Amazing work happening here -- 1:700 scares the pants off me, I find 1:72 a bit small these days (but still do it!). I got my airbrush back a week ago but haven't set up to paint yet -- house cleaning this week, the odd crisis blowing through the family, and a deadlined magazine build that I need to have done, photographed and emailed out by the end of the month... but the Raiden will be happening asap!

Cheers, Mike/TB379

I finally was able to get started on my build for this. I got really bowed up by a deadline over in the Monogram Mafia that has had me too busy to post and delayed some of my other builds. For this build I am doing a Revell P-47D Razorback T-Bolt. I have the Testor's kit and was going to do them side by side for this build, but upon finding out the Testor's kit has Decals for a Tuskegee Airman Jug I am going to put that one aside so I can do it some justice at a future date. So far I have the cockpit painted and the fuselage ready to close up.

There has been some stunning stuff going on so far in the GB. Normally Helicopters just don't do much for me, but that Chinook of Bish's is the cat's meow. I really like checkmateking02's 1/700th planes. I can't handle even 1/72nd aircraft anymore and just can't imagine getting 1/700th to look anywhere near that good.

Thanks, Mike and Big Dog, for the nice comments.  Very much appreciated.  Hope things will work out, Mike.

And your cockpit is looking good, Big Dog.  I don't have much success with them, painting all the little dials and such. 

More construction information now, on Wisconsin.  First, construction step nine is not much different than the previous couple of steps--more gun tubs for the 40mm.  But here are two more masked and then finished with guns in place.

Construction steps 10 and 11 were already accomplished out of sequence, when I built the hull and decks.  Below is construction step 12, one of the towers with gun-directing radar.  I have no idea what kind of radar it's supposed to represent.

Step 13 is more fire-direction radar, and this one I know--the Mk 37.  It's a photo-etched piece from LionsRoar.

The whole assembly above is very delicate.  I used diluted white glue to attach the stand to the base and then the radar itself to the stand.  Once the glue has dried, it seems to hold pretty well.

Thank you all for looking.

Below are photos of construction step 14, which consists of superstructure including the bridge (I think it is).  The bridge configuration is one of the differences between the four Iowa-class battleships.  Iowa and New Jersey had rounded bridge configurations, whereas Missouri and Wisconsin's bridge was more squarish, as you can see.

First photo shows the unassembled pieces.

The last four photos are different angles of the assembled piece.  There is another one of the Mk 37 gun directors, a couple of 40mm's, and a searchlight evident.  The main pieces were split horizontally, and went together like a layer cake.  The last photo is the traditional "penny-pose" for sizing.

Again, thank you for looking.

i still cant imagine the patience needed for one of them boats......

Ah, but you already have the skills, young Jedi.  Look at the work you do with those detailed cockpits!

Construction step 15 involves the aft funnel.  So the photos show the parts, then the assembled stack.

The last photo shows the mast installed.  The construction sequence calls for this to go on during the final assembly step, but unfortunately the mast part did not fit well and took some work to make it acceptable.  Plus I wanted to put a flag on the mast, and that would have been more difficult if I'd waited.  The mast has no yardarm, which is should have.  I suppose I could have added one from sprue or something, but I didn't.

 One detail I caught from a contemporary color photo is that the mast above the stack seems to be painted in a darker color, although it might be smoke stain.  Whatever it was, I painted the mast above the stack flat black.

Thank you all again for looking.

More great work Stik. I would have thought smoke staining would have been mostly on the front of the mast. Pisting it black on the real thing would make sense, as this would cover any staining. So i think you have made a good choice.

CMK02: Just great work there, whenever I try to get that level of detail I end up wrecking the part next to what I'm working on.

Thanks, Bish & Gamera:  always appreciate the comments and encouragement. 

When I was looking up photos for my next ship, BB-60, USS Alabama, I noticed that the same "black mast" phenomenon was evident on certain photos of her too.  But I haven't been able to find any documents or acknowledgements of the practice on any sites so far.  Maybe it was an individual thing, but then, that would be strange to find two different ships following the same informal custom.  I really don't know what was going on, but the darker mast was evident in the photo, so I just went with it.

Construction step 16 involves some forward superstructure components.  First the pieces.

Here is a close up of Wisky's main radar, the SK model.  The mast is the original kit, the array is more photoetch from LionsRoar.

And the last two are differing views of the completed assembly, with the penny-pose.

At this point there are only construction steps 17 and 18 remaining, so you won't have to put up with ship posts too much longer.  Thanks for your comments and your viewing.

CM2 -- re "blackmast" could it be an early stirring of the Navy practice of using black as a warning of electromagnetic hazard? I read many years ago that, certainly by the 60s, above a certain height everything would be painted black to indicate a danger area for technicians -- the high power radio and radar systems would fry any living thing up there in short order. I remember reading a first hand account of a technician who had been in the black zone when a radar was accidentally switched on and if he hadn't cleared out fast he would have been dead.

M/TB379

checkmateking02

Ah, but you already have the skills, young Jedi.  Look at the work you do with those detailed cockpits!

awww, thanks!

and great work everyone. I've been in a bit of a hiatus because of work, family and getting ready for my senior year at UNL.  (I'm gonna be graduating in less than a year and I still have NO IDEA of what Im going to do afterwards! (panic!!))

Hopefully Ill get settled in nicely, and get building a bit for relaxation

As a sometime builder of ships,  I can really appreciate the work going into the Wisconsin. It's a big job, and is looking great.

Cheers

Tony

CallSignOWL

checkmateking02

Ah, but you already have the skills, young Jedi.  Look at the work you do with those detailed cockpits!

awww, thanks!

and great work everyone. I've been in a bit of a hiatus because of work, family and getting ready for my senior year at UNL.  (I'm gonna be graduating in less than a year and I still have NO IDEA of what Im going to do afterwards! (panic!!))

Hopefully Ill get settled in nicely, and get building a bit for relaxation

You should travel. Ideal time to do it.

Scorpiomikey

You should travel. Ideal time to do it.

oh gosh yes, I would LOVE to travel. Where to first?? :P

How about the land of the long white cloud Some of the most beautiful scenery you'll ever see in your life. There are places here you can go where every photo you take is postcard quality.

Thunderbolt379

CM2 -- re "blackmast" could it be an early stirring of the Navy practice of using black as a warning of electromagnetic hazard? I read many years ago that, certainly by the 60s, above a certain height everything would be painted black to indicate a danger area for technicians -- the high power radio and radar systems would fry any living thing up there in short order. I remember reading a first hand account of a technician who had been in the black zone when a radar was accidentally switched on and if he hadn't cleared out fast he would have been dead.

M/TB379

CallSignOWL

Scorpiomikey

You should travel. Ideal time to do it.

oh gosh yes, I would LOVE to travel. Where to first?? :P

. . .and what is the land of the long white cloud?????

It's other name is "Middle Earth." :-) New Zealand -- one of the most beatiful places on this planet.

M/TB379

I see you're familiar with the wonderful country i call my home?

Yes i am referring to New Zealand.

Isn't that where they filmed "Lord of the Rings?"  It is pretty, spectacular, grand scenery.  Very impressive.

. . .and Keith Park came from there.

Yes it is, LOTR and The Hobbit. Keith Park. Peter Jackson. Alot of awesome stuff has come from NZ. Hell just look at me.

Air Vice Marshall Sir Kieth Park was a Kiwi? Never knew that!

So was Alan Deere.  Had a Kiwi on his Spitfire.

Cobber Kain. First RAF Ace of WW2 was a Kiwi. Was killed doing a typically kiwi thing too.

Scorpiomikey

Cobber Kain. First RAF Ace of WW2 was a Kiwi. Was killed doing a typically kiwi thing too.

Except when it came to landing. Im sure he crashed more aircraft than he bought back safley.

Finally arrived at the last two construction steps.  Step 17 involves these little parts.  Two sets of windows, the others--I don't know what they are:  some kind of air intakes, maybe.

The last construction step, 18, involves this selection of parts, plus all the previous sub-assemblies. 

I'll need to load the photos of the finished Wisky to photobucket, and will try to finish up all this tomorrow.

Thank you all for looking.

Scorpiomikey

Except when it came to landing. Im sure he crashed more aircraft than he bought back safley.