Aurora 1:400

1
December 5, 2018
Really love the box art. The quotes are actually from the Terminator movies. I assume it's metaphor for ressurecting an otherwise dead kit (original Heller Aurora) and breathing new life into it and creating something different. A bit quirky, but nice.
2
December 5, 2018
The resin pieces. Most of them replace existing parts from the plastic sprues with extra detail. The lifeboats are significantly improved.
3
December 5, 2018
Also in resin, a new foredeck. Compared to the Artwox wooden deck for the original Aurora. The wooden kit will fit everything except the foredeck, which as you can see differs from the original a lot. I'm not sure how I'm going to fix this.
4
December 5, 2018
Dry fitting the hull and deck. Original foredeck is cut off and replaced with resin. Funnels started, needed putty to fill gaps, it got a bit messy...
5
December 8, 2018
Artwox deck for main deck, complete. It's my first time using such a wooden deck and I'm pretty pleased with the results. But....
6
December 8, 2018
....the wooden deck does not fit the resin bridge platforms by Ark Models. Not by a long shot. This looks horrible. I'll probably get rid of the wooden decks for these platform parts. UPDATE: only the top part of the bridge needs wooden decking.
7
December 8, 2018
I'll need to just use some tan colour paint for the decking on these platforms. This will contrast badly with the main deck but I have no choice. Also, I'm still scared to attempt the placement of the wooden foredeck on this Ark foredeck.
8
December 27, 2018
Hull and waterline painted. I haven't finished yet because my masking job wasn't perfect and some areas need cleaning up. I still have yet to paint a thin white band around the ship, just above the green strip.
9
December 27, 2018
Test fitting the deck and elements of the superstructure. Progress has been slow because of many gaps in the instruction book, which I've had to contact ARK directly for assistance with.
10
December 27, 2018
For instance, some plastic bits of the hull and deck needed to be trimmed or re-shaped and they don't even tell you in the instructions. You're expected to look at the finished ship diagram and work it out for yourself.
11
January 5, 2019
Bow view with bridge fully assembled. Deck and all fittings are not glued down yet.
12
January 5, 2019
The masts were very fiddly and time-consuming to make. The instructions in the kit are all wrong and I had to improvise the assembly based on photographs of the ship.
13
January 5, 2019
See red box. There's a very large gap between the bridge and funnel that shouldn't be there. It's a major flaw of this kit and very disappointing.
14
January 5, 2019
The gap seen from above. I can't try to disguise it, because then the ship would not be the Aurora. The bridge needs to end immediately at the beginning of the first smokestack and vents.
15
January 5, 2019
When the pieces are separated, the issue is highlighted even better.
16
January 5, 2019
Comparison of Aurora aerial photo and this model kit. If I were to complete this kit just like it is now, it would clearly not look historically accurate due to that gap.
17
January 5, 2019
Thankfully some people from a model ship forum have suggested some workarounds to disguise the look of the gap. Pictured here is a way to extend the bridge so that it covers the gap, by cutting and scratchbuilding an extension.
18
January 28, 2019
Ok. So I proceeded with the scratchbuilt extension of the bridge in order to cover the gap, using pieces of styrene and some leftover wooden decking. It's turned out rough but at this point I don't really care anymore. It's my first model in years.
19
January 28, 2019
And I started the weathering, using AK naval series. Maybe it's a bit too much weathering? It's the first time I ever tried weathering. I tried to depict the look of Aurora in 1917 after deployment in the Baltic Sea, back in Petrograd.
20
January 28, 2019
Another view of the hull weathering. It probably is over-weathered but I don't mind. Now I really wish my model was waterline so that I could put her in a water diorama, to really enhance the effect. Is it too late to cut the hull to waterline?
21
February 1, 2019
Stern view. The nameplate is just barely visible above the rudder. I'll color that in with brass/gold to make it stand out.
22
February 1, 2019
Bow view. I have removed some of the hull weathering as it was too much. I rubbed spirits on the restto blend it in more and give a more natural appearance. Still to come is a little more detail on the foredeck, and a small section of anchor chain.
23
February 1, 2019
Another view. The antifouling of the hull needs more weathering, but other than that the hull is finished.

Comments

5 December 2018, 12:26

5 December 2018, 18:21

Paul Davey
Hey Michael, sorry I took a long time to update this. This kit has been very odd. ARK Models do not natively make model ships, all of their ship stock is just reboxes of other kits. I think this kit is their first foray into ship-building. It will be a nice model when completed, but lack of directions in the instructions has been frustrating. One wonders if all of this effort is worth it for a ship that is still only 1/400 scale, an obsolete scale.

27 December 2018, 09:26

Michael Valentan
No Problem, take you time...what i see is already well done! I always struggle with myself to buy such a ship, but i don´t know how to handle this wodden decks...just painting would look like sh...

But the Aurora is one of those ships with a real important historical background that i also would like to own...so i will follow every step you take so i can decide if i get one or not! Cheers!!!

27 December 2018, 18:56

Łukasz Gliński
Very cool topic, following

27 December 2018, 21:28

Paul Davey
A minor update. Many discrepancies in this kit and errors in the instructions. Bear in mind the base of this kit is the very old Heller Aurora in plastic, which ARK has expanded with some resin pieces and limited PE parts to detail the Aurora to its appearance in 1917 at the October Revolution. And after all that ARK apparently still can't get it right as you can see later in the album, they also have no comment when I email them about it. Seems like they really rushed the production of this kit and cut corners to save money. I could write a whole page on missing pieces and instruction errors. So this project is on hold while I try to fix the main discrepancy, the bridge and funnel deck.

5 January 2019, 02:48

Paul Davey
Now that I've extended the bridge, I can start putting everything together and the model should soon be finished. The bridge is now uneven and misshapen but I'll allow that, this kit is pretty much a write-off anyway but I'll try to finish it as best as I can. Please rate my hull weathering: is it just right or should I try to thin it out a bit more? See pictures and comments.

28 January 2019, 10:45

Łukasz Gliński
For it looks convincing, but I'm not an expert into ships...

28 January 2019, 11:14

Paul Davey
I toned down the hull weathering to make it look more natural. Attached funnels and vents. The deck is glued, but unfortunately did not settle in a few places, though it's only noticeable if examined very closely. Still to add the ships boats, deck railing and some minor parts. Then complete overall dark wash of the parts, some flag decals and maybe, just maybe, a little rigging - but definitely not the historical amount of rigging that this ship has. Let me know what everybody thinks of my model so far? It's my first model in almost 20 years, since I was a boy.

1 February 2019, 09:34

Project info

ARK Aurora 2017

23 images

1:400

In progress

Scratchbuilt

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