Oscar Continued

[Anuci]

Oh yea, that's a project in itself. However, the end result puts a real nice touch on the overall build. The nuke boats are for the most part pretty straight forward in design, and the inclussion of hatches, vents and torpedo tube doors to the exterior hull along with a nice paint job and some detailed weathering can obviously make a significant difference in the models appearance, IMO anyway. Nice job, Mark.

[bassplayer1]

It looks good!!! Keep up the good work!!!

[greenman407]

Now we need to fill in around the edges. If I use a two part system then I will be forever mixing and running out of workable fresh material. So I bought some more of this single part Bondo spot putty. I put it on with a small screwdriver tip, let it harden, then sand it down and feather it in.

[greenman407]

I think that the easiest way to do it is to lay it over on its side so that you are not fighting gravity.

[greenman407]

To prove to you guys that Im not an armchair quarterback I have to keep up my builders thread. Installing these vent grates is a chalenge not only because the factory dapped out areas with a built in shelf are too small but also of note is that they are not in a straight line and they are not straight with each other. So once you have a good fit you need to bend each one in a slight curve so that they will conform to the curve of the hull. Get them straight and flush and then hit them very carefully with thin CA.

[greenman407]

Thanks Al. Ill be posting some more on this by the end of the week.

[Anuci]

Nice finish, Mark. The vents and other appendages adds a nice touch to the model, keep going you're almost there.

[greenman407]

On the upper hull section I wanted to install the supplied limbar hole grates. Problem. The recessed cast in dap outs with a built in shelf are not big enough to properly recess the grate within it and make it flush. So out comes the Dremel to make them bigger with the smallest tool in my selection.

[greenman407]

Continueing on with the painting. Next I choose to paint the upper section of the stern with Gloss Black.

[greenman407]

We are now ready to put some paint on the lower hull. Im pretty good with an airless and regular spray guns with machinery paint. But this automotive stuff that ive tried gives too much orange peel. Dave gave me some pointers but I havent spent anytime trying to work it out. So , out comes the tried and true rattle cans. I know I can lay that stuff on smooth. The next problem is color. Looking at some of the pictures, the lower hull is painted with what appears to be a brighter Red Oxide than what you see on American boats. So I found this. The Pimento color seems to be a good match to this picture. And here is how it came out. The pictures color is decieving as the light doesnt display the color as it really is. It looks close in most light conditions.

[greenman407]

Thanks Kevin.

[KevinMc]

Although I have no idea what the purpose of the sensor you're pointing out is, I've noticed it before as well. I actually managed to catch sight of it in a video clip, have a look at the upper left corner of this photo.

[greenman407]

If you can see where I am pointing, this little doo dad looks like it might be some kind of scoop but I dont see it included in the detail parts. Does anyone have any idea what it is?

[greenman407]

Before we can put paint to it we need to put on the cooling water scoops. There are four of them and they look somewhat delicate. I can just picture them getting knocked off and lost. The HORRIBLE customer service provided by Scaleships is another reason to anchor these things very securely. Using two number 4 screws in each they were drilled and attached from the inside and the base then sealed with CA. Where to put them on the model was the next step. These nice scale drawings that you can see in the picture can mislead you. The section of the hull where the scoops are attached is where the hull decreases in dia. So since there is no section cut drawing at the attachment points you have to Extrapolate(guess). The drawings show you accurately where they go measuring from the rear so that was the easy part. I found the center of the hull and marked it and measured from there. If you look at them from head on they are arranged so that they are not directly in line with each other but are offset their exact width as you can see in the drawings
Using a flexible sewing tape works very well for following the contour of a submarine to transfer measurements
.

[greenman407]

There was a lot of mismatch at the seams and some delaminations that ive been taking care of with Evercoat and then sanding and contouring. It takes time. We are getting close to being able to put some paint on the bottom section.