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PostPosted: Fri Mar 27, 2015 5:56 pm 
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Model Monkey
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Thank you, Tom!

Here are some photos of the conning tower and funnel painted in Measure 32 11a consistent with photos of the ship taken in September, 1944 appearing in USS Saratoga Squadron at Sea by David Doyle. There is still some adjusting and tweaking of the pattern to be done but generally it is ready for additional detailing.

The colors are acrylic PolyS Light Gray 5-L, Ocean Gray 5-O and Grimy Black as a substitute for Dull Black, all applied with a 38 year-old Badger 200 airbrush. Deck Blue 20-B was applied by hand (brush) on the decks. Masking was done with Tamiya masking tape (wonderful stuff). The colors applied thinly, opaquely and adhered well. There was only some minor lifting of the 5-O by the Tamiya tape probably due to finger oils left on the plastic, all easily corrected by hand using a small brush.

The splinter shielding interiors have been initially painted Light Gray 5-L as I can't yet determine what color they actually are from photos. Normally, they are only visible from above on this ship so 20-B is a possibility. In some photos they appear quite light, in others darker than 5-L which might be 5-O, 20-B or they are just in shade. Cant be sure yet. I may repaint them something else (5-O or 20-B) if the preponderance of photos supports that. As you know, there was a lot of variation in painting the splinter shield interiors ship by ship, yard by yard, at this time in the war. For example, USS Missouri BB-63 had Deck Blue 20-B (or possibly Navy Blue 5-N) carried up onto the splinter shielding interiors. Other ships did not. Your thoughts?

The conning tower levels are not yet cemented together in order to ease painting and further detailing. They may appear a bit askew in the photos but they'll be straight and plumb when cemented.


Attachments:
File comment: An overall view of the model so far. The colors are not lightened for scale effect and appear a bit dark. In this scale, it is less necessary than for 1/700, but will help. I'll do that through weathering techniques. I decided this would be best since Saratoga only wore this scheme for some weeks before it was painted out. Therefore, it should look rather new and stark with only mild weathering and no fading.
1-350 CV-3 Larsen 2015.03.27.f.jpg
1-350 CV-3 Larsen 2015.03.27.f.jpg [ 199.82 KiB | Viewed 3705 times ]
File comment: Dull black needs some adjustment, but pretty close. The lower section of the foremast is installed. The foremast is an Evergreen styrene tube filled with an Evergreen styrene rod, and tapered on each end by turning in a drill against some fine sandpaper. It leans forward a bit here but that will be fixed later.
1-350 CV-3 Larsen 2015.03.27.a.jpg
1-350 CV-3 Larsen 2015.03.27.a.jpg [ 140.47 KiB | Viewed 3705 times ]
File comment: The model takes up half our kitchen table in length. Some sources indicate that Saratoga was the longest aircraft carrier in service in any navy during World War II, even longer overall than a long-hull Essex. With the conning tower and funnel in place, it's easy to imagine the hull camouflaged. The model is so long that it is difficult to photograph well without significant distortion in the photos. Too often, the ship looks bowed in photos when in actuality, it is not. All of these photos are somewhat distorted, but give a good impression of how the model looks generally.
1-350 CV-3 Larsen 2015.03.27.e.jpg
1-350 CV-3 Larsen 2015.03.27.e.jpg [ 195.37 KiB | Viewed 3705 times ]
File comment: The dull black on both conning tower and funnel needs some adjustment, but you get a feel for how the pattern looks. Some countershading is visible here. The Navy specified White as the color for countershading but I think in this scale that is too stark so I chose to use 5-L instead which matches photos of the ship better. When painted, the flight deck (visible here) will be overall blue, replicating a stained appearance, with black numeral "3"s at each end. When set next to a 1/350 scale Trumpeter Yorktown for comparison, Sara's flight deck looks decidedly narrow, lending to her fast look. In practice, I imagine that an Essex class flight deck was much more practical because of its wider size and more uniform shape. But I just love the look of this ship.
1-350 CV-3 Larsen 2015.03.27.b.jpg
1-350 CV-3 Larsen 2015.03.27.b.jpg [ 119.76 KiB | Viewed 3705 times ]
File comment: Photos of the ship clearly show that the Dull Black is carried under the various deck overhangs (no countershading) while the Ocean Gray and Light Gray are not carried under. Details of the SM radar dish show up pretty well in this photo. You can also see that the barbette for the Twin 5-inch mount by L'Arsenal needs to be enlarged and moved forward. The L"Arsenal gunhouse itself looks very good. The bell-shaped object suspended from the front of the Navigating Bridge venturi is, yes, the ship's bell, filed and hollowed out from some stretched sprue to match drawings.
1-350 CV-3 Larsen 2015.03.27.d.jpg
1-350 CV-3 Larsen 2015.03.27.d.jpg [ 159.78 KiB | Viewed 3705 times ]
File comment: Official US Navy drawing for Ms. 32.11a. Photos indicate that yard personnel matched this drawing very closely. They did a great job painting the ship.
11A CV3.jpg
11A CV3.jpg [ 136.64 KiB | Viewed 3607 times ]
File comment: A beautiful painting of the ship wearing Measure 32 11a.
CV-3 020336.jpg
CV-3 020336.jpg [ 131.87 KiB | Viewed 3606 times ]

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Last edited by ModelMonkey on Thu Apr 02, 2015 8:32 am, edited 16 times in total.
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 27, 2015 9:49 pm 
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I'm running out of superlatives...

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PostPosted: Sat Mar 28, 2015 5:41 pm 
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MartinJQuinn wrote:
I'm running out of superlatives...


I think we all are Martin :thumbs_up_1:

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PostPosted: Sun Mar 29, 2015 2:23 am 
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Steve you're da man! :woo_hoo:


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PostPosted: Sun Mar 29, 2015 8:01 pm 
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It's been a while since I login here, but I'm glad I did because Steve you are doing great. I love the Razzle Dazzle scheme your doing. I just traded a kit for a 1/350 Yorktown and I'm thinking about doing in one of these schemes. So, keep up the good work ;)

Mike

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PostPosted: Mon Mar 30, 2015 7:39 pm 
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Thank you, Martin, Cliffy, Jean and Mike!

After some adjustments to the camouflage, the model's conning tower is becoming more like the actual conning tower in this photo. Still some tweaking to do yet but better. Once it matches the photo, more detailing.


Attachments:
CV-3 1944 conning tower port side.jpg
CV-3 1944 conning tower port side.jpg [ 198.91 KiB | Viewed 2778 times ]
1-350 CV-3 Larsen 2015.03.30.a.jpg
1-350 CV-3 Larsen 2015.03.30.a.jpg [ 88.12 KiB | Viewed 2778 times ]
1-350 CV-3 Larsen 2015.03.30.b.jpg
1-350 CV-3 Larsen 2015.03.30.b.jpg [ 81.52 KiB | Viewed 2778 times ]
1-350 CV-3 Larsen 2015.03.30.c.jpg
1-350 CV-3 Larsen 2015.03.30.c.jpg [ 57.52 KiB | Viewed 2778 times ]

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PostPosted: Tue Mar 31, 2015 3:17 pm 
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Beauteous, Steve!

This is going to look soooooooo awesome when it's fully painted! :jump_1:

Bob


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PostPosted: Wed Apr 01, 2015 8:21 pm 
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My 12 year old son and I just noticed this thread. Amazing. Fast too!


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PostPosted: Thu Apr 02, 2015 7:43 pm 
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WOW! :thumbs_up_1: :thumbs_up_1:





Jose :wave_1:


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PostPosted: Fri Apr 03, 2015 9:23 am 
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Thank you, Bob, Joe and Jose!

Some more adjustments to the camouflage scheme and the fabrication and installation of the foremast radar platform have been done.

The paint is looking better. A bit more adjustment to do then more detailing.


Attachments:
1-350 CV-3 Larsen 2015.04.03.a.jpg
1-350 CV-3 Larsen 2015.04.03.a.jpg [ 107.55 KiB | Viewed 2504 times ]
CV-3 1944.09 020317.jpg
CV-3 1944.09 020317.jpg [ 156.38 KiB | Viewed 2504 times ]
1-350 CV-3 Larsen 2015.04.03.b.jpg
1-350 CV-3 Larsen 2015.04.03.b.jpg [ 122.71 KiB | Viewed 2504 times ]
CV-3 1944.09 020315.jpg
CV-3 1944.09 020315.jpg [ 165.97 KiB | Viewed 2504 times ]
1-350 CV-3 Larsen 2015.04.03.c.jpg
1-350 CV-3 Larsen 2015.04.03.c.jpg [ 158.22 KiB | Viewed 2504 times ]
1-350 CV-3 Larsen 2015.04.03.d.jpg
1-350 CV-3 Larsen 2015.04.03.d.jpg [ 194.17 KiB | Viewed 2504 times ]
1-350 CV-3 Larsen 2015.04.03.e.jpg
1-350 CV-3 Larsen 2015.04.03.e.jpg [ 175.11 KiB | Viewed 2504 times ]
CV-3 1944.09 020316.jpg
CV-3 1944.09 020316.jpg [ 125.01 KiB | Viewed 2504 times ]
1-350 CV-3 Larsen 2015.04.03.f.jpg
1-350 CV-3 Larsen 2015.04.03.f.jpg [ 177.44 KiB | Viewed 2504 times ]
CV-3 1944.09.07 n72626.jpg
CV-3 1944.09.07 n72626.jpg [ 93.38 KiB | Viewed 2504 times ]

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PostPosted: Fri Apr 03, 2015 11:08 am 
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Quite nice Steve! I especially like the ability to see through the portholes around the bridge and the open w/t doors at flight deck level. Always hard to tell much about the camouflage scheme from black and white photos due to variations in the type of film used (ie orthochromatic etc) and filtration.

Regards: Tom


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PostPosted: Wed Apr 15, 2015 2:32 pm 
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Thanks so much, Tom!

More work has been done on the hull to tone down the raised strake thickness in preparation for hull completion, specifically, installation of the propeller shaft housings. It's looking very good now compared to photos of the actual ship.

But I am a bit torn at the moment and ask for your advice. The model is now at the point where I need to decide whether to use the hull as a master and complete the model with a cast copy (for strength and lasting durability, and to cast copies from it for others who want to build a late-war Sara) or abandon casting and proceed with the hull master as the model.

This year I have had just awful casting results. I fear a bad effort will result in a destroyed hull master. But I think Chris Decker is on to something and may have identified my error - pouring the wrong part into the wrong part. See this thread:

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=158904

Reader thoughts, as always, are appreciated.

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PostPosted: Tue Apr 21, 2015 8:20 am 
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I would be very wary of resin shrinkage. Such a large casting would have quite a lot of shrinkage.
Warping of the hull over time is another risk to consider. Good resin casting is an art in itself, not easily mastered. Therefore, I see more 'lasting durability' in your master than in a resin casting.

I would just go ahead with the 'master' you have now. It should be sturdy enough, and you avoid spending time and money on casting, and you avoid the inherent risks mentioned above and by yourself. The chance of you using the same hull again on another project is probably so small that it is far outweighed by the cons, IMHO.

Cheers,

Marijn


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PostPosted: Tue Apr 21, 2015 8:47 am 
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disadvantages in additional to the high cost of the mould and resin!


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PostPosted: Wed Apr 22, 2015 9:03 am 
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Thanks, Marijn and EJ, all points well worth considering.

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PostPosted: Wed Apr 22, 2015 9:17 am 
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Unless you plan on selling the master to someone to market the kit, I'd just finish her as is. Brilliant work, can't wait to see her finished!

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"Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It's perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we've learned something from yesterday." John Wayne

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PostPosted: Tue May 05, 2015 1:43 pm 
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You are doing a wonderfull work . Saratoga is very difficult to build . congratulations .


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PostPosted: Wed May 06, 2015 2:52 pm 
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Thank you, so much, Martin and Pierre!

Propeller shaft housings and the single port-side bilge keel have been installed (no bilge keel on the starboard side). The hull has been primed red oxide (Krylon Red Oxide, a dead ringer for US Navy 121 red oxide) and is nearly ready for paint and further detailing. I'll post photos shortly.

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Last edited by ModelMonkey on Tue May 12, 2015 9:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: Sun May 10, 2015 10:54 am 
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Steve,

Haven't checked in with this thread for awhile. I am out of words of praise, you sir are simply setting a whole new standard in scratch building. Shame you weren't able to do the casting, she is a beauty so I understand not wanting to risk it.

Looking forward to seeing more!

Matt

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PostPosted: Mon May 11, 2015 2:03 am 
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Steve:

It would be great to preserve your hard earned master. The largest resin castings I have made are relatively small 1:192 5" twin mounts. Even in these some shrinkage is possible. I reduced that by making a plug, in this case balsa which filled most of the space and assured minimal shrinkage or warpage. I expect the most reliable method would be to go the proven fiberglass route.

A lot of work, maybe worthwhile if perhaps your ship were to be destroyed in an earthquake in the Katmandu Maritime Museum or the possibility of sister ship or different era production might arise.

A any rate a superb job! Cheers: Tom


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