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1:48 Carrier Deck / Deck Crew

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  • Member since
    January 2011
Posted by Christian Theodotou on Wednesday, May 25, 2011 3:35 PM

Along the runway, I first airbrushed some flat black just to darken the area up a bit then I watered down some acrylic flat black  (the gray topcoat was enamel) and just took curved strokes with the brush.  Then with a paper towel, I wiped away most of the black and what was left were the marks.  Sometimes I had to apply/wipe a couple of times to get the effects I wanted.

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  • Member since
    March 2011
  • From: Montreal, Quebec
Posted by wizardz on Wednesday, May 25, 2011 8:00 AM

amazing work!!!

how did you do those "skid marks" on your tarmac?

WIP: 1/48 Italeri A-10 Thunderbolt II

  • Member since
    January 2011
Posted by Christian Theodotou on Tuesday, May 24, 2011 11:31 PM

Thanks Hercmech.  It took a lot of time but was definitely worth the work.

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  • Member since
    March 2010
  • From: Democratic Peoples Republic of Illinois
Posted by Hercmech on Monday, May 23, 2011 2:44 PM

Came out great. Thanks for sharing this intersting build!


13151015

  • Member since
    January 2011
Posted by Christian Theodotou on Monday, May 23, 2011 2:19 PM

Final build pics and the finished product.

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  • Member since
    January 2011
Posted by Christian Theodotou on Wednesday, May 18, 2011 8:02 PM

Thanks. You're right it probably is cheaper.  I am somewhat limited by the size of my apartment and my tools so this ended up being a good option for my situation.  I don't quite remember, but I'm pretty sure I paid less than $20 for all of the wood pieces.

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  • Member since
    March 2011
  • From: Montreal, Quebec
Posted by wizardz on Wednesday, May 18, 2011 6:41 PM

amazing work!

can`t wait to see the figures in action!!!

i didn`t know Revell was selling wood pieces. wouldn`t it have been cheaper to simply buy marine plywood (also called multi-ply)?. here up in the great white north, it's about 50$ a pop for a 48"x 48" 5/8 inch.

WIP: 1/48 Italeri A-10 Thunderbolt II

  • Member since
    January 2011
Posted by Christian Theodotou on Tuesday, May 17, 2011 12:00 AM

Here's some progress.  Things have been kind of slow because I've been trying to finish the Hornet.  As of this posting, the deck has been sprayed gray and only needs a little more work before it's finished.  Just to clarify if anyone is wondering, the only reason I used the orange color (actually gold but the camera makes it look orange) is because I just needed something I could slosh onto the deck.  I had originally planned to use 220 grit sandpaper as the deck surface which I had seen used elsewhere, but that turned out to be too complicated.  Instead I just slathered a bunch of the gold paint on the deck with a large brush and started poking the surface of the paint until it started to get tacky to give it the anti-skid look.  Not a perfect method, but it looks ok.  After that dried, I masked some lines and put more gold in to make smooth lines to simulate the welds in the deck plates.  Nothing shown here is complete so bear with me.

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The picture below is to show the difference in texture between the "anti-skid" and the weld lines.  The tie-down cleats come from Tom's Modelworks and were attached after the gold was applied with CA glue.  The holes they sit in are approximately 1 - 2 mm deep and were drilled before the gold was applied, then protected using sticky-tack purchased from the incognito hooby store Office Depot.

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...and for your amusement, the gold paint that I used.  A good vintage I might add (15 years old).

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  • Member since
    March 2010
  • From: Democratic Peoples Republic of Illinois
Posted by Hercmech on Friday, April 29, 2011 2:06 PM

Looking good!


13151015

  • Member since
    April 2015
Posted by spadx111 on Friday, April 29, 2011 1:43 PM

Very nice work love the pics can"t wait to see it complete.

Ron

  • Member since
    January 2011
Posted by Christian Theodotou on Thursday, April 28, 2011 10:07 PM

This is what is eventually going to look like a carrier deck.  The first shots are of the birch board which was covered with the basswood pieces.  I used cyanoacrylate glue to attach the pieces.  The second group of pictures are the same board covered with .03" styrene sheet, also attached with CA glue.  The last picture is what will be the catapult.  I decided to make it a separate piece because it will be easier to paint and finish by itself then just drop it in when I'm done.  What I am showing is just the base of the catapult which will receive a veneer of styrene on top of the wood to make the metal plating that sits on either side of the catapult track.  The base will get another layer of styrene to make everything level.

I did all of this using hand tools and sand paper which took a decent amount of time to make everything fit correctly.  However, if you own a Dremel tool or something like it, everything I've done here might take an hour or two at the most.

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  • Member since
    January 2011
Posted by Christian Theodotou on Thursday, April 28, 2011 9:54 PM

Here's some shots of what I've got so far.  The figures are mostly done but still need a little paint, dry-brushing, and decals here and there.

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  • Member since
    January 2011
Posted by Christian Theodotou on Thursday, April 21, 2011 10:58 PM

So here's a minor update of the deck.  The base is made of birch.  In the picture it has been cut down to 12'' x 15 3/4''.  I have three of the boards shown in picture 3 which are made of basswood.  All of this was purchased at a Michael's Crafts store.  I chose birch because I believe the grain pattern will really make the deck come alive and give it that active flight deck look.  Just kidding, its the only thing they had in the size I needed.  I did choose the basswood over balsa because I feel more comfortable working with a stronger wood at this thickness.  The reason for the multiple layers will become apparent soon, stay tuned...

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  • Member since
    March 2005
  • From: West Virginia, USA
Posted by mfsob on Thursday, April 14, 2011 8:05 AM

Glad you found it useful. I also combed through that site when a friend wanted me to build a little display of her daughter's husband's Hornet, and as luck would have it, I was able to find his plane about to get shot from one of the forward catapults on the the Big E. So she was doubly thrilled. I cheated a bit on the deck figures, though, opting for the older 4-color woodland camouflage ... the new "digital" scheme is just too much for my tired eyes, at least in 1/144:

  • Member since
    January 2011
Posted by Christian Theodotou on Wednesday, April 13, 2011 4:42 PM

You weren't kidding about those images, especially the high-res ones.  Thanks a lot for the link.  Within a minute, I had already answered many burning questions.

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  • Member since
    March 2005
  • From: West Virginia, USA
Posted by mfsob on Tuesday, April 12, 2011 8:09 AM

Another excellent reference is the Navy News website - http://www.navy.mil/swf/index.asp - specifically the photo section. You can search for aircraft carrier photos for a specific timeframe and most of the shots are high resolution and great for picking up on small details. They were a Godsend when I was building my USS Enterprise as she appeared in 2007.

  • Member since
    January 2011
Posted by Christian Theodotou on Friday, April 8, 2011 9:55 AM

After watching the PBS documentary "Carrier", my goal is to make it to that timeframe which I believe is ~2005.  I've already got about half of the figures painted.  I've been going off of images I can find through google and have been giving them 3-color desert or woodland BDU  pants.

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  • Member since
    November 2003
  • From: New Mexico
Posted by johncpo on Thursday, April 7, 2011 3:40 PM

Christian,

Just to add a few more details; as far back as the mid '80s the flightdeck crews were allowed to wear camo pants of that era, some though still had to wear the old dungaree and of course officers and chiefs wore wash (working) khaki trousers. Now the Navy has a new camoflage scheme that is worn by most of the paygrades, you might want to look up the latest photos for the actual authorized flightdeck gear...

the airboss would get on the PA system to all hands on the flightdeck as HE IS THE BOSS! at the typical rank of full Commander;

"Now all hands, helmets on, goggles down, hearing protection on, pantlegs tucked in and watch for jet exhaust blast, prop wash and rotor wash" , " Stand by to launch aircraft"

Until you have heard that announcement live on a flight-deck you have not lived to "see it all" as the saying goes. 

Fly Navy!

  • Member since
    January 2011
Posted by Christian Theodotou on Wednesday, April 6, 2011 4:03 PM

Thanks John, great to have info from someone who has seen it first hand.  I have all of my figures assembled.  They're about half painted  and I'll post some pics when I get a chance.

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  • Member since
    November 2003
  • From: New Mexico
Posted by johncpo on Tuesday, April 5, 2011 3:50 PM

Greetings Christian,

As a retired Chief Petty Officer in the weapons field I experienced first hand life on a "bird farm" .

The USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67) was my home from 9/83-6/85 which included supporting the Marines in Beruit, not a very pleasant assignement as we arrived just after their barracks was hit. If you get your hands on the book, "Supercarrier" you can learn about the ship and the crew as well as the airwing. Slated to be a nuclear powered carrier, for reasons of defense spending at that point as the keel was laid in 1967 and reactors had to be installed at about the same time, the Air Force got funding for 10 new ICBMs and the money went to the USAF instead. The John F. Kennedy went conventional along with sister ships like the USS Constelation, USS Kity Hawk and so forth, none of which are operational today.

The flight deck was not my assigned work space but I got up there on three occations for weapons training and it is the world's most dangerous place, bar none!  Here are the color codes for the jerseys that the flightdeck personnel, officers, chief petty officers and enlisted wear with pride.

White; Safety Observers, I was one for weapons loading and I could stop a load if a hazard arose.

Red; Ordinance Handlers (not referred to as weaponeers) and Fire fighters

Blue; Aircraft directors in training, followed the hand signals of Aircraft directors while moving the a/c around the flight deck, drove the a/c handling tow vehicles

Yellow; A/C Directors, made certain the a/c were in the right areas for launch and maintenance

Green; Technicians, make final adjustments on a/c, make certain of "cat" attachments to a/c

Brown; Plane Captain (Usually assigned to the rank of E-3) The P/C rides in the cockpit of every aircraft being towed or moved around the flightdeck, although among the lowest enlist ratings he/she is responsible for the aircraft until the pilot arrives to take the aircraft over (borrow). The prestigious title of this person is painted on the nose landing gear door with his/her name, rating and hometown.

Purple; Fuel crew, responsible for the proper fueling on the flightdeck of all aircraft.

The ship's company, crew assigned to the ship itself as a duty station, the airwing, personnel that arrive onboard as part of the aircraft related duty stations from several land based Naval Air Stations.

I hope you find this helpfull.

John Staehle 

 

  • Member since
    March 2010
  • From: Democratic Peoples Republic of Illinois
Posted by Hercmech on Tuesday, April 5, 2011 2:48 PM

I have that kit along with the deck equipment...had them for some time but still not built them. Looking forward to seeing you do it.


13151015

  • Member since
    April 2015
Posted by spadx111 on Tuesday, April 5, 2011 2:43 PM

interesting tiny but looks like fun.

Ron

  • Member since
    January 2011
1:48 Carrier Deck / Deck Crew
Posted by Christian Theodotou on Monday, April 4, 2011 7:41 PM

I am going to be building a piece of carrier deck  to complement my  F/A-18F Super Hornet which I am building for the Hornet's Nest GB.  As of right now, I have all the supplies, just waiting for some extra free time to start working on the base.  I bought the Hasegawa deck crew set to give the look of an active flight deck.  Here are some pictures of the crew kit in case anyone is curious (as I was) to know exactly what it contains.  The box contains a set of instructions, decal sheet, 3 x Sheet A, and 3 x Sheet B.  I'll post some pics of the progress as I go along.

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