USS Alabama - here we go

You seem to have the situation well in hand - carry on - we await your dispatches with great interest.

Cheers

Sharkbait.

I'll be watching this.

BTW,I got bit by a dog named Bullet once upon a time.That sucked!

Plan your model, model your plan.

Step 2: Blue Moon seems most appropriate for tonight's activities my friends. The upper superstructure rough build has progressed nicely. A bit more filler and sanding required, but that is oddly therapeutic. Surrounded by Man's Best Friend, and a few good friends, we shall see what the evening brings. Odds on for fingers superglued together and a clueless dog spray painted silver.

Stay sane fellow modelers; its gonna be a long night.

Lots of progress to report upon friends. Most of the Blue Moon is history, no (significant) injuries to person or place to speak of, the dog is still an appropriate doggy color, I got my fingers unstuck....blah, blah, blah.

The USS Alabama's rough superstructure is done. I did not attach the smaller details (20mm or 40mm) nor the 5" guns. I have masked off the deck because I want it pure when I do spray it. The next part of "the plan" is to loosely tack all the superstructure and lowest deck walls to the deck. This will let me paint the base coat of Haze Gray. Then I can mask the verticals of the hull and the superstructure to maintain the correct camouflage lines when viewed from the profile. The camo color is s-5 Sea Blue (All is ready for the base coat on the verticals: 5H Haze Gray (I am gong with tamiya's XF54 - it is a bit darker)

And oh yeh, as long as we were drinking, we built an American Airlines plane just for giggles.

Update this afternoon: been messing with some paint mixing - 3 parts Tamiya acrylic to 1 part iso alcohol with a few drops retarder added, spray at 15 psi.

Nice idea of a glass or two of Pinot when doing some building. Excellent idea.

I assume this a Trumpy 1/350 scale? Just guessing. 

Wow, that blue seems bright. Is it the flash?

Nice work so far. What are you having when you start the Camo.....Bourbon.....????? Cheers Mark

Step 3: coffee...lots of coffee

Last night ended with one coat of deck blue on the metal portions of the deck, got a couple of spots right at the end so I need to fix those. The upper hull got a coat of haze grey and I have the loosely tacked together rough superstructure loosely tacked to the upper hull. I blew up the painting guide to 1/350 scale and I will use that to create the camouflage masks. Might make a drink first.

Oooooooo, bourbon.  Nice suggestion.  Maybe a Manhatten? TBD.

I think yoou are seeing the extra super good blue masking job I completed on the decks whilst three sheets to the wind....

What did you mask the deck for? Curious but I missed where you had painted it.

I think that a better match to Haze Gray is Testors MM Neutral Gray. IMO Tamiya is always too blue. Or try MM RLM 02.

Are the vertical surfaces above the deck 5-H or are they 5-O?

Welllllllll, I masked the entire deck because I want to spray the camo colors with the superstructure in place on the hull.  That way the camo should visually flow from the profile view.  Really did not need to mask the fore and aft deck parts, only the center where the superstructure actually sits.  Masking did let me get the turrets supports painted nicely.  Since I did mask the whole thing, I am hoping that the deck details will look good since they will have less paint (no gray overspray)

As to the color choices, my notes show top boot to deck level verticals shouls be 5H Haze Gray with 5S Sea Blue splotches.  Superstructure is harder because the reference photos make it look like the same as the hull but I think it really should be 5H again with 5-O Ocean Gray splotches.  I have already done the hull and superstructure with a base of Gray.  I used Tamiya XF54 which is too dark (too blue) for the hull, it is a nice match for the 5-O so I may just leave it.  I am still thinking of using testors 1172 Sea Blue enamal for the 5-S.  It may not be a perfect historical match but it is close and will look good against either choice of grays.  I will use Tamiya XF17 for the Deck Blue, full strength on the metal deck and lightened just a bit for the wooden decks.  I already did the metal portions and they look correct. Am referring to plate 12 for my research http://www.shipcamouflage.com/ships2_9_41_plate_12.htm

Whew, it must be 5:00 o'clock somewhere.

Crap!! Having trouble getting the mask down on the hull without scratching the primary color.  Does not bode well for removing the mask after painting either.  Should I apply a clear coat prior to masking?  Future? Also have MM Flat Clear Acryl and MM Flat Clear Lacquer.

Thoughts???

Step 4: Make a martini and think about it.

How to mask verticals and superstructure at the same time. Drink a martini and think about it. Modeling, I am finding, is a thoughtful process.

PS: went with the clear lacquer, seems to have helped.  Follow the build on tumblr http://littleplasticparts.tumblr.com/

Looking good so far.  Ambitious task to take on that cammo job in my humble opinion.  I haven't worked up the nerve yet.  Are you dong her full hull or waterline?

Bob