The Ship Model Forum

I presume the base plates prevents the actual light from lighting up parts of the ship & maybe preventing the messing up the night watch lookouts nightvision.

[size=150]Hi once more.

The last step for now was the navigation lights at the end of the main yard. For whatever reason they had a big, round base.
The elements are these ones, with the lights themselves made with a button of molten 1.2 mm. Evergreen plastic.
[/size]
[attachment=3](1103).jpg[/attachment]
[attachment=2](1104).jpg[/attachment]
[size=150]And already in place:[/size]
[attachment=1](1105).jpg[/attachment]
[size=150]And just a question : Does anybody know what was the reason of the [i]dish[/i] base for these two lights ???

The main mast is then like this at the moment. It will need two more supports for aerials with the corresponding wiring, and after that it will need only some small touches:[/size]
[attachment=0](1106).jpg[/attachment]

[size=150]I hope you like it, and very best regards from this side,

Willie.[/size]

[size=150]Hi again to all.

The next step was the main signal yard, that even with wide variations in the different units, seemed to have a standard
basic structure, with two different diameter tubes, fixed to the main mast with two legs in a smaller caliber tubing, a kind of [i]fork-shaped[/i] supports at the end of the main sections, and several supports for what seemed to be anemometers.

Here the port yard :[/size]
[attachment=9](1093).JPG[/attachment]
[size=150]In this interesting picture of [b]USS The Sullivans[/b], it is possible to see the bare structure of this yard, along with the supports for the navigation lights, anemometers and the AN/UPX-5, a IFF aerial, as fas as I can remember. It is also surprising, to state it very mildly, how stripped of virtually everything this ship was delivered to the museum where it is now.
[/size]
[attachment=8](1094).JPG[/attachment]
[size=150]It was very easy to build:[/size]
[attachment=7](1095).jpg[/attachment]
[size=150][b]USS The Sullivans[/b]'s yard other side had a AN/UPX-5 aerial and another supports for the anemometer, as can be seen in this other picture, and both were retained by [b][color=#FF0000]Jorge Juan[/color][/b] years after her delivery to the Spanish Navy.[/size]
[attachment=6](1096).JPG[/attachment]
[size=150]Again, it was very easy to build, and it gives much life to the structure:[/size]
[attachment=5](1097).jpg[/attachment]
[size=150]Both together, complete with wiring and other supports:[/size]
[attachment=4](1098).jpg[/attachment]
[attachment=3](1099).jpg[/attachment]
[size=150]As for navigation lights, Jorge Juan had a different arrangement, with two sets port and starboard instead of one in the US Navy, plaved on the legs of the main mast :
[/size]
[attachment=2](1100).jpg[/attachment]
[attachment=1](1101).jpg[/attachment]
[size=150]Very easy to make as well, and the effect on the mast is excellent:[/size]
[attachment=0](1102).jpg[/attachment]

[size=150]And over to the next post.

Very best regards from this side,

Willie.[/size]

[size=150]Hi all modellers again.

While I was busy with the main mast I realized that the stanchions and handrails around gun nr.2 onboard [b][color=#FF0000]Jorge Juan[/color][/b], the same as in many (not all) other US Fletchers, were slightly displaced offboard, no doubt to allow the mount to revolve without ruining the stanchions everytime it happened.[/size]
[attachment=1](1091).jpg[/attachment]
[size=150]Unnecessary to say, very easy to do, using 0.75 mm. Evergreen strip:[/size]
[attachment=0](1092).jpg[/attachment]

[size=150]And back to the main mast again.

Very best regards,

Willie.
[/size]

[size=150]And hi once again to all of you.

The next step, the railings around the platforms, was not that easy. This is what had to be done:
[/size]
[attachment=5](1085).JPG[/attachment]
[attachment=4](1086).JPG[/attachment]
[size=150]The upper railing was very tricky, as it is not regular nor simetric, has quite funny curves, and had to be made in one single piece because welding these thin sections would be for me very complicated. I had to use 0.5 mm. Evergreen rod . It is a bit too thick, but it was a necessary compromise, as the stretched sprue broke almost inmediately, with so much bending and combing. Even with Evergreen to make the curves for the dry fit took some time, but I think that more or less I have it. The final touch needs two more small sections of railing welded on the the topgalland mast supports, which will be added later:[/size]
[attachment=3](1087).jpg[/attachment]
[attachment=2](1088).jpg[/attachment]
[attachment=1](1089).jpg[/attachment]
[size=150]So, as for now this is how the mast is :[/size]
[attachment=0](1090).jpg[/attachment]
[size=150]I hope you like it, and feel free to critize it if you find something that can be done.

Nice going and very best regards from the north Atlantic,

Willie.[/size]

[size=150]Hi again all modellers:

The next step was the wiring trunk running behind the upper mast, with some other wiring leading to the aerials. This thing :[/size]
[attachment=3](1081).JPG[/attachment]
[size=150]I could also see that [b]USS McGowan[/b] had a AS-177/UPX in this section of the mast in 1959, prior to her transfer to the Spanish Navy...:[/size]
[attachment=2](1082).JPG[/attachment]
[size=150]And that [b][color=#FF4000]Jorge Juan[/color][/b] still retained it in the mid/late 1960's :[/size]
[attachment=1](1083).jpg[/attachment]
[size=150]Making the wiring was easy. It is not regular, what would not be convenient, and the final effect is quite convincing, I think, with the AS-177/UPX adding an excelent additional note:[/size]
[attachment=0](1084).jpg[/attachment]
[size=150]I hope you like it, and best regards,

Willie.[/size]

[size=150]Hi there Meister Baumann and all.

Thanks very much for your remark. It was a tricky business, but the final outcome was OK, and it is what matters.

The next step was the lights in the main leg of the mast, this thing:[/size]
[attachment=5](1075).JPG[/attachment]
[size=150]I have a couple of very clear shots of this thing, so it was not a problem.[/size]
[attachment=4](1076).JPG[/attachment]
[size=150]But [b][color=#FF4000]Jorge Juan[/color][/b] had two of these lights. The concept was the same, but the lower one was a bit longer, with the support bars going upwards, instead of downwards. This image was very helpful:[/size]
[attachment=3](1077).JPG[/attachment]
[size=150]I had to simplify it a bit, and I used 0.64 mm. Evergreen rod, as the 0.50 mm. one was too thin to work properly, but making it was very easy, although the upper platform supports took some time before I got the right angles in the welding points. The lights themselves were made melting a small section of 1.2 mm. Evergreen rod too:[/size]
[attachment=2](1078).jpg[/attachment]
[attachment=1](1079).jpg[/attachment]
[attachment=0](1080).jpg[/attachment]
[size=150]I hope you like it. And over to the next post.

Brgds,

Willie.[/size]

excellent work! :thumbs_up_1:

sharp and precise--and masterfully executed

cheers
JB :wave_1:

[size=150]And hi again.

The second cable trunk, that runs up all the lenght of the main leg, was attached to the mast by means of brackets fore and aft, and was made of different sections screwed together. It would very simple to make if it was not for the fact that it has to go around the platform of the AN/SPS main radar, in order to avoid the scuttle for the vertical ladder.

This is the trunk:[/size]
[attachment=7](1067).JPG[/attachment]
[size=150]And this was the next headache:[/size]
[attachment=6](1068).JPG[/attachment]
[attachment=5](1069).JPG[/attachment]
[size=150]I used a 0.5x2.00 mm. Evergreen stripe. I made the big angle at the top heating the bar, instead of cutting and glueing two sections, to give it some additional strength, and cut the rest of the elements accordingly. It was a headache to make everything dry-fit in position all along the process. I wanted to have this trunk complete, instead of making the sections and glueing them in place, so that I could be able to control the proportions at all times, and complete the small details without making a poly mess.

After much essay and mistake, and some reasonable amount of cursing, I completed the thing with small sections of stretched sprue, and eventually I was able to produce this, 37 pieces all together:[/size]
[attachment=4](1070).jpg[/attachment]
[attachment=3](1071).jpg[/attachment]
[size=150]When set in place there are no gaps in the sections, it is parallel to the mast, it has the correct angle to follow the inclination of the platform, it is correctly aligned with the axis, and this is everything I wanted to see.[/size]
[attachment=2](1072).jpg[/attachment]
[size=150]After this, I finished the small details with stretched sprue again and scraps of 0.4x0.75 mm. Evergreen stripe, added another trunk using 0.5x0.5 mm. Evergereen bar, and the thing was done.[/size]
[attachment=1](1073).jpg[/attachment]
[size=150]When placed on deck, the effect is quite convincing:[/size]
[attachment=0](1074).jpg[/attachment]
[size=150]So, I hope you like it, and very best regards from the north Atlantic shores,

Willie.[/size]

[size=150]Hi all modelers once more.

After further interference of 1/1 life and work, I have gathered some time to give a push to this construction, main mast again, which is the last big element remaining.

After the nightmare of the cable racks, the rest of the elements should be relatively easy to make, and hence, I went further on with the vertical ladder, before the second cable trunk. These vertical ladders were all fixed in the same way, using plain horizontal bars attached to the bulkheads, masts or whatever was necessary. In the case of the main mast attached to the numerous rings available.[/size]
[attachment=3](1063).JPG[/attachment]
[size=150]The vertical ladder of the main mast in [color=#FF0000][b]Jorge Juan[/b][/color] was fixed with 8 of these sets of bars. The real problem was to get them all in a straight line, as they are in a very visible location, and a deviation from this line, even if minor, would ruin the visual effect. I solved the problem making small elements with 2 mm. Evergreen channel, with the bars attached on both sides. This will allow to make a channel to run the ladder up and down and lake sure the line is straight.[/size]
[attachment=2](1064).jpg[/attachment]
[size=150]The effect is quite real, as the channel is be disguised by the ladder itself. I completed the set with two sections os PE ladder that I had around.[/size]
[attachment=1](1065).jpg[/attachment]
[attachment=0](1066).jpg[/attachment]
[size=150]And over to the next post.

Best regards,

Willie.[/size]

[size=150]Hi there again, Hank and all modellers.

Hank, clear enough now the paintjob subject.

The next element was the topgallant mast.

Even if there were the usual variations in the location of the different elements, the Fletcher class had a common equipment reg. the topgallant masts, and [b]USS McGowan[/b] had the most usual location of aerials, this one, in 1956, short time before the transfer to the Spanish Navy, and one that she kept for some years:[/size]
[attachment=5](1057).jpg[/attachment]
[size=150]The wiring was attached to the masts following also a common pattern, with beautiful curves that were IMO as specifically designed for modelling:[/size]
[attachment=4](1058).JPG[/attachment]
[size=150]On the other hand, [b][color=#FF0000]Jorge Juan[/color][/b] had an [i]further[/i] upper topgallant added AFAIK in the mid 60´s, the moment in which I try to represent her (no other reason than I was born in 1964). Sadly, there is (or I have not been able to find it at least) absolutely no clear picture of this part in both [b][color=#FF0000]Jorge Juan[/color][/b] and sister ship [b][color=#FF0000]Alcalá Galiano[/color][/b]. I have been able to find only these two crops :[/size]
[attachment=3](1059).jpg[/attachment]
[attachment=2](1060).JPG[/attachment]
[size=150]One of the elements is clearly an anemometer, very easy to carve in a piece of sprue. The other elements seem to be the AS-390/SRC aerial, two supports for the topgallant mast placed in a 45º angle, and apparently a small rounded platform for two more aerials (?) just under the anemometer.

I am not completely sure that all this is 100% true but I have found no better source, so this will have to do. Making it all was much easier than finding the information.[/size]
[attachment=1](1061).jpg[/attachment]
[attachment=0](1062).jpg[/attachment]
[size=150]I think it is quite consistent with the pictures, and in any case it is not unrealistic, and it is enough.

I hope you like it, and very best regards from this side of the seas,

Willie.[/size]

Willie,

Yes! - those parts are already cured. They are ready for painting. As for painting, I can't address Humbrol paints as I don't use them. However, if you have not thrown out the support bases, you could try painting those as an experiment and see how the paint works on them before painting the actual RADAR parts. I use Mr. Color Spray and bottle paint as well as some of the Testors Model Master spray & bottle enamels, so I would think that your paint should work ok. I know that others prime their parts, but as my primer spray paint IS my final paint color, I only use the gray primer when painting. Since these parts are normally (USN) flat black, I also just spray them black and again, no primer. The choice is up to you!

As others have commented on other threads regarding 3D resin parts and painting, acrylics seem to be the preferred type of paint. I guess it's an individual choice; I never found them to work well with the older (Shapeways) type of plastic. The parts I sent you are printed with Phrozen Rapid Black Water Soluble resin and seem to work well with lacquers and enamels. Again, I don't use acrylics so I can't make a comment on whether that will work or not.

Hope this helps,

Hank

[size=150]Hi there Hank and all.

And thanks for your always encouraging remarks.

After reading your post in the main forum reg. 3D printing, two question comes inmediately to my mind --and please excuse my ignorance:
(1) Are your radars already cured, and I can paint them directly, or should I take some other action before ?
(2) Could I use Humbrol enamel paint ?
At this stage, I would hate to ruin them out of sheer ignorance.

TIA, and very best regards from the North Atlantic,

Willie.[/size]

Willie,

Well, I'm certainly glad that they:
1) Arrived safe & sound and you were able to remove them from their supports - certainly a job in itself!
2) That they met your expectations and will work out well for your model.

I'm about at the same place with STODDARD in working on the main mast & RADARs. So, after checking out your preceding posts regarding the electrical cables running down the main leg of the mast, I think your approach and work is 1st Class!! I guess some minds think alike in that I've been searching my "stuff" for similar old Bell Telephone wiring which is just like what you've used on your model. I may have to reach out to one of my friends nearby who is into electronics, etc. and see if he has about 12" of that wiring that he could part with.

Once again, you're doing great work here - wonderful to see the progress!!!

Hank

[size=150]Hi all friend modelers:

And before anything else, thank you gentlemen for your always kind remarks.

As you know, our common friend Hank Strub and I are building the same kind square-bridged Fletcher destroyer, and he has developed some printed parts for his model that are common to all destroyers of this era, and hence for my ship as well.

I prefer to scratch-build before any other option, so in the last months I was making some tests on the radars, but with very little success, and then, after swallowing my pride (an always wise decision many times) I sent an SOS to him, and he graciously replied with a set of radars that he had in store as surplus of his own construction.

This is the first time that I have such a thing in my hands, but IMO to say that they are good is to say very little of them. The quality that he has achieved is more than remarkable. I have been studying them for some hours. The details are as fine and delicate as can be and I can see very little else that could be done. It took me sometime to detach them from the supports, but I was able to do it without breaking anything. Here they are :[/size]
[attachment=1](1055).jpg[/attachment]
[size=150]They are years light ahead of any of my attempts, and even in a dry fit, they cover he gap in the best possible way:[/size]
[attachment=0](1056).jpg[/attachment]
[size=150]When they are completely finished and painted, they will look splendid.

So Hank, thanks a million once more for your precious help, and best regards to all of you from this side,

Willie.[/size]

That looks fantastic Willie! Very precise and sharp! :thumbs_up_1: :thumbs_up_1: :thumbs_up_1:

Wonderful work. It is a pleasure to hear about this great construction again.
:wave_1:

Incredible work Willie! Glad to see you are working on this again and posting!

Dave

[size=150]Hi there Meister Baumann and all.[/size]

[quote="JIM BAUMANN"]Beautifully made... the sharpness of your styrene work is inspirationa l![/quote]

[size=150]Thanks very much for your remark. It was very easy to make.

The next step, the wiring, was not that easy [i][b]at all[/b][/i]. First, what had to be done is 4 sections of brackets, at an uneven spacing, and lots of wiring in the racks. After some research, I could not find a complete picture of the rear of the main mast of a modernized Fletcher (to say nothing of [color=#FF0000][b]Jorge Juan[/b][/color] herself), and even in sections, I found out that not all the ships had --as usual-- the same arrangements, but I could more or less stablish that most of the ships had similar numbers of brackets in similar sections, so as representative of the class I was using the mast of [b]USS The Sullivans[/b], of which I have excellent pictures.[/size]
[attachment=7](1047).JPG[/attachment]
[size=150]At first I tried to replicate the racks in the aft stack, and made all the pieces accordingly, using 2.00x0.5 mm. Evergreen strip,with sections of 0.5x0.25 mm. Evergreen as well. It had worked well on the stack, but (I noticed it too late), because it had required no handling at all and I was using small sections of stretched sprue for the wiring itself. It was not the case here: I had to handle it continuously, using copper wire for the wiring, because the stretched sprue broke easily with so much handling and bending at odd angles. I also discovered at my own expense that the copper wire has a life of itself and takes its own decisions, that in even in small bundles can coincide or not with [i]my own[/i] decisions.
All this together along with the amount of glue that I had to use made the vertical strips too soft, and eventually they bent and broke. A full three-day work directly to the bin...[/size]
[attachment=6](1048).jpg[/attachment]
[size=150]I had to start everything again, this time trying to make the thing a bit more solid, using 2.mm Evergreen channel and 0.5x0.5 mm. strip instead. The only drawback is that the channel limits the number of wires to only 5 instead of the 7 that I was using before, but it was now way stronger, and I thought it could cope with the unavoidable handling. It did.[/size].
[attachment=5](1049).jpg[/attachment]
[size=150]The trickiest thing was to comb the copper wire in the right places at the right angles to form the three waves that are so typical of these masts, and all of them at the same time, the only possible way that I found to have all of them identical. I did the job using a 3.2 mm. tubing section bent under the pressure of two 2.00 mm. rod sections. I made a couple of tests before, and apparently it worked.[/size]
[attachment=4](1050).jpg[/attachment]
[attachment=3](1051).jpg[/attachment]
[size=150]I made the middle wave first, and then the third and then the first, because the middle can be done stretching the wires un and down, but the other two have to be made with only a two mm. margin. I said [i]apparently[/i], because this time the copper wires got really temperamental and all the three curves seemed to agree on bending together to almost 30º to the right. It cost me blood to take them to the right position, but more or less I think I got it.[/size]
[attachment=2](1052).jpg[/attachment]
[attachment=1](1053).jpg[/attachment]
[size=150]After this I simply had to add stretched sprue sections to the sides of the racks, this time a bit thinner to compensate the thickness of the 0.5 mm. bars.[/size]
[attachment=0](1054).jpg[/attachment]
[size=150]I had to accept some compromise in the relative thickness of the elements, but I broke nothing, all the elements are there, the racks are not thicker than the mast itself (my fear nr. one) and I have to add the vertical ladder, many smaller elements and all the rigging and halyards yet, so I think the final effect will be good all the same.

Feel free as usual to let me know your views and suggestions if there is something else I can do at this stage.

Very best regards from this side of the ocean,

Willie.[/size]

Beautifully made....

the sharpness of your styrene work is inspirationa l!

Jim B :wave_1: