USS Arizona - 1/350

[DocRob]

On 2/13/2023 at 3:26 PM, Peterpools said:

At some point the nuts for the base had to go one once you decided against the water base.

That was my thinking, leaving me all the options, before closing the hull.

Cheers Rob

[DocRob]

After I glued some nuts into the hull, the upper half of the hull was glued into place. To my astonishment, the fit wasn't bad at all, leaving only a tiny gap. Next, I removed a lot of later to be substituted details  from the decks, like ladders, bollards, winches and lifeboat racks, again mostly using a chisel or rounded blades. The fit of the decks was ok, the minimal gaps don't need to be attended, because of the wooden deck, I apply later. 

I'm not very keen about filling gaps and had mediocre results at best in the past. I decided to try different materials for filling the small gap of the halved hull. Black CA doesn't work for me, as it takes forever to dry and mostly replicates the gap on a slightly risen level. With Green Putty, I was not able to spread the stuff and thrust it equally into the gap. I haven't tried thinning it and will try it another time. Finally I used Perfect Putty, a white past, of which I applied tiny amounts onto the gap and smeared it with my rubber gloved fingers into the gap. First impression was good, but let's see what tomorrow brings, after curing.
Last, I build up the middle artillery by cleaning up the housings, cutting off the barrels and insert the supplied brass barrels into 1,1 mm holes, I drilled before and glued them in with CA.

Cheers Rob

[Landlubber Mike]

Looking good Rob!  Now it's starting to look like a ship - always a fun stage to hit in a ship build.  Good luck with the gaps!

[Peterpools]

Rob

You certainly do know the right words to trigger my thoughts.

I can fully appreciate your passion for vinyl and the technical knowledge, work and equipment needed to reproduce the sound you are after - I think that's simply fantastic. It's a combination of both new and old school and being able to enjoy the music on a system you created has to be so rewarding - the ultimate goal. 

 

[Peterpools]

Rob

Nice progress on the Arizona and as Mike said 'Now it's starting to look like a ship'. Fingers crossed Perfect Putty is the perfect filler - I haven't used it yet but I'm always looking for a better filler.   

[BlrwestSiR]

Nice progress there Rob. At least you've gotten as far as gluing the deck to the hull. 

I pretty much only use thin CA. Every time I tried medium CA or thicker, I would end up with blobs of it everywhere.  Using the Glue Looper and thin CA has worked out for me. 

Reading about your turntable setup reminded me of my neighbour's brother who had some crazy expensive turntable. It was all counterweighted and looked like random cylinders piled on top of each other. He ended up covering his entire living room in acoustic foam to improve the sound futher. Couldn't believe it. 

[DocRob]

2 hours ago, Landlubber Mike said:

Looking good Rob!  Now it's starting to look like a ship - always a fun stage to hit in a ship build.  Good luck with the gaps!

Thank you Mike, indeed, having a peek at the final thing due to some work on the main components, get me started again, after bending and gluing tinier and tinier parts of PE together.
What astonishes me with the kit, is the bottom of the underwater ship, it's absolutely flat. I've seen drawing, which indicate this is more or less correct. Where do the builders studied their hydrodynamics other than in the Netherlands or Germanys North Sea Coast, where there is no room under the keel - err - by the way, which keel ?

Cheers Rob

[DocRob]

2 hours ago, Peterpools said:

Nice progress on the Arizona and as Mike said 'Now it's starting to look like a ship'. Fingers crossed Perfect Putty is the perfect filler - I haven't used it yet but I'm always looking for a better filler.   

Let's see tomorrow Peter, I inspected it a while ago and id did look good. The method of applying under pressure with a gloved finger seemed to have worked. Perfect Putty thins with water and I dabbed the rubber glove into it and rubbed half damp over the seamline.

Cheers Rob

[DocRob]

2 hours ago, BlrwestSiR said:

Nice progress there Rob. At least you've gotten as far as gluing the deck to the hull. 

I pretty much only use thin CA. Every time I tried medium CA or thicker, I would end up with blobs of it everywhere.  Using the Glue Looper and thin CA has worked out for me. 

The black CA is relatively thin Carl, it's the so called 'Black Widow' CA from AK, but it takes forever to cure and doesn't make filling easy, not to note sanding, as it's harder than the surrounding plastic, even if not thoroughly hardened. I will try again with a thin CA on another occasion. The Looper does look great, I have some PE applicators and another wishbone formed one, but mostly I use toothpicks, cut to fit for different purposes.

2 hours ago, BlrwestSiR said:

Reading about your turntable setup reminded me of my neighbour's brother who had some crazy expensive turntable. It was all counterweighted and looked like random cylinders piled on top of each other. He ended up covering his entire living room in acoustic foam to improve the sound futher. Couldn't believe it. 

I am crazy, but not that crazy. Room acoustics can be a nightmare and are hard to optimize. I never would cover my walls with egg cartons or the very expensive hifi-equivalents. Luckily my room is sounding ok at least and I may go so far and add a rug for a bit more absorption, but not more. I try to chose my components fitting to the conditions in our living room. 
I have an idea, which type of turntable this was with your neighbor. You have to check the static of your house first and then your credit card .
My equipment has to fit to normal living conditions, I don't want to life in a sound laboratory. On the other hand, I attended a very special Hifi session back in Berlin, where the speakers had heavy bronze tweeters which produced the sound through blue glowing ionized air, no further membrane of any kind was used.  I never again had the feeling of living in Archie Shepp's Saxophone.
Advanced nerdism is what I call it, but we modeler are completely free of this .

Cheers Rob

[HubertB]

Having had a father-in-law (well, ex- since I divorced), who spent more than the price of a (luxury) family sedan on his Hi-Fi set, I can very well understand your passion, Rob. I found out that the turntable (or CD reader, btw) had to be perched on needle-pointed posts to avoid vibrations, as well as the amplifier.
I bought a set from the same supplier, only it cost me the price of a Dacia (well, not the base model ;), rather the full options one). My ex-wife kept it in the divorce - she felt my « retarded teenager » musical tastes did not warrant such fine hardware, which is not fair, as I also like classical music 🤣-.

Aannnd, back on track (although a vinyl has just one, track I mean) and the Arizona. Nice progress, Rob 👍!

Hubert

[DocRob]

19 hours ago, HubertB said:

Having had a father-in-law (well, ex- since I divorced), who spent more than the price of a (luxury) family sedan on his Hi-Fi set, I can very well understand your passion, Rob. I found out that the turntable (or CD reader, btw) had to be perched on needle-pointed posts to avoid vibrations, as well as the amplifier.
I bought a set from the same supplier, only it cost me the price of a Dacia (well, not the base model ;), rather the full options one). My ex-wife kept it in the divorce - she felt my « retarded teenager » musical tastes did not warrant such fine hardware, which is not fair, as I also like classical music 🤣-.

Aannnd, back on track (although a vinyl has just one, track I mean) and the Arizona. Nice progress, Rob 👍!

Somehow I knew, that there is a certain degrees of crazyness we share, Hubert . Bummer that you lost your equipment to a lost case, but I hope you are still able to enjoy good music with a decent sound. Like you have been, I'm in the better Dacia line as well and feel, that is a very good level of sound quality, you get for your money. Above it's only fractions better per K€. My set is under constant, but not rapid change, I like to stay with proven components and try to max out connections and placing. There is so much room to improve with simple steps, like setting up the loudspeakers according to the room acoustics, where possible. And for some turntables a cheap Ikea rack, made from pressed wooden debris, is the perfect fit, as it is with some of the Rega's, which play better with absorption, than on needle spikes. Of course there is no end in possibilities of spending, and I will keep my feet quite for a while, after the recent purchases, because I want to enjoy the sound without thinking about it.
What is a 'retarded teenager' taste, concerning music. I'm all over the field with my tastes from punk to classic, I try to find the cherries on the cake and like in modelling am always searching for new sonic adventures. 
Only yesterday evening, I had a glass of wine, listening to an older 'Bohren und der Club of Gore'- album and thought, why changing anything it sounds so good right now, but deep inside, I know, the new stuff will teach me better  .

Thanks about the Arizona Hubert, its good to feel back on track after the delays lately.

Cheers Rob

[HubertB]

As for « retarded teenager » musical tastes, I was a teenager in the 70s : just after Cream, and not so much in the disco wave, nor moved into heavy metal (but AC/DC or Scorpions …😏). I suppose this gives you a good timeframe for my tastes, until the late eighties …

And a high dynamics Hi-Fi set is just as good to listen to « Highway to Hell » as Bernstein’s 1989 Ninth Symphony in Berlin, or « The Wall », or Tannhaüser’s overture 😁

Hubert

[CANicoll]

Rob, your skill with the Flying Bridge PE and all that brass is amazing. Can't wait to see this progressing.

And yeah, have also had some issues using Thin CA.  Mostly ending up on my fingers.  I also now use an applicator to apply it (the very few times I use it).  Since I do very little small PE work and what I do is pretty basic compared to your work, I tend to use CA gel.  A lot!  Not sure how useful you would find it.  

Sadly, I can't add anything to the Hi-Fi discussion.  My most sophisticated stereo setup was an MCS stereo from JC Penny's (a department store).  And the ones in my vehicles.  I do like my music which tends heavily to rock music from the 70's, 80's etc.  I'm sure I'd be very happy listening to what you and Hubert listen to.  Must be our age!

[DocRob]

On 2/15/2023 at 6:59 PM, HubertB said:

As for « retarded teenager » musical tastes, I was a teenager in the 70s : just after Cream, and not so much in the disco wave, nor moved into heavy metal (but AC/DC or Scorpions …😏). I suppose this gives you a good timeframe for my tastes, until the late eighties …

And a high dynamics Hi-Fi set is just as good to listen to « Highway to Hell » as Bernstein’s 1989 Ninth Symphony in Berlin, or « The Wall », or Tannhaüser’s overture 😁

Exactly Hubert, it's the music that matters finally and mostly, there is no good or bad, except maybe 'German Schlager' or the always same looking and sounding pop bands, produced by some laboratories called labels, which luckily produce more profit, getting their output streamed, rather than cut in vinyl.

I was born and risen in West Berlin, this walled bubble of capitalism, run by the French, British and Americans. It was the perfect place to grow up and develop a musical taste. In this strange city, maybe one of the strangest ever, there was everything possible, it was complete freedom, except taking a hike in the countryside.
This 24 hours, everything goes, next day nuclear annihilation atmosphere attracted many creative spirits and a way of life, always close to the edge. In my late teens and early twens, the city was boiling with musical influences, through bands/musicans like Iggy Pop, David Bowie, Nick Cave, but not to forget German Bands like Einstürzend Neubauten, which created new sound and many others. My girlfriend in these times used to live in Schönebergs Goltzstraße, one of the epicenters of what was called the 'Szene' (where everything happened). All these guys and many others were not only doing concerts in the famous SO36 or Kant Kino or Quartier Latin, but hanging around in the Bars and Cafes of the area. It was a crazy time, being in the middle of the that drug fueled eye of a creative storm. I never did the drug thing, but black rings under my eyes were a signature these times. A parallel Universum of a anarchistic and hedonistic dark bohemy. There were so many strange places, concerts being played in occupied houses, by bands still to be known, The Tempodrom Circus tent in the middle of nowhere on Potsdamer Platz, a wasteland then, which is now the middle of everything in the new boring Berlin. Later old bunkers or defunct factories served as the breeding place for Techno and the Szene went psycho. 
I loved these times and sometimes think, I should write down some of my experiences, If I'd be better with words, as this period in the world capital of strangeness is not that well documented. 
Well, I got carried away a bit, but the cultural melting pot of West Berlin, were the roots of my musical taste. The first records I bought, were Donna Summers Bad Girls and AC/DC's Highway to Hell though . I still own both of them.

Cheers Rob

[DocRob]

On 2/16/2023 at 2:59 AM, CANicoll said:

Rob, your skill with the Flying Bridge PE and all that brass is amazing. Can't wait to see this progressing.

And yeah, have also had some issues using Thin CA.  Mostly ending up on my fingers.  I also now use an applicator to apply it (the very few times I use it).  Since I do very little small PE work and what I do is pretty basic compared to your work, I tend to use CA gel.  A lot!  Not sure how useful you would find it.  

Thank you Chris, I don't know the ratio of hit and miss with CA, but I guess, unwanted glueing are the majority . I changed to plastic work for a bit and then it will be PE again. I'm really looking forward to have this done and enter the painting stage with the USS Arizona.

On 2/16/2023 at 2:59 AM, CANicoll said:

Sadly, I can't add anything to the Hi-Fi discussion.  My most sophisticated stereo setup was an MCS stereo from JC Penny's (a department store).  And the ones in my vehicles.  I do like my music which tends heavily to rock music from the 70's, 80's etc.  I'm sure I'd be very happy listening to what you and Hubert listen to.  Must be our a

Don't be so sure about being happy with listening what I'm listening . Yesterday it was the White Stripes, the day before some Off Country and some German Avant-Pop from the 80's. My wife has a wide taste for music, but I can easy overstep her border of tolerance. Luckily, I can hear music as loud as I want in the nighttime, without disturbing anybody, including my wife. I always lived with music and never liked radio, or in other words unwanted information, so for me, vinyl is the way to go, along a good reproduction of the carved information.

Cheers Rob

[GusMac]

12 hours ago, DocRob said:

Well, I got carried away a bit, but the cultural melting pot of West Berlin, were the roots of my musical taste. The first records I bought, were Donna Summers Bad Girls and AC/DC's Highway to Hell though . I still own both of them.

Cheers Rob

That's almost as weird as the first pair of records I bought Rob....  Abba's Greatest Hits and Judas Priest's Point of Entry. 

My wife tolerates most of what I listen to but Rammstein is where she draws the line. I don't know if it's the industrial nature of the music or just the songs being sung in German but she just will not have it played in the house if she's around.

[BlrwestSiR]

23 minutes ago, GusMac said:

That's almost as weird as the first pair of records I bought Rob....  Abba's Greatest Hits and Judas Priest's Point of Entry. 

My wife tolerates most of what I listen to but Rammstein is where she draws the line. I don't know if it's the industrial nature of the music or just the songs being sung in German but she just will not have it played in the house if she's around.

Sue loves Brittany Spears so I guess it can go both ways...

At least we can agree on '80s alternative music and classic '70s rock. 

[DocRob]

18 hours ago, GusMac said:

That's almost as weird as the first pair of records I bought Rob....  Abba's Greatest Hits and Judas Priest's Point of Entry. 

My wife tolerates most of what I listen to but Rammstein is where she draws the line. I don't know if it's the industrial nature of the music or just the songs being sung in German but she just will not have it played in the house if she's around.

That's a strange combination as well Gus. I always liked the early Judas Priest stuff, Abba, they do posees the ability to give their songs some special sparkle, other similar bands can't. I still don't like them and have no records from them.
I also have some late night records, where my wife would have a very unpleasing look, if she would be with me. Rammstein though, is not one of my favorites, maybe because they sing in German .

Cheers Rob

[DocRob]

17 hours ago, BlrwestSiR said:

Sue loves Brittany Spears so I guess it can go both ways...

At least we can agree on '80s alternative music and classic '70s rock. 

Hearing music together with a good drink or two, is a lot of fun. We sometimes have spontaneous vinyl evenings, with a special theme, like 70's live rock albums, or Jazz icons, ...

Cheers Rob

[DocRob]

After so many distractions, back to the USS Arizona. I sanded the hull, where the seam of the meeting halves was and it does look good. I will give the final verdict on the Perfect Putty, when primed.
Then it was time for the midship artillery and the casemates. I glued the provided metal barrels into 1,1 mm holes and needed to cut away some material on the stubs of the deck, which are casted there for positioning the turrets. The barrels are to long and the guns wouldn't sit flush without cutting the stubs.
On reference pics, I found, the middle artillery is mainly directed to the front, which I didn't replicate, because it would have been difficult to insert the casemates PE 
On the picture you can also see the prepared PE casemates and the deck, where all the plastic was erased.

After gluing on the upper deck, the PE-casemates where glued into place and they look so much better, than the plastic with a centerline and halved portholes. I then carefully removed the front superstructure, which stuck unwanted too the deck, due to running CA, some steps before. The wooden deck, was also glued to the plastic deck in these spots and I managed to remove the wooden deck  with the help of some large sharp blades, between the decks.

Now this is where I am with the Arizona and it looks, like the first priming and painting is not to far ahead.

Cheers Rob

[BlrwestSiR]

Some great progress there Rob. It's staring to look like a proper battlewagon. 

[BlrwestSiR]

One more thing, have you seen this diorama?

 

[HubertB]

19 minutes ago, BlrwestSiR said:

One more thing, have you seen this diorama?

 

I was thinking about something in the same line « now we need a Val overflying the Arizona »

Hubert

[Peterpools]

Rob

Your progress is amazing and the hours of working with all the PE, has brough your Arizona already up to a new level. Simply fantastic work.

 

[CANicoll]

Super work!!  Love the PE, since I'll never do anything nearly as detailed (or tiny!).