The Ship Model Forum

Back from a couple of months from helping my lady care for her newborn granddaughter. So ship progress this year has been very slow. Back to work on Mo, with "Mo work" to do. Finally tackling the helicopter deck netting, have the Port side done but now out of the Bronze wire used to form the nets. Bending the wire frame around a wooden form then joining the ends with CA. I then stretch a piece of open ribbon and glue the frames to the net ribbon , then trim after dry.

I am being sent some data cobbled together as to the docking plans for the keel blocks, which is plan Eh for the base. Slowly getting around to doing all the things I have been avoiding, often due to lack of a scratch solution. More hull details to add, some padeyes aft by the screws and shafts, and the brackets aft for the Jacob Ladder Booms. Not currently sure when the booms were last fitted. Then of course there is rigging....

Will post a photo or two of the fantail when I finish the netting.

Cheers: Tom

Nets added to fantail.

Hey Zeus!

It seems as there is an infinite number of small items to add. I produced two Capt/OOD chairs for tech bridge wings, numerous small gee gaws for the yardarm and vicinity, small hand wheels (scratch) and a couple of ribbon boards for the bridge wings. I was fortunate to have a photo I could adjust and print to scale... Have a strong magnifier? I did find Dr Pr's great drawings of the SPS 10 to aid in constructing those. Added some more unrep gear to the top of turret three, on and on!

The current method is to post a photo on the 27" studio monitor and start cobbling and adding "stuff". A nearly 900' ship has a lot of "stuff".

Almost forgot, the Port aft gun tub has a bi level grating and some other fitting for which I have incomplete photo documentation.

Cheers. Tom

Beautiful build, Tom! Love it!

_________________
Have fun, Monkey around.™

-Steve L.

Complete catalog: - https://www.model-monkey.com/
Follow Model Monkey® on Facebook: - https://www.facebook.com/modelmonkeybookandhobby

Thanks Steve!

Hopefully I'll make some progress to the point of a photo or two. Hank Strub sent me some info on the 05 level bridge instruments so I have been adding some of those. Also a photo of the 08 external bridge, though I already have the cover framing I should be able to still slip in the appropriate items, such as with the ship in a bottle technique. Not looking fwd to tackling the SPS 10 radar without PE but DrPr has previously posted some of his excellent drawings which should help.

Today again running around and being astounded as to how much stuff can still be added! Masts and antennas, add something knock something off. Sometimes progress is made.

Cheers: Tom

Tom,

It is amazing how much detail you can find if you have high resolution photos of parts of the ship - and your 900' ship has a lot of surface to cover with details!

When I started my 610 foot cruiser model a friend started work on a CAD model of the 306 foot long USS Slater DE-766. I was startled at how fast he made progress until I realized that he had just a fraction of the surface area to populate with details compared to what was on the cruiser. He was finished years ago and I am still working at it.

My next model will be a 112 foot minesweeper. That is so small that I expect it to be finished before I start!

Phil

_________________
A collision at sea will ruin your entire day. Aristotle

Phil

I printed out your drawings, for the SPS 10, especially the back framework to size (1:192) but it is so tiny I am not sure I can make this without any PE technique. Certainly the idea of soldering up the frame as a flat then bending to shape is beyond my micro soldering skills. Working on some other ideas!

A Minesweeper sounds like a good project, especially with all of the interesting paravane gear.

Cheers. Tom

Current progress fwd superstructure. Capt/OOD chairs added to bridge wings.

Cheers: Tom

Minor update. Though the plans I have don't show it, there is currently a grate and reel on the port aft gun tub. So I have constructed this as best as I can from my limited photo coverage. More fun will be coming up with a way to make the helicopter deck markings. Grate is made from a ribbon material I got at Michel's art and craft supplies.

Cheers: Tom

Tom, she's absolutely brilliant. Excellent expression of dogged research. I'm really enjoying your build.

I can't help also admiring the screws. They have a really good bronze color to them. Where'd you get them and do you have any tips on finishing them?

_________________
Have fun, Monkey around.™

-Steve L.

Complete catalog: - https://www.model-monkey.com/
Follow Model Monkey® on Facebook: - https://www.facebook.com/modelmonkeybookandhobby

Steve:

Not sure where I got the screws as I obtained them over 20 years ago when I began this conversion. I did weather them a bit by soaking them in hydrogen peroxide and then saltwater. There may be better tarnishing methods out there! It woul be an interesting discussion about the appearance of brass props!

Cheers. Tom

A little progress on the Missouri last night, re did the grating on top of the "model airplane fuel bladder" aft tub. Constructed the armored bladder and inclined skid and rails. Mixed up a new batch of haze gray, Testor's airbrush opaques: Neutral gray base; small amount of Ultramarine Blue; quite a lot of white! Working on a fire hose reel fwd of the helicopter deck abeam turret three and who knows what else I will find. Having hundreds of photos all I have to do is look at any one of them and there are lots more things to add! Then of course Hank, James and many others have made additional info available!

Cheers: Tom

Hey Tom

Just finally wandered into the scratch section. Your ship is looking great and definitely gives me ideas on mine.

Your mixing of your haze grey.....I'd read that Testors Neutral gray was a pretty close match, so I was using that. But, I'm guessing from you're saying here, it's too dark and you need to add white to brighten it?

Brett

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Brett Matthews

Brett

Sargent X and a few others are the real paint experts so I am just doing the best I can. The Testors is pretty neutral and near an 18% reflectance out of the bottle. To me that is a bit dark for modern Haze Grey. If you are doing a WWII era ship those seem darker to me. I suppose if I had thought of it I could have made reflectance measurements of the actual ship when I was there. I was happy with the previous batch and simply kept adding white till it brushed out alongside the original as a match. The paints do change a little as they dry down. Quite a few folks like the Golden acrylics, which are available at the more professional art stores, my local Michael's happens to have the base colors in Testor's airbrush acrylics. I did manage to score some of the Golden's for mixing a new coat of the hull red.

Cheers. Tom

Thanks for the info! Can't wait to see more of your ship.

Brett

_________________
Brett Matthews

Current progress BB63. Revised the aft gun tub due to additional information, added a fire hose reel abeam turret three. Superstructure not yet screwed down, for which rigging will have to wait. Hull needs repainting below the waterline, may add a few more details down there.

I dunno mate, d'you think you could make those pictures any smaller? I can almost pick out some of the detail on the fantail...

_________________
Sean Nash, ACG (aircraft camo gestapo)

On the ways:
1/200 Trumpeter HMS Nelson
1/700 Tamiya USS Yorktown CV-5

In the stash:
1/35 Italiari PT-109
1/35 Tamiya "Pibber" Patrol Boat
1/350 Trumpeter USS Yorktown CV-10

Dang hard to capture an almost 900 ft vessel in only 700 pixels, will hit the darkroom later and see of I can come up with a more detailed image!

T

A bit closer view of the aft tub, port side. Modified according to updated information.

That looks very nice, Tom! You gonna eventually add a helo to the helo deck?

_________________
Sean Nash, ACG (aircraft camo gestapo)

On the ways:
1/200 Trumpeter HMS Nelson
1/700 Tamiya USS Yorktown CV-5

In the stash:
1/35 Italiari PT-109
1/35 Tamiya "Pibber" Patrol Boat
1/350 Trumpeter USS Yorktown CV-10