Ben: Those float planes are just a never ending problem. The time you have put in to make them accurate will be well worth it.

Scott: Really digging the simplicity of the base. The rigging looks great, kudos to Steve for sending you some of his Ushci thread

Mongoose: All that masking sure is complex. Can't wait to see the deck once you are finished.

The island for the Kitty Hawk threw me a nasty curveball. Seemed like I could never catch a break with all of the fit and mold issues that were present on almost every part.  Anyways, I finished it up and it is now glued onto the deck.

This is the first time I have ever done rigging and it was done using black sewing thread. It was a pain to tie to the masts but I am pleased with the results. 

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For the flags, I printed them out and sandwiched a piece of foil in them to make it look like they are waving in the wind.

Next step will be to weather the hull. Any advice, reference photos and knowledge you guys have on this would be greatly appreciated.

Spent all morning on the flight deck. All the major components are painted now. The sequence here shows how i built things up. I lightened the center of the grey rectangles along the runway edge, laid down natural steel for the catapults, added grimey black around the edges of the catapult tracks, added some lines and a generally blacked out area around the2-wire area, then darkened up the whole flite deck so that all the colors started to blend together. It's just slightly darker in eal life then it looks undermy shop light in the pics.

next i need to do the tie-downs. Then maybe blend those in if needed. since my MCW paints are all gloss I'm thinking to decal after that, then clear coat it for final weathering. Any thoughts on that order of operations?  

All that painting on the flight deck is the only way to do it. Decals won't make it look right in the end.  That flight deck will look great in the end.

scottrc that is such a huge difference! Well worth your time. Looks lke you mastered it.

im working on deck painting still. In your best Bob Seger voice - God bless the man who put the white lines on the 'flite deck' lol

took 2 evenings to tape it up. Almost missed a section and painted the flite deck itself. Par for the course ;-)

I'm back at the bench.  I made a simple display base and am trying this new Uschi thread that Steve generously sent me.  I did not like the stretch sprue and EZ line was just too hard to keep taunt and would pull the masts. So I am re-rigging the model with this new thread.  It has a learning curve that I need to work on, but the end result is much more satisfying.  This model is all about trying new things for me.  First resin kit I am building, and now a new material to rig a small ship.

Ben,

The Kingfisher is looking good, its good to see you putting time into it. So many models seem to leave the observation planes off or use those horrible planes that come with the kit.

DRUMS01

...

MONGOOSE: Are you saying I should replace the struts or "they are a must" as to leave them as is? As for the space for the foam and foil in the base, thanks for the reminder!

Ben

 

well that funny thought got lost in translation lol

yes, I was saying you should replace them. That little plane just keeps getting more complicated on you.

Ben, be sure you paint the E strings. They are steel and might rust otherwise.

Bill

Good call Ben,

I use to use guitar string all the time before EZline and Uschi options came out. I also used and still use stretched sprue quite often, especially if I'm making flag lanyards and need a sag or show a wind blowing. I think the guitar string is a good choice 

Thanks everyone on the comments for the OSU2 aircraft. I went out and purchased a set of lite guage guitar strings. The smallest "E" string is only 0.010" and works perfectly for the pontoon bracing and wing sensor. I should be getting the new (period correct) decals for them today in the mail. 

The guitar strings are a hack of a deal. Most range from $6-12 and with the length of each string will provide you with various sizes foe many odels to come. 

I will show the updates once the ship and planes are base painted.

MONGOOSE: Are you saying I should replace the struts or "they are a must" as to leave them as is? As for the space for the foam and foil in the base, thanks for the reminder!

Ben

As to the brace wires, might take a look at some phone or computer stranded wire.  That stuff is thin and easily shaped.

It has been a slow go lately with the island. These pieces are so tiny and the plastic is so fragile. Really surprised I haven't done any damage to the parts. Building the masts is definitely my least favorite part of ships, good thing this carrier only has one mast.

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Finally took some relaxation time and read the latest posts 

Bill that's crazy man! Is that a quote or did you come up with that? 

Ben I like your style man! You may know this and I'm just stupidly stating the obvious but don't forget to leave room for the foil if you wrap it around the foam and then want to put said foam back in the base  btw i think the pontoon struts are a must, just say'n (add evil laugh here)

Thx guys. Can't tell you how excited I am about this phase. Really looking like a ship now.

MC i think only darker in a few spots but going to wait it out a bit 1st. One area for sre is the 2 wire point but i think pencils and chalk there. Will spray some smoke on and around the blast shields (that may be a Star Trek term slipping in there hehe).

Ben: Good to see you making progress. I do believe your Kingfisher is going to look every bit the part as soon as your done with the improvements. The start to your base looks quite good.

Mongoose: I'm loving that flightdeck! I went on a tour of the Norfolk/Newport News naval base years ago and got to look at some F/A-18s close up. You've got that weird salt and sun-bleached look going on there. Very sharp work! 

Ben: Great work there on the base, love how she's coming! On something as small as the spotter planes I'm not sure though you can model some parts to scale- it looks great to me. 

Your really moving along Dan. I like the base.

Going at snail pace for some reason, but here is some progress....

Added the details identified in the previous message to the OSU2 aircraft. Several things were made clear after I did them and took the pictures:





- all of the wing pontoon braces are out of scale (too thick and too short), even though the ones I added match the scale of the one supplied in the kit. I have to think about this one, keep them or try to replace them all?  

- the cross cables on the center pontoon are too large (out of scale). I have already removed them. Also I added them to the rear opening when they should've been added to the front pontoon opening. If I ever found anything to add them it would have to be the width of a human hair.... hmmm....   

- The air speed probe on the left wing is out of scale. I do not plan on keeping them unless I find something more to scale (smaller) to replace them with (perhaps a small guitar string?) 

Here are some images I am using to inspire the builds:





In the box of the after-market float planes are decals of the standard blue star and bars. Every photo I have found of the period shows the planes to have the star in the white roundel with a center red dot (earlier insignia). So I located some on the after market to make the aircraft appear period correct. Trumpeter should've had the period correct insignia with the aircraft. I believe they were a convenient item in stock for the more modern carrier aircraft they sell.

I've also been working on the overall display. I want to have the basics ready as I do not want to handle the ship too much after I begin painting and detailing it. I found a craft item originally designed as a wall plaque in our local Hobby Lobby. I had to return it to find one that was square and flat (not warped). Next I removed the wall hanger mounts.



I also purchased some 1/4 inch foam board which I cut to fit inside the wall plaque, now display base. Once it was fitted I traced around the base of the ships hull in the area I wanted cut out. Just a note, one of the all time hobby diorama builders, Mr. Shepard Payne, in many of his books stressed that you should never display the model perfectly square to its display base. I followed that here and marked the hull at an angle to the base, and cut the space out. After a test fit of the hull I began to dimple the foam to begin the ocean scene process.



Here is the ship in the display (proof of concept):





In theory, I will pull the foam out of the base to add crumpled foil and begin painting it. It will then be returned to the base for final assembly and paint details. I also need to carefully determine the correct height of the boat in the water while on the display.   

But first, its time to paint and begin assembly the Arizona!

Ben

Yep, layer, layer, layer, that's the secret to convencing weathering, at least, so I've heard.

I like the motling. There isn't a carried ever that had a presteen deck.

Here is a pic of the Akagi I need to recreate on wood veneer...somehow.

I are you going to darken it up some?

Funny, the bird farm modelers have to take their ships out to the patio to snap.

So, well, an adventure. 

It will probably go well.

Bill

Sure looks like a quite dandy start to epic to me. Nice!

Well guys heres the 1st look at whether it will be epic or not. Appreciate the faith Joe! Almost 1am now but I need to relax with some wine before sleep will hit me after doing all this work. I propped my ipad up over my paint booth so I could look at reference pics while I worked my way thru it. Glad I got the Tamiya airbrush working. It has the larger cup and the 0.4mm tip. 
Heres the mottle coat. 4 colors here. Light ghost grey (cause it's what i havve  ) with 10% white and with 10% black for the lighter colored areas and dark ghost gray (you know why lol) with 10% black for the darker colored areas. 

edit-forgot to mention I put down a thin coat of deck blue on the recovery strip to set it off from the rest of the deck.

all this took 3 hours. And for once I listened to all that advice about weathering and stopped when I thought it wasn't enough! So maybe it's just right as you can add more but it's tough to undo it. 
let me know what you guys think? Seems like this will be good to start using some oils, pencils, and chalk. But it's my 1st shot at it so send your experience my way.

Mongoose, I am very much looking forward to your deck endeavors. I faith in the fact that you are going to turn it into something rather epic. You go Bro!

A lighted and working OLS on a 1/350 carrier model would be beyond cool.  Have the deck lights run in sequence too.  

The Optical display uses fresnel lenses and has a somewhat narrow spread.

It can fly a pilots eyeballs through an 18" square.

Is it just me or does anyone else have a craving for a meatball marinara sandwich? 

All jokes aside, I think adding lights would make the meatball look so cool. Maybe one day I will be able to light up a model kit.

That darn arrow really made the discussion interesting lately but maybe I should get back to work on my carrier.   I would agree with Mongoose, the arrow is very distracting.

GMorrison

6, 8, 3, 2, 7 or 4, 1

At all costs don't mask over the decals. That particular proiduct is really fragile.

 

ThanksGM, I will plot that course! 

Was thinking of painting tonight but thought, ahhh itks kinda late and I'm tired so let's not bung it up. Decided to review all the deck pics I have, sketch out the different shades on a deck view I printed up, and then mix up the colors I want for the deck. Heck it took me 40 minutes to mix up 6 different shades of gray 

That damn white arrow is gonna drive me nuts. Maybe it's to distract incoming aircraft on an Attack 

keyserj I have a cool idea for my meatball if i can pull it off. I got 4 yellow pico led's and am going to order blue and red fibre optic cable that glows from the side. I'll drill out the holes for the lights then Insert that .25mm fibre through the side. This way not a bunch of strands sticking out the back of the meatball for every light. I get sidetracked on the silliest things. You can see how these dang carriers can take years to build. Next thing you know I'll be acting like MC and ordering all this crazy PE hehehe

JOE RIX

Apparently they did Gamera. Available on ebay.

 

Thanks Joe! Hadn't seen it in the local hobby shop- I didn't even know they were doing this!

Apparently they did Gamera. Available on ebay.

Keyserj

Here is my best guess. Maybe it is meant to remind the pilots that they need to exit the runway towards the bow after landing. Sounds stupid but common sense isn't very common nowadays.  - wise words from PatW

 

Ha that's gonna be unpopular...the path goes across the bow flight deck! In your best Goose voice say "which way'd who go!"