Russian Kits

    Some years ago my wife and I saved up for a trip of a life time... I've been interested in Russian and it's history for a long time and the holiday we chose was a rive cruise from St Petersburg to Moscow.


    This is the reason for getting the kits. I have a few friends in Moscow so was abble to get the kits direct. I can' remember the site name but type Umbum in google and it will take you there.


    What originally put me off the kits was the "No glue and scissors" lable. This meant my dislike of tabs would have to be forgotten, although I intended to get rid of as many tabs and slots as possible.


    I have made three of the models and here are a few pictures. The two wooden buildings are on an island North East of St Petersburg and are part of a building museum. The Church is the St Peter and Paul church in St Petersburg and is where the last Tzar and his family are burried.


    The fourth is another church on Kizhi Island. But more on that in the next email.


    The two wooden buildings are about six inches tall (15cm) The church is about 12 inches tall (30cm). They are all tab and slot but many of these were cut off and new tabs glued on the back so the edges could be butt jointed. I also used balsa wood to keep some of the folds as square as possible.


    That's it for one email. The "advanced class " will follow ;)


    Cheers
    Mike


    ps.I'm not sure if the pictures are attached.If not -my apologies and I'll have tork out how to do it.

    I realised it's too late to start making this evening, so I may as well carry on with talking.


    On the Cathedral, there are 21 Roofs, each with it's own dome. The domes come later, but heres my way of getting round tabs and slots.


    First, a general question - why do people sell die cut models, it takes as long to cut them from the sheet and they still need tidying up !


    Anyway, the first picture shows the piece after it's been removed from the sheet. The next one shows the stage after I've attacked it with my scalple and metal rule. You will see that all the tabs at the front have been removed and the one at the back of the roof has been cut. This is done so that when the tab is pushed through the widened slot on the wall it can be folded over and glued inside. The top of the roof between the yellow dots is scored.


    The next step is to rub off the gloss from the inside edge of the roof.


    All these kits are much too glossy and you will see in the photos of the windmill, a lot of the edges look white - It;s reflection not white edges - they are all painted !


    Sorry, back to the subject..... At this point, the roof is bent to shape. I try as much as possible to ensure that the roof line follows the shape of the front piece. In that way there is little resistance when it comes to gluing the two pieces together. The roof is glued in four stages. the two straight bits then, when they are dry, the two curved pieces are glued. I hold them in place untill the glue is dry.


    The final picture shows the piece in place and all the white edges are painted.


    The roofs are about 1.5 inches wide.


    Next time I'll send my comments on how to make the domes...


    Cheers
    MikeS

    Mike,


    It is so nice to see you here :) I went back to remember that our first 'talk' was in 2002, on Saul Jacobs magazine!


    Your participation here means another great chance to discuss some technicalities, something that I and John, amongst others, love to do.


    I agree with you that glossy paper is not the best choice for the wooden church. 22 domes is, well, 12 more than on Leon's St. Basilius 8o And I bet these ones are, on average, smaller...


    As to die cut models, I agree 99%. The 1% remaining is for the Pristontale Archer that only took me a weekend to assemble. Precision was not really needed there. Whenever it is, well, that's for the 99% :D

    Hi Mike,
    wonderful models, indeed.


    with the best regards


    modellschiff

                                                                                   Artikel 1 GG:

    Die Würde des Menschen ist unantastbar.

    Sie zu achten und zu schützen ist Verpflichtung aller staatlichen Gewalt



    Hello Mike,


    When I saw your name on the Construction Reports and saw the title 'Novice', I did a double take. Welcome!!!


    I recall fondly your wonderful architectural reviews on the Card Model Review Page: Mike Stampers Reviews 05/10/02. I learned so much from those early experiences. You are not a novice.


    Thanks for the introduction to the Russian Kits. We think alike. I have been cutting off the tabs of the Instant Durable 'no glue required' miniature models as you have been doing with these kits. And yes, I have been using strips of balsa to reinforce tricky, narrow walls that don't like to remain flat.


    Nice to have you aboard.


    Cheers...John

    Edited once, last by John ().

    Thank you all for your kind words and warm welcome. As I said in my introduction, this seems to be the best forum for architecture building.


    I don't know if you heard about an exhibition where some of the UK modellers took part in a Plastic model show. Roger Pattenden's Heritage website has some good pictures. The next show is next February - so start saving your Cents/Euros etc. It would be good to have some builders there.


    Anyway, this note is to answer your notes. A following note will deal with domes!!.


    I agree about the Archer, she is a very fine lady. I have made her, another female in black and the suit of armour. I still have two to make. one weekend sounds very quick for making the archer!


    Cheers
    Mike

    As I said in an earlier note, I'm not convinced that the cover pictures of the model have been made without glue.


    I think the following pictures may prove my point!


    The first picture is how the largest dome 6.5cm diameter looks when put together without glue. BTW the smallest dome is 2.5cm.


    The second picture showes one of the domes when removed from the sheet. The first step is to separate the two "wings" from the "body"'I them take of the gloss from the tabs at the end of the petals, score them and tidy up the areas where the petals join. I then remove the two short tabs and the two long areas that have the slot.


    I then bend the petals to slightly more than the curve they will end up. I then but joint the two wings and use a piece of paper to reinforce the edge.


    The next step is to start joining the petals. I generally glue together two of the petals the move to the next but two petals and join them. I intend to leave these to dry properly and while they are drying I'll start the next dome.


    I cut out the main dome for the first picture and couldn't resist completing it so I could find the complete height. This is the final picture. The two addition are but jointed and reinforced with paper and glued to the dome with superglue (becase of the gloss). One last comment - none of the edges of this dome have been painted. Although I will have to touch up a few bare spots.


    This could be the last report for a few months, until I complete the domes and do the final tidy up.


    I may send a few pictures of some of my earlier models to the gallery.
    Cheers
    MikeS

    hmmm, those domes without glue would be ... doomed :(
    21 to go :rolleyes:
    One thing I like in the big pictures is that you can see the dot print pattern. The smooth junction of the slices, as well 8o

    after a few long evenings, I have, at last added all 21 domes to my Church.


    Here are a few picturesof the process - as you will see I have added some tabs to the domes. The card is quite thick and it was almost impossible to fold the pieces to a point where they held the shape I wanted.


    Using but joints means that there are few white edges, so there is very little painting.


    The "cones" on the top should be overlapping, but I just straightened the edges and buttt jointed them. I had to use "super glue" because the domes are glossy and I didn't want to worry about them falling off.
    One minor sucess is that I managed to complete the gluing without gluing my fingers together.


    The model is not quite complete. I now have to add 20 crosses and ridge plates to all the roof tops.


    Cheers
    Mike

    The second picture is very revealing, Mike. I wonder how nasty it would look without glue. A good thing is to have proper access from below to glue the slices together. That was not the case on St. Basilius and I had to open a hole in the bottom of every dome. You too, I guess...

    Ricardo,


    That's a good thought - I can't remember how I made the domes on St Basils - it was a long time ago.


    The Domes on the last of the Russian Kits is the same as most other kits - it lookes like a flower - a much better way than on the wooden domes. I curve the pieces as closely to the final shape as possible. I don't cut holes in the base because I mount the dome on a piece of card and hold it in place with "Blu-tac".


    Anyway, we will have to wait till I start the Church on the Spilled Blood. My next project will be the Cathedral in Toulouse - I bought it in the church so it will be interesting to see how it compares with the more "commercial" models.


    Cheers
    Mike

    Hello Mike,


    Congratulations on the completion of this unique and beautiful building.


    You have built it with great skill. You were undaunted by the many and tricky domes.


    Well done!


    Cheers...John

    Hello Mike,
    Beautiful model and pictures as well :) :) :)
    Is the base part of the kit? The plan shape is just perfect but I'm not so sure about the colour.
    I'm already wondering what will come next ;)

    Thanks for the good comments.


    The base does not come with the kit. It's a thick piece of card, covered in a sheet of coloured and "contoured" paper. The colour hasn't come out very well on the pictures, it is a much darker green than the picture would suggest.


    I put the model on the card and the elliptic shape seemed to work.


    I made the shape by pushing two pins in the base about one foot (30cm) appart I tied a piece of string into a circle and looped it round the pins. I then put a pencil inside the loop and drew the shape. I moved the pins closer or further apart and also made the string circle shorter or longer. Experimenting with these variables, I came up with the shape I wanted.


    My current model is the cathedral in Toulouse. It reminds me a lot of the Dover kits - too thick, to glossy and a poor fit. I will complete it and add a few photos.... some time.


    Cheers
    Mike