The Ship Model Forum

All Right!!

First major decision for Type 002 Shandong..... as I was building the starboard bow sponson, I found this picture...



It shows a Large reel ( I assume for holding lines, when the ship is inport ), but on Both models 001 & 002, they have this 'funny' looking reel, and as I was building Type 001, which had Very small parts of reels, I decided, after seeing that pict above, to remove those "reels"...take a look.....


Reels are on the lower left on the deck....


Those 'funny' "reels" were removed and actual PE reels were used...


...I also added a sheet of Plasticard as a bulkhead to go up against the hull (otherwise there would be a "hole" looking inside that sponson).

And although I do Not have a picture of the final sponson with the reel, I'll show that later this week as I work on Shandong U.G. PE and installing the rails and ladders.

On a different note, I did work a little more on the hanger deck....


A little better support for the deck and adding bulkheads around the part that will be "seen" through the hanger doors.


Batteries were used to make the bulkheads flush and squared ( even though I do have a square ).


Adding some gallery work within the hanger deck, ( I don't know ......... but is the brass "piping" a bit to wide in diameter ?? ). I'll be adding doors and some fire equipment within the hanger deck.

AND Although....I did mention that 002 would have an "orange" marker to let you All know that I'm working with a certain model, all the pictures of This model was 002. EXCEPT: The first picture showing 001 testing J-15s on it ship.

M

YIPPIE!!!

I finally got my PE for Liaoning..... which is Just in time!! I was getting ready to proceed even further with Shandong, as I was working on sponsons for 002 (I'll show those pictures much later).

The photo-etch for Liaoning are separate pieces, kinda following that the PLAN would (Probably ) remove hatches, doors, ladders, and rails. I kept the "russian ladders" ( probably because I don't Think....that somebody is going to look at my pics and say..... "HEY, those ladders are..... )

The 001 will use 'ShipYard Works' PE for rails and hatches/doors and 'FiveStar' PE for ladders.







As I was looking at the 001 island, I have noticed that might Not NEED extra rails, it looks Very likely that there are enough AND.... the rails are the same as 'SYW' PE, "YES!!"

I'll get Right to work on 001 tomorrow!!! So, Stay-Tuned!!

M

Feel strange, posting on this Day...... Lest we Forget.... 9/11, I Always Remember.........


Red, White, & 'Blu' ( my beagle 'Blu'-girl............. she's a Good Girl!! )

Working on Liaoning CV-16 (Type 001) [trying to catch up with Shandong CV-17 (Type 002)]....

With work on Type 002 continuing, I got the photo-etch for Type 001, so now I can catch up with the rear sponsons and fantail of 001!!

Here is some work I did this week...


Without PE...


...With PE!! Only thing to NOTE: The ladders.... I have seen an Actual vertical ladder on 001 starboard quarter sponson, in pics, but installed a ladder on the port. ( It is an easy fix to trim the rear-most flame deflector on port side sponson and add a vert ladder...I'll look into it, but Thought there was a ladder there close to edge ).


Port side sponson.


With ladder installed.


Added (white) flame deflector........ (saw this on FiveStar U.G. PE)


....Oblique shot


And fantail...it came out okay.


Starboard Quarter....


...Port Quarter.

I Think ... this PE will do Just Right, but would like to hear from y'all/ opinions on this PE.

I, lastly want to Thank Those FIRST RESPONDERS during 9/11, I have a Bro-N-Law who is now a EMT Supervisor now in his 11th year!! I'll be taking him out to dinner tonight. R.I.P. to ~3,000 Americans!

Mario M Mares
OS1 (SW)
USN (Ret)
84-05

More work on CV-16 Liaoning.......... Curious, if US ships have U.S.S. to there name, does the PLAN have something similar??

Here is some work on the starboard bow.....




Some before shots. But I made the decision to get rid of those "silly-looking" reels....


...and replace them with large reels from a GMM FF/Modern rails and use those reels ( they seem quite large ).


Rails look good and they ~Pretty Much look like the ones on Shandong U.G. PE!


Another view, plus (+) a ladder moving up inside that sponson.


Work on both sides of the forward elevator with some guess work, (using ideas from the FiveStar U.G. [that I didn't purchase, but does show the placement of their PE]).


Aft portion of forward elevator and platforms.

Hope you are enjoying this build.

Going to stop right now....and try to watch The QUEEN'S State Funeral.

M

Here is the rest of the finished starboard bow of Liaoning, extending to amidships......again, just using PE from different products as stated in past posts.








There is a catwalk Just below the island, I haven't check to see if 'BBB' has something similar for Shandong OR if it even has a PE catwalk as I also posted in previous posts.

Finishing these sub-assemblies, but Trying to find out a proper color for the hull of the ship. Looking for an acrylic-type paint, but ANY help will be noted!

M

A Short update..... finally on the track of having Both ships on the same page, work on the bow sponsons. The port sponson is Very easy to build, but on CV-16 needed to use the separate rails. But the Biggest fear is......making sure those rails fit well. I will also include CV-17 with 'orange note', but I have not built-up the rest of CV-17 rear, starboard sponson, unlike the -16 sponson build-up......

To start, here is Liaoning port sponson....


...I did measure but I NEED to find a better way to measure curve portions ....... what do you all do to rectify this situation??


Measured roughly with a straight-edge and I'm okay with it but need a better way of measuring, as you can see the nearest portion of the rail got a little bit squished by the FD.


I did add a hatch, and a 'notch' to make sure that rails fitted. Also added some grill work on the sides of the hull ( a spare 'Ibuki' carrier Artist Hobby PE ).


Here is the starboard sponson...and even though the rails were done on the rearward side of the plus (+) a lot of modification to that area, I didn't do the upper portion of the sponson ( since this sponson is glued on, I fear that AnyThing falling on top of the hull will bend the railings ).


A little closer shot, but the attachment of FD is going to be tricky!!!

....NEXT, Shandong sponsons....

Here is Shandong CV-17, as mentioned I will (try) to highlight this kit with an 'orange note'.....


The good thing about CV-17 is that 'BBB' PE Looks close to the separate bought PE for CV-16.


I Did measure....and it was short (wonder if it is because of FD )


Port side forward sponson, looks similar to CV-16!!


Its a GREAT Fit!!! Just be CAREFUL dry-fitting/placing/gluing FD


I haven't attached the sponson let.... So I WOULD NOT attach those sponsons until you add your 'stuff' (rails in this case).


Starboard side .... Again, another good fit!!

IF...... I were to review 'BigBlueBoy' PE, I would give "Good Reviews" for fit ( this would include the fantail, even though I mis-positioned it and rear sponsons port/starbd ).

I'm now in a position to include stuff around the flight deck in sequence with Both A/C.

Lastly, I HOPE that the people in FL are 'making it through' "Hurricane Ian", and HELP IS on its Way......nothing political, PLEASE, just concern for fellow Americans!!!!! Stay Safe.

M

Sorry for the late update, I usually like to update every week if not twice, but work is "...getting in the way..."

Seriously, I'm working on Three (3) kits , not just these two (2) carriers, but also a 'What-if' X-47B tanker!!!!

But, onto the picts!!

Work on mostly Shandong CV-17....especially along the LSO platform and along the port side FD, which will be the toughest part because of the life raft installations ( although the island WILL Be the hardest!! )


Here is that 'orange Post-It' to show the Type II ship.


Along the FD, before PE U.G.!!


The 'BBB' PE gives two (2) options, an opened platform, and stowed version!


Even comes with the windshield wipers ( Unlike the Orange Hobby, HMS Hermes kit I heard you have to attach.... YIKES )


Here are both of them, once folded into 3-dimensional structures...Nicely done 'BBB'!!


More of an "overhead view".

Since I have two (2) of these structures, I think I can use the other on Liaoning!!


Installed LSO structure, plus rails and LSO netting (kinda weak, compared to GMM LSO netting).


I BARELY saw a ladder between the LSO and actual FD, saw this on 'BBB' picture instructions.... NOTE: 'BBB' doesn't tell you to attach ladders, but have pics of them scattered around, So LOOK Carefully!!!


Should have modified this picture, but you can 'see' the ladder in that space.

Liaoning is next, at least in terms of the LSO platform details! I don't think that I can replicate the life raft attachments onto the FD.

M

Well....not as I planned.....

As work was continuing on both PLAN carriers, I started on the FD of CV-17, Shandong ( in previous post ), so the same work, I thought would be on CV-16, Liaoning..... but this is not the case.

'BigBlueBoy' PE is quite exquisite and detailed, in this case giving me options on the LSO platform in a raised/open position or stowed position. Thinking, "Hey GREAT, I got two (2) LSO platforms that I can use on either carrier!" NOPE

In the 'FiveStar' PE { 5-Star PE } it shows in Their UpGrade of Liaoning, NO LSO platform, instead in both the model and PE U.G. is a station that is Slightly underneath the FD....


( original instructions that gives me clues on what/what Not to build ) It does NOT show the LSO platform that I used in CV-17, but Interestingly, there is a cutout and additional ladder forward of that station.

On-top-of-that, I Think that the rest of the portside FD are just slanted PE for the life rafts.....which I will Not do modifications on both, the cutout and the slanted life raft containers. Even the "meatball" shows up on 'BBB' PE, that I will use on the CV-17, but not here.

So, that leaves just this Slight mod on Liaoning port quarter FD....


Nothing glued down let...


...looking forward to aft, along port side.


Overhead view.....


...and close-up. I guess with CV-16 the intention of having two (2) halves glued together to make the LSO station, could be lighted....I intend to keep CV-16 closed up.

Going to start work on the CV-17 FD port side later this week. So here there is a SLIGHT Difference between the two (2) ships, but the island will be the clincher!!

M

Here is a short set of pics of CV-16 (Type 001), this is work on the port side FD, the catwalk along the FD.

On the original FD kit of Type 001, you had this...



But looking at the FiveStar PE UpGrade, I want to do this 'angled portion of the life raft stations', I wanted to do the same...


So, I started in scoring portions ( as best as I could ) and pulling down those portions....






...these three (3) pics are going from aft to forward on those pics above.


Then, basically, scored with #11 knife giving about 1mm distance from near-edge of FD, down to 4mm to score (total 3mm score). Leaving an area for crews to walk along the catwalk [ at Least I Think so, Very hard to discriminate if there is a pathway ].


After scoring and twisting it down with pair of needle-nose pliers, some of those parts Almost 'snapped off', so I glued the partially scored part and a little bit underneath.






I DO want to putty those gaps and clean it up a bit. The last two (2) pics show the catwalk from forward to aft.

I will look into the CV-17 (Type 002) next plus (+) an update of Type 001 with putty.

M

WELL....... FIRST: Happy New Year 2023!!!

After being away for awhile building/finishing my X-47B drone-tanker..... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4C-DWLlHjaQ

AND, making '150 Subscribers' ( ) and passing along an 'Thank You' video ..... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36vLBXdJzmM

I'm BACK!!!!

and with a Newer set of pics.... Just a "big note", I lost my "Orange Post-It" to ID my Shandong CV-17 (Type II) A/C, so I switched it to another "Post-It"...a shamrock, I Guess I'll use Post-notes to ID CV-17.

So, in these picts. I have started ( and completed ) a set of PE for the modern life rafts RACKS. This section is VERY Tricky, because the PE is Quite small, fragile (especially the bending) and takes a Lot of patience and thinking.....thinking on how to bend the PE so as not to break the folds, to make it more manageable, let alone placing it. SO.....IF you do the PE of the Type II carrier, I should Warn.....be Patient, Think through, and ......Good Luck!!!




The "painter's tape" is used to protect the PE hanging over the side ( the tape is 1" wide ) so I was able to 'wrap' it around the kit to protect the few that I place as I was working on the plane.


Here is the first set of life raft Racks


Here, I peeled back the tape and attach it to the FD as I worked on attaching the PE.

On these set of pictures, the 'BBB' provides many platforms for the carrier......NICE .....But.....this leaves a major gap when you attach the PE -> the model itself.....


Here is a platform that needs to bend to include the 'ribbing' that you will find under such platforms on Real ships.......A Nice Touch....showed this in a posting before.


...it even includes railings for that part.... 'BBB'


...and here are four (4) of those platforms....three (3) near the FD, and one (1) near the lip of the lowered elevator.


Another view of the upper platforms, but here you can see where the plastic part of the kit would fit onto the ship itself....and the GAP where the PE attached , but I did add doors on the plastic pieces that make more.....accessible.

Next time, I'll show how to make those RACKS... Sheeesh!!!

M

ALRight...... these are "Little Buggers!!" but I'm a glutton for punishment!!

FIRST: If you have No patience for PE, Stop Here These racks are quite delicate, and IF you bend them the wrong way, they'll break off!!!

Second: Think it through, look how each piece is bent with Mag-glasses, you Might be able to see on which way to bend them. No need for a bending tool, you could use your fingers (I did a bit), or a toothpick will do just fine.

Third: I still use CA glue to attach the racks onto the kit, but as far as these life rafts I Might use just white glue and spray paint the whole thing, to give it that "attachment" onto the PE and kit.

So this is What " I " did, check it out....


I still cut out the whole piece with PE cutters, you could use a sharp knife, but I'm afraid that you accidentally bend the posts.


I then pull up on the racks themselves....


...different angle.


Pull up on the holders, NOTE: Start on the bottom one then get the top, then I used a toothpick to straighten them.


Now, I'm bending around the back portion, it can be teased with a toothpick, NOTE 2: There is a difference on which way is up, At least with these "buggers", so look at those instructions from 'BBB' they show you which is which side and what part goes up, using different colors.


Before closing (here on this picture), add a bit of CA glue on the trailing edge, the edge that will close this rack stand.


And, there you go.........BUT as you can see one of those racks was done the wrong way, and it IS very noticeable!!

But I'll kinda show you the next time, how the life rafts look on them..........MayBe, you don't want to get this PE 'UpGrade' from 'BigBlueBoy', but it was something " I Think" makes it look just a little better.

M

P.S. Almost forgot this one (1) pict, take a look at the life rafts, I did separate them vertically but Not horizontally...


Here I can Barely fit three (3) rows vertically, two (2) rafts does look better though. BUT on the Real Ship, there are three (3)!!

Learning some lessons on CV-17 Shandong......

With the previous posting, and placing life raft Racks individually, I should have had "spacers", some way of having some space between each Rack! So on the starboard side I was able to make a bit of a better placement of them, let me show ya....


On the far forward part of the hull are two (2) racks space pretty far apart, but that is what the instructions call for, (I'm thinking of placing another set, since I have two [2] other as spares).


Amidships here, there are two (2) different sets than the ones forward of the island. The one in the middle show only six (6) racks, while the one aft have eight (8) racks, here in this picture these racks only hold one (1) life container on each angled bracket. So, there is a need to separate several of these life rafts.

It is a bit difficult to find good pictures and know which carrier is which....... CV-16 has those "ageis-looking" radars on each face of the island, while CV-17 has them on angled corners.

Getting ready to place small boats on Shandong.....


...and Even though these are Russian-type boats, I find Little difference in the types of boats the Chinese will have ( and Besides..........there isn't any 1/700 Chinese boats that look decent!! ) In ALL Seriousness, I think these boats will work well with CV-16 ship, since THAT ship will have possible Russian-type boats. So I have two (2) sets of these boats and I plan .......Later, to build Adm. Kuznetsov A/C carrier so I'll add boats on that one.


The PE are nice looking davits that fold into good looking devices. BUT, NOTE!!! Looking at some pics of Shandong, I noticed that even though 'Trumpeter' shows small boats on the starboard quarter gallery.......There are None, instead it looks like a replenishment station with many pipe attachments for fuel while on a pier.

But, I'll show that later. Enjoy

M

Okay, well I got a couple of details of CV-17 Shandong....

I was Super Ready in placing these small boats on the starboard quarter gallery, when I saw this...


ONE: You can see this is the Type 002 A/C with the angled radar sets on the island (instead of being on the faces of the island, like Type 001), 2) More interesting, is that there are NO small boats, but instead this is a replenish 'zone' for fuel and stores ( it Looks like there is a RAS-type system on that deck and maybe a bigger one [which the kit does have] on the other side of the elevator.

With the elevator down and crews on both sides of the elevator, LOOKS more efficient instead of the one (1) that USN carriers have .... although their RAS system is Inside the hanger


Here is a tighter image of the same area, the green crane is used to refuel the ship, while inport, BUT more importantly = No boats. Instead what looks like the 'receptacles' on the deck.

As I viewed the video and took some "stills" of the image, it was "neat" to see the way that P.L.A.N. refuel their ships....at least their A/C.

But as I look at the two (2) images, I noticed something on the model.....


...there's NO detail on the bulkhead, so I will try to improve this...


To start, there is a small platform above the 'receptacles' so I had to scratch-build that, and I added an open door.


I also added the receptacles and a type of RAS nearer the edge of the gallery.

More to come, later

M

A little more work was needed on Shandong on the starboard side gallery....

So I scratch-built some "receptacles" on the deck and added piping on the bulkhead as well as on the overhead....


...I kinda attached the FD, actually just laid, upon the hull, just to give you an idea where I'm going with this...


...the blue tape is to protect those pesky life raft Racks, just to give them a bit of a buffer.


I just measured the overhead where the pipes along the bulkhead were and bent some stretched sprue along the overhead. It will come out nice once I attached/glue the FD onto the hull. I also drilled out some hatches and attached opened hatches on this bulkhead using a 0.5mm drill. I drilled out a hole above and below where the opening will be and using an X-Acto knife, cut out and shape the hatch opening.


A little cleaner look as I pressed down on the FD.

Once it looks good, I will place railing along the edge........... BUT what about Liaoning??

Liaoning is coming up, I just needed to place those racks on CV-17 first, since I didn't get a dedicated PE set for CV-16, I'm just going with the kit. So the next update will be back to the Type 001 Liaoning.

On to the Liaoning (Type 001) .... the Boat Deck.

With the near completion of both ships galleries, sponsons and fantail, plus some finer details of bulkheads and PE details...it is time for the ship davits on both ships.

As I was researching before on Shandong, there is No boat deck on the starboard gallery, instead there is an extensive UNREP deck just forward of the starboard quarter sponson. On Liaoning, though, there does seem to be a boat deck as she was testing out their J-15 fighters, so Here I'll add this extra kit of small boats.

Since China acquired Varyag from the Soviet Union, I just assume that they MIGHT Have kept the small boats of the CCCP.....who knows

So, I made use of these small boats that are made by 'Youfeng', they look good and the PE for the davits is fine and easily manipulated ( didn't stress test to see how many times I can fold-unfold-fold back other way, w/o breakage, but they seem to hold up pretty well ). And they give you a good set of small boats for your Russian ships/A-C carriers as well (two [2] sets of boats), you also get five (5) pairs off davits on TWO (2) Sheets....not bad

So, lets take a look....

Here, I made the davits...already folded up ( there are three [3] folds to give you a ~3D look to them ).


On a narrow gallery of CV-16, this is 'Part B29 - page 8, Step5'.


Other davits attached.....


....better view.

On the port side, you have actual galleries for the small boats, you can see them Quite clearly on Kiev-class/Kuznetsov-class and "Liaoning-class {?}" A/C carriers.


This is 'Part A3 - page 7, Step3' and the same on the larger 'Part A4'.


You can see, a little closer the davit, here I attached them on to the overhang


A better view of 'Part A4'....


....and with boat semi-fixed with white glue.

I have let to find colors of Chinese small boats, so I Might just paint them the way the SU painted their small boats. I do have a copy of Barry Dean "Kiev & Kuznetsov - Russian Aircraft Carriers" by Concord Pub Comp., and though they have Mostly B/W pics, there are few pics in color that detail the boats.

The next steps is to prime all the PE on both ships and start painting the hull with the FD attached, but I still looking for a proper paint scheme using Vallejo paints ...... that is my brand I'm using now, since a few of my Model Master - acrylic paints have dried up.... So Sad!! . Then it'll be onto the Main Event.....the Islands!!!

M

Here is Liaoning CV-16, all set to be painted, I just finished priming all the PE that I added, using 'Flyhawk' images to get an idea of what should be added and where. Here is an overview of the entire upper hull ( minus the bow )....

Here are some of the port side views....



Added vents from other spare PE, the catwalk has added rails, not found in kit (but shown on FH)...I added doors.


Better view of catwalk, under the FD {NOTE: Paint bottles are used to prop-up the hull to show angle properly w/o me holding the kit}.


Small boat gallery......


...a better, lighted view....


...with a small boat.




port quarter sponson, needs to have putty connecting sponson to rest of hull.


Different angle of same sponson. All rails, doors, and ladders were added with 'Shipyard Works'

And here is the aft end and starboard side of upper hull of Liaoning, here I didn't prime it just yet, to show how extensive the PE from 'Shipyard Works'.


Here, I added the railings to the hull and NOT the part....as I did on Shandong CV-17 ( you'll see the difference later )


Starboard quarter.


Small boat with 'Youfeng' PE and Russian small boats.


Aft elevator and small gallery forward of elevator.


Another catwalk, under the FD with added doors ..... just forward of it in another gallery on either side of the forward elevator.


VERY Extensive PE placement with netting from other spare PE, as well as added reels from 'GMM' and chocks from 'FH'!!! ( Putting a LOT of work on these ).


Starboard forward sponson, here a crane will be place, another PE addition later!


Another angle of starboard forward sponson where weapon(s) will be found.

A short NOTE: As I attached the elevator bays onto the hull I notice that the forward one does Not fit well, so simple, just cut the railings. BUT, you might notice a white scratch-built bulkhead on the forward part of the this pic....

....on the CV-16 kit you need to add this, otherwise there is a "hole" looking into the sponson!! YIKES AND as an added insult there is also a need for an overhang in this general are to 'box' in this gallery appropriately.

It was quite a bit of building and prep work, and Mostly research on this vessel, I HOPE that it comes out right. Shandong CV-17, has Just about the same PE, but it is Much more extensive, since many of the platforms are double-sided/foldable platforms, it looks "neater" , but the slots in the hull where these platforms are attach, have 'holes' that need patching up.

The islands are the next thing, after I finish the painting the hull....but I Almost forgot the Lower Hull!!! I will be showing how " I " do the lower hull, and hope you enjoy this added detail!!!

M

Here is my work on Type 001 Liaoning CV-16 on the Lower Hull....

I always feel that a ship, even in a diorama, should be FULL HULL . Just what I do when displaying a ship as a diorama, I just remove the lower hull (if it is to be glued onto the kit) and re-insert it when mounting it on displays ( although.....those ships are Not very well secured when the rest of the ship is sitting on top of the lower, but so far ==> No Earthquakes ).

For the lower hull, I take those flimsy struts by removing the struts from the rest of the supports on the hull. THEN, I drill out the supports where a 'strut' would go through the support, in all three parts ... the hull attachment, the first support, and the last support holding the screw. It IS A Process and a lot of patience and luck!! , but In the End.....it looks So SWEET!!!


Here is the original strut, with the hull attachment on the left..and the support holding the screw on the right.


This is the COMPLETED Work...as I didn't show how I drill out the supports, but IF you look at my other ship builds with a lower hull, you could find how it is done. I DO Want to mention......Start with a smaller diameter drill, then move to a larger bit....... DO NOT use a larger bit, you'll drill through the support alright.....in an area that You don't want it to come out!!!


Another view....


....and here you see the 'bowing effect' of the strut, with the brass rod it gives it strength and straightness ( there such a word ) to the strut. Here I use .032"/.081mm brass rod




Here is another finished side.....


Here are all the "weapons" (minus the nail clippers and knife) that I used, even the cross-fitting tweezers for re-measuring the original strut lengths, but I measure using Metrics + 1mm. So that way I can adjust the strut into the support on either end.


Finished product...... I would actually work one (1) side at a time, doing them all might get you frustrated, BUT what do ya think????





M

Very interesting subject, and good job on the improvements!