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Mighty Mo, BB-63 Finished

I have not been idle! I have been building the superstructures, painting them as I go. However, I am not loving the brush strokes that are glaring at me. Using Testors and Humbrol enamels and a Kolinski Sable brush. The brush should not leave stroke marks so it must be the paint not settling/leveling. It is nearly impossible to use the airbrush to paint the deck with all of the little parts sticking up and around. I may see what careful airbrushing the large areas does. I also may try acrylics. I may try a coat of clear acrylic and see what Tamiya paints will do. Anyway, here is what I have so far
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The PE railing has gotten no easier. Loctite made no difference. My spray pump on my accelerator quit working so I have had to try and apply it with a brush, which of course immediately ruins the brush (I have more pumps at the store and need to take a few home). I tried using the needle and flow trick but can't make anything flow. The railings would add significant looks to the model but am not sure they are worth the frustration. I am trying to be so patient, holding the piece in place for count of 60 only to have it let go when I do. A prayer, and an audible positive energy "you are going to hold this time" doesn't help LOL. Various viscosities of Zap, Loctite, and BSI make no differnece and the accelerator doesn't help. I gave white glue a go but even when dry it came off with the slightest bump. I am at a loss honestly. But I am going to persevere, hoping to find the magic formula to make it work. E6000 maybe? Hmmm.... I use it on the costumes I make, and the fabric will rip before the E6000 will let go. I have not tried it on models. That is tonights experiment!
 
Did you cut the eye of the needle open? You want it to look like a mini 2 prong cocktail fork. Have two of them, one for CA, one for accelerator.
Well, no. I misread about that part. I cut the eye of the needle OFF so it would go into an eraser. I will try the open needle eye trick. It can't make the glue dry but will be easier to get it where I want it to go.
 
I've been having a problem with CA doing it's thing lately. Humidity hasn't been too bad and it shouldn't be existing down in the bomb shelter!
 
It is common to use the straw end of the accelerant to put a drop or 2 on c/a glue on ship model railings. Almost nobody sprays it on rails/p/e.
I wonder if your c/a glue won't stick because it cures when it gets close to to the accelerant-soaked plastic? :hmm:
 
It is common to use the straw end of the accelerant to put a drop or 2 on c/a glue on ship model railings. Almost nobody sprays it on rails/p/e.
I wonder if your c/a glue won't stick because it cures when it gets close to to the accelerant-soaked plastic? :hmm:
I don"t know. The sprayer doesn't work so I have been using a small paint brush or a small pin to put it where I want it. It is rarely soaked I think. Of course, you could be right, but I usually add the accelerant while holding the piece in place. Occassionally I put accelerant on one piece and glue on the other then join. It gives the same might work, might not result. I have tried many things. I know it is me not knowing what I am doing and pure operator error, I just can't seem to narrow down the error.
 
There are different kinds of CA, slow, fast, thin, medium, thick, old, and new. I place my CA on an old sapphire watch crystal. I tend to use different types and mix the properties. In the past I have placed a thick drop of old (very thick and usually slow setting) medium and then place a drop of new thin on it and mix them. The amazing thing is I end up with a relatively thin slow setting CA from that. Depending on what I am gluing, I will sometimes tack the part in place then add more. I never apply accelerant to anything till after the CA has been applied. I then have two steel "paddles" that I dip into the accelerant and pull out a small amount on the tip. The small amount is then run over the placed CA and as what I use dries slower than some I blow on it to get it to evaporate.
I have use CA successfully to attach clear canopies with no problems. No white CA evaporation or anything like that. I have also used CA to fill small areas and seams. It is all in the technique. I find it great for slight gaps at wing roots as done right it fills in perfectly and minimal to no sanding is needed to correct it.
 
I thought that this was the WWII out fit of the ship. I then noticed the ABLs and the CHAFF launchers. Great building anyway. Keep going.
 
The trick, especially with longer runs of p/e railings, is to tack them in place in a few spots and leave them alone while the c/a cures.
Them go back with more c/a glue, a little at a time, and let capillary action draw the adhesive along the bottom of the railing/deck joint. I almost never accelerate c/a glue on a model ship. Hurrying will NOT serve you well.

Esteemed model maker and ship kit reviewer Mark Karolus paints his railings, Tacks, flows c/a glue and then goes back with Testors Dullcote
with a brush to make the shiny glue spots flat. That's it. Mark's results are impossible to argue with.
This is a common procedure among other guys that actually build model ships.
Carl Musselman and Richard Sliwka use this same technique. I consider these men experts.
 
Thing is it is very subtle. It is a lot of small shallow rectangles that can only really be seen when the light is right. The submarine photos he showed were the most pronounced, but it wouldn't surprise me if water pounding against the steel on the subs would cause the steel to divot inwards a bit more than other ships.
The subs mainly get the canning from the pressure gradients when submerging to varying depths, especially the WW2 stuff as the modern subs are way more rounded.
 
The CA is working better using Paul's mixing suggestions. I guess my biggest issue now is making the tweezers let go of the piece without moving it LOL.
I did a lot of glazing (or washes, wharever you want to call it) on the deck to sort of unify all of the various values I had used. I used oil paint thinned with mineral spirits for all of the glazes. For the wood I used Raw Umber and did probably four thin washes. For the blue aft deck I started with Paynes Gray for two coats. I then switched to Orussian Blue for the next three coats. I also used Paynes Gray for the gray deck areas and the tops of the guns.
I used Vallejo Model Air White #71001 mixed with a little Medium Sea Gray #71307 then thinned with a mixture of 50/50 airbrush thinner/ flow improver until I had a fairly transparent thin mixture and used my Iwata HP-C+ airbrush with the tip guard removed and air pressure around 8-10psi to carefully glaze over the bulkheads. It doesn't change the color that much but, again, unifies the variations of grays. I used that same mixture on the hull using mostly vertical strokes to unity those colors as well as simulate VERY subtley (in fact, you can't really see it except studied very closely) to simulate the oil canning effect along the thinner plates.
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I have the 5" turrets assembled and ready for the spray booth.
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I am still not sure what to do about the Phalanx now that my printer is no longer working and I have lost one. I may look for AM parts or scratch build the missing one. I have the files ready to print but they are so tiny I am not sure they would successfully print anyway, but was really looking forward to trying. Maybe Gail was serious about getting the Elegoo Saturn 3 Ultra!
Anyway, that's all I've got for today!
 
Hold out till you get your new printer, you can always add the part once it's done.

Washes/glazes look great.
G and I discussed it said that very thing. I can add them at the end if necessary. I did find a striking set of four on eBay for $22 so if all else fails that is my fall back plan.
 
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