Shanghai/Dragon 1/350 Ohio Class Nuclear Submarine
SSBN 728 Florida
More photos below:
Dear Shipmates,
Well, after a very enjoyable build from start to finish, I present to you my completed
SSBN 728 Florida from Shanghai/Dragon. Included below is a description of the build,
painting and decaling, as well as various references and links for your information.
In completing this project just as with other models I display, my intention is multi-faceted..
First, to display a piece of our history which has served us and many like us so well.
Second, to encourage others to learn about and take interest in history and the world.
Finally, to have a great time and share that fun with others.
Please excuse my over-enthusiasm on this one. From the planning stages, to the forum
chats, to the build, I had lots of fun. It was very exciting to chat with many of you and
to learn so much about SSBN's and the Florida.
Thanks for reading and enjoy!
The Kit
As mentioned in an earlier post, the kit was comprised of 156 pieces modeled in light grey,
a decal sheet with options to model any of the Ohio class boats, and instructions.
Special features of the model include a positionable/moveable rudder and dive planes,
options to model the tube doors open or closed, 4 Mark 48 torpedoes, positionable missile hatch
doors, 2 Trident I and 2 Trident II missiles, 2 Seahawk helos, closed or open hatches (1 forward, 1
amidships, and 1 aft), moveable screw(propeller), raised or lowered masts/antennas/etc., and a display
stand.
The Build
Most of the build was pretty straightforward. There were some concerns worth noting. The two hull halves
joined with plenty of filing and sanding necessary to get the seam right. Additionally, a large gap needed to be
filled just under the conning tower where the spine of the ship and the hull met. The top of the conning tower also
fit poorly and needed filing. The trickiest part of the build was the assembly of the missile hatches which need a
delicate touch to get the parts to fit in correctly. Your best bet if assembling the hatches closed is not to include the
undersides of the hatches (the white parts which are numbered). You'll get a better fit without them closed.
I chose to model all of the hatches in the open position with a Trident I C-4 blasting from tube 4. The Florida would
have carried Trident I's on patrol and will soon be fitted with tomahawks. Two Mark 48's are also shown exiting
tubes 1 and 4 at the bow. My masts are extended and the rudder is amidships. All hatches are shut, and the
screw is making turns all ahead flank. The Seahawks are not displayed at this time.
Painting and decaling
Most of my paint references came from our forum chats like the one entitled "Painting an Ohio Class Sub." There
many of you contributed your toughts and helped me chose the right look.
I used Tamiya Acrylics for most of the job with some Model Master enamels as well. The top half and bottom half
of the hull is painted with Tamiya acrylics. Flat and semi-gloss black on top, while the underside is painted with
an antifouling hull red. The masts are model master ghost grey and the screw is a mix of brass/bronze coloring.
References for painting the Trident I came from photos by David Blackwell. David served aboard Florida and took
photos of a Trident I lauch off the coast of Cape Canaveral. I tried to reproduce aspects of the missile's grey, copper,
and silver coloring. David also researched the missile bay covers which were approximated as a medium blue.
Some Ohio's have red covers apparently meant to represent different loadouts as well.
The Mark 48's were painted a medium metalic green with a blue tip. Decals were provided to give them orange
striping as well.
Although many of the markings included on the decal sheet would not have been utilized while Florida was on
a patrol, I included them to dress her up. The 3 outer hatch indication markings were applied as well as the fathom
markers along her bow and stern. Her numbers 728 were placed above the dive planes as well as the camo decals
used along the masts.
All decals went on with little problem and some help from Solvaset. Before decaling, I utilized several coats of model
master's gloss acrylic overspray...It seemed to cut away any decal silvering this time. I finished it with a coat of
model master flat acrylic overspray...This left a type of semi-gloss satin finish which looked better than a dead flat
one. Model master acrylics are great because they need little or no thinning and clean up with warm water. They
might not be as 'potent' as model master's flat lacquer which usually deadens the finish.
I decided to get 'creative' with the display stand painting it with german grey, dark sea grey, and flat black. The lettering
was touched with steel. Some purists might have preferred the flat black and red lettering the kit suggested, but
I thought I'd be different.
Conclusion
I have mixed opinions with Dragon's efforts in planning and producing this kit. Although in the end it turned out looking
nice, the build had it's disappointments and limitations. The attraction of this model was the subject of course and
the manufacturer's efforts at including certain details. The con's included its fit problems which take away from the
integrity of the model.
This kit would suit a modeler with some experience and might be a bit problematic for a beginner. With effort the fit
shortcomings could be worked out. For the price and based on the reputation of the manufacturer my expectations
of the kit fell short of what was provided out of the box.
Acknowledgements and References
How this Ohio boat became Florida.
Early on before building began, I ran into David Blackwell in forum as he responded to a painting question I posed.
David served on Florida and was a huge help in getting the details of this kit right. And the rest as they say is history...
David has also shared photos of his patches and of the Florida refitting as well as the missile shots. I might attach
those photos later with David's approval.
Other forum members like butchy and finescale administrator David Voss as well as a bunch of others all gave a
bit of their time and knowledge to help me along. This in a way was my version of a group build because of all the
wonderful input...It was really as much a pleasure to plan the kit as it was to build.
I decided to use links since there are 10 photos provided. I thought this would make the post cleaner and easier for
everyone to access.
Here are the model photos. Enjoy and let me know what you think:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v687/Tankbuster2005/Floridaprofile.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v687/Tankbuster2005/Floridaportside.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v687/Tankbuster2005/Floridaprofile2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v687/Tankbuster2005/Floridastarboard.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v687/Tankbuster2005/torpedo.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v687/Tankbuster2005/conningtower.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v687/Tankbuster2005/displaystand.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v687/Tankbuster2005/misslebay.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v687/Tankbuster2005/screw.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v687/Tankbuster2005/sternscrew.jpg
Here are additional links with reference information about Florida
A Photo and brief Description of the Florida SSBN 728:
http://www.worldsfinestnavy.com/SSBN728.html
A History of the Florida and Future Plans:
http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/agency/ssbn-728.htm
USS Florida's official homepage link:
http://www.florida.navy.mil/
Some of Florida's crew:
http://united-states-navy.com/crew.php?action=ship&ship=ssbn_728
http://wayne.hazard.org/USSFlorida/
USN Fleet Ballistic Missile Submarines:
http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/factfile/ships/ship-ssbn.html