CapnGebs

Its looking good ParasitKaffee. I have just noticed the tiny plane in the middle of the ship in the last picture. Some sort of spotter plane? Will you be 3d printing that too?

I had never considered it before but I guess we can get that unique experience by starting with sold model kits and then customising them into something different to get unique models. We'd be interested to see your work if you manage to get a photo hgbn_dk. At 1/72 that sounds like the ship will be rather large. I'd have trouble finding a home for something that big.

Absolutely El2azer, I find it all really interesting. I like building Lego and its variants too. If you dont have the time or inclination to have to do lots of tweaking, glueing, painting then brick building is a great alternative for a faster, cleaner model making experience. I'm less interested in Lego these days as so much of their stuff is IP based and really expensive but Cobi and some of the others have some really nice WW2 kits for better prices.

I find it amazing just how enormous warships really are. I'm used to looking at model kits that are 1/25, 1/72 and then I hear 1/700. But if you ever get to see a battleship or aircraft carrier for example next to something that is easily relatable like being in dock with a car or crane nearby for comparison its staggering just how huge some of these ships are.

Thats good. I thought it would help cheer things up a bit. (its also a little self serving as I was hoping to find others who could give advice on things as I get back into the hobby :) ) Thats a very smart looking Mogami. The rigging is looking very tidy. I think the rigging is the bit that I find most daunting. This raises an interesting question. How do you guys choose the colour scheme for your models? When I was doing the research into ORP Blyskawica I came across 2 or 3 different camo schemes it has had in its life span and I think I have seen photos of at least 2 camo schemes in ww2 photos. I was helped a lot in trying to get close to correct colouring because she has been turned into a museum ship in Poland and there are plenty of photos and video. I am also in 2 minds about whether I would like her to look like she has just been at sea with the rust stains and dirt marks or clean without any of those marks. I think since this is only my second model in many years she will be clean. I've never tried the techniques to get rust stains and burn marks etc. Maybe I'll build a tank next and practice on that.

They are names I hadn't heard before so a handy tip, thanks.

Me too. I found their prices were getting into silly money years ago when they started doing various intellectual properties like Star Wars. If you like brick building I have just stumbled across this Dr.Bricks CaDA Master C61071W WW2 Tiger Tank Building Kit, RC Military Tank Toy Compatible with LEGO, COBI - 925 Pcs : Amazon.co.uk: Toys & Games .......so tempted :)

Thanks for the suggestions ParasitKaffee. I'll look into those companies. I feel some additions to my backlog coming on :)

Admirality mentioned Cobi blocks too. It seems like a great light relief. I'm very tempted by Tiger I - COBI Blocks from EU

I hadn't realised we had a great community of model builders here so heres a question for you all. Are there any model kit manufacturers or specific model kits that you have particularly liked?

Ah man thats got to be something to be proud of! I've been to Duxford a few times for their flying legends event (which is awesome if someone wants to go to a WW2 airshow. The "Bilbao" fly-by of so many 2nd world war aircraft in a huge formation is breath taking.) Do you know which model is there? I'll have to go looking for it next time I go to one of their shows.

Does that mean some of your work is in museums or something? That would be really cool.

Hey that works really well. Beats my attempt using the black mouse mat as a backdrop :) It really looks like an actual photo of a real plane. That gives me an idea, maybe next photo I can just pull up a nice backdrop on the pc monitor and try taking a photo in front of that. Thats quit an impressive backlog of kits. My little backlog waiting to be started is currently : De Havilland Mosquito (Airfix) (My favourite plane of all) T72 M1 main battle tank (Revell) British Special Air Service Jeep (Tamiya) Full Armour Unicorn Gundam (Bandai) (I know, I know....but it looked so cool) Nice to know I'm not the only one who sees a kit I really want and gets it even though I am still working on another model :)

Oh gosh it was damaged so badly you could actually see inside the hull?! What on earth did they do to it! I would be so upset if I found something like that I had built. Right everybody, you heard ParasitKaffee, thats a lesson for us all, never sell your models :)

Gvozdika, I can't imagine doing something so fun for a job. Of course I appreciate if its a job there are all kinds of stresses like deadlines, but still. Sounds like a dream job. Regarding getting to keep your models, I have seen youtube videos of Adam Savage (film prop maker and star of Mythbusters) in which he said when starting out he could not afford materials so his agreement with customers was that after they had finished with his prop he got to keep it and the raw materials. Maybe you could ask them to notify you when they were getting rid and you could get them back. That would be cool and also like having a physical portfolio. Those models look so incredibly detailed. I love that picture of the engine bay of an old fighter. It looks like youve somehow managed to colour some of the metal work so it has been heated like when an exhaust gets purple colours in it. The Harrier jump jet is one of my favourite planes. If your a model maker does that mean you had to scratch build those models rather than being kits? Ooh, an Apache gunship. I have loved those helicopters since I was a boy. The first time I saw one I thought it was the helicopter from the film Blue Thunder and that was me hooked :)

I agree absolutely. Whilst I was gathering pictures of the Blyskawica for reference I found a few online in various places but the 2 best resources by far were the ship in port in the game and the youtube video Wargaming created Naval Legends: ORP Błyskawica | World of Warships - YouTube which I grabbed loads of screenshots from when paused.

Aethervoxx, are you actually hand sculpting parts? That sounds super difficult. When you get it complete we will have to find a picture of a Tenryu to compare and understand the differences. I have a soft spot for the Kuma as it is the only ship I have ever achieved a kraken in. Maybe I should build a model of it just for that reason :) And thanks for the extra info on the HMCS Alberni. Its really useful when people share these pieces of information they have gathered.

Why is it a wreck, did it break? That would be a shame as it looks great afloat like that. Your currently working on a Missouri and an aircraft carrier at the same time? good grief. They are looking impressive though.

Ooh, now thats a man-cave NoLoveForPhatShips. All that space to play with and to be able to look up and see all your hard work hanging from the ceiling. Very jealous.

Goodness me ParasitKaffee thats a seriously impressive undertaking. A hull that big must have been printed in several parts right? Otherwise the 3d printer would have had to be huge. Then I would imagine getting all the parts perfectly lined up to make a smooth hydro-dynamic shape to be rc capable would be really tricky. All the intricate rigging in that 9th picture looks great. I had to do a tiny bit of wiring for my tiger moth's bi-plane wings and it was the hardest part of the build. I'm not looking forward to it on the Blyskawica. Getting the lines to stay attached whilst the glue dries was a right pain. I quite like the little scammell. Thats a lot of detail you managed to get onto something so small. I'm sure your dads friend is going to love it.

Oh my gracious Ocsimano18, thats amazing! Thats going to be superb once the modelling is complete. Do you do all the wiring yourself?

More stunning detail. That looks fantastic Pametrada. How do you "rebuild" a kit once its all been glued together?

Crikey ParasitKaffee I've just seen some of your postings! Creating your own digital 3d models from proper schematics and 3d printing?! Thats a whole other level. I'll have to spend some time to read the thread fully and watch the progress. Amazing job! It must be tricky getting all the 3d printing lines off such intricate parts? Thanks Ocsimano18 I'll watch that over a brew. I find watching videos of people building models quite relaxing :)

Niiice, loving the fleet Fatal_Ramses. Amazing detail work.

Talking of radio-control. I saw an RC display at Weald and Download Museum a while back that was awesome. They had RC ships on the duck pond re-enacting a landing raid. Allied RC tanks then disembarked and trundled into a model town and attacked the german defenses including german tanks. Lots of pyro effects, smoke, sacrificial model tanks on fire. Brilliant. Seeing an RC u-boat submerge and then raise back to the surface was something I had never seen before. A mention of the event is at Full steam ahead at museum | Chichester Post. Hopefully when things are opened up again Weald and Download will do another such event. And adding RC to a model is definitely beyond me for the moment but I love the idea. It looks cool Ocsimano18, you'll definitely have to update us with video when you can get it sailing :) Ooh NoLoveForPhatShips that carrier looks great. I think I will have to add something like to my purchasing list.