Revell Thermopaylae

[philo426]

I first bought this kit in the mid seventies but it was lost in a move.I recently found this kit on the Bay for a reasonable price.Should be fun although i know it is the Cutty Sark with the correct figurehead and decals.

[Roadrunner]

The Cutty Sark and Constitution, have been on my "to do" list for a while now. I'll look forward to this.

[cobraman]

I tried kits such as this years ago but could never do them justice. Good luck with your project.

[philo426]

Thanks!Primered and airbrushed the first coat of copper.It is a large hull so I am glad I bought two jars of Tamiya Copper!

[philo426]

The airbrush sure makes painting quicker and easier.

[Roadrunner]

Whoa! That green looks just great, real nice shade.

[philo426]

Yep!Tamiya deep green is the right shade.

[Kit Basher]

I had this kit when I was a teenager. I did pretty good with the assembly and painting, but the rigging utterly defeated me. Never finished it. I look forward to seeing it done successfully!

[philo426]

Yes the rigging is not quick nor easy.When Ibuilt this solid hull Scientific Cutty Sark,it took about 3 weeks to rig it and I did not include the running rigging.The ratlines were the most time consuming but they are better than the plastic ratlines included in most plastic kits.

[Roadrunner]

Have you considered using wooden dowel rods for the upper portions of the masts? I've seen on several ship models of this nature (including a few of my own) where the masts bowed out of shape after tensioning was altered by humidity and such. Beeswax helps some, but it's no guarantee against deformation.

[philo426]

Yes i was considering using brass tubing because the plastic masts will bend due to string tension.

[Roadrunner]

Sounds like you have it under control then. I'll be eyeballing this.

[Roadrunner]

It's been years since I watched "The 300 Spartans", I may have to rent it soon. A fine gollywood tale of the battle of Thermopylae.

[philo426]

Yeah it was pretty cool!

[philo426]

Some of the hand rail stanchions were broken off and I did not really like the remaining plastic ones so I cut them off,drilled holes and epoxied HO model RR spikes in.Much stronger.

Edited March 25, 2015 by philo426

[philo426]

Mounted up the ship's boats and started rigging the davits.

[Roadrunner]

Looks good so far.

[philo426]

Thanks!

[philo426]

Replaced the plastic jibbboom with brass tubing and reinforced the dolphin striker and catheads with an old airbrush needle to prevent deformation when the rigging is added.

Edited April 2, 2015 by philo426

[Roadrunner]

Excellent. I've seen too many older models with the masts and yards all skewed and warped; this should prevent that rather well.

[philo426]

Yes I will do the same on the upper masts also.

[philo426]

Installed the anchor chain and anchors.

[philo426]

I put a brass tube inside of the plastic mast halves and replaced the upper mast with another tube.Relocated the shroud and ratline chains to the side of the hull,which necessitates me tying my own ratlines as the kit supplied plastic ratlines are now too short. Its ok.

[philo426]

[Kit Basher]

The plastic rat lines in the kit I had many years ago were junk. Your homemade ones will be a huge improvement. Sounds like a ton of work, tho. Looks great, carry on!