Category Archives: Modeling

Museum Exhibit

Everyone knows that art is subjective. In the scale modeling world that has never been truer. Discussions as to whether building models is to be considered “art” or merely kit-assembly are as old as the hobby itself. Add into these discussions the variables of what materials were used, how much of the piece was scratch built by the modeler, the skill apparent in the final product, and one can see how this discussion can end in no single satisfactory answer.

But, perhaps, a fitting answer to the question can be found if the said models end up in a museum. This past weekend I was fortunate enough to attend the opening of the latest exhibit at the Belskie Museum of Art & Science, in Closter, NJ, and see two of my pieces on public display (the Mobile Bay and Monitor dioramas). The exhibit is “The Best of the Belskie Museum from 2001-2008”, showcasing the most popular exhibits from the time frame. Approximately two years ago my friend Gary Kingzett orchestrated a ship model exhibit that went over really well. He approached me to donate models for this exhibit.

Along with two dozen or so ship models they also have paintings, photographs, soft materials and sculpture. So, while I’m still not convinced my models are to be considered art, it’s gratifying to see them displayed amidst so much of it. A highly recommended exhibit in a small but very cool museum. More photos HERE.

I love the smell of paint thinner in the morning…

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It smells like… staplers!

With the Chanel gig completed, I’m looking to finish up a lot of other projects. One is this group of four red Swinglines. One is spoke for as a Christmas gift, but I figured it best to get them all done at the same time. No sense in opening up a window to vent the airbrush booth in this frigid weather for just one piece.

Travels Part 1: The Nationals in Virginia Beach

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During the past month I’ve been traveling like I have the money to afford it. A week in Gettysburg (that I already covered) and three days at the yearly ReaderCon writer’s conference outside of Boston (that’s been covered so thoroughly on the ‘net that I won’t waste anyone’s time by recapping here).

Last weekend I nurtured my inner model builder and went to the IPMS National show in Virginia Beach. It was my first Nationals, and I was mightily impressed. The craftsmanship was amazing, some of the best models from kits and scratch-builds that I’ve ever seen. I was stunned when the Weehawken took a silver medal in her category. I was happy just to have my work on the table and seen with the other entries, but to win something was very gratifying. I also spent a little money in the vendor room; picked up a big hunk of resin ironclad to keep Weehawken company on the shelf.

I’ve put some photos online here. I apologize that some are a bit dark, I didn’t take time to correct the exposure on any of them (the ceilings were a bit high for my usual flash-bounce technique).

USS Weehawken: Complete!

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After a year and a half of work (granted, off-and-on, many breaks taken) I’ve finished the USS Weehawken model. I have to say I’m damn pleased with the results. I took more time than usual with the basics this time around and paid particular attention to eliminating seams, making sure the paint was smooth, and quadruple-checking alignments. I also did a lot more scratchbuilding on this model in the form of adding an interior (that’s unfortunately very hard to see) and adding small details that are visible in this large scale.

I’ll be doing a full article on the construction of Weehawken, but that will take some time. Over the course of this project I took over 350 photos of this model, so I’ve got some sorting to do.

In the meantime, I have more photos of the completed ship here.

You know things aren’t going well…

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… when you get out the ice cream and tequila at 4 in the afternoon.

Had a bit of an issue with my airbrushes today (both of them) and the paints I was attempting to spray (three different brands and bases). Took a break, let the healing effects of Patron course through my system for a bit, and then was able to successfully finish the major paint work for the day. Don’t let people tell you that tequila isn’t a wonder drug.

Weapons of Minimum Destruction

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I’m still plugging away on the USS Weehawken, my deadline of March 7th looming larger and larger every day. I wanted to post these shots, though, of the XV-inch and XI-inch Dahlgren cannons. I’m really happy with the way they came out. While the full-sized cannons were massive, deadly, and ugly, these little facsimiles could be considered cute.

Color!

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There’s a part of any model project where it finally starts to come together. With Weehawken it’s this red paint. All of the sanding and filling are done and now I’m applying color. This shot is of the first coat applied. Some of the raised hull plating detail that I created is barely visible in the photo; it’s hard to see even in person, but that’s how it should be. Weathering and detail washes will bring it out a bit. I hate to admit it, but this is the second attempt at this red paint. I totally boned the paint-to-thinner ratio the first time, and my airbrush decided to literally puke all over my hands. I guess the next time someone asks me for advice on airbrushing I can leave that part out.

The deck hatches will be open on Weehawken, so I have to show something. Here’s a shot of some interior details: pipes with cut-off wheels, cabin doors, green watertight door, and a gray strong-door (probably used to lock up weapons, payroll, etc.).

And finally something that I just have to do over. The gun carriage is in good shape, wheels designed by Gary Kingzett, and one of them built by him. I built the other wheel and the carriage. My father and I turned the gun barrel on his lathe while I was home over the holidays, but MAN, we got the barrel too big. It looks like some of the phallic graffiti you see on the walls at Pompei. I’ve got some brass rod chucked in my Dremel tool. Hopefully that will allow me to turn a more in-scale barrel.

Things that go SPLAT

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While home over the holidays I was able to shoot a muzzle loading rifle and pistol for the first time. Research for some Civil War stuff I’m pondering. It was quite the experience. I never realized that black powder is completely different than the powder used in modern weapons and fireworks. It reeks of rotten eggs when fired. You’d think with all of the historical accounts and novels I’ve read that someone would have mentioned that at least once. The photo shows a .45 caliber ball flattened by the impact on the metal target support (just shot at some paper, no animals, don’t get yourselves in a lather), and another ball in unfired condition. No photos or video of the actual firings, it was too cold.

Something else that got smushed recently was the stern of the USS Weehawken model. Due to some dumb ass overloading a shelf above my computer (dumb ass=me) the shelf supports gave way and tumbled earthward, taking the shelf below it along for the ride. Fortunately, the literal pile of books cascaded over my computer and nothing expensive was broken, but had I been at my desk when it happened then I’d be typing this from the hospital. So there’s that silver lining. The Weehawken took some collateral damage. First shot shows the worst of it, the second shot shows the same area after a repair of Aves Apoxie Sculpt, lots of Mr. Surfacer, and ample swearing.

Nieuport 17

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I needed a break from building the USS Weehawken, so I picked up this kit as a quick project. Word to the wise: If you’re looking for something quick to build, do not pick something with multiple wings, spindly landing gear, rigging, struts… you get the idea.

You can see more photos and read of a few of the issues I had with it here.

USS Weehawken: Scribing

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After some time away from the work bench I have returned to the USS Weehawken. After weeks of looking at it, sitting there, mocking me as I mulled over ways to approach the armor plating on the deck, I finally decided to just dive in.

I worked off of what few photos could be found on the internet of the actual monitor, photos of other monitor kits, and photos of models that others have built. I decided the brick-like layout that is most commonly depicted is probably the best bet, as there is little evidence against it. I started by drawing laying a pencil line down the center of the deck. Fortunately that was easy, as every line on the deck is either parallel or perpendicular to this line, so it had to be straight. I then marked off the perpendicular lines, continually checking them with dividers and a square. I decided the distance between them again by photo guesstimates, and by the fact that I have a ruler that is darn close to being as wide as measurements that I came up with.

Next came out the scribing tool. I’ve never scribed anything on this scale before and it was daunting. I used a special tool that Squadron Hobbies produces (it looks like a particularly nasty dental scraper). It removes a fine ribbon of material on each pass, and after three passes on each line with the smaller head, it was done. The resin on this kit has more tiny airbubbles than I would like to see, and at points the tool did dig into pockets of them and cause irregular edges, but for the final “used” look I want for this model it wasn’t a deal-breaker.

After scribing those lines, out came the pencil and the straightedge and I began drawing in the alternating lines parallel to centerline, that run fore and aft. I continually checked my work with dividers to make sure I kept every resulting rectangle the same size. I’m almost positive this symmetry was not present on the real ships, but with nothing else to go on to contradict the pattern, I kept it as it adds a nice visual effect.

I went with the assumption that the armor plates terminated at the very edge of the hull. They did this on the original Monitor, so why not? This meant I needed a line the thickness of the plates on the side of the hull. The blue tape is Dynamo label tape, from those old plastic label makers. It’s thick enough to provide a solid edge for the scribing tool to run along. I measured off the thickness of the plates to something that looks good and applied the tape. I don’t like to leave it on the model too long as it has a tendency to pull the primer from some of those air bubble areas on the hull, so I lay it down, scribe the line, and remove it.

Quite a bit of progress for only a weeks work, off and on. Now I have to figure out how to replicate the flush-faced rivets that are needed on the sides of the hull.