Aircraft Carrier Group Build (July 07 to July 2010)

traveller,

Thanks for checking in!   I am glad that the extension will be helpful, and I fully understand the additional time that is required when adding photoetch parts.  As you mentioned, post some photos when you get a chance.

raider-hall,

Thanks for the update, the photos look great!   In looking at your build-up, I think that I will stay with my plastic kits.   Last Sunday I went to the model show in Chicago, and Lindberg is turning out a large scale kit of the German aircraft carrier Graf Zeplin that includes hangar bay lighting.  As you like the big builds, I thought that I would mention it.

For the information of all,

I have gone ahead and extended our group's end date to January in hopes that this will give folks a little extra time to wrap up their projects.  With the weather starting to cool off here in that state up north, my cycling days are about finished for the year, which will likely lead to more time to build.  I am going to add another kit to this build myself, as I plan on taking some time off over the holidays, and may glue myself to my chair in the model room for a few of those days, and just build away.  I have not heard from a few of the folks in the group for some time now.  Please leave a posting here when you get a chance to let all of us know how your project is coming along.  Thanks in advance,

Alain,

Understood.  Best wishes on your working towards your degree! 

JMart,

I was going to reply last weekend, but this web site was down when I logged onto our computer.  I am not hearing any additional comments from the others in this build yet, but I do think that I will move out the end date to January. 

I think that we have had the coversation before about your being a professor, as I was giving serious thought about moving in that direction a couple of years ago when I finished my degree.  I am now the Electrical Lead Instructor at my plant (I accepted the position in January), and I am pretty content with it for now.  My biggest challenge at this time is running a continuing training cycle for the folks that have been here for a while, and conducting initial training for eight new hires at the same time.  Fortunately, I have a couple of folks loaned to Training from the electrical shop as rotational instructors to help out.

Glad my links were of help :)

Yes, Jan time will help for sure... I will have plenty free time early Dec thru Jan (intercession), I plan on taking PLENTY time off after this semester nearly killed me.. (no, Im not a student, Im the professor! )

More Power Scotty wrote:

Alain, So do you need to drop out from the group, or would an extension to early January allow you to still finish the project?  Let me know.  JMart, Thanks for the links! I have added a few of them to my favorites list already.  I have the Testors Modeling book from a few years ago, and it has a nice crossreference section in it.  I printed off the page titled Gunze Sangyo Acrylic, and will share it with my fellow club members at our next meeting.  Is the early January date that I mentioned before going to help you out?  I understand how work and home responsibilities can fill up one's spare time in a hurry.  Let me know and I will make an announcement to the group soon, as I only want to extend this once.

Alain,

So do you need to drop out from the group, or would an extension to early January allow you to still finish the project?  Let me know.

 JMart,

Thanks for the links! I have added a few of them to my favorites list already.  I have the Testors Modeling book from a few years ago, and it has a nice crossreference section in it.  I printed off the page titled Gunze Sangyo Acrylic, and will share it with my fellow club members at our next meeting. 

Is the early January date that I mentioned before going to help you out?  I understand how work and home responsibilities can fill up one's spare time in a hurry.  Let me know and I will make an announcement to the group soon, as I only want to extend this once.

Oh I would need the extension, things have been crazy at work, no benchtime for me in awhile.

Not sure if the color match probs are solved (been awhile since I posted) but here are some links I have that contain all sorts of color cross-referencing.

http://www.shipcamouflage.com/paint_formulas.htm

http://www.ipmsstockholm.org/colorcharts/stuff_eng_colorcharts_testors_map.htm

http://www.aumodelisme.ch/P/table/GNZEACRYL.HTM

http://www.ipmsstockholm.org/helpdesk.asp#color_charts

http://www.ipmsstockholm.org/colorcharts/stuff_eng_colorcharts_fs.htm

http://www.afrikakorps.org/kriegsmarinecolors.htm

 http://www.shipcamouflage.com/paint_chips.htm

cheers

Raider-hall,

Thanks for the updated photos, the Enterprise is coming along very nicely!   It appears that you are using some photoetched parts on your ship.  I was wondering how that works with the paper that you use for construction. 

Have no fear about the November deadline.  I never specified the beginning or end of the month, and I may run it out to the Fifth of January in order to give folks who may take some time off at the end of the year an opportunity to wrap things up.  I will see if any others start mentioning an extension, and go from there (I am still considering building the Japanese I-400 for this build myself, and would need some extra time to do that as well).

traveller,

Gunze colors are even harder to come by here in the states.  One of my local shops carried it for about a year, but that was more than five years ago.  I have a preference for Model Master paints myself, as they provide Federal Standard numbers, that I find useful in the majority of my applications.  I also like the fact that you can apply those paints with a brush if necessary, where I have had limited luck with Gunze and Tamiya when brushing by hand.

raider-hall,

Nice photos once again!   I know how frustrating a computer crash can be.  At times it is difficult to think of them as making our lives "easier".

silent modeler,

The hornet turned out nicely.  When I built mine I actually used a photocopier to increase the drawings in the direction tot hte size of the kit, then used the new drawings to make stencils for the sides to paint the camouflage on the hull.  I freehanded the stripes on the smoke stack with one of my airbrushes.

As far as your hull color question, I am not sure when the Navy went to the hull red color below the jack boot stripe (the black stripe separating the red and grey), but I think it was prior to WWII.  That said, go with hull red for the lower portion of the hull (Tamiya and the Model Master line of ship colors, if you can find them, have this paint available as it is a dark brownish-red).

Everyone,

 Thanks for sharing the photos of the finished products.  Those are some fine pieces of work!   I have been having some computer issues, and just being busy the last couple of weekends, so I had not checked in for a while.  The things you miss when you are away.  I did have the opportrunity to enter my USS Saratoga at a contest in Kalamazoo last Saturday, and I not only pulled off a 3rd place in the powered ships category, but the folks at Finescale were kind enough to take a few photos of my ship.  Perhaps it will make it into the pages of the magazine some time, but it was great just being selected.

Scorpr2,

Nice job on the FDR.  When I was on the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69), we parked next to the Coral Sea a few times in Norfolk.  I was on Ike from '86 to '88, then transfered to the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) to become a pank owner.  Anyway, I think that I mentioned somewhere early on that an alternative I have used for flight deck markings are the dry transfer stripes typically found in model railroad supplies.  On my Nimitz-class ships I used the dry tranfers for the base white and yellow lines, then added in the red portions by hand.  Painting over the transfers is easier than it may sound, and the results look better than the decals.  I did the same thing when I built the hornet a few years ago. 

scorpr2,  Your FDR looks great! I like the way u weather the ship   looks like it has been out in sea for long time.  I gotta to learn how to weather.  which class is it under?  I know its not Yorktown class or Nimitz class.

 Carrier gangs,  I just bought CVN-65 but the problem is it has bad explaining of how to paint since most of it is in japanese language.  its from ARII Plastic Ships, so im wondering if you guys know if there is a great website for the Big E?  let me know thanks. and also since im not very familar with all of ships in the navy  does Big E has greenish color below the waterline or red hull? 

FDR looks great! I don't know if you were planing to put a p.e set on her. that would really set her off.  By the way guys been having problems with my photobucket album,someone tell me if this photo came out all right. Thanks!     http://is129.photobucket.com/albums/p226/raider-hall/100_1294.jpg

Looking good so far... you and me both! (25 years since putting one of these things together...) Im also doing an old monogram kit, like practice for better stuff down the road still have fun anyways :)  Great that you can use your own experience as guide, my whole navy career has been landlubber lol

I also use sharpies on occasion, just be careful with the finish or painting over the sharpie lines, I have read in here that you may get bleed thrus and the black could turn indigo. The Xfine red sharpie is perfect for those small scale lifesavers...

thanks for sharing! cheers

Ok.  I'm happy to say that the FDR is underway.  I know she's not the prettiest belle of the ball but I like her!  Especially since it's been about 25 years since I last put one together.  The kit is the old Revell box scale kit that's a re-box of the 50's.  The kit is strictly out of the box.  I can't afford to spend $20 on a kit and then $50 to improve it!  I do this for the fun and enjoyment of the hobby, call me old fashioned.  The paints I used were a mix of Humbrol and MM.  I used a Sharpie paint marker for the stripes on the f/d and the round down and the end of the bow.  Those paint markers are great!  My daughter picked some up for me at the book store.  And they come in various colors with different types of tips.  Very Handy!!  For the props, wheels, rotors, and canopies I used a black sharpie marker.  Paintin little details is tuff with shaky hands!  The decals tried to silver on the f/d, so I painted over it.  I did get some on the numbers, but I don't think it's too bad.  I did break a section of the mast, I never could get it back just right.  I used to be stationed aboard the MIDWAY, so I used the old pictures out of my cruise book as a painting guide.  Enough talk, time for pics!

Silentmodeler, liquid paper is kind of like white-out in liquid form in a bottle.  You should be able to find it at any local dollar store, Wal-Mart, Target, or even some discount drug stores.  Or you can try where ever you get office or school supplies.  I hope this helps.  Sorry it took me so long to get back to you, but I've had life problems lately.  I'm sure we all know what that's like.

raider-hall - That is some serious SB going on, impressive!

Here is my own humble WIP on the old Monogram Nimitz.Old kit, very VERY simple and lacking details, will be a quick fun build to get back in the flow before I tackle bigger/better projects.

For the base, I tried to make it faux wood. Basecoat of MM Wood, followed by Future coat, then burnt umber oils. The Future keeps the oil paint from "sticking" right away and you can then brush the oil to resemble wood texture. Another Future coat seals everything in.

The shaft/hull joints. The shaft attachment points were very bad and "pointy" (yes, should have taken a "before" pic!). I glued the shafts in place and then built up some structure to the joint with Tamiya Liquid Surface primer. I had to then carefully sand around the joints to smooth them out. Next I need to sand/polish the area to get rid of the scratches.

The superstructure is very simple, coarse and lacking detail, specially the electronic components. No point really on scratch-building new components, much less spending money on PE replacements. Will build OOB and just try and shave some of the excess plastic off. Sorry to bring down the overall quality of the GB with this kit, but hey, you gotta start somewhere! : )