The Madhatter

well, maybe I'm the only person who's excited for this release, so I should probably change the title to just "a new release". A reason I'm excited is that the H43 is just such a beast of a ship. It's almost bigger than the Yamato - if not so. But mostly, its exciting because it's a possible taste of future ships kits. If Trumpeter is releasing this ship, and there are two 350th kits out of the Montana (VeryFire and Joy Yard), then I'm hopeful that Trumpeter could also release some other hypothesized warships like the Lenin (Russian equivalent of the Nelson class configuration) or the Vladivostok (Russian BB that again was designed but not built), or even the Conqueror (planned British successor to the Prince Of Wales). I do live in hope - its how I get through my days.

For all the World of Warship fans, we are finally getting a 1/350 Grosser Kurfurst (or H Class BB)! https://www.scalemates.com/kits/trumpeter-05371-dkm-h-class-battleship--1456316 And it's the right type too, unlike the Very Fire 1/700 offering

thank you all for the advice - its really good stuff. I've been watching some WW2 documentaries on sea battles and it seems to be having a positive effect on me as I pulled my Scharnhorst kit out as a result. I have way to many unfinished projects already and I am a bit loathed to start this for fear of not finishing it as it is an awesome kit (Dragon 1/350) of an equally awesome subject. I think I may be a bit ASD as my attention quickly changes from one thing to the next, hence why I have around 60 kits of varying subjects ranging from trains, planes, cars trucks, ships & sci-fi. I'll just leave the tools on the bench for a little bit longer and come back to them with renewed vigor and enthusiasm

funny you should say that: the house is finally getting painted now

thanks guys - I appreciate the advice. I'm hoping this is a small slump in motivation but its affecting my work as well. Might need to seek some professional help if it continues. That's be interesting - never seen the doctor before for that

thank you Derek. I knew I wouldn't be alone in that respect. I'm going to hang my tools up for a while but I will continue to watch all the amazing builds here. Funny thing is, I build everything from cars, planes, trains, tanks, ships sci-fi and what ever takes my fancy, so variety is not my issue. I have just lost interest in building anything. Might be time to sell off a few kits I think. I have a few

You guys are right, I shouldn't force it. I think I'll take an extended break from building. Might be just what is needed

Hey everyone I am in a real slump ATM with modelling: I just cannot muster any enthusiasm to build anything at all. I've sat at the bench the last 2 nights and went through my stash trying to find something to build - anything - that could provide some inspiration to do something but nope. Nothing. No sense of excitement or joy. Just meh. Even looking at my Star Destroyer, I feel empty. I've looked at other peoples builds trying to get something going but again - nothing, What do you guys do when/if you feel like this? I know the logical answer is to take a break but this feels different to a creative block. I dunno - maybe I'm just talking out my rear end, but I thought I'd pose the question to you all - maybe someone has an idea that might help.

Things are slowly starting to take more shape. I still have to do the bottom yet but I am almost there. Still lots of puttying and blending to go yet I am really contemplating going with this configuration: I'd need to blend in that hull that's on this side but I like the shape of it. If I do, I'd have to buy another one of those ships and I'm not sure there is another one there These are the main engines I was thinking of using but I don't think I'll need the whole tube - just the ends. The brass is just sitting in the middle and have not been centered. I'll add supports to them when I get to there. It certainly seems to be taking on a retro Gerry Anderson era kind of shape. Certainly not by design but it seems to be naturally flowing there. I like it myself Anywho, that's it for now, but happy to hear your thoughts you may have if you want to leave them As always, thanks for looking Si

I have been looking at my sons nerf guns in an all new light and he knows it so he has hid them away from me. I think a visit to the Opp shop might be in order soon

Thanks Chris. Yeah, you're right, it does a bit but for this build, I want to keep it civil. I have some ideas for another ship which would be a military ship though.

hey everyone Happy new year - hope everyone had safe but fun events etc? Mine was a very quiet but productive affair with the start of a long self awaited project that I had sort of played with back in 2016. Sadly, the pics I had before were on Photobucket and I no longer use it, so I can't link them, but the basic concept was I had a 1/144 U-Boat hull, a 1/48 F-14 and F-16 - both unfinished or discarded but kept for parts. I also had a couple of other mini-subs that looked cool. The idea had a couple of different lay outs but since then, it has become this: This one is an alternate version of the front: I have the sub on the right in the wrong position - the little fins should be facing forward and there is still a whole section missing yet at the rear but this is just the rough shape. Part of the problem I was having at the start initially and was was stopping me from starting was having a solid central hull piece to base the ship from. This was solved 7 days ago when I watched a guy build a huge starship from Nerf guns. It gave me an idea - the right one too. As it happens, we just so have some of those guns lying around here and I spied a sight from one of the guns he was about to throw out. I grabbed it and started messing around with it. Then I saw a Trumpeter 1/72 M113 on super sale at BNA which just so happened to be the answer to another block I had. It was now my new front docking bay! In a twist of fate, I had once built a hangar bay for the section at the rear space was perfect. I don't even have to make it - it's already done! The wall panels were the exact perfect size for the ATV. I found an old 1/32 SU-27 intake which has become the under body where the electrics can be held. The U-Boat has a good hold, although I think it will be tricky to get the halves to meet squarely and this is where you will see a novice at work. I do want to repaint in docking bay, so I will mask off the fibers and repaint it all. It does look a bit rough but don't forget, this is just the start and my ideas that I've had over the time are now finally getting to come out. Yeah, I will get back to the Start Destroyer but this came first and now that I'm on a roll, I will keep going till its done or I've had enough. Or, more likely, it'll just fail catastrophically I am more than happy to take constructive feedback as this is, after all, my very first time scratch building anything like this. Happy for you to say something doesn't look right or what have you - just don't be an arse about it (although I doubt anyone here would) As always, thanks for stopping by and would love to hear your thoughts on this one Si

Thanks for the kind posts guys. Its certainly the most different of subjects on the shelf now.

Its by some obscure Chinese brand that I've never heard of, but the quality is brilliant. Its proper name is the Arkhitect Colonizer. Just Google Airbrush spaceship and you'll find it easy. There aren't many options although there is a mark 2 of this ship which has slightly different things, but not really an improvement on what is already a very unique subject

Well, some of you might guess, but a lot of people won't! This is my last build for the year and my most fun one. Completely out of the box with kit supplied lighting and so on. The only thing it didn't do was build itself The kits is quite basic at it's core, but highly detailed. Kind of in the same vein as Bandai in terms of how it goes together (not a drop of glue required). Ingenious lighting system which is a tad tricky to get to in certain areas, and the center drive thing with the orange light was quite confusing initially, but I got there in the end All painted in Gunze and Tamiya metallics. The kit says paint it (yawwwwwn) grey but there was no way in hell I was doing that. I decided I would go for a nod to Gundam here and try something a little different. I like it myself and so does my son who is insisting he gets it when I die. Talk about planning ahead..... geez Enough words, time to give you what you came here for - pics: Even the stand lights up! Well, that's all the pics. I hope they brought a small sliver of enjoyment or inspiration to your day. I had a lot of fun with this one and if you're in the market for a subject that will turn some heads, I would suggest getting this kit. You don't even need to know a single thing about electronics to make it look good as its all taken care of for you As always, thanks for stopping by and having a look Si

Thanks for the feedback guys. I bought a new airbrush which has a higher paint capacity than my current Iwata. Its also a trigger type, a Creos Protonboy something. Really nice action to it. It'll be better for doing car bodies etc. I've put this aside again for a week or so while I try finish of yet another side project. Its super cool though. Well, it is to me

I love a good ship build and this is no exception. Awesome stuff! And I really like the dynamics of the display, very well done

Well, so far so good. I need to add some more filter to the roof panels which I will do over the next day or so to bring them into line with the main body. I'll let you be the judge on whether or not the masking was worth it Obviously, there is still a clear coat and wash to go but yeah, am happy with how its looking Now to do the bottom part!

Thanks mate Yeah, just going over it once more to make sure I got all the tape and then will blend it together. As digital camo as it is, I quite like it myself as it is now. Certainly different for sure

Well, the moment of truth is here and she has been unmasked. As feared, there is some paint lift but its fixable where needed. Next pics will be the final base coat to bring it all down a notch or 4

Thanks Mongoose! I'm hoping that the paint lifting might help with weathering by bringing uneveness in the shades. That's a massive amount of hope though. One more round of masking to go. Then its onto the bottom to do it all over again

Well, moving on, the dark gray has been masked and now for the next and final shade of gray before the base coat goes down. I'm noticing that some of the paint is lifting which is not a good sign. This may end up being a total waste of time. We shall see Well, that's where she's at. Still a long way to go yet, but I'm getting somewhere Thanks for your patience and indulging me with this never ending build (4 years now!) Si

It shouldn't do as it was just the 1 possum that was residing in the roof. The whole thing got replaced as did the cladding around the house up until Minday when the builders finally finished up and patched the last remaining entry point to the roof space. I knew he was there as I could hear him scratching around, and there was a water damage spot right above my desk that I knew could collapse if any weight was added to the back of it. The possum stepped on it and fell through, landing on a shelf above my workspace. Then it jumped down onto the floor and proceeded to clumb up my bookcase which had a fair number of historical builds including the Venator and a 72nd B2 which thankfully survived mostly in tact. The worst hit was the BR52 which was in 1000 pieces and the SU33 which was destroyed. Both have gone in the bin whuch was a shame as Iiked both , especially the 52 as that took me 6 months or so to build. As I was inspecting the Star Destroyer hull for damage I saw pee marks and some details have disappeared and will have to be remade. The upper deck was spared and damage or other such issues.

oooohhh that's so seriously tempting! I'll have to find some more images to see if that's something I can actually do thanks Brett. I had a possum in my roof until Tuesday night when it fell through the ceiling into my office-like area where I build and have my older builds on a shelf. I used to have a BR-52, a custom batmobile, a really snazzy SU33 a one of a kind Sith Interceptor and the start of a Sith Silencer until Tuesday night. I now also have to clean possum pee off the lower hull of the SD. Thank god I had the Scharnhorst with the box lid on and the SF90 hidden away, just in case. When I started work yesterday morning, all I could say was what the actual f*$k. In my home country of Nu Zullund, its not illegal to make a pie and a hat out of one. Luckily for him, here in Oz, they're protected. At least I have some new shelf space now. It's a shame it came at such a price is all.

A slightly different way of masking to the usual SDs seen