The Ship Model Forum

Thank you, EJ!

Improving the Gallery Deck bulkheads:

The real ship's Gallery Deck was a busy place with lots of interesting fittings, openings, devices, etc. all begging to be added to your kit. One significant method of access to the
Gallery Deck was through many openings in the bulkhead just below the flight deck. These openings were conspicuous on the real ships and by including them in your model the kit's appearance can be improved.

To do so on my model, I studied photographs of several ships of the class, many provided by Tracy White, of USS Lexington and USS Franklin (ships whose structural appearance was nearly identical to Yorktown), in order to locate the openings and determine their size.

In the photos below, the flight deck is not yet fixed to the hull and a light coat of deck blue has been sprayed on the flight deck to help identify any seam problems that need fixing. Also note that Yorktown had the two flight deck cutouts for the port Bofors (nearest the 5-inch guns) filled in during her August-October, 1944 refit.

IMHO, Trumpter did a great job on the flight deck planking and tie-down strip detail for their 1/350 scale Essex class kits.

There are many techniques you can use to add Gallery Deck bulkhead openings to your model. The technique I chose to replicate the openings shown in the photos above was to create new openings using thin, 0.010" (0.25mm) thick styrene strips overlaying the kit parts.

According to photos and AOTS drawings, the gallery deck bulkhead height should be about 0.24" (6.0mm). Instead of using one strip 0.24" wide, build up to 0.24" by using three Evergreen .010" x .080" (0.25mm x 2.0mm) strips laid side by side. The square openings should be .080" x .080" (2.0mm x 2.0mm). By leaving 0.080" wide gaps in the center strip, you will create the square openings. Step-by-step:

1. Mark the location and type of opening (rectangular, square, oval, etc.) on the kit parts. If you are using a PE set with perforated gallery deck catwalks, be sure to check bulkhead opening locations against the PE catwalk parts to ensure your openings are in logical locations with respect to the catwalks. This is especially important starboard side aft. The catwalk above the starboard aft crane area is positioned on the bulkhead higher than other catwalks. A bit of care here will save you from having finding out an inclined ladder to that raised area lays across an opening.

2. Grind out a cavity for the openings in the kit parts using a Dremel tool (or equivalent) slightly larger than the opening. You can achieve a more realistically thin edge for the openings if you grind out a cavity in the kit parts before applying the styrene strip.

3. Lay down the first (top) strip even with the top edge of the flight deck.

4. Lay the second (middle) strip onto the bulkhead leaving gaps 0.080 wide for the square openings over the cavities you ground out in the earlier step. Using a 0.080" wide scrap styrene piece as a spacer will help you make perfectly uniform gaps.

5. Lay down the last (bottom) strip.

6. After the glue has set, sand smooth.

7. Add the 20mm Oerlikon platforms and other details of your choosing.

_________________
Have fun, Monkey around.™

-Steve L.

Complete catalog: - https://www.model-monkey.com/
Follow Model Monkey® on Facebook: - https://www.facebook.com/modelmonkeybookandhobby

Steve, your posts make me look longingly at the USS Essex I have sitting above my workbench. I got her to the point that my scratch built hangar detail was added (not as much as yours, though!), and she's ready to have the hull plating applied and deck glued on, but I put her aside and haven't touched her in nine months.

Great work on yours, I'll look to this for the pitfalls I need to be aware of.

-Devin

_________________
We like our history sanitized and theme-parked and self-congratulatory, not bloody and angry and unflattering. - Jonathan Yardley

Brilliant work...also a brilliant idea to split this post out into it's own thread.

_________________
Martin

"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

Ship Model Gallery

EJ, Devin, and Martin, thank you so much for your kind compliments!

Improving the Flight Deck sections' underside:

The real ship's Flight Deck was supported by various structural trusses and members that were visible from below. Here you can see some initial work to add structural details to the underside of Trumpy's 1/350 Flight Deck parts forward as well as the 20mm galleries. There are 82 Evergreen styrene pieces added in this step so far, all visible in the first photo. The members under the Flight Deck are .020"x.060" (0.5mm x 1.5mm). The parts added to the 20mm galleries are .010" x .125" (0.25mm x 3.2mm).

_________________
Have fun, Monkey around.™

-Steve L.

Complete catalog: - https://www.model-monkey.com/
Follow Model Monkey® on Facebook: - https://www.facebook.com/modelmonkeybookandhobby

Very amazing detail Steve!
I appreciate your hardwork for giving us the info abot the Yorktown!

_________________
Nichol Caballero
Civil Engineer and Ship Enthusiast

Beautiful detailing Steve,

What did you use for all the vertical pieces along the hull?

Paul

Awesome stuff, Steve!

Bob

No comments !!! An immaculate work !!!!

.

That was me...not logged in !!!!

.

Nice looking hull

Lots of great info Steve maybe i'll redo my Hornet and call it Wasp. after i'm done with the FDR i might just take a break!

Hi Steve,
great looking model so far, I just love that ship. Your documentation is very good. Keep us informed. Great job.

_________________
Torben AKA "Young Gun"
VMF'06 - German Gamblers
Veritable Modelling Friends 2006, Germany

Nick, Paul, Bob, Jose, J. Soca, gtb-red, Torben, thank you all!



The butt straps are cut from .010 thick Evergreen styrene strips then sanded very thin after installation.

Improving the Hangar Deck overhead

The real ship's Flight Deck was supported by various structural girders that were visible from below inside the Hangar Deck. The space enclosed by these girders in the midships area contained various offices, berthing and ammunition handling rooms associated with the air group. None of these details is included in the Trumpy kit. Since I opened up all of the Hangar Deck roller doors on the kit, the absence of any overhead details would be conspicuous therefore they would have to be scratch built. Here you can see some of the work to add transverse and longitudinal girders as well as the midships area containing the air group's compartments.

Forward and aft of the midships Air Group compartments, the space enclosed by girders was largely open to the hangar deck below except for the space immediately to port of the aft elevator. (I chose to build that structure on the bottom of the kit's Flight Deck parts therefore it isn't visible in the images below.)

_________________
Have fun, Monkey around.™

-Steve L.

Complete catalog: - https://www.model-monkey.com/
Follow Model Monkey® on Facebook: - https://www.facebook.com/modelmonkeybookandhobby

Steve what a superb build sequence to a magnificent model.
Dave Wooley

excellent methodology and really clean and crisp.

enjoyable read and presentation!



JIM B

_________________
....I buy them at three times the speed I build 'em.... will I live long enough to empty my stash...?
http://www.modelshipgallery.com/gallery ... index.html

IPMS UK SIG (special interest group) www.finewaterline.com

What, Steve.....no lights??????

Superb detailing!

Bob

Absolutely great!

_________________
God created Arrakis to train the faithful.

Really nice Steve!!



With him!

_________________
Nichol Caballero
Civil Engineer and Ship Enthusiast

Spectacular work

_________________
"It is best to remain silent and let others assume you are dumb than to speak up and remove all doubt"

http://nssavannah.wordpress.com/

Dave, Jim, Bob, Sleepwalker, Nick and Avery, thanks so much!

Improving the structures above the Fantail

There were various structures containing aircraft engine shops, berthing, oxygen and CO2 transfer shops, etc., at the stern below the flight deck and above the fantail on the real ships. Replacing the kit's heavy framing with the lighter latticework of reinforcing ribs seen in photos helps improve the kit parts' appearance.

_________________
Have fun, Monkey around.™

-Steve L.

Complete catalog: - https://www.model-monkey.com/
Follow Model Monkey® on Facebook: - https://www.facebook.com/modelmonkeybookandhobby