USS Iwo Jima, LHD-7, Gallery 1/350 Kit# 64002, OOB Review and Build

The Build - 25mm & .50 cal guns, Electronic directors, Life Rafts - February 18, 2015

Well, I decided to spend yesterday afternoon and this morning adding some more of the detail to the catwalks surrounding the flight deck (the various guns and the life rafts), and to complete the two electronic directors on the island.

This involved a lot of small parts and so I started with the Mk 38 25mm guns and the .50 cal machine guns used for self protection. I also built the electronic directors that are on either side of the island. The armament for the vessel, in addition to the two RAM launchers, the two Sea Sparrow launchers and the two 20mm Phalanx CIWS includes:

4 x MK 38 25mm cannons
4 x .50 cal machine guns

Once these were built and dried I placed them:

Once this was completed, I built the numerous life raft assemblies which consisted of the holders and the life rafts themselves. They come in various lengths ranging from seven life rafts per holder, down to two life rafts per holder. For the Port and Starboard sides, there are a total of about 100 of the life rafts arranged along the full length of both sides.

Now that is looking very good...and puts me in a position to continue with my original plan of either adding the air wing, or the Photo Etch metal railing next.

The Build - The Island and Decals - February 10, 2015

The island for the Wasp class vessels, and for the Iwo Jima in particular, are very involved. Lots and lots of parts.

I had hoped to be able to fully complete the island in this session, but ended up setting for everything but the photo etch railing. I then also added all of the main decals to the vessel and the island.

For the island it involved putting together all of the structure first and then adding the masts. The Iwo Jima island is somewhat different than that of the earlier Wasp class vessels, and this model reflects that. Forward, behind the weapons systems, the structure varies, as well as around the masts and the after portion of the island. However, it went together nicely, although care needs to be taken for the indented area along the starboard side where the two walls for the indentation have a tendency to not fit properly. You just need to watch it to make sure they remain vertical and properly aligned.

I then built the masts. They are rather involved themselves with all of their supports. Not the combined/enclosed masts of the newer San Antonio Class LHDs where the enclosures help mask a lot of the radar return. Lots of support structure showing, with various platforms within the masts for all of the various sensors.

Once this was done, I used the White Ensign Models Photo Etch set to build the radars to place on the masts, and then added all of the radar domes...and there are numerous domes on these vessels. Also all of the various details...search lights, sensors, equipment, etc. As stated, these are vey involved structures and there is just a lot of equipment housed on them.

I took me several days spending the afternoons and evenings, and my lunch hours when I could get home from work to do this. Once completed, I saw that I was not going to be able to get all of the photo etch railing done this session, so I dry fitted the island to the flight deck.

with this completed, I decided to do the decals for the vessel itself along with the island. Putting them on before the photo etch railing made sense to me, as well as needing them in place before I build the air wing and place it.

There are a LOT of decals for this vessel. The main landing deck has the most and the most distinctive, so I started there.

one word of caution. As I state when putting together all large landing decks...even though the decals come with complete long markings for the landing and positioning stripes, it is absolutely best to cut these up into smaller segments and add them as you go. It is just far too easy with those long, thin, delicate decals to twist them or tear them and thus mar the look, or even damage the decals beyond repair. So I put them on in sections...and even do the same to the intricate landing markings. Again, with good decals like Gallery and others offer, where the various details are individual extensions, they are simply too easy to tear. So, I also cut the intricate landing markers...each one, into pieces that I then position appropriately on deck. In this case, I cut the landing areas into three parts. The leading dash separate, the main potion a single piece, and then the trailing two makers a separate piece as well. Even then, I found the angled line of the landing area had a propensity to tear off...and of the nine, only three or four did not do so.

Here's how that progressed across the deck from fore to aft.

Once the main deck decals were all land down, I began applying the island's detail decals and all of the various markings, from the pennant number on the island, to the achievement awards, the fueling/replenishment markings, and the various warnings and other markings. The Iwo Jima island has a distinctive marking on the port side of the island for the landing warnings and even denotes the flight deck as "Jack Lucas Airfield."

This also included the detail warning stripes on the elevators, the pennant number, fore and aft on the vessel itself, and the distinctive bow marking.

I had to stop there. There are more decals to put down along the hull for the various depth markings, and more detailed markings along the various catwalks and decks.

In my next session I will either place the photo etch railing on the entire ship...and that will take at least a week, or build the aiwing...which also is going to take over a week itself.

Either way, with those two sessions and then a session to complete the lighting wiring and switch, and then a final touch up/detail session, I have another month to go before finishing the Iwo Jima.

There was a lot to do in this session. I started out by painting and then building the two well deck doors (upper and lower) and placing them, and then building the two aircraft elevators that transport aircraft from the hanger to the flight deck. These were each small assemblies in their own right.

Then, I added the various catwalks that surround the flight deck. They extend along both sides (starboard and port) the entire length of the vessel, just below the level of the flight deck. There were four or five separate pieces on each side and I painted them, and then carefully applied them to the vessel.

At this stage there were numerous details to add to the catwalks. Supports for the various extensions of the catwalks where various sensors, weapons, life buoys, or other equipment were located, a myriad of cabinets that store various equipment, radars, chaff and decoy ejectors, the main launch for the Iwo Jima, and the rails for the elevators. This took quite a bit of time to paint them appropriately and then carefully add them all along the catwalks. There were also several small auxiliary catwalks at various levels to add.

I also added the connections for the lighting system within the hull because once these details are completed it will be time to add the flight deck itself and close off the hull and the lighting systems for the hanger deck, the well deck, and the vehicle deck. I decided to series the well deck and the vehicle deck together so they both light up together. The hanger deck will be separate. I added a terminal block for the well deck and the vehicle deck to facilitate this.

I checked the wiring and the continuity while doing all of this to make sure the lighting continued to work after each step. It's never a good thing to get it all together...especially gluing the flight deck down...only to discover that something happened to make the system not work. Better to spend the extra time to check the wiring and continuity after each step.

With this complete, it was time to add the flight deck to the vessel. It is a single piece and the lighting system for the hanger deck had already been added. I carefully glued the edges of the hull, and then positioned the flight deck in place and used clamps and rubber bands to hold it in place. I then added the elevators to the vessel once the flight deck had dried in place overnight.

Once this was done, it was time to check the lighting system for each area. Never hurts to be sure, though after my earlier testing I was 99.99% sure they would.

...and they did! As you can see.

The next session will be putting the island together. It is a model all in itself with a few hundred pieces altogether. I still have more details and the PE railing to put on the catwalks, but decided to go ahead and build the island before doing so.

The Build - Aircraft for hanger - February 3, 2015

In this session I built all of the aircraft for the hanger bay. The aircraft I am including are:

2 x CH-53E Super Stallions
2 x CH-47E Sea Knights
2 x AV-8B Harrier IIs
1 x MV-22 Osprey

I started by painting the aircraft on their sprues...having first glued together the two halves of aircraft wherever I could on the sprues, and then painting those halves together, along with the wings, nacelles, rotors, horizontal stabilizers, landing gear, etc. Once painted in their various colors, and I used Light Ghost Gray for the Marine aircraft, black for the landing gear and cockpits, and various shades of gray for weathering effect, I then glued the main portions of the aircraft together.

Once this was complete and dried, I then glued the landing gear to the aircraft and let that dry too. At this point I did a dry fit of the aircraft in the hanger in various positions until I came up with one I liked. Once that was done, I added the decals, and then added the rotors and other details (Refueling props on the CH-53Es and the MV-22, etc.) to all of the aircraft. As you can see, the MV-22 has its wing rotated for the stowed position, and the props folded in for storage as well. I then took pictures of the individual aircraft.

Now I was ready to add the aircraft to the hanger bay. The CH-53Es are large aircraft and take up a lot of room. I added them together, forward in the bay, and then added the two Harriers behind them...being serviced. Across from the Harriers I added the CH-47s and then added the Osprey in the after section of the bay. Here they are, together, and individually.

Now, with the aircraft located in the hanger bay and all of the details done, I will be able to complete the wiring of the lighting system, routing it through the hole I drilled in the forward bottom of the vessel, and then start adding the details for all of the decks around the flight deck. At that point, when those auxiliary and service decks are completed, I can add the full flight deck to the vessel. We will see how far we get on all of that in the next session.

I am looking forward, after that, to building the island...which will be a full session in itself.

The Build - Fantail assembly, Aft weaponw and PE detail, Hanger details - January 29, 2015

I was going to start building aircraft for the hanger in this session, but I noticed that the fantail area was still very open and incomplete and got started on that and it ended up pretty much talking up the whole session. Lots of detail on the fantail.

I added the main deck and then worked on the secondary deck there which would hold the Sea Sparrow missile launcher.

I then added a lot of the details and built up the weapons systems.

At this point I noticed that there needed to be some decals added under the Sea Sparrow launcher and under the Rolling Air Frame Missle (RAM) launcher, so I added those before continuing. I then completed adding the weapons systems to the fantail which included one each of the Phalanx 20mm CIWS, the Sea Sparrow launcher and the RAM launcher.

At this point I was ready to add some Photo Etch metal parts to the fantaiol and decided, while I was at it, to go ahead and add those PE details to the hanger too. Railings and ladders in the hanger deck and railings to the fantail. All of these parts were used from my1/350 scale White Ensign Models photo etch detail set for the Wasp Class.

That's looking fairly well. Lots of detail like that all around the vessels. Will be a lot of handrailing for the decks that surround the flight deck, and then again on the island.

Now, in the next session I will definitely build and add the aircraft and equipment I intend to show in the hanger. Various helos, MV-22 Ospreys and HArriers...as well as tow trucks, etc.

That would be nice...making her the Sea Control.  Heck, you could by several packages of those 1/350 scale F-35Bs and make it a Sea Control with the JSF!

I was unaware the White Ensign went out of business.  Their Web site (www.whiteensignmodels.com) is still up.

Sad news indeed if that has happened.  I have bought a lot of things from them over the years.

Excellent work, sir. I've got Wasp in my stash and am thinking of making her a waterline version with the sea control air wing; 24 Harriers. Heck, might make it 48. The more, the Harrier, right? :-D sorry I couldn't resist.

I'm bummed White Ensign went out of business though. They had some really nice offerings.

Hi,

That's a very nice model.  One word of caution though, is that I think LCACs always drive bow into a well deck and then "back" out, since trying to "back" into a well deck would be too difficult.

The Build - Vehicle, Hanger & Well deck lighting, Install vehicle deck, well deck and hanger - January 22, 2015

In this session I put together the lighting systems for the Well deck, the vehicle deck and the hanger. I have come to typically rely on Modeler's Brand Hobby Supplies for the parts I use to build these systems. You can purchase complete system that are all together for specific hangers for specific ships, but this way I can custom build the system to my desire...and I find with Modeler's Brand, it is typically quite a bit cheaper to do.

Modelr's Brand has Tabout the best offering of LED lights and tape, controllers, switches, power accessories, switches and clips that you can find, and, as mentioned, at a reasonable price, so as to put together your own lighting system and customize it like you want.

I run mine on 9v DC power and the modeler needs to understand a little about power and how to put together a system in order to make it work. I use LED tape for the lighting inside the hangers and well decks have found that the normal density, cool white LED tape is best. The tape already has the circuitry (and resistance) all taken care of, and you can get the solderless wire clips to attach to them (or you can solder them if you wish).

I hope to have the lighting from all of these three areas, plus potentially some in the island, powered by this system. I am building it so each can be individually controlled by a 4 switch DIP switch I have purchased for that purpose.

Here's what I got, including the LED lighting tape, the solderless connector wires, the lead wires, the 9V battery wire connectors and the DIP switches. I took the LED tape, cut it to fit (and there are places marked for cutting it so that you have small copper locations for the positive and negative wires at the end of each section of tape), and then placed each piece I had cut on the ceilings of the respective locations.

The tape has an adhesive backing which is decent, but I always add a little extra to it (carefully using model glue at various places along each side of the tape) to ensure it will stay in place for years to come. The ceiling lighting for the vehicle deck, the well deck, and the hanger were now in place. Note: I had to build my own ceiling for the vehicle deck. The kit does not include one and so lighting would otherwise be left to the same ceiling for the flight deck. However, lighting it from that far above would have been too diffuse...so I scratch built a ceiling for the vehicle deck as shown.

Once this was completed, I then added the solderless leads to each section and tested them.

With those ceiling lighting fixtures in place, I then went about completing all of the structural walls and compartments in the hanger. This is so I can go ahead and place it in the model over the well deck. I will go about adding the photo etch details and other equipment to the hanger deck later, after it is installed. I then also glued the LCAC and the LCU into the well deck and then placed the ceiling for the vehicle deck and the hanger (which includes the ceiling for the well deck) into the model. I also tested the lighting as shown below:

I will go back later and add the longer wiring to each of these three systems, and then route them out of the hole I cut in the hull at the start of the build. If I am able to add lighting for the ISland, it will also be routed through the hull and out of that hole. Then, later, I will build the terminal blocks, switch and holder for the battery into the stand. This will occur towards the end of the build.

As it is, this is looking very good.

In the next session I will add the final details in the hanger, add the aft decks and details to the hull, and perhaps build the aircraft I intend to have in the hanger.

The Build - Armor/vehicles, LCU and LCAC, start hanger deck - January 20, 2015

In this session I built and painted all of the armor and vehicles I will use with this vessel. This included:

1 x M1A1 Abrams tank
2 x M60A3 tanks
2 x LAV-25s Infantry fighting Vehicles
2 x AAV-7s Amphibious Assault Vehicles
2 x Humvee trucks
1 x Humvee assault jeep
2 x 2 1/2 ton truck
2 x 105mm Howitzers

So, I started building these vehicles and armor by first painting them in their various colors on their frets. I used a desert tan for the Abrams and the Humvees and trucks, and then a forest green for the M60 tanks, the howitzers, the LAVs and the AAVs.

Once they had been painted on the frets, I then cut out their various pieces and began assembling them. Each one is a miniature model itself with anywhere from three to six pieces. I painted the wheels for the HUMVEEs, the Trucks, the LAVs and the Howitzers, and the windshields for the appropriate vehicles in flat black. Once these were all painted and built, I then began building one LCAC and one LCU to place some of them in, while the rest will be located on the vehicle deck in the vessel itself.

I then built one LCAC (Landing Craft Air Cushion), and one LCU-1600, Landing Craft Utility. These are used for transporting troops, vehicles, armor, supplies, etc. from the well deck of the Iwo Jima to shore. I intend to place the two 2 1/2 ton trucks in the LCU, each towing one of the 105mm howitzers. I will place the Abrams tank and two LAVs in the LCAC.

Each of these vessels, like the armor, is a small model itself. In this case, each has quite a few more pieces (22 for the LCAC, and 25 for the LCU). Once painted and assembled, the decals for these vessels also needed to be added.

After this was all complete, I then added the particular vehicles and armor I intend to show in each vessel and then placed them where I wanted them in each.

Once the LCAC and the LCU were completed and the various equipment added to them, I was then able to place them in the well deck where I intend them to be. The LCU will be depicted as having just completed loading near at the forward end of the well deck, and the LCAC will be positioned just exiting the well deck at the rear of the vessel.

I then placed the vehicles and armor on the equipment deck, showing the two HUMNVEE trucks, the two M60 tanks, and the two AAVs preparing for loading, with one of the M60 tanks making its way down the ramp.

That is all looking very nice. I decided to tackle the lighting system in my next session, when I can devote the entire session to it if needed. In the mean time I went ahead and started the initial construction of the hanger deck. Painting the major walls and the floor, the exits to the elevators, and then assembling the major interior walls for the hanger.

The hanger is a major assembly and will end up with quite a bit of detail in terms of viewing decks, railing, equipment, etc, and then the various auxiliary decks that surround the hanger deck and are exposed to the outside along the starboard and port side of the vessel. But that will be worked on after the lighting system for the well deck and the vehicle deck...hopefully in the next session with the lighting system.

She's lookin' really good!!!  Keep up the good work!!!

Love your work.Thanks for posting.

The Build - Well deck and vehicle deck contruction and photo etch - January 16, 2015

I began this session by getting out the major frets/sprues containing the pieces for the Well deck and vehicle deck and painting them, and then dry fitting all of the major structual parts of those deck together. I then painted the various windows and bumper section on those pieces.

Then I got out the Photo Etch sheets/frets for the vessel and painted them in the neutral gray overall (I will paint various details in the respective colors later). As you can see, there is a lot of photo etch material. The first picture is of the two large sheets from the White Ensign Models Photo Etch set. I highly recommend this set because it includes all of the railing and other PE details for the well deck, vehicle deck, and hanger deck that do not come with the GAllery models included photo etch parts (those three smaller sheets/frets are in the second picture). The WEM set also includes a lot more photo etch parts that serve as replacements for the less detailed plastic sensor parts that come with the model, a lot more railing, and a lot of other parts and details that are not included in the GAllery mpodel...as detailed and fine as the kit is.

Once the PE parts were painted and dried, I began assemlbling the metal parts for the vehicle deck and the well deck. For example, as shown, there are two vehicle deck extensions along either side of the ramp leading to the well deck that are not included in the GAllery model, as well as railing and other PE parts for the vehicle deck and well deck and their various sections.

Then it was time to assemble the vehicle deck and the well deck, with the photo etch details I had added. Tese are two separate assemblies.

Once they were assembled individually, I then added them into the hull of the Iwo Jima. They fit very well into the lower portion of the hull and together, end to end, making for a very long section (over half the length of the ship) where the vehicle deck feeds the well deck of the vessel.

That is looking very nice now, with a lot of detail that the lighting system will diplay on the enterior of the ship.

I was going to add the vehicles and armor in this secssion, but there was plenty to do (as you can see) getting this far. In the next session I will add the armor and vehicles to the vehicle deck, and the landing craft and their embarked vehicles and armor to the well deck. I will also start the lighting systems for these two decks which will attach to the ceilings of these two decks.

The session after that will involve the hanger deck.

Thanks!  It will probably take me about four months...I work a little on it pretty much every day after work, with more hours on the weekend.,

Wow, nice start on a massive project. This should keep you busy all year.

The Build - Bulbous bow, props, shafts, rudder, painting the hull - January 13, 2015

I began the actual build by adding the bulbous bow and the props, shafts and rudders to the hull. This hull is a large, and well molded piece.

At this point I drilled a hole in the lower hull and in the stand to provide for the lighting wire I will run out of the ship to the batteries and switch that will be in the stand. This is for the lighting for the well deck, the vehicle deck, the hanger deck, and the island I intend to put in. I will use a four switch dip switch to control each individually...at least that is the plan.

Then it was time to paint the overall hull in the neutral grey I use for all US Navy vessels. The hull is large and so I spray painted it. I then let that dry and then masked off the lower hull for the hull red I use. This is a mixture of flat red, ensignia red, and brown. I brush painted this.

At this point I was ready to paint the waterline mark, which is in flat black. I had to mask both sides of this and then paint it on each side of the vessel. I then masked off the stern, the area directly below the opening to the well deck and painted that too. Some clean up was required because of the rivet patterns and the various vertical portrusions which allowed some paint to pool...but there was not too much and it was a relatively easy job with an xacto knife to clean it up.

The hull is looking pretty good at this point. In my next session I will build and install the well deck and the vehicle deck. They are fairly detailed and I will be adding an LCU and LCAC in there with the vehicles and equipment so it will be a fairly involved stage. I will probably do the lighting for those fterwards when I start the hanger deck in the session after that.