USS Arizona

[TRM]

Hello All,

Figure I would post it since I had the shots. A while back started Revell's USS Arizona. Bought the extra add-ons....almost done. Have a couple of fixes yet I fell, like the Jackstaff leaning forward to far.

Any help in finding the right size chains fot the anchors would be greatly appriciated...1/426 or close would be great.

Thanks for visiting,

T

[Timmy C]

Looks great - nice work improving an old kit!

As for anchor chain, you might be interested in this thread, though the title says it mainly refers to 1/700 models:
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=41558

[TRM]

Thanks Timmy. That would look good. I will noodle around with the supply sites and find a good $ w/out getting nailed on the S/H.

Regards,
T

[109]

Hi,

beautiful model! were the red turret roof part of a air recognitions system? do have more details on this, please?

Bye!

[skyking]

Great job on an old kit T.

Question for you. There is what I assume to be steel plating on the aft deck just forward of the number 3 Turret, one on either side. I am refering to these plates here:




You have them painted Deck Gray as I do on mine, but I recieved an email from a gentleman stating that it may have been painted to match the teak decking. Looking through my references, I was not able to confirm either way. The new model at the Arizona Memorial also has them painted as deck color, and it's supposed to be a thorouglhy researched model. Do you have any references or pictures that show we are both right?

Thanks for posting yours T.

Cheers
Mike

[Jon C Ryckert]

Mike,
I asked a question about that area of the Arizona a few years back on the message board of www.pearlharborattacked.com. A gentleman named Brian O'Conner said that it was not steel plate but in fact teak. Brian was a diver either for the Parks Service or the Navy and he actually dived the wreck and touched the deck in that area. Hope this helps and enjoying your work. Jon

[Cliffy B]

Ok, does anyone know "why" exactly those plates are there? I've always wondered that and haven't been able to figure it out

[TRM]

Thanks for the kind words Mike & 109.

As Jon explained, I could be swayed to believe that these cover plates were made of teak. It is also plausible that they could have remained painted if the deck was indeed stripped. It's tough to say, some photos of the old BB's show painted and some natural.

I think the decks look exceptionally detailed with the natural coloring.

Cliffy, As for what they may be....looking at old photos, pre-1939 outfitting there is a lot of deck clutter in that area. Below I have a line drawing of the Oklahoma, She has two boats positioned there. In the Arizona pic there is Vent stacks and some sort of platform. I would go as far to say that they are positioned just aft the two deck cranes....could this be an early placement and then upgraded?

As for the RED Turret Tops...I apologize, I cleaned out all saved websites to make room for the 10 other projects going on. There was a single page article about the model of the USS Arizona just after it was unveiled. It describes yard orders for painting pre-December 7th. The purpose was aerial identification...Fleet & Battle Group. It listed the coloring and which turrets. This would have been done with the anticipation of "possible" war on the horizon. I believe they also mention something about the Radar which had not been able to be placed on one of the towers before that day.

Cheers!

[ArizonaBB39]

Ok, does anyone know "why" exactly those plates are there? I've always wondered that and haven't been able to figure it out

If I remember correctly the plates are hatches that cover cargo holds. Don't quote me on that though.

[TRM]

Quite possible Abram. With refitting done on all of them at different times, no telling. I do have Booklet of General Plans for the West Virginia, Texas & New York. All three, it looks like Crews quarters on the Second Deck, the West Virginia show a King Post and Vents in the same area on both sides in 42. And one profile shows what is listed as vegitable storage raised above the Main Deck.

If anybody has general plans of the Arizona pre 1939 outfit, it may tell uss what was there.

Cheers!

[Devin]

If I remember correctly the plates are hatches that cover cargo holds. Don't quote me on that though.

I would also guess cargo holds, or maybe passageways for large pieces of machinery to be taken in and out of the hull if they needed to be replaced.

[BFR4570]

If I remember correctly the plates are hatches that cover cargo holds. Don't quote me on that though.

I would also guess cargo holds, or maybe passageways for large pieces of machinery to be taken in and out of the hull if they needed to be replaced.

I have researched this particular matter extensively and these hatches were called Engineering Hatches. They were only used on those rare occasions when, while in Dry Dock, Machinery in the Engine Rooms needed to be changed. They were indeed Teak on the deck surface, with a matching steel hatch flush mounted into the steel deck under the Teak boards. Since the plans that are popular are rather small and detailed, they do not show the Teak Decking except around the edges where there is less detail for the deck lines to obscure. So these hatches are shown as steel on these plans. There are many pictures available now that show the Teak hatches on the Arizona, as well as all the other battleships made during the same time frame. One of the best pictures I have seen is of the USS Idaho. There are several very clear pictures of these hatches in the book "Battleship Arizona, An Illustrated History" by Paul Stillwell. The Teak hatches had a three board border around it, while the smaller hatch within the larger hatch has a two board border. Where the hatch edges are running on a slant compared to the rest of the deck, the outer and inner border boards were notched slightly to match the ends of the deck boards which were cut at an angle with a flat tip. There is a term for this particular cut, but my memory is failing to pull the word out of my archives. There is a good picture of this on Page 169 in "Battleship Arizona". From the Test Shot of the new Trumpeter 1/200 Arizona at the IPMS Nationals in Phoenix, these hatches are engraved wood on the deck. This will be the first production model in plastic to get it right if they keep it for the production moldings. I hope they will make the engraving a little finer. As is they are a little simplistic, but at least they are there!

This looks like a beautiful build so far. I am looking forward to seeing more.

[TRM]

Thank you BFR, Spot on! The 1/200 Arizona certainly look like a great kit. Even if the plates don't work out so great, this scale it should be real easy to scratch build.

Cheers!