The Ship Model Forum

Thought I'd show some progress on a what if future hybrid battleship project I'm currently working on.
The pictures are self explanatory with descriptions of what I am doing.
I hope to have this model done sometime late summer or early fall in time for some contests later this year.
Comments, questions, and critiques are welcome.
P.S. - I'm using the 1/350 scale hull from a TAMIYA New Jersey battleship and 1/350 scale parts from an Arleigh Burke destroyer.

Once again --your innovative and off the wall models intrigue me...

BTW-- have you any images of your amazing Habbakuk (sp ?) Ice-floe giant carrier model?
I would love to see that again!

Best wishes
Jim Baumann

_________________
....I buy them at three times the speed I build 'em.... will I live long enough to empty my stash...?
http://www.modelshipgallery.com/gallery ... index.html

IPMS UK SIG (special interest group) www.finewaterline.com

Sorry, JIm. But when Photobucket and/or Flickr started messing around with account changes and prices years ago, I dumped those places. So my Habakkuk photos are no longer available. If you want, send me a PM with your email and I'll send you some pics.

Don't forget your submission in our gallery! http://www.modelshipgallery.com/gallery ... index.html

_________________
De quoi s'agit-il?

More progress pics. This will most likely be a slow build.

Currently where I'm at now. Not sure where to add smaller guns like 25mm, 30mm, etc. for self defense. Suggestions are welcome. And should I add an UNREP kingpost like what an Iowa BB had or not? And if so, then where?

More progress below.

In other news..........the one thing that can kill this model project.
Let me pose a question to everyone: What type, style, etc. of main gun turrets would you have on this ship if you were building it?
Electromagnetic railgun turrets?
Laser gun turrets?
Plasma cannon turrets?
Single barrel turret?
Double barrel turret?
Triple barrel turret?
Or something else?

Trying to find some sort of futuristic looking main gun turrets for this ship is becoming a major headache. I'd love to have turrets that looked like either of the first two pics as shown below. But I don't know of anybody near me that does 3D printing.
I asked a local hobby store that tends to get a lot of Gundam and sci-fi stuff in if they could order for me the following (See last picture below.): Kotobukiya MSG Modeling Support Goods Weapon Unit # 39 Artillery Cannons. Basically, you get two single barrel large cannons in a package. These single barrel large cannons can be snapped together to create a larger 2-gun turret or with more cannons, even a 3-gun turret. To have a turret with three barrels on it, I'd have to buy 2 packages. To have three 3-gun turrets, I'd have to buy 5 packages. If the hobby store can't get these in for me, then I'm screwed.
I've tried looking on Shapeways as a backup alternative. But nothing there is to my liking. And whatever that "might" look good is in some odd scales which might not work.

If my local hobby store can't get the Kotobukiya cannons that I asked for that I had mentioned earlier above, then I'll be deciding on the following Shapeways options. If I do use any of the following Shapeways options, some of them will need modifying such as new barrels, cutting and sanding, etc. to make them look in whatever way I want them.

Single gun turret
https://www.shapeways.com/product/9MUCR ... 2&li=shops


Light railguns set (Barrels)
https://www.shapeways.com/product/ZF39D ... arketplace


Remote particle gun
https://www.shapeways.com/product/RGJW9 ... arketplace


Mk.IV destroyer turrets
https://www.shapeways.com/product/GETEC ... arketplace


Large turrets
https://www.shapeways.com/product/58WLL ... arketplace


Dropship turrets
https://www.shapeways.com/product/44AEE ... arketplace

More progress pics. Comments, questions, and critiques welcome.

Could use some opinions on the following.
Smaller CIWS guns, or 57mm guns,.......or both?













So, here's the new RHIB boat enclosure I made. Both the starboard and port sides are built. It's the best I could come up with.
The starboard side will probably be left open so viewers can see inside the enclosure. The port side one will be closed........maybe?

Not much new. Progress is a bit slow right now as I need to buy some photoetch and other materials before continuing.
This is it for pics until.........whenever?
I'm trying to add a small enclosure at the aft end of the ship. But I'm not sure what style doors to use for closing up the openings.
For those familiar with the Type 45 Daring class destroyer, are the doors that cover the boat stowage area roll upward on a track system,
or do they open accordian (foldable) style similar to what's on an Arleigh Burke ship?

Your really are pretty innovative !

A lot of thought is going into this model of a fictive utopia ship!

I am watching and reading!

JB

_________________
....I buy them at three times the speed I build 'em.... will I live long enough to empty my stash...?
http://www.modelshipgallery.com/gallery ... index.html

IPMS UK SIG (special interest group) www.finewaterline.com

Thanks, Jim. I like being different. Modeling straight from the box and following instructions is too boring for me. I'd rather be creative, imagineative, and innovative.

If my posts are too picture heavy, then let me know and I'll just post links instead.

Anyway, been awhile since I posted updates. Here's some more progress.

Not sure if the SPG-49 radars will work for my needs or not? What do you guys think? Should I use something else?

Been giving some thought to countermeasures systems on my model. Not sure if I'll add some or all? But since this is a what if fantasy ship, maybe it might be better with all due to the increased use of anti-ship cruise missiles?




Somebody either had to be asleep or drunk when they designed and manufactured the DRAGON 1/350 scale USS Sullivans, Arleigh Burke destroyer kit. PARTICUARLY THE RADAR MAST!
But..........thankfully I was able to build a decent second one after the first one I built didn't work out.

Here's some fictional information for my what if hybrid battleship.
Granted, this may change during the course of construction of my model.
Now if you're wondering if anything on this model makes sense or if the U.S. Navy had or currently has plans for a future battleship remotely like this, I have one word for you: Don't.

Don't try to make sense of it.
Don't take it too seriously.

Almost everything on this model is not "technically believeable". Well, maybe a few things are like the 5"/62 gun mounts on the sides of the ship,
or the SLQ-32 ECM below the bridge wings since both of those items are real in U.S. Navy service. But for the most part, this model is all about creativity, imagination, and having fun. Building models straight from the box and following instruction sheets is too boring for me. So I needed to let my imagination go wild, use up a bunch of spare parts, add in a bunch of scratch building, and create a fantasy what if battleship for future 21st century navy service.
Also, if anybody thinks I based my model on the hybrid battleship that was very briefly seen in the 2021 movie "Godzilla vs. Kong", then you are mistaken. I started initial planning for this model way back in 2018 which is 3 years before the Godzilla vs. Kong movie came out.

SPECIFICATIONS: (Provisional)

USS Kentucky BBG-66 (Might change the name later, but not sure?)

3x Three-gun main turrets.

2x ODIN laser defense systems.

14x Mk.60 Vertical Launching System (VLS) pods for any combination and/or amount of the following missiles: (9 missile cells per pod. 126 total.)
* RIM Standard missile (Anti-air, anti-ship, or other variants)
* BGM-109 Tomahawk land attack cruise missile (or other variants)
* RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (Anti-air and/or anti-ship missile defense. 3 missiles can fit in a single cell.)
* RUM-139 VL-ASROC (Vertical Launch Anti-submarine rocket)
* VLS navalized version of the AGM-158C Long Range Anti-Ship Missile
* VLS navalized version of the U.S. Air Force AGM-183 hypersonic missile weapon.

4x launchers for RGM-184A Naval Strike Missiles (4 missiles per launcher. 16 total.) or 4x (Optional) launchers for RGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missile. Four missiles per launcher. 16 total.

2x RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) launchers for anti-ship missile defense. (21 missiles per launcher.).

4x Mk.45 Mod.4 5”/62 cal. guns

6x Mk.46 30mm gun weapon system for defense against small, high speed surface targets.

2x Mk.38 25mm machine gun system (MGS) for defense against small, high speed surface targets. (More can be added as needed.

8x .50”/90 M2 Browning machine guns

2x three-tube Mk.32 surface vessel torpedo launchers for Marks 46, 50, and/or 54 torpedos.

6x Mk.53 NULKA decoy launching system.

2x Mk.36 SBROC (Super Rapid Bloom Offboard Countermeasures Chaff & Decoy launch systems)

8x (4 pairs of 2.) Mk.59 Chaff Buoy Decoy System

2x AN/SLQ-32V6 electronic warfare system

8x (4 pairs of 2) AN/SLQ-59 electronic warfare system

1x SLQ-25C NIXIE towed torpedo decoy system or AN/SQR-19 tactical towed array sonar

AN/SPY-1D 3D radar (4 panels)

AN/SPS-67(V)2 surface-search radar

AN/SPS-73(V)12 surface-search radar

AN/SPG-62 fire-control radar

AN/SPG-9B fire control radar

AN/SQS-53C sonar array

Landing pad only for SH-60 or MH-60 helicopters, and/or MQ-8B Fire Scout UAV’s.

.........plus many other systems which are too numerous to list.

PAINTING HAS BEGUN!
Well, it actually started long ago when I painted the lower hull. But.........I have officially started painting the decks, small gear, and will soon start on superstructures. Just don't expect painting to be fast. It's quite tedious painting all those small deck hatches, bits, and all other tiny details. Plus trying to get in tight corners and spaces. And......most everything I've found out is going to need 2 coats. Did I forget to mention that all this is being hand brushed? I can't use an airbrush for numerous reasons which will take too long to explain.

Well, it's starting to "look" like a ship. Still have a long way to go yet. Might not be finished till sometime in October maybe?
The helicopter control station on the aft deck, and the bridge superstructure with radar mast, are all NOT glued on to the model.
They are simply laying on the model to give a representation of how these items will look when finally added.










So as you can see from the pics I posted, work is proceeding, but slowly.
Next on the work list is either starting on the bridge superstructure or continuing work on the aft deck. I haven't decided which yet?
I still haven't found, or figured out, what type of main gun turrets I want to have on the ship.
The work list is still long. Here are things I still need to do:
Add more photoetch hatches, ladders, stairs, fire hose racks, and life rings.
Paint and add life raft canisters.
Paint and add radar mast and various whip antennas.
Add 2 more 30mm guns on either side of bridge superstructure.
Add 2 25mm guns in the fantail tubs.
Paint and add aft helicopter station.
Paint and add 2 RAM missile launchers on either side of aft smokestack.
Paint and detail RHIB stowage boat areas and boats.
For the RHIB boat stowage areas, I am undecided if I will leave both open, or both closed, or one open and one closed?
Build and add 2-3 helicopters near aft flight deck.
Add ECM, satcom domes, and other small electronic antennas and such.
Add 2 Mk.32 triple tube torpedo launchers.
Add SBROC chaff decoy launchers.
Add 2 laser defense systems.
Add 4 5"/62 Mk.45 guns.
Add anchors.
Decals.
Build and add display base.
.........and I'm sure there's probably more stuff I've forgotten.