WardWorks Doings 2024 - Update - Nowunder 13

[WardWorks]

Different technique to my usual this time, mix of two paints for the dark dust, that went on at low pressure, then a light coat of heavily thinned buff, roughly 10% paint to 90% thinners, sprayed at 30 psi, followed by the same ratio paint to thinners of deck tan, again at 30psi, just to pick up the highlights. Photos taken in direct sunlight helped as well. I'll go into the techniques/airbrush tricks later. All paints Tamiya Acryls (I'll specify the colours later), thinned with neat (100%) Isopropyl Alcohol

Best M of WW 😉🙃

[BUCKY]

Cool! Thanks for 'splaining!!

[JED]

It works very well, great results

[WardWorks]

It is a good technique and it does work rather well, I'll be using it from now on, Its the same trick I've always used, just that I forgot the two lighter colours go on at a much higher pressure 😳 and the real trick to the technique is when spraying the two lighter coats, you have to to keep the airbrush moving in certain directions at all times and to set the brush for as fine a line as it can be set to, and keep it between 6-8 inches off the model, that way the paint is almost dry when it hits the model and it only catches on the highlights, doesn't seem to show on the rest of the vehicle.

Best
M of WW 😉🙃

[WardWorks]

Sherman's at this stage at present, drive sprockets not pictured but are assembled, leaving them off until track fitting time. Unfortunately, it cannot be finished as a Calliope, parts are missing from the rocket tubes and their mounts, however, its still a good Sherman, so I do have a scheme in mind for finishing it, just looking thru online catalogues, for relevant markings. 🤔




That took care of Saturday's modelling time, Sunday I decided to do something a little different, so 6 secondary armament turrets and 14 quad Bofors mounts later...🙄



My eyes were not sending distress signals 😵‍💫 so on I pressed and lo and behold !




Trumpy's 700th USS Alaska (started last year) is a lot closer to completion and will possibly cross the line today, given that there's still no distress sgnals from my eyes ! 🤓

Best
M of WW 😉🙃

[JCON]

Excellent news M! Work is looking good on both!!!

[JED]

Great work

[BUCKY]

Glad to hear you're having a good workbench day!! Hopefully, there will be many more!

[WardWorks]

Thanks Folks !

Having realised that time is not the issue with these things (and that I'm not as quick as I used to be) 😳, I'm just happily bodging away at my desk and things are happening for me nicely. Alaska will be finished when she's done and not before, still got plenty to do on her as it happens. Next stage is painting and fitting a host of 20mm "oilcans"(oerlikens), to their relevant gun tubs, followed by stepping the foremast and its radars, then the ship's boats, searchlights and whatever else needs fitting and painting... As I said, she'll be dun when she's dun, that's when I'll git going on the next one, which will be another nautical but nice job, of RN flavour and Heavy cruiser in nature, Trumpy by brand name. As to exactly which one it'll be, dunno, I've got a few choices there..🙄

Best

M of WW 😉🙃

[JCON]

Sounds good to me M... great to see your work!!!

[WardWorks]

Cheers Folks - thanks for the encouragement 👍

Oerlikens are tiny and plentiful, as below (before installation, heavily enlarged)



Next wee problem are the two catapults as given they ain't too bad, but are rather solid... 🫨



A bit of hacking and filing later and I reckon they'll look a lot more better-ish... 😎



Tom's Brass US Battleships catapult set to the rescue there. Trumpeter provide brass crane jibs, so why not the catapults too ? They do include brass cats in some of their other USN ship kits after all 🤔

That's where I'm at with Alaska at present, bumbling along as and when the whim takes me to do so. Thus far, my eyes ain't complaining, for which I'm rather grateful 🤓

Best
M of WW 😉🙃

[JCON]

That looks amazing M!!! So glad to hear your eyes are cooperating!!!

[WardWorks]

That makes two of us...

I'm calling Alaska done,  she's sans catapults and one large crane amidships at present, they're assembled, painted and safe and will join the ship as soon as I work out where I put them - they're definitely in a safe place, in fact its sich a safe place that I cannot remember where I put them - aaarrrrrgggghhhh , 🤯

Made a start on Trumpy's HMS Cornwall yesterday - photos of that and Alaska will be added here as soon as I find the well known blue towel, so Alaska can appear in the equally well known Sea of Bafftowl/ Straits of Dire, of (hopefully ) fond memory (to those of us who can remember that far back)... 🤔

The key to these things is to take it easy, let paint dry properly and know when to walk away from the desk before your eyes start sending the first distress signals - works for me anyway. The other challenge for me is to remember the techniques I used when shipbuilding way back then. Doubt I'll be adding brass if its not in the kit from now on, those plurry cats took ages to get right. The crane jibs were kit supplied and gave no trouble whatsoever. - another technique I seem to have forgotten ! Dang 🤬

Best
M of Wardships 😉🙃

[JCON]

Sounds like good progress M!!!

[BUCKY]

I can certainly identify with the "parts in a safe place" aspect. We moved house in 2021, and I'm still digging hobby parts out of their "safe places"! LOL

[WardWorks]

Errrr .... 🤯 I found the missing cats and crane last night, they were in a small, clear plastic box. I found them in the worst possible way... with my bare foot as I stepped out of the shower 🫨 I'm still pulling small shards of clear plastic and brass out of my foot dammit 🤬 both cats and the crane are total losses I'm afraid. 😖 How that little box got onto the bathroom floor is anybody's guess.

Think I have an excuse, post war,  both Alaska and her sister ship Guam were mothballed and then cocooned. both lost their catapults and cranes and other deck mounted equipment before mothballing. Therefore, I could finish her as just pre the mothballing/cocooning process. Lots of US cruisers and Battlewagons lost their catapults and aircraft handling cranes just before the war ended. The Des Moines class Cruisers were slated to have two catapults and cranes on their sterns, Des Moines was finished with both, but lost her starboard crane and catapult before entering service, Salem (second in the class), never recieved her portside catapult or crane. Post war, both lost their remaining catapult and crane, the third ship in the class (Newport News) was completed without catapults or cranes. 

On the other hand,I have a Trumpy Massachusetts on my scrapline, which may yet donate its catapults and one of its cranes to Alaska, but that's a decision for another day...

Best
M of WardShips 😉🙃

[Dukemaddog]

I may be late to this party, but I'm thrilled with the amazing work here. I'm happy to see a USS Alaska being built, and will be looking forward to the Cornwall. Keep plugging on M!

[WardWorks]

Right you are sir ! Plugging away it is ...👍

Alaska's just about dun, only missing some miniscule searchlights and teeny Quad Bofors directors, plus one crane and both catapults......😖 Plus a few little things which I'll get to eventually... she escaped into the sea of Bafftowl when I wasn't looking...





Cornwall tried a similar escape, but she didn't make it, the Sea of Bafftowl is reserved for completed (or nearly so), vessels,. As can be seen, she's missing most of her armament (under construction at present) and a pile of small doohickys. Anything unpainted in the pictures below has just been added and will be painted soon-ish...





That's it for now, catchyas next time 😎

Best
M of WatdShips 😉🙃

[JCON]

Nice floaties!!!

[Dukemaddog]

All excellent work! It's great to see another ship launched into the Sea of Bafftowl.