Whats Lying on your Workbench MK IV

[neptunesurvey1]

Just finished printing the last parts for this one, 1/1000 Prometheus.  I have already printed out the carrier wing and intend to have an open and lighted hangar deck and will also add some extra exterior detail like antennas, missile launchers, and some destroids.

[neptunesurvey1]

On 1/1/2023 at 2:05 PM, MechTech said:

HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone! Let's hope this year improves over the last couple!

@pengbuzz Your pilots and cockpits look great! Nice details on them. I hate painting 1/72 scale figures because of how tough they are. The physics of brush and paint at that size lead to less flow and coverage to be nicely thinned-out.

Your 1/700 aircraft look FANTASTIC!!! I've seen lesser at shows. You should be proud (in a humble way)😁

@Thom That IS a beast!

@Bolt The weathering is taking form on your VF-4! And Happy New Year to you too, nice graphic!

@derex3592 Congrats and that is a great idea! I remember years ago reading about a guy in Florida doing that. I remember how bad the humidity got in Texas too. Even the metal gutters were dripping on the OUTSIDE as the humidity condensed on it.

Sorry for all the photos on the Oto Melara 76mm / 62 cal gun. I haven't had time to download and update this thread with them.

I wasted most of a day trying to machine brass (for durability) making handles to go on the doors. That failed, so I went with square styrene rod, a tiny drill and micro brass rod. Here's the handles...

The steps needed to have a brace "welded" into them. I punched tiny styrene holes and cut the edges off the cut-offs to make these.

And the back-sides of the turrets minus the ladders that will be painted in another color and added when finished. Note the vents at the top made from channel and a cap on one end.

Then I wasted another day (and some brass) trying to machine the chutes for the front of the guns. The gun expels the shell casing so far, that a chute is used to direct them down onto the deck. Brass didn't work and neither did other ideas. So I got some styrene channel and bent it over a brass tube with micro clothes pins. Then they were dipped in boiling water for just a few seconds, and rapidly cooled with cold water. Too long and the channels collapsed. Ask me how I know... This keeps the shape of the styrene just like it was factory molded that way.

Then the channels were shaped on double-sided tape together to keep them aligned for mass-production.

Then tiny "brackets" were cut from channel and glued over the chutes.

And a chute shown under the barrel. The gun and drawing are identical sizes, but the gun is higher making it look distordedly larger in this photo.

The next step was to re-create the gaskets between the gun mantel and the gun casing. I wasted another day and plastic by:

1) Taking channel and cutting it long wise.

2) The cut pieces were all placed on the mill with double-sided tape and milled to make them the same height on one specific side. This created the "step" of the gasket and its base.

3) Gluing the pieces in place with regular cement, citrus based cement or superglue all made this stock split and break in areas of stress like the curves above or below the guns travel area. How frustrating! This was even after carefully pre-bending parts to fit in.

It wasn't as detailed, but I went with square rod that was easier to work with. It still split in some areas, but not as bad - and that was with pre-bending it once again. Superglue was the messiest, but least stressful of the glues on attaching the styrene. What am I talking about? Doing this:

And the turrets all gasketed-up!

That's it for now. Thank you for checking in everyone. If there's a theme in my work so far - don't give up! Hang in there and find another way to do it. - MT

Amazing work as usually MT.

[arbit]

42 minutes ago, neptunesurvey1 said:

Just finished printing the last parts for this one, 1/1000 Prometheus.  I have already printed out the carrier wing and intend to have an open and lighted hangar deck and will also add some extra exterior detail like antennas, missile launchers, and some destroids.

Wow! I will look forward to this for sure!

[derex3592]

Primary painting done on USS Reliant this morning.... May go over some areas again, trying not to kill off my preshading completely this time around... 

[arbit]

On 1/2/2023 at 12:05 AM, MechTech said:

That's it for now. Thank you for checking in everyone. If there's a theme in my work so far - don't give up! Hang in there and find another way to do it. - MT

Great details! Thanks for keeping us updated.

[Thom]

@neptunesurvey1 Those are some great looking builds! Really liking that Prmotheus!

[electric indigo]

@neptunesurvey1 The prints look promising. And good luck for your health!

[SpacePirateNeko]

another update..

[Thom]

@SpacePirateNeko That a big beaut! Nice with the interior detail.

[Bolt]

2 hours ago, SpacePirateNeko said:

another update..

Nicely done!

[MechTech]

@neptunesurvey1 Glad to see you back and thank you! The Clam Ship and the Promethius are looking awesome! These would be awesome kits too. Looks like your Clam Ship has a SERIOUS case of crabs!🤣 There must be at least 100 in that bag. The details look great on them too for that scale especially.

@derex3592 NOT painting over your pre-shading is tough! Looks like you're doing alright so far.

@SpacePirateNeko Your painting details are looking great! Having the leg panel open adds depth to the build. - MT

[pengbuzz]

Nearing completion...stay tuned for more pics and descriptions...

[Thom]

@pengbuzz Looks very cool already!

[MechTech]

@pengbuzz Putting it on wavy water AND having a Tomcat launch really ads a dynamic pose to your model. That steam looks very realistic! - MT

[Bolt]

@derex3592 your pre shading looks great , I always end up killing mine the first time around.

@pengbuzz you did a great job on that carrier. The water is awesome! And the air wing looks great. I really love the launching bird!

Edited January 6, 2023 by Bolt

[derex3592]

@pengbuzz - Dude! The launching Tomcat is FIRE! Love the steam! Also digging the AWACS

[Bolt]

Got a little more work done today, (luckily our power was only out for 12 hours) attached thrusters and beam guns, with first color. Will get dry brushing, etc. the main fuselage will get some touch ups, of course. Also did some cockpit work. I should be getting plenty of time to start the landing gear, onboard missiles and pilot this weekend, as the river is expected to flood. Not going anywhere. Lol. Luckily i live on top of a mountain 

See y'all next deculture ,Space Cowboys 

[Thom]

@Bolt Looking better every post!

[Bolt]

Thanks @Thom The beam guns are way too long. Fixing that ! 

Edited January 7, 2023 by Bolt

[Big s]

17 hours ago, Bolt said:

Luckily i live on top of a mountain 

Be careful, we just moved to one of the smaller mountains in so cal. There’s other problems that seem to come with that. The people at the lower points were dealing with flooding and up here was the rough roads and rock slides on the highway

[pengbuzz]

UPDATE: Four months ago, on Labor Day, my original scratchbuilt 1/720 CVN-65 met a tragic fate:

Now in January, 2023, four months and 3 days after that devastating nightmare, and thanks to both my wife and EVERYONE here for your support both material, emotional and otherwise...

 

SHE LIVES AGAIN:

 

While the Big E still needs some finishing touches (rigging, etc.), she is complete enough now to premiere in full on the boards here! Thanks to everyone for following so far and for your support while she was reborn!

-pb

 

[arbit]

@wm cheng  Hi William.  This is what I have for your sugested "arguing" pose.    Both hands down may be easier to print, but I think I could do either well enough.

Let me know before finalizing. -arbit

[Big s]

5 hours ago, pengbuzz said:

UPDATE: Four months ago, on Labor Day, my original scratchbuilt 1/720 CVN-65 met a tragic fate:

Now in January, 2023, four months and 3 days after that devastating nightmare, and thanks to both my wife and EVERYONE here for your support both material, emotional and otherwise...

 

SHE LIVES AGAIN:

 

While the Big E still needs some finishing touches (rigging, etc.), she is complete enough now to premiere in full on the boards here! Thanks to everyone for following so far and for your support while she was reborn!

-pb

 

Great work and glad you were able to complete it better than before. 

[pengbuzz]

14 minutes ago, Big s said:

Great work and glad you were able to complete it better than before. 

Thanks! Well, this is an actual model kit and not a scratchbuild that I slapped together, so there's that.

On 1/5/2023 at 6:46 PM, Thom said:

@pengbuzz Looks very cool already!

On 1/6/2023 at 8:56 AM, MechTech said:

@pengbuzz Putting it on wavy water AND having a Tomcat launch really ads a dynamic pose to your model. That steam looks very realistic! - MT

On 1/6/2023 at 2:55 PM, Bolt said:

@pengbuzz you did a great job on that carrier. The water is awesome! And the air wing looks great. I really love the launching bird!

On 1/6/2023 at 7:26 PM, derex3592 said:

@pengbuzz - Dude! The launching Tomcat is FIRE! Love the steam! Also digging the AWACS

Thanks folks! I thought the 'cat launching would add something to it, and it looks like I wasn't wrong!

Now...to go utterly insane:

https://www.megahobby.com/products/aircraft-carrier-figures-painted-1-700-eduard.html

Going to need an electron microscope pretty soon.

Stay tuned...

Edited January 8, 2023 by pengbuzz

[Bolt]

26 minutes ago, pengbuzz said:

Thanks! Well, this is an actual model kit and not a scratchbuild that I slapped together, so there's that.

Thanks folks! I thought the 'cat launching would add something to it, and it looks like I wasn't wrong!

Now...to go utterly insane:

https://www.megahobby.com/products/aircraft-carrier-figures-painted-1-700-eduard.html

Going to need an electron microscope pretty soon.

Stay tuned...

Oh brother! You ARE insane! I love it 

[pengbuzz]

7 minutes ago, Bolt said:

Oh brother! You ARE insane! I love it 

Yup.

[wm cheng]

NICE RECOVERY @pengbuzz - your perseverance never ceases to amaze me (it would have devastated me and I would have tossed it in the garbage).  It looks better than before, I can't believe you made it from scratch, it looks awesome!  Congrats.  Can't wait to see the tiny 1/700 people on it!!!  You are insane.

[Shawn]

Can we do an alternate universe where we put these on the flight deck of the Enterprise instead of the Tomcats?

[pengbuzz]

1 hour ago, wm cheng said:

NICE RECOVERY @pengbuzz - your perseverance never ceases to amaze me (it would have devastated me and I would have tossed it in the garbage).  It looks better than before, I can't believe you made it from scratch, it looks awesome!  Congrats.  Can't wait to see the tiny 1/700 people on it!!!  You are insane.

Well, to be honest: the old one WAS tossed in the trash due to too much damage being done.  The new one is Revell's 1/720 scale kit, with several planes salvaged off the old one and resculpted. I don't want anyone to be mislead here; all the same, thank you for the compliment.

 

49 minutes ago, Shawn said:

Can we do an alternate universe where we put these on the flight deck of the Enterprise instead of the Tomcats?

Er...what are those? O.o

[Shawn]

Those are from the Mospeada Inbit carrier from the last page

[pengbuzz]

1 hour ago, Shawn said:

Those are from the Mospeada Inbit carrier from the last page

Ah, I see.

I think I'll pass, with all due respect Shawn. I don't think I'd want to explain that my ship got a bad case of crabs. O.O

[Thom]

@pengbuzz No one on a ship ever wants to explain the crabs!

Your Enterprise is looking awesome, Peng! Truly a dynamic display, only to look better after you've scattered some crew across it like sprinkles!

Edited January 9, 2023 by Thom

[Rock]

My workbench is on my workbench... Inception!
Talking with a few builders to see if I can get a custom desk done so I can ramp things up and not resort to the dining room table. Time to put on the afterburners!
 

[MechTech]

@Bolt Your detailing is looking great! Especially the cockpit painting. I'm glad you're above the flood plane. It was crazy in CA!

@pengbuzz Your carrier looks AWESOME! About mid-way down the photos I can't help but seeing the swirling space-time rift as in the movie, "The Final Countdown"! Going with people on the deck will add that much more insane detail to your build!

@arbit A great sculpt as always! I would say an arguing pose for any female involves both hands up in the air with a "What's the matter with you." 🤣

A short update on the 1/72 Oto Melara Cannon. It's nearly done!!!

One of the last details is the ejection port and cover mechanism to keep water out, but allow shell casings to be ejected as it fires. There's few good photos with it in it, so I had to do some educated guessing.

First, I machined some tiny "C" channel. I had to manually hold down the channel each pass because the tape wasn't strong enough. It's like playing dodge ball with a machete. Then the pieces were cut out with a razor blade.

The ejector chute from the last post had a hole drilled in it because the real one has one for some reason. Then the parts were all glued together with other tiny tid-bits cut from rod and square rod. The actual port covers, which are usually metallic colored, were cut on the lathe.

I believe its the recoil spring assembly that is over the barrel. It took me several tries to make one out of brass. Drilling the holes for it to fit into and tinier holes on either side of the barrels was lots-o-fun!

 

And a quick cote of paint to check for scratches and other flaws. There's still more work and detailing to be done. Thank you for checking in everyone! - MT

[pengbuzz]

3 hours ago, MechTech said:

@Bolt Your detailing is looking great! Especially the cockpit painting. I'm glad you're above the flood plane. It was crazy in CA!

@pengbuzz Your carrier looks AWESOME! About mid-way down the photos I can't help but seeing the swirling space-time rift as in the movie, "The Final Countdown"! Going with people on the deck will add that much more insane detail to your build!

@arbit A great sculpt as always! I would say an arguing pose for any female involves both hands up in the air with a "What's the matter with you." 🤣

A short update on the 1/72 Oto Melara Cannon. It's nearly done!!!

One of the last details is the ejection port and cover mechanism to keep water out, but allow shell casings to be ejected as it fires. There's few good photos with it in it, so I had to do some educated guessing.

First, I machined some tiny "C" channel. I had to manually hold down the channel each pass because the tape wasn't strong enough. It's like playing dodge ball with a machete. Then the pieces were cut out with a razor blade.

The ejector chute from the last post had a hole drilled in it because the real one has one for some reason. Then the parts were all glued together with other tiny tid-bits cut from rod and square rod. The actual port covers, which are usually metallic colored, were cut on the lathe.

I believe its the recoil spring assembly that is over the barrel. It took me several tries to make one out of brass. Drilling the holes for it to fit into and tinier holes on either side of the barrels was lots-o-fun!

 

And a quick cote of paint to check for scratches and other flaws. There's still more work and detailing to be done. Thank you for checking in everyone! - MT

Thanks MT! Nice work on your build; that project of your own is a beast in so many different ways it isn't funny!

Speaking on beasts: here is CVN-65 with a model I scratched together some years ago of HMS Victory.  The scratchbuild isn't in scale, so I did a little photoshoppery(?) to show what she would look like at scale next to the Enterprise.

See what you think: