Airfix 1/600 SS France

[ChrisSC]

Hi Chris,
I found your building log of this liner. Very nice work with all the tiny parts. The painting looks beautyfull.
Like my Robert E. Lee: a lot of windows, railing and stairs. In the beginning you think: where do I start. But at the and you get the WOW.
Regards, Peter

Thank you Peter. I totally agree that the extra time involved with adding the little details make quite a difference in the final outcome. France has lots of little odd curved to straight railings which will be a challenge to get decent bends. I have a feeling I may be going through a fair amount of railing that may end up in the trash until I figure out the best method. I've also had to convert walkways to stairs as the generic 1/600 stairs offered by many PE manufacturers are often too wide to replace the narrow plastic ones that come with the model. Trial and error and hopefully acceptable success will be the result. I did the same thing on my RMS Queen Elizabeth and was pretty happy with how she looked completed.

 

[Peter Voogt]

....... I have a feeling I may be going through a fair amount of railing that may end up in the trash until I figure out the best method.
.....Trial and error and hopefully acceptable success will be the result.

Chris,
These 2 lines from your answer reflect exactly what I went through with the construction of the railing on “The Lee”. The bin with waste was getting bigger and bigger, but the final result is very satisfying.
I read your other build logs too. It's going to be a handsome fleet. Nice to see the different scales.
Regards, Peter

 

[ChrisSC]

Thanks Peter. Today I added the davits, some stairways, and painted the funnels on my 1/600 France. More stairways to do and I'm still putting off the railings lol.

 

[ChrisSC]

I got a lot of railings done on my France. My dog bumped me and my elbow crushed the bow railings after they were glued on......straightened them out as best I could. The PE also had a lot of waves to it from shipping which didn't come out that great. I found the railings on this ship the hardest ones to do of the four models I have done. Lots of long straight runs and curves.

 

[ChrisSC]

After I had glued down a couple of railings I realized I should have been using 5 bar instead of 3 bar on the bow and stern, oh well lol!

 

[ChrisSC]

The railing bending culprit lol!

 

[ChrisSC]

It just needs a coat of flat clear to cover any glossy glue and I'm gonna call it done. I don't feel like putting anymore time in this one, it was harder than I thought it would be.

 

[Peter Voogt]

Chris,
You did a great job with this beautyfull liner.
You can by pround with this result.
Regards, Peter

 

[ChrisSC]

Chris,
You did a great job with this beautyfull liner.
You can by pround with this result.
Regards, Peter

Thanks Peter. I don't think the intent when produced were to have a lot of detail added but with some patience I think she looks pretty good. I'm sure the newer models designed today are much nicer but these oldies have their own sort of charm IMO.

 

[Donnie]

I agree. Very realistic looking. Beautiful work.

 

[JBL]

After enjoying building the Airfix 1/600 RMS Queen Elizabeth I purchased as many 1/600 Liners as I could find. The rarest one is the Airfix SS France which I finally found on ebay at a high but reasonable price. She is my current project but I have to be careful since messing her up and trying to replace her would not be easy.

So far she is in prime with the propeller shafts and stabilizers installed. I really would have preferred to leave them until near the end of the build but they needed a lot of filler which would have messed up the paint job. I'll just have to watch out for them as they are very delicate. Once I get the hull painted and mounted on the stand they will be much less vulnerable to damage.

The holes for the shaft supports were just a mess and the hull had quite a bit of warp to it so I filled the support holes first from the inside with styreen sheet and then putty on the outside. I also glued in a brace of styrene sheet to help hold the two halves of the warped hull together. She needs a little more filler before paint.
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Hey , this looks great. I just was wondering what the market for these we’re. You said they were quite expensive even on eBay. For one still sealed in the box what prices are u looking at?

 

[ChrisSC]

Hey , this looks great. I just was wondering what the market for these we’re. You said they were quite expensive even on eBay. For one still sealed in the box what prices are u looking at?

Thanks. I paid $129 USD for the complete kit I bought. There is one on Ebay right now factory sealed for the crazy price of $499, buy it now price. When I have seen complete kits they are usually between $100-$200.

 

[JBL]

Thanks. I paid $129 USD for the complete kit I bought. There is one on Ebay right now factory sealed for the crazy price of $499, buy it now price. When I have seen complete kits they are usually between $100-$200.

Wow, Thankyou for responding in such short notice . 1-200 is very reasonable I guess considering the rarity of the sealed product. Thankyou so much

 

[Wedgie01]

After enjoying building the Airfix 1/600 RMS Queen Elizabeth I purchased as many 1/600 Liners as I could find. The rarest one is the Airfix SS France which I finally found on ebay at a high but reasonable price. She is my current project but I have to be careful since messing her up and trying to replace her would not be easy.

So far she is in prime with the propeller shafts and stabilizers installed. I really would have preferred to leave them until near the end of the build but they needed a lot of filler which would have messed up the paint job. I'll just have to watch out for them as they are very delicate. Once I get the hull painted and mounted on the stand they will be much less vulnerable to damage.

The holes for the shaft supports were just a mess and the hull had quite a bit of warp to it so I filled the support holes first from the inside with styreen sheet and then putty on the outside. I also glued in a brace of styrene sheet to help hold the two halves of the warped hull together. She needs a little more filler before paint.
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After enjoying building the Airfix 1/600 RMS Queen Elizabeth I purchased as many 1/600 Liners as I could find. The rarest one is the Airfix SS France which I finally found on ebay at a high but reasonable price. She is my current project but I have to be careful since messing her up and trying to replace her would not be easy.

So far she is in prime with the propeller shafts and stabilizers installed. I really would have preferred to leave them until near the end of the build but they needed a lot of filler which would have messed up the paint job. I'll just have to watch out for them as they are very delicate. Once I get the hull painted and mounted on the stand they will be much less vulnerable to damage.

The holes for the shaft supports were just a mess and the hull had quite a bit of warp to it so I filled the support holes first from the inside with styreen sheet and then putty on the outside. I also glued in a brace of styrene sheet to help hold the two halves of the warped hull together. She needs a little more filler before paint.
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I built this kit at least twice when I was young, along with the original Queen Elizabeth, Queen Mary (Revell) and SS Canberra. Had quite the passion for ocean liners back then. Who would have thought in the 70's these Airfix kits would become so rare. Build looks amazing to date. Great job.
Cheers,
Steve