Enough talk already about the Akagi Steve, come on and build it! With your skills it will be killer. I'm sure the build tutorial will be riveting (see I made a funny). I know you said it will be for another GB down the road, but I can't wait for the PE build-up on that one.

Seriously, that antenna is a nice piece of PE and rerally adds to the overall look of the ship, great job!

I am like you with regards to the cost of the kit versus the added after market stuff (including two sets of Big Ed PE for the Arizona). I do not want to add it all up as that would take away from the satisfaction of the overall build when done. 

Ben

LOL Mongoose, with the radar, 5" guns, wood deck, PE, brass barrels and the 48 20mm's I ordered from France, I'm sure I've spent twice what I spent on the kit itself. Just afrade to do the math 

But it's nothing compaired to the Akagi 

Steve that SK-2 radar looks just like the marketing shot they took! Definitely adds to the look of the ship. Having all that air rather than a solid dish in such a prominent spot is a huge improvement. I've gotta quit watching your build or im gonna spend more money before even opening mine up 

Joe, I will usually use wood venere decks if the decks were wood. On modern's I'll spray  the grey. I like to use Vallejo most of the time and hand paint the small items on the deck. There's many diffrent thought on which deck paint to use, I really don't have a prefrence. I will use a deck tan and use a wash to bring out the planks.

Here is the 1/700 Scharnhorst with painted decks.

That is an amazing PE set. Nicely done on assembling it. It looks incredible. Also, the 5 in guns look great. Your overall progress is so far is quite impressive.

I'm sorry if I have missed it somewhere earlier Steve but, do you hand paint your some of or all of your decks and what paint are you using?

I received the SK-2 radar set from Infinity last night and must say the engineering is esquisit! It took me around two hours to assemble. What do you think?

TheMongoose

 

 

Gamera

Mongoose: Do you have to use all the planes though? Does sound like a daulting task. 

Steve: She's coming along great!!! 

 

 

 

 

yep, 42 +3 helos on the deck and the rest in the hangar bay. A full air wing essentially, which I'm told is 60-80.

 

Ouch!!!! 

Gamera

Mongoose: Do you have to use all the planes though? Does sound like a daulting task. 

Steve: She's coming along great!!! 

 

yep, 42 +3 helos on the deck and the rest in the hangar bay. A full air wing essentially, which I'm told is 60-80.

Mongoose: Do you have to use all the planes though? Does sound like a daulting task. 

Steve: She's coming along great!!! 

Seventy planes  Yes, that may take some time 

Update on the NC

She's ready for paint although I feel I'm missing something. I'm sure it'll pop up. After paint I need to install rails, guns, small boats, rigging etc, etc.

The 5" from Alliance looks good

MC I'm dying to see that radar On the ship! 

on my end just in the middle of several things. It'll take forever to paint 70 planes. Got the hangar bay bulkheads 7/8 painted, only the boot stripe at the base to go lol the lights came in so I've started the island. Works picking up though so progress has slowed to a crawl. Will post up pics once something is completed 

Not much done on the NC yesterday. It was one of those nights where I thought it better to spend it in the living room with my wife. I was able to get some research done though. I believe I'll finish the 5" guns and take one final look at the PE instructions for anything I should add prior to the painting IE ladders, doors.... I'll install the railing after because of the intergrate masking that will be needed. I WILL break them off otherwise. Once I get the new radar It'll be 5-L color so it'll be easy to paint and attach.

Fun way to spend you weekend Steve.  I really like all that brass. 

Me, I hauled manure.  With Spring weather, its hard to find time to be at the bench. 

That is some splendid work Steve. Nicely executed. Those SK-2's should look all that.

My new Oakland kit was scheduled to arrive today but, appears it's still a couple of days out. Been entertaining myself with a 1/700 Aoshima I-1 IJN Sub and lots and lots of yard work.

Thanks guys

I hope you have better sucess with the 20's than I have had.  Everyone has come in with bent barrels, but those were 1/72's.  It's the way they are bagged.

Your PE work is outstanding.

Gee thanks Steve, those radar dishes give me a migrane. 

Super work! 

This weekend's work.

I received some new 5" 38 twin mounts from Alience Model Works this weeked and look good. My dog knocked off the kit box onth the floor. I picked up everything I thought but later I heard a crunch. My young Lab found the kit's mount and was using it as a snack. I'm glad I ordered the new ones  I've ordered the SK-2 radar. I just couldn't bend a flat screen of PE into a concave dish without there being a crease The one O redered is more like the wire dish that really was. Looks fun 

I've also ordered the 20mm Oerlikons in 3D. The PE ones just don't have any character.

Never tried clear forming. Trumpeter and some others moldes their planes clear thus allowing a clear canopy. Black doesn't look too bad on modern planes. I hate the silver on WW2 planes but not sure what could substitute.

Any new ideas are welcome

Oh wow those folded wings look awesome Mongoose! 

MC and others, hey lets start a discussion on carrier plane cockpits and canopies!
Ive seen blue and black painted canopies. Any others out there that you think look especially good?

There are 1 or 2 builds ive seen with clear formed canopies. Have you seen any methods worth trying out? Ive done 1/32 scale clear forming but nothing this small. Wondering if the same type of method applies. Maybe i can try it and see what happens?

Carrier planes are a PIA. Your approach seems like it'll work. For items like missles on 1/72 kits, I'll cut and clean attachment points until I just have one left, that way I don't have as much to touch up later. I'm still not sure if that's a better idea than just doing them off the sprue 

Nice job on the wings! I've been looking at some Japanese carrier planes and testing cutting the canopy open, not an easy proposition.

JOE RIX

Wow! Very nice work on the folding wings. I'm curious though. If the wing folds are so delicate would it not be better to assemble them after the aircraft is cut from the sprue and sanded. I am very interested in your approach there. 

 

hmm, yes it still remains an interesting decision. I thought about MC's plastic divider as an option as well as taking them off the sprue. The divider idea is great because it keeps them from getting jumbled together and breaking off the wing folds or other parts like the gear. The final call came down to ease of painting tho. Having struggled with keeping them from blowing away under the airbrush in the past it seemed assembling them on the sprue may be better. I've also had a wheel or two left on the tape when picking them up lol the current plan is then to prime and paint on the sprue, remove them, touch up the two attachment points, then put them in the plastic dividers until it's time to place them permanently.

a long explanation. excellent question as you hit on something that was a struggle to decide. Any thoughts from you guys on how you've done it before?

Wow! Very nice work on the folding wings. I'm curious though. If the wing folds are so delicate would it not be better to assemble them after the aircraft is cut from the sprue and sanded. I am very interested in your approach there. 

I started marking out the flight deck. While waiting for 20 0.5mm drill bits to arrive I've started on the aircraft. Gonna have to be an assembly line for sure

For the 1st go-round I folded the F/A-18 wings. Then an hour later built everything on 1 side of each sprue.

Only 2 of 14 done so far.

And next will start on the viking(?) wing folds.

these are a pain. Have to do them 1 at a time because they break off so easy when folded this far. I think Jazz music might be best for this process. Probably take all day Sat to finish, then primer...did I mention I was out of spray can primer :#(   That's a sad face with a mask on lol no stores that are open near me have the citadel primer I want and it's out of stock online. Ordered from a LHS that's not open but is still shipping. Next week will be big as lots of stuff coming in to keep this going.

TheMongoose

 

 

JOE RIX

Good Lord Mongoose!  Is that for your Enterprise or are you actually trying to wire lighting for a 1/1 scale model of the mother ship from Close Encounters of the Third Kind?

 

 

 

 

Oh yeah! 
definitely a case where math got the better of me. Never thought it would need this much till I started counting. There are about 180 deck lights, 40 hangar bay lights, plus lighting the the numbers on the island. Model is 38" long and almost all the wires have to go to the bow where there's space to take them under the hangar bay (later I may drill through the stern maintenance area tocut down on the length). So assuming each light takes 2-1/2' of fibre I need 550', yowzers!

 

JOE RIX

Good Lord Mongoose!  Is that for your Enterprise or are you actually trying to wire lighting for a 1/1 scale model of the mother ship from Close Encounters of the Third Kind?

 

Oh yeah! 
definitely a case where math got the better of me. Never thought it would need this much till I started counting. There are about 180 deck lights, 40 hangar bay lights, plus lighting the the numbers on the island. Model is 38" long and almost all the wires have to go to the bow where there's space to take them under the hangar bay (later I may drill through the stern maintenance area tocut down on the length). So assuming each light takes 2-1/2' of fibre I need 550', yowzers!

Good Lord Mongoose!  Is that for your Enterprise or are you actually trying to wire lighting for a 1/1 scale model of the mother ship from Close Encounters of the Third Kind?

Steve: OMG!!! My hat's off to you for doing all those AA guns!!! 

Mongoose: Oh, that's gonna look great! Looking forward to seeing all that fiber optic cable worked in there. 

Holy smoke Chris  How much cable is that monster going to need?