Calling all USS North Carolina BB-55 & USS Washington BB-56 fans

[Chic Sky]

A little scratch building would bring the forward funnel to its correct height. The aft funnel seems to be the right height, but if not, a little sanding would solve it.

I'll post later when I get the actual measurements.

[ModelMonkey]

On a business trip this week I had an opportunity to have lunch with a
retired, patriotic lady and took some pictures of her for your viewing
pleasure.

USS North Carolina as she appeared February 15, 2007:

[MartinJQuinn]

Picked up the Trumpeter 1/700 Washington today at lunch, during a trip to the LHS. The molding looks crisp, though you'll face the same problem with filling seams, due to the way Trumpeter breaks down the parts. At least the deck is one piece!

Looks like she is in her November 1942 fit. I'm going to have to see how much work it would be to backdate her to an early 1942 fit. When I eventually build her, I want to paint her in Ms12 mod, as in this picture from the USS Washington website:

[Blue Devil]

Martin (or anyone else),

I have the 1/350 NC and would rather do the Washington. Can anyone compare the instructions on the 1/700 NC and Washington kits and post the differences. At least that would be a start!

Thanks!

BD

[MartinJQuinn]

Martin (or anyone else),

I have the 1/350 NC and would rather do the Washington. Can anyone compare the instructions on the 1/700 NC and Washington kits and post the differences. At least that would be a start!

Thanks!

BD

My scanner is off line right now, or I'd scan and send them to you. Take a look at these Navsource pages for some pictures of both ships:
North Carolina
Washington

The biggest difference I can see is the platform on the tower superstructure (it's just behind the Mk37 director on the bridge in this picture).



Depending on what year BB-56 you want to build, there is also a cut out in the port side of the forecastle (might have been for an anchor?) that Washington had until at least 1943, which can be seen in this picture (It's about half-way between the forward turret and the bow):



The 1/700 kit does have this "cut-out" in it's deck, the 1/350 version of NC does not. From the pictures, it looks like a post 1943 Washington and the Trumpeter NC are fairly close in AA layout.

[Dick J]

Hi Guys,

Just got my Washington (1/700) today. The kit looks nice, but has anyone else noticed that the light AA fit matches the early '42 North Carolina rather than the '42 Washington? I guess it's time to start filling all those holes, and putting them in the right places.

[Blue Devil]

Martin (and anyone else),

In your last response to me you note that it looks like the post '43 Washington and the Trumpy NC have similar AA fits. Would it be the consensus of the board that the Trumpy 1/350 NC can be made into the post '43 Washington with just the removal of the platform on the forward tower? When was the deck cut-out filled in on the Washington?

The Washington web site has some nice drawings http://www.usswashington.com/diag.htm but they seem to be end of the war, and I'd like to make it earlier. That's why I thought the 1/700 instruction sheet might be helpful.

Thanks!!

BD

[Anonymous]

It is possible that the cutout was removed during repairs after USS Washington's collision with USS Indiana which occured on 1 February 1944. The damage was very serious to both ships. USS Washington received 60 new feet of bow during repairs. Ten lives were lost in this accident, six killed or missing on Washington and four on Indiana. You can read more about the accident and see photos here:
http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/even ... sh-ind.htm

The cut out is gone in the following 1944 and 1945 photos of USS Washington. Careful inspection of the first photo will reveal much of her AA fit. Notice the ship is riding very high in the water (indicating a light load at the time the photo was taken) revealing some of her hull's shape.

[Blue Devil]

OK, looking more carefully at the diagrams on the Washington web site, the AA layout in the large, detailed diagram is DIFFERENT than the diagram in the 20mm section in that there are less 20mm guns. Indeed, the layout is very close to the Trumpy 1/350 NC kit set up.

I'm going to assume that the drawing in the 20mm section is the end of the war and the more detailed one is post spring '44 refit (no cutout in forward deck) and go with that one. This is when she was still painted in Ms.22 with the demarcation line tending sharply down towards the bow. Does this make sense to anyone else, or am I way off here?

Thanks again for all the help!

BD

[MartinJQuinn]

I believe Steve is right about when the cut out was removed. If you look at this picture of Washington (from the BB56 website) after her collision with Indiana, you can just make out the cut out, just aft of where the deck is collapsed:


I'd say if you want to build a Washington from the North Carolina kit, a post collision refit will be the easiest conversion for you.

[Richard Durham]

Hi, I am looking for a couple of close up pictures of the .50 cal mounts on the early USS WASHINGTON (BB 56). I have looked on line and have not come up with much. I am trying to figure out if these .50 cal mounts had shields or not and cannot tell from any pictures that I have seen�the .50 cal mounts in the new 1/700 Trumpeter Washington have no shields and I thought about replacing them or adding shields. Any information would be appreciated. Thanks, Rich

[Richard Durham]

This is an in progress picture of Trumpeter's 1/700 USS WASHINGTON (BB 55). First ship in about 5 months due to loss of office (wife calls it the man-cave) for repair of significant roof leak with mold and all. Nice deck and hull detail, but superstructure and weapons are a bit rough. The 16� 45 Cal gun barrels are from Clipper and the 5� guns are from from the DML USS SAN DIEGO Premium kit. The 20 mm guns are from the same kit. If I were to do the kit again, I would take the 5� and 20 mm from a Tamiya IOWA kit. I used the GMM 1/700 Battleship Set for the kit�very nice set. The cranes and catapults came out very well and will be added after rigging. Rich

[Richard Durham]

Here are 4 pictures of my just completed Trumpeter 1/700 USS WASHINGTON (BB 56). I replaced the 5� and 20 mm guns using ones from the DML USS SAN DIEGO Premium kit. The 16� 45 Cal gun barrels were replaced using Clipper brass barrels and blast bags. I used the Gold Model Models U.S. Battleship Set, with the exception of the SK radar antenna, which is from a Lion Roar set. The model is painted using Model Master Acryl Marine Colors. Finally, the rigging is made from Dai-Riki 8x fishing leader. I forgot to add a flag and determined it was too hard once the rest of the rigging was in place. Rich

[RNfanDan]

Hi Guys,

The [Washington] kit looks nice, but has anyone else noticed that the light AA fit matches the early '42 North Carolina rather than the '42 Washington? I guess it's time to start filling all those holes, and putting them in the right places.

I've had my 1:700 Trumpeter BB56 for some time now, and just opened it to have my first really good inside the box. My opinion? Not a bad kit--for a North Carolina. But, let me qualify this...I do not have the 1:700 Trumpeter North Carolina kit to compare it to, but I do have another reference. That reference MUCH more closely matches the AA configuration of this kit's deck locations, and the reference is that of 'Carolina.

Simply put, it looks like Trumpeter followed a USS North Carolina plan--with the exception of the port bow "notch". From photographs I have carefully scrutinized, there were a number of differences between the two ships' 20mm arrangements--starting with the location, number, and the angle of the splinter shields abaft "B" turret.

I do not have as clear a view of Washington's rear-midships galleries forward of X turret (was "X" the USN's designation for the rear 16"turret?) at the main deck level, but it looks like her 20mm galleries here were slightly different, as well. I am short of decent BB56 research and photographs to make a definitive statement however, from what I can see, it looks like I have to do some surgery just as Dick's comment alluded to, above.

If I am correct in my observations--and I am hoping SOMEONE will alert me, if I am wrong--the kit is just a re-packaged North Carolina. This is simply unacceptable to me, especially being a veteran model builder of over 4 decades, and having seen this same marketing ploy used by Lindberg, Revell, and others.

Back in the early days, I didn't know better but now, having to deal with a supposedly "new" release by immediately having to make some not-so-minor corrections (especially in areas of molded deck-planking lines), tells me that not much has changed, at all. I hope I am way off-base here, and that I will be proven wrong about these observations. I certainly don't want another Indiana-Alabama-Massachusetts merry-go-kit scenario like the Revell marketers did in 1:720.

FWIW...

[Ron Smith]

I do not have as clear a view of Washington's rear-midships galleries forward of X turret (was "X" the USN's designation for the rear 16"turret?) at the main deck level, but it looks like her 20mm galleries here were slightly different, as well. I am short of decent BB56 research and photographs to make a definitive statement however, from what I can see, it looks like I have to do some surgery just as Dick's comment alluded to, above.

If I am correct in my observations--and I am hoping SOMEONE will alert me, if I am wrong--the kit is just a re-packaged North Carolina. This is simply unacceptable to me, especially being a veteran model builder of over 4 decades, and having seen this same marketing ploy used by Lindberg, Revell, and others.

Trumpeter, hmmmmmm...........GOO-ARE-N-TEED it's just a repop of the North Carolina or at best a slightly warmed over version. We're talking a company that can't get the basics right over half the time, you expect nuances too? Seriously the new Classic Warships book on the class will have the photos you need.

Now a general comment..........guys, PLEASE stop posting huge photos to the forums, those that are too wide really screw with reading what's on that page! I could illustrate the point with a full size scan from SoDak that's a couple thousand pixels wide............

[Dick J]

Hi Ron,

I guess anyone can make a mistake. On a North Carolina related mistake, look at the photo at the far right of page 31 of Steve Wiper's (otherwise) excellent new North Carolina book. I figured it was Alabama, and confirmed it by finding the same photo on page 59 of the Squadron (I know, Mistakes Incorporated) Alabama On Deck book. That one mistake won't make me stop buying Steve's books. And despite the mistakes, I DID get the Trumpy Washington - it is a good starting point and can be fixed. (But you are correct, Ron. Getting it right the first time would have been better.)

[KYamato]

Do any of you suggest a Trumpeter 1/350th North Carolina for someone looking for a fun boat to build, as well as a realistic one at that?

I see one at the local hobby shop, and thinkin about getting it either from there or online.. ($120 or $84 online.. )

[Tracy White]

erf... The kit certainly looks like a North Carolina/Washington, but when you delve into it it has some problems... whether or not you want to fix them is up to you. Biggest one that come to mind for me is that they messed up the height of the first level of the superstructure.. it's way too tall.

Otherwise it's a little over-engineered.. but buildable. Just make sure you sand down the INSIDES of the separate bulkheads;; the knocking pins holes have so much flash to them it'll make for an ugly build otherwise.

Test fit, test fit, test fit.

[Tracy White]

Buy Steve's book and Randy Shoker's recently updated North Carolina Technical Manual and pour over the pictures. I haven't written down the things I found and I really don't have the time right now to go back and do it again. If I did I'd post it here anyway so I only had to do it once instead of every time someone asked the question.

If you get Randy's book you also get a set of 1/350th plans as well that will help.

Other things that come to mind are the stairwells from the main deck up are represented as having watertight doors (in the wrong place!) instead of open archways, and there's a missing enclosure on the flag bridge level, starboard side.

[KYamato]

Probably will look it up, all is under consideration at current..

I see it as either a NC or the Missouri, of which I already have a 1/600th New Jersey to my name, so the NC is more enticing.. (Both 1/350th, cant remember the manufacturer of the Missouri though. Tamiya I do believe.. )