Yep! The Prinz is back on the shelf (again) whilst I dive into this little project, Trumpeter's 1/700 scale AEO-1 USS Sacramento. This is probably my first support vessel - oh boy, something different! - a ship not bristling with firepower! But, viva la difference!! Here's the kit contents:
Typical split hull, a nifty little display base, two Chinooks molded clear, and a small, but nice P/E fret. But no railings! Here's the color plan:
Construction started with the hull. I had a problem here as the upper and lower hulls did not fit very well. I inserted some sprue "spreaders" to get a better fit but I still had a nasty step between them:
After going through two sanding sticks I got everything lined up nicely and laid on some paint:
Hull is painted and I moved on to the upper works. More problems here. I assembled the main deck house/bridge on my table- which is level. The main deck is not, so when fitting it one end would pop up. Luckily I use slow setting model cement so I was able to poke, prod, and wiggle thing into position. I locked it down with CA and found the helo hanger assembly would NOT fit on the stern. After some shaving of plastic and dry fitting I got it into place as well, but it was a battle!
I lightly weathered the hull, added the decals, and then began adding some P/E to the bridge:
Next I started on the railings (from my own stash), the fore mast, winches, and various bits of machinery. The deck is lookin' real busy now:
Well, that's where I am so far. Still lots to do- the crane assemblies, helos, rigging, etc... Thanks for lookin' and comments/critiques always welcomed. Happy modeling!
Mark