D805 Piet Hein, ex HMS Serapis, WW2 S class destroyer

[Marquinius]

Painting about 150 stanchions is not my idea of a fun afternoon. So I created a handy little tool. The joy of 3D.

Still about 15 times load-air brush-unload, but a lot easier overall.

I’m doing a few tests with colour, as I think very light grey may look better than the hull grey. These thin ‘poles’ need a bit of ‘pop’ to show.

 

[Marquinius]

Well, that was quick. About 30 minutes work and everything is painted. Pfff

Mounted the first few, which is an awkward job. Fingers stick better to superglue than wiggly little parts.

Also put the lone sailor on board, for scale.

Oh, and those white rectangles are simulating some deck plate welds. Will be in deck colours and of course weathered and rusted.

 

[Marquinius]

The railings are up and I gave her her whaler and boat. Of course I will arrange for tackles and ropes, but the place of each is now fixated. That’s good.

My to do list still has a lot of items. But the harbour is in sight. The one thing I’m really looking forward to is weathering. These emergency class destroyers showed their heavy use. Any time spent on maintenance was only on that what was critical. But the overall impression was quite grubby.

 

[Marquinius]

Lots of little chores, but getting to the grand finale. Important moment: D805 on her well curved flanks.

The font (letter type) was quite a search as, of course, the Royal Dutch Navy created their own. But I found ‘stencil’, which is close.

I used the cheap laser cutter to cut D805 from tape. Easy peasy.

Still a bit to do, but ‘weathering time’ is close. And I’m happy, as I’m really done with this ship. I looked up when I created my first design: November 2023. Time to finish.

 

[Marquinius]

I’m more or less done building and need to start small paintings and weathering. But that’s for another day. She’s has her number and she has propulsion. I am going to sail her to a temporary berth to await the proper inspiration for those chores.

Lessons learned:
- I will never do the same model three times over again, as it became more like work than design and create. So a next one that has a mishap will be basta and on to something else.
- 3D print is great, but also very fragile. So a next model will have more brass or so. Especially railings and companionways. And probably CNC instead. But I learned a lot and that’s what counts.
- although I have new silicon eye implants, I need glasses for the fine detail. I simply cannot focus at close enough range. Laziness makes for sloppy work.

It’s not a museum piece and I see many things I’d do differently. But man, she is a big ship. And overall still big fun to build.

Closure: once I’m in the mood for paint and weathering I will post some afterburner images. But first I’m going to start a new project.

 

[dockattner]

Congratulations, Marco. A nice outcome just as she sits today.

 

[Peter Voogt]

I’m more or less done building and need to start small paintings and weathering. But that’s for another day. She’s has her number and she has propulsion. I am going to sail her to a temporary berth to await the proper inspiration for those chores.

Lessons learned:
- I will never do the same model three times over again, as it became more like work than design and create. So a next one that has a mishap will be basta and on to something else.
- 3D print is great, but also very fragile. So a next model will have more brass or so. Especially railings and companionways. And probably CNC instead. But I learned a lot and that’s what counts.
- although I have new silicon eye implants, I need glasses for the fine detail. I simply cannot focus at close enough range. Laziness makes for sloppy work.

It’s not a museum piece and I see many things I’d do differently. But man, she is a big ship. And overall still big fun to build.

Closure: once I’m in the mood for paint and weathering I will post some afterburner images. But first I’m going to start a new project.

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Congratulations with this very nice result, Marco. A very impressive marine vessel. The ‘D805’ painting can out nice as well.
I am really curious to see what the new project will be.
Regards, Peter

 

[Jimsky]

Congratulations, Marco! I like the way she looks; great result! Wonder how she will look under weathering!