Digital Navy 1/250 Arizona - Page 2

**Paperwarrior** · #11 10-01-2010, 07:42 PM

If that is your first, I cannot wait to see your next few.
That is an awesome build!!!

Jeff

**ccoyle** · #12 10-01-2010, 09:55 PM

If that is your first model, then your second should be really, REALLY good! Congrats!

**DavidESP** · #13 10-02-2010, 05:48 AM

Very impressive build of an extremely detailed model. Bravo.

**lancer525** · #14 10-02-2010, 08:42 AM

Superb work!

**kenlwest** · #15 10-02-2010, 08:51 AM

Stands up to the best as far as I am concerned! As this is your first paper model, I trust that you can now understand why we love this hobby so much, and why many of us have never looked back at plastic again.

Well done!

Ken

**GMintz** · #16 10-02-2010, 10:04 AM

Hello all,

Thank you for your kind comments. I should point out that there were some rough times during this “first” build. (A word of warning for anyone starting out with this model.)

I ended up doing the hull three times. Digital Navy gives you a way to check that your printouts are sized correctly but I still managed to have some of my printouts resized incorrectly so the formers were wrong and had to be thrown out. My next hull I took almost to completion but it looked like it had been cut out with a chain saw. Tossing out that hull was painful and it took me about a week to recover and start the third which came out ok. It may be more correct to say this was my "third" card model.

Those three hulls gave me a lot of practice even if it was mostly in doing things the wrong way. I then switched from elmers glue and aileens tacky glue to duco cement (I think recommended by Golden Bear) for the superstructure and the build went much easier after that.

I managed to get a pretty good color match to the printout with custom mixed acrylics. I made up large quantities of paint so touching up the many mistakes was possible.

I spent a lot of time looking at the wonderful build of the 1/100 Arizona by Eibwarrior which was the only way I could figure out where a lot of parts went. I still ended up with some unused parts?

I found the tiny float planes near impossible to get together so they looked good. That is why there is only one plane on my model while the kit is planned for three. I could not get the lifeboats to go together so they would look ok so I ended up coating the hulls with superglue, sanding them with fine sandpaper, and painting them with thin layers of acrylic with sanding between coats. I don’t know if that is considered legitimate in the card modeling world but it worked pretty well.

A few words of caution for the new papermodel builder from another new builder. First, #11 blades are very sharp and if you are on blood thinners, you may want to have plenty of bandaids and butterfly strips on hand at the start. (Don’t ask me how I know.) The vapors from large quantities of superglue are not pleasant and probably not safe so if you do your railings by coating thread with thin superglue, don’t pour a bunch into a cup and then put your nose over it. (Ask my wife how I know.) Finally, don’t zoom in too close with your macro lens. The experts on this forum can do it because their work stands up to observation at any magnification. I found it too discouraging so I backed off to more of a normal viewing distance and many of my mistakes seemed to just "disappear".

Enjoy,

Greg

**Greg S.** · #17 10-02-2010, 01:15 PM

Marvelous! Simply marvelous! Wish my models turned out looking like that!

**ccoyle** · #18 10-02-2010, 02:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GMintz

I could not get the lifeboats to go together so they would look ok so I ended up coating the hulls with superglue, sanding them with fine sandpaper, and painting them with thin layers of acrylic with sanding between coats. I don’t know if that is considered legitimate in the card modeling world but it worked pretty well.

I think most of us here live by the philosophy, "Whatever works!"

**strk** · #19 10-02-2010, 02:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GMintz

Finally, don’t zoom in too close with your macro lens. The experts on this forum can do it because their work stands up to observation at any magnification. I found it too discouraging so I backed off to more of a normal viewing distance and many of my mistakes seemed to just "disappear".

Don't ask me how I know:D

Nice build. Congratulations!

**silveroxide** · #20 10-02-2010, 06:42 PM

I echo the kudos from the other posters. The railings are an intricate part of the model as well as the motor launches, and you did wonderfully well in that department. Even under the micro viewer, the details stand up. Wonderful work and hoping to see more of your handiwork in the future. See you around the forums.