1/96 HMTBD Velox (1904) - Completed photos added

[Edward Pinniger]

The mount for the aft 6-pounder gun is now installed and painted. This is an open conical structure, different to the solid pedestal mounts used for the two forward 6pdrs. It was scratchbuilt from styrene sheet + tube plus a few spare plastic washers.
Also visible in this photo is the chain connecting the aft steering gear to the rudder tiller (I haven't made the rudder yet). This will be mostly concealed beneath a platform on the finished model.



Gun barrels and binnacles installed (temporarily) on the model.

The next stage will be various small deck details like coaling hatches and the rims around the decklights (portholes in the deck). Once all these are done, I'll probably paint the model, which should improve its appearance a lot.

[Torpedo]

Great Edward! Keep on!

[Guest]

EPinniger:

Haven't forgotten the antique Velox pics. Some PC maint has slowed things down.

Mr. Wizard.

[Schnellboot]

Nice!

Which paint will be used for ship? Black? And were there wooden parts on the ship? If yes, then which color are you using for wood?

[Edward Pinniger]

Which paint will be used for ship? Black? And were there wooden parts on the ship? If yes, then which color are you using for wood?

Most of the ship will be painted black, the "turtleback" at the bow and the strake at the top of the hull (rubbing strake) will be painted medium grey. The deck will be painted a very dark grey (this is just about visible in the photo of the aft deck, in my last update) to provide a bit of contrast + represent wear and tear. I'll also lightly weather/drybrush the model to highlight detail.

There are only a few unpainted wood areas on the ship, such as the planking on the forward and aft platform, and the chart table on the bridge (the mast was presumably made of wood, but I think it was painted).
I usually paint deck planking by first painting in a dark brown/ochre colour, then heavily drybrushing with a pale "bleached teak" colour, and finally adding a dark oil wash to highlight the plank edges. Varnished wood parts (such as the chart tables) are first painted dark brown, then drybrushed with a lighter brown to produce a wood-grain effect.

[apraksin]

I like his(her,its) ships, your is very well built, very beautiful work for a magnificent ship
A.
http://www.modelshipgallery.com/gallery ... index.html

[Dave Wooley]

One of my favourite subjects coming together well. One day I may have a go at a turtle back. Thanks for the up date.
Dave Wooley

[Avery Boyer]

Looking great EP, I just started my own build of her @ 1/192, I'll post pix in a seperate thread, if I finish the hull!

[Edward Pinniger]

Looking great EP, I just started my own build of her @ 1/192, I'll post pix in a seperate thread, if I finish the hull!

I'll definitely be interested to see this. Do you have the Chathams book with the plans?

I've done a bit more work on Velox recently, adding some of the deck fittings and hatches along with the amidships 6-pounder gun mounts, I'll post another update soon.

[Avery Boyer]

I have the plans at least I "borrowed" them from a library book Not the first time, but nobody seems to notice when the plans vanish, then suddenly reappear

Seriously, I'll post some pics if you like. I have some of the deck pieces on, but the shape doesn't match up with the frames. Between this, a Nevada from a Arizona, and a couple of scratchbuilt LSTs, it's moving kind of slow.

[Edward Pinniger]

Apologies for the lack of progress, most of my modelling time lately has been taken up with building kits rather than scratchbuilding! In the last few days I've done a bit more work and have also made the casting masters for some of the deck fittings (hatches and steam valve covers)


Various small fittings have been added to the deck, these are coaling hatches, small hatches/manholes, oil/water connections, and the surrounds for the decklights. The mushroom vents have also been added to the engine house roof, these are made from copper rivets.
I'm also working on the larger deck hatches, which are distinctive circular domed fittings with V-shaped hinges. These will be cast in resin from a styrene master (as there are 12 of them, and they're fairly complex shape, scratchbuilding them all would be a tedious job, and the same fittings were used on many other TBDs, so it'll be useful to be able to cast more in case I want to build another)


The amidships 6-pounder mounts have been added, these were in "staggered" positions, presumably to give the gunners a better field of fire (although the funnels prevent them firing at a 180' angle anyway)
I really ought to paint the model, as it's looking very messy, the problem is that pencil marks (to indicate the location of fittings and details) don't show up well on a black or dark grey surface! So Velox will have to remain unpainted until all the deck fittings are in place.


Here's a preview of my next scratchbuild project! I built these turrets about a month ago, I have since decided to halt work on this ship until Velox is nearer to completion. All that's done is the basic turret shapes and the deck.They are 1/96, the scale figure gives an idea of size.

[Edward Pinniger]

The next deck fittings to be added are the hatches and the steam valve covers, the latter go on the engine house roof. As these are quite complex shapes, and 14 hatches and 5 valve covers are needed, I decided to cast some copies from a scratchbuilt master.

Here are the masters:


- and the castings. I also included some mushroom vents on the mould, whilst I don't need any more of these for Velox they are always useful fittings to have in the spares box.



The castings are now glued in place on the model.

The fittings for the steering gear have been added to the aft deck, along with fairleads and bollards which
are raised up above the deck, to allow the steering cable to pass beneath.


Rudder and propeller guards.


Various surface details added to the turtleback, including the reinforcing plate for the anchor chain, and the raised bulwark at the bow (what's the technical term for this?). The capstan, bollards, anchors and other fittings will be added later.


Since taking these photos, I've added the first coat of paint to the model - it will need retouching before it is finished, but Velox is already looking much more "ship-shape" with an overall coat of black paint. As I mentioned earlier, I left painting until all the many small deck fittings had been added, as it'd be hard to see the pencil marks against the black paint.

BTW, I forgot to mention this in my last post - the large gun turrets (9.4") are for the Danish coast defence ship Peder Skram.

[Edward Pinniger]

I've now added a basic coat of paint to the model. Some of the fittings (guns, binnacles) are still unpainted, and it looks rather "flat" as I haven't added any weathering (this will wait until the model is near-complete)







There's still a lot of work to do, but it's looking much more like a ship now!

The paint I used for the main hull colour is Lifecolor Matt Black (the best flat black paint I've found), the deck is Revell Tank Grey, and the turtleback + hull strake are Lifecolor Light Grey.

[ARH]

Looking good.

[MichelB]

Ab-so-lutely!

[JBA]

Oh wow, i just love that last picture with the bow on it, a very aggressive and err *round* look to it, handsome ship and handsome build too!

[Laurent]

I just LOVE it

Regards ,

Laurent

[Dave Wooley]

A truely fine piece of work .
Dave Wooley

[J. Soca]

Beautiful !!!

[Edward Pinniger]

Thanks for the kind comments! I was impressed myself by how much better the model looked with a coat of paint.
I'm currently working on the bridge instruments and the fittings on the turtleback (bollards, capstan, chain ports, etc.) - I'll post some photos of these soon.