The Ship Model Forum

Well, my 6 month voyage into a commission build of the USS Truman has come to an end! The ship is built to the 2001-2003 configuration. A TON of research went into this build to try to get every last detail right. I feel pretty confident saying that this is probably one of the most accurate modern carrier builds out there, I poured over 100's of up close detail pictures to try to replicate everything in styrene and brass. Looking at the sprues of leftover parts from the kit, it seems well over half of the kit parts did not get used at all! And of the parts that did get used, I can only see the jet blast deflectors were built exactly as the kit calls out for them! Every other part recieved modifications, scratch building, and / or photo etch enhancement or replacement.

I took the Truman to "ValleyCon" a contest in Mass. She took a gold medal in the open judging of te ships category, and she took first place for "Best US Navy Subject". She will make an appearence at MosquitoCon in New Jersey this weekend, then I am off to D.C. to deliver her to the customer, a retired crew member.

An explanation of just about every step in the build is in the works in progress thread, so I will just let these pics speak for themselves.

If anyone wants a pic of a specific area of the build, don't be afraid to ask, I have 100's of them!

Thanks to everyone who helped with the build reference photos, especially (but not limited to) CliffyB and Kidcurrie, the photos from you two were absolutely crucial to this build!

The base and case were built by my dad and me, and we are pretty proud of them, it is the first time we have tried something like this. Thanks Dad!

Well enough blabbing, on with the pictures!

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Enlisted men are stupid, but very cunning and deceitful and bear considerable watching." - Marine Corps Officers Manual, 1894

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Hangar bay and stbd side island shots:

Hangar is lit with LED's and the island #'s are individual strands of fiber-optic cable for each individual "bulb".

_________________
Enlisted men are stupid, but very cunning and deceitful and bear considerable watching." - Marine Corps Officers Manual, 1894

http://www.modelshipgallery.com/gallery ... index.html

Very nice work. Look forward to seeing her in person on Saturday at MosquitoCon!

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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

Thanks martin, I am looking forward to MosquitoCon!

Some shots of the stern here, the baot dock was a pain in the butt to install! Unless I did something way wrong here, it simply does not fit the way it is supposed to, which unfortunately I only figured out after I had completely shaped and bent the numerous parts. I had to cut and alter a few of the parts, but the finished product looks really cool.

Again, all the weapons sponsons, sea sparrow launchers, and satcomm sponsons are from scratch.

_________________
Enlisted men are stupid, but very cunning and deceitful and bear considerable watching." - Marine Corps Officers Manual, 1894

http://www.modelshipgallery.com/gallery ... index.html

Excellent job! nicely done.

OK mate!--I am impressed!

Good sharp building with excellent detailing.

Modern carriers--not my thing per se-- .....

but I recognize quality when I see it!



Jim Baumann

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....I buy them at three times the speed I build 'em.... will I live long enough to empty my stash...?
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IPMS UK SIG (special interest group) www.finewaterline.com

The day has finally come, alright! Wooooo!

A well deserved congrats man. I'll raise one to the both of you tonight. BZ sir, BZ

-Mike

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Drawing Board:
1/700 Whiff USS Leyte and escorts 1984
1/700 Whiff USN Modernized CAs 1984
1/700 Whiff ASW Showdown - FFs vs SSGN 1984

Slipway:
1/700 Whiff USN ASW Hunter Killer Group Dio 1984

Thanks a lot guys! This is far and away my best build so far, I kinda set the bar high for my build of the Wasp kit into the Iwo Jima. this one really puts the Nimitz and Enterprise in my own collection to shame! I have decided that down the road I am going to build another Nimitz kit for myself at this detail level. I will probably go with the Truman for mine as well since that will save me the trouble researching a different carrier, lazy I know!

Some more shots of the port side:

_________________
Enlisted men are stupid, but very cunning and deceitful and bear considerable watching." - Marine Corps Officers Manual, 1894

http://www.modelshipgallery.com/gallery ... index.html

...And the airwing.

_________________
Enlisted men are stupid, but very cunning and deceitful and bear considerable watching." - Marine Corps Officers Manual, 1894

http://www.modelshipgallery.com/gallery ... index.html

Finally the case, kinda proud of this. It is plenty sturdy, and the battery pack and switch for the lights is outside of the case, so in reality, the case top should never have to be removed once she is delivered.

The base and reinforcing strips on the case are made of red oak, stained and 3 or 4 coats of clear poly to give it a high gloss sheen. The strips the model sits on are poplar, I wanted a different grain of wood, but they did not take the dark stain on the ends how I would have liked, so I won't use poplar again, i'll stick with pine for that.

Ship is secured to the base via 2" X 2" x 1" wood blocks inside the hull and 2.5" lag bolts from them and through the base. This baby ain't moving anywhere! Lesson learned from the disaster suffered by the Nimitz last year!

Thanks for looking!
Semper Fi
Ryan

_________________
Enlisted men are stupid, but very cunning and deceitful and bear considerable watching." - Marine Corps Officers Manual, 1894

http://www.modelshipgallery.com/gallery ... index.html

Quick question from a tin can sailor...what exactly is the cage-like structure of catwalks at the transom?

Cheers,

Keith

That structure is a boat docking station. It was retrofitted onto the early ships of the class, and is standard on all the later ones. it enables the ship's boats to dock right to the back of the ship as opposed to tying off to a boom and having to climb an accomodation ladder. There is a hatch in the stern inside the cage structure so basically they can just walk right in.

Thanks for asking the question, it reminded me that I forgot to add the "bumpers" on the outside of that structure. Guess it's never really done!

_________________
Enlisted men are stupid, but very cunning and deceitful and bear considerable watching." - Marine Corps Officers Manual, 1894

http://www.modelshipgallery.com/gallery ... index.html

Boat dock, aye.

Thanks.

Keith

WOW, What great project. I know that a lot of research went into the carrier detail. It shows. I'm surprised it only took 6 months to build. Now, you can sit back and relax. If your like me, you always think about the next project.

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America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.

Bravo!

great build sgtryan. hope the two 27c can look as good as your build.

Wow!!! Really sharp, clean build. Very, very impressive.

Today, Sunday April 3, I took possession of my commission build of USS HARRY S TRUMAN (CVN-75) built by Sgt Ryan. The craftmanship, attention to detail, and level of skill in construction, detailing and painting exceeded my initial guidelines to which I am grateful.

The project looks exceptionally realistic and accurate. Ryan is worthy of the awards this ship received in the last two weeks and all praise is due to him. For me, words cannot fully express my appreciation and gratitude that I have for him in completing my ship.

Thanks Ryan. Bravo Zulu!!!!!

Hay Sgt nice job on the Truman. How did you get or make the name for the island.

Many thanks gentlemen!

To "guest",

The nameplates on the island are photo etched brass parts that are included with the White Ensign PE sets.

_________________
Enlisted men are stupid, but very cunning and deceitful and bear considerable watching." - Marine Corps Officers Manual, 1894

http://www.modelshipgallery.com/gallery ... index.html