So, received a new product that I have been told will help blend the seams, Mr Dissolved Putty. Applied it, will sand gingerly and reprime. Cross my fingers.

:Kaleun_Thumbs_Up:

Can't wait to see it.

I'll offer a bit of advise if you don't mind.

Before you Glue section like that together? Bevel the outside edges a bit.
Then any filler will be easier to work with to hide the seam.

Bevel, huh? That makes sense.
Also had a guy tell me uses glue all around the seam when joining and depends on having some squeeze out, then scrapes/sands the joint flush. Have not tried that yet.

Back in the paint booth for the 3rd time, still seeing a seam :doh:

We have a saying in Swedish

Alla sätt är bra, utom de dåliga. = All ways are good, except the bad ones.

Markus

I was told to use an older bottle of Tamiya extra thin. That way the glue level is lower and you can add more plastic.

Yeah, that makes sense, going to have to try that one my next model. My luck: the glue and plastic will all harden inside the bottle!


I think I'm learning that! By doing all the bad ways :wah:

I've had enough sanding, so I pushed ahead with taping it off (only Tamiya tape this time, thanks Markus!). I used Mission Models HULL RED ANTI FOULING NORFOLK 65A MMP-111 with a few drops of flat red added, and made sure to make enough to have some left over for touch up.

Thanksfully, no paint came off on the tape! :yeah:

Now I can finish painting the hatch insides and then gluing them into place, hopefully a nice neat pair of rows (they are just sitting in place currently, all crooked & haphazard-looking).

Then at last I can start on the missile smoke and lights! :arrgh!:

Don't forget your Sacrificial Anodes, AKA The Zincs. :timeout:

They are the gill-like lines just in front of the screw, between the stern planes and rudders.
Find your flattest aluminum paint and add maybe just a touch of flat white to really chalk them up. :yep: Zincs look old even when they are brand new. :up:

Oh, just some fine points to make note of:

Masts fairings and antennas- On older subs (pre-2005-ish) the fairing would be painted in flat sea gray with random (no two fairings are alike) flat black dots and shapes. The actual periscope barrels should be painted a light metallic gray or flat silver. The "head" of the scopes is coated with some special stuff, so feel free to go a little crazy. :D Try painting that area with NATO Black or a really dark flat gray. The very top of scopes should be either flat black or maybe "black chrome/plastic black". While this sounds like a lot of work, some slight color variations on your masts will really grab some attention. Radio antennas are really a translucent green plastic that ages to look like flat zinc chromate green or a very light version of olive drab.
The RADAR mast (like on your Virginia class kit) has a mostly silver mast area. The back of the array is flat black while the front is best painted in a dull silver/light metallic gray with a top coat of clear yellow (the array tends to yellow out as it ages).

Nav lights- Really small at this scale but they help the model to "pop". Go the extra mile and add a small dot of bright silver or chrome ( a Molotow chrome pen is really handy here) followed up with clear red, green, and gloss clear to simulate the glass. The SID beacon (don't worry, you don't have one) is ALWAYS clear orange. Make certain you know which bumps on the sail are the nav lights. :03: On your kit, the lights are the middle bumps on the sail above the fairwaters. The stern light is ALWAYS clear/white and always located on the top of the rudder.

:arrgh!::yeah:

I did not know you could make your own decals, which is going to be a life-saver! Half of the decals are shattering as soon as I try to coax them off the paper.

https://youtu.be/Xo5l4j5Wk_c

Ah, geez. This is a case of too little too late, but you ALWAYS want to have some Microscale Liquid Decal Film handy when dealing with old decals. :damn:




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RsK7titGdg

I wish I had thought about posting this earlier.
You're not completely lost, however. You can use the draft marker decals from any of the Hobby Boss 688 models. There are some minor differences but no one will notice them.

If you have most of the decals for your Ohio still on the paper, stop and get that bottle of Liquid Decal Film first. You could also try the old Testor's Decal Making Kit, you'll want the can of spray sealer.

Check on Amazon, Microscale sells a "three pack" of Micro Sol, Micro Set, and Micro Decal Film.

Again, sorry I didn't think about posting this earlier.

:Kaleun_Cheers:

BTW, don't concentrate too much on printing your own decals for the sub. You would NEED an "ALPS" style of printer that's capable of printing white ink at least at 800 DPI or finer. :doh: Trust me, you don't have one. Neither does any one in your town unless they own a specialty printing business.

Oh man, thanks! I'm glad there a solution (!) for this. I will try that before any further decal work on this model.

I was able to get some of the numbers to work, I will try to borrow some from one of my HobbyBoss kits.

Re: printing decals, I wonder if I take the his res file and decal paper to Office Depot, can they print it...?

Gorgeous! :D

You'll need to ask first if they can print in white ink or lacquer.

If they say "Yes" and don't put you on hold for an hour, you'll also need to ask if they can print at 800-1,200 DPI.

I'm betting that they won't be able to do either. :03:

An ALPS type of printer is closer to an actual printing press where you can control the type and color of the ink. Brand new, they tend to be scary expensive because they are meant to run in a commercial environment.
Finding one that is Used is usually a dice throw. In a commercial environment, these things get beaten like a rented mule.

One thing you could try is to check the links I posted in the Resources thread. There's a guy listed who prints decals for racing cars. As I understand it, he found a decent ALPS printer and took the time to learn how to use and maintain it. :03:

One last thing, a lot of this comes down to economics. A kit maker may contact a commercial printer (ie, Cartograph) to produce a bulk order of decals for 20,000 or more kits. There's lead time and prep time involved, but the per-unit cost stays low.
Outside of those "bulk" numbers, things tend to get expensive. :03:

Today/tonight I plan to start the process of mating the sub to the base, hooking up the wires to the switch, and then making the missile cloud. That's going to involve wire, cotton, hot glue, LEDs, soldering, acrylic gel, and white glue. If that goes well :o, I should be done until I get the decal situation cleared up.

https://www.subsim.com/radioroom/att...1&d=1653653769