1/350 Airfix Type 45 HMS Dragon or is it Dauntless...?

Ships Modern
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@Johnnych01 hey John! Thankyou for stopping by and checking up on the progress so far :slightly_smiling_face:

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Gorgeous paintwork Russel!
I always have to go for the used look because I never get it so nice!

Cheers

Thomas

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Hi Russ,

I may have been a bit quiet of late, but I have been watching, great work, looks much better than my attempt from a few years back.

Cheers

Si

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@Shanghaied Thomas, thank you for your very kind words. :slightly_smiling_face:

Always try to keep the lines clean on my builds as it matches my build style of wooden bases and polished brass nameplates and all that. Spick and Span, ship shape, you know the kind of thing :wink:

@RedDuster Si!!! You’re back mate!?!?!! :grinning: :+1:

@JJ1973 Jan and I have been wondering if all was ok?

Great to have you back on the boards mate, and stopping by for a visit :slightly_smiling_face:

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Thanks Russ, and Jan.

It is good to be back, had a bit of loss of shipbuilding mojo during the lock-downs in the UK, all coming back, as I am starting a new job on Monday which will give me some time back in the Office and some time working from home. the 1/200th Bismarck is still on the bench, it has moved on a bit.

Cheers

Si

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I hear you, Si: Lockdowns have been hard!

Hopefully with the new job and a 1/200 Bismarck on the bench, life can return to some sort of normal :crossed_fingers: :slightly_smiling_face:

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Hi mate,

finally catching up! Great work & progress, I’m really glad you have been fighting through with all the earlier issues of the kit. HMS Dauntless really starts to look beautiful now! Take your time, let the glacier move on and keep up the great work!

Cheers
Jan

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Very nice work on your ship so far, Russell! Kudos! :+1:

Concerning the building speed, the president of our club is a Kapitänleutnant der Reserve of our Bundesmarine and builds also ships, mostly in 1/350. He finished about 1 per year.

Btw, the building speed of my Spits has slowed also down a bit … :roll_eyes:

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One per year…I was that quick once… :roll_eyes:

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Thanks mate! Great to see you back on the boards! :slightly_smiling_face:

This glacier is sure moving slow. I don’t think I’m going to make the finish line for the Tin Can Sailors Campaign. I didn’t think this build would be so involved when I cracked open the box, but alas, down the rabbit hole I went :shushing_face:

Thank you very much for your kind words, Torsten :slightly_smiling_face:

1 ship per year would be a grand achievement for me. Currently I’m averaging about 1 ship every 4 years… :exploding_head:

I reckon you still finish around 3 spitfires for every one of mine :wink:

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Hehehe! :laughing: Maybe! I hope to have finished both Spits by mid October, not counting my 3 weeks vacation in September … :innocent:

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Well folks, the glacier has ground to a halt! :disappointed:

Unfortunately the decals have failed again whilst attempting to apply them to the hull and the stern nameplate got mangled :face_with_symbols_over_mouth:

It seems the decal sheet has some problems (it’s no cartograf), but contacting the Airfix spares department has failed to yield result since they are out of spare decal sheets at this time 🤦

So until a replacement can be sourced from a fellow modeller, the hull is on hold. I will however continue to progress the superstructure in the meantime :relaxed:

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Russ, how frustrating! It’s funny, I know Airfix includes Cartograf decals with their newer aircraft kits - I guess we ship guys don’t rate the good stuff!

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Yes, that’s bad news, Russell. Really frustating when you came already that far and the decals show an own will and don’t behave. I also had that kind of problems on some of my builds already, though never with Airfix in the past. Hope you can solve the problem soon with a new set.

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@TimReynaga @BlackWidow Tim, Torsten, thanks for your kind words of support. :slightly_smiling_face:

These decals are definitely not the same brand as the ones Airfix supply with their aircraft kits (Cartograf-which are lovely BTW).

Then again, I bought this kit some years ago, so there’s a possibility that the newer releases of it might contain a better decal sheet?

@McRunty Thankfully, Rory has come to the rescue with the spare “Dauntless” decal from his kit upon his return home: what a champ! :relaxed::pray:

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Russ,

luckily, glaciers very seldom come to a complete halt when they hit obstacles, they slow down, melt a little, and either grind the obstacle away or find a way around…
That’s very bad new with those decals, but help from Rory sounds promising! Keep up your great work and fighting spirit for HMS Dauntless!!

Cheers
Jan

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@JJ1973 thanks mate! :slightly_smiling_face:

You’re right of course. I was thinking of putting the build on hold, then it occurred to me that there’s a whole heap of other work that I can do instead of the hull :cowboy_hat_face::+1:

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Friends… I think I’m jinxed!

Each attempt at progressing this build seems to produce one disaster after another…

This time applying the final clear coat to the lower hull: a HUGE run in the paint; and more blue lint than your average vacuum cleaner has covered the entire surface 🤦

How I’m gonna get out of this I have no idea…

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Break out the 1000 grit and sand it down?

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Lol! That would make it the fourth time I’ve sanded down the hull :nauseated_face::face_vomiting:

I just wish I knew where the lint is coming from: I keep the spray booth area obsessively clean; as a last resort I’ve wrapped the braided air brush hose in Gaffa tape thinking it could be from there? :thinking: