Greetings all,
Sorry for the late posting on our last meeting.  I've been working on some display cabinets we put in our basement so that I have a proper home for my finished models.  I added LED lighting which really finished the project!  Here's a photo...

I think this will be a good topic for a future meeting.

So, at the last meeting I led a discussion about painting models using the black basing method.  This is where you start with a black foundation and build color on top of that until you reach the desired finish.  In this photo I applied a variety of colors to see how it would effect the finished coat.

For example (and this was my inspiration) the Burke class destroyer had an undercoat of red.  This destroyer back from duty lost some of its paint on the bow.  If you look at the hull closely you can see a shade of red in the gray.  I'm assuming that after being at sea some of the gray is worn away, revealing some of the color underneath.

Here's the finished paint work.  I think it produced the subtle affect I was looking for.  It would benefit from some additional weathering.  The consensus was that it wasn't worth it and there are other ways to achieve a weathered ship, particularly in this scale.  Or maybe it was "David, you're crazy!"  😎  I think I will use this on the container ship and she how I get on.  I wonder if I could replicate that oil canning by spraying over some screen?  What do you think?  I may try that and bring it to the next meeting.  

We also spent some time talking about the IPMS convention.  I won't spend any more time on that subject.  👌

John continued to amaze us with his productivity!  What I liked about this one was that these two vessels are the same.  The bottom was the wartime conversion from tender to aircraft carrier.  Great subjects John!  I don't recall the information on the destroyer.

John had a detail kit for a Battleship that was never built.  Much like the US Montana class of ships.  But it looks like a great update set.  

Here's another beauty that I can't remember the name of?  Help me out John!  

Okay, here's a little beauty!  John built Ft Drum which is located in the Philippines.  I wonder if Sam has a presentation he could do on Ft Drum?  .  Take a look at John's model and photos of the actual facility.

Here's Ft Drum back in the day. 

Today it's been beat to death.  

Finally an assortment of tools that everyone loves to see.  We have a mini razor saw, ceramic scrapper, and some sort of knife that's goods for curves.  They're all in their packages so I'm hoping for a follow on report from John on how he got on with these tools.  That is if he's not too busy playing with the ultrasonic cutter.  😎

Until next time guys!  Which is coming up fast by the way!

Dave

Ship Club Time!
Meeting Location:
Rockler Woodworking (in the basement)
2553 S. Colorado Blvd., Suite 108
Denver, Colorado  80222
Date:  September 7, 2019
Time:  10:00

Back from the IPMS Nationals where our club was well represented.  Probably the most impressive collection of vendors, seminars, and models since I've been going there.  In fact I believe they set records for the number of entries.

Thanks to Sam for helping me sponsor a ship related category.  I'll share with you the winners from that category...

During the show I attended a presentation on black basing.  This is a technique where you start with a solid black base color and build color on top of it.  It's been used extensively with aircraft, but does it have a place with ship models?  I put it to the test and we'll talk about my experience during the meeting.

Sorry for the delayed response.  I've been off at IPMS Nationals which was an amazing experience.  At the next meeting those of us who attended will give a recap of the experience.

Following up from the last meeting...

Sam gave an excellent presentation on Naval Anti Submarine Warfare aircraft.

  He's on a mission to replicate this bad boy in 1/700 scale?  Or was it 1/350 scale?  In any event, that's a challenge!  

I continued with a discussion on creating cases for ship models.  Some of the tips I passed along were...

Instead of oil based stains try water based dyes instead for coloring wood.  The dye penetrates the wood better and is more even than oil stains where the pigment sits on the surface of the wood.  Finish it off with a wipe on polly urethane finish.  Very easy finishing!

To get perfectly square miters this ancient looking tool is actually a slicer for cutting paper thin layers of wood.  Initial cut with a miter saw.  Use this tool to take small layers and get perfect miter joints, all cut to the exact same size.  You can find these from a variety of sellers such as Grizzly, Rockler, and others.  Look for a sale and you can get them for $150 to $200.  I got mine on a sale for the former price.

Last, glue up your base and use this clamp hold it tight as the glue dries.  No nail holes in the finished product box!  You can get this at Rockler for $27.98.

Here's the finished result...Oooh!  What's that in front of it!  More on that at the next meeting.

Roger made a nice find with this Sky Wave (Pitt Road) set of Germany Navy Equipment.  I found it on eBay for about $18.  

Roger also shared a new find with us.  Mesh sand paper.  He came across this at a woodworker's show.  I've seen this before but this is far superior.  Because it's mesh it's easy to clean out any material that it picks up.  You can find this online at Wood Carver's Supply.  A 4.5 inch by 24 inch roll is only $4.95.  Rockler sells discs for electric sanders of the same or similar material.  Nice find Roger!

Bill Smallshaw shared with us a publication called Warship International from Warship International Research Organization.  Click this link to their web site.  Some great information there.  Check it out!  Thanks for finding this Bill!

Once again John Widmar did not disappoint.  He brought a new tool which is an ultrasonic cutter.  Wow!  This thing vibrates at 40,000 times per second.  Try to comprehend that number!  If you have a pace maker DO NOT BUY THIS cutter.  We found a warning about it on the packaging.  We gave it a go after the meeting and I was amazed how well this thing worked.  It went through plastic sprue like butter.  Best part about it is that when it cuts off an items on a sprue, the part falls straight down.  It doesn't go flying somewhere.  They are pricy!  The one John brought is about $317 and up.  There are a couple of other brands out there that are around $400 and up.  John had me cut through some paper.  It went through it like it wasn't there and actually cut into the wood below.  It's not a hot blade but can produce heat as it cuts.  Just ask Roger!  Here's a video...

John and Bill also brought us some kits.  We had a mixed review on the Blue Ridge Models 1/700 USS Sargo.  John thought it was over priced.  Bill thought it was essential to his collection.  A little pricy but you get a lot in the kit.  Resin hull, Resin 3D printed parts, and Photo Etch.  About $48?  I picked up one at the IPMS Nationals.  I'm going to have to pull Jerry's mill out and do something with this kit.  More on that later!

Additional kits that are all little gems!

We'll see you next time!

Dave

Ship Club Time!

Meeting Location:
Rockler Woodworking (in the basement)
2553 S. Colorado Blvd., Suite 108
Denver, Colorado  80222
Date:  August 3, 2019
Time:  10:00

The IPMS National Convention is looming and I'm busy finishing up my project.  I expect to have it at the meeting.  At this point I don't anticipate it splattering against the wall.  This is a model I built as a club project a while back and had a chance to finish it for this show.  It will be entered in the Vignette category which we can talk more about during the meeting.  Most importantly, it meets the size requirement for travel by air.  Here's a hint...

I've been having a lot of fun putting this together, especially the base and case.  I'll be talking more about that during the meeting and showing you what tools and materials I used.

I decided to sponsor the Ship Diorama awards, Category 742, at the convention under our club's name.  This was solely my decision and I've paid for it already.  If anyone would like to donate to the cause it would be appreciated.

Update.. Sam advised that he's going to deliver a presentation on naval AEW Aircraft.

For those of you who ordered Flexy 5CA and related products, it all came in.  I'll shoot out a message later with amounts everyone owes.

I ordered the ceramic wire as well.  When I spoke with them they had a mad rush on it and were out of stock.  However they expected to have it back in about now.  I'm going to call them tomorrow and see how it's coming along.  If it's on the way I will let you know by email as well.

I look forward to seeing you all Saturday!
Dave

Greetings all,
Another good meeting.

We started off with a video on how to use AK Interactive Weathering Pencils.  Here are some links to the video we watched and a couple of others.  There's a lot of buzz about this product.  These are water color pencils.  There are several different ways to use it which makes it a valuable tool in your weathering arsenal.  What's particularly nice about these is that they are colors that are complimentary to our hobby.  AK has taken an interesting approach to marketing them.  You can buy them as a complete set (about $70 wish), In packs of 5 in complimentary groupings for about $10, and individually which tend to be higher priced.

We had some fun playing around with them during the meeting.  Feedback overall was positive.  Use a manual type of sharpener so you don't waste any of your pencils.  Give it a try!

At this time I'm not planning on putting in any kind of order since there are so many options.  They are available at Colpar and online from MegaHobby, Michigan Toy Solder, Last Cavalary, Amazon, eBay, and many others.

John brought us some new kits as well.  Some nice kits from Fstar Models.  Also the 1/700 Nisshan from Aoshima.  These look like fun little kits.

Kent Strapko brought me the information about the customer 3D printed aircraft.  The manufacturer is Northview Foundry.  These are available through Tom's Modelworks.

We also had a good discussion about CA glues, specifically from Vantage Modeling Solutions.  Tonight I put in an order from Michigan Toy Soldiers who markets their products.  I've requested that we have everything before the next meeting if at all possible.

I'm also putting in an order for ceramic wire.  Love this stuff!  We'll try and get this before the next meeting as well.

Until next meeting!

It's that time again!  Sorry for the late message but my wife and I just returned from vacation.

Meeting Location:
Rockler Woodworking (in the basement)
2553 S. Colorado Blvd., Suite 108
Denver, Colorado  80222
Date:  July 6, 2019
Time:  10:00

As we discussed last meeting we're going to play with the new AK Interactive weathering pencils.  Remember these?  I'm going to bring a hull with several different finishes to see how these perform.  The plan is show a "how to" video and then we'll try some of the techniques for ourselves.

The complete set of these pencils was recently released.  The entire set is expensive at $70 ish depending on where you find them.  But they are oriented to scale models and could be one of those sets that lasts a life time.

I look forward to seeing you all Saturday.  Remember...

• Bring your challenges
• Bring your new kits
• Bring your finished kits
• Bring ideas!

Dave

Thanks for everyone who came out to the meeting Saturday!

We started out with an excellent presentation from Bill Smallshaw on the FRAM Destroyer program which was the modernization and conversion of mostly young WWII destroyer hulls.  Gearing, Sumner, and Fletcher variants were discussed.  Nice job Bill!

There are few modeling choices for true FRAM destroyers.  There have been a few over the years in 1/700 scale but those are out of production.  

Iron Shipwrights produces several kits in 1/350 and 1/192 scale.  You can find these at Freetime Hobbies.

1/350 Resin Kits

1/192 Resin Kits

We had an excellent discussion about filling small scratches in resin and plastic ship hulls.  Sam challenged the group for solutions and here are some of the ideas we came up with...

Mr. Surfacer was a popular choice and demonstrated by John DuGene.  This product is available in three viscosities.  500 which is the thickest, 1000 which is a medium thickness, and 1200 which is the thinest.  Mr. Surfacer is a solvent based product and usually takes a minimum of 24 hours to dry off completely.  If thicker amounts are applied more drying time is a good idea.  Removal is by various sanding methods.  It's a good idea to sand across the scratch rather than with it.  When you sand along , or in the direction of the scratch there is a tendency to sand into the filler because of the hardness differences in materials.  It's available on line for about $6 per bottle.  Somebody mentioned that Colpar isn't going to carry it anymore which would be unfortunate.  

Here's a video that you may find helpful courtesy of Genesis Models...

Other options discussed were using CA glue mixed with baking power.  The baking powder accelerates the drying time.  Here's a video courtesy of SprueCutters.com out of Singapore demonstrating this method.  It works well with resin because moth materials are hard.  However as discussed during the meeting it is best to sand it relatively quickly before it gets too hard, which can be as little as 24 hours.  

Another option discussed was the Novus plastic polishing system.  This is an excellent for removing small scratches.  You use different levels of abrasion to ultimately get to a very smooth finish.  You can buy this from a variety of places online as well as Plasticare off of South Santa Fe Dr. in Littleton.  The set sells for about $12.  It comes in a variety of sizes too.  

Yet another option is two part water based epoxy resin.  One I've seen used with great success is Aves Apoxie Sculpt.  Mix the two parts together and work it into a seem.  This is better for bigger gaps rather than scratches.  Because it's water based you can clean up easily with water leaving behind only the filler.  It also dries hard and would be a good choice for resin.  It used to be available at Hobby Lobby but I don't see it on their web site anymore.  You can get it from Amazon for about $17.  

Martin also suggested dipping with Future which is an acrylic clear finish.  This is self leveling and is excellent for covering up small imperfections.  

Thanks to everyone for contributing to this discussion.  Really great stuff!

Next up was Ron who found these excellent visors.  These visors are much less expensive than Optivisor.  They include a well thought out LED light mounted on the hood.  And they come with lenses that can magnify as follows:

• Single-plate lenses: 1.0X, 1.5X, 2.0X, 2.5X, 3.5X
• Bi-plate lenses: 3.0X, 4.0X, 4.5X, 5.0X, 5.5X, 6.0X

Excellent find Ron!  Ron found his from www.Travers.com.  Jerry and John also found them from another supplier called www.esslinger.com.  Check them both out and decide which is best for you.  Based on reports from Ron and Jerry you won't go wrong with either.  Jerry tried his out already and told me that they're amazing.  I've added a nice video below as well courtesy of Jerry.

Try this link.  It wouldn't attach using the blog link:  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=5&v=ihwLA5wjodQ

Or you can watch the video at the eeslinger web site.

I found an excellent reference book on scratch building.  The author covers scratch building ship models, teaching you the basics of everything from hull construction to photo etch.  I got my copy from Last Calvary for $35.  

But buried inside was an add for a pdf magazine called Ship Modeller.  It's available at this web site www.insidethearmour.com.  You can download a copy for about $5 to $6 each.  The articles are exclusively about building models ships and there are tons of tips in every issue.  One of the best things I've found on ship building.  

Kent shared with us some 3D printed IJN aircraft for his carrier project.  One of my favorite parts about these aircraft is that the manufacturer personalized each box with Kent's name.  I'm waiting to hear from Kent where he picked these up.  These should look great on his carrier!

Martin also brought his Airfix 1/72 LCVP.  Kit no AX02340.  This is the new version from Airfix and is pretty hard to find out there.  We'll have to find out from Martin where he found this little gem.  I heard an interesting interview with an LCVP D-Day vet who said they removed all their guns during that operation because they were afraid of friendly fire incidents.  

That's all for this time.  Catch you all in July!

Dave