USS Yorktown at Midway

Wow!

Phil,

Yours is an ambitious project.  I'm looking forward to this.

OOH my Goodness !

That's a start of something Big .Thanks for the picture . Overboard falling I am !

It's all YOUR fault...

Phil,

How is the project progressing?

I like the way you've reinforced the flight deck support 's locating pins.  Once I mounted the overhead support piece, it took some sanding to get it level.  That reinforcement should help hold it all together.

Although you've probably already thought of this, I recommend you wedge your hull level on the bench as you install the flight deck and all the supports.  It is possible the parts would shift as the cement set-up causing some flight deck fit up troubles.

Mike-

  Yes, I have a jig to hold it level to work on, I just removed it for the photo.  More dramatic I think. It's very distracting to work on it without the jig.  It's going well, I'm working on painting the hangar walls, so not much to see at the moment.

   After watching your build, I am concerned about getting the flight deck to fit just right, so I feel like I'm dry fitting it every 10 minutes.  As you know, lots of parts need to line up just right.

Thanks for your interest.

Phil

That will be awesome looking forward to seeing it finished

Would be great to see yours and Mike's side by side as a before and after battle look.  Looks great so far.

Can I have your airplanes?

Hey-

 Sure.  I need a few, but you'll welcome to the leftovers.  Anything in particular you want or just whatever is available?

Phil

She is looking great Par, please keep the pictures coming!

Steve

Phil,

I'd remove those paravanes from parts G2 and G3.  CV 5 didn't have them stowed there in Spring '42, if they had any aboard at all.  There are several Midway photos that show those bulkheads free of any stowage.

I like your simulation of the canvas covers on the focs'le platforms.  I didn't do mine until I was further along.  It is easier your way.

Another thing.  I'm not sure from the color in you photos, but while the hangar deck was gray, all weather decks we're 20-B deck blue.  That would include the 5 inch gun decks, the bow gun pulpit, etc.

My biggest problem with the alignment for flight deck support occurred just aft of the port 5 inch platform.  Judging from your shots it looks like you have everything well matched up.  Best of luck on this build and remember to test fit the flight deck… test fit the flight deck… test fit the flight deck… test fit the flight deck… test fit the flight deck...

Mike-

  Thanks for giving it the once over.  I'm trying to get this as correct as I can, so I appreciate your comments.

  I've been trying to check reference photos often, but missed the lack of paravanes on the bow.  It shouldn't be too hard to remove them.  

 The colors are painted as you describe.  It may be my camera or lighting, but the photos don't show much difference between the gunship gray I used on the hangar deck and the weather deck blue.  The difference shows much more clearly just looking at it.

Thanks, I have been checking the flight deck often.

Thanks again.

Phil

Wonderful model.

This may sound stupid, but it may take you a while to get this build done.

I screwed some Ace Hardware shelf supports, the ones with the slots, to the underside of the hangar deck on my Hornet to keep her square.

Phil,

How's it coming?

Whadda you mean " G " ?

 My Fault ? Howso ? I just like to see reflections of the real world in ship modeling .When are you going to do the Andrea Doria on her side , before she went under , Huh ?   LOL.LOL.      T.B.

Hey-

Unfortunately no recent progress  I've been out if the country for the last three weeks, first on vacation and now on a business trip.  I'll start back on it next week.

Cheers from down under!

Phil 

 Hey-

  Small update on this.  I have been working on some smaller parts, like boats and cranes.  I have also completed my airwing, with the exception of the 2 F4Fs on the flight deck.  I wanted to put some aircraft on the hangar deck, since all the doors are open.  Even so, it will be pretty hard to see much inside. 

  When Yorktown was abandoned there were (as far as I know) 10 aircraft on the hangar deck.  Seven SBDs of Scouting 5 which was the reserve strike force, all armed and ready.  Two orphan VB-6 SBDs from Enterprise, and an inverted F4F that crashed the barrier.  There were also a few spare aircraft in the overhead (not sure of the numbers there).  Part of the salvage effort was to jettison all the aircraft onboard, but I don't know if there is any specific knowledeg of what the accomplished before Yorktown was torpedoed.  So I may be taking some artistic license here, but I built up two VS-5 SDBs, 1 Enterprise SBD, the inverted F4F and a TDB from the overhead (without it's outer wings). 

Still working on the final locations for the aircraft, but that's the general idea.  Then work up some of the salvage crew around them.

Thanks for looking.

Comming along splendidly. 

p.s. I hope your repair crews will be able to clean up the engie oil spill on the hanger deck    

Phil.

Looks good.

I'd say you've placed the inverted F4F in the right spot on the hanger deck. The crop of the hanger deck shot in That Gallant Ship shows four SBDs in the background.

Are you going to show the ship just after being abandoned or during the recovery operation?

Hey-

Thanks.  Ideally I'd like to depict the moment just before she was torpedoed.  I even have the parts to make the USS Hammann alongside, but thats a project for another day.  

This is why I say that I may be mixing up the timeline.  Probably by the time she was torpedoed all the airplanes were gone overboard, but I don't know that for sure and I like how a few airplanes look on the hangar deck.  I'm trying to add all those things I know the salvage crew did that would be visible.  Like the one 5" gun, from the forward port side, the 5 20mm guns, the port side anchor (and the chain?).  And the airplanes.   Anything else?

Thanks again for the comments.

Phil

Phil,

I'd imagine the aircraft would be the first to go since they would have been possibly the easiest to jetision.

If it was my project, which it isn't,  I'd try to match the model to the best known photos of the ship as it looked late on 4 June.  Showing the ship just before she was hit, would have her stripped of lots of stuff that says, "aircraft carrier" to a viewer.  Since Hammann was alongside providing power, the cables etc. could need to be represented somehow even without showing the destroyer.

Just my two cents.

 It just wouldn't be right to have Yorktown without Hammann. 

I am really enjoying your work on this one. Looks great......Cheers mark

Hey-

  Thanks!  I'm working on the bow.  Since Eduard released some new PE for the Yorktown, I had to get them and see what they offered in improvement over the kit parts.  I really liked the look of the bow flight deck edges and catwalks, but after examining the parts, it looked like it would be really difficult to assemble cleanly and very fragile once done (lots of butt-edge glueing of PE parts),  So I ended up with a combination of the kit parts and the Eduard parts that I think looks pretty good, and hopefully will survive the rest of this project.

I also deviated from the kit instruction here.  They would have you assemble all the bow catwalks, etc to the hull and then attach the flight deck.  Using the Eduard parts, this would not be possible, so I attached all the bow deck edge parts to the forward flight deck.  I think this worked pretty well, and still lets the flight deck sit properly.

Thanks for looking,

Phil

Ambitious project for sure. Keep them updates coming.

Looking great. I am going to love this one.....Cheers Mark

Par429

Given the various "Ships in Trouble" builds here lately, I thought I would post a pic of a project I've been working on for the last couple months. I'm using the 1/350 Merit kit to build a diorama of the USS Yorktown at Midway just before she was torpedoed. This is one of those bucket list projects for me, and so far it's been challenging but a lot of fun. It was harder than I thought it would be to measure and cut the waterline, but it seems to have turned out OK. The Merit kit is really great, I've not had any issues with it yet. Except for the hull plating, which I pretty much sanded completely off. Thanks for looking. Phil

 

Why is she listing if this is supposed to be before she got torpedoed? Somebody leave a hatch open? :-)

Oh, silly me. That's right she got hit by a bomb or two first. NEVER MIND! 

Phil, where did you get a kit of Hammann? Been looking for a Sims to go with my Coral Sea Lexington but all I find are Bensons and Gleaves.