RN Zara 1:400 (Prudenziati)

[Lex]

Thank you Mike, WireandPaper, PaperFan, Don and Ed.

Right now the hull is being sanded, gaps filled with putty, sanded, and filled again. Rinse, repeat. I have also decided that the narrow propellers won't do and have nipped them off the hull. The holes are covered up by additional putty. Sanding unsupported paper is very difficult so I am still learning the ropes on this... Will update when done.

The Ro.43 will be of some issue. Not so much for its size but for it being 'shaded', as per Zio's style. I am not sure how well that goes with a flat-coloured hull, just hope to hide it among all the other details maybe? Similar issues exist on the steam launches that sets them apart from the other parts.

[Golden Bear]

Lex, I personally love the introspective glances you give us into the the build.


Your descriptions of how your react to portholes in the wrong positions and such reaches to the hearts of so many of us who model. At the same time, someone has given to you a place from which to build and create!


I REALLY enjoy this build. I love the Italian ships.



Keep fighting and discovering and TELL US MORE!!! Please?




Carl

[Beachead]

Its a beautiful build you have. Well done.

[Lex]

Where was I? Yes, sanding. I tried to fix the hull and bit the bullet.

I pulled out the propeller assemblies, and added plenty of filler to that area. One layer of primer later... The seams and bamboo were made so much more visible. Alright, time for some fillers I thought. But it was not so simple, despite the internal supports, the paper was still deforming as I sanded it, and I could never remove the bambooing to get a satisfactory result.

In trying to salvage the build, I decided to put paper strips on the hull to simulate the layering of the plates. It is something that is visible on most photos, so I have material to reference against, and the effect will make the bamboo much less visible. I had to wait till access to laser cutter so I don't need to cut the strips by hand. So, up and down, 8 months until I finished dealing with this entire ordeal. The result looks okay, the original seams now appear as seams in the plating as well, which was a bonus. The propellers needs redoing (and repositioning, that will be fixed at the same time), but that is minor compared to the improvement in the result. The portholes will be replaced by 1:350 PE set, which, with some foresight, I have stocked up plenty of before the lockdown.

There is still the little fin on the bow, as well as the bilge keels. Things are looking more promising now.

[PAPER FAN]

Impressive rebuild of the hull, even made more so with you doing it with the bridge structure in place

[Michael Mash]

Very fine hull Lex.
Your description of the work involved is very instructive.
Unless one has built card/paper hulls, it is difficult to appreciate the time and effort required to achieve a fine result like this one.
Mike

[Don Boose]

Fascinating story. The hull with the paper strips is a work of art in its own right. Almost a shame that it will be painted.

Don

[rifleman]

fine work sir good looking hull

[Lex]

Thank you for following this build. I realised the time I will be (and already have) invested in this build, and thought it's not okay to make this a half-hearted effort. The hull gave me confidence in continuing, unlike my Fuyuzuki which a friend had simply told me to finish off quickly and move onto the next build - the build quality was not worth any more effort in their eyes.

@Don, I feel somewhat sorry for having to paint over Zio's model, which was not the original intention. To keep the style consistent I expect everything superstructure will be painted from now on too.

Before continuing on the hull, a small update elsewhere. The dual 203mm turrets have been made. I have used 1:350 barrels intended for plastic models (probably Trumpeter's Zara, can't remember). Of course, these will be too long at 1:400. Not too noticeable on secondary turrets, but prominent enough to warrant another look on the main ones.

Fortunately, they only contain the length outside of the blast shields. So if one insert them directly into the turret, their length is spot on at 1:400. One only need to add their own blast shield afterwards. The openings on the rangefinder might need some 3D detail as I will be painting over the surface, but otherwise the turrets are very simple to make. These are top-heavy due to the barrels and tended to topple on their own, but this will not be an issue once I fix them to the hull.

There is also the little ladder at the back of the turret which I am using PE for. My first ever use of a PE part, it is easier to shape than I expected. Zara had its motto(?), 'TENACEMENT', painted on the turret side, that will have to be replaced by decals at some point.

Zara's 8'' guns are located unusually close to each other, a feature common to Italian cruisers. This meant that the turret, as I remember reading, had quite an awful dispersion at range if a full salvo is fired, due to the interference with adjacent barrels. I was not sure about the merits of this design, could it be space- or weight-saving?