Many thanks, Robin, for your suggestions and response.

I checked the Works in my town but they didn't have any of them. I might have to persuade the mizzes that we need to go to Lakeside for something or other because the Works there is quite large and has more stock that the one in town.

As for your suggestion, I just tried it out on the 1 in 3 printer. Unfortunately the glass plate has a rim around it which took the deck away from the glass plate and the scan went out of focus and blurred.

It was a good idea, though and thanks for that!!!

And I'm glad that you are still keen, Derek. I must admit I am wondering about a battleship in big scale too but I still have a 1/33 aircraft in my old shoebox and I had to promise the mizzes that i would reduce the stock in there first before buying a new one. And let's not forget, I am still (eagerly) awaiting the arrival of the Surprise, so I think that one will have to wait a while longer.

But it's time to pick up the reigns properly again and the next topic is the hull.

This is a step that many modellers are not looking forward to, because a badly fitted hull will break the looks of a model. So care and attention are definitely needed here.

This model has the hull in three parts, fore, middle and aft and we start with the aft section. After that the fore section and the middle will be added last because we will need to cut that to size again.

I will do the port side first, which you can do because unlike with a wooden model, the planking won't warp the hull if you do one side only.

I cut out the side, and used my fingers to bend the back slightly so it will more easily 'roll' around the rounded stern former. I then used a pair of tweezers to slightly curve the back edge to het a smooth flowing line from the stern former forwards.





The whole idea of this bending is to 'loosen' the fibres in the cardboard so that it can be more easily formed in the right shape, not to give it a pre-shape.

Then I painted the edges with mid grey paint as well as a section on the back where it will be visible from the inside when glued.



After letting it dry, which doesn't take that long with this acrylic paint, I UHU-ed the sternformer and the first section until the hull former 4 and on the bottom and top tabs. After letting it dry for half a minute I put the side in place, starting from the stern, making sure that the top of the side was flush with the deck. I thin pushed down the bottom of the strip against the waterline former tabs and the former tabs. Because of the UHU I was able to make small adjustments whilst the glue dried further. When I was happy with the position I used a toothpick to put glue on the next section (from hull former 5 to hull former 4, including the bottom and top tabs) and keeping flush with the deck I glued the side to that section.

I continued to do the same for each section (from hull former to hull former until it nearly reached former 8.

And the result?

Not bad.






But my eyes are hurting now, so the bow section will have to wait till tomorrow.

I hope you will be able to do that too.

Until the next time!!!

Adrie.

Lovely work Adrie, your diary I'm sure will be of great benefit to all and any would be card builders out there.....

Regards

Alan

Looking good, you're really cracking on with this now
Steve

Hi Adrie, more wornderful work I see and yes, I am still hooked and loving this build... .. Eagerly awaiting the next instalment.....

Regards

Alan

Love this diary Adrie, great subject and well described too , the great thing about card and plastic kit diaries is that we get to see results quickly, that's why I always like a plastic kit on the go at the same time as a wooden kit
Looking forward to more pics.
Steve

Hi all,

time to gettin-rockin-an-a-rollin! Witha-lotsa-pictas!!!

First off the state of play after having added the port armourbelt.






So far, so good.

Oh, and the port side aft belt also didn't line up with the hull camouflage .



Oh well, nothing to be done about it (apart from informing the publisher about it so that he can make sure following customers won't face the same).

So now we have two more things to do in this hull-build, the previously mentioned 'thigamabob' and the anchors. (Apart from some repair steps to cover previous ... mishaps)

Anyway, I give you the 'thingamabob'


According to the instructions it is a half-ring, which I am sure is not a nautical term, so I will keep calling it the 'thingamabob' and because it is going to end up at the bow, it will be (for me) the 'bow-thingamabob' from now on.

Notice that the part consists of a half ring (with holes for whatever function) and a square of coloured cardboard. This means that the squares have to be cut out and glued back to back to thicken the part. But because the part will be double thickness and the curvature it will be best to 'stab' out the part after glueing and drying.

So, I took my best knife and started stabbing away.



The part was then edge-painted on the in- and outside and put aside to dry.

Which leaves us with the anchors, of which there are three, even though I have seen a number of pictures online where the aft port anchor was missing. I wonder if someone managed to nab it to sell for scrap when the Captain wasn't looking for a moment. But I will follow the instructions for once.

So, there be anchor parts.



Having decided to follow the instructions, I immediately had to scratch my head.



The instructions said: Glue anchors 46,47 to the hawsepipes.

Ok, but how? Where does 47 go with respect to 46?

It looks like a 'standard' stockless anchor, so I assume that 47 is the baseplate for the anchorblades. Having checked this on the internet I found that in all cases the baseplate is kept away from the 'ground' so I can't simple glue the base to the anchor.

Instead I'll have to cut the base in two and glue the pieces to either side of the anchors.

And because I am 'lifting' the base it would be best to make sure that the back of the anchor and baseplate is painted. I did that with a thick, acrylic grey paint. Not black because that would look all wrong even if the anchor was printed with black ink.

If you look closely at the print under a good magnifying glass then you will see that instead of a continuous field of colour, the printer actually put down a large number of dots. And even if the dot is black, because of the area around the dots, it will look less dark. So dark grey should fit better than a black paint.



But as I used a waterbaased paint the following occurred.



The cardboard started bowing whilst drying because the back got wet from the paint and the front stayed dry.

So a weight placed on it should keep the bow in check.



After drying I cut out the 'back'base and the anchor by stabbing again. It would be impossible to actually cut out those parts correctly.



I glued the base to the back of the anchor and stabbed the front out.



Note that I did not edgepaint the pieces because I was afraid that that would weaken the glue bond. As it turned out, when I tried to glue the front that the back came off anyway. Which was a blessing in disguise because I had glued it skewered so I could rectify that at the same time.

The end result


What difference edgepainting makes, eh?


So that was then placed aside for prolonged drying. In the meantime I attached the 'bow-thingamabob'



And finally after 45 minutes sweating over it, the anchor could finally be placed.



Now 'only' two more anchors to do! Wish me luck, I might need it this time!!

Till the next time!!!

Adrie.

Many thanks for your kind words, Alan.

I must admit I do like this build and she's coming along very nicely. And as Steve pointed out, she gives almost instant gratification.

I always have enjoyed cardboard models, but whereas when I was a little nipper (many, many, MANY moons ago) the models were easily obtainable, nowadays they are harder to find. And I think that is a shame. Where else can you find a detailed kit of a 1:250 model of a WWII battleship for $36?

So when I get the opportunity, I tend to plug the benefits of card modelling where-ever I can.

Which is one of the reasons why I write the diary the way I do it. Making cardboard models is not that hard and I hope by taking a step-by-step approach this will show.

Of course, the next step would be for the people, who might be interested, to go out and get their own model and start it.

{Plugging mode ON}

Which is where the internet community comes into play. It is mindboggling how many free cardboard models there are out there and in a most diverse range of subjects.

These free builds are not as detailed as the ones that you pay for but they still will produce a good model that you can be proud to show off whilst at the same time not being too taxing for a beginning cardboard modeller.

And who wouldn't want to have something like this portrayed on their coffee table.



And yes, it's a model (1/50 scale), and yes, it's free (well, you have to print out the sheets and get strengthening cardboard and the likes), and yes, it's not that hard to build (2 out 0f 5 for difficulty).
Enterprise Bridge Website

Or what about this simple, but still stunning little galleon model (1:100 scale)



Free, a good starter and available for beginners (3 out of 5 difficulty) or advanced (4 out of 5). But more importantly still a good looker.
Galleon San Salvador Website

There are so many models out there for a modeller to wet his teeth on, and with the great benefit that if you make a big mistake, all you have to do is print the sheet out again and start again!

What is there not to like???????



{plugging mode OFF}

Thanks for allowing me to get my soapbox out, Alan.

Adrie.

Thanks, Alan. I hope so.

But it's time to show a bit more.

As I said yesterday, this is the last work to be done on the hull barring a bit of repair work.

But with all this effort that I put into the little lady, I decided I needed to hire some guards to keep her safe.

Here's guard No 1, standing guard over the ship with both port anchors attached.





And here's the pair after the second came back from her tea break.



Yes, Robin, I finally managed to get my hands on a couple!!!!! I absolutely them!!!!!!

Thank you so very much for bringing them to my attention!

What can I do to repay you??

I know!!!

Have this on me!!



You want it? Click here.

With my sincerest thanks

I hope you will enjoy it.

BUT there is more to share today!

Remember the gaping .... uhhhh ..... gap that was visible when I put the decks together?

Now, at the end of the hull section I decided that it was time to try and tackle it. As I said I would attemp to rectify it in the front first.



This was the before situation.



Here I started filling in the gap with PVA glue, of which I put a drop onto a piece of scrap card and using a cocktail stick I added little drips of glue, pushing them down them with my finger when they had dried a bit.

Then, using the paint I found previously (Games Workshop Bleached Bone), I touched up the glue.



The white spots are just a trick of the light, where the dried up glue reflects it.

But this is looking so much better that I will use it one the other gap as well.

Then, all that remains before I go on with the superstructure, is to lower the skirts of the lady to cover the frame structure a bit better. I am thinking of using printer paper, paint it dark grey (with enamel, acrylic would ruin the paper almost immediately) and cut strips a mm wider than the current waterline stripe and glue that on top of the waterline. That should lift the ship 1 mm up, covering the bottom and the still visible frame structure.

So that will be the next tasks.

Until the next time!!

Adrie.

Fantastic Adrie! Loads of great tips for us wanabees too!
I'm glad you found those figures at last and many thanks indeed for your brilliant 'free gift!'
I haven't made a start on mine yet, I've got the Sontaran, the Angel and Madam Vashta and hopefully next Sat the Silurian too. Trying to get all six if they get them in, then look out!!
That superstructure is quite modern looking for a ww2 battlewagon, just a step down from a stealth ship!

Keep them coming M8, enjoying this greatly!

Robin

Hi all!

Robin, thanks for your kind words, it's greatly appreciated. I'm going back tomorrow to a different store to see if I can get the other 4, or at least some of them. It's like the Pokemon craze all over again ... gotta have them all!

An interesting observation you made there and she does seem to have a graceful superstructure. Which is weird because most reports described her views as crude and lumbering.

But I guess we'll have to wait and see as the building continues what our impression of her looks is.

Alan, what can I say. You keep making me blush! High praise indeed for something that I can't take all the credit for. It is a brilliant kit and makes it easy for a builder just to go the extra mile.

But it is appreciated with loadsa thanks!

Now then, enough mushy stuff. Let's get cracking again!

This session we are starting with the assembly of the platform of the 'B'-position. This platform is placed in front of the superstructure and sports a turret with a single 5.9" (150 mm) gun.

The turrets will be made later but here are the bits for this section.



The wall, a former and, oh yeah ... doors and portholes. Oh goodie!

The wall was curved with the fingers as we did before to loosen the fibres so that when forming it around a shape it will get a nice curve.

I edge-painted the wall and then it was scored and bent.

Note that I didn't put the doors down yet because that would create problems when curving the wall so they will be put in after the forming and glueing of former and wall is complete.

I checked the fit of the wall around the former, grabbed the glue and with a toothpick I put glue on the former tabs and glued the wall in place.



Lovely!

Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Not lovely!

I THEN saw that the top of the former sported a scissor ...........



which means to cut this out BEFORE cutting out the part.

Which I didn't and now the part was glued ......

OOPS!!!!

(Note to any ADMIN people reading this, I REALLY need a OOPS smiley, please. I am going to require it plenty of times!)



I'll use the above for the moment but it doesn't really express the depths of despair and feeling of utter 'dorkdom' I was suddenly experiencing.

The problem is that you can't just take a knife to it because by the time you make an incision into the top you will have bent it. And the only way to not get a bend is to support the wall from the bottom whilst cutting. Which needs fingers. My fingers! If you are not EXTREMELY careful there is every chance of embedding the knife into my flesh or worse slicing off a tip of a finger. (It happened to me before, a LONG time ago.)

Not only will that be extremely painful, the blood that will be spurting out will leave a very nasty stain on the model!!! And we can't have that, now can we??

No, and thrice no!

So, with a silent prayer on my lips I inserted the blade, then gigngerly felt below the platform to feel where the blade was pushing down the card and positioned the finger where it would counteract the bend but also should be out of harm's way.

I will not describe events any further for there might be people reading this with a nervous disposition.

I'll just show the picture.



A crude cut but more importantly NO BLOOD!!!!

Phew.

So with renewed vigour (nothing makes you feel as much alive as having faced certain impending death or disfigurement!) I started on the next parts, namely the doors and portholes.

You know, I have a love and hate-relationship with these doors. I hate to do them but I love it when the work is done and they are snugly glued against the wall.

Why do I hate them?

Well, apart from the fact that it takes me 10 minutes to stab one out with extreme caution, which tires my eyes no end, no real reason I guess.

But take a look for yourself.



And yes, that is a penny it is lying on!

But you HAVE to agree with me, that is one BLEEPer to stab out. Sorry, no option here, you either do or you do.

But with a little edge-painting is DOES look better.



And once in place .....



I'm loving it!

Strangely enough, doing the minute portholes?



No problem whatsoever. Go figure!

And like I said, I'm the endlook.



And you can't believe how satisfying the below is to see!





Anway, having finished the small stuff for today I continued with the next two parts which are the platform floor parts. They are coloured differently and need to be glued back to back.

(Pssst, just so you know, I DID remember to cut out the holes first this time)

The bottom ...



And the top ...



You can see in both pictures that there is some white showing around the edges. This is where one part is sticking out. Once the glue is properly dry, I will take my trusty knife and remove the white bits.

But with all that has been going on, I'll leave that until tomorrow.

I need a stiff drink now!

So, till the (HIPS) next time!

Adrie.