PACIFIC CARRIER AVIATION GROUP BUILD

Thanks, Joe and Dave!

Dave, after the decals came off the paper, I just slid them around with the point of a round toothpick until they went were they belong.  Then I put a little MicroSet on them; waited for that to settle in and hit them with a little MicroSol.  I left them alone for a couple hours, and applied more MicroSol until the carrier film pretty much disappeared.

They come from Starfighter Decals.  They make a wide variety of 1/700 decals for ships and planes, plus other scales.  I've used their 1/72 decals for some Navy aircraft previously.  Very nice quality.

Joe, here's a current photo of Enterprise.  It's still under construction, and I just attached the flight deck this afternoon.  Then I weighted it down to let it dry.

I started out in the Hollywood GB with George Peppard's Pfalz from "The Blue Max."  I was utterly defeated by the biplane wings, so I switched to Enterprise from "MIdway"--John Ford's 1942 Oscar winner and the '70's version with Charlton Heston, Henry Fonda, Glenn Ford and the rest of the big names.  The Enterprise build begins here:  http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/modeling_subjects/f/29/t/153706.aspx?sort=ASC&pi240=29

There are a lot of photos there of the ship under construction.

Here are a few shots of the SBD's installed on the hanger deck.  Test-fitting the flight deck I can see that nothing much will be very visible after the hanger deck is covered over.

Oh Man Checkmate, that is some great stuff right there. I really like what you are doing there. Thank you for taking the time to post some pics of your Enterprise. I really have to get around to building one of my ship models. I've a few in my stash including the USS Hornet (CV8) and Ticonderoga. Now I have to decide whether watching your work on those little aircraft has either excited me or intimidated the hell out of me.

Thanks, Joe.  I hope it's more motivating than intimidating.  From what I've seen of your impressive work, I don't think you'll have any trouble!

I've got a Tamiya Hornet and Yorktown, and eventually want to build them in their Midway capacity, too.

I have Ticonderoga, also, and was planning on building it as "Shangri-La."  One of the original plank owners is a friend; he's 86 years old now and worked in the boiler room.  He's full of stories.

cmking02 - that is some great stuff on those little guys.  Thanks for posting the in progress shots of the Enterprise.  They really show how little room there was below deck.

regards,

Jack

Excellent work, Checkmate! I find it too hard to build 1/72 aircraft already (that's one of the reasons why I stick to 48 and 32 birds) and I still can't really believe that guys like you build 1/700 ones! SImply amazing stuff!

Checkmate: Building the U.S. Carriers and their air wings at Midway sounds like an epic endaevor. I do hope to see that through it's completion.

checkmateking02

One of the original plank owners is a friend; he's 86 years old now and worked in the boiler room.  He's full of stories.

Might I make a suggestion to you Checkmate? I suggest that you sit down and record your friends experiences of WWII aboard an aircraft carrier. Then send a copy of this interview to the National Archives so that his legacy can be preserved and passed on. I suggest this only because my father and I had planned on doing this for experiences as an Naval flight instructor during the war. Unfortunately my father passed away suddenly before we were able to carry through with this. I lament this lost opportunity to this day. So, in an attempt to make up for this , I try to encourage others to do this. We are losing are WWII vets at an alarming rate now without knowing their courageous contributions and experiences during the war. This is an excellent way preserve this for history and future generations..

Thanks, Jack.  I appreciate your comments.  

One issue that's come up on some of the ship model websites is that Tamiya's Enterprise (all their Yorktown-class carriers, for that matter) are slightly underscale.

The consensus is that the kits are closer to 1/719 or 1/720, instead of a true 1/700.  That makes all the after market accessories somewhat large.  And that may be why the hanger deck looks crowded.

Thanks, Clemens!  I think I have more trouble with 1/72.  They're big enough to show up my mistakes!  In 1/700, the mistakes are just as small as the planes!

Very good idea, Joe.

My friend Ivan just moved into an assisted living center on Saturday, so I hope I can get him to recount his story, either recorded or I'll just have to take notes.

One amusing anecdote:  Ivan always told me that, since he was underage, he kept badgering his parents to sign his enlistment papers, until his mother got so sick of hearing him, she told his dad just to sign them and let him go.

I talked to Ivan's daughter last week; she told me the real story was that Ivan simply lied about his age and joined up.

I've tried to talk both Ivan (from "Shangri-La") and another Navy vet named Chuck (he was on LCT's and LST's in the Pacific) to put their stories down on paper, but these guys are pretty modest.  They actually think no one is interested in hearing about them!

I'm sure your father had a bunch of tales to tell!  It's regrettable when our veterans pass away and leave their stories untold and unknown.

I got the flight deck attached to Enterprise, so I thought I'd return and show how much is visible (or not) of the SBD's down on the hanger deck.

Port side view:

Starboard side view:

Well, you can tell they're there--if you squint a little.

Checkmate, Nice! Really, really nice. Indeed, the view of those little beauts is a bit obstructed yet, it's still excellent work and they make the your Enterprise pop.

Thanks, Joe.  When I get to the flight deck, things should be more visible.

Looking good checkmate

Thanks, Josiah!

How's your project coming along?

Well...I almost got to the bench but the light was broken, bought a new one, put it up...didn't work, took a voltmeter to the wires...had to jump a neutral to it cuz some reason the wire wasn't putting out the whole 120 v.....well the new light works fantastic...I just haven't been able to do anything with the Corsair or Hellcat since because of research papers and crap.

Semester ends in 5 weeks...I'll be able to do some modeling before then, hopefully, but I'll be back to the bench in force after that.

Ah, the vicissitudes of life!  They interfere so often with the really important (modeling) stuff of temporal existence.

I remember well, when I was in college, how good it was to get to the end of a semester.

Looking forward to seeing photos when you can get back to building.

Would it be too late to sign up?  It would be a little while before I would start my build since I'm working on my LCVP and then have my Stuka to do, but I'd like to jump in with a 1/48 Accurate Miniatures SBD-5 Dauntless.

Hey There silentbob, Good to see you here too. I personally would love to see your AM Dauntless. Certainly, I am unable to speak for Clemens but, I'm willing to bet having you join us will be just fine.

Hi, Clemens.

I noticed we don't have any badges yet, so in some down time (when I should have been working on more SBD's), I came up with a couple.

You can use them if you'd like. 

It's a great GB, and I'm looking forward to doing more.  I'm almost done with Enterprise, if no late-term disasters happen--then I'll get back to some SBD's again, later in the spring summer.

I still have a "Longest Day" GB project to accomplish before 6 June!

Welcome aboard, Bob! There's always room for more guys in here and it's definitely not too late! I'm very interested in that Dautless build!

Checkmate: Those badges look terrific! Thanks a lot! I was working on a couple of badges myself, but I couldn't come up with anything I liked...

I'll add them to the front page later today.

Very nice badges checkmate. I like. But,..umm..hey, maybe you give a little love to the Hellcat. You know..if that might be a possibility.

You're welcome, Clemens.  Glad you found them useful.

Here's some love and attention for the Hellcat, Joe.

Those are some nice badges checkmate.

And like you, I have signed up for the D-Day GB.  But I have yet to even start the Spitfire I was planning to build.

Ya beat me to it !

It looks like we might need the "longest day" to be a little longer, Rob!

That's a nice looking badge, too, Josiah.  Very catchy and dramatic!

Wow! Now those are a couple of nice badges. Thank you checkmate for taking a moment to design yours. And then you come up with a stunner Josiah. Nice!! Now, I find myself torn between the two.

I added the badges to the front page! Thanks for creating them guys!

Would anyone be interested in a 3rd round? I'm thinking about opening it to all carrier based planes of all eras and nations. That would allow people who want to build modern planes to enter as well while still keeping it open for all prop figters. What do you think?

I'd be game for a third round.  I have a Zero in my stash that would fit into another round, even if you don't extend out of the Pacific.

I would also be up for another round.  I have lots of kits that would fit into an open era build.