The Ship Model Forum

The Ship Modelers Source
It is currently Thu Mar 28, 2024 1:56 pm

All times are UTC - 6 hours [ DST ]




Post a reply
Username:
Subject:
Message body:
Enter your message here, it may contain no more than 60000 characters. 

Smilies
:smallsmile: :wave_1: :big_grin: :thumbs_up_1: :heh: :cool_1: :cool_2: :woo_hoo:
View more smilies
Font size:
Font colour
Options:
BBCode is ON
[img] is ON
[flash] is OFF
[url] is ON
Smilies are ON
Disable BBCode
Disable smilies
Do not automatically parse URLs
Question
What is the name in the logo in the top left? (hint it's something dot com):
This question is a means of preventing automated form submissions by spambots.
   

Topic review - Converting HobbyBoss' 1/350 SSN-774 to SSN-803 USS Arizona
Author Message
  Post subject:  SSN-803 USS Arizona: calling her done!  Reply with quote
Hi everyone,

After a bit of a break, I've completed this model of the Arizona and I am calling her done. Let's take a look:
Attachment:
File comment: All the masts are installed and draft mark decals applied.
20210908_01.jpg
20210908_01.jpg [ 126.85 KiB | Viewed 283 times ]
Attachment:
File comment: Although the Virginia kit comes with a lot of decals including DSRV markings, I only applied the draft marks. At this point, we don't know what markings the Arizona will ultimately carry, so I kept it to a minimum.
20210908_02.jpg
20210908_02.jpg [ 254.21 KiB | Viewed 283 times ]
Attachment:
File comment: Decals were applied and treated with Micro Set, and then the model was sprayed with Tamiya Clear Flat.
20210908_03.jpg
20210908_03.jpg [ 285.91 KiB | Viewed 283 times ]
Attachment:
File comment: The display case is complete and installed. BTW, the combination of the acrylic case and the camera lens creates the optical illusion that the hull is curved.
20210908_05.jpg
20210908_05.jpg [ 136.72 KiB | Viewed 283 times ]
Attachment:
File comment: Ready for delivery to the proud owner! This will be finding its way to a display at a Submarine Veterans hall in Arizona.
20210908_04.jpg
20210908_04.jpg [ 173.63 KiB | Viewed 283 times ]


Thank you everyone for following the progress on this build and thank you especially to those who posted comments!

John :wave_1:
Post Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2021 2:05 pm
  Post subject:  Hull paint and assembly complete on SSN-803 USS Arizona  Reply with quote
Hi everyone,

Since the last time, I've painted the non-skid area topside and installed the sail, bow planes, anhedral planes, and the propulsor. Here's a look:
Attachment:
File comment: I mixed up a batch of flat black, flat white, and brown for the non-skid area. I didn't want it to jump out, so I didn't lighten it very much. However, it shows up depending on the light. The propulsor was sprayed with the hull color and the screw was hand-painted brass.
20210403_06.jpg
20210403_06.jpg [ 195.53 KiB | Viewed 368 times ]
Attachment:
File comment: I have some touch-up to do on the hull paint and then I'll install the masts.
20210403_04.jpg
20210403_04.jpg [ 186.4 KiB | Viewed 368 times ]
Attachment:
20210403_08.jpg
20210403_08.jpg [ 152.44 KiB | Viewed 368 times ]


Next, I'll be touching up the hull paint, and then painting and installing the masts. The model will be done at that point and I'll move on to building the display case.

John :wave_1:
Post Posted: Sat Apr 03, 2021 2:32 pm
  Post subject:  Final coat of black applied to SSN-803 USS Arizona  Reply with quote
Hi all,

I touched up the blemish on the hull that I found after the first go-around and applied the final coat of tar black. Here’s a look:
Attachment:
File comment: I’ve temporarily posed the sail and rudder in place. I’ll remove them while I paint the non-skid on the deck and re-install them afterwards. I won’t be painting the lower hull black gray: that is the appearance when Special Hull Treatment is installed. This kit doesn’t reflect that status, so I will leave the hull overall tar black.
20210326_155821 (2).jpg
20210326_155821 (2).jpg [ 202.27 KiB | Viewed 411 times ]
Attachment:
File comment: You can see I prepped the top of the sail to receive the masts as one of the last steps. I’ll add some white to flat black for the non-skid areas so that they stand out. The propulsor is not installed yet: after I painted it, I found a blemish and will have to correct that and repaint.
20210326_155926 (2).jpg
20210326_155926 (2).jpg [ 185.45 KiB | Viewed 411 times ]

Next, I’ll paint the non-skid areas, and then install the sail, bow planes, rudder, propulsor, and anhedral planes.

John :wave_1:
Post Posted: Sun Mar 28, 2021 1:52 am
  Post subject:  First go-around on hull paint of Arizona SSN-803  Reply with quote
Hi everyone,

I’ve applied an initial coat of paint on the model and I’ll get to that in a moment. First, I want to thank Nino for his kind comments:

Nino wrote:
Spectacular work John.
You will be the 1st person on your street to have a BLOCK V. :big_grin:
I had to re-read a few spots but your updates make a great primer for building a New Virginia Class.
Thank you so much for your comments! :thanks: :thanks: :thanks: You're right: I'll be the first one on my block to have a Block V Virginia Class! :good_one: With regard to your complement about my updates, I really appreciate hearing that. It may be a while before we see a manufacturer produce a Block V, so I am glad to get the positive feedback on my updates. Maybe somebody else will try to build a Block V? :thinking: Thanks again for following this build thread and posting your comments! :thanks:

Let's take a look at today's progress.
Attachment:
File comment: In a recent visit to the local hobby shop, I found they are now stocking Revell paints under the product line name of ‘Email Color.’ One of those was described as ‘Tar Black.’ I was looking for something that would replicate the dull black on the Virginia Class hulls, so I decided to give it a try even though the product line name is a bit strange.
20210317_1.jpg
20210317_1.jpg [ 329.89 KiB | Viewed 443 times ]
Attachment:
File comment: An all-black hull doesn’t show up well in these photos, but you can get an idea of how the hull looks now.
20210317_2.jpg
20210317_2.jpg [ 316.04 KiB | Viewed 443 times ]
Attachment:
File comment: The Revell paint is an enamel and although the instructions say to use their thinner, I used regular enamel thinner. It doesn’t seem to have done any harm and I'm pretty satisfied with how it turned out.
20210317_3.jpg
20210317_3.jpg [ 283.51 KiB | Viewed 443 times ]
Of course, it never fails that once I apply the final coat of paint, I find those defects that I missed. I’m going to have to correct some minor blemishes and then apply paint as necessary. Then, I’ll paint the topside non-skid area.

John :wave_1:
Post Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2021 11:52 pm
  Post subject:  Re: Converting HobbyBoss' 1/350 SSN-774 to SSN-803 USS Arizo  Reply with quote
Spectacular work John.
You will be the 1st person on your street to have a BLOCK V. :big_grin:

I had to re-read a few spots but your updates make a great primer for building a New Virginia Class.

Nino.
Post Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2021 3:27 pm
  Post subject:  Enlarging the sail for USS Arizona SSN-803  Reply with quote
Hi everyone,

Well, I am ready to paint the hull, but that is not today’s update. Since the last update, I took a look at the sail. I knew from earlier that I would have to enlarge it, but put that on the back burner. I'll show you that work today. But first, let me thank navydavesof, who wrote:
navydavesof wrote:
Looking good, John!!! Looking real good! Keep up the good work!
Thank you so much for checking in and posting comments! It is nice to actually see comments from people following the build. One of these days, you'll have to let me know what your real name is! :heh:
:thanks: :thanks: :thanks:

Let's take a look at what I did since last time.
Attachment:
File comment: The Arizona sail is both longer and taller than the standard Virginia Class sail. I don’t know whether this is to take advantage of the ability to house more/larger masts in the sail or for hydrodynamic reasons. The first step is cutting the top of the sail off with a razor saw.
2021_3_14 sail 01.jpg
2021_3_14 sail 01.jpg [ 226.09 KiB | Viewed 499 times ]
Attachment:
File comment: The next step is the vertical cut for the start of lengthening the sail. Almost all of the sail detail will be removed; the access panels on the side seem to be grossly overscale anyway.
2021_3_14 sail 02.jpg
2021_3_14 sail 02.jpg [ 154.78 KiB | Viewed 499 times ]
Attachment:
File comment: A section of .100 x .250 inch styrene strip bridges the forward and aft sections of the sail.
2021_3_14 sail 03.jpg
2021_3_14 sail 03.jpg [ 233.83 KiB | Viewed 499 times ]
Attachment:
File comment: A piece of .100 x .250 inch styrene is then glued to the top of the sail and filed down to conform to the plan of the sail. The gaps between the forward and aft sections of the sail were filled with pieces of .030 inch styrene, cut to about .156 strips. I got a little crazy with height extension piece and broke the trailing edge off. Oh well.
2021_3_14 sail 04.jpg
2021_3_14 sail 04.jpg [ 121.82 KiB | Viewed 499 times ]
Attachment:
File comment: A piece of .040 x .188 inch styrene was then glued to the top of the styrene sail height extension. This will be the crest of the sail and the seam between the extension and the crest piece acts as a reference guide when filing down the curvature on the top of the sail.
2021_3_14 sail 05.jpg
2021_3_14 sail 05.jpg [ 156.83 KiB | Viewed 499 times ]

After a bit more dressing up, the sail will be pretty much ready for priming after I decide whether I want to install masts.

John :wave_1:
Post Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2021 12:55 am
  Post subject:  Re: Converting HobbyBoss' 1/350 SSN-774 to SSN-803 USS Arizo  Reply with quote
Looking good, John!!! Looking real good! Keep up the good work!
Post Posted: Fri Feb 26, 2021 6:32 am
  Post subject:  SSN-803 USS Arizona hull painted overall in primer  Reply with quote
Hi everyone,

A quick update on the Arizona. Since the last time, I haven’t gotten as much done as I had anticipated. My work bench is currently pretty full with projects occupying my time, including a couple models for friends, and this stage of the model is very time-consuming.

But before we take a look at the current status, I want to thank 'navydavesof' for stopping in and posting encouraging words.
navydavesof wrote:
Looking good! Great progress!

Thank you very much for taking the time to stop in and leave comments! They are greatly appreciated! :thanks: :thanks: :thanks:

Now, let’s take a look at how the model looks so far.
Attachment:
File comment: At this point in construction, I took a lot of time to ensure I hadn’t obliterated details I wanted to retain on the model. That took a lot of filling, sanding, priming, and re-scribing, followed by filling, sanding, priming, and re-scribing, only to do that again and again.
20210225_01.jpg
20210225_01.jpg [ 81.08 KiB | Viewed 1628 times ]
Attachment:
File comment: One of the things I decided to do since the last post was to get rid of the raised ridges going down the sides of the hull. I don’t know what those were but more than that, none of the resources I have of the Block V submarines show them. Maybe in the future, we’ll get better views of the Block V subs that show these details if they are present.
20210225_02.jpg
20210225_02.jpg [ 79.78 KiB | Viewed 1628 times ]
Attachment:
File comment: An additional reason to get rid of the ridges is that they were getting pretty beat up as I worked to fill seams between the hull halves and the various hull sections.
20210225_03.jpg
20210225_03.jpg [ 74.74 KiB | Viewed 1628 times ]
Attachment:
File comment: With the application of primer overall, the model is pretty much ready for the final paint. I'm pretty happy with it right now, but I’ll give it a once over and fix anything I find and then, paint the hull flat black.
20210225_4.jpg
20210225_4.jpg [ 145.95 KiB | Viewed 1628 times ]
Attachment:
20210225_05.jpg
20210225_05.jpg [ 135 KiB | Viewed 1628 times ]


John :wave_1:
Post Posted: Thu Feb 25, 2021 11:53 pm
  Post subject:  Re: Converting HobbyBoss' 1/350 SSN-774 to SSN-803 USS Arizo  Reply with quote
Looking good! Great progress! :heh:

:woo_hoo:
Post Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2021 6:16 am
  Post subject:  Primer applied to turtleback of SSN-803 USS Arizona  Reply with quote
Hi everyone,

In today's update, I'll give you a look at how the model looks with primer applied. But first, I want to send a big thank you to Steve at Model Monkey, who posted,
ModelMonkey wrote:
Brilliant.
Many thanks for checking in and posting your concise comment, Steve! Feedback is always appreciated! :thanks: :thanks: :thanks:

Since the last post, I did some cleaning up of the turtleback and then shot a coat of primer on it. Here’s a couple of photos of how she turned out.
Attachment:
File comment: Once I finished scribing the missile tube doors, I applied primer in the area of the turtleback, which really made the remaining defects visible.
20210116_001428 (2).jpg
20210116_001428 (2).jpg [ 104.48 KiB | Viewed 1824 times ]
Attachment:
File comment: Once I get the remaining defects on the turtleback dressed up, I'll apply another coat of primer on it and the rest of the hull and clean up any remaining defects.
20210116_001442 (2).jpg
20210116_001442 (2).jpg [ 129.31 KiB | Viewed 1824 times ]

One of the things I need to do before I can move on to final painting is to re-scribe the safety track that runs along the starboard side of the turtleback. After that, I’ll move on to modifying the sail and the rudder, which, according to the drawing I have, are taller. More on that later.

John :wave_1:
Post Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2021 3:50 am
  Post subject:  Re: Converting HobbyBoss' 1/350 SSN-774 to SSN-803 USS Arizo  Reply with quote
Brilliant.
Post Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2021 8:29 am
  Post subject:  Finishing up the turtleback on SSN-803 USS Arizona  Reply with quote
Hi everyone,

For this last post of 2020, we'll take a look at the progress on the VPM.

I've pretty much completed construction of the turtleback and from this point, I'll be cleaning it up in preparation for painting. These photos show the baffles (port and starboard) installed and the missile deck installed.
Attachment:
File comment: I made the baffles with .010 inch x .125 inch styrene strips. I cut out the limber holes and installed the baffles with liquid cement. Then, I filled in the seams with putty.
20201231_01.jpg
20201231_01.jpg [ 89.35 KiB | Viewed 1962 times ]
Attachment:
File comment: The missile deck is a piece of .020 inch styrene. Lacking any fancy tools, I used a drawing compass to scribe the missile tube doors and then finished the door detailing with a jeweler's file. For these photos, I've highlighted the missile tube doors with pencil lead because I saw that the etching didn't show up well in previous photos.
20201231_02.jpg
20201231_02.jpg [ 68.72 KiB | Viewed 1962 times ]
At this point, I'll be cleaning up seams and etched details. In my next installment, I'll show you how she looks in paint.

Thank you for stopping in during 2020 to check out the progress. I wish you all a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2021! :woo_hoo:

John :wave_1:
Post Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2020 12:57 pm
  Post subject:  Building the VPM turtleback for SSN-803 USS Arizona  Reply with quote
Hi everyone,

Well, it’s been a while since I last posted a status. Too many irons in the fire, not to mention we’re in the holiday season now. Here’s a short update with photos to show the current status of the project.

I'm building the Vertical Payload Module (VPM) turtleback using this drawing as a basis:
Attachment:
Virginia Block V VPM.jpg
Virginia Block V VPM.jpg [ 52.81 KiB | Viewed 2078 times ]

In an earlier post, I mentioned I might build the model with open missile tube doors. I decided against that because it wasn't requested by my friend when he asked me to build the model and it would stretch out the time in building.

Attachment:
File comment: I built up the sides of the turtleback with various strips of styrene and then faired in the forward and aft ends of the turtleback with styrene and putty.
20201220_01.jpg
20201220_01.jpg [ 116.35 KiB | Viewed 2078 times ]
Attachment:
File comment: If you look back at the drawing of the VPM above, you'll see free-flood baffles port and starboard. I'll probably make these of .010 inch styrene sheet and they'll cover the gaps between the hull and the styrene of the upper turtleback. I'll scribe missile hatches on a piece of .020 inch styrene and then install that on the top and clean up seams.
20201220_02.jpg
20201220_02.jpg [ 85.41 KiB | Viewed 2078 times ]


Wishing you all a very merry Christmas and a great 2021!

John :wave_1:
Post Posted: Thu Dec 24, 2020 2:22 am
  Post subject:  Re: Converting HobbyBoss' 1/350 SSN-774 to SSN-803 USS Arizo  Reply with quote
Hi everybody,

Thank you to Mr. Church who wrote,
Mr. Church wrote:
Looking good, nice clean work there on the cut & shut.

I bought a hobby mitre block and razor saw specifically for this project because I wanted the cuts to be as close as possible. Of course, even with a mitre block and saw, they're still a manual cut, but they turned out pretty well. Many thanks for the kind words! :thanks: :thanks: :thanks:

I did some filling and sanding on the seams during the past couple days. Afterwards, I painted them with Light Ghost Gray to reveal defects. I have a bit of touch up to do on some of the seams, and then I'll repeat the process until I get it looking the way I want it. Here's a look at the first go-around:
Attachment:
File comment: The two black marks on the top of the hull indicate the forward and aft edges of the VPM turtleback. Once I get the seams cleaned up, I'll start work on building the turtleback.
20200926_235728 (2).jpg
20200926_235728 (2).jpg [ 68.73 KiB | Viewed 2280 times ]
Attachment:
File comment: I like the stern planes and lower rudder molded in to the model. They really are an additional nuisance if you have to glue them on and spend time aligning them.
20200926_02.jpg
20200926_02.jpg [ 68.13 KiB | Viewed 2280 times ]


John :wave_1:
Post Posted: Sun Sep 27, 2020 2:35 am
  Post subject:  Re: Converting HobbyBoss' 1/350 SSN-774 to SSN-803 USS Arizo  Reply with quote
Looking good, nice clean work there on the cut & shut.
Post Posted: Fri Sep 25, 2020 3:31 pm
  Post subject:  Working on the seams  Reply with quote
Hi everyone,

A couple more kind and appreciated comments:

pascalemod wrote:
I like boat builds like this! Very cool!
navydavesof wrote:
I had doubts about this build at first, but man, oh man! You are doing such a very, very good job!!!

A great big thank you to both 'pascalemod' and 'navydavesof' for taking the time to post those encouraging words! It's great to hear the positive feedback and see the interest in this project! :thanks: :thanks: :thanks:

Since my last post, I haven't done much (I spent most of yesterday visiting friends) but after giving the glue on the hull some time to harden, I started applying filler. Here's a couple photos:
Attachment:
File comment: I am using Squadron White Putty on the seams. I've filed down the portion of the towed array fairing that was on the piece of upper hull I used to fill in the gap on the lower hull.
20200922_01.jpg
20200922_01.jpg [ 78.95 KiB | Viewed 2337 times ]
Attachment:
File comment: Here's another view. The upper hull seams just to the right and left of center will probably be under the turtle back of the VPM. Once I measure out the VPM mods, I'll decide how much of those seams I'll have to fill.
20200922_02.jpg
20200922_02.jpg [ 85.26 KiB | Viewed 2337 times ]


John :wave_1:
Post Posted: Fri Sep 25, 2020 3:16 pm
  Post subject:  Re: Converting HobbyBoss' 1/350 SSN-774 to SSN-803 USS Arizo  Reply with quote
I had doubts about this build at first, but man, oh man! You are doing such a very, very good job!!!
Post Posted: Thu Sep 24, 2020 8:50 pm
  Post subject:  Re: Converting HobbyBoss' 1/350 SSN-774 to SSN-803 USS Arizo  Reply with quote
I like boat builds like this! Very cool!
Post Posted: Thu Sep 24, 2020 11:50 am
  Post subject:  SSN-803 USS Arizona hull complete  Reply with quote
Hi everyone,

The final remaining gap in the lower hull has been filled with a section of hull cut from a discarded piece of an upper hull stern. Since the piece also had part of the towed array housing on it that will need to be filed down, I glued a piece of .080 inch half round styrene inside the hull segment. Here's a couple of photos of the hull with the leftover pieces.
Attachment:
20200922_141440 (2).jpg
20200922_141440 (2).jpg [ 169.42 KiB | Viewed 2433 times ]
Attachment:
20200922_141538 (2).jpg
20200922_141538 (2).jpg [ 117.27 KiB | Viewed 2433 times ]

Next comes the worst part; filling seams!


John :wave_1:
Post Posted: Wed Sep 23, 2020 3:52 pm
  Post subject:  SSN-803 USS Arizona lower hull almost complete  Reply with quote
Hi everyone,

JordinR wrote:
Looking good. Makes me want to get to work on mine. I had a few I had started playing around with a while back and had sanded it down and cut the holes in the bow for the two payload tubes (from SSN 784 on). I hadn't figured out how I might build the doors to make them open and close but at some point I may just build some Virginia's with the Payload tubes shut and make some that are opened when I do decide. Not sure if you put any thought into yours yet I know you sounded like you were contemplating it on the tubes in the extension.


Thanks for your kind words and suggestion about the bow tubes! I've thought about doing this, but at this point, it may be too late to do that, since I've already assembled the bow. The bow tubes would be pretty small, so they would be tricky and a whole lot easier to build up before assembling the hull. I'd like to see how your work on the bow tubes has turned out. I will be contacting my friend to see if he'd like the VPM tubes open, though. Whether I do that is still a 'maybe.' :thanks:

These photos show how far along I am on the hull.
Attachment:
File comment: This shows 75% of the hull assembled. Incidentally, the aft section of the hull with the WAA was a center section taken from one of the lower hulls.
20200921_01.jpg
20200921_01.jpg [ 73.52 KiB | Viewed 2466 times ]
Attachment:
File comment: For the lower stern section, I removed the WAA off of one of the stern segments and installed the stern section. That leaves about 9/16 inch gap remaining to be closed.
20200921_02.jpg
20200921_02.jpg [ 275.4 KiB | Viewed 2466 times ]
Attachment:
File comment: Another view of the lower hull and the gap. I will fill the gap by salvaging a piece from the discarded upper hull scraps.
20200921_03.jpg
20200921_03.jpg [ 264.92 KiB | Viewed 2466 times ]


John :wave_1:
Post Posted: Tue Sep 22, 2020 2:50 pm

All times are UTC - 6 hours [ DST ]


Jump to:  
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group