Friends… Some small victories to report amongst the "dramedy"of this build…
Many thanks must go to @McRunty Rory for his very generous assistance in supplying the spare Dauntless decals from his kit to allow me to progress the hull to the clear coat stage.
Unfortunately, as mentioned above this has not been without it’s challenges and the hull has hit yet another road block and no doubt it will require sanding and re-spraying again…
In the meantime I thought I’d do a bit of the details for the build in the form of the harpoon launchers just to get a "win"on the board…
So here’s the kit part which I began trimming back ready to have the WEM PE attached to give a bit more finesse to the parts
The Veteran parts are very nice, there’s no instructions, but they went together really easily as it was pretty self explanatory. There was a nice Infini set which were turned brass, but twice the cost and looked really complicated. Given how much trouble I’ve had with this kit so far, I went with the easier and cheaper Veteran set.
Here they are together with the WEM PE exhaust baffles alongside the kit parts for comparison
I too have had those projects that just seemed to go from one disaster after another - many of them still reside in my stash of shame awaiting my renewed attention. Good for you that you have the gumption to keep soldiering (sailoring?) on! The Veteran Harpoon launchers and WEM baffles do look good, so you are right to take the victory and move it along one step closer to the finish. My respect for your persistence!
that’s bad new with your running paint on your hull; I’m glad to see and read that you’re not giving up!
That’s great from Rory to supply you with decals, and Veteran I’d say is a safe bet - the Harpoon launchers look very nice! What’s that with WEM, they used to be very professional and spot on, but that’s poor…
Keep your spirits high and lat our glaciers run, mate!!
Friends… Thankyou for your encouragement. It’s certainly needed on this build as it’s been a definite trial
Tim, a win was sorely needed on this build, without doubt… I’ll keep sailoring on
Hope to get the glacier up and running again soon, Jan, but we’ll see how I go mate, as the lure of bringing a P-51 in for a finish soon is tempting me away from the task of sanding that wretched hull down again
Certainly nice of Rory to help out and the build couldn’t progress further without the decals-let’s hope I don’t sand any off
PS I can’t tell if it’s the kits harpoons that are undersize or the WEM that’s oversize, but comparison with the veteran sets hints at the latter
Your tenacity and perseverance are inspirational. The desire to quit a build once the issues begin to compile is awfully tempting but you showed us a way to push through and reach the goal line. Thanks!!
well, after some harsh words (more sanding) and threats (patching the boot top stripe) the hull has finally agreed to accept the matt clear coat without anymore issues
Don’t worry about the shiny spots, it’s just where the paint is still wet…
Now the masking can finally come off and the props and rudders can be prepped to go on!
I’ve taken to using a razor saw to remove parts from the parts tree, as the plastic Airfix use is so soft, that using side cutters results in damage to the parts.
Here’s the first prop cleaned up (on the right) next to a raw part.
Thanks Mark
Hunted around on the internet to see if there are any AM props available, (either 3d resin or brass) but no luck-just as easy to file/sand to a decent shape methinks
You had your fair share of dramas with this 45 Russ, now you know what the fitters in Pompey have to go through with the real ones when they are along side lol… Seriously though, well done for sticking with it, I am sure you will be pulling out the stops with it to bring it up to your usual level. And great job with the prop, that work you did made a hell of a difference…
