Model Mayhem

I have mentioned at least once or twice in previous posts that I a) had built some models and was waiting to take better photos and b) had even more models to build too.

Well, between whenever I said that  and now, I have managed to finish my initial to-build list (and wind up with a new to-build list almost immediately but anyway) and take some nice photos of the finished models too!

There's.... a lot of pics so this is going to be quite a long post, buckle in!

(It might also load slowly, because, y'know, a lot of pics)

So, the first model I built was Piececool's mini Cloth Factory (see this post for some details), which despite being tiny, was also rather detailed! I cannot for the life of me get a good snap but even the inside of the tower room is decorated!

It's a little wonky in terms of the base plate etc. but otherwise turned out rather well for a first attempt! Especially since this was easier on the PC scale of difficulty but not one of their easiest models... I learned a lot, and cursed a lot too but I did enjoy it so oh well :p

I didn't move straight on to making metal masterpieces, I actually showed a little common sense for once and started the easiest of the Metal Earth models I'd acquired, which was the Golden Hind, a sailing ship model.

I'd like to say the hull was a fiddle, or maybe the masts/deck join but I think it would actually be the tiny little rigging pieces on masts towards the tops. Y'know, the pieces that tend to look rather wonky and bent? Yeah, those.

Please don't look too closely at those bits!

Otherwise, she came out pretty well, especially for my second ever model and the first I'd done involving quite so many curves.

So I promptly started a model with more curves and more pesky rigging! Aren't I clever?!

The Black Pearl, premium edition (meaning it's black and not silver lol).

The hull is fiddly, requiring a number of segments of the hull piece to be folded in a little, gently curved the rest of the way and then chain linked, all at the correct angle for the prow, stern and keel pieces to fit on flush. The deck/hull join could make anyone see red  and if you notice scratches in the black paint where I had to force parts together a little hard - you didn't see a thing.

But getting a little heated when making things and the going gets tough is half the challenge and part of the process. I found the build rather good overall and could not tear myself away from my workbench until it was done so the above is not a litany of complaints, rather a recollection of the challenges overcome along the way.

Or maybe I'm just being overly poetic today. I built another ship, it was frustrating at times but I had fun. Done.

My third ME model was of the Yomeimon Gate in Japan, a World Heritage site.

Are all my flat base pieces doomed to turn out wonky?!

Eh. Either way, I think I did a bang-up job on that roof. I think I did a decent job of the entire thing, all told, and it wasn't all that easy (even if there were less fiddly curves than the Pearl).

Looks great though, and now I want to see the real thing in person! Even as a little model the Gate has gravitas, grandeur, magnificence, I'm sure the real thing would put my little replica to shame in all respects. (Except for being able to fit inside my display cabinet, the replica wins that contest hands-down.)

At some point during all of these I whipped up a mini deer model that, rather than working as many pieces of sheet metal joined by tabs and folds, was formed of a few pieces of thicker metal that were held together by a few mini-bolts.

Behold! A tiny stag!

I forget who this was by, it was a cheap little model from Amazon (there's larger versions and minis of a few different critters including a dragon and stuff in case anyone is interested), but it came in a neat little box and went together in thirty minuets tops.

The finished article sits on my mantlepiece/shelf (a mantleshelf?) next to the soundbar and stands guard from there, a regal little sentinel for my living room.

It's hard to give an idea of scale for all of these, I gave the Cloth Factory's finished dimensions in its dedicated post, but figured the easy thing to do is say, they're all on the small side! And then show you the whole set together.

The Gate and the Pearl are at the back, the Hind in the middle and the Factory and Stag are at the front as you can see. The Pearl is the largest, and then the Gate is probably the second largest even though the Hind's rigging makes it look a little bigger than it really is.

The 'mini' Stag is actually rather tall but it's made of like, ten pieces and except the spread of the antlers, is not even 1cm across the front so it still counts as small. The Factory is genuinely tiny, there's a reason Pc call that series of a models the mini street series!

And here, my two tall ships side-by-side. I've a third ME sailing ship to build - The Queen Anne's Revenge, but in the meantime Christmas has provided me with ME's Blackbird and PC's Gemsect set of models so my third ship shall have to wait.

I shall, of course, be back with snaps of the 'bird and my gemsects once those are done.

At this rate, I ought to own up and just make a models tag for this site, shouldn't I?!