The Ship Model Forum

jpeeler building the framework on a seperate plate and dropping it in is definately the way to go mate, it's not rocket science but alot of folk still try to build everything in situ and end up swearing at it, same as me with the MGB where i'll knock up a bracket on the bench rather than lie under the car on axle stands holding three things at once, cos you get proper access to every angle and painting it is a doddle, anyway just my two pennies worth

Great job on the elevator!

Sublime.

[quote=DrPR post_id=1118546 time=1792376199 user_id=7706]
Very nice.
It's always a question of where to stop. At 1:530 a lot of the actual detail is smaller than anything you can find to make it. But what matters is if it looks good - to you.
Phil
[/quote]

Thank you, Phil. I really struggle with this sometimes because nobody can be a harsher critic of my own work than me, and I can point out every place where I didn't meet my own expectations. I often have to remind myself that the point of any hobby is that it's not supposed to feel like a job. There's enough pressure on me in so many other areas of my life, and the time I give myself at the workbench should provide some relief from that.

My husband (who's currently finishing up a beautiful Tamiya [i]New Jersey[/i] circa 1983 with a combination of the Pontos set and the Eduard set) once wrote [url=https://ironmodeler.com/87600-hours/]a little essay[/url] about the amount of time you spend correcting some flaw in a kit or on a model versus the amount of time you'll spend during that model's lifespan actually looking at it. That philosophy has helped me. If I were building this for a museum or as some kind of historical document for public consumption, it would be one thing. But as a little project for my own enjoyment, I need to not let the desire for accuracy go from a fun challenge into something that takes away the fun.

Thank you for looking in on this, Phil. I admire your work and it's a privilege to have you following along.

Jodie Peeler

Very nice.
It's always a question of where to stop. At 1:530 a lot of the actual detail is smaller than anything you can find to make it. But what matters is if it looks good - to you.
Phil

One of the things I've been dreading in this project is the elaborate framework beneath each of the deck-edge elevators. The Gold Medal Models photoetched set gives you something for the starboard elevator, but you're on your own for the port side elevator. Since what you'll see will be limited once the ship's on the base, I didn't feel the need to go whole-hog. I did, however, want to have just enough to look "rite."

[img]https://jodiepeeler.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/cvs10-18oct26-2.jpeg[/img]

This is what I ended up doing. This is some Evergreen strip cut into sections and glued onto a piece of plastic...

[img]https://jodiepeeler.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/cvs10-18oct26-1.jpeg[/img]

...that fits into a recess I built beneath the port elevator. Building the framework on a separate piece gives you many more angles to get things assembled in some kind of alignment. Not to mention, it's also a lot easier to paint.

[img]https://jodiepeeler.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/cvs10-18oct26-3.jpeg[/img]

And there we are, glued into place. Just for fun, let's look at it from a low angle:

[img]https://jodiepeeler.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/cvs10-18oct26-4.jpeg[/img]

I think that'll do. The elevator rails and braces are also a tiny bit simplified, but like the framework they're more than enough to keep the eye busy. Certainly after all the work that went into building them, I'd prefer not to revisit them. (Yeah, there's a gap or two I have to fix. It'll get done.) Just a few more things to do on the port side and I can call it done.

Jodie Peeler

The model kind of didn't look like a ship just yet. The boot topping was missing. But what about all those complex curves, Jodie?
([url=https://youtu.be/UHO3dGgthz4?si=GxLzVPoQVcAkb7NI&t=13][i]But Ironhead, what's with this thingy?[/i][/url])

[img]https://jodiepeeler.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/cvs10-15oct26-1.jpeg[/img]

Long ago I bought a box of Lego building blocks for making mold boxes. They're useful for a lot of other purposes, too. Including making little stands for odd jobs. A pencil will rest nicely in the middle of one of those long blocks. Regular blocks mostly set the height and the thinner pieces let you make finer adjustments. That yellow brick at the top pretty much captures how I often feel.

[img]https://jodiepeeler.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/cvs10-15oct26-2.jpeg[/img]

You'll need a nice flat surface to make this work. Ideally, one that's a little slick. A big frame with a glass front will do nicely. In my case, a framed poster a friend gave me years ago got hauled down for a few minutes' TDY. Flip the model upside down and then gently slide the pencil along the model. You just need enough of a pencil mark to know where to set the tape.

[img]https://jodiepeeler.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/cvs10-15oct26-3.jpeg[/img]

Now set your tape down and burnish it real nice, then paint. I just used Tamiya Flat Black applied with a brush.

[img]https://jodiepeeler.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/cvs10-15oct26-4.jpeg[/img]

And, like that, your ship has an identifiable waterline. Still some touching up to do on the hull. I'll fix that, and get back to more serious construction, soon. This just ain't been my week. I'll leave it at that.

Jodie Peeler

[quote="Ed R" post_id=1117861 time=1791841784]
Starfighter Decals has resin aircraft in the 1/540 range (including SH-3s):
Also, "1/540 GAGA" aircraft from China on e***. I haven't ordered these so I cannot vouch for their quality or accuracy.
[/quote]

Thanks for the tips! I've thought about the SH-3s, which appear to be based on the revised Sea Kings from the SLEP Forrestal, and may yet. They look pretty nice. I wasn't aware of the Gaga aircraft on the certain site, and am intrigued, though the Westland radome would need to be trimmed off. May be worth a try, though. Thanks!

Jodie Peeler

Starfighter Decals has resin aircraft in the 1/540 range (including SH-3s):

https://starfighter-decals.com/11reuppa.html

Also, "1/540 GAGA" aircraft from China on e***. I haven't ordered these so I cannot vouch for their quality or accuracy.

Ed R

[quote=jpeeler post_id=1117670 time=1791673730 user_id=12711]
Photoetch is the devil.[/quote]
Haha! Ain't that the truth!

Not enough time of late at the workbench, but some things are happening regardless. Island is painted and first photoetch is going on. For the love of all that's good, please don't look too closely. Photoetch is the devil.

[img]https://jodiepeeler.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/cvs10-10oct26-3.jpeg[/img]

The hull is mostly painted now, and that means I'm thinking ahead to the flight deck. Been busy with Illustrator to make sure the layout is correct for what I plan to do. Still some work to do (and I just realized I haven't added the foul line that parallels the landing area), but we're not far away.

[img]https://jodiepeeler.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/cvs10-10oct26-1.jpeg[/img]

By the way, that goofy-looking "10" at the forward end of the flight deck isn't a mistake. In late 1968 [i]Yorktown[/i] was used in the filming of [i]Tora! Tora! Tora![/i] and all the flight deck markings were painted out for the shoot. After the filming the flight deck had to be quickly repainted to get the ship ready for the Apollo 8 deployment. The resulting "10," which ended up persisting well into the ship's museum days, had some very noticeable variation in stroke and shadow, and it's fascinated me for a long time. I'm not quite there yet on it, but getting close.

For something different, earlier this week I started playing around with the tiny airplanes. Tommy Thomason's blogs yielded some handy three-views of the Trader and Tracer, and I scaled them down. I remembered from the [i]Hornet[/i] project about 10 years ago that the Tracer was undersized, but I'd forgotten just how much:

[img]https://jodiepeeler.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/cvs10-10oct26-2.jpeg[/img]

I figured it was best to use the wings and fuselage as a basis. Fuselage was extended forward, the stub tail was built up a little, and new horizontal and vertical stabilizers were built. There's a small addition to the wingspan yet to be done, but since this airplane will be folded up I'll address that then. The Tracer in the Revell kit was clunky to begin with, but the mold has not aged well and has some alignment problems, and I ended up spending a lot of time thinning the wings and otherwise getting things in shape.

Another set of drawings showed that the Sea King from the SLEP reissue of the [i]Forrestal[/i] kit doesn't need that much help to be accurate, but my problem is finding four or five more of them. I may have some lurking around, or I may have to end up resin-casting a few once I have one accurized to my liking. I'll figure it out. Whatever I end up doing, it's certainly easier than trying to fix the Sea Kings from the Revell [i]Essex[/i]-class kit.

Jodie Peeler

Today was the first day in several that I could actually work on the project. Gallery deck is going in:

[img]https://jodiepeeler.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/cvs10-1oct26-4.jpeg[/img]

And aft, the foundation is in place for the starboard 5" gun tub.

[img]https://jodiepeeler.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/cvs10-1oct26-5.jpeg[/img]

The gallery deck so often seems like an afterthought, like it's just a foundation for the catwalks, but it's easy to overlook how important the gallery deck is to making an aircraft carrier model look complete. That's especially true on the [i]Essex[/i]-class ships. The gallery deck really helps give the model some substance.

[img]https://jodiepeeler.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/cvs10-1oct26-1.jpeg[/img]

Ramp now has the round-down:

[img]https://jodiepeeler.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/cvs10-1oct26-3.jpeg[/img]

And angled-deck sponsons now in place. Some shims left to trim, but we're close.

[img]https://jodiepeeler.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/cvs10-1oct26-2.jpeg[/img]

Heavy construction is almost over, and soon it'll be a thousand little details to chase down. The blessing of this project is how absorbing it is, and with the right audio accompaniment, I'm in a happy little zone working on it. I'll be glad to have it done but I will kind of miss the experience of working on it.

Jodie Peeler

Thank you both for those comments. So often we get caught up in the history and technology and all the other things, and we forget that what we do is a very human thing - childhood remnants, messy workbenches and all. Always worth remembering.

An example of how this is a human thing: we make mistakes. Something was bothering me about the gun position on the starboard bow. The bulkhead was too close to the flight deck to suit me. I ended up cutting into that nice new flight deck I laid down a couple nights ago, cut away the bulkhead and some of the structure behind, cleaned up the glue joint where the old bulkhead had been, and installed a new bulkhead at a little more representative depth.

[img]https://jodiepeeler.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/cvs10-26sept26-1.jpeg[/img]

Then the little section of flight deck went back in place. Once the cement sets and it's all patched up, you shouldn't really know anything had to be revised.

[img]https://jodiepeeler.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/cvs10-26sept26-3.jpeg[/img]

Last night the first facings for the gallery deck went on, and that gave me a reference for reshaping the enclosed bow. Some putty and sanding followed, and then a quick brush-applied guide coat. A little bit left to go, but not bad so far. I'm hoping the port side will go a little easier now that I know what to expect.

[img]https://jodiepeeler.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/cvs10-26sept26-2.jpeg[/img]

Also a glimpse of how the top of the bow is coming along. Once it's all faired in and everything, I can add last details, ports for the secondary conn, and so forth.

[img]https://jodiepeeler.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/cvs10-26sept26-4.jpeg[/img]

Jodie Peeler

JPeeler,

I love what you're doing with the scratch build. What always interests me is the items in the background. This really applies to anyone that posts "in progress" pictures. Seeing different setups of the organized chaos of everyone "shipyard". Paint jars all-over, worn-out paint brushes, cutting mats all boo-booed up with paint stains and the like. "Right where I left it". :Mad_6: LOVE IT!!!!

Keep on sending those pics in. I feel like I'm right there building with ya!

[quote=jpeeler post_id=1116269 time=1790295619 user_id=12711]
To pay tribute to back-then me, I took those little aircraft exactly as they were, folded them up, and glued them into the hangar deck. Kid, you're finally getting the model of [i]Yorktown[/i] you wanted so much way back then.
[/quote]
Nice! I love this.

A big day. Make sure everything's where you want it, that the enclosed bow is built up even with the rest of the hull, and that all the bulkheads you need are in place. Then make everything nice and even with the sanding block.

[img]https://jodiepeeler.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/cvs10-24sept26-1.jpeg[/img]

Last painting and detailing goes in. There's a splash of color in that I added the stowed sliding doors by the starboard elevator, and if you look closely you can see the doors' red/yellow striped edges. I finished the boats and made rudimentary dolly cradles for them, and also made the NASA dolly for the Apollo command module. No, I didn't put the ABC trucks in Bay Two, but I did put something else in there.

[img]https://jodiepeeler.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/cvs10-24sept26-2.jpeg[/img]

[img]https://jodiepeeler.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/cvs10-24sept26-3.jpeg[/img]

Both of those aircraft are from my first efforts to do something with the Revell kit (or, more properly, with multiple boxings of the Revell kit) 40 or so years ago. I can remember having four of them built as different ships, and every so often I'd get the urge to rebuild one as a different ship, or try to update it, or whatever. To pay tribute to back-then me, I took those little aircraft exactly as they were, folded them up, and glued them into the hangar deck. Kid, you're finally getting the model of [i]Yorktown[/i] you wanted so much way back then.

From here, I think I can do what I need from the outside, so let's install us a flight deck. Lots of Tamiya Extra Thin Cement got laid down. I don't want things going anywhere. Obligatory beauty shot, of course:

[img]https://jodiepeeler.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/cvs10-24sept26-4.jpeg[/img]

That's all pretty and stuff, but the model's spending the night like this, with one more application of Extra Thin Cement just to make sure we got it. The time with the sanding block paid off big time, and everything looks nice and flat so far.

[img]https://jodiepeeler.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/cvs10-24sept26-5.jpeg[/img]

Up next: fixing the enclosed bow and installing the facings for the gallery deck, treating the hull/flight deck joints, and building the angled deck sponsons. I'm also having an interesting thought about how to handle the flight deck markings, but all things in due course. For now, this was a good day.

Jodie Peeler

Thank you very much, Phil! Your website is a splendid resource for details from the time period I'm depicting, and I'm thankful you've shared what you've learned and created. It's a treasure.

Only one update today, but it's pretty darn significant:

[img]https://jodiepeeler.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/cvs10-23sept26.jpeg[/img]

We now have a flight deck. I'll spend some time (tomorrow, I hope) adjusting the hangar bulkheads so that everything will fit "rite," but from initial fitting, it shouldn't take much to get it all aligned. Once I have everything in on the hangar deck, the bow leveled off and the sanding block run over everything, the flight deck can go on for keeps. Meanwhile, the first landing was recorded by an SH-3, as you'd expect from me.

Jodie Peeler

Looking nice!

Phil

I redid the top of the stern piece. This isn't as prototypical, but it's more organized and it'll certainly do for viewing purposes. I also added a little detail on the stern. I'd never really been happy with any of the stern treatments I'd done on an [i]Essex[/i]-class ship before, but this one kind of made me happy. Yes, the centerline bitts need trimmed, and that's going to get done.

[img]https://jodiepeeler.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/cvs10-22sept26-5.jpeg[/img]

More photoetch and details to come once the flight deck and some other items are installed. Too much risk of damaging stuff at the moment.

This morning, I made a copy of the flight deck plan and did a test-fit.

[img]https://jodiepeeler.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/cvs10-22sept26-1.jpeg[/img]

Mostly happy results - the flight deck and the hull line up at the expansion joints, the elevator openings line up, and only a little refitting needed done on the hangar deck bulkheads to make them meet the flight deck at the right places. On the other hand, there was this:

[img]https://jodiepeeler.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/cvs10-22sept26-2.jpeg[/img]

The enclosed bow was a little too wide on both sides and had to be cut back. Some of that's not an issue because the flat facings of the gallery deck will be there anyway, and I'll reshape the rest when the gallery deck facings are installed; trust me, I've done far bigger fixes, and this one's a walk in the park. On the other hand, the bow was about 3/16" too long. I can't think of a way to fix this that wouldn't open up a whole nest of other issues and damage a lot of work that I'm otherwise really proud of, so the extra length will stay. I have a couple ways in mind of how I can artfully conceal it, and besides that, unless you have a ruler you won't really notice it.

Since I'll probably be cutting out the flight deck and installing it soon, I'm wanting to get the hangar deck finished up. The boats and barges were often carried in Bay Three, and I began reworking some spares-box boats today. Dr. PR's Okie Boat website helped guide some of my work. The middle boat has glue setting on a hull repair; the excess plastic will get trimmed away.

[img]https://jodiepeeler.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/cvs10-22sept26-3.jpeg[/img]

I'll get these painted soon and scratchbuild some rudimentary dollies to sit them on, but I'm not going to go overboard (ha ha!). This is to give just enough for what you can see through the hangar bay openings, so the ship won't look empty. (One of the external fuel pipes got knocked off, hence the scar. I'll get it put back in place soon.)

[img]https://jodiepeeler.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/cvs10-22sept26-4.jpeg[/img]

Last view before I called it a day. My goodness, it's actually getting done.

[img]https://jodiepeeler.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/cvs10-22sept26-6.jpeg[/img]

Of note, since some of you asked about the new airbrush I wrote about the other day: I used it to paint the piece I built for the fantail, and the airbrush performed most beautifully and cleaned up quickly. (If some things I've seen are correct, it's a bespoke model for Harbor Freight made by Sparmax.) Whatever the origin, I'm very happy with it. Now, of course, I'm in a quandary because I got notice that Badger has my rebuilt 105 en route as we speak. I wish all my problems were like this!

Jodie Peeler

Thank you kindly, Martin! The more I get done on this, the more I want to do. I think getting past my mental block about the size of the job helped, and I'm now at the point that it's not that different from any other project I'd do, and it's fun. (Most of the time.)

I'd put off the fantail too long, and that became today's chore. Construction started with the two big, prominent supports:

[img]https://jodiepeeler.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/cvs10-20sept26-2.jpeg[/img]

Much of an afternoon later, along came the platforms and details, seen here in a semi-cruddy state after a test coat of brushed-on paint. There's (obviously) some revisions to come, which is funny since most of this will be hidden under the ramp and its supporting framework. I want this stuff on there, though. I built this as a module to ease detailing and painting; when it's complete, it'll get glued in place.

[img]https://jodiepeeler.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/cvs10-20sept26-4.jpeg[/img]

Test fit on the model. I think it'll work. Once it's on there, the additional photoetch will get installed.

[img]https://jodiepeeler.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/cvs10-20sept26-3.jpeg[/img]

Ugh, that job I did with the stretched plastic is awful when you look at it up close. Please don't laugh. I'm likely to redo it.

In between chores, I started converting a Tracker into a C-1 Trader. A piece of plastic on the bottom and some sanding...

[img]https://jodiepeeler.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/cvs10-20sept26-6.jpeg[/img]

...and there's the Trader's cute pot-belly. More work to come, obviously.

[img]https://jodiepeeler.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/cvs10-20sept26-7.jpeg[/img]

Last night I went through a big box of ship parts, remnants of about 40 years of building these things, and projects attempted and abandoned, or models that ended up in the junk drawer. I scrounged up a few aircraft and some boats that may be the basis for some useful things.

[img]https://jodiepeeler.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/cvs10-20sept26-1.jpeg[/img]

But I also found this: a reminder of one of my first efforts to build an accurate [i]Yorktown[/i] from the Revell kit, back about 1987 or 1988. I couldn't help placing it next to the Model Monkey version.

[img]https://jodiepeeler.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/cvs10-20sept26-5.jpeg[/img]

I was in my early teens when I did that project. I wonder what the me of back then would think about the project I'm doing now.

Jodie Peeler