Carrier Builders Yard, whats on the Slipway

[Tom-Tom]

Hi everyone.

Well first of all I forgot the photos (shame on me ) but I'll try to take some next week end.

The wash for the tie down pads worked very well, around some of them I got a halo effect, wich looked very realistic, after all the carrier decks aren't the same color everywhere. After cleaning the wash, wash the model with soap to remove dust.

I've started building the planes. Mainly Super Hornets. Making the wingfold is difficult, as the Hornet wingfold isn't a straight line. Although i've got the Gold Medal Models airwing set I won't replace the kit landing gears as the PE ones seem too small to me, and not strong enough. (I might be wrong). But the GMM set allows many details on the aircraft which look great.

Now the Hangar deck painting is completed. I've added some PE on the hull sides before painting (it's stronger that way).

The only thing slowing me are my eyes, after working too much time with small parts I'm tired (although I use a magnifying lamp).

Cheers.
Tom

[jgrease]

I wound up using the "tip of a wire as a brush" method. I had a piece of guitar string (nice firm wire), which I dipped into Testors' Steel paint. I was quite happy with the results - the tie-downs look fairly consistent. Here area couple of shots:
Overhead port side flight deck:

Port side opposite island:


Before I glued the flight deck down, I snapped a couple of shots of my hangar deck. Since I didn't light it or anything, I did the hangar with the basic paint job and used three planes which aren't in my air wing so I wouldn't waste aircraft (I used the A3 and 2 RA5s). The tie-downs here were done with a brush before I tried the wire paint brush method:

[jgrease]

And since I'm on a roll, here are some shots of the reworked Forrestal island. It is not going to be 100% prototype, but it looks close enough for 1978. I've added walkways to the bridge levels, as well as railings everywhere I could see them, and added the PE smokestack cap. Please pass on your observations and comments:

[kidcurrie42]

Hi everyone.

Well first of all I forgot the photos (shame on me ) but I'll try to take some next week end.

The wash for the tie down pads worked very well, around some of them I got a halo effect, wich looked very realistic, after all the carrier decks aren't the same color everywhere. After cleaning the wash, wash the model with soap to remove dust.

I've started building the planes. Mainly Super Hornets. Making the wingfold is difficult, as the Hornet wingfold isn't a straight line. Although i've got the Gold Medal Models airwing set I won't replace the kit landing gears as the PE ones seem too small to me, and not strong enough. (I might be wrong). But the GMM set allows many details on the aircraft which look great.

Now the Hangar deck painting is completed. I've added some PE on the hull sides before painting (it's stronger that way).

The only thing slowing me are my eyes, after working too much time with small parts I'm tired (although I use a magnifying lamp).

Cheers.
Tom

Looking forward to seeing your pics Tom, i will try and get something up this week.

John

[Avery Boyer]

Both looking very well. The Trumpy Nimitz looks fantastic, how's the fit so far? As good as the 1/350 version?

[kidcurrie42]

Hiya JG, Both models are looking great, you are working wonders with the Forrestal island, hope to see more pics as you progress.

John

[Nektarios]

JG it looks great so far. You 've surely put a huge amount of work in both models. Congratulations

[jgrease]

Thanks for the kind words guys. Avery - I have no experience with the 350 Nimitz - maybe one for Christmas... But the fit on the parts is super. This is my third Trumpeter kit, and every one has been a great project to do. Parts fit is terrific - minimal putty (maybe two quick dabs on the whole thing) and the planes assemble nicely, especially for 1/700. I still really hate working in this scale but I wanted a decked-out Nimitz in my collection, and this was definitely the way to go.
The Forrestal build is a real contrast in quality. I realize the molds for the FID are well over 45 years old, so it is hard to pick nits with it. I've done more putty and sanding work ion this ship than any of the others to date. I think the final result will be a great addition to my collection. Again, thanks for the compliments - I will post more in the next few days as I complete the Nimitz and move onto the air wing - CAW-8 in its' entirety. My first carrier with a full air wing on deck.

[jgrease]

More Nimitz stuff - did some railings around the lowered elevators and added the rest of the ship's decals. I still have to add some of the catwalks and the Sea Sparrow launchers as well as the crane and antenna.
Port side stern:

Port side elevator and hangar deck:

Starboard side elevators and superstructure:

View on final approach:

[kidcurrie42]

Its looking great JG, Nice pics, i think i am on my 4th tube of filler and i have lost count of sheets of styrene used so far on my 1/800 - 1/720 builds/rebuilds
Looking forward to your next post

Regards

John

[Tom-Tom]

Good morning everyone.

Great work JG your carrier looks impressive.

Yesterday I forgot one photo I took, so here it is :


It shows a F-18F. I'm building this one with radar cone open for maintenance, and I'll put it in the hangar bay once completed.
I first tried to airbrush the aircraft but they are too small and the fine details are damaged by the blow of the airbrush, especially PE parts. So now I'm paintbrushing them and it's ok.
The Trumpi aircraft are clear, so in order to avoid eye fatigue I airbrushed their underside with gray paint before removing them from their sprue.

The fit of the Trumpi kit is very good (I remember building a 1/32 Warthog which required a lot of putty ! )
GMM PE are great and they enhance the whole kit. I think I'll scratchbuold another Tilly crane as the kit one isn't good at all. I've got more deck tractors from a Ronald Reagan kit (thanks for the advice Nektarios !).
So I have a lot of work awaiting me !
Tom

[simon b]

looking good Tom

I can see these aircaft are gonna be a real pain !!

[Nektarios]

I think I'll scratchbuold another Tilly crane as the kit one isn't good at all. I've got more deck tractors from a Ronald Reagan kit (thanks for the advice Nektarios !).
So I have a lot of work awaiting me !
Tom

Tom,
the RR kit contains a Tilly crane, a very good one so you do not need to scratchbuild it.

[Tom-Tom]

The pain with the aircraft is not to loose small parts and not break anything. But the result will be worht it.

For the Tilly, both Trumpi and RR kits look good, but I think there are a few more details to add. I plan to use most parts of them (like wheels, and mast) but add more details to the frame.

Regarding the hangar deck, I'll put 5-6 aircraft inside, and some cargo items.
I've started working on the flightdeck removing the molded ladders and the nets. I've already added the arresting wires, as I plan to show a Greyhound landing.

[jgrease]

I find the Trumpy 1/700 aircraft are quite nice. They fit together well, and they have lots of detail. I build one at a time so as not to lose the small pieces (landing gear, rudder, etc). I airbrushed mine - the key was to spray a very fine amount of paint at about 30 psi - did the whole plane in white primer then painted the gull grey where needed afterwards. Your planes are looking good TT, and I forgot to mention kidcurrie's latest build is looking good!

[kidcurrie42]

Hiya JG, Thanks for the compliment, i like Trumpy aircraft too, just have to slightly trim the undercarrige to get a good fit and for them to sit at the right angle, i would prefer wings to be split at the fold joints, this would enable easier building in the parked configuration, but this is the same for all the 1/700 modern aircraft kits out there. also a weapons fit would have been nice, my pet hate is painting white, i guess this is why i tend to avoid 70's CVW's.

John

[kidcurrie42]

Here are a few pics i took a short while ago, just about to start adding the aerials and other detail to USS Midway and Coral Sea, i will post more later, all the Forrestal class islands are now in an advanced stage of build.













Happy Modeling

John

[jgrease]

Great work Kid - I wish I had the patience for 1/700 - I'd build a fleet! So I've put my Nimitz and Forrestal projects aside for now - I am working on a USS Wasp CV-18 for a buddy who was stationed on her in the late 60's-early 70s. I have a pre-built kit which I have stripped down and I am rebuilding it and correcting any problems as I go along. I will post pics as soon as I have obvious progress to show.

[kidcurrie42]

Hiya JG, What scale is the USS Wasp ? do yo have to make the Hurricane bow, i was going to do an Angled deck Essex using a Trumpy/Dragon/Hasagawa and grafting the bow from one of my spare Midway kits onto it, but i guess by the time i have got through what i have on the bench(and under) there will be one available, will we see one in 1/350? that is anyones guess, i hope they do get some of these released for all you bigger scale builders out there.

John

[Tom-Tom]

Good job Kidcurrie. I still wonder how you manage so many kits at a time, without melting the parts together !
Keep up the good work and posting photos !