Switch Theme:

sCratchBuilding CuStomiZing & CitbaShing: 27MAR: all kinds of things happening  [RSS] Share on facebook Share on Twitter Submit to Reddit
»
Author Message
Advert


Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you:
  • No adverts like this in the forums anymore.
  • Times and dates in your local timezone.
  • Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance.
  • Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely.
  • Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net.
If you are already a member then feel free to login now.




Made in us
[DCM]
Boom! Leman Russ Commander





United States

Thanks much for looking in, Kid! I'll try to perform up to the expectations!

"He fears his fate too much, or his desserts are small, who will not put it to a single touch; to win- or lose- it all."

Montrose Toast


 
   
Made in us
[DCM]
Boom! Leman Russ Commander





United States

More good work done tonight- these are still the easy stages and really, I'm avoiding putting together the wiring harness for all the lights I want. I also have the parts (PVC pipe bits mostly) to put together the stand or cradle to hold the beast horizontally and I really have to get that done- I'm really getting past the point where I can work vertically.

First of all, no streak test. I decided to use a different color- more grey than white- for the base color of the hull. So I've started respraying that and we'll see what looks good when that is uniformly coated and dry.

Next, I cut the bit in the way on the light receptacle and epoxied (JB Weld Kwik) the final vane in place. Which means now I can see clearly that its opposite is off kilter. So I'll try bending/warping it slightly, or will have to cut it free and reattach:



As a product review- the new (to me) Dremel cut off/grinding disks are sweet- they're like inch and a half angle cutter cut off wheels and work very well. I like the very thin carbide wheels also-they're much better for fine work. But the Kitty Hawk isn't exactly fine work, at least not yet.

Next up was starting to shape and assemble the engine pods and struts. I figure to use these expended refrigerator filter canisters for the engine pods, and these cheap mop hangers from the dollar store for the struts:



I also bought these cheap computer case fans from the local Crazy Eddie's Used Computer Emporium to act as the 'pusher' propellers:





Altogether they will shape up pretty good engines and props, I reckon:



I'll need to take the mop hangers to the farm to drill some holes for screws using my midget drill press- I may try here tomorrow and see if the noise isn't too great and if I can hold a hand drill steady enough, we'll see- the metal isn't exactly battleship steel so I might can manage.

I've also ordered in some cheap three-bladed props to mount as verticle props for helping the control surfaces aim the bow up or down more quickly, but they haven't arrived yet.

I've set a budget of US$75 for parts for this thing and am still well under (not counting stuff I already had- that doesn't count). I think I'll be able to bring it in under contract ceiling and so far the most expensive individual part has been the spray paint!

And shortly I'll be breaking out my hot glue gun, which I now refer to as my Syro Adductor, for his great work with hot glue, to start sticking things to things.

More follows soonest. Thank you for looking in.



"He fears his fate too much, or his desserts are small, who will not put it to a single touch; to win- or lose- it all."

Montrose Toast


 
   
Made in us
[DCM]
Boom! Leman Russ Commander





United States

Tonight's work:

1) Tail section: all vanes positioned correctly (as much as I'm agonna do) and started priming:



B) Nose/command deck section: nice start here and the 6 inch circle guide I cut out earlier to help position/shape the gondola sections when cut in half will be the deck sole; it's not glued in yet- for once I'm going to try to make things easier on myself and build it outside the plastic hemisphere and only install when it's finished. There will be crew figures permanently installed and the whole kit and kaboodle will (probably) be permanently epoxied in place once its wiring is run. Although it might be nice to be able to get at the wire leads from the nose end if the bulb ever goes out....dang it- decisions!



iii) Engine pods: I was able to drill the holes I needed easily with my hand drill- I'm glad I didn't wait and drag everything up to the farm, as I really must get the stand built and the rescue horses don't leave a lot of time for the hobby. I should have anticipated that these refrigerator water filters would be filled with charcoal, but I learned quickly and the screws that hold the filters to the struts actually plugged the holes enough that black powder isn't leaking every where. I won't paint the prop blades- they'll stay shiny black and labeled for Arctic:






IV) Streak Test: Not really a streak test, as I'm going to go with the Vallejo Grey Wash (I was thinking about thinning my Umber Ink, as you know, but then I thought, at my rate of consumption my washes will last approximately until the heat death of the universe, so why not splurge and use them now?) so I tried thinning and broad brushing Burnt Umber Wash, Sepia Wash and Grey Wash- given the hull color now being a pale grey, I believe the grey wash used as a thick 'panel lining' is the look I want. I may actually go over top later with a very thin line of rust or Sepia. On the left you see what using a wide soft brush yielded- it would have just washed the whole hull a dirty brown- not what I wanted.

I am very definitely interested in all y'alls opinion as to what you like- just bear in mind that the scribed metal lines on the pipe are deeper and wider than the scratches I made on this piece of styrene:



That's it for tonight. Next up, I'll be priming everything that's already done, building out the weapons gondola, starting the Generator Gondola (which is where one of the battery boxes and switches for lights will go), finishing the tail section, building out the bridge deck and starting to think about how I'm going to rig the compartment and running lights on this beast. This weekend at the farm I'll try to get the stand built- really getting to need that.

In looking for something else I found my sheet of laser-jet printable water transfer decal paper- I will be able to custom print the ship's name (Kitty Hawk, in Gothic Script? I'm rewatching The Hindenburg at the moment) plus more bigglier Hello Kitty decals for the tail fins.

Thank you for looking in and your constructive criticism. More follows soonest.



"He fears his fate too much, or his desserts are small, who will not put it to a single touch; to win- or lose- it all."

Montrose Toast


 
   
Made in us
[DCM]
Boom! Leman Russ Commander





United States

Wish I could have been working/posting more regularly, but life has most definitely gotten in the way. Two weeks back a number of events happened, that short of the loss of a human family member, have made for one of the most difficult weeks I can remember experiencing. I was going to write a list of everything but then realized that I come to Dakkadakka to get away from troubles, so refrained. I will limit myself to saying that we had to say good-bye to another of our rescue horses and that is never easy. I'll be showing you the shadow box for Chip Marshal down the road a piece.

So it isn't a loss of interest in the project that has kept me from showing more progress on the INAS Kitty Hawk, quite the opposite.

I have gotten the stand done (intermediate stage pics below, but it's done) and it is already making things easier for working on the hull:





The engine pods are primered and the next thing is to start adding a metric crap-ton of rivets to the hull. I was going to do the panel lines, but realized that the rivets aren't painted (I just used a leather hole punch to make a bagillion of them from an old yard sale sign) and I reckon it's going to be easier to spray another light coat on the whole hull with rivets than to try to spray them spread out in a box top or something. I hope to have photos showing something soon.

But probably not too soon. Another interference from real life is that the owner of the apartment that I've been renting for the past 9 years and 9 months is selling it and I have to move out by April 30th. To make this properly relevant to the spirit of these blog pages, my public service announcement is: our hobby is terrific- but put the time and energy into the things that must be dealt with first.

I've found a new place, arranged for utilities to be moved and started boxing things up in the current place. I'm blessed that I can afford to start the new place two weeks before I'm required to be out of the old place, so I can move myself (don't have too much of bulk in what is essentially a commuter apartment) and nothing gets broken (hopefully).

The biggest pain will be packing up the many figures, vehicles and terrain pieces we've built together for the past 8 years (I found Dakkadakka and stopped lurking in 2016).

More follows soonest. Thank you for looking in.



"He fears his fate too much, or his desserts are small, who will not put it to a single touch; to win- or lose- it all."

Montrose Toast


 
   
 
Forum Index » Dakka P&M Blogs
Go to: