Model Boat Mayhem
The Shipyard ( Dry Dock ): Builds & Questions => Navy - Military - Battleships: => Topic started by: Voyager on May 29, 2006, 04:55:55 pm
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Thought i would share my progress on converting Revells Flower Class Corvette (Snowberry) I decided to go with a weathered version (Much more realistic....if it's done correctly!) For reference i purchased the film ''The Cruel Sea'' which is based around the Flower Class, even tho it's an old B/W movie, it gave me the information i needed as regards the weathering process. For those who are thinking about getting the Revell kit, a word of warning.....dont expect the parts to fit together correctly, unless you spend time making them fit! If i was to start again, i would rather go with the Matchbox version as the tooling is the same, but the moulding's are cleaner(If you can still get hold of it?)
The model has been fitted with a Prop Shop shaft and prop, with a custom oiler tube added. Power is supplied by a 385 motor connected to a Robo double coupling.....Right and now onto the painting. The model was airbrushed using Humbrol enamel paints, after first spraying the hull with Halfords acrylic white plastic primer. To obtain a super smooth finish, the primer needs to be lightly sanded before applying any enamel paints. The first enamel paint applied was a satin white over the whole hull, which was left to dry for two days, after which the hull was masked off and a number of light coat enamel satin black was sprayed on, and again left for two days to fully harden. The remaining colours applied which consisted of Humbrol (89) for the blue, and Humbrol (23) for the green. The model was still looking like a plastic kit, or a dockyard fresh of the production line boat.....but that's the way some people like it! Carefull aplications of Humbrol (62) with a fine brush started the rusting process, then before the paint dried, use an old paint brush to apply a dusting of ''Light Rust'' pigment powders available from MIG Productions. Then using a soaked in thinners cotton bud, dab the area you just applied rust on with the cotton bud to seal in the powders, and for that extra touch, touch the area and drag it down to the water line. For darker and heavier rust you can use Humbrol (70) and again using the same application process as before. For small chips in the paint and scratches i use Karismacolor pencils, you can find these at most good art shops, silver 949, black 935, tuscan red 937, burnt oche 943. If you over weather an area, or it just doent look right, you can remove it with a cotton but soaked in thinners. Last of all to highlight and raise any detail, a thinned wash of Winton oil washes (Again from your local art shop) over the whole model, this is best left to dry for an hour or when the wash turns dull. Plenty of toilet roll should be on hand to gently remove some of the wash, but the detailed area's should remain.
Once your happy with everything, a coat of satin or matt varnish locks everything in.....and there you have it.....a realistic weathered model...i hope!
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Very nice job, look forward to seeing some more pics as the build progresses.
Richard
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Many thanks ;D! I will keep you posted.
Kind regards: Voyager.
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That weathering looks really impressive!
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Thanks ;D
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....And here is what i have completed tonight, and along with a picture of my internal setup.
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Voyager- a really nice job. Go on with it and please keep us informed about any progress.
Happy modeling,
J?rg
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How annoyingly good is that? :o >:( ;)
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Maybe you can solve a small problem for me I have noticed most of you gentleman seem to use the system of an oiler type tube on your prop shafts is there any particular reason for doing it this way, as most of the models I have seen or buitl myself over here in Australia seem to just use vaseline syringed into the prop shaft then wind and push the shaft into the tube with your finger over the other end which forces the vaseline around the shaft and fills the cavity forming a greased shaft which is waterproof and will not need to be looked at for years..
Roy
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We find that with an oiler tube fitted, it makes servicing a breaze! There is no need to strip out the prop shaft and undo the prop, and on top of that there is less drag like you would have with grease, so the motor is not having to over work itself. All my club memebers have them fitted, if you do decide to fit one? Remember to put a cap over the tube, othewise the oil wont stay in the tube for very long.
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I use an oiler tube but have never fitted a cap over the top....maybe that explains the pool of water i often have at the end of a sail...I always thought the air pressure would blow the cap off the tube, dont know where I picked that piece of info up from but I assume its wrong..Off to find something to use as a cap ....
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Try asking in a RC shop for an arial cap, it is made of rubber and fits nicely providing the tube is not to big.
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thanks for the tip
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Thank you Voyager I had never thought of trying that but I can see the merits of ther system so I will test it out on the next tug and see what happens if it is as good as you say then I will be in for some wrok to change all the other models over to the system.. Thanks again..
Roy
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What sort of oil is best to use in the prop shaft?
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IF YOU GO TO AN RC CAR SHOP AND ASK FOR PURE SILICONE OIL, IT CAN BE PURCHASED IN A VARIETY OF THICKNESSES. FOR SMALLER BOATS USE A THINNER OIL, LARGER BOATS CAN USE A MUCH THICKER OIL AS RULE.
HOPE THIS HELPS!
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Sorry its been a while, been busy working of late, and what with the high temp....well it was too hot for modeling! Here is the latest on my weathered Snowberry. I have filled the portholes in with 5min epoxy, and then painted the portholes semi-black, should stop that nasty liquid from entering uninvited. Start working on the main superstructure now, its a case biulding then painting, and then...well you get the drift.
Hope you like what you see so far!
Regards:Voyager
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Well had another whole day of just weathering, trying to tone down all those new pure white add-ons. This weathering malarky is doing my head in :'(....aaahhhh! And i still have a billion and one parts to assemble and paint :P
Having a days break today, if i'm in the mood, then i might have a bash this evening.
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..... hi, fantastic stuff, I can sympathise with all the weathering you are doing - good idea, bad idea?? So yep, I've got one of these to start as well and your pics have certainly inspired me think about making some headway with it sooner or later....
What power source have you used, as it is single shaft, a 385 5 pole low drain type? Or is that not quite powerful enough?
Cheers
Brian
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Hi Brian,
Yup, it's a 385 alright. A friend of mine has built one using one of these motors, and it went rather well indeed! The tooling is rather crude, so not all the parts fit together great, but with a little bit of tinkering with some filler and a file, you can make them fit.
I have just this minute found a link to a full size Corvette, here is the link: http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.ziobrowski.net/rnm/sackville/800/DSC04099.JPG&imgrefurl=http://www.ziobrowski.net/rnm/index.php%3Fi%3Dsackville&h=600&w=800&sz=45&hl=en&start=62&tbnid=yfpaEa3fr7SSoM:&tbnh=106&tbnw=142&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dflower%2Bclass%2Bcorvette%26start%3D54%26ndsp%3D18%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26rls%3DGGLG,GGLG:2006-12,GGLG:en%26sa%3DN
Not had achance to go over the site yet, but should come in very handy.
Regards:Wayne.
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.... hi Wayne... thanks for the assistance and advice, I'll check out that link too - every little helps! ;)
I understand the Revell kit doesn't go together as well as the Matchbox kit did (they fetch more dosh on eBay too if you fancy getting stuck in there! I certainly don't!)
Not sure if i'll be doing the weathering though.... I'll have to give that some thought! ....Mmmmmm!
Let you know how I get on and what I'm going to make a start on....
regards, Brian
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Good stuff...oh the other advantage in the matchbox, you get instructions to build either the Snowberry, Saucy, or the Bluebell.
Hope to hear some updates on your build soon!
Regards:Wayne.
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A 385 motor and 35mm brass prop on 6 or 7.2 volts will give plenty of power, bit too much, but useful in strong winds.
One thing that is Vital for this model is to ballast her deep or they can look very toy-like.
Bob
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Many thanks Bob, i am going to use 2x 6v 4amp power batteries, as this seems to bring her to the correct waterline. Incase you wondered, the other battery will just be used as a spare, should the need arise.
I may indeed leave out one battery and add a sound system, smoke, and maybe working radar.....Maybe? ???
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... Cheers Bob, thats great thanks - I had remembered your specific comments about ballasting these kits deep from a previous thread on these models.
I'm seriously aiming to finish one project off before Xmas at least (!) but just not sure which one! ;D
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Which was that Christmas or model Ambernblue :o :o
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...... thanks for that Bob...!
However, you are indeed correct - to clarify the situation, I'm not sure which project will get finished which Xmas!! :D
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I work on the theory that I have so many projects to complete I haven't got time to die ..........got to go to hospital for the day in a couple of weeks and in the blurb that was sent me it says try to carry out a normal day .............wonder how they would feel if i took my shed ,tools pains and projects with me ;D ;D
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.... was there a 'Freudian slip' in there, Bob? ;D
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Yes there was must be getting old ;D
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Yes there was must be getting old ;D
Not looking for an argument are we? ;D ;D ;D ;D
Doug
(look younger but feel older!!)
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Just get that cheque off for Skipsea in november Doug and if you are at a loose end on saturday come along to Skegness Lifeboat station for open day :o :o
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I have been working hard the past couple of days painting fittings and weathering them. The Revell instruction are a pain in the ar@e! Just found out the air ducts are illustrated wrong in the instructions, so i had to carefuly remove them and reposition them....aaahhhh! >:(
I'm hoping that the boat will be sea worthy in two weeks time, or maybe before??? The weather has been rather windy the last couple of days, so i'm hoping for a bright calm day for it's maiden voyage.
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All the new additions are still pure white, all parts will be toned down to match the rest of the vessel.
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One quick qustion, is the oil in the prop tube purely for waterproofing, or does the shaft need lubrication as well? Nice boat by the way. I have a kit which I haven't started yet.
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Yes to both your questions! The oil stops water coming back up, and helps with keeping everything smooth and quiet. It makes a big difference to the noise levels
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Thinned humbrol #27 was used for the panel lines on the side of the hull, next to go on tonight will be thined humbrol #70 to replicate a soft rusting affect on the side of the hull.
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Once this project is completed, aprox two weeks, the model will be available for sale on this forum. The model will be sold with motor, coupling, prop shop shaft and prop, micro servo, speed controller (M-Tronik), not included is the receiver and battery or transmiter.
Anyone interest can contact me on: [email protected]
Not going to name any prices, but i am open to sensible offers!
Regards: voyager
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Your weathering is awesome :o Will you varnish the model and if so how will you avoid it changing the look of the weathering/will it change look of the weathering?
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Thanks! Anyway beleive it or not, but half the boat has already been sealed, i use a waterproof satin varnish which only has a very slight sheen. Once all the transfers have been applied, the boat will get another coat of varnish.
Voyager.
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.... Wayne, I can't believe you are parting with it after all the work and effort you've put into it - its a complete one-off for sure! ;)
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I know...don't remind me! :'( I just like the building part it, but the other reason is that i can only have up to four boats at any one time....not my rules you understand! So i want another project to be getting on with, so the money for this pays for another model.
Mmmm...women ::)
Oh...and here is what it looks like sinse this morning!
Regards: Voyager.
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.. I completely understand the need to get rid.... but I decided to keep the model boats... and the model trains.... and everything else interesting! ;D
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I wish i could be like that :-\
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If you keep it to long, all that rust will eat away at it and you will be left with a pile of rust dust, ;D ;D a flower man
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:o Oh my gosh, your right i never thought of that....crums..i shall be awake all night thinking of that now!
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...Wayne - That 'getting rid thing' you mentioned? It comes to us all one day mate.
It may seem bad at the time, but remember - every cloud has a mega silver lining. ;D
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In times of desperation i will remember your words :'(
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for the R/C how have you split the deck to gain access?
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I glued the rear superstructure to the middle superstructure (funnel section) together, i then cut a section out from the mid deck area. If you look at the picture below you should be able to work out what i have done.
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wish mine was that tidy, when i get chance to get the thing next to the computer web cam i will try and post a few photo's of the wreck - sorry boat, yea sorry boat
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It can't be that bad!
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you have not seen it yet.
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here she is, when she did not look too bad
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That looks ok! Nice colour markings.
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apparently they used whatever they got there hands on to fit them out so i have a boffors at the back and i say that they ran out of paint and used the yellow at the front (sorry - biscuit) and the funnel area.
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Looking at the deck cut-out, I assume that there's a coaming going in there?
About the colours - I saw a story somewhere that the green part of the camo scheme gradually reduced as the war went on because the supply of green paint was going to the army, who wanted more and more as they got more tanks & things of that nature to colour in.
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just shows you what changing a bmp format to jpeg does to photo's, the three colours are biscuit front, funnel and below it and a bit at the back (this is so old i dont remember where the colour came from - may have ben from the matchbox colour chart), then there is M3 grey (light) and something like a dark tank grey.
the only part of the deck that is not removable is the bit at the front where the windlass is up to the breakwater i.e. the end of the front yellow bit.
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Following my query as to a suitable "warship" for a first build, I have now obtained a Revell Flower class corvette. I have built the hull and have sealed the internal seams with epoxy resin, but I would appreciate some advice with regards to motor, ESC and rudder.
With regards to the motor, will a "385" type be sufficient to replicate a scale speed?
I am unsure of which ESC to fit. as a first build, all I am looking to achieve is a model that is capable of sailing forwards/backwards and steering to the left and right. I am not aiming to fit and operating accessory items etc, therefore can anyone suggest a suitable (basic) speed controller?
Finally, I am proposing to use the rudder supplied with the kit, albeit with a smaller brass one sandwiched between the two halves of the Revell one. My query relates to fitting the rudder assembly to the hull. I have read about using several different diameter brass tubes, soldered together, to form a telescoping assembly, but wonder if anyone has any advice as to other approaches which I could consider.
Apologies for the lengh of the post!
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Glad to see you going for an rc version ;) With regards to the speed controller, MTronic do a basic marine version which retails for £20.00, and it's waterproof. The 385 motor is perfect, as that's what my other club members have used and it runs very well indeed. Make sure that you fit a double coupling and not a single, the double runs much smoother without any tight spot in the turns. When it comes to doing the rudder, make sure that the outer tube is higher than the water line. I used the kit rudder for mine, but i modified it to allow a solid brass tube to go through the made up rudder, remember to grease the tube as it could be difficult to take it apart when the boat is fully assembled. The prop and shaft can be obtained from Prop-Shop which can be found in Marine Modeller or Model Boats mags. The last bid of advice to you is to not use the kit hull windows, better to glue plasticard on the inner hull and paint them black on the outside after.
Good Luck with it!
Voyager.
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Thanks Voyager, by the way your photo's of the painted model are an inspiration! If mine only turns out to be half as good I'll be over the moon.
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That's very nice of you, thanks!
If you need any help i'm only an e-mail away!!
Regards:Voyager
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This is mine.
Bit of a rust bucket, but it is US Navy !
Great fun to make.
Hope you enjoy yours.
Richard :) :)
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Looks pretty good mate, I am still yet to try weathering, I think it must be the hardest part of modelling....
Roy
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To make life a little easier on mine, I arranged a removable bit of deck around the DC rails for access to the rudder linkage. I sail in salt 'n silt so regular servicing is essential.
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Bit more detail please, have been wondering how to get round the rudder problem and still keep the wet stuff out.
Richard ??? ???
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As you look at the area of the aft deck where the DC rails mount, there are four moulded lines. Use these as a guide to cut out a manhole, and mount the DC rails on this. (Helps hide the cut line). Strips of plasticard make a ledge to stop the assembly dropping through, and when in use a smear of vaseline or similar round the edge resists any wet stuff trying to get in that way.
You can then see and get at the top of the rudder arrangement.
Like I said, sailing in salty water means that servicing is a regular occurence, and the easiest way to get the propshaft out is to get the rudder out of the way first, rather than taking the prop off and fiddling about pulling it up the inside of the hull. Persuading it to go back that way has problems as well.
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Hi Guys,
I'm building the "Flower" as a first build RC model. I've managed to get to build an seal the hull, install a propshaft and modify the rudder. At this stage I need to think about painting the hull. I don't have an airbrush, and i don't propose to buy one in the near future, so I was hoping to use the Halford's spray paints to paint the larger areas of the model.
I have both the John Lambert Warship perspectives book and a series of colour side elevations by Bob Pearson. However, as a first build, I would like to keep the paint scheme simple. As a further thought, I would prefer to model an RN ship as opposed to the RCN.
The problem is that I can't seem to find a simple paint scheme listed (i.e. overall grey, possibly with a darker grey stripe as a rudimentary form of camouflage). I have seen pictures of other peoples models where they have used a two tone grey with a red hull. While I'm not attempting to replicate every detail in miniature, I would like the model to appear credible, although it is unlikely to be entered for any competitions. Can anyone advise me of colour schemes that they have used, and the names/numbers of the paints.
many thanks,
ITE
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This site will give you all different camouflage schemes for Flower Class.
http://www.cbrnp.com/profiles/naval/Flower_Class-Corvettes.htm
I dont know the paint nos i'm afraid.
i painted mine by hand using a 1/2" modelling brush and Tamiya acrylics.
The original ships were pretty badly treated and weathered so an emaculate paint job would be a bit out of place.
Richard 8)
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Two Corvettes & a wreck site, caused by leaving a model on the pool side on a windy day with no stand!
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The wrecked version below was once the model that started this thread :o I'm gonna have nightmares tonight after seeing this.
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The wrecked version below was once the model that started this thread :o I'm gonna have nightmares tonight after seeing this.
It looks like rust set in, put on some rust inhibiter, and do a rebuild.
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Whichever way you look at it that is a very sad sight. It just goes to show that you can't take your eyes of them when they are outside and you must be thinking of every possibility.
I just hope it can be rebuilt.
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The wrecked version below was once the model that started this thread :o I'm gonna have nightmares tonight after seeing this.
Are you sure? this one lived at Norwich and was owned by a freind of mine, did you sell it to him, the wreck was lphotographed in Nov 05.
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When you spend 4 or 5 months working on a model, you know it inside out! This was mine 100%!!!
The fading on the lower hull was done first with black, then a number of dark grey colours applied in a random pattern. The prop shaft and prop was from prop-shop, and the prop shaft had a plasti-card block support inside. The portholes are all glued from inside, then painted black on the ouside. The wheelhouse windows are frosted, and the faded panel lines on the rear superstructure was acheived with Winston oil washes.
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As she was in happier times.................
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Nice to see her on the water! How did she perform before the end?
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as i remember, very well, shame to see her lost like that , totally unrepairable.
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Bloody shame! It would have been better had she sunk, at least it would have remained in one! Then she would have retained the realism of a real ship wreck!!!
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Turbulent sorry to see your misshap but nothing is NOT repairable come on Voyager accept the challenge if there is anyone that can you are that man (BLOOMIN HECK Stav being complementery)
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Thanks for the recommendation and praise Stavros, however looking at it, i would say it would be far quicker and easier to start from scratch! More than happy to offer tips if the owner wishes to build another up, i could give him the list of paints and weathering tools i used.
Regards: Voyager
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hi voyager I really like your model boat because i like the way it is weathered I think i will have a go at weathering my arkroyal. (I will be able to do that when i am about 12 years old)
hannah :) :) :)
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Thank you Hannah, may i say how nice it is to see a young lady getting into model boats.
Good on ya!
Voyager
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The painting looks realistic, but I served on a steam boat, the old RMAS St Margaret's and one point that I notice with alto of steam vessels which burnt FFO is their nice neat clean funnels. Steam ship funnels usually discolour due to exhaust heat, especially small basic types like corvettes also where is all the black sticky muck that spews out all the time the boilers are flashed up. I ruined all my white shirts on the old Maggie due to oily soot raining down on me. Every thing near the funnel was black, it was an endless task washing the old girl down and painting the funnel.
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Hi voyager,
I have also got the kit from revell and was wondering if you filled in the holes at the back where the depth charges ran out off the rack. At the mayhem weekend I saw one that had the holes filled in, and it was completed and looked brilliant by the way, and was wondering if it is necessary as mine hasn't been filled in. I would rather know before I finish so I don't have to redo that much, but just want to find the general opinion.
I also think that the weathering is brilliant, but wondered if there was an easier way to do it.
Thanks
Sam
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Hi Sam
Sorry to jump in but I left mine in the open position and its fine.
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I've just finished my first R/C boat too - which, of course, is the iconic Snowberry :)
Happy that mine's about half as good as Voyagers!
Also I left the doors (for want of the correct terminology) at the stern open too - had no problems at all sailing. Getting in and out of the water/house/car without knocking them off is a different matter... :)
Pics at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mahoon/
Small, badly lit, badly edited, badly soundtracked vid:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=tN5gxKibxjY
And having just read rmasmaster's comments - I'm going to have to do somthing about that way too clean funnel... :)
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Hi all, just starting the Revell kit for Snowberry and wondering if anyone else is in the process of doing the same build presently and would like to rejuvenatethis thread. I intend to do an rc version and Voyager has sent me his photos and will be of assistance. I would appreciate the help and some folks to bounce ideas and photos off.
Robert
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Hi Robert you'd be best to start your own topic on your build rather than carry on with this one. O0