A few cool odds-'n-ends to show off, from over the last several weeks:
These, of course, my first developmental castings of the S-37 conning tower.
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Most flaws were around the base - the mold can and will be done better, for the final round.
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The best of these beauties will be refined into a final master.
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Perhaps more than any other castings so far, these really catch the light - I just love 'em - and note the interior hollows - particularly the one aft, making an open accessway under the hatch (to be molded) there.
The same round of molding/casting also included first developmental pops of the U-505/TypeIXC FlakBoat components:
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This conning tower (left) was a bit more problematic - again, the worst flaws all occur along the base, which again can be mitigated by a better mold, in the next round. The fore- and aft hull pieces (right) are already very good - really most of them good enough to build models out of, though I will tweak the best of each just a little more, along with the sail, for the final masters. Note open forward hatches and, and again, hollowed-out accessways beneath them. I also cast the center deck sections (not shown), which join the fore- and aft pieces.
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The biggest problem remaining with the conning tower - difficult to see, in these clear castings - is that some of the surface detail was destroyed when the mold ripped off substantial lengths of PE handrail. However, again this was never to be the final casting - so (after cleanup) new railing will just go back on - and I guess I'll have to glue it down but good, this time!
Lately - pending solution of my hand numbness, and a return to working on small parts - with the help of Paul Wheeler I've been knocking out, as mentioned, some clear thermoplastic parts-forming:
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These are bubble canopies for my Banshee - and any number of other, future uses, I'm sure - formed over the Hawk Banshee canopy "part-sicle", as shown. Note some initial glitches (left) were completely worked out by our last pops (right).
But Paul has made the mistake of encouraging me to come over and do a bunch more:
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So - using every spare dowel and stick I could find - I'm making up a sh**load of canopy, windshield and aircraft turret part-sicles, in a greatly improved method (left), making the 1,001st use for that liquid latex "Mold Builder" crap. You may recall that earlier I had to set these into modelling clay when pouring the resin back-fill: the clay both supported and protected the outer surfaces from contact with the resin. Well, this latex - since it dries essentially into rubber cement - can do the same, while sealing infinitely better against the "glass" outsides, and peeling off infinitely cleaner (in fact, it actually cleans the surfaces) afteward.
Of course, you do have to immobilize each part - most challenging for the "tippy" ones (right, top) - in exactly the desired position for several hours it takes the latex to firm up - but this was easily enough done by strapping them (bottom) gently under masking tape. Later, the tape can be removed and more and heavier coats can be added to really glue them down - basically the whole process for these took two full days.
Just wait 'till you see the managerie of parts that we make using this bunch! Among (any number of) other builds, these will enable "severe-clear" parts-upgrades to my PB4Y Privateer, an FJ-3 Fury and He-111 torpedo bomber.
The U-505 (as-captured, "FlakBoat"-type) sail will be able to slap right onto the Nichimo 200-scale TypeIXc (and probably also -a and -b). However along with it I'm also making (more) accurate forward- and aft above-waterline hull sections. So a complete waterline build could be done without any base kit - only whatever masts/weapons/railings details you'd need to come up with.
The S-18 class sail is 1:178 (or near enough), compatible with the classic Revell Fleet Boat - but there never was a foundation S-boat kit for this. I'm bashing a hull from the (otherwise useless) Revell Nautilus "SSN" - a lot more work than most people would want to do - however if I'm feeling REALLY magnanimous, I will mold mine to make some (at least above-waterline) hull castings, to go with. Otherwise/until then, the builder would have to come up with a hull on his own.
Both the above are a "long story" here at ModelFleet - however most if not all of their (many) associated pictures went dark when I had to switch web-hosts, last summer. I do have all of them backed-up, so if there are any that you want to see, in particular, let me know and I will restore their links the soonest. (Otherwise, I will let the oldest posts just drop off, as my new storage space is limited.)
to come over and do a bunch more: 
