SPA Modeler

Just a small update here, I didn't have much chance to get very much done with this model so far this past couple weeks. Still, progress is progress.

Since the last update where the island section of the deck had been masked off for the deck to be painted; I shot a coat of dark grey on the deck surface:



Later when this was dry, I taped off the deck; carefully trimming around the perimeter to uncover where I wanted the lighter grey to go:



Now to shoot paint on the hull and island assemblies. That will hopefully come later this week.

When I left off, I had painted the flight deck and masked it off. I took this out shoot the lighter grey on the hull and island:





It's almost impossible to see in those pics so you'll have to take my word for it. Here's the island after I finished painting it too:



Later the masking came off. I was extremely pleased at how well this looked:



I dry-fit the island to see how it looks:





I was most impressed with how seamless the join was on this. Excellent molding!

After that, I decided to build the lower hull. I added the sonar dome, rudders, strakes and screws to the underside. I'm still not sure I'll add this to the model, but at least it will be completed if I do:





Should you build this model with a full hull, be careful and test fit the screw shafts and supports well. The center supports in the shafts are molded in such a way that they only go on a certain way to attach to the hull. Check it often as I had to remove the center supports a couple times before I got them right.

Later on, I painted the funnels and then cemented the island down on the deck. Once again, it went on seamlessly with just a touch of Tamiya Extra Thin. I then added most of the detail parts to the deck and island. I left off all the tall, thin antennas and masts that would end up breaking off as I worked on this further. Now this is ready for touch up paint and clearcoat for decals:





Many of those tiny parts are delicate; have a care holding them when you glue them. Also, pay close attention to the part numbers. Some of the domed pieces look so similar in size and shape, you could easily put one in the wrong place if not careful. Ask me how I know.

I did fix it later when I found the issue...


That completes the run of progress I've gotten done so far. I hope to finish up at least four of these in the next week, and possibly another few by the end of the year. Here's hoping!


Thanks all for looking in, comments are welcome.

You’re making great progress on this Mark! I can only imagine the situations that led you to say “don’t ask”..,

Thanks Carlos. It is coming along quite swiftly. I just hope my efforts with the photo-etch will go as smoothly and efficiently as the rest of this has.

Thanks again for looking in.

Your making great progress with this Mark, nice work.

It does indeed look a great kit.

Thanks Stuart! I set this aside for the rest of the year for now. I wanted to finish some shelf queens and other models that were so close to being done.

Stay tuned, more to come.

Duke Maddog wrote:
Stay tuned, more to come.

I know! I know!

Next year my friend! I actually hope to finish this by March.

March sounds like a reasonable timeline to finish this up...

Agreed. All I need to do now is some touch up; then I can gloss coat this for decals. Once those are on, I'll be able to apply the photo etch. The touch ups and decals should go very fast. The P/E will go slower as I hope to actually do it well enough to look contest worthy. I believe I already primed the P/E grey so I'll be able to just get started on it when the time comes.