Calling all South Dakota-class (BB-57) fans!

[VMIalpha454]

Thanks Dick, thats what I needed to know!

[Thomas E. Johnson]

I recently picked up the Trumpy 1/350 kit of the Massachusetts. How does this kit stack up accuracy wise?

[Jim21680]

The Alabama continues: a work in progress...and, a learning experience!
Enjoying myself though - this is trickier than I thought it would be.

I definitely see myself building another SoDak-class in the future (one that I can apply all these lessons on, and build a much better ship).
The filling/sanding/gluing/painting order is a constant challenge.

This gives me a true appreciation for the countless masterpieces I see on Modelwarships.com. There is some amazing talent out there.

[MartinJQuinn]

The Alabama continues: a work in progress...and, a learning experience!
Enjoying myself though - this is trickier than I thought it would be.

Looks good - glad you are enjoying it!

I recently picked up the Trumpy 1/350 kit of the Massachusetts. How does this kit stack up accuracy wise?

It's supposed to reflect Big Mamie post WW2, approx 1946. I don't recall any negative reviews regarding the accuracy of the kit itself. It got good reviews here at MWS and on Cybermodeler. Fine Scale said that it had "some fit problems, no rigging diagram and some missing details" in their review.

[kylewoody]

Looking good Jim, I'm about in the same spot on my build too! Man, the fit on this thing is atrocious at times... the most puttying and sanding I've had to do so far on a kit. Here is my progress, along with the case she is in. I am going to stain and clear it after I get the plexiglass cut for it. As well, I am putting in a flourescent light ballast too.

Kyle

[Jim21680]

Very nice work Kyle. I think you just convinced me to build my own case as well.
I'm sure it can be done for quite a bit less money than buying one. And, it'll be the exact size I need.

With the model, I realized very early on that the dark blue I used in the camouflage is way too dark...almost black.
The paint was Testor's dark sea blue enamel. It's a bit glossy now, but the matte clear should solve that.
Needless to say, this Alabama will end up looking a bit different that most others, and certainly not historically correct.
It is what it is though (next time I'll test the colors first on the scrap hull piece)!

So, perhaps you've noticed that the range finders on the number 3 turret hit the superstructure as the turret rotates.
Any ideas how you might solve this, if at all? I might re-drill the mounting hole directly in front of the existing one, but we'll see.
Not sure what I plan on doing with the main battery yet, so I may just leave it as it is.

[pbudzik]

I think it might be a combination of the turret position and length of the superstructure. I located my turrets as per drawings so I am not exactly sure how it compares with the kit. I do know the superstructure does extend aft too far. Here is what I did...
http://paulbudzik.com/current-projects/ ... ction.html

Paul

[kylewoody]

Thanks Jim! I actually used the Dark Sea Blue for the decks/ horizontal areas and used Tamiya Flat Blue for the camo. I think it looks *close enough*. Crazy that none of the big guys make a "Deck Blue", etc. in spray. Oh well.

I noticed the same thing on turret 3- I wonder if the turret itself is set forward just a bit too far. I won't have mine trained or anything though, so not terribly worried about it.

Kyle

[Thomas E. Johnson]

Trumpeter's 1/350 Massachusetts kits portrays the ship in her 1946 fit so I read. If thats the case, is the MS 22 paint scheme they instruct that she be painted in correct? I thought by the end of 1945 all our ships had been repainted with the standard post war haze grey and deck grey scheme, and wooden decks holy stoned back to natural wood.

[Russ2146]

looking at the Navsource post war page, http://www.navsource.org/archives/01/59b.htm, it appears that Massachusetts entered Puget Naval Shipyard for post war overhaul in September, 1945 in MS 22. She went into post overhaul sea trials in January, 1946. During sea trials, she was still in MS 22 and blue deck.

She went to Norfolk and in the 1950's, she was still in MS 22. She was inactive but still in commission.

Finally, in the 1960's, she appears to be in all gray.

Mamie 1960s.gif (22.82 KiB) Viewed 7642 times

[Thomas E. Johnson]

Thanks for that. I wonder why they left her in wartime painting when all other ships I've seen began repainting in the post war haze grey and deck grey almost as soon as the war came to an end.

[Russ2146]

Well, apparently it might have depended on the condition of the paint. There is a cover of All Hands magazine showing an LST removing islanders from Bikini Atoll for the A-bomb tests. In March of 1946, it was still MS 22. Or maybe they wanted to use up stocks of paint, rather than dump it. Here's another picture of BB-59 dated 12/29/54 after a blowing snow storm in the Norfolk area. where she looks to be in MS 21.

[Thomas E. Johnson]

Well, apparently it might have depended on the condition of the paint. There is a cover of All Hands magazine showing an LST removing islanders from Bikini Atoll for the A-bomb tests. In March of 1946, it was still MS 22. Or maybe they wanted to use up stocks of paint, rather than dump it. Here's another picture of BB-59 dated 12/29/54 after a blowing snow storm in the Norfolk area. where she looks to be in MS 21.

Mamie, 1954.jpg

MS 21 or MS 22 in that pic? MS 21 is 5N all over the ship if I recall. Your idea does make sense.

[David Gatt]

I have a never before published photo of USS Massachusetts that was taken by an Australian Sailor serving on the HMAS Shropshire in the Pacific, It's carrying a camo scheme that was supposedly never used on her according to this site http://www.navsource.org/archives/01/59c.htm.

In any case I'd love to share this photo, I have permission from the Sailor's son, however have no idea how to upload it here. Any suggestions.


David Gatt

[Timmy C]

Follow the instructions here: viewtopic.php?f=12&t=1261

[David Gatt]

This photo was taken by a Mr Mc Kenzie while he served on HMAS Shropshire.

[Timmy C]

I'm fairly certain that the picture shows one of the rebuilt Tennessee-class ships. Note how the deck goes down a level as it nears the stern - the South Dakotas were flush-decked. As well, the deck near the bow is flat, rather than curving upwards as it would on a South Dakota.

[David Gatt]

You could be right Timmy, to be honest when I first saw the photo that was my guess too. However the line on the hull representing the armour travels down the length quite a ways. I'm no expert on this class.

David

[SeanF]

Based on the camo pattern, that photo is of the Tennessee herself. Also note the sharp clipper bow quite unlike a SoDak. The line along the hull is not the armor, but the top of her massive bulge. If you look closely, you can see it actually angles downward toward the bow in the black patch just ahead of the first turret.

- Sean F.

[David Gatt]

cool, I'll repost the image on the Tennessee site.