My First Ship WIP:Revel's Arizona Update* 3/31/11

Gregg,

I have built this kit a couple of times right out of the box and IMHO, it looked better with the plastic railings cut away.  I liked it better without them than with (needless to say, it looks better still with PE railings which are reasonable if purchased as generic railings which now as I type this, I realize are probably not available as generics in 1/426 scale, maybe 1/400 will look the part) but I found the split windows on the superstructure and the fighting tops to be the biggest challenge which in this example here were very nicely executed.  Double dittos on the deck, BTW and the new boot top looks much better.  Congrats on your first ship and I hope this is not your last.  Now I have to get started on my 1/200 Arizona which I am calling BIG A because you know your ship is big when your main lifeboats are over three inches long and your Kingfishers have a wingspan over two inches.  I may end up spending more time on the planes than I did on the whole ship my first time out way back in the days of yore.

Good luck and send pics.  I'll do the same when I figure out how.

One quick thing, did the kit come with a decal that was just the blue field with white stars?  If so that would be placed at in the bow vice the American Flag.  Build looks great!

She looks great!  That kit have always been a fun build.

It looks wonderful, Ryan. What stands out to me on an already excellent model is the great amount of care you put into being neat and clean in the build. The deck paint job is really first rate, a standout.

Those Seagulls need their bottom wings painted silver

Super!

Hey It's been a while since I posted an update but she's all done now!

I started Borodino with Tamiya Deck Tan.. Then I poured out the four or five brown colors I had in a dime sized spot and dipped a toothpick in one at a time. I used a steel ruler and "drew" the color on the deck along the with the pick like a pen, about two inches long.

First I sprayed the gray parts of the deck, then when that was dry I painted the wood portions of the deck MM wood, I added some different color boards with MM skin tone light, and Tamyia XF-49 (khaki). then I did a wash of the deck with Tamiya XF-64(red brown)

I'm just starting this kit.  How did you paint the deck?  I'm new to this and like what you did on yours.

CapnMac

You are correct; I should have been more clear. It is #20 Standard Deck Gray if using WEM paints. If you are doing a pre 1941 AZ it is much darker than the vertical surfaces. If you do a mid-41 AZ (note the "mid" to avoid any arguments) the vertical surfaces are darker and the steel decks almost look bluish by comparison. This of course is based on WEM paints.

monsterravinglooney

The only decks that need to be painted are on the superstructure and the masts. They should be gray.

Without wanting to rekindle the Great Paint Debate, shouldn't the steel decks be painted in some version of Deck (i.e. darker) gray than the vertical surfaces?

Sidenote, I had forgotten how skimpy and sketchy the pelican hooks and stoppers had been moulded into the fore deck.

Yes, I should have been a little more clear.

Turrets #3 & 4 and all of their guns were salvaged as mentioned above.

The three guns from turret 2 were salvage, the rest of turret 2 was left in place. Those three guns were what was installed in Nevada.

jack, read this.

The Arizona (BB-39) after turrets were determined to be salaveable after her sinking. The Army in 1943 intended to incorporate these turrets into the costal defense of Hawaii. Named Batteries Pennsylvania and Arizona, they were to be placed on the tip of Mokapu Peninsula, to cover the eastern portions of Oahu, and on Kahe Point, to cover the south and west, respectivley. Only battery Pennsylvania was completed and it was test fired on V-J day when it instantly became obsolete.

http://www.navsource.org/archives/01/39d.htm

There's a 1/350 BB-39 originally made by Banner. Here's a link to an earlier discussion, a good history by Tracy White, and a link in the thread to another site.

/forums/p/124281/1246058.aspx

I recently bought the Hobby Boss rebox for about $ 40.00. It's available for less than that online. In the box it looks to be a good kit, and there's a PE set available. of course like all such things, it looks like a modeler could lose themselves in such a project for years.

Thanks. I thought that the main battery that was salvaged went to the shore batteries in Hawaii. I didn't know they ended up on the Nevada. Thats kind of like a heart transplant. Part of the Arizona lived on after December 7

That's pretty cool and good to know.

Jack

It helps to prevent paint peel when you clean the plastic with a dishwashing detergent, alchohol, or Poly-S plastic prep, before building and just before painting. Wear gloves to prevent oil from your fingers from causing the same problem. A good primer also helps, but keep it light as it can hide details. Currahee. I am a Screaming Eagle/Ranger, 45 years ago, but it never leaves you. I have a relative forever entombed in the USS Arizona, one of the 1177. I am goint to build a model of the Arizona for his grandson, my cousin. I'll be watching your build and will most likely have some questions of you, if you do not mind. I'm looking for a 1/350th scale model of the Arizona. I thought I saw one made by Hasagawa or Tamia, but I have not been able to locate one yet. Anyone know of such a kit, or something close to that scale? Also note I'm an aircraft modeler and know next to nothing about boats.

The boat deck was wood, and would not have been painted light blue as the instructions say.

Interesting historical note: Arizona's main guns DID fire on the Japanese, or at least, some of them did. Three of her guns were mounted on Nevada when she was re-gunned following her support of the D-Day operation. She then returned to the Pacific and used her main battery (including Arizona's salvaged barrels) at Iwo Jima and Okinawa.

I usually use Tamiya paints for airbrushing, but this time I tried MM flat black. I think the problem with the chipping was that I was impatient and masked it a day after I airbrushed it. oops!

Oh, dunno Mikey. I don't think Tamiya Flat black can ever take a mask. I'm sure I'm wrong, and it's really dead flat, and I use it for anti glare panels on aircraft. But, it's also way too black for a ship.

I use the model railroad black colors from either Floquil or Pollyscale like "Engine Black" or "Steam Power Black". They are much better adhering paints, and nicely scale black. You should use them.

One last little spill from the wingnut- the Curtiss Seagulls look better. The lower wings are silver and the interplane struts are also silver. The tail should be red down to the bottom, in line with the hinge line from the rudder back. As per tracy, the cowling paint is dif for each bird and itf you want to be a hero, paint the bottom half of one of the cowls silver. Oh, and the interior of the rear r/o compartment was silver, but the pilot station interior was a zinc yellow. although on the Arizona they might have been green. There's a debate about it.

101stAirborne

I used Tamiya masking tape for the water line and it woked fine other than the fact that it peeled some paint off. There was no paint build up on the edge which was what I wanted, but of course it had to peel the paint off.

You didn't let the Black paint cure first before you masked it. Put the model in a warm room after painting and wait 12 to 24 hours for the paint to  dry and cure before masking. Works for me every time.

101stAirborne

I have a question: The instructions say to paint the part of the deck Light blue. Is that right?

That deck should be like the main deck. The only decks that need to be painted are on the superstructure and the masts. They should be gray.

The USS Arizona never fired her main battery in anger. On Dec 7, 1941 she fired her anti aircraft batteries which were marginal at best not having to deal with aircraft when she was designed. If I recall correctly she was scheduled for extensive updating in 1942 similar to how the USS Pennsylvania was updated in 1942-1943. The main battery was designed to be used in ship to ship combat and later battleships had ship to shore ammunition for shore bombardment prior to amphibious operations.

Just trying to answer the curious

Jack

I have a question: The instructions say to paint the part of the deck Light blue. Is that right?

     Arizona, She looks great so far but the waterline does look too big. I'd like to see this in a diorama with the guns firing. I've never done much diorama but I always like to take a piece of cotton and make smoke over a model if I can. Usually it's the smoke stack. Where did Arizona see action I wonder. Of course she did something at Pearl Harbor but what? Big guns get fired or only anti aircraft? Maybe her big guns never fired in real combat. Who knows? Thanks, Paul V Thailand/California

I painted those Airplanes with the red and also set the other pieces of the ship on to get the full effect of it. The other pieces are not glued on yet and won't we glued on until the paint is fixed. I also took some more pictures from different angles so you can get a better look at the boot stripe. NOTE: this isn't weathered yet either.

I used Tamiya masking tape for the water line and it woked fine other than the fact that it peeled some paint off. There was no paint build up on the edge which was what I wanted, but of course it had to peel the paint off.

These pics put a big smile on my face.I built this kit several times and loved every minute of it.

Tamiya tape is worth the cost.For taping a waterline,nothing will beat it.

Hey thanks everyone for looking and all of the info about the planes and boot stripe. I will trim the boot stripe down and I will update the planes. Thanks again!

Ryan

I use painter's masking tape that I buy in any Walmart or hardware store.  It has low stickiness and costs much less than Tamiya's tape.  As for the waterline, you should probably trim it to about 1/3 or 1/4 that width.  Otherwise, nice job so far.

Bill Morrison

Look into Tamiya tape if you aren't using it already. It has a lower tack than scotch tape types and is less likely (but not foolproof) to pull up tape. I would recommend priming for acrylics as their adhesion is poor. Your boot stripe is a bit thick, but the top edge looks to be in the right place.. it's hard to tell for sure without looking at the bow.

The red cowls comment is a bit of an over-simplification. The Navy had a complex system in place to allow visual identification of aircraft positions within a squadron. They were based on three-aircraft formations; the lead had a solid cowl, left wingman had the bottom half of the cowl painted (Red in the case of Arizona's aircraft) and the right wingman had the top half of the cowl painted. I have an incomplete write-up about this posted here.

Looking goof for a first build though! Be careful; ships can grow on you