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PostPosted: Mon Mar 28, 2011 2:06 pm 
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Location: Port Orchard, Wa
Capitão Norbert;
As always, your feedback is greatly appreciated! :thanks:


Richard;
I am very pleased to get such comments about my 'on-line LSM educational project.' :woo_hoo:

With regard to your question about where it will be displayed, for the next couple of years, I'll be taking the model around the US to periodic reunions of the USS LSM/LSMR Association. Currently, that means I'm attending 2 reunions with the model each year. This year, I hope to go to a reunion in Oklahoma City during the first week of June and in Nashville in September. Of course, I don't know how many more years the LSM/LSMR veterans will be holding reunions, so at some point, I'll be looking for a place to display the model. I'll cross that bridge when I get there... :scratch:

:thanks: for the comments!

John :wave_1:


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PostPosted: Fri Apr 01, 2011 1:37 pm 
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Hi everyone!

In this post, I'm going to show you the last step in painting the hull before I get into weathering: painting the large hull numbers.

Once again, I relied on the same technique that I used for applying the small hull numbers. That is, I made my own stencils and airbrushed the numbers. If you recall from the photos of the actual ship that I posted earlier on, the large hull numbers that the ship wore at Iwo Jima were not standard block numerals. They looked very similar, but it's obvious from examining the photos that they were applied more or less freehand. This ruled out using any commercially available decals.

The first step in making the stencils was to determine the size of the numerals. As I previously mentioned, in December 1944, the US Navy's Pacific Fleet ordered amphibious ships to replace their small hull numbers with numbers that were 6 feet tall. Examination of the photos confirms that they were indeed 6 feet tall on LSM-59. I then calculated the width of the numbers from measurements of the numerals in the photos. My calculations indicated that the numerals covered an area of 6 feet tall by 9 feet wide. Using these calculations, I drew a grid onto graph paper. In preparation for making 4 stencils, I folded the sheet twice in order to make 4 stencils. I used a glue stick to stick the layers of paper together to minimize movement in the next step, which was cutting the stencils.

Here's a photo of the stencils after cutting the numerals out:
Attachment:
File comment: Stencils ready to be applied
Stencil 01.jpg
Stencil 01.jpg [ 143.13 KiB | Viewed 1582 times ]


Next, I applied glue from a glue stick to the back of each stencil and then positioned them onto the hull. Using a damp cloth, I smoothed the stencils onto the hull to eliminate gaps and wrinkles.

Here's a photo of the bow with a stencil in place:
Attachment:
File comment: Port bow with stencils applied
Stencil 02.jpg
Stencil 02.jpg [ 135.56 KiB | Viewed 1582 times ]


And a photo of the hull with the stencils applied:
Attachment:
File comment: Stencils applied, ready to paint
Hull with stencils.jpg
Hull with stencils.jpg [ 126.45 KiB | Viewed 1582 times ]


After adding masking tape around the stencils to prevent overspray, I was ready to spray the numerals. In contrast to the small hull numbers I painted earlier, I decided to use acrylic paint for the large numerals. I wish I could say that this was some kind of secret hobby technique that had been handed down through the family for generations, but it isn't. After painting the small numbers, I realized that acrylic would work better because it seems to go on more evenly than enamel and in a thinner layer, and dries more quickly. :doh_1:

While spraying the numerals, I applied the paint very slowly to try to prevent bleeding along the edges of the numbers, making sure that I took time between each layer so that wet paint didn't accumulate along the edges.

Here's a photo of the hull after painting the numbers and removing the masking:
Attachment:
File comment: Hull numbers after stencils and masking removed
Hull with numbers painted.jpg
Hull with numbers painted.jpg [ 126.83 KiB | Viewed 1582 times ]


I'm pretty happy with how they turned out and my strategy for applying paint worked ; the edges came out better by carefully applying the acrylic paint and I didn't get any bleeding along the edges.

In the next post, I'll describe work on the 'Berger fairleader.' :scratch:

John :wave_1:


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PostPosted: Fri Apr 01, 2011 3:07 pm 
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well done john,your camo paint looks darn good :thumbs_up_1: as well as the whole lsm.


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PostPosted: Sat Apr 09, 2011 1:44 am 
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Hi Everyone!

A little bit of business before we get into today's post:

Russ -
Thanks again for your words of encouragement. :thanks: As always, they are sincerely appreciated! :thumbs_up_1:


And now for today's post:

One of the prominent features on any LSM/LSMR is the Berger fairleader. That’s today’s topic.

If you have no idea of what a 'Berger fairleader' is, then I guess you might say that was my 'April Fool's joke' in my last post. :heh: If this is a foreign term to you, you should find comfort in knowing that you aren't alone. Before I began working on the LSM-59 model, I'd never heard of the term, but I stumbled across it on a shipyard blueprint :cool_2: while trying to come up with the right words to describe it to readers of this website.

If you're still in a fog as to what I'm talking about, :huh: the Berger Fairleader was mounted at the stern of LSMs on an inclined platform above the anchor. The anchor cable passed through the fairleader on its way from the anchor winch to the stern anchor. Not only did the fairleader guide the stern anchor cable, but it also provided a flexible spot on the ship where the strain of the anchor cable was applied. The fairleader was basically a couple of pulleys or sheaves inside a housing mounted on a swivel base.

Here’s a photo (New York Navy Yard photo # F644C6286 courtesy of Navsource.org) of an early installation of the fairleader:
Attachment:
File comment: Stern of the LSM-259; New York Navy Yard photo # F644C6286 courtesy of Navsource.org
LSM 259.jpg
LSM 259.jpg [ 68.95 KiB | Viewed 1539 times ]


The ship in the photo is the LSM-259, which was built to the initial LSM configuration. The 259 was commissioned in June 1944 and by the time the 59 was commissioned in August 1944, the LSM design had already undergone several changes. In contrast to the 59 and other later LSMs, the 259 had a different fairleader installation as well as twin bow gun tubs with 20mm guns, vice the single bow 40mm on the 59.

The swivel mount for the fairleader is fairly simple to build. I used a piece of .030 inch styrene for the base, with .020 and .030 inch bulkheads that hold the swivel tube in place. After adding side walls, I added the 'webs' along the sides and mounting bolts.

Here's an early shot of the swivel mount before the side walls were added:
Attachment:
File comment: Beginning the swivel mount
Swivel Mount.jpg
Swivel Mount.jpg [ 143.17 KiB | Viewed 1539 times ]


In contrast to the swivel mount, the fairleader is a pretty complicated piece of equipment. Initially, it began as two styrene walls with two segments of styrene tubing sandwiched between. However, that was just the start and a lot more work was required. For that reason, I decided to construct a master of the fairleader and then make a mold so I could cast additional copies should I need them for future LSM/LSMR projects. I have no desire to spend a lot of time building another one of these intricate parts for another model!

Using a cast copy of the fairleader was not without its downside. The cast copy required cleaning up to make ready for use; the copy was cast as a solid block by necessity, so one of the major steps in prepping the part was to open up the inside. Here's a side by side photo of the original master on the left with the casting on the right:
Attachment:
File comment: Master on the left, casting on the right
side by side 01.jpg
side by side 01.jpg [ 141.58 KiB | Viewed 1539 times ]


After cleanup, prep, and additional detailing, I painted it with primer followed by ocean green. At this point, it was ready to install. Here’s how it turned out:
Attachment:
File comment: Cast Fairleader after painting
Fairleader.jpg
Fairleader.jpg [ 134.17 KiB | Viewed 1539 times ]


And here’s a shot of it in place on the model:
Attachment:
File comment: Fairleader installed
Berger Fairleader 01.jpg
Berger Fairleader 01.jpg [ 123.99 KiB | Viewed 1539 times ]


In my next post, I’ll show you the construction of the gun tub that is located above the stern anchor winch.

Thanks for checking back!

John :wave_1:


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PostPosted: Sat Apr 09, 2011 4:02 am 
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John :wave_1:
I am looking foward to my continuing education on LSM's . :thumbs_up_1: :thumbs_up_1: :thumbs_up_1:

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PostPosted: Sat Apr 16, 2011 2:45 am 
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Hi again everyone!

In this outing, I’ll show you the work on the aft port gun tub.

But first, a note to Richard and the rest of my 'LSM students.' Thanks for checking back in; I'm always glad to hear your comments! I am honored to be your 'LSM professor'! :big_grin: :big_grin: :big_grin:

Now, let's talk about the aft port gun tub. In the photo from the debut of the LSM-59 model at the Fall 2009 LSM/LSMR Association Reunion, the model sported a gun tub on the stern above the anchor winch. So, you might be wondering, “Why talk about that now? I saw it in the earlier photos - isn’t it done already?” Well, as it turns out, the gun tub that was on the model at that time turned out to be just a placeholder. As you remember from my earlier posts, I had a limited amount of time to make the model ready for the reunion, so I took some shortcuts. One of those was the gun tub, which I assembled hastily and temporarily glued in place, with the intention of removing it later to finish it. Well, after returning from the reunion and taking a good look at the tub, I just wasn’t happy with it and decided to just go ahead and build a new one.

I began the gun tub by cutting the base from a piece of .010 inch styrene. Next, I cut a strip of .010 inch styrene to use as the shield wall. A note here - unlike the other 20mm gun tubs on an LSM, the aft port gun tub shield extended 360 degrees around the gun. However, the shield wasn’t a perfect circle. On the outboard side, the shield had flat face about 4 feet long. So, the gun tub shield on the model had to reflect that characteristic. To make construction easier, I decided to first install the shield wall onto the base as a complete circle and modify it later by inserting the flat shield section. Also, on the actual ships, the shield wall did not match up exactly with the edge of the tub base. The base extended about ¼ to ½ inch beyond the shield wall. When I assembled the shield wall and base, I made sure I replicated this characteristic also.

The stern gun tub had another difference from the other tubs as well; it was raised about 6 inches above the main deck, which allowed the tub to stand clear of the stern anchor winch. Although it won't really be visible once the tub is installed, I built the framework inside the structure that raised the tub, based on photos from my visit to the LSM-45.

Here’s a couple photos of the tub at this point:
Attachment:
File comment: On the right, you can see the flat side of the shield, which faces outboard.
Tub 01.jpg
Tub 01.jpg [ 76.21 KiB | Viewed 1474 times ]
Attachment:
File comment: A look at the support framework underneath
Tub 02.jpg
Tub 02.jpg [ 85.08 KiB | Viewed 1474 times ]


After painting with primer and then painting ocean green, here's a couple shots of the tub:
Attachment:
File comment: The pin on the lower right is where the support stanchion goes
Tub 01.jpg
Tub 01.jpg [ 57.18 KiB | Viewed 1474 times ]
Attachment:
File comment: The lockers will be installed on the tub after it has been attached to the hull
Tub 02.jpg
Tub 02.jpg [ 55.38 KiB | Viewed 1474 times ]


With the tub almost complete, I next turned my attention to how the tub mounts to the hull. The gun tub had two points where it attached to the hull: the main deck above the winch and a support stanchion on the starboard side that was fastened to the well deck. In the previous photos, you’ll see a locating pin extending from the gun tub where this stanchion attaches to the tub. There was also an electrical panel on this stanchion, which I believe was associated with the winch. I kept the construction of this item simple; the stanchion was a piece of .100 inch styrene tubing and the panel was made of 2 pieces of ¼ by 1/8th inch styrene glued together edgewise. The panel was attached to the stanchion with two strips of brass and the assembly was painted with primer.

Here's how it looked at this point:
Attachment:
File comment: Support stanchion with electrical panel after painting with primer
Electrical panel 01.jpg
Electrical panel 01.jpg [ 43.24 KiB | Viewed 1474 times ]


Now, you're probably looking at the photo above and thinking, "Man, you've got the electrical panel crooked on the stanchion. What's up with that?" Well, the panel was mounted just above the winch radiator and because the aft end of the winch base was higher than the forward end, the radiator sat at an angle. The installation angle of the electrical panel mimicked that of the radiator. :cool_2:

Next, I painted the stanchion ocean green and the electrical panel neutral gray. Then, I lightly weathered the assembly. Here’s how it turned out:
Attachment:
File comment: Stanchion and panel after weathering
Electrical Panel 02.jpg
Electrical Panel 02.jpg [ 121.96 KiB | Viewed 1474 times ]


At this point, the major work on the tub is complete and the tub is ready to mount to the hull. I've left off the ready service locker and another locker from the tub until after the tub has been mounted. However, before I can permanently attach the gun tub, I'll need to make sure all work is done in the area below it. Specifically, I'll need to have the Stern Winch Operator in place. I'll tell you about progress on that in my next post.

John :wave_1:


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PostPosted: Sat Apr 16, 2011 2:53 am 
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JC , I have been looking in for some time now, I have to say, there,s some very nice work going on in the thread. :thumbs_up_1: :thumbs_up_1: :wave_1:

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PostPosted: Sat Apr 16, 2011 9:36 am 
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It's coming along nicely John, I look forward to seeing it again.

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PostPosted: Sat Apr 16, 2011 10:54 am 
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very nice detail on the underside bracing on the gun tub :thumbs_up_1:


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PostPosted: Sat Apr 23, 2011 4:34 pm 
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Hi everyone!

In my last post, I showed you the construction of the aft gun tub. Before I install that onto the hull, I have to build the Stern Winch Operator. That's today's topic.

But first, a quick note of thanks to the Admiral, Les, and Russ. Your comments are much appreciated! :thanks: :thanks: :thanks:

And now for today's post. The Stern Anchor Winch was controlled by an operator who stood his post at the forward end of the winch. Facing aft toward the winch controls, the Stern Winch Operator stood under the deck overhang on the port side of the stern, in the shadow of the gun tub. On the model, this area is inaccessible once the gun tub is installed, so the figure of the operator has to be installed first.

In contrast to the plethora of scale soldier figures available in 1/48th scale, almost no-one makes WW 2 US Navy figures. The one exception I'm aware of is Eduard, but IMHO, their figures are disappointing. In short, the figures more closely resemble slightly overweight middle-age men than the slender youngsters you'll see in any photo of the crews manning US Navy ships in WW 2. :heh: If I were going to build a diorama of the Chief Petty Officers' Mess, I'd use the Eduard kit. :deadhorse: Enough said.

Because of the lack of available Naval figures, I've found myself falling back on a reliable source: Monogram's series of 1/48th scale US Navy WW2 aircraft. :cool_2: I believe these kits date back to the 1960's but they still have the best figures around if one wants to bring life to a 1/48th scale model ship. Not only are they very lifelike in their appearance and proportions, but if you raid the various kits in the series, you can come up with figures in a wide variety of action poses that are readily adaptable to any setting. In the case of the Stern Winch Operator, I began with the Landing Signal Officer (LSO)from the Monogram SBD Dauntless.

From this point on, the description of how I built the Stern Winch Operator is going to sound like one of Dr. Frankenstein's experiments! I knew that I would be using different arms for the figure, so the first step was to cut off the arms and paddles from the LSO. I cleaned up the remnants of the arms on the figure and then created the life jacket, using Green Putty for the main body of the jacket and .040 inch styrene for the collar. Next, I made a mold of the modified figure and cast a copy.

For arms, I cast copies of several that I'd stolen from other kits. Here's a photo of the cast figure, along with a couple of arms that I was considering using:
Attachment:
File comment: The beginning of Dr. Frankenstein's Stern Winch Operator!
Stern Winch Operator 01.jpg
Stern Winch Operator 01.jpg [ 135.92 KiB | Viewed 1399 times ]

In the photo above, you'll see that the figure's head is missing. The head of the LSO figure was obviously unacceptable because it had a tight-fitting aircrew cap, so I carefully removed the upper part of the head from the jaw line up. This way, I hoped that the seam of the replacement head would be hidden when it is grafted on later.

After deciding which arms to use and test-fitting them so that they'd be in the proper position, I attached the arms with CA glue.

Here's a photo of Operator with his arms glued on and the helmet and head that I'd be using:
Attachment:
File comment: All the body parts!
Stern Winch Operator 02.jpg
Stern Winch Operator 02.jpg [ 90.65 KiB | Viewed 1399 times ]

Next, I carefully removed the material below the jaw line on the head that I'd selected for the figure. I test-fitted the head and the body to confirm they mated up as planned, and then began trimming the top of the head so that it would fit a standard GI helmet. The helmet came from a Tamiya set of US Army figures. When I was happy with the fit-up, I used CA to join the parts together.

Here's a photo of Dr. Frankenstein's Stern Winch Operator:
Attachment:
File comment: It's alive! It's alive!
Stern Winch Operator 03.jpg
Stern Winch Operator 03.jpg [ 140.88 KiB | Viewed 1399 times ]


After gluing a strip of .005 inch styrene around the waist to replicate the life jacket belt and applying a coat of primer, the figure is a little easier to discern:
Attachment:
File comment: Maybe a little easier to see? Maybe not?
Stern Winch Operator 04.jpg
Stern Winch Operator 04.jpg [ 143.22 KiB | Viewed 1399 times ]

Next comes the painting. I airbrushed the dungaree pants with Model Master Insignia Blue lightened with White. Then, I airbrushed the skin areas with Tamiya's Flat Flesh Acrylic. Next, I hand-painted the collar of the chambray shirt with Model Master Intermediate Blue lightened with White. Then, I hand-painted the lifejacket with Model Master Euro Grey. Then, I used the same lightened Intermediate Blue for the shirt sleeves. Finally, I masked the figure and airbrushed the helmet with Model Master Olive Drab. At this point, I sprayed the figure with Future floor wax to give the paint a protective coat before I began applying shading and flesh tones.

Here's a photo at this point:
Attachment:
File comment: Painted and ready to apply shading
Painted 02.jpg
Painted 02.jpg [ 37.08 KiB | Viewed 1399 times ]

To give the figure depth, I used the technique described by Roy Allen, which can be found on Dave Wooley's post of his beautiful build of the Kiev in 1/144th scale.

Here's the link to the page: viewtopic.php?f=75&t=5903&start=1660

After shading and highlighting the uniform, and applying flesh tones, here's a couple shots of the finished figure:
Attachment:
File comment: Ready to be installed
Frankenstein- 01.jpg
Frankenstein- 01.jpg [ 124.37 KiB | Viewed 1399 times ]
Attachment:
File comment: Ready to be installed
Frankenstein- 02.jpg
Frankenstein- 02.jpg [ 126.06 KiB | Viewed 1399 times ]

OK, so the painting of the face didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped. :huh: It's a good thing he's going to be under the gun tub with his face in the winch! :lol_4: Not to worry; by the time I get done with this model, I should have lots of practice painting figures because there are going to be about 30 figures at the topside stations!

And here's a shot of the Stern Winch Operator in place:
Attachment:
File comment: The Stern Anchor Watch is manned
Anchor watch 01.jpg
Anchor watch 01.jpg [ 132.9 KiB | Viewed 1399 times ]

At this point, I'll be taking about a month off from working on the LSM-59. My job requires me to travel occasionally, and this week I'll be traveling to Yokosuka, Japan, in support of the Navy. The trip is scheduled to last about a month, but may extend a little beyond that. So, work on the LSM-59 is going to have a momentary respite. As always, thank you everyone for checking in and thank you especially for your great comments! :thanks:
See you when I get back,

John :wave_1:


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PostPosted: Sun Apr 24, 2011 6:33 am 
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Hi John
Frankenstein never looked so good .Does he have a bride in the US ? :huh: Hope you have a safe trip to Japan but please don't come home Glowing . :lol_pound:

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PostPosted: Sun Apr 24, 2011 11:29 pm 
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If the Bonchi is still there in Yoko you should try the okonomiyaki!

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PostPosted: Wed May 18, 2011 2:25 pm 
John,
I am amazed at the detail you are putting into the 59. My dad was a quartermaster on the 59, and was severely burned when she was hit by the kamikaze plane. You are certainly an artist!
Floyd


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PostPosted: Wed May 18, 2011 2:35 pm 
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Hi John your buildings are made with great skill and great research too as i can see.
very good :thumbs_up_1: :wave_1:


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PostPosted: Sun May 22, 2011 8:43 am 
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Hello everyone!
I've just returned from my trip to Japan; we finished the work a bit early and I was happy to come back a little ahead of schedule. Like Dorothy said, there's no place like home. :woo_hoo:

It is going to take me a couple days to get myself unscrambled and settled back in, so it will be a little bit before I get back to work on the model. In the meantime, let me address some of the comments posted just as I was leaving town and since.

Richard O'Malley commented:

"Hope you have a safe trip to Japan but please don't come home Glowing.”

Thanks as always for checking in, Richard, and thanks for the best wishes. I haven't mentioned what I actually do for the Navy but suffice it to say, you're not far off the mark. I hope that sometime we'll get a chance to talk over a beer so we can discuss the subject of 'glowing in the dark!' How's that for a tease? :heh:

DrPR wrote:

“If the Bonchi is still there in Yoko you should try the okonomiyaki!”

I wish I'd had more time to get together with you before the trip so I could have gotten directions! As it is, Yokosuka is a big town and there are a plethora of great restaurants there. I was fortunate to be working with a group of people who had previously spent time there and every night, we went out to dinner at a new establishment. After 3 weeks, we had only scratched the surface! But maybe next time... :cool_2:

Floyd Bozman wrote:

“I am amazed at the detail you are putting into the 59. My dad was a quartermaster on the 59, and was severely burned when she was hit by the kamikaze plane. You are certainly an artist!”

Floyd, this is a small world! As you know from my earlier posts, I've been corresponding during the building of the model with John Cason, the son of another LSM-59 crewmember. However, I didn't expect that another relative of an LSM-59 crewmember would also be a ship model fan and would stumble across this posting as well! For all who are reading this posting, LSMs only had a complement of 5 officers and 54 enlisted. When you consider that the LSM-59 only had a service life of about 1 year, the total number of men who served aboard her probably did not exceed the number of the ship's complement. Pretty small numbers in a very big war.

I am extremely pleased to have heard from you, Floyd, and truly appreciate your kind words. In my small way, I hope that this model honors the courage and sacrifice of men like your dad. Please stay in touch and continue to post comments, especially if you see something I'm getting wrong! :smallsmile:

Capitão Norbert wrote:

“Hi John, your buildings are made with great skill and great research too as I can see.
Very good.”

Capitão Norbert, thank you as always for your words of encouragement. :thanks: I don't know how you find the time to post on this page and others with all of the beautiful but time-consuming work you're doing on your Bismarck!

Thanks to everyone for checking in. As I said above, it will take a few days for me to recover from my trip (dealing with jet lag, going through the stacks of mail, and catching up on bills!) but I hope to post something in a couple days on work I was doing just before I left.

'til then, let me leave you with a couple photos from my trip; the Mikasa and a shot of myself along the Naval Station waterfront.
Attachment:
File comment: A shot of the Mikasa in Yokosuka, Japan in April 2011
Mikasa April 2011.jpg
Mikasa April 2011.jpg [ 128.77 KiB | Viewed 1258 times ]
Attachment:
File comment: Beware of the wildlife on the Japanese waterfront! And you thought Godzilla was scary!
Yokosuka May 18 2011 001.jpg
Yokosuka May 18 2011 001.jpg [ 129.16 KiB | Viewed 1258 times ]

:eyebrows: John :wave_1:


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PostPosted: Wed May 25, 2011 11:30 am 
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Hi everyone!

In today's post, I'll show you some of the things I was working on just before I left for Japan.

Let me start by revisiting the stern anchor winch and aft port gun tub. In an earlier post, I told you about building the stern anchor winch operator and showed you the operator mounted at his station. Now let's take a look at the difference made by installing the aft port gun tub.

In the photos below, I've positioned the aft port gun tub in place. As you can see, the stern winch operator and his phonetalker are tucked away under the deck and overhanging gun tub. These photos show why I needed to get both figures in place prior to installing the gun tub.
Attachment:
File comment: Somewhere back there are the two figures I showed in my earlier posts!
Stern winch 01.jpg
Stern winch 01.jpg [ 141.05 KiB | Viewed 1202 times ]
Attachment:
File comment: Still a little hard to see anyone down there!
Stern winch 02.jpg
Stern winch 02.jpg [ 140.65 KiB | Viewed 1202 times ]
Attachment:
File comment: It must've been warm in that corner!
Stern winch 03.jpg
Stern winch 03.jpg [ 136.91 KiB | Viewed 1202 times ]

I've mentioned earlier that I took shortcuts on the model in order to have it ready to display at veterans' reunions. One of those shortcuts resulted in a rudimentary bow ramp. Because of limited time, I decided early on to put off installing the barrier fences on the ramp until later. Here's a photo (courtesy of NavSource.org) of a typical bow ramp showing the barrier fences:
Attachment:
File comment: Bow ramp on LSM 320 - photo courtesy of NavSource.org
LSM 320 01.jpg
LSM 320 01.jpg [ 82.22 KiB | Viewed 1202 times ]

As you can see in the photo above, the barrier fences were a distinctive feature of the bow ramp, so I couldn't just ignore them on the model. These barriers kept vehicles from running off the side of the bow ramp, as well as preventing vehicles from driving into the bow doors.

The barrier fences were pretty simple to make. The vertical walls of the barriers were made from .060 inch styrene and ribbing was added with .020 inch styrene strips. Then the assembly was painted with primer followed by ocean green. Here's a couple of photos of the ramp:
Attachment:
File comment: Photo one of the bow ramp with fences
Bow ramp 02.jpg
Bow ramp 02.jpg [ 141.23 KiB | Viewed 1202 times ]
Attachment:
File comment: Photo two of the ramp with barrier fences
Bow ramp 03.jpg
Bow ramp 03.jpg [ 143.92 KiB | Viewed 1202 times ]


At this point, a few more details still remain to be added to the ramp, but the major structures are complete. (Yes, all of the drainage holes were drilled by hand!)

In my next post, I'll show you my first cautious attempts at weathering. :faint:

John :wave_1:


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PostPosted: Wed May 25, 2011 11:42 am 
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Joined: Tue Apr 17, 2007 9:18 am
Posts: 1979
Location: Brasil
Hi John fantastic trip to Japan.
i know( i saw in the Net) wich have man maritime museums.
do you visit YAMATO 1/10?
about your job is a pleasure to see new images and say you what quality you have to do it.
great modeller.
well about the time is spend to post images is the following:
i post in my work day when i have time.
so when i do it i am working in true :heh:
but weekends i don't appear here cause or i am doing the model or with my family in one park or travelling near
my home. :wave_1: :thumbs_up_1:


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PostPosted: Wed May 25, 2011 12:30 pm 
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Joined: Mon Sep 14, 2009 5:11 am
Posts: 223
Hi John, I like the way you have tucked the crew into corners where they are hard to spot. It draws the eye to the work you have put into these areas. Might have to try it on my own build. :thumbs_up_1:


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PostPosted: Wed May 25, 2011 6:04 pm 
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Joined: Sun Mar 07, 2010 12:01 am
Posts: 1643
Location: Corvallis, Oregon, USA
I like the figures. They show the scale of the ship and add an element of realism. After all, without a crew a ship is just part of the mothball fleet.

I am planning a 1:48 model of the USS Cape MSI-2, a 112 foot inshore minesweeper from the 1960s - the smallest ship in the Navy (really!). It will be 28 inches long and it would be interesting to have the crew preparing to stream the sweep gear.

I don't want to try to find figures from aircraft models so maybe I will use O scale railroad figures.

Phil

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A collision at sea will ruin your entire day. Aristotle


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PostPosted: Thu May 26, 2011 3:55 am 
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Joined: Sat Jan 22, 2005 10:18 am
Posts: 4131
Location: Liverpool
Hello John my apologies for not paying more attention to your superb build. I have just caught up with many more of the details in your build log. This is a genuine labour of love and you can rightly feel very pleased with the results .
Dave Wooley :thumbs_up_1: :thumbs_up_1: :thumbs_up_1: :wave_1:


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