While I originally planned to have all the work on my Chinese Navy Type 056 corvette completed by now - illness, work, and weather have conspired against me to delay my progress.
That said, I have completed my modifications to the Shapeways model to add some details and give it a better look. Here is a photo of my modified model followed by photos of the real ship and the unmodified model.
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| Modified Model |
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| Real Type 056 |
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| Unmodified Model |
While the changes are fairly small, hopefully you can pick them out. But if not I've marked them in this next photo.
In Area 1 (at the bow) I added the 76mm gun and raised the forward bulwark so the deck isn't just flat. In Area 2 I added a block for the fire control radar (along with the FC radar), added some details around the mast (including a search radar), and the 30mm guns outboard of the mast. In Area 3 I extended the aft deck to meet the funnel and added some SatCom antennas.
Overall, I'm pretty please with how the modifications came out. I figured out early on that you can't really sand the Shapeways material, at least not with the sanding equipment I have, so I would be able to smooth out the forward deck, but I decided to not worry about it too much and press on. Zap-A-Gap glue worked well for adding the details to the model (I wasn't
sure how the glue would stick, since I've never worked with this type
of material). The mast modifications and scratch-building of the 76mm gun turned out pretty good and I was able to scavenge some other kits for the fire control radar, search radar, 30mm guns, and Sat Com antennas.
It should look pretty good when I get it painted up. Here are a couple more photos so you can see the modified areas from different angles.
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| This angle shows off the 76mm gun and mast changes |
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| This view shows off the deck extension, 30mm gun, and forward deck work |
I gotta say, you REALLY improved the original model! I look forward to seeing it painted.
ReplyDeleteIts strange to me why the designer of the original didn't add the 76mm gun, or at least the turret. At 1/700 scale it should not have been a problem, I would think.
Chris
Chris, I think the extra details have really added some character to the ship. I think the turret could have been done in the printing process since some of the other ships in this scale have them. I haven't contacted the designer to ask about this. I might do that once I'm done with the paint job.
DeleteVery Nice Dave, Well Done.
ReplyDeleteDave, you mention you cannot sand the material.
ReplyDeleteToo dense?
Jim
Jim, I not really sure what the issue is, but density is probably the right answer. I think it might be an issue with the material and the 3D printing process. I tried some heavy grit sand paper and it seems like the material peeled off (sort of like rubber) rather than sanding down like a resin or plastic. Sanding might work better with a different material.
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