Ships of the American Flag GB 2019 -2021

[DRUMS01]

MONGOOSE: Love the lighted carrier look, good work my friend! Now all you need to do is black out the rest of the room and have it appear to pitching around in the water [:O]

PAT: Your idea to cut out the hanger door is brilliant. That should make it easier to smooth the chizel cuts while also allowing you to add more detail to the door your building. I’m looking forward to the next update.

GAMERA: The pagoda of the superstructure has grown

I’ve added the Navigation and Range Finder Platforms to the structure. One thing, the stairs provided by Eduard between the different platforms were too short. This caused them to want to go near vertical and fall through the lower stairway beneath it. My solution was to use other PE stairs from my spares. That allowed the stairways to both reach the floor and do so at the proper angles. Could it be that the PE rooms between each deck were made too tall? Could it be that my PE bending expertise caused the problem (even though I did bend them on the fold lines)? One way or the other, they are fixed now.

In a related process I also added the Mk19 R.F./Dir tube from the top Range Finder platform to the bottom Flag Platform using plastic tubing from spares. This is more difficult than it looks as the tube touches another platform of the superstructure in a specific area. This means that I had to align the brass/P.E. buildings perfectly to each platform to allow the stairs and Mk19 gun director tubes to align correctly on each level. Not so easy without any guide pins, lines, or (?). Even the width of the stairway points on each platform had to me modified which could’ve easly changed the alignment of the PE on each platform. Then there was the cutting of the tubes to length and weaving my way into the assembly without disturbing or breaking anything already assembled.

Another update was adding the scratchbuilt R.D.F. Hut and a corresponding pole bracing the floor beneath. I did not add the handrail around its roof as the ships drawings do not show one there.

The Fore Mast Control Top is just sitting on the top of the front leg. I do not want to add it permenantly until the two other legs of the tripod mast are attached. I am not going to do that until I add the superstructure to the ship. Of course the superstructure is not going to be added until the splinter shields and 5" guns are added.

I have been working on the splinter shields as well but have nothing yet to show. I’ve also been working out where to add the small PE fire hoses, wiring, racks, etc. to the main and superstructure decks. More on these two items at the next update.

Thanks for looking in on my build…

Ben

[modelcrazy]

Ben,

Now she’s starting to look like the Arizona.

[TheMongoose]

Looking good Ben!

Im all done with the Enterprise EXCEPT for the base. I decided totry a wood grain look on plastic with oils…1st time doing more than some weathering and oh geez what a delay this has caused. 5 days to dry is the projection guess it’ll be this Sunday at the earliest before I snap some finished shots. I need to work on a cabinet in the mean time, plus I’m experimenting with chalks to try doing some tire marks on the deck!

[modelcrazy]

Sounds good Chris, looking forward to it

[DRUMS01]

Today was a painting day,…outside,… and not on models. I had some touch-up painting to do on my house trim. Last year I had a new cement drive and rear patio put in. It splashed a little cement water on the trim around the garage door and the foundation wall in the back which wasn’t seen or caught till after it dried. Then there was the trim around the front door too. Our dog likes to paw the door when she wants in the house. Mind you she can open the door and prance in if it is kept unlocked. but the paws start if we button it up. That was going on two years so it was time too. So after the house trim was done I actually got some time on the Arizona.

a) All of the trim pieces were added to the walls of the superstructure deck. This included the coiled fire hoses, wire looms and cables, a folding bench per side, water tight partial doors by each broadside gun , personnel doors, etc. They still need painted, but they are on there…

b) I also finished the weathering on the main gun turrets. I wanted to age the red on the top the 1,2, and 4 turrets but also show the weld and rivet lines on the top of # 3 also. During the process I also straightened the ladders which got slightly bent during my handling. To provide slight contrast I painted the ladders pale gray 20P (I think is the code). My thought was to provide a very slight contrast to the side of the turret and perhaps simulate wear from use:

I already have the boat racks painted too, but I need to load the boats, add tie downs, and stack them before adding them behind the exhaust funnel. I also started on painting all of the watertight hatches for the stairs on the wood decks. Before quitting for the day I created the two rear legs for the Fore Mast and painted them too.

I’m finding that the AK and Vallejo paints mar or scratch very, very easy (regardless if they are primed or not). Soon I will have to paint the water so I can permanently lay the hull in the water to avoid any more marks. I guess the small scratches through the paint will turn into wear / rust locations on the hull later (smile).

Let me know what you think as now is the time to fix up any loose ends. As always, thanks for following and hope your builds are coming along well.

Ben

[GMorrison]

Nice work. I would put the catapult straight fore and aft.

[DRUMS01]

Good eye GM… I did have it pulled a little further outward than it should be.

However, from every source I find it is not completely straight or parrellel to the guns either. Here is what I corrected them to look like (still a little canted outward), but not by as much as it was previously.

Thanks again for the feedback and catching the error.

Ben

[TheMongoose]

Ben the turret weathering looks good, like the way it’s just enough to set off the details. tbh I cannot see the color difference on the ladder but I know that’s just a matter of the camera picking it up. the Mk I eyeball has no problems differetiating I’m sure!

[modelcrazy]

Looking good Ben, The weathering may be a little too much on the turrets IMO but it does show the highlights.

Yes, I typically paint my ships with Vallejo because it’s easy to brush when needed, but it does scratch easily. I’ll usually spray a topcoat over to prevent that.

[HooYah_Deep_Sea]

The catapult is not suppossed to be parallel with the guns, if it were, it would limit the travel of the barrels, which was increased in the 1929-1931 overhaul.

[TheMongoose]

Well between advice from plasticjunkie, MC, and Tomcat I’ve managed to finish a flag in 3 attempts a very good measure for me. For whatever reason the aluminum foil i used needed white glue or future to keep the decal in place. Both worked well. Here it is displayed with a bit of a furl to it. Glued on square to the line as well. This time i took some accelerator on a micro cue tip and applied it to the wire first. Then some glue on the flag before mating the two up.

[DRUMS01]

Mongoose: nice flag!

Steve, I did not want to say that at the start, but you mentioning the over application of weathering was what I was after. I wanted to see if anyone else thought they were a little too much as I was on the fence thinking so as well. Perhaps some soft dry brushing of the red and gray on the main guns will tone it down just a little.

Thanks for the remarks as my eyes are not what they use to be.

Ben

[modelcrazy]

Ben, I’m glad I didn’t offend as I thought I might when I hit send. Some drybrushing should do fine. I have found over the many kits of practice that even if I believe I went too far with weathering, it can always be fixed with layering, drybrushing and such.

Chris, Great! I’m glad you got it to work. When I use the decal I will use white glue to attach it to some foil as well. I will work with it to get it to wave the way I want depending on what I envision the wind to be. Sometimes it’s just hardly moving.

[TheMongoose]

The USS Enterprise CVN-65 is complete! I finished up the base today. Borrowed my son’s wide angle lens for the cell phone so I could get some better pictures without being 10’ away hahha. Wishing i had a better camera after seeing how hard it is to get good focus with all these grey tones And dark lighting for night shots Tho. I started April 1st and estimate about 400 hours or so invested to get here. New for the final reveal, You’ll see the sailors on deck for the commemoration of nuclear power and the base. The base is made up to look like it has rubber blocks on the wood frame. I scored and carved it to try and make it look like it had been used well. The edges and scores got gloss and satin varnish to replicate the shiny surface you get when rubber is cut open. Buried in the sailors is one with red hair, I’ve gone to adding a redhead to every build i do with figures as my signature

Ive got alot of pics And It’s a big ship so here’s my top 10 and you guys can ask for more in detail if you’d like.

MC let’s use this 1st one for the front page.

I added some mirrors inside so you could see the 'blind" walls i built.

[TheMongoose]

Ha, jokes on me I couldn’t do it in 1. Gotta post the night shots!

[modelcrazy]

Chris, man that is filppin awesome.

You did an outstanding job on the weathering, lighting, crew, aircraft… Lots of work but every bit worth it.

[HooYah_Deep_Sea]

Ben,

In answer to your query on railings on top of the conning tower, no, there were not any there. They were in the area of the Mk49 mount, which is actually not a solid platform but a ring with added support members.

[Gamera]

Mongoose: WHOA!!! That looks AMAZING!!! LOVE IT!!! [ht]

Ben: She’s coming along great!!!

[DRUMS01]

Thanks for the confirmation Hoo YA, and for the kind words Gamera.

Mongoose: WOW! that is one fine carrier! I commend you on the fine work and results.

I had some time to work on the Arizona today so I jumped in feet first and began work on the splinter shields for the 5" / 25 AA guns.

Just to recall how I got to this point, the kits splinter shields were molded into the deck, far too thick (2-3 ft of steel in scale), and the Eduard PE detail set had all of them available to make a more accurate kit. I followed the Eduard instructions to remove all of the splinter shields from the superstructure deck. Next I realized that the wood deck I purchased from the far east was made for the kits splinter shields. This meant I had large gaps between the Eduard PE shields and the wood floor. It also had gaps where the stairs were molded into the kit and various other items (see picture).

Of course this would not work so I searched and found my current deck supplier who not only had a more accurate planking and deck color but also a solid floor which allows me the opportunity to use the PE parts.

So with everything removed from the deck and the new wood installed I was wondering exactly how I would get the PE in the correct shapes. Remember that failure to shape the splinter shields correctly will be compounded when adding the handrail on the sides of the ship. After some time, I came up with a solution. Use the old wood deck that was pre-cut for the old shields as a guide to shape the new ones (brilliant!).

To validate the shapes and placement I also use a scaled up print of the ships drawings.

The splinter shields come from Eduard with the channel bracing attached to the end of the shield (see below).

The problem for me was that some of the bracing pieces ware already separated from the shield while still on the PE sheet. During my attempt at shaping the shields more fell off. So I tried attaching them first and then shaping the shields but they also fell off. Considering the bracing parts are smaller than a babies fingernail sliver and gluing them to the shield would have been difficult and possibly messy, I chose another method to simulate the bracing on the shields; extra fine precision solder. It has the same thickness and width but it is very forgiving to trim after placing it on the shields final shape. So now all I had to do was cut, glue, and trim 112 pieces of solder, ensuring that they are all correctly spaced and parallel to each other (!!!)

After three attempts, countless errors, and some colorful words, I have finished all of the splinter shield metal work. Next is the painting, then fixing to the deck, adding the guns, etc. Here are my much reworked splinter shields. Overall I am happy with the results. By the way, if any of you have successfully bent the Eduard splinter shields while using the Eduard bracing please share a photo and let me know the secret for any future attempts.

Well, that is is for this update. Slowly getting there, but this was definitely the last major hurdle. Thanks for following along… comments encouraged.

Ben

[TheMongoose]

Thanks guys!

After staring at the pics and getting some constructive feedback I decided Einstein’s equation just didn’t pop like it should. Played around with background color to see if guys weren’t dress whites white enough lol, tried adding more guys, discovered staggering them and getting rid of the lines your eye sees the way I placed them was the biggest impact. Still added 200 sailors to this! I think it shows better here. Your thoughts?

MC if it’s not too much bother an you think it looks better can you exhange this for the one I picked for page 1 yesterday?