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Revell USS Arizona 1:426 scale WIP and HELP!

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  • Member since
    January 2011
  • From: Springfield, MA
Revell USS Arizona 1:426 scale WIP and HELP!
Posted by TigerEP1 on Thursday, July 9, 2015 7:49 PM

Hello all, 

Old time member with a new name due to account issues and being gone for 4 years. 

None the less i am back, and i have decided to take a step away from armor and such and try my hand at a ship. 

I just got it tonight and already i am daunted...lol I also no next to nothing about ships so this is a learning exercise for me as well. 

My current issue is that the prop shafts so not fit where they are supposed to because there is a ton of flash and im not entirely sure how to remove it without damaging the rear of the hull. 

any help would be appreciated :)

On the bench:

1/35th Tamiya Willi's MB

 

 

  • Member since
    September 2013
  • From: San Antonio, Texas
Posted by Marcus McBean on Friday, July 10, 2015 11:31 AM

I haven't built this kit, but I have seen several videos on You-Tube about this model.  They went over the good and bad.

Marcus

  • Member since
    March 2005
Posted by philo426 on Friday, July 10, 2015 11:54 AM

I just built that kit.I had to s;lightly enlarge the holes where the prop shafts go and file down the tabs that fit in the slots on the hull..Filing the parts down carefully ensures a sturdy fit.

  • Member since
    August 2005
  • From: Mansfield, TX
Posted by EdGrune on Friday, July 10, 2015 1:18 PM

While you're cleaning things up,  be sure to remove the Revell copyright markings.    

  • Member since
    March 2005
Posted by philo426 on Friday, July 10, 2015 2:05 PM

Yeah it was odd finding that 1959 and China copyright right there on the outer surface of the hull.I just filed it off.

  • Member since
    April 2005
Posted by ddp59 on Friday, July 10, 2015 2:46 PM

that actually might be a real Chinese knockoff of the model as I don't think revel in 1959 was outsourcing model manufacturing like they do now. i bought about 15 kits of that model to do kitbashes of the OBB's & I think none of mine had that name & date on the side of them. on the 9 hulls(Texas, Nevada, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Arizona, New Mexico, Idaho, Mississippi, Colorado & Tennessee)  that I'm working on, I've plated over that concave area of the stern to make it look more like the real ships. all new torpedo bulges are added or are being added that are hollow just like the real bulges were.

  • Member since
    September 2012
Posted by GMorrison on Friday, July 10, 2015 2:58 PM

I don't remember that either, but it's been a while.

I did just buy the good old Monogram M 48 tank kit. Inside it's marked "Made in China" and (c) Revell 1966.

Revell was NOT having kits made in China in 1966. But the date stays with the (c).

 Modeling is an excuse to buy books.

 

  • Member since
    September 2012
Posted by GMorrison on Friday, July 10, 2015 3:04 PM

SciPunk, me too namewise. If you are inclined, theres a good photo etch set for that kit. Looking at your picture, those railings would best be ground off at this point, flush with where the deck will go.

 Modeling is an excuse to buy books.

 

  • Member since
    January 2011
  • From: Springfield, MA
Posted by TigerEP1 on Friday, July 10, 2015 9:12 PM

it does indeed say copyright 1959 and under the top deck it reads the same with a stamp that says ZhongShan 091113GL 3

@ddp59, since i am a total noob with ships any chance you have a pic of the plating you did?

Oh and Tim was able to merge my accounts so im on my original one now.

On the bench:

1/35th Tamiya Willi's MB

 

 

  • Member since
    January 2011
  • From: Springfield, MA
Posted by TigerEP1 on Friday, July 10, 2015 9:33 PM

GMorrison,

Is this the PE set? www.goldmm.com/.../gms4ariz.htm

On the bench:

1/35th Tamiya Willi's MB

 

 

  • Member since
    September 2012
Posted by GMorrison on Friday, July 10, 2015 9:36 PM

Looks like it to me.

 Modeling is an excuse to buy books.

 

  • Member since
    January 2011
  • From: Springfield, MA
Posted by TigerEP1 on Friday, July 10, 2015 9:56 PM

awesome. Downside is they only take mail orders. Paypal requires 100 bucks worth of stuff...lol I'll order it next week :)

On the bench:

1/35th Tamiya Willi's MB

 

 

  • Member since
    May 2003
  • From: Greenville, NC
Posted by jtilley on Friday, July 10, 2015 10:17 PM

I wonder if ANY plastic kits are actually made in the US today. I have the impression that virtually all of them are molded in either Japan, China, or South Korea.

Youth, talent, hard work, and enthusiasm are no match for old age and treachery.

  • Member since
    September 2012
Posted by GMorrison on Friday, July 10, 2015 11:06 PM

Yeah you do have to mail them a check, but they turn it around PDQ.

 Modeling is an excuse to buy books.

 

  • Member since
    January 2011
  • From: Springfield, MA
Posted by TigerEP1 on Saturday, July 11, 2015 12:53 AM

Japan's cost to manufacture is too high, even they outsource to Malaysia etc. China is down to 1 factory iirc.

Yeah i don't mind mailing them a check, just i hate waiting...lol

On the bench:

1/35th Tamiya Willi's MB

 

 

  • Member since
    January 2011
  • From: Springfield, MA
Posted by TigerEP1 on Saturday, July 11, 2015 9:15 PM

this model is just poorly made everywhere. I am gonna back burner it until i can get the PE but honestly it may never get finished.

On the bench:

1/35th Tamiya Willi's MB

 

 

  • Member since
    September 2012
Posted by GMorrison on Saturday, July 11, 2015 10:21 PM

Yes it is a old and (out of date) model.

 Modeling is an excuse to buy books.

 

  • Member since
    May 2003
  • From: Greenville, NC
Posted by jtilley on Saturday, July 11, 2015 11:36 PM

I dunno about "dumb," but it's certainly not up to modern standards. In the late fifties, though, it represented the state of the art.

This ship hasn't fared well in the hands of the plastic kit industry. As I understand it the only really good plastic Arizona is the 1/700 one from Dragon - and even it doesn't match the quality of more recent Dragon releases. The various 1/350 ones all apparently have significant problems, and as I understand it even the 1/200 kit suffers from a significantly distorted hull.

I remember when the Revell one was first released. My older brother built one, and both of us were blown away by those little biplanes, the windows in the fighting tops, and all the kit's other amazing details. (That initial release included a plea for money to help build the Arizona Memorial. Lots of people have gotten lots of pleasure from that kit, and I suspect thousands of them read books on Pearl Harbor as a result.

But turning it into a serious, detailed scale model would be a huge project. The Gold Medal photo-etched parts would be a big help.

Youth, talent, hard work, and enthusiasm are no match for old age and treachery.

  • Member since
    January 2011
  • From: Springfield, MA
Posted by TigerEP1 on Saturday, July 11, 2015 11:37 PM

lol

i feel bad cause i am usually really stubborn but after clearing 40 years old, i am much more picky. I will finish it to finish it but im not gonna go crazy.

Sad part is i bought this to get back into the hobby, i am already looking at the Dragon kit with the carrier bomber , since its a premium it has pe with it.

On the bench:

1/35th Tamiya Willi's MB

 

 

  • Member since
    September 2012
Posted by GMorrison on Saturday, July 11, 2015 11:54 PM

Which kit is that?

 Modeling is an excuse to buy books.

 

  • Member since
    September 2012
Posted by GMorrison on Saturday, July 11, 2015 11:57 PM

The AZ has an oldie feel to it which is kind of cool, but it's tough to build well. You can come back to it some day. It's tough to add PE to those old models, although worth the effort. Problem being that they were not created with that in mind, unlike most kits today. So you have to carve off a lot of plastic.

 Modeling is an excuse to buy books.

 

  • Member since
    January 2011
  • From: Springfield, MA
Posted by TigerEP1 on Sunday, July 12, 2015 12:13 AM

I hear ya, im still picking away at it and seeing more and more wrong...

Gm this is the kitL

www.dragonmodelsusa.com/.../prodd.asp

On the bench:

1/35th Tamiya Willi's MB

 

 

  • Member since
    August 2005
  • From: Mansfield, TX
Posted by EdGrune on Sunday, July 12, 2015 9:17 AM

TigerEP1

awesome. Downside is they [Gold Medal Models] only take mail orders. Paypal requires 100 bucks worth of stuff...lol I'll order it next week :)

While Loren Perry of GMM has a policy to only accept mail order,  Freetime Hobbies will accept weborders and a credit card.    Freetime lists one of the GMM 1:426 Arizona as in stock

Freetime is good to deal with

  • Member since
    September 2012
Posted by GMorrison on Sunday, July 12, 2015 10:30 AM

Quite a write up on that ship kit.

"Rudder can be easily assembled". At 1/700, one can only hope...

"Realistic bridge with steam turbine installed".

There's a good model, that.

 Modeling is an excuse to buy books.

 

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