Got my Olympia!

The little casement guns in the Hull and superstructure actually snap into the hull and rotate Don. I guess you can paint them seperately but be carefull when putting them on after you paint them you might pop them out with too much pressure as for the 5" guns in the superstructure assemble them but leave them off as you can dryfit the superstructure to the main deck. Paint it in place take it apart then you can glue the deck parts to the hull add your wood venere deck then add your 5" guns 6LB casement superstructure guns and glue the superstructure to the deck. I'm getting my Delux Olympia in on Thursday myself.

DON,you and MIKEYM US need to be advised she,s full of surprises.I am at the point of mounting the stand so I can continue the build.The holes they drilled are , (on my example at least) cockeyed as all getout. The Brass stuff is easy to figure out IF you read that book carefully at least three times. Now on that stand.Go to HOBBY LOBBY and or your LHS and pick a better piece of wood.

All the removal instructions must be followed faithfully.Do NOT and I do repeat,DO NOT try to sand down the plate detail on the hull,and don,t do a halfway job either.If you sand all the way you will wind up with a paper thin hull and with the warps it may have, is NOT want you need to deal with.REMEMBER this is the OLD REVELL mold. I think it may be near your,s and mine ages DON:

I do believe it will build up into a fine looking model though.And like you DON There,s something about the paint pattern of the "GREAT WHITE FLEET"!Catchya Later-----TANKERbuilder

tankerbuilder

DON,you and MIKEYM US need to be advised she,s full of surprises.I am at the point of mounting the stand so I can continue the build.The holes they drilled are , (on my example at least) cockeyed as all getout. The Brass stuff is easy to figure out IF you read that book carefully at least three times. Now on that stand.Go to HOBBY LOBBY and or your LHS and pick a better piece of wood.

All the removal instructions must be followed faithfully.Do NOT and I do repeat,DO NOT try to sand down the plate detail on the hull,and don,t do a halfway job either.If you sand all the way you will wind up with a paper thin hull and with the warps it may have, is NOT want you need to deal with.REMEMBER this is the OLD REVELL mold. I think it may be near your,s and mine ages DON:

I do believe it will build up into a fine looking model though.And like you DON There,s something about the paint pattern of the "GREAT WHITE FLEET"!Catchya Later-----TANKERbuilder

Believe me Tankerbuilder I definitely won't sand down the hull plates since the Olympia like the B-17 have overlappimg plates. And if you are going to paint the Olympia as the Flagship of the Great White Fleet you'll probably have to paint the upper hull black prior to laying down the white paint. And BTW they were dirty due to the coal fired boilers so you would have had soot all over the place depending on the wind direction. And during rain squalls the rain would be very filthy with all the smoke coming out of the stacks and the rain drops would contain all of the soot and I would believe that would  make wooden decks somewhat darker than what they started out as.

Oh and Tankerbuilder I do have a whole garage full of 2x4 and 1x2 scraps with a few full boards so I am not lacking in wood to replace the stand.

Hey Tankerbuilder was there ever a study on the steam powered Navy of the late 18th Century and early 20th Century and the influx of Black Lung cases?

Mikeym_us

The little casement guns in the Hull and superstructure actually snap into the hull and rotate Don. I guess you can paint them seperately but be carefull when putting them on after you paint them you might pop them out with too much pressure as for the 5" guns in the superstructure assemble them but leave them off as you can dryfit the superstructure to the main deck. Paint it in place take it apart then you can glue the deck parts to the hull add your wood venere deck then add your 5" guns 6LB casement superstructure guns and glue the superstructure to the deck. I'm getting my Delux Olympia in on Thursday myself.

Thanks much!  That will simplify things.

tankerbuilder

DON,you and MIKEYM US need to be advised she,s full of surprises.I am at the point of mounting the stand so I can continue the build.The holes they drilled are , (on my example at least) cockeyed as all getout. The Brass stuff is easy to figure out IF you read that book carefully at least three times. Now on that stand.Go to HOBBY LOBBY and or your LHS and pick a better piece of wood.

All the removal instructions must be followed faithfully.Do NOT and I do repeat,DO NOT try to sand down the plate detail on the hull,and don,t do a halfway job either.If you sand all the way you will wind up with a paper thin hull and with the warps it may have, is NOT want you need to deal with.REMEMBER this is the OLD REVELL mold. I think it may be near your,s and mine ages DON:

I do believe it will build up into a fine looking model though.And like you DON There,s something about the paint pattern of the "GREAT WHITE FLEET"!Catchya Later-----TANKERbuilder

I have always believed that a base should be at least as long and as wide as the ship itself, so intend to do my own base.  Plus, one of my trademarks is my use of acrylic posts for mounting. Thought I'd do a base from mahogany instead of my normal oak, trying to match the stain to match how I paint the bridge and deck hatches.

I have the SMS Emden done in white and buff and that model has won me a lot of awards.  Because of the difference in scales, the two may not look that great together, but I will try to display them together when I am done with the Olympia.  Yeah, I certainly like the stories about the GWF.

I started mine Saturday and agree with the other comments including about the awful wooden stand. In sorting thru the brass gun barrels to start mounting the smaller guns I noticed one of the four main guns, part MB3, is smaller than the others. Not slightly smaller but about 1/3 so which renders it unusable. Has anyone ever dealt with Encore? I'm wondering how difficult it will be to get a replacement.

You could always cast a resin replacement or you can contact Squadron as they own Encore.

jeffpez

I started mine Saturday and agree with the other comments including about the awful wooden stand. In sorting thru the brass gun barrels to start mounting the smaller guns I noticed one of the four main guns, part MB3, is smaller than the others. Not slightly smaller but about 1/3 so which renders it unusable. Has anyone ever dealt with Encore? I'm wondering how difficult it will be to get a replacement.

I just called Squadron and they promised they'd send me a replacement. Who could ask for anything more!

MIKEYM-I don,t believe there was any kind of study done on that item.Now,of course you see the ad all the time for the SOKOLOVE lawfirm and MESOTHELIOMA.WHAT,S THAT ? When I was in the navy we had a short -timer(20 plus years)Show us something very interesting.He got a small piece of NEW pipe lagging for the firerooms and took a handsaw to it as it was (dry) and the wind blowing away from us , Whatt pile of dust and glassy looking particles!.He said this is what happens when you break open this stuff,no matter how many times it,s been painted.You MUST do this.He took a piece of old stuff and cut a strip from it while streaming water over it.When the remainder was soaked he then said you can now remove the d*&(*&stuff!This was a demo they did NOT do in engineering or damage control school!!    TANKERbuilder

DON,I ran into a problem I hope you dont.The two sides of the hull fit fairly well.Now,for the problem.When I started trimming the stuff off around the stern, I ran across an area on BOTH sides that was fairly brittle.I figured I would give you a heads up on this.     TANKERbuilder

You probably ran into a bad batch with your Olympia so take your time with it and it should work out well. And I looked at the stand and it is definitely a 1x2 and 1x2's are not exactly the type of wood with weight to it so I would suggest if say you build a display box for your Olympia you can use the supplied base to greatly enhance the look of the case as that base is beautifully milled pine. Though you could always go with the shipyard base look with the wood keel blocks and save the base and pedastles for another project.

tankerbuilder

DON,I ran into a problem I hope you dont.The two sides of the hull fit fairly well.Now,for the problem.When I started trimming the stuff off around the stern, I ran across an area on BOTH sides that was fairly brittle.I figured I would give you a heads up on this.     TANKERbuilder

A number of years ago the local Ace had a 20% off sale, and I bought a couple of dozen feet of 1x4 and 1x6 red oak, probably for less than $ 50. I had a shop chop it up into lengths of 12" 16" 20" and 24", router a 1/4 round all around the top, and stashed it. Kind of based on what I had in the stash at the time. I break one out of stores each model, as needed.

Ah but with red oak you will have to be very careful in your prep work. Sand it first then wipe it with a damp sponge to bring out the grain then sand it again till it is pretty much baby butt smoothe. Then you can apply your stain. Oh and I can't stress enough that if you use brass pedastles like the kind that come in the Olympia kit you should countersink the holes so that the screws will lie flush with the bottom of the stand. And if the stand will be used by itself without a case a felt pad should be attached to the bottom to prevent damage to whatever you set the stand on as wood tends to scratch surfaces but the felt also prevents the possibility that the wood may get stuck to whatever you may set it on . Nothing like breaking a nicely built model kit after trying to pry it off of the mantle piece after it having set there for a time.

bondoman

A number of years ago the local Ace had a 20% off sale, and I bought a couple of dozen feet of 1x4 and 1x6 red oak, probably for less than $ 50. I had a shop chop it up into lengths of 12" 16" 20" and 24", router a 1/4 round all around the top, and stashed it. Kind of based on what I had in the stash at the time. I break one out of stores each model, as needed.

I use those little round vinyl self-stick pads that come on a peel-n-stick paper. Spaces the base about 1/16" up off the table.

bondoman

I use those little round vinyl self-stick pads that come on a peel-n-stick paper. Spaces the base about 1/16" up off the table.

Those things are great. I have taken to using them on all my wood bases now.  You can also get them in felt rather than vinyl.

  I picked my Deluxe Version up as well and I've started some research on the ship.  I agree with some of the others when they say get yourself a better piece of wood for the stand.  I'll probably end up making my own.  Still, I'm excited about this kit!

I have the classic kit in my stash and hope to one day add the Encore elements into the mix and get 'er done...

In the meantime I've been following Tim Reynaga's build with interest:

http://www.modelshipwrights.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=SquawkBox&file=index&req=viewtopic&topic_id=183169&page=1

Good luck with your effort Don!

Force9

I have the classic kit in my stash and hope to one day add the Encore elements into the mix and get 'er done...

In the meantime I've been following Tim Reynaga's build with interest:

http://www.modelshipwrights.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=SquawkBox&file=index&req=viewtopic&topic_id=183169&page=1

 

Good luck with your effort Don!

Yeah, I have the old kit too.  Next time one of my model clubs asks for kit donations for a raffle, that will go in the raffle :-) 

Have one more kit to complete before I start seriously on the Olympia, but I did buy a mahogany plank yesterday and cut it to length- will rout the edges soon.  And, yesterday I went to hobby shop and bought the remaining paint colors I need.

What do you use for topside tan color?

Well the kit does call for Mahogany in a couple of the versions Bondo LOL.

bondoman

What do you use for topside tan color?

 

I bought Model Master "sandgelb", but also have some tan and yellow that I have mixed in the past for buff. I will see what the sandgelb looks like when I get the first coat on.  From the little plate on the Testors rack it looks good, but sometimes the paint doesn't look as good in real life, so I'll evaluate it on some of the parts and decide whether the color is a keeper, otherwise back to mixing.