Clearwater Models

Saturday, 4 April 2020

PADDLEWHEEL TUGBOAT (ZT Model)

This is a 1:150 scale (?) model by "ZT Model" of China of an electric motorized side paddlewheel tugboat named "Strongbow" in Chinese. There is no way it is actually 1:150 scale. The kit is awful by representational standards, but it was made as an education toy to be build my middle school children and then operated on water. It could be built in two hours and launched immediately by a child. The fit quality is rather good, especially on the three layer hull and deck.

This is another in a series of COVID-19 models. Previously I had thought it would be discarded or given to a child, but being in lockdown made it an attractive build option.

The motor was not installed. I rebuilt the entire deckhouse to be much taller, and added window frames. The wooden decking on the deckhouse is actual balsa wood. I built the crossbeams over the aft deck, and added chain for the anchor. I added the second exhaust pipe on the side of the funnel. The railings were modified by removing the lower crossbars and sticking it to the wooden deck. The decals were all plastic stickers, and were discarded in favour of nothing. It is heavily coated with clear matte. Most paint is Vallejo acrylic. I used a lot of weathering.

Paddlewheel Tugboat (ZT Model) rebuilt

"Strongbow" Paddlewheel Tugboat (ZT Model)

Sunday, 29 March 2020

MiG-25 SCRAMBLE FOR INTERCEPT (Hobbycraft)

This is the very small 1:144 scale Hobbycraft kit of a generic type MiG-25 interceptor. This is another in a series of COVID-19 models. It was done in under 72 hours just for fun.

This is an AIR DEFENCE EMERGENCY SCRAMBLE to intercept incoming U.S. Navy aircraft north of the Kola peninsula in about 1981. The aircraft is part of the 174th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment of the PVO-Strany at Monchegorsk Air Base in the Murmansk Oblast. The aircraft, yellow 43, wears the Guards crest, and is part of an Order of the Red Banner squadron named in honour of BF Safonov. The aircraft is named Mikhail M. Gromov in honour of the famed Soviet test pilot, long range aviator, and commander (1899-1985). The M.M. Gromov Flight Research Institute is named in his honour.

The MiG-25 was first flown in 1964, and entered combat squadrons in 1970, and was produced until 1984. This was the final aircraft designed by Mikhail Gurevich, and was meant to intercept the new USAF B-70 Valkyrie supersonic strategic heavy bomber (which never went into production). It was the second-fastest production aircraft in the world, and holds several aviation records. Today it is the fastest production aircraft remaining in service. Over 1100 were built in several variants.

Paint is Vallejo acrylics and decals are from the IPMS Ottawa decal bank.

MiG-25 air defence scramble at Monchegorsk air base, c. 1981

1:144 scale Hobby Craft MiG-25 interceptor

MiG-25 air defence scramble at Monchegorsk air base, c. 1981

Thursday, 26 March 2020

TIRPITZ (Heller)

This is the extremely tiny 1:2000 scale tiny model of the nazi scum battle cruiser/ battleship TIRPITZ which was meant to compete with the growing French navy. This is another in my series of fun and fast build COVID-19 models. I received it as a gift and the lockdown was a great opportunity to get it off the shelf, painted, rigged, and out of here. It was basically a two day build just for fun. The kit (Heller #052) has 46 parts. The model is a mere 12 cm in length. The real ship was 241.6 m. For scale the photos show either my fingers or a one Euro coin. The base is balsa wood and the water/waves are gesso painted with blue and white.

The actual ship was launched by Germany in 1939 and commissioned into the navy in 1941. The only real task for the ship was as a raider against convoys moving towards Murmansk and Arkangelsk in the USSR, but even then it only managed two missions. It spent most of its operational life essentially in hiding -- blanketed in artificial fog, or covered by a forest of trees to evade British heavy bombers! Tirpitz was eventually sunk by RAF Lancaster bombers on 12 November 1944. More than a thousand crewmen died in the explosions and capsizing.

Tirpitz, in 1:2000 scale by Heller

Wednesday, 25 March 2020

U.S.S. ENTERPRISE FLIGHT DISPLAY (AMT ERTL)

This is the goodness-knows-what-scale models of Star Trek's three U.S.S. Enterprise spacecraft from AMT/ERTL models. The kit comes with all three spacecraft and a clear disk for displaying the three in flight.

The kit came from a car boot sale several years ago and has been sitting in a closet. This is another COVID-19 model project. The spacecraft were painted with Rust-oleum bright finish metallic chrome to make them look like jewellery silver. I could drill a hole in the top of the disk so that the model display could be hung from the ceiling and totally out of the way.