RN Zara 1:400 (Prudenziati)

[Lex]

Hi all, I'd like to present the build of RN Zara by Zio Prudenziati, scaled to 1:400. This build started in 2018 as a test build for my underwater hull to Zio's model but then I left the build in China and lost interest soon afterwards. I'll explain why I came back to it in the bottom.

The model is shrunk to 400 scale as the detail level is on par with a JSC kit, and at 1:200 would appear lacking if displayed with other ships in this scale. Although the original plan is to not paint, after some research I realised the kit is not very accurate to how the ship looks historically and some (half-hearted) attempt will be made to make it better resemble the actual ship, so the majority of the ship will be painted over (sorry Zio, not to say the model is badly coloured). I stocked up some generic 1:350 PE sets as well as a set of barrels, as this is a good chance to learn how to use them. Pictures follow in the next post.

I'm also looking forward to building the 1:200 Zara from WAK, that one seems like a very nice model also.

Meanwhile check out Ed's build at 1:200 and more stories about Zio himself
RN Zara 1:200, Prudenziatti




A little side story,

So I was back in China in January, had an an unplanned surgery that delayed my departure, and suddenly the coronavirus hit the country hard and in Beijing like everywhere else we were all ordered into self-imposed quarantine. Communities shut their gates, offices were closed, catering, tourism and entertainment revenues went right off the cliff. The disease is not very deadly but it's impossible to stress just how scary its contagiousness is.

In the midst of the chaos, it was a godsend for everyone in the modelling community. One would rarely get the chance to comfortably sit at home with good reason, and even those who normally had little time started building model they never thought they'd start. That's how I came back to this project, it's a beautiful ship to build.

[Lex]

Zio's design does not use card to reinforce the hull formers, just like JSC and HMV. To be honest I lack experience with this method and a lack of cutting skills messed up the the upper hull. The white glue I used also had too much water and when I tried to reinforce the waterline it started to bend became curvy, and had to be braces with grey card as a fix. (blame the me in 2018 for doing all this)

With all these issues, I realised the waterline belt will not look pretty if attached to the hull in this state. The solution is to cut away the formers on the side, and let the belt part stand on itself.

The under water portion is of the more common design utilising cardboard, these provided some very valuable support to the structure and made sure the entire hull doesn't come out bent.

[Lex]

This is how the waterline belt was made. At 1:400 scale, one can rely on the strength of the paper to support itself. Zio's design is extremely accurate and only minimal adjustments were necessary. The most troublesome part was the start of the main belt armour, as one can see a slight kink in the waterline, as well as a wrinkle on the skin itself at this location. Nothing major.

For the step in the middle of the belt, I added two layers of 300gsm card on the bottom half and then attached both top and bottom half onto another sheet of card. This naturally forms the step without any additional internal supports (which I messed up already) and is extremely resilient.

(You can also see the Zara class on-screen as they appear in a certain Belarussian MMO)

[Lex]

The other side of the waterline, then making a start on the bottom hull. Time to see how well it stands up: the result is satisfactory, almost satisfying. At that point I had still not planned on painting, and the result is almost good enough on its own. I still had to paint a band of black at the waterline anyway - Zio's waterline is not entirely straight as mentioned in the last post.

Another more serious issue is the location of the portholes on the hull - they are too high, the bottom most row should be below the level of the main belt, but on the model they are above it and too far from the waterline. That was one of the primary reason of deciding to paint the entire hull. (I bought a set of PE portholes for this.)

There is also a photo showing the barrel set for 1:350 Zara-class. I am sure nobody will notice the difference in scale...

[Michael Mash]

Nice to see your work again Lex.
And . . . . Very very interesting to read your side story about your visit to China during the coronavirus outbreak.

[Lex]

The remainder of the bottom hull. No fitting issues all the way, a sigh of relief.

The rudder and propeller also came out alright. For the propeller I used a sanded toothpick head in place for the paper part (it's too small at 1:400 and not worth the effort, I always paint the propeller gold anyway so the colour was not important). The shaft was reinforced with a 0.8mm copper wire in the centre.

There is a design issue with the shaft. They are located way too close together. At some point I need to modify the file in the downloads section to fix this problem. For the build, I just hope nobody notices. (Forget I ever said this okay?)

As the hull lay on the table I noticed one problem. It's laser printed, and it's dark colour, which means... it's TOO SHINY! No worries, I thought, a layer of matte spray coat will do the job. So I did that and... it's still TOO SHINY! Okay fine, primer, modelling putty, goodbye Zio I am painting this thing

[wireandpaper]

Very nice, although the Ro.43 at that scale!
Looking forward to the completed model.

ps: the JSC Muzio Attendolo and the Bolzano have simplified Ro.43

[PAPER FAN]

Excellent start. The lower hull is very clean.

[Don Boose]

I really like the look of the interwar and WWII Italian ships, especially the cruisers. And I like the artistic models that the late Zio designed.

Great to see you at work on another model, although I wish it had not been the coronavirus that gave you the opportunity. Stay well!

Don

[edumalta]

Hey Lex,


Zio's model is not an easy one to build and you are handling it very well. I like the full hull version and I also think that the scale reduction was a wise move. Sometimes I struggle with the larger parts. Keep doing that fine job!


Best regards


Ed