sumterIII

Lacquer thinner, about 60/40 mix works best in my airbrush. (Badger 150) That's 60% paint to thinner.

Superscale sheet # 48-73 has the sharkmouth your after, maybe someone here has this sheet and can help with the layout, or willing to trade

here is one in 1/72 scale http://www.hannants.co.uk/product/MD015

For the hull waterline you can use a black automotive pinstripe. You can find them at most auto supply stores. Paint your antifoul red using masking then lay your pinstripe down at the demarcation line.

Here is a link that you might like if you find you would like to try working with PE in the future. http://www.modelshipbuilding.com/photoetch.htm I would stick to building as is for now. Get some experiance before making the jump. JMHO

What kind of paint are you using? I use the normal super glue unless I absolutely need the better stuff. Like for PE (Photo-etch) parts. Caution for future builds, never use debonder on resin parts. It melts the resin, trust me I know. Also never use super glue on clear parts, it will frost over and ruin the part. Do you plan to keep the kit rails or remove them and use PE rails? Nice work keep it up!

Paint first, then at the point the plastic meet, scrape a little off and apply liquid glue, or you can use super glue and not deal with plastic cement. Where the superstructure meets with the deck is tricky, glue running out on the deck will ruin the paint or worse damage the plastic. You might try this, glue on the inside if possible, don’t worry so much about gaps on the outside just yet. After its dry use white Elmers glue to fill the gap to the deck. Before the white glue dries run a moist Q-Tip along the edge to remove excess and push the glue into the gap. Allow to dry and reapply if you need to. Now you can paint over the seam with white paint if needed. Notice in the pictures from http://www.uscg.mil/history/webcutters/taney_wpg37_photos.asp how the deck and superstructure meet.

I normally start from the hull and build up, and I paint as I go along. When building the superstructure I building in sections, finishing each as much as possible before advancing to the next. Then assemble starting from the bottom, similar to a ship yard building the real thing. Mast and rigging is the very last thing I do because they are so easily damaged when handling. But that’s just how I do it. As you get more into building you’ll find what works for you. Looks like an interesting subject, keep posting your progress, we all learn from each other that way.

Welcome aboard, nice to see another ship builder here. The limited selection of ship models at the LHS is the norm. I prefer to go online where the selection is much better. You can find almost anything on the WWW. I like the subject you are working on, the guys in my club can tell you I tend to go for the off the wall stuff. Do you have a local IPMS club? There may be others there that are willing to help you with your builds. I would recommend that you pick up a few books/CD to help as well. Rusty White at Flagship Models has some good stuff you may find helpful. Another book I like is Ship Models From Kits: Basic and Advanced Techniques for Small Scales by David Griffith Don't forget to post your work here as well. You can post in the Members Gallery without overloading the picture limits on the forum. Good luck and happy modeling.

What NASCAR should be, real cars with real drivers, awesome build!

I found a new way to make a flag on your computer that looks more realistic. Flags made for kits generally are made to fold around a string from the back going forward. You can make your own that looks better. Using an American flag as example; copy and paste the flag in MS Paint or comparable program, copy the second half of the flag and paste so the red and white stripes meet. When you print spray a coat of clear to seal the color on the paper. Now fold so the blue fields come together at the back. Use white glue to glue the halves and press with light pressure to squeeze the excess out. Let that set for a few minutes, then shape the flag so it looks like it’s flapping in the wind. Crease the flag where it meets the pole so only the top and bottom touch the pole or string. The advantage to this is you do not have a seam on the outside edge where the stripes meet, and your flag will hang from the mast or string like a real one.

FYI America is finished and submitted to IPMS Gallery for viewing. Hope to see it in March 2012. Thanks for following along.. :)

Thanks, will get back to you soon. Waiting now to hear back from the other shops I contacted.

Yes Dick that's the one. Still waiting on restock from MV at all the stores I contacted.

The book came today and I finished reading it tonight. I was a bit disappointed that there was not more on details on the mast and radar for PoW and KGV early 1941. I wanted to model the Bismarck battle period. Any suggestions on a book that would fill that need?

Thanks to all for the fast reply.

I'm looking for some lamp lense from MV. I need 10 or more MV #29 lense for a ship. Any members here own a shop or know who has this part? Thanks

awesome Mark, I love this kit too. Very nice work keep sending more pictures!

Awesome Thanks guys!

I need a good book for modeling the KGV and PoW battleships, any suggestions?

Sent you a PM have what I think your after.

Sent a PM to you, have what I think your after.

My grip is with shops that list a kit/accessory in stock only to find out after paying the item is on back order. Pre-orders I can understand the delay, but come on now if you have the item say so and if you don't say so! I placed an order at the beginning of Nov from a place I have been buying from for a while now. The same day I placed the same order from a UK store. Both places indicated they had one item in stock and I needed two. The UK store mailed the item the week after I ordered and it arrived yesterday. The other is still on hold. The USA store has always been a bit higher on shipping but they were fast. Lately they have slowed down so the extra shipping cost is not as palatable as it used to be. James I wish there was a store near me that could get what I need, but the extra I pay for special orders is not worth it most of the time. Edit post: All items ordered have arrived in good shape now. The back order took a bit longer, and I plan to still do business with the store. However I still hope stores will post items not in stock so there is no suprise.

Great tip, will have to try that myself. I did use Glade furniture polish on my last build same as your Future and that seemed to help too.

Thanks James the process and paint reference is just what I needed! Oh and Bob this is for you buddy