USS Indiana BB-58 Scratchbuild in 1/96 - 1944

[TommyL]

Love the shot from under the ship. I used to have the same picture saved on my comp. There might be a link to this site from the Oklahoma site I found. I'll see if I can find it again and let you know.

TommyL.

[TommyL]

I found it! http://ussindianabb58.com/theship.html

TommyL.

[Bill Waldorf]

Yes, great photos!! I have this, too. Thanks!!!

[Timmy C]

Woot! Looking well! Amazing differences between props back then and now. How will you ensure that the bulb is correctly contoured? That's a question I've been wondering for a while now.

[Sean Hert]

Bill-

Is that just 1/4" luan for the keel and 1/8" for the frames?

[Ludwig]

hi Bill,

I can not find any words , I have trouble in keeping my mouth closed and I am slobbering all over the place. looking good

regards,

Ludwig

[Francisco P. de Nanclares]

Wow Bill, looking great!

A question I�ve always had mulling around (since I�ve never had the guts to crank up a scratchbuild project): When you set up the frame drawings to cut, do you take into account the thickness of the exterior sheeting that will come after?. I mean, in this big scale, I guess this will be unnoticeable, but in smaller scales (say 1/350) it is probably a bit different and could even produce a hull way apart from the original or way apart the intended scale. Am I wrong?.

Thanks in advance.
Pachi.

[Avery Boyer]

Looking great! Can't wait to see more!

[TommyL]

Woot! Looking well! Amazing differences between props back then and now. How will you ensure that the bulb is correctly contoured? That's a question I've been wondering for a while now.

I remember watching something on the history channel a while back about paddle wheels vs. propeller. One shipwright put 2 ships up against each other that were simular in every respect save for one was paddle and the other was prop. They had both ships do a tug-of-war in wich the paddle wheel started out strong but then lost once the prop driven ship got in motion.

Now here is a fun fact: The more modern props are only 10% better then those of the day. (History Channel's Claim, so dont shoot the messanger)

Oh timmy Im not sure but they could have been castings or done on a very very large shipyard lathe. With something that large your not going to knowtice .005" out of tollerance.

TommyL.

[Bill Waldorf]

Bill-

Is that just 1/4" luan for the keel and 1/8" for the frames?

Nope! Not luan. It is what I said it was. It's pricey too. I could have used luan, but it warps easier than this material. It does look a bit like luan but the grain is different on the occume and the birch.

[Bill Waldorf]

Woot! Looking well! Amazing differences between props back then and now. How will you ensure that the bulb is correctly contoured? That's a question I've been wondering for a while now.

I'll use the photos I have and look at them as I sculpt the bow. The form is there, I'm just sculpting the very forward part of the "bulb". Should be fairly simple. You will see...................Stay tuned.............

[Sean Hert]

See, that's what I get for not reading the text between the pics! Whoops!

[Bill Waldorf]

Wow Bill, looking great!

A question I�ve always had mulling around (since I�ve never had the guts to crank up a scratchbuild project): When you set up the frame drawings to cut, do you take into account the thickness of the exterior sheeting that will come after?. I mean, in this big scale, I guess this will be unnoticeable, but in smaller scales (say 1/350) it is probably a bit different and could even produce a hull way apart from the original or way apart the intended scale. Am I wrong?.

Thanks in advance.
Pachi.

In answer to your question, Pachi.................... You are correct that in bigger scales the thickness of the keel and the exterior sheeting relating to the overall scale dimensions of the ship, is minor. I'm 5/16" bigger all the way around.(7.5MM) I did not subtract the thicknesses. In a smaller scale you would use much thinner material, so the difference would be about the same. In scale terms, the real ship would be 2, 1/2 feet bigger all the way around. In 1/96, the 7.5MM is neglegable. In my opinion,you would'nt notice it. So, the same would hold true for smaller scales, assuming the thinner material is used. I would trim the frames if the overall tolerance was over the 7.5MM in 1/96th scale. This is all assuming the drawings one would use are correct. Most times they are not. I'm sure I'll catch hell for this!!! By the way, good question!!

[Bill Waldorf]

Here's something you all might find interesting. Since my good friend Steve Nuttall is gone, I have had to find another source for some of the barrels on the Indiana. I lucked out. Found a machine shop here in Jacksonville that does precision CNC stuff. Steve must have been guiding me.......................... Anyway, the guy that made these looks alot like Steve. Very strange........... Take a look. I gave him drawings and dimensions. These are the main 16" 45 cal. MK 45 Naval guns. There are nine of these. Made from aircraft aluminum.I miss my friend..............





These look pretty good. I continue on.........................
I think he is watching me, happy!! It's funny how things work, isn't it?? God works in mysterious ways. I'm not a real religious person, but this is weird.

[TommyL]

Those look very nice Bill. If you dont mind me asking, how much did it cost to have them turned? It couldn't have been cheap.

Im not sure but I beleave we charge $85 an hour for work done on our EDM.

The biggest cost is programming let alone the cost of materials.

I plan to do side jobs on my home mill for far far less. Not sure yet.

TommyL.

[Bill Waldorf]

Those look very nice Bill. If you dont mind me asking, how much did it cost to have them turned? It couldn't have been cheap.

Im not sure but I beleave we charge $85 an hour for work done on our EDM.

The biggest cost is programming let alone the cost of materials.

I plan to do side jobs on my home mill for far far less. Not sure yet.

TommyL.

20 bucks a barrel. A deal for me. Steve would have been close. I always paid him for his stuff.

[Francisco P. de Nanclares]

Thanks for your answer Bill! Those barrels look great!.

Cheers.
Pachi.

[jep1210]

Very interesting hull design, sort of a half (or 1/4) catameran (SP?). One thing I was wondering, what are the "V" shaped sections for about mid ship at the top of the frames? They're just barlely visible in the pictures of the real ship. This ship has some interesting design details.

J.P.

[Bill Waldorf]

Very interesting hull design, sort of a half (or 1/4) catameran (SP?). One thing I was wondering, what are the "V" shaped sections for about mid ship at the top of the frames? They're just barlely visible in the pictures of the real ship. This ship has some interesting design details.

J.P.

That's the armor belt...............

[NucSub]

Very interesting hull design, sort of a half (or 1/4) catameran (SP?). One thing I was wondering, what are the "V" shaped sections for about mid ship at the top of the frames? They're just barlely visible in the pictures of the real ship. This ship has some interesting design details.

J.P.

That's the armor belt...............

Actually, the bottom of the V is the top of the outboard tanks. Belt was internal and inclined making a maintenance/repair nightmare but hey, that was how to get such a small belt to hold up against 16" shells without adding too much weight and exceeding treaty.
Montana class went back to vertical external belt since displacement was not an issue.