Global Scale Modeller

digger303-The PE railing that has been done looks good.

Phillip1

Thats a neat trick with the railings Digger - I will have to remember that. It looks a lot more of a positive hold than what I did

For the Surcouf and M1 I put a nick in one end of a cocktail stick, stuck a couple more on the end to lengthen it then put the model on its stand and rested the stick on top of the rail with the rail sat in the nick. Mine were pretty much all straight though not curved like yours.

digger303 wrote: Wed Mar 04, 2026 7:20 am No big steps forward,just struggling getting the railings done. I've had a lot of trouble being able to control the placement and holding it steady while the Ca glue cures.
So I've had a bit of a thought after trying blue tack which wouldn't hold the PE I thought why not stick a pin in it. That not working well with the pin head not big enough I found old glue bottle caps that had a centre pin, trimmed the edges down and it works so far at least.



Not sure if it will be a ongoing useful thing , but while I'm able to show it and take a pic of it...I'm sharing

PE can be real tricky at times, but you appear to have mastered it and a neat little work around too

Garion77 wrote: Wed Mar 04, 2026 12:30 pm That's a great show of patience my friend ! Already PE for me is just a tedious job most of the time and I hate working with CA glue. You're doing a great job !

Thank you and I have found that using 2 types of Ca is necessary, a slow dry gel and a thin type.

Phillip1 wrote: Fri Mar 06, 2026 12:56 pm digger303-The PE railing that has been done looks good.
Phillip1

thank you.

RangerNeil wrote: Tue Mar 10, 2026 2:57 pm Thats a neat trick with the railings Digger - I will have to remember that. It looks a lot more of a positive hold than what I did

For the Surcouf and M1 I put a nick in one end of a cocktail stick, stuck a couple more on the end to lengthen it then put the model on its stand and rested the stick on top of the rail with the rail sat in the nick. Mine were pretty much all straight though not curved like yours.

It's not easy to work with what ever you do.

Kevthemodeller wrote: Tue Mar 10, 2026 3:12 pm

digger303 wrote: Wed Mar 04, 2026 7:20 am No big steps forward,just struggling getting the railings done. I've had a lot of trouble being able to control the placement and holding it steady while the Ca glue cures.
So I've had a bit of a thought after trying blue tack which wouldn't hold the PE I thought why not stick a pin in it. That not working well with the pin head not big enough I found old glue bottle caps that had a centre pin, trimmed the edges down and it works so far at least.



Not sure if it will be a ongoing useful thing , but while I'm able to show it and take a pic of it...I'm sharing

PE can be real tricky at times, but you appear to have mastered it and a neat little work around too

Thanks for the kind words.








I purchased these to replace my missing gun platform...MIA you might say.



I shall have to remove one to take a closer look tomorrow.

OOP's I made a big Pe blunder.



As you can see my railings are too short, totally my fault as I made the radius slightly over size resulting in a few mm short. I don't want to pry it off in case I wreck it and make it a really huge stuff up. So I''l try to bridge the gap with some surplus pieces.

I also pried off the PE gun platforms and of those the last one gave me the most trouble. I'll replace them with the 3d prints as they are actually more in scale I believe.

digger303-Even with gap the PE work you have done looks really good! You should be able to cut a tiny single strand of top PE railing and attach it with a couple of dots of white glue-easy peasy.

Phillip1

Phillip1 wrote: Tue Mar 24, 2026 11:58 am digger303-Even with gap the PE work you have done looks really good! You should be able to cut a tiny single strand of top PE railing and attach it with a couple of dots of white glue-easy peasy.

Phillip1

Thank you.
I took your advice, but cutting pe so thin,small and at 90 degree's was a challenge so I reverted to a small copper wire.

I've just been pottering along fixing the railings and painting them institu . Not the smartest of options and I'd not do it again. Next time it would form them , prime then paint with VMS acylic primer as I have no end of trouble getting paint to adhere strongly to metal and bits always seem to either flake off or shrink back exposing the bare metal.
I've done a little weathering today and a wash to make some details strand out.




I've still got a bit to do including the aircraft, decals and maybe a bit more weathering.
Speaking of decals though I need to do the flags and last time I did this it ended up as a mashed up ball in my waste paper basket. So any hints would be appreciated, please bear in mind I'm a bit slower than most and need it really broken down to little steps

cheers

I've just tuned in to this one. Looking fabulous.

digger303 wrote: Sun Mar 29, 2026 9:58 am

Phillip1 wrote: Tue Mar 24, 2026 11:58 am digger303-Even with gap the PE work you have done looks really good! You should be able to cut a tiny single strand of top PE railing and attach it with a couple of dots of white glue-easy peasy.

Phillip1

Thank you.
I took your advice, but cutting pe so thin,small and at 90 degree's was a challenge so I reverted to a small copper wire.

I've just been pottering along fixing the railings and painting them institu . Not the smartest of options and I'd not do it again. Next time it would form them , prime then paint with VMS acylic primer as I have no end of trouble getting paint to adhere strongly to metal and bits always seem to either flake off or shrink back exposing the bare metal.
I've done a little weathering today and a wash to make some details strand out.




I've still got a bit to do including the aircraft, decals and maybe a bit more weathering.
Speaking of decals though I need to do the flags and last time I did this it ended up as a mashed up ball in my waste paper basket. So any hints would be appreciated, please bear in mind I'm a bit slower than most and need it really broken down to little steps

cheers

Are the flags paper or decals Digger?
I found on the subs I did - the Surcouf- where the flag was actually a decal the best way (having ruined one) was to:
* Slide the decal off the backing sheet in such a way it was face down on a non-absorbent surface - making sure you knew what the top edge was.
* Then lay the jack staff approximately on the centre line.
* Then, using a toothpick, flip one side of the flag decal up over the jack staff onto the other side and adjust the staff to true centre.
* Then press the two halves together making sure the edges align and set aside to dry

This should work for paper ones too. If the jack staff is already on the model
* use a toothpick instead of the staff, aligning it with the bottom edge.
* flip the flag over the pick and make sure the edges align.
* Squeeze the flag together leaving it loose around the pick.
* Place the pick over the staff and nudge the flag down off the pick and onto the staff.
* Carefully press the rest of the flag together around the staff.

Hope this helps!!

Looking good mate.

As for more weathering you could maybe try oils for streaking on the main hull to push the shine back a bit or maybe a matt varnish cut with a little tan or grey for fading? These things looked a right mess if they were at sea for any length of time.

But hey, its your kit so you do you

digger303-From the photos you posted the applied wash looks really good! Apart from what Stokesy44 said about weathering, you could also use a small, pointed paint brush to apply rust colored pastel dust in a streaking downward motion along the side of the hull. To do this the paint finish should be flat to get the best results. Q-tips can also be used to blend in the pastel dust to create rust stains "bleeding" through the paint. On a model this small you just kind of have keep the rusting work on a small scale. So far your sub looks great! The Emperor would be proud!

Phillip1

Are the flags paper or decals Digger?
I found on the subs I did - the Surcouf- where the flag was actually a decal the best way (having ruined one) was to:
* Slide the decal off the backing sheet in such a way it was face down on a non-absorbent surface - making sure you knew what the top edge was.
* Then lay the jack staff approximately on the centre line.
* Then, using a toothpick, flip one side of the flag decal up over the jack staff onto the other side and adjust the staff to true centre.
* Then press the two halves together making sure the edges align and set aside to dry

This should work for paper ones too. If the jack staff is already on the model
* use a toothpick instead of the staff, aligning it with the bottom edge.
* flip the flag over the pick and make sure the edges align.
* Squeeze the flag together leaving it loose around the pick.
* Place the pick over the staff and nudge the flag down off the pick and onto the staff.
* Carefully press the rest of the flag together around the staff.

Hope this helps!!
[/quote]

Yes it does.
I thought it was a decal, but upon opening the packet I found the flags were indeed thin paper.
I half followed the way you do it, but added a twist in that I used adhesive aluminium foil which I laid out flat before removing the backing and used white glue to stick the flag to it. Removed the backing and folded it around the flag pole, trimmed the edges and cut away some of the white paper where it goes around the flag pole. Maybe not necessary as I painted that bit the same colour as the flag pole anyway. Then I used as a template a 2mm rod to bend the flag as if a light breeze had caught it.

Stokesy44 wrote: Sun Mar 29, 2026 1:52 pm Looking good mate.

As for more weathering you could maybe try oils for streaking on the main hull to push the shine back a bit or maybe a matt varnish cut with a little tan or grey for fading? These things looked a right mess if they were at sea for any length of time.

But hey, its your kit so you do you

Thanks and I'm on it, but still more to do.

Phillip1 wrote: Sun Mar 29, 2026 3:27 pm digger303-From the photos you posted the applied wash looks really good! Apart from what Stokesy44 said about weathering, you could also use a small, pointed paint brush to apply rust colored pastel dust in a streaking downward motion along the side of the hull. To do this the paint finish should be flat to get the best results. Q-tips can also be used to blend in the pastel dust to create rust stains "bleeding" through the paint. On a model this small you just kind of have keep the rusting work on a small scale. So far your sub looks great! The Emperor would be proud!

Phillip1

Thank you, I have started the weathering process just haven't got to the rust stage yet. I'm waiting for the gloss varnish to dry properly before I proceed any further.I've been experimenting with black permanent ink over the grey, something that can only be done in small sections at a time.

digger303-The progress continues to look good!

Phillip1

THis is gonna be super interesting

The Japanese had wood decks on submarines? God they must have been slippery as heck!
Did they have like rice paper windows too??

Twokidsnosleep wrote: Mon Apr 06, 2026 11:26 pm THis is gonna be super interesting

The Japanese had wood decks on submarines? God they must have been slippery as heck!
Did they have like rice paper windows too??

And a Sushi bar?

Twokidsnosleep wrote: Mon Apr 06, 2026 11:26 pm THis is gonna be super interesting

The Japanese had wood decks on submarines? God they must have been slippery as heck!
Did they have like rice paper windows too??

Quite to the contrary, Teak decks were used to improve crew traction and teak was also a very durable timber with standing the attack of salt water very well.

I like the flag idea you had Digger - filing that for future reference!!

Admiral: Sir, we need a new submarine.
Not a problem.

Admiral: It needs to be big.
OK

Admiral: It also needs an airplane.
...

Admiral: Three of them.
No more Sake for you, Admiral.

Nice work on this big boat.