost anything.

 

[Guest]

but then again...how else am i ment to learn???