What's on Your Workbench for April?

[TexaS]

The Mono is the top of my list. I may just start out with the pickle basket and UV nail curer first though. I am taking a long time to pull the trigger but that has more to do with broaching the subject with the admiral then anything else!

I have found some good YouTube channels with tips and equipment for washing and curing. One guy is called "Uncle Jessy" and he has a list of cheap tools to help. (sorry I can't link YT at work).

Which resin have you been using?

I've seen most videos by Uncle Jessy, but also of other resin printing youtubers. Those who actually have tried the Wash & Cure 2.0 have all agreed that it's expensive and worth it, and I agree. You can print without it, but for me it was not just soo much easier but also stopped me from breaking the models by brushing them too hard with a toothbrush or not cleaning them enough and letting liquid resin stay on the miniature and curing onto the model basically ruining it. Now I even use an ordinary cleaner instead of isopropanyl for cleaning and it works perfectly.

I'm still on my first bottle and it's anycubics own resin, standard transparent green. Someone told me transparent is better at curing effectively and they were out of blue and red.

[Dobbs]

Where did your new acquisitions come from, Jonas?

[TexaS]

They’re printed ships from Henry Turner. He only included 1:1000 in his Age of Admirals Kickstarter but the 1:700 for FDM printed at 70% works very well. The DLA/resin is hard to get good prints at 70% due to the details being too small. Not necessarily to print, but they’re too brittle. I’ve broken details just by handling them while cleaning.

[Volunteer]

They’re printed ships from Henry Turner. He only included 1:1000 in his Age of Admirals Kickstarter but the 1:700 for FDM printed at 70% works very well. The DLA/resin is hard to get good prints at 70% due to the details being too small. Not necessarily to print, but they’re too brittle. I’ve broken details just by handling them while cleaning.

I purchased a pack of 0.20MM nozzles just for that purpose Jonas. I haven't got around to swapping the 0.40MM nozzle out yet.

[Bligh]

I take it from that you have your own printer Jonas!

Rob.

[Dobbs]

Alright, I checked with Rustoleum and they are shutting down Modelmaster. Dullcote seems safe for now. With this in mind, Suzanne and I have a business trip to Annapolis planned for Sunday, which will include a stop at Star Hobbies, which has a good rack of Modelmaster paints. If anyone has any requests, price and shipping will get them. We'll also be stopping at Mom's Organic Grocery, so if you want meal worms, this is your chance. I know I'm getting some!

[Bligh]

I know they are called meal worms Dobbs, but they reallt only provide you with a snack on their own.
Bligh.

[TexaS]

This on the other hand is on scale. It’s San Jose in 1:1000.

[Bligh]

As I found with my Kickstarter set, the details are very impressive Jonas.
Rob.

[TexaS]

A few more ships spray painted.

[Bligh]

Looking good Jonas.
Rob.

[Bligh]

With a bit of a holdup on my schooner project, I have started the first of my ships from Henry's Kickstarter today.
Here is Diana in process of being painted prior to raising her masts which will be from my Ares spares collection.

Rob.

[Bligh]

And today I got her finished. Just the ship mat to do now.

Rob.

[Diamondback]

Henry's multinational fleet arrived today!

In the queue:
---1778 HMS Victory (pre-refit, to be painted 1760s-70s red)
---Purisima Concepcion 3-deckers: ARS Purisima Concepcion, ARS San Jose, HMS San Josef
---Canada 74's: HMS Canada, HMS Captain, HMS Orion, HMS Majestic
---Ganges 74's: HMS Ganges, HMS Culloden, HMS Tremendous, HMS Invincible, HMS Minden
---Intrepid 64's: HMS Polyphemus, HMS America (upgrades for Ares ships)

If these work out well, it'll be time to order up a batch of Nepomucenos and round out the Intrepids.

EDIT...

Two lanterns missing on one hull, but other than that the hard part is gonna be sorting out the masts, and figuring out spritsails and drivers.

[Bligh]

They are really impressive even in the raw DB. They will certainly grace the games table when they come off the stocks. I lok forward to seeing them completed. Any thoughts on colour schemes for Captain and Culloden? They will be my next two to be fitted out.

Rob.

[Diamondback]

Culloden at the Nile is described as "yellow sides with two narrow black strakes. David Manley referred me to this paining by William Anderson:


For Captain I'm thinking this model might be your best bet as reference: https://www.modelshipmaster.com/prod...MS_CAPTAIN.htm

Canada I'm thinking varnished wood with blue or green stripes as I saw on one model, Majestic overall yellow with a broad black strake between gunports, Orion overall yellow with thinner black stripes based on this model: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Or...ion_(1787).JPG

[Bligh]

Thanks DB. That was quick.
Your signals officer must be on the ball today.
Rob.

[Diamondback]

Thanks DB. That was quick.
Your signals officer must be on the ball today.
Rob.

Caught me with insomnia and trying to work up tomorrow's shopping list for the craft store... :) if this crap keeps up for much more than another 2-3 hours I might as well forget sleep and start powering down put-hair-on-your-chest doses of caffeine.

[Volunteer]

You guys are cranking on! It is fun to see the excitement and activity with the new ships. DB that is the same model I used for inspiration for my HMS Captain.

[Bligh]

Well its back to the schoonerisms today. So it's down with the pasts and on with the maintwork.

[Dobbs]

Schoonerisms!

[Bligh]

Well spotted Dobbs.
Here we are just starting to set up the masts last evening.

I am also making a stay out of wire to reinforce the union of the Jib sails with the foremast.

[Bligh]

Here you can see the stay in place disguised as rigging.
Rob.

[Lieste]

I'd probably rig that as a fore staysail, only taking the jib to the fore top mast. Looks odd with the different line of action of the stay above and within the sail.

[Bligh]

I did consider that, but my ships are intended to be as like Ares as I can get them. I thought long and hard before even adding this and wanted to make it as short as I could David. It was also the easiest angle to do.

Rob.

[Diamondback]

Started priming Victory with Vallejo 950 overnight. Something sinister about that hull all in black...

[Bligh]

Here is the finished ship with the caveat that I may well take up David's suggestion, and make a change which I now see as possible.

[Volunteer]

Here is the finished ship with the caveat that I may well take up David's suggestion, and make a change which I now see as possible.

Very nice looking schooner Rob

[Bligh]

Very nice looking schooner Rob

Thanks Vol. Should get number two completed today with Daid's suggested alteration done which looks much better.

Rob.

[Bligh]

With a bit of work this morning I now have my second schooner completed.

[TexaS]

Nice schooner, Rob.

Eric: The thing I like best with the Wash and Cure 2.0 is that when the print is finished I just unscrew the build plate and put it in the W&C. It washes the whole thing without me having to touch anything where the resin is until after it's cleaned. Then I remove the prints from the build plate and cut off the supports before curing. That way there's less risk of damaging the model. Then it's just curing left. It's also nice to have timers built in telling me when it's finished by beeping.

[DeRuyter]

Nice schooner, Rob.

Eric: The thing I like best with the Wash and Cure 2.0 is that when the print is finished I just unscrew the build plate and put it in the W&C. It washes the whole thing without me having to touch anything where the resin is until after it's cleaned. Then I remove the prints from the build plate and cut off the supports before curing. That way there's less risk of damaging the model. Then it's just curing left. It's also nice to have timers built in telling me when it's finished by beeping.

Jonas do you have to relevel the build plate if you take it off like that?

[Diamondback]

First steps on Victory...

[Continentaleye]

Rob, nice looking schooner. Well done.
Anthony

[Bligh]

Thanks Anthony.
Number two is proving a bit more troublesome. I may have to take further measures with its sprit sails.
Rob.

[Diamondback]

Preliminary take on Henry's ships even with none finished: they don't fit well alongside Ares because they're TOO GOOD--even the "Chunkies" are loaded with fine detail fit to enter into an IPMS model-show diorama contest, maybe even fit to recreate and even improve the old Trafalgar diorama that used to be at Greenwich.

Granted, many of those fine details will be obliterated by first primer and then paint, but...

[Volunteer]

Preliminary take on Henry's ships even with none finished: they don't fit well alongside Ares because they're TOO GOOD--even the "Chunkies" are loaded with fine detail fit to enter into an IPMS model-show diorama contest, maybe even fit to recreate and even improve the old Trafalgar diorama that used to be at Greenwich.

Granted, many of those fine details will be obliterated by first primer and then paint, but...

Haha, maybe try dumbing them down with FDM prints. I still haven't got round to changing out to the smaller nozzle yet. You will be the first to know how the first 1/1000 ship turns out DB.

[Diamondback]

That's not a knock on Henry, either--his Victory in the middle of Ares ships is like having Patrick Stewart or Denzel Washington play pick-up ball filling in with a neighborhood community-theater troupe--and I think the prints he sent me are FDM's. :)

[Bligh]

When all is said and done, they are a joy to paint and as DB says even with my adding Ares sails they still stand out in a crowd.

Rob.

[Diamondback]

28 guns? That's no schooner, that's a small FRIGATE! :P


A little more on Victory with an Intrepid also under work... primer is Vallejo 950 Black, decks are Vallejo 927 Dark Flesh, Victory hull is Vallejo 957 Dark Red and windowpanes are Citadel Caledor Sky. Is there a third deck of lights between the stern chasers and the lower gallery "balcony"? Port side is half stripped for another go at trying to paint without murdering the details.

[Diamondback]

Build up color slow in washes? I usually thinned Vallejos 1 drop paint to 3-4 drops water Way Back When, but for these ships it's more like 1 to 1-2.

ARS San Jose is slowly taking on her hull color... oh God I forgot how much I absolutely HATE painting things yellow. WWII USN trainers used to drive me NUTS... I'm using Vallejo 953 Flat Yellow and 862 Black Gray, looks like I gotta get a bottle of Gold for detailing the galleries.

[TexaS]

No. You always have to remove the build plate to remove the print. I wouldn't hack away at the print while it's still attached upside down on the printer.

[DeRuyter]

No. You always have to remove the build plate to remove the print. I wouldn't hack away at the print while it's still attached upside down on the printer.

Of course - Had I thought about it for a second...I am such a 3d noob!

[TexaS]

We all are until we try it. I watched a lot of youtube videos to learn before I tried it out, hoping to not destroy it before I learned to use it.

[Volunteer]

I knocked out one of David Manley's Greek/Roman ship stands last night. He designed them for 1/2400 scale but I increased them to 1/1200. I still have to paint the eyes on the prows, plus the oar and ship wakes.

[Bligh]

Afraid I can't see your attatchments Vol.
Rob.

[Volunteer]

Afraid I can't see your attatchments Vol.
Rob.

Can you see them now Rob?

Here they are finished

[DeRuyter]

Can you see them now Rob?

Here they are finished

Oh very nice! Must resist a new period. Actually I have paper models from Roman Seas, but these look so much better and I'd like to try David's rules.

[Volunteer]

I watched several YouTube videos as well to learn. But your learning curve is a lot steeper with resin printing than mine was with FDM.

[TexaS]

I think that the resin printers are easier to understand what you need to do, but they are worse in the way of toxic resin, protective gloves, cleaning and curing. The only thing you have to do to calibrate it, which you should do if you switch resin, is to print a test print that you get from thingiverse or the like. There are test prints that will tell you if you have too long exposure or too short depending on how it prints the details. After calibrating the exposure time, you're ready to print. There are some great knowledge that the youtube community have found to work better than what the makers of the printers recommend. You shouldn't use quite as long extra exposure for the first layers as the makers recommend. It both burns out the screen quicker and makes it unnecessarily hard to remove the prints from the build plate. I have shortened it quite a lot and they still stick almost too hard.