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USS Arizona - 1/350


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Well, the top deck looks a bit skewed with the rear lower than the front (but that is good to evacuate water in heavy seas), but I am sure it will be fixed when gluing and adding the rear platform posts.

In short : 👍 !

Hubert

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2 minutes ago, HubertB said:

Well, the top deck looks a bit skewed with the rear lower than the front (but that is good to evacuate water in heavy seas), but I am sure it will be foxed when gluing and adding the rear platform posts.

In short : 👍 !

Thanks Hubert, you picked out the meanest angle, which luckily doesn't show that dramatic with the real eye. I add two brass columns later under the rangefinders and hope, I can correct this, as you said.

Cheers Rob

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11 hours ago, BlrwestSiR said:

Just catching up on this Rob. I thought the Vosper with all its PE was going to be a challenge but the Arizona has proved me wrong. 

Keep going and I'll be cheering for you

Thanks for the cheers, Carl, I will need them. From the start this project feels uncomfortable and I'm working on getting into some kind of groove with the build, as is usual with more demanding projects, where I focus after a while of irritation.
I guess there are differences with the PE on our projects. With the Vosper, the added PE is more in the detail work, where it is more structural with the USS Arizona. In the end it doesn't matter, both are demanding projects, which keep you on the heels.

Cheers Rob

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10 hours ago, Peterpools said:

Amazing work - My hands just shake thinking about how steady you need to be working with such small and delicate parts. I'm sure all the parts will mesh together flawlessly as you keep moving forward.

Amazing work.

Thank you Peter, with a little bit more of progress, I will prime this section and put some color on. Let's see, how it shows afterwards.
I started with the superstructure, because I was not sure how to tackle the decks building and painting sequence. The problem here, the wooden deck is adhesive and there is no way to test fit it. Some of the on deck components need to be glued into place and painted before applying the deck, others need to be added later.
Before installing the deck, I have to decide, how I want to display the model and depending on that decision, I have to paint the hull first. 
I'm leaning towards an acrylic water base, only to hide the abysmal propellers, shafts and rudders. 

Decisions, decisions,... 

Cheers Rob

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Rob

Starting with the superstructure was an excellent decision as you explained in Carl's post. I watch and follow a few ship builds (1/200) on a regular basis and wooden deck preparation is ever so demanding. Steve, a brilliant modeler (The Model Shed) does test fit the wooden decks and if need be, has cut them in strategic spots for fit and orientation. It's surely a major step in a build, demanding of the greatest concentration and precision. I can appreciate all the pre-installation decisions you need to make and painting is another issue all unto itself. 

Acrylic paints are a bit thicker then lacquers and should work in your favor with hiding some of the flaws of the propellers, shafts and rudders.  With all the PE that came with the kit, for a few dollars more, brass propellers and shafts would have been so welcome.

My money is riding with you, pulling it off and looking so good when all is done.

 

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Rob, you mentioned the wood deck is self adhesive. Since it's already cut to shape, would it be possible to deepen the cuts and cut through the backing sheet? Then you could test fit them without getting them stuck in place?

Might be harder than it sounds with all the different cutouts.

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5 hours ago, Peterpools said:

Starting with the superstructure was an excellent decision as you explained in Carl's post. I watch and follow a few ship builds (1/200) on a regular basis and wooden deck preparation is ever so demanding. Steve, a brilliant modeler (The Model Shed) does test fit the wooden decks and if need be, has cut them in strategic spots for fit and orientation. It's surely a major step in a build, demanding of the greatest concentration and precision. I can appreciate all the pre-installation decisions you need to make and painting is another issue all unto itself. 

Acrylic paints are a bit thicker then lacquers and should work in your favor with hiding some of the flaws of the propellers, shafts and rudders.  With all the PE that came with the kit, for a few dollars more, brass propellers and shafts would have been so welcome.

My money is riding with you, pulling it off and looking so good when all is done.

 

4 hours ago, BlrwestSiR said:

Rob, you mentioned the wood deck is self adhesive. Since it's already cut to shape, would it be possible to deepen the cuts and cut through the backing sheet? Then you could test fit them without getting them stuck in place?

Might be harder than it sounds with all the different cutouts.

Thank you mis amigos, had the same thoughts, but wanted to advance the build a bit further, before bothering with the decks. I considered cutting the decks into smaller pieces, as well as cutting through the carrier film for dry fitting. This will be neccessary to determine, which components can be installed prior to the decks.

Peter, I think I will hide the underwater section exactly where it belongs, under - acrylic - water. Since a long time, I wanted to try a water dio and it is more fitting, as I have figures for the Arizona.

Cheers Rob

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I continued with the funnel, another delicate construction. The casemate housings on the side where annealed for easier bending the radii. Luckily the PE parts are very well designed and the general fit is great. The Eduard manual lacks a bit especially with continuation. The exhaust hole on top was drilled out, using my relatively new Tamiya conical file for the first time. A great tool, which will also help a lot for my wooden ship builds. 

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Cheers Rob

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11 hours ago, Bomber_County said:

Rob, looking good some stunning modelling skills being shown. I actually used Future on the Elco to fit the dead lights, not sure it would be useful on your build. ……

Thank you Phil, I used Pledge sometimes with PE, when I had flat surfaces to attach. Here the mating surfaces are mostly very tiny and I trust CA a bit more. I use two types, a thin fast curing and a gel like slower bonding one.

Cheers Rob

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9 hours ago, KevinM said:

Annealing can make life much easier at times and if to extreme heat Poof! ask me how I know.:rolleyes:

I used to be an engineer with a solid education and practical skills in metallurgy in a former life. No margin for poof though :D.

Cheers Rob

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1 hour ago, Peterpools said:

WOW, your progress is amazing and your skills with PE is extraordinary. Your idea for the diorama sounds perfect and the way to go - no doubt the' How To's' are gather idea after idea as you consider all the possibilities and choices.

Exactly Peter, you put my workflow in one sentence :D. Sometimes I think, fuzzy logic was developed with my brain as a template :hsmack:. Poco a poco is the motto here.

Cheers Rob

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Rob, Watching your amazing skills and this build is fascinating.  Never really contemplated building a ship - and watching all of the PE work you are doing, and the incredible detail it adds, NOPE! Not going there!  :unworthy:

Chris

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On 1/30/2023 at 4:11 PM, Landlubber Mike said:

Really excellent PE work there Rob.  This is looking fantastic!

 

On 1/31/2023 at 3:16 AM, CANicoll said:

Rob, Watching your amazing skills and this build is fascinating.  Never really contemplated building a ship - and watching all of the PE work you are doing, and the incredible detail it adds, NOPE! Not going there!  :unworthy:

Thank you Chris and Mike, the PE-work is tedious, but mostly has been satisfactory. It's the little and unexpected things, which make me cursing. There are peaceful hours of building and then there is a tiny part to add, nothing complicated, but it jumps off the tweezers, after finding it, glues everywhere, except where it should, you know the game.
The other issue is rigidness, with all these tiny parts, it's difficult to touch the sub assemblies without damaging them.

Cheers Rob

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Doesn't look like much, but I worked a lot on these subassemblies, put in the brass columns for the rangefinders, rectified the angle of the top deck (sweat) and am about to determine the location points of the brass columns for the flying bridge, which I pre-assembled and left it on the turret base. There are no location marks on the plastic deck,  nor the wooden deck, but some measurements in the manual.
I re-cut the places of the wooden deck, where the superstructure and the funnel will be placed, because I will not remove the un cut carrier film before the final assembly stage.
The upper and the underside of this deck and the deck below, where cleaned of all casted structures, to accept their PE substitutes later. I used every tool able to cut plastic to do this, Dremel tool with different saws and grinders, cutter, chisel, scalpels, micro saws, you name it. My bench is powdered now with plastic scrap and needs to be cleaned before I continue. 

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Cheers Rob

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19 hours ago, CANicoll said:

Rob, I'm wondering how much styrene is going to be left after all of this PE and woodwork.  Do you buy CA by the quart or the barrel?  Chris

Luckily there is the hull Chris, other ways, there wouldn't be too much left of the astonishingly low plastic parts count. Above the deck line it is 1/3 plastic, 1/3 PE and 1/3 CA :D. I will have to restock my CA reserves after this build. I considered soldering, but decided against it, as there is always plastic near or parts which need to be CA-ed.

Cheers Rob

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6 hours ago, Peterpools said:

Amazing - simply amazing work.

Thanks Peter, in the moment it's a bit slow processing, due to some delicate alignment sections. the flying bridges resting on brass tubes, which I cut roughly to size and figure, where I have to position brass rods in the decks and superstructure, to have the flying bridge removable for painting. This build is completely about the how and even more important, when. The sequence of building and painting is the determining factor.

Cheers Rob

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