Trumpeter 1/200 Battleship Arizona

[dylan9391]

Hi,

Great photographs of some wonderful battleships and USS Iowa is quite stunning. I've been on USS Intrepid in New York, which was ok. I like to go to the top and the bottom of the ship and into the engine room so I was a bit disapointed that I couldn't go into the bowels of the ship. health and safety no doubt. Yes I like WW1 battleships as well and I don't know if it's Dreadnought but the next project will be HMS Inflexible. I often have one or two on the go at any one time. It has large guns for an aft, but also another two large guns mid ships, which is very Dreadnought like. You can see how HMS Hood followed a similar idea with the lower aft deck and being of similar era the guns are of very similar pattern. I'll make patterns and cast them, so I can use them on both ships. I always find that the early ships have a grace to them and also I like the contrast between the often grey colour of the ship hull, superstructure and this lovely light coloured deck. When I made my model of HMS Jamaica in the disruptive livery I couldn't bring myself to paint the deck and left it in it's varnished wood colour.

[Saxondog]

I feel the same way about the decks, I have a technique on the plastic ships for painting the deck to give the best look of the wood.I will use vasoline lightly applied to all the deck metal area's. hatches.stairways,just ever part that is not wood. Then I spray the decks at a very low pressure but rather thick paint.

After the paint has dried very well I use hot water and rinse the deck sections, using a stiff paint brush to help in removing the vasoline. Perfect decks all wooden sections painted and even the smallest details come clean. Now this is for the 1/350 scale Battleships.

Inflexible,was a first generation Battle cruiser. You may know this but the 15" guns on HMS Hood came from the HMS Glorious when that ship was converted to a Aircraft carrier. I have a nice Hood under construction and all accounts I have read agree she was a wet ship aft when running at speed.

I have a very good collection of books about the cruisers, sadly they were ships more of the heart than the head. I look forward to seeing your progress on HMS Anson. I might try a scratch build as well.

[dylan9391]

Hi,

Yes it's interesting to find the various techniques others use when painting ships and keeping the decks free of paint. I tend to bolt the superstructures in place, or attach them using various diameters of plastic tube as a friction fit as I just can't get the edges of superstructure and deck to give a clean paint break. Mind you I might try your idea on my 1/72nd scale lifeboat, which is a plastic kit.

I started planking the hull today and when there is enough planks fitted I'll post the next photo. I've only glued about eight 8mm lengths of 1/8th balsa cut into suitable strips one port and starboard starting from the keel, which is important to do. The good thing with these models is that while the hull strips are drying you can move on to superstructure parts. It's worth giving scratchbuilding a go as it opens a world of any ship as drawings are always available and you are not ever far from a photocopier. A semi scale model like HMS Jamaica makes a good scratchbuild project. It's got a Simple hull with few parts and then you can go to town on the superstructure. That can give confidence on building a scratchbuilt hull like that one on Anson.

[Saxondog]

I would like to build a 1/200 version of Michigan/South Carolina. These were our first two Dreadnought type all big gun ships.They were center-line turret ships mounting 12"guns, but they had older Resiprecating engines not turbine. The first two American Turbine driven,oil fired boiler-ed ships were Tennessee/California. These also were the first with flush hulls no casement guns. I guess you have figured out Battleships were always named after states and generally one Northern and one Southern state. Two ships per class for the first generation dreadnoughts.

I guess you see I like my ships, I am truly interested in you building technique. Their was a company that produced some fine 1/96 balsa kits but they have long been out of business.But they had the older ships with the lattis type mast.I want to Build a first generation ship,with all the details as those ships had few deck fittings and are a cleaner easier build I think for a beginner? Do you agree?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Caro ... battleship" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
cheers Saxondog

USS South Carolina first American Dreadnought Class ship 305mm main guns centerline turrets x 4

[Saxondog]

Dylan, In the old design days. Before computers and when everything was designed by Draftsmen drawing every piece and then a model was made to show what the finished ship would look like in exact details. Our navy department 30 years ago gave these models to the Smithsonian museum. They were found in a warehouse in Norfolk,VA. the main east coast naval base.

Well I got lucky and found a picture of the South Carolina's ship model. I am really wanting to built this ship. And with your help believe I can do this. Here is the model of the ship as built.

cheers Blake http://www.navsource.org/archives/01/26.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Design Firms Model of USS South Carolina BB-26

[dylan9391]

Hi Blake,

Here is a photo of the start of the hull planking. As I say 8 have been fitted properly, others have just been laid on the hull formers and placed at the side of the ship's hull to give an idea, otherwise the planks can be lost in the photo. These have been sawn but not sanded. Top tip don't bring them in like this after the wife has vacuumed. She was not happy yesterday!!

Looking at Arizona I don't forsee any great difficulty for you the superstructure is confusing as ever but like most ships these usually break down into a series of boxes and the bow profile is standard Dreadnought with a bulbous shape (balsa block sanded to meet the formers. You can also do the same at the back of the ship as well. The masts look a bit like a soldering challenge. My approach to building large models is not to get too bogged down in detail actually. Detail can often be quite daunting, but be accurate in your part making as the model should always be accurate and then the detail can be added depending on the time you have available for it. I like to get the model made and then add extra detail later, rather than worrying about it. I always put gund and lifeboats, masts, funnels on though.

On Anson while the strips are drying I've started on the masters for the main guns. It's going to be quite a large model

[Saxondog]

Excellent Photo"s. The disruptive pattern on HMS Jamaica really looks good.A similar pattern was used on USS Missouri late in the war. I will post a picture. I was curious how the bow was built, a solid block sanded and shaped seems smart. I kept thinking how it was done with strips? Keep the pictures coming Dylan, Sax

[dylan9391]

Hi,

On Anson and others I have made I have continued the strips to the bow end and stern using clamps to hold them while they dry.The balsa block is a good cheat but what I have done is to plank the ship to the bow accepting that there will be gaps in the planking as I near the front and as the strips curve. The gaps will then be filled with sealing wedge shaped planks to fit.

The disruptive patterns and dazzle patterns are interesting and I really like the black and white straight edges patterns of WW1

[xrad]

Sax: don;t mean to jump your thread..but two other great ships also located on east coast (philadelphia)

USS New Jersey and Olympia

[Saxondog]

The more the better,XRAD Just found out about the new Museum at Norfolk,VA USS Wisconsin only USS Iowa remains at Anchor.Considering she is at anchor near San Francisco (Benicia,Ca.) she may be scraped if she stays moored their. When I graduated High school New Jersey was fitting out at San Diego, the recruiter told me all four were coming back.I chose a delayed entry program as I wanted that duty. But sadly a motorcycle wreck prevented me passing the physical.So I changed career paths . I have taken many motorcycle trips to visit Museums around the country, always impressed by our warships.

I toured the Olympia but they were working on the superstructure and had those sections roped off.Of course they did not tell me before paying. Also the United States is docked not far away,shame the condition of that ship. Iowa class firing full salvo is just amazing. Could you Imagen the effect on the receiving end?

Xrad I am a naval history addict before the present Armor addiction, did not know you might share this interest.It's just amazing how you can float 52,000 tons and move it 40mph while firing a 2700lbs projectile 25miles away and hit the target within a matter of a few feet. Just the engineering of the firing solution is beyond me. I read that firing full salvos the Iowa class could deliver 210tons of HE ROUNDS every nine minutes and in Viet-Nam a 120 day deployment New Jersey fired 5688 16"shells. We must of had a stock pile left over from the other fast Battleships.

Check out the side way motion created by the blast, That is a lot of force. Sax