The Ship Model Forum

Hello all
New to the site...
Montana project has been in the shipyard now for a long time. Getting ready to skin the hull and start the upper decks.
Once I can gather the right set I will send pics.
Im hoping there are some 1/48th ships here in Florida that can do sorties occasionally.
Glad to meet all of you...even the critics...
Z

This I have to see .Good Luck .

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If you are not living on the edge then you are taking up to much space

WoW 1:48 scale now that is what I call big . Is the hull being built in a garage space?
Dave Wooley

Yes I have a dedicated shed where she is being built.
30 inch beam, 19 ft 6in.
Z

good to see your back at it.....good luck with your build...

joe

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http://www.48thfleet.com

Hi Z I have some questions. I recently attended an event in the UK where a 1:32 scale model of the DDG HMS Daring was sailed. The props where over 100mm is diameter, ballast transport, launching where major logistical hurdles, successfully overcome but sailing a model at 1:32nd scale was a challenge the up side; it looked superb out on the water. No doubt your Montana will have some of the same obstacles to overcome but will no doubt look outstanding when under power. Are you planning any working features? A friend of mine is working on a 1:72nd G3 battleship with gyro operated training for the guns. I have taken some photos of his prototype gyro system which really does work but even his project will take some years to bring to completion . Inspiring project and I’m looking forward to some pictures.
Dave Wooley

Hi Dave,

Could you post some pictures of the gyro pulley system, as once i have built my shed then I can continue with my bismarck model. I am thinking of incorporating animated turrets and any hints on that would be great.

Z, I am looking forward to seeing this build. A ship on this scale would be awesome to behold, can't wait to see some pictures of this beauty and good luck with the build.

Brad.

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Coming Soon: 1/100 DKM Bismarck

Yes actually there is quite a few operating systems. The Main Turrets will be able to fire 'flash bang' ammunition, the secondary turrets will fire as well. Both batterys will be able to follow an optical director in train and elevation. Gun stabilizing is going to be accomplished electronically. The anchors will function(anyone know where I can get 1/48th scale die-lock chain?)
The main turret "ears" will have optical illuminators(bushnell, wal-mart) so I can use night vision cameras in the directors and navigation areas. Both main battery directors(mk 38) are equipped with night and day optics.
The secondary directors(mk37) are equipped with day optics and laser pointers. In addition the searchlights use the bulb and reflector from a Surefire mini tactical flashlight,(these get VERY hot so make sure the searchlight is fashioned from brass) and will also be selectable to follow any of the directors. Everything works with stepper motors and basic stamp programming(easy stuff). The crane will function, and if I can find someone who will build me some flyable Curtiss Seahawks I will make the cats function as well.
The four props are four bladed 130mm Raboesch brass. I wanted 5 blade for the inboard shafts, and they would make them for me, but thats REALLY expensive so Ill go with the four blades for now.
Manufacturer said they would cavitate at 2400 Rpm so I optimized the 4 electric motors to spin them to 2200 rpm.
Im expecting much more than scale speed. Both rudders are in the outside race of the inboard props. The Iowas had them on the inside race. Apparently they worked very well while at speed due to the water passing between the twin skegs, but poorly at slow speed.
Friedmans hull profile drawing showed the Montanas on the outside of the tunnel flow. Upon research I found out that this would greatly improve slow speed manuevering in shallow water.
Power to all of this is supplied by 4 U-1 gell cels. 2 forward and 2 aft.The batteries are kept charged by two 50cc gas engines turnig two 65 amp automotive alternators. Ill have them surrounded with a faraday cage to supress noise interference.
Operating will be with a Futaba 32 channel R/C unit for short ranges, and a different setup altogether for long range use
Lanching is accomplished by using a pontoon boat. Sort of like a floating drydock that doubles as a chase boat once shes backed out.

Z

Hi Z,

There is a lot of detail there and it is great. I agree with the faster than scale speed, though this is only for getting out of dodge in a hurry if you have to. It is easy to mark on the controller where scale speed is and you can cruise on that setting. I always prefer having more power than needed.

I can already see this monster pulling up next to a kayaker or canoeist and training the guns on them just for fun.

Brad

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Coming Soon: 1/100 DKM Bismarck

Heh heh yeah they would get a 'roll' out of that one.
I will operate mainly in the Alafia river and the Tampa Bay area inland waterways. At times I might even venture into the Bay itself
depending on sea state. When operating with the long range system, the ship would seem autonomous.
Yes I expect I will have to mark the speed controller for 'scale ' speed so as not to upset the purists.
They might get upset if I outrun their destroyers...
Well I tried to post some pictures but it wont let me.It says they are all too big.
Z

Hi Z,
They might get a 'roll' out of it but i bet you would get a 'blast'.

Have you given any thought to what you are going to what material you will use for the superstructure and other parts, i.e plastic or metal interested in your thoughts on that and how you would manufacture them.

When it comes to speed, you can never have enough.

Brad

This will be monster large.

Good luck! pics please.

dave

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To borrow a phrase fom the philosopher Clarksonius, 4th century BC,

"How hard can it be?"

Sorry guys
I was going to send pictures but it wont let mine pass. Says theyre bigger than 150k. Arent ALL pictures bigger than that??
I dunno whats up.
The superstructure materials are mostly brass and ABS. All the 40mm guns are cast resin that I made from a scratchbuilt quad 40.
I dont know if they will hold up in the sunlight or not...Time will tell though.
The 20mm twins are cast pot metal or whatever they use to make them.And the deck is teak...
Which is actually causing a dillema.
Im using etched teak veneer glued to 1/8 ABS. It looks beautiful.
Thats the problem. The only time the teak decks were unpainted was when it was peacetime and the rest of the ship was haze gray.
I have a dislike for haze gray. I prefer the purple blue hues as they make the ship look more sinister...beast like....mountainous...
Z

Z,

I had the same problem with photo size for a while. 150K is very small. However, if I save JPEGs with a higher amount of compression I get large images and small file sizes.

I use Photoshop, and it allows me to adjust the image quality (amount of compression). On a scale of 1 (most compression, poorer image quality) to 10 (little compression, best image quality), setting image quality to 5 or 6 brings the file size down to less than 150K. The lower image quality doesn't matter because most monitors can't produce really high quality images anyway. You need the high quality only for large prints.

Phil

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A collision at sea will ruin your entire day. Aristotle

Airwing found.
Ecard models has a 1/48th scale Curtis Seahawk...Made of Paper...
Im going to try and cannabalize one of those mini copters for its guts...it might actually be made to fly...
Z

i use micosoft paint program to resize pics,photo bucket and the likes are o.k but if they are deleted on the program they also disapper on the forum.just bring the pic up on paint go to resize change from 100 to what ever comes out to 150000.not a bit more or you will get the to big answer.when you resize save the pic as a differant name bring it up and check propertiys to make sure it is under 150000.when they are on the forum they can be double clicked to make them larger.

Do you have any pictures of your ship?
Mark

1. open a pic on your Photo folder. 2.right click on it and select open with paint, the picture should get real big on your screen. 3.click on image on the tool bar, select strech or scew. resize the numbers to 50% OR 40%. then try to post the pic. if you still have trouble call me at 1-307-514-3590. I live in Cheyenne Wy. I am posting teh German Z class cruiser in 1/72. I might have to build me one in 1/48, and 1/32 LOL to keep up with You guys. I actually have a model in 1/350 i scratch built from two new jersey kits into BB69 which would have been named USS Main. its a Montana class but i added a flag bridge, and 4 extra 5in gun houses in the mid ship. They probably wouldnt have done this for weight reasons but it looks cool.

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Shoot till You see the Whites of their tails.

1/350 scale Montana hull made from 2 New Jersey models, and some evergreen sheeting. i didn't finish the bottom and got on to other projects.

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Shoot till You see the Whites of their tails.

The hulls of the Montana's would have been to wide for the ship to go through the Panama canal, which was one reason for their cancelation.

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Shoot till You see the Whites of their tails.