Aircraft Carrier Group Build (July 07 to July 2010)

More Power Scotty wrote:

A portion of the airwing (the pencil is there to give you an idea of the size of these planes)...

These would be great for the "yellow wing"  GB.  They look great.

hey gangs

Im looking for a software that can create a gif or anime on the signture of gb badges.  the one i have now was create from someone in the gb.  Im wondering if theres a software that is cheaper than photoshop? let me know  thanks!

ps1scw,

Thanks for the compliment!  As I already double-dipped on the nine F3F's by getting credit in the Grumman group build (my main entry will be an F9F-5 Panther), I would feel a little greedy asking for more credit.  Besides, I built a pre-war SB2U-1 Vindicator for credit in the Yellow Wing group a few months ago.  I think that I brought up this project, and the leader of that build was not big on the idea of the small scale planes.  No hard feelings though as they were meant for this project in the first place.

silentmodeler,

Your comments are always appreciated!  The thirty-three planes all came with the kit.  I probably would not have made this purchase without them as the thought of building a pre-WWII carrier with planes of the 1930's was too much to pass up.  I also like the appearance of the yellow-wing planes, and I do have at least four or five other planes that I will eventually build that way.  As I mentioned in some earlier posts, the items that I added were photoetch stairs and rails, and the steel mesh used for the safety nets on the deck edges.  Aside from that, I thought that the kit was more than adequate.

As far as your question about the signature line gif program for badges is concerned, I was fortunate enough to get help creating mine from an individual in another group build.  I wish that I could be of further assistance on this one, but unfortunately can not.

More Power Scotty - Again, very nice job on the ship & planes! Shame, I remember reading many MANY years ago about *someone* saving the planks of many ww2 carriers... cannot recollect any details :(

silentmodeler - I recently dloaded and tried GIMP 2. Its open source code (free), very functional, somewhat of a learning curve. I used it to "merge" the GB badge and the pic of my P51D you see in my sig. You can also create animations (GIF) files, if you want to "cycle" your GB badges.

Anyone,

This may be a silly question, but how do you add a photo/image to the left side of these pages where our names, locations, and number of posts are?  I have tried a couple of times in the past to add a photo with no success.  I figured out how to add the items on the signature line early on, but the side stuff is eluding me for some reason.  Any help will be appreciated.

All,

It has been a busy week for me once again, so I have not touched the Saratoga in almost two weeks now.  I have quite a bit going on this weekend as well, but if time permits, I will see what I can do about adding the figures.  Please keep the group and myself posted on your progress as I look forward to seeing more carriers here.

More Power Scotty - The "pic/info" on the left hand side is the avatar, let me check

yep, go to your account/profile, underneath the signature blurb is AVATAR, click the ENABLE radio button and choose a pic file. The location/posts info is also enabled via radio buttons.

My meager carrier is still sitting in the queue, will be awhile till I get to it not much to look at, very basic/rookie build but will post for sure!

Cheers, James

James,

It goes to reason that it would be a simple task to complete.  I tried all kinds of tricks on this before and finally gave up.  I guess that I should do what I talk about in my classes by asking for help when I do not know how to do something.  Thanks!

Do not fret about getting started immediately or about your skills.  The Saratoga is by far the best build I have completed of an aircraft carrier to date, and is the fourth carrier that I have built as an adult.  I do not think that I have the time to build my 1/700 USS Dwight D. Eisenhower by the proposed end date as it is the Trumpeter 1/700 release, and it has a lot of parts.  Ike was the first ship that I served aboard, and although I have built a model of it, I want to do a build at my present ability level.  I may add the Japanese submarine I-400 as a second kit for this build, but I have a few other projects that need my attention first. 

Please keep the group posted as you do progress on your ship as I do look forward to seeing what the rest of the group does. 

Hello

I have not seen any activity amongst the group for a while so I thought that I had better see if anyone is still awake out there.  Don't be afraid to let me and the rest of the group know about your progress, with or without photos.  I look forward to hearing from YOU.

Dougums,

Thanks for chiming in, and just let me know if you decide on a different ship.  I think that you will find carriers rather unique, especially when you add the air wing.  I look forward to hearing and seeing your progress.

Dougums - Look forward to your build!

More Power Scotty - Yes, I am still "awake" but barely... life/work, family medical issues and my own meager skills have pushed back my model-build schedule by months. Once the semester ends in May and students stop pestering me about getting their grades back on time (Im a college prof) I can then really start building again in earnest.

Cheers all!

JMart,

I fully understand.  The power plant that I work at shut down last week for a refueling outage and I am working six thirteen hour nights each week.  I also unfortunately had to attend the funerals of two of my relatives last month.  Life happens sometimes, so I fully understand what you are talking about.

So how is life as a college professor?  When I finally went after my Bachelor's degree a few years ago, I started to think about changing professions to become a professor myself.  I recently took the position of Lead Electrical Instructor in our Training Department, so I am happy with where I am, I just need to find a better outage job.

scorpr2,

Thanks for the posting.  As I do enjoy a little woodworking from time to time, I have a difficult time using paint to cover up any wood.  Prior to the Saratoga build, I used a piece of wood to mount the last two carriers that I built.  For the USS Hornet, with planes for the Doolittle raid onboard, I simply screwed the waterline hull to the base.  When I built the USS Abraham Lincoln, I built a full hull and used some turnings that I purchased at a woodworker's store to mount the ship above the board.  With the Lincoln, I also used screws to keep the hull secured.  The use of cutout FDR letters sounds like it will make the base more unique.  Keep us posted as you progress.

Scott - [off topic] Academia is not what it used to be, at least in the tier 2/3 schools. Too much politics, too many bratty/whinny self-centered students, financial problems at many Unis. I am looking to "semi-retire" and teach HS instead. If you are interested in academia, a good way to start will be to look for adjunct positions in your local schools. Many of our adjuncts have "regular" jobs and sign up for teaching one course in order to get some teaching experience or just an intellectual break from work. Relatively easy to get those jobs in certain areas, like science/tech and business.

scorpr2 - Great idea, would love to see some WIPs of the base/lettering scheme... I will start mine mid-summer, once I am done with teaching and clear my bench a bit :) Cheers!

james

James,

Thanks for the off topic response.  I have considered becoming an adjunct instructor, and perhaps I could fit something in when we are not conducting refueling outages.  Perhaps the Training side of the nuclear power industry is as good of a place as any to be.

Please keep the group up to date with your progress, once you are able to start.

Alain,

I look forward to seeing your project.  How has the kit gone together for you so far?

More Power Scotty wrote:

Alain, I look forward to seeing your project.  How has the kit gone together for you so far?

Alain - Look forward to your progress! and good luck in your exams! once Im done with MY exams I can get going a bit... except I give out and grade the exams ;)

scorpr2 - hope you feel better and look forward to your progress!

scorpr2,

 I hope that you start feeling better soon as well. 

Alain,

Good luck with those exams!

All,

The long hours are about to wind up for me, which will allow more time for ... cycling of course.   I may even find some time to build some more as well.  Anyway, keep the group posted on YOUR progress, and I will continue to look in when I can.  With some additional time off, I will also see about getting a photo of the finished USS Saratoga posted here.  I am still considering adding some PE sailors, and have painted them, it is just a matter of finding the patience to glue them in place.

Alain,

I hope that all went well with your exams.  Post the photos whenever you have an opportunity.  I look forward to seeing your work.

    Good news and bad news.  Bad news is I have to change my entry to CV-63 USS Kitty Hawk 1/800.  Good news is I have it and I am starting it tonight.  Lots of little aircraft came with this boat.  Looks like its going to be loads of fun.  I'll keep yall posted with pics!

Doug 

Doug,

I have updated post 1 to reflect this change.  Being 1/800, is this the Arii kit that you are building?  If so, I used their kit when I built my representation of the Abraham Lincoln, and thought that it was a good kit, and better detailed than the 1/700 Testors/Italeri kit I used when building the Dwight D. Eisenhower.

I actually spent several weeks working on the Kitty Hawk when I was working for a contractor back in the early 90's.  She was in Philadelphia at the time for a Service Life Extension Program (SLEP) upgrade.  I look forward to seeing this one built, so please keep the group posted on your progress.

A little update on my Monterey CVL-26:

I've painted assembled all major components and put on a coat of future that is drying as i type.  When its dry, I'll try to get a couple of pictures up.  After that, all that is left is to decal, flat coat, put on the AA complement (waiting on some GMM PE 20mms and paperlab mk 51s for the 40s) and radars, and of course, the airwing.

Also, due to the fact that I will be leaving for college in the fall, I won't be able to finish my Essex.  I really want to do a great job on it and I just don't have the time...oh well...

-Jeff

Well, here are the pics mentioned in my last post.  Some are a little blurry, but I'm no photographer, sorry.  The dio base may not look that realistic, but I'm new at the simulating water thing.  Also, she may not be completely accurate, but I don't care, I'm having a great time building her.

So, here they are:

First, looking down at the flight deck

Second, the island area

Third, the stern area

Fourth, the starboard bow on the dio base

Fifth, the port bow on the base

Finally, the dio base from above.  The Monterey is on the left, and a Cleveland Class cruiser WIP (CL-81 Houston) for the Cruiser/Battleship GB to the right

enjoy,

Jeff