News Feed

Miguel Vaquero
Probably, my most ambitous project yet. Im going to try and recreate a sinking of a submarine with depth charges, droped from a destroyer. Everything in 1/700 scale. For this, i bought the Battle of the Atlantic set, wich comes with a J-Claas destroyer, a type VII German submarine and a Short Sunderland amphibous plane.

gorby
Sounds like an interesting project, I'll tag along. 🙂

David Taylor
Yuup.

Jay Dubya
Permission to come aboard Captain Vaquero?

Landlubber Mike
Looking forward to following this one!

Miguel Vaquero
Welcome aboard guys!! Happy to have you along.

Of course Jay! There's always room in my ships😁😁

Miguel Vaquero
Sub already done! It was small but detailed. The PE parts were really a challenge. Some weathering it's all it's left.

Miguel Vaquero
Today i wanted to work on how i want my diorama to look. So i hoped on blender and downloded some free assets and placed them together to see how i want it to look. I think for the quantity of resin and the accuracy of the scene this is going to be more or less the final desing of my diorama.

Miguel Vaquero
Starting with the destroyer. Awesome detail too but a million tiny parts. Good challenge for sure

Miguel Vaquero
Destroyer assembly done! To the paint booth

Jay Dubya
RAAF 10 Squadron Flying Porcupine next please, Miguel ?!!?

Kesa Tiho
I am in love
Fantastic build

Miguel Vaquero
Thanks Kesa!!

Miguel Vaquero
I don't know if I'm going to finish the Sunderland😞😞. The fitting between the fuselages is too bad and fragile, using putty is not going to do the trick this time cause it will hide a lot of the nice detail and I will not be satisfied. I'll think about how to do it but there's not much hope now😓

Miguel Vaquero
To get my mind of the plane. I decided to destroy the sub.it turned out perfect, as I intended

Jay Dubya
Not really where you are headed with your diorama, but this might give a bit of context to my 'historical' comment Miguel.

"A Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Sunderland (of No. 10 Squadron) made the type's first unassisted kill of a U-boat on 17 July 1940.[3]"
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_Sunderland

Flying Porcupine
"Two examples, in particular, stand out: on the 13th of April 1940, a Sunderland operating off the coast of Norway was attacked by six Ju-88C heavy fighters – the Sunderland shot down one JU-88, damaged another so seriously it had to quit the fight, and drove the rest away.

A 1943 encounter with JU-88 was even more savage when a Sunderland from 461 Sqn RAAF was attacked by eight JU-88C long-range fighters. Despite the Sunderland being heavily damaged with most of the crew wounded, the Sunderland downed three attackers, damaged and drove off the rest and made the 560-kilometre return journey to Britain where the heavily damaged aircraft was beached at Cornwall."
planehistoria.com/short-sunderland/

10Sqn RAAF Photos -
adf-serials.com.au/sunderland.htm

Keep up the great work on these tiny models.
Cheers

PS The nickname 'Flying Porcupine' was probably just a bit of allied propaganda as there's not a lot of evidence the Germans ever referred to a Sunderland as one. It's a lot like the Japanese with the Beaufighter and Whispering Death.

Miguel Vaquero
Thanks for all the info Jay! I really appreciate it. And they could fit very well with this diorama. They actually performed anti submarine operations from GB and they actually sunk 6 U-boats.

I'm sure if I'm able to fix my Sunderland, I'll paint it with their colours. I loved their history

Miguel Vaquero
The U-Boat has exploded!!💥💥

gorby
The explosion effect is very realistic.

Miguel Vaquero
Thanks Gorby!!

Miguel Vaquero
I've already glued the U-Boat to the acrylic sheet. As the background for the diorama states that the aft reserve torpedo exploded, to hide the cables I made some bubbles coming down from the exploded compartment. It's not the best but it's better than to have some cables seen.

Miguel Vaquero
The acrylic sheets mold is done. The ship is now lifted with nylon cord to place on to the resin without sinking. And the u-Boat is secured in the container.

Next step, the resin pouring. I've never been so nervous about a model.

gorby
Good luck with the resin Miguel.

Shar Dipree
following

Miguel Vaquero
Some bubbles formed. Not the best result, also they are positioned in places where some bubbles would be formed. Overall I think it turned out great.

Jay Dubya
Absolutely 'killed it' - well done Miguel!

Miguel Vaquero
Thanks Jay!

That bubble on the bow is killing me. It's right on the surface of the resin but I don't know how to get rid of it, and if I'll make it worse if I try something

talbot
wow, absolutely love this

David Taylor
Brill.

Landlubber Mike
Wow, really cool man! Well done!

Rui S
Excellent work 👍

Miguel Vaquero
Thanks a lot guys! There's still some work to do. But it's getting there.

I've made the form of the waves with some acrylic gel. Let's wait for it to dry and then to make some foam

Guy Rump
Great job, very impressive. 👍

Miguel Vaquero
Thanks Guy!

I ended up making and painting the Sunderland, flying the colors Jay suggested. The end result, I think it's salvageable. I'm wondering if I should put it in the diorama. The downside is ill have to stick it with some transparent acrylic rod. It's going to be visible but not too much. I think if I mask the bottom part of the rod, the one closer to the water, as a droped depth charge from the porcupine, the result might not be bad at all.
What do you guys think

Jan Peters
Very cool set up, and very ambitious. You're a braver man than I.
Love the effect of the explosion, very convincing.

Miguel Vaquero
Thanks Jan!! Im not really brave, I was really really scared 🤣🤣. Its just a matter of trying and if I fail well, from everything we learn. In the end it turned out great, so that is that.

It's really great having all the support from all you experienced guys. I've only been modelling for a year or so, so your comments are really encouraging

Miguel Vaquero
Testing the Sunderland. What do you guys think. I'm not sure If I loved or hate it

gorby
I like it, I think it adds another element of interest (mind you I reeeeeally like the Sunderland so I might be biased). 🙂
I just want to comment on the how you've done the surface of the water - excellent, particularly the effect of the exploding depth charges.

Mr D
That looks fantastic Miguel 👌👍👍

Miguel Vaquero
It really does add a lot to the scene Gorby. I'll have to think thoroughly but I'm starting to like the diorama more with the Sunderland in it.

Also thank you and thanks Mr D for you kind words! The good thing about this diorama is that it really doesn't need any special abilities. It's as simple as it can get and it will give you a great result

Mr D
It's has plenty of life to it 👏👌.
How did you get the bubbles in the right place 🤔??
I am starting a Diorama once l get my next build sorted, lm trying to rap up the X2 projects I'm working on and then l start my Mi-8 it's going to be part of a Chernobyl disaster Diorama, l have the damaged power station ready for paint,
I would like to create explosion n smoke like you have done here and LED.
Nice work 😀👍

Villiers de Vos
This is epic. You manage to capture the observer with your dynamic and realistic scene.

Ben M
Remarkable diorama. How did you get the resin so deep? The stuff I use, you can only pour 1/8" at a time. The diorama is so dynamic and exciting!

Miguel Vaquero
Thank you Villiers. Really glad that you like it. Your words really mean a lot coming from such a great modeller.

Well Mr D, the big bubbles coming out of the explosion are mainly produced by the gap a created when cutting the U-Boat. The air trapped inside came to the surface while the resin was curing, and it cured faster than the bubbles could scape to the surface. They as well appear because of the cotton I used to create the explosion effect, but mainly because of the first reason. Also Ill make sure to follow your build. It really sound amazing, and watching your prior work, Im sure it's going to be awesome.

Thank you also Ben!! I'm glad you enjoyed the work. As per the resin, I really used the cheap one from AliExpress. I mixed well the two parts till the resin and hardener were completely clear. Then I poured it and that's it. The instructions said I could pour up to 2 centimeters per pour. I did four centimeters deep at once and it cured great. The only downside I found is that not all small bubbles rised to the surface and couldn't be popped with a torch. I should have poured a little, then torched and then poured the rest. I didn't expect such a Good result from this but guess I got lucky.

Mr D
Thanks for the Info Miguel 👍 it's all worked out for the best.

Miguel Vaquero
It did worked. Now the only thing left is to crate a base to go with it and finish the wiring.

Bruce Huxtable
Very impressed with your execution of this evocative scene. No escape for those poor souls..... Your creative solutions worked very well indeed, but I'm curious as to how you formed the surface of the sea? There's a lot going on, including the expanding circular waves. Superb!

Dominik Weitzer
great!

Pietro De Angelis
Awesome dio, congrats!

Miguel Vaquero
Thanks for your words guys, they really mean a lot!!

Indeed bruce. It's one of the things that fascinate me the most about U-Boats. They were deadly war machines, every sailor was terrorized by them during WW2. But it unsettles me the way all those people knew, that a single flood, could mean they would never resurface again. It's really nerve racking. Those things are what attracts me the most to this machines and their histories.

As for the water, I used a combination of two artistic acrylic gel mediums. I used one with a low viscosity for the small ocean waves and normal ripples. I then used one much more dense, to simulate the water effects created by the destroyer and the depth charges explosions. The gel, once dried, it stays hard as if it was resin, and also stays transparent. Then I painted the high ripples with a diluted white and extended it with a soft bristled brush along the ripple and it's surrounding area. I did the same were the bubbly foam would stay after the ship passed, but with a more diluted white and more gentle passes with the brush.

Ill try to upload some better pictures were the effects are better seen once I complete the diorama.

Bruce Huxtable
Many thanks, Miguel. You clearly have a very good 'eye', re-creating reality in a very convincing way.

Miguel Vaquero
Thank you very much Bruce. Im glad that you like it!

Christian Abraham
The dio is really awesome

Miguel Vaquero
Thanks Abraham!!

Kesa Tiho
Breathtaking. I hope when i make my first ship moc it comes out as beautiful as yours. Any tips?

Mr D
Hi Miguel 👋
Was a good set of X3 you got , l recently purchased the Flyhawk SBD Dauntless, li looks really good from what I've seen so far in the box.... What do you think of there kits ??

Miguel Vaquero
Hi Kesha. If your are going to do it with resin, my main advise is to try and eliminate bubbles the best you can by pouring a litle bit and removing the bubles then repeating thee process till you get the desire amount. And id you put any object inside it ñ, try and seal it the best you can so no air can escape. Also, when tinting the resin, always think less is more. Try a few drops of the colors you want to use, and build it from there. Id recommend you buy some uv resin, to fix pieces quickly and to seal the mould in Wich you will plur the resin. And finally, don't be afraid, a big part of this hobby is to challenge us to exit our confort zone, and if you make a mistake, to learn from it. And please please, if you remember, once you start your diorama, please let me know. I'll love to follow your build.

Hi MrD, well I can't talk about other kits and other scales, but, for this one in particular, the quality was surprisingly good. The material was perfect, almost no flush. Also the details moulded in to the surface were incredibly good. It was my first kit from them, but I'm sure its not going to be the last. I've also looked the SBD, it looks amazing, I'll make sure to follow your build to inspire me if I end up buying that kit.

Mr D
I got it for a great price on an AliExpress sale, the box content is amazing for the price 👍👍

Ludvík Kružík
I still miss this small helicopter in my collection of flying machines used in Czechoslovakia. The time has come for me to rectify that. 😉

Villiers de Vos
I will follow along.

Ludvík Kružík
Welcome Villiers! 🙂

Greg Baker
Oh. I built a 1/72 version of the Mi-1M... This should be interesting.

Ludvík Kružík
Hello, Greg. I know there's a Mi-1M kit in 1/72nd scale. Unfortunately, only this and a rather old kit from Special Hobby exists in 1/48 scale. In addition, this kit is an older version of the Mi-1A, which is different from the upgraded version of the Mi-1M. It has a different nose shape, different cockpit glazing and other minor changes. And since I decided to build the upgraded version of the Mi-1M, I will not avoid modifications to the kit.
To give you a better idea of the extent of the modifications to the kit, I've included a picture with the differences between the Mi-1A and Mi-1M versions color coded.

Greg Baker
Oh, neat! I didn't realize there were so many changes between the versions. This is going to look great!

Ludvík Kružík
Greg, thank you for your support.
____________________
I started building the model by making new transparent parts.

Alec K
Taking a seat, this brings back memories of ABC magazine 😜👍

gorby
Nice work moulding the new transparent parts.

Greg Baker
Yeah. Nice work on the heat-n-smash moulding for the clear parts. That can be tricky to do.

Ludvík Kružík
@Alec K
I used to buy ABC magazine regularly as a kid and eagerly awaited each new issue 🙂. I assume your mention of ABC magazine refers to the occasional modeling tutorial section.

@gorby, @Greg Baker
It's not too difficult to make new transparent parts by stretching warmed transparent foil over a pre-made template. Preparing the template is the most work. Stretching the warmed foil onto the template is just a routine that anyone can do after a few attempts.

Alec K
Correct 🙂👍👍

Robert Podkoński
How have I missed this? Taking a seat for sure! 🙂

Ludvík Kružík
Hello, Robert! Good to see you here. You haven't missed much so far. Up to this point I've been more concerned with preparation than building the model.

Ludvík Kružík
I want to try to use the sandwich construction in the production of new glass parts for the coptics. So I made (using the same process as the transparent parts) parts out of white plastic sheeting. These parts will have holes cut out for the windows. The transparent part will then be inserted between these two parts. The white outer and inner parts will form the embossed framing of the transparent part.

Jennifer Franklin
That looks great (as per usual 😛)

Ludvík Kružík
Welcome, Jennifer, we're glad to have you on board and thank you for your goodwill. 🙂

Ludvík Kružík
I came back from vacation and it started to rain. Ideal conditions for modelling. 🙂

So I'm back and continuing to work on the model. I need to glue the finished nose to the glued fuselage so the cockpit overlay fits exactly. That determines the workflow. First I have to finish the nose and the inside of the fuselage and glue all the parts that need to be glued to the fuselage halves from the inside. After gluing the fuselage halves together, I would no longer be able to get to these parts (or only with great difficulty).

Photos of the work progress will be coming soon.

Alexander Grivonev
Oh some modeling for big boys, not glueing perfectly fitting parts together and throwing on some paint! Following 👍

Ludvík Kružík
Welcome, Alexander! 🙂

Ludvík Kružík
I glued several parts to both halves of the fuselage. These parts are glued from the inside, so they have to be glued before the fuselage is closed.
I also started working on making new parts for the cockpit.

Landlubber Mike
Wow, this is incredible work Ludvik! Thank you for sharing your steps - I've learned a lot from your pictures and descriptions!

Villiers de Vos
Fantastic scratch build skills.

Ludvík Kružík
@Landlubber Mike
Mike, thank you for your interest. Welcome aboard!
I've had the idea for this rebuild in my head for a few years now. Mainly because I've been waiting to see if anyone would start making 1:48 scale Mi-1M kits. Unfortunately, to this day, no manufacturer has this kit in their lineup. So I decided not to wait any longer and start building a model from what I have available.
My rebuild is just beginning. Most of the work on the model is yet to be done. I'd also like to try some new techniques that came to mind while planning to build this model.

@Villiers
Thank you for the compliment. I appreciate it very much.

Ludvík Kružík
I didn't have much time today, so I didn't make much progress on the build. But every little bit of progress counts. 😉

J35J
Great progress and detailing! Following

Bruce Huxtable
Wow! You don't shy away from challenges! Watchinh with admiration, and hoping to learn lots too. Hoping you are not amongst the floods? Stay safe!

Ludvík Kružík
J35J welcome! I hope you like it here.

Bruce, I like a challenge like that. I like to experiment and enjoy thinking of and then implementing ways to improve my model.

I appreciate your concern for my safety. I live in a town in the highlands that wasn't badly affected by the floods. Only the river that runs through our town has increased flow, but it hasn't spilled out of its bed. Moreover, our house is 80 metres above the river, so even if the river had spilled out of its bed, it would certainly not have reached our house.

Bruce Huxtable
It sounds an idyllic location.....Opravdu, česka příroda je krasná....

Ludvík Kružík
Bruce, thank you for the compliment. I'm sure the nature is beautiful in England too. 😉

Ludvík Kružík
I'm slowly continuing to make small parts.

Alec K
Nice progress, this will be a beauty 👍

bughunter
Another big bunch of parts, not to mention some kit parts, come together to form one big model! Not to be missed!
I'm late, but I have an excuse. First I was on holiday, and then this stupid C-virus knocked me out.

Ludvík Kružík
Alec, thank you for your support and your kind words.

Welcome, Frank. I hope you're okay, and I'm really glad you're one of my guests.
It's definitely not too late. I still have most of my work ahead of me. In fact, you could say I'm just getting started.

TH SCALE MODELS (Thomas Haberl)
Uhhhhhh … this is going to be another good one from you! I'm in 👍

Ludvík Kružík
Thomas, welcome. It's good to see you among my guests. 🙂

Ludvík Kružík
I'm struggling with time rather than the model at the moment. At least I managed to draw a new dashboard. After printing it in scale (1/48) on photo paper I will use it instead of the kit part.

John
Another Ludvik conversion build with all the accuracy and attention to detail.we've come to expect. It's looking good, can't wait to see the final result! 👍

Ludvík Kružík
Welcome, John. Please have a little patience. This project is quite demanding and I will need a lot of time to complete it.

John
Ok, I aimed that to "I can wait to see the final result" (but I'm still eager) 😉

Alec K
Wow, the dashboard looks amazing. I can only imagine how much time that took. Really interested how it looks completed 👍

Ludvík Kružík
Alec, I drew the dashboard in the evenings for 5 days (about 3 to 4 hours each day). Add to that additional time (about 5 hours) for test printing and subsequent corrections.

I am attaching a photo of a test black and white print of the dashboard after all the modifications are complete. I will print the dashboard for the model in color later.

Ludvík Kružík
According to the photos I modified the fuselage where the main landing gear is attached to it.

Guy Rump
Looking good, following. 👍

Jakub Biganovsky
Good morning.
Realy nice and fine work.

Robert Podkoński
These modifications are just perfect, Ludviku...

Ludvík Kružík
Guy, Jakub and Robert thank you for your comments, it's a nice encouragement for further work.

After today, the hull is glued together. Now I'm adjusting the shape of the transparent cockpit cover.

Ben M
I continue to enjoy seeing this one take shape. Quite the effort to convert it!

Ludvík Kružík
Hello, Ben. I'm glad you're interested in my project.

Greg Baker
This is looking good!

Ludvík Kružík
Thank you Greg!

Villiers de Vos
Starting to take shape.

Ludvík Kružík
Villiers, the completion of the fuselage is only temporary at this time. It's only to modify the shape of the transparent cockpit cover.
Once the cockpit cover is the correct shape, I will take the fuselage nose down again to continue work on the cockpit interior.

Ludvík Kružík
Work on the model continues with the production of the cockpit.

Greg Baker
This is becoming a scratchbuilding masterclass!

Ludvík Kružík
Greg, thank you for the compliment.

A small shift in the work on the internal equipment of the helicopter's nose.

Jennifer Franklin
Ludvik, I greatly admire your skill.

Rando
Ludvik, a modeling god. The detail and scratchbuilding is just otherworldly and I always learn so much from your build logs

Ludvík Kružík
Jennifer, thank you for your kind words.

Randa, thank you so much for your contribution. Although I don't consider myself a modeling god, your comment made me very happy. Thank you.

Ludvík Kružík
This afternoon I continued making details for the nose of the helicopter.

Ludvík Kružík
Little progress today. The cockpit got a floor, internal construction and a coat of grey paint. Now I can start to get the cockpit "settled in".

Alec K
Great job on that instrument panel, turned out great 👍

Ludvík Kružík
Thanks Alec! The dashboard isn't complete yet. I still need to add a few more details. But I'll add those after gluing the dashboard to the nose of the helicopter, because I would (very likely) break them off while gluing the dashboard to the nose.

Ludvík Kružík
Again, little progress. I'm prepping the seats for the helicopter crew.

Jennifer Franklin
The red on the seat and cushion pops, starting to look natural.

Alec K
This build made me cautiously open the MPM 1/72 version of this chopper. I closed it back up very quickly… 🤣

Ludvík Kružík
Alec, I don't blame you for making that decision. The MPM kit isn't very good. To build a nice model out of this kit requires a really large amount of work on virtually all parts of the kit. Plus the plastic the kit is made of is quite hard and cracks easily.

Alec K
Agreed. The original MPM kits are now almost in the same category as the original KP: collectors' items. To be sighed over, but not disturbed 😁

Ludvík Kružík
I'm continuing to work on the seats. I finished the backrest of the rear bench and glued the assembled bench into the cockpit.

Alec K
Nice progress Ludviku. The dash and the canopy look super 👍

Ludvík Kružík
Thanks Alec! 😄

Ludvík Kružík
The new cockpit cover is slowly starting to resemble its model. The inner frame inserted into the transparent part of the cockpit and attached to the fuselage already shows the future shape of the cockpit cover.

gorby
Excellent work on the canopy.

Ludvík Kružík
Thank you gorby, glad you like it.

Ludvík Kružík
After a short break I continue building the model. I have finished the instruments and controls in the cockpit and am now working on the details located on the inside of the canopy.

bughunter
Not much of this coarse kits are build. And among those is no model with details like yours! To scratch all little things needs time but is worth the effort. Your hard way to do the canopy frame is a good example.
I think the instrument panel will not very visible at the end but for more contrast individual decals for the instruments are an option. Tom Anyz offers greatly printed universal dials in black and white, e.g. Universal cockpit dials 1.00 mm - 1.80mm (ANYZ AN037, No)

Ludvík Kružík
Bughunter thank you for the recommendation. Looks like the ANYZ decals are a great idea for simplifying dashboard fabrication.