Clearwater Models

Sunday, 16 April 2017

DUTCH ROYAL BARGE - 1678

This is a 1:80 scale (?) wooden plank-on-frame model of a circa 1678 Dutch royal barge and canal/coastal vessel. I built it over the winter of 2016-2017. Rigging took two weeks once I actually got the nerve up to start rigging it.
The kit comes from China's Aliexpress.com and costs about $30. It arrives as a small flat box only long enough for the main mast and for the keel length. It is hand painted. The gold scroll work on the sides is painted in with a gold pen, then the white is painted around it with a tiny brush. Small laser engraving lines help a lot. The only non-wood parts are 16 small metal nails used to secure four over-stressed side runner strips.

The boat-builder at Maritime Model Guild, Ottawa, 04 April 2017.

1678 Dutch royal barge

Friday, 24 March 2017

ALITALIA DC-3 (Italeri)

This is a 1:72 scale DC-3 airliner in Alitalia colours. Italeria kit #123.

DC-3 airliner

DC-3 airliner

Sunday, 12 March 2017

FORD PHAETON VICTORIA (ERTL)

This is a 1:24 scale pre-painted kit from ERTL of a 1932 Ford Phaeton and Ford Victoria sedan on a 1932 Roadster chassis hot rod. The parts are all cut from the sprue and painted and sealed in numbered clear pouches. Glue does not stick to this paint. Every surface has to be scratched so the paint will adhere. I bought the kit at a used kit sale for $5. It was exasperating. The only great aspect is the decals behind the instrument bezels. It will not be shown at IPMS and will not be entered in any competition. It is destined to be a gift to a car lover.

1932 Ford Phaeton and Ford Victoria sedan

Tuesday, 20 December 2016

RED ARMY RF-8 GAZ-98 "AEROSAN" SNOWMOBILE (Trumpeter)

This is the Trumpeter 1:35 scale model of the USSR's Red Army's RF-8 GAZ-98 "Aerosan" snowmobile armed with a 7.62mm machine gun. The snowmobile was powered by a small automobile engine (3.3L GAZ M-1 I4), making at capable of 50km/h. This and subsequent Aerosans were developed by Gorki Narkorechflota.

The name on the side is "Lembitu", and refers to the ancient Estonia general who lead his people against the Germanic invaders in the early 13th century.

The kit is well designed and moulded. I used both Vallejo white primer and Tamiya white primer to achieve the overall colouration.Detailing is with real rust, and with Vallejo "engine grime". The tubing sticking out from the engine body is plastic from the kit. It is not brass wire.

It was a great pre-christmas project taking only ten days. It placed second in the IPMS Ottawa January 2017 model contest.