Madhatter Mk2

thanks guys. These are only 19cm long, so don't go expecting something bigger

Hi guys As a little side project, I bought myself one of those new little SSD's that were released not long ago to put on my desk at work. I have the Korbanth kit as well but that's not really a work friendly display item (would certainly raise a few eyebrows on the train in though! ;D ) Straight from the box the way Bandai intended it to be. No adding details or what not. Just slap it together and paint it. So easy I painted it in Tamiya paints: Light Grey (XF-65/66 I think) and Dark Grey XF-24, highlighted using pastels and powders It was a fun kit and goes together very easily - although as many before me have said - the parts are very small so handle carefully Like I said, its a fun kit and well, let's face it, it the only-option choice if you don't want to shell out a heap for a huge resin kit That's it but thanks for looking Si

Hi again Last update before a short tools down period. I've not really spent as much time on the bench as I thought I would but did still manage some decent progress The front end is as busy as I want it now. Just need to start filling out areas around the hull. I won't go to crazy as I want to try keep to the grand scale and immensity of the ship. At the same time, most of this detail will likely be obscured by the paint. Well, that's it for now but feel free to share any thoughts you may have Till next time Si

yeah, I have no idea what's going on with this page, but if any of the mods know how to fix it, that would be great

hi fellas Time for a quick update. The wife is heading away for a week with the boy, so I shall have lots of spare time to invest in getting some serious work done on this - provided World of Warships doesn't interfere too much. I promise nothing.... I've started work on the "nose" as you'll see. I steered clear of cutting it off and dropping it like others before me. Fair enough if I was replicating the studio build but it's not necessary here. I realised I had cut out the backing board where the front roof sits thinking there would be something sitting in front of it - there is, but it's not what I thought. A quick sheet of styrene fixed that and I shall add some detail to it in due course. My intention is to have some pipes running back over the edge up into the cavity above it. Time will tell if that will be something that could work as the roofs will be the last thing to be glued on after the fibers have gone in. Still lots of detail to add to the rest of the surface but I am getting there slowly but surely The rear side roofs are also completed and ready to go on. They were a nice quick and easy job - well, in consideration of everything else they were Well, that's all I have for now, but hopefully the next update will be better As always, thanks for stopping by and having a look Si

Thanks Darren Yeah, it's probably a bit full on but it'll be worth it in the end I think. As for progress, all I can say it's it's sloooow going. I've just drilled out some panels on that "nose" like bit on the center top part and created back walls for it so that'll look cool once they go in - I hope. I see that Bandai have released their new SD and saw a short video of a bloke putting it together - or at leass he's started it. In my opinion, it's a lot smaller than I would have thought - even @ 1/5000. I'm not really sure what I was expecting, but when I saw it, I thought it was pretty small. Great for those with very limited shelf space See for yourselves here: I also just learnt that there are 2 versions of this kit - one lit and one not. This one isn't lit and has grey walls etc whereas the lit one is molded in clear. Bugger try to mask all those windows! I know I'm a bit cookcoo but that would be on a whole different level!

hey guys I've started the roof panels now and added some details onto the body to try and blend it al in a bit better. It's slow work but quite rewarding (well, to me it is) I'll start making my way forward now and finish off this side and then mentally prep myself to start all over again for the other side! Joy I only took 5 pictures before the light ran out, so that's it till next time. Which incidentally won't likely be until I have finished most of the other side, so another few weeks away. I'm also going to take the plunge and teach myself how to use Arduino boards, which ought to be interesting. There's heaps of forums about how to do it, so I reckon I'll pick it up easy enough. (famous last words) Thanks as always for looking. Feel free to comment - good or bad. Cheers Si

thanks very much Paul! I will be taking your suggestion under advisement very soon. I only build 3 nights a week as it is (Sunday, Monday and Tuesday). The rest is family time and sanity checking, but to be honest, I think about building everyday.

Thanks Darren Anyone is in a place to make suggestions in my books. If you make models, then give me ideas

Hi guys It's that time of the fortnight again - yup: update time! I've been plugging away at yet more side walls and naturally, there is still a heap more to do yet. I did say this will be a loooooong build (ticked over the one year mark already with so much more to do). I sometimes wonder why I do this to myself but for the rest of the time, I love it I have to remind myself that I still have the other side to do yet as well as the bottom and then the sidewalls. Maybe by 2021 it'll be done..... As you can see, I still need to add some details to the hull to tie in the sidewalls but that'll happen soon enough. Anyway, that's all I have for now but I will be back again once I have done something worth showing Thanks for looking and if you have any suggestions for details etc, I'm open to them Cheers Si

I had my club night tonight so instead of wrestling the SD into the car etc, I took the B1B and it was a dream to build. I haven't glued it up yet as I still need to paint the cockpit etc but because it's "snap fit" (or wannabe Bandai), I can take it apart easily. The interesting thing about that kit is the tail section needs glue to stay attached, so it's definitely no Bandai!

Thanks Darren Your quite right it does get a bit tedious and demoralising but as you say, I do take a short break from it every now and then and often come back with some more interesting ideas. I have a 1/144 B1-B to make yet which I am going to do very soon

hi guys Well, time for another update. Not sure how many more I'll do for a while as I may take a break from this, but not just yet. I keep looking at how much I've done versus how much is left to do and I start shaking inwardly. Definitely a long term build. As you can see, I have made a start on the port side. I've installed the mini hangars and they look alright. I tried to dial down the brightness but may need to do more. And something I haven't shown you yet - a lighting test of the rear engines: Well, that's it for now but as always, thanks for sticking around and having a look Till next time Si

thanks very much Darren Hi guys Well, it's been 3 weeks and I've done 5/8ths of bugger all. I have made a start on the back end of the top hull plate which you'll see in a sec. I've not really touched it in this time as I have been building a Tarangus Viggen but that's stalled because I just can't bring myself to do the complex paint job. I have however think I have settled on a suitable base. It's also going to take some work but it'll be worth it. I just can't bring myself to do all this work on this and cheap out on the base. I certainly won't be making the same mistake as the Venator. [ I was blabbing on about some small side hangars in one of my last posts somewhere. I don;t think they exist on the filming model but I can safely say I think we're well past that.... You can see why I would think to have them though - those spaces look like they're meant to be like this, although I am wondering how much artistic license Zvezda used when tooling this kit Sorry to say but this is all I have for you. Till next time Happy modelling and thanks for looking in Si

So, here I am with another update. The roof is finished - or finished enough for now. It's looking pretty good to me. It's hard trying to keep it all in scale but I think I am doing alright. A test fit of the bridge and neck was okay but I had to remove some stuff off the back left sidewall to allow the neck to slide all the way in. The fit is not the best - I'll be honest, I'm not sure if it's all me, or part me and part kit or just the kit itself. Either way, I'll have to think carefully about how the final construction is going to go. Well, that's me done for another couple of weeks I think. I'll be making a start on the lower level sidewalls tonight hopefully, then the main body which will be very time consuming I think. Till then Adios amigos Si