Thanks Gam

Painted the deck and need to add a second coat, darker, then on to a little touch up.

Looking right sharp Steve.

Steve: She looks fantastic. If mine comes out 10% as well I'll be thrilled! 

Thanks, Joe and Gam

A little more last night. I completed the base painting, next is the touch up on the deck fittings and other items such as the CIWS, flight deck/bow white stripes, etc.

While the paint colors used were quite diffrent, the pics just don't reflect that. I believe it's the lighting.

Steve: Ohhh cool! How much is left? Looks like you need the helipad decals to the aft deck but other than that she looks pretty much done. 

Maybe we don't see the color differences, but you can really tell how well the contrast is on all the details.  

Great work Steve.

You can really tell the difference looking down on the heli pad area! It's been neatt to watch how the black shadows faded away with each coat.

Thanks guys.

Gam, no pad decals, like the Sprue can,  hand painting is on the menu.

Yes, almost done. A little touch up here and there, painting the helo pad, complete the helo and RHI, make the base and add the crew.

Ouch, that's gonna be a pain to hand-paint. Well, if anyone can do it you can!

You were right Gam, looking at the decal sheet again, there were markings for the helo deck. After working her most of the evening, I completed all I wanted to do and am waiting for the Solv-a-Set to finish it's work. Next will be the rigging, anchor chain, waterbase, weathering and crew.

Good to hear, the heli-deck markings look like a bear to paint. They came out perfect. Fantastic job!!! 

It looks great Steve. Great job...

You're rockin' it Steve. 

Thanks guys. Spent most of the day trying to figure out where the flag lanyards attach to. Oddly enough, there's more info on a WW2 ship than on moderns. I have a good idea now. The bright side is that no one will catch it if I'm wrong.

Great job Steve !!!

Looks like I'll be back in the build. I ordered a set of Gold Metal Models PE and will use what ever I can from the FlyHawk PE. My cousin that I travel the world with wants me to give it to her when I'm finished so I need to get this done plus I've already got so much money tied up in it I might as well finish it. I'll post some pictures later.

Tha'll be a fantastic looking build KC.

I believe I have completed her except for the base, crew, helo and RHIB (which I ordered a more detailed one from Shapeways).

I should be able to start on the case tonight. Not looking forward to painting the crew.

Steve: She looks awesome! Looking forward to seeing her on the base. 

And make sure you paint the captain's glasses... 

Great job!!!

Thanks Gam and KC.

I started the base, so here's what I'm doing step by step.

I went to HL and bought one of those shadow box plaques with some type of sentiment on it that fits the approximate measurements I'm looking for.

I then cut some hard-white Styrofoam (my favourite) to fit inside the box then drew out the hull outline. I then cut out the outline and dug it out to fit my ship. Next up, I'll work on the rough shape of the waves and wake.

That shadow box is a great idea since it looks to be the right depth.  

Thanks Scott, it seemed logical since I stink at making boarders. They make several sizes so finding something that fits isn't much of a problem.

I am trying a new technique for a calm water effect. I saw a young fellow use aluminum foil to make waves, but that got me thinking, what I use the foil to make the ripples and my old technique for the swells and wave frequency.

So here it is so far.

I crumpled the foil and glued it to the sanded and molded Styrofoam base. Once it was dry, I cut the excess around the base. I then applied medium acrylic gel to smooth out the harshness of the foil and provide an acrylic base to paint. I then sprayed the first coat of blue to the foil but actually need to glue the ship to the base before I continue the spraying.

Oh cool! It's coming along great so far!

Thanks,

I glued the ship to the base and added some gel at the hull and for the bow and stern wake swells. These (all the white) will dry clear and I paint them blue and add turquoise in spots for under surface turbulence. 

I'll have to admit, it's looking nice. Maybe something I'll have to take to the Nats in 2021 

Oh yeah, I was waiting to see what the wake was going to look like. Fantastic!!! 

Looks stupendous! Big thanks for posting the process and details. I'm going to try this out on a water base on my shelf of doom. possibly recoverable With your help 

Thank you gentelmen.

Now again, the white areas will dry clear however, the finished product will look very similar once I add the cotton.