1/700 HMS HABAKKUK pykrete aircraft carrier (1943)

[Timmy C]

I would take a look at any of the Essexes of the period and imitate their masts and radar suites, trending towards the suites that were common in 1945.

[Sr. Gopher]

Just to add to that, the mast might be a little taller, to compensate for the huge length of the ship. Also, because this was after all, an ASW carrier, I would think some radar suites similar to a destroyer's would be on there too. Forgive me if that was already the case, as I just follow the directions for most of my builds.

[Timmy C]

Hmm, the ASW aspect is a good one to look at - I wasn't thinking about that!

Maybe some depth charge and Hedgehog weapons would not be out of place?


Perhaps the Atlantic CVEs may be of use in looking for Atlantic radar fits.

[Sr. Gopher]

I'm sorry Timmy, but I would have to disagree with you about that. Unless the Hedgehogs were on swivel mounts, they would be inadequate because the entire vessel had to be aimed to fire it. For the Depth Charges, the racks would be ineffective for the same reason as the Hedgehogs, but the K-guns, if again, on swivel mounts, would be of more use. I was thinking, that because this would have aircraft as it's main defenses, the ideal solution would be to have them fitted with modified Depth Charges, Hedgehogs, and Mousetraps.

About the radar, I would have to agree with Timmy on that, considering the very limited air threat this would face compared to the Pacific Battle carriers. I would though, have to enlarge this system to be more adequate for a fleet-sized ship.

[Timmy C]

I was thinking of either swivel mounts or have several of them mounted next to the various AA guns positions to provide 360 degree coverage.

And for the depth charges, I was thinking specifically of the throwers.

[EJM]

I appreciate the thought of depth charges and other weapons, but I don't think they'd be very practical or useful on the Habakkuk due to their limited range.
As for radar fits, All I've got to work with is a whole bunch of spare parts from several 1/700 Essex kits and one Hornet kit.

[Sr. Gopher]

Oakey-Dokey then... do you have any other quetions that you need help with? Seriously, I have nothing else to do during my afternoons.

[EJM]

Yeah, another question: Would anchors be practical on a Habakkuk? I know the largest oil tankers use them, but a Habakkuk, I'm not sure?

[Sr. Gopher]

Not at all. The sheer intertia of the vessel would be enough to snap every link in the anchor chain. In other words, you're only option of stopping the vessel is to melt it or to have maneuvering screws in the front/sides. of the ship. Even at low speeds, this is very ineffective. The large oil tankers barely even match the size of the Nimitz, which is only half the size of the Habbakuk anyway. Again, I'd be glad to answer any other questions.

[EJM]

Bit of an update for tonight. The first two pics show the finished superstructure. Sorry for the blurriness. The next two pics afterwards, show the Habakkuk on the display base next to a 1/700 Essex AC that was painted black to act as a sillouette for scale reference purposes. Also on the base is a 1/700 German Uboat for scale reference since the whole Habakkuk concept back in WWII was to go after the German Uboat menace in the Atlantic. Also on the right is a small cross section of the hull that I built, which I still need to detail yet. Other details I still need to finish are lots of aircraft, A plaque and other info. for the base, and the engine pods for the hull sides of the Habakkuk........if I can ever find a way to make those.

[Cliffy B]

Looking good man!!! She's really come together.

A random thought, would aircraft drop tanks work as a base for the engine pods? You could mod one and then cast a bunch. Just a thought since there's a million and one different shapes when it comes to those. One type might just be close enough. not sure on sizes though. Again, just a thought.

[Sr. Gopher]

Awesome...just one thing...would the number of light AA Armaments really be that practical, especially when considering that there were very few German aircraft that got past the coast of Britain?

[EJM]

A random thought, would aircraft drop tanks work as a base for the engine pods? You could mod one and then cast a bunch. Just a thought since there's a million and one different shapes when it comes to those. One type might just be close enough. not sure on sizes though. Again, just a thought.

That's what I've been using to try and cast resin engine pods for the Habakkuk as you can see in this pic. But the resin parts are coming out of the mold sticky and/or soft. I'm about ready to just give up.

Awesome...just one thing...would the number of light AA Armaments really be that practical, especially when considering that there were very few German aircraft that got past the coast of Britain?

The amounts and types of armament the Habakkuk was to have are a big unknown. All references I have do not describe in detail what the ship was supposed to have. The only description I've read is about 20-40 medium/large caliber guns, plus "numerous" lighter AA armament. So I guess I'll just use a little creative freedom and add what I think might be appropriate for defensive purposes.

[Sr. Gopher]

I guess you could also try making them with wooden dowels? Thats really all I can think of to help. Sorry.

[EJM]

I forgot to mention the following. I recently bought a 1/700 HMS Eagle British carrier so that I could get some British aircraft to add to the Habakkuk. Unfortuneately, it looks like the carrier and the aircraft are late 40's/early 50's. The kit does have some Supermarine Seafire and also Hawker Seafury aircraft which might be appropriate for the Habakkuk. The downside is that I don't know what colors to paint these aircraft as the instructions are all in Japanese. Can anybody help with some good pics and other references? I generally prefer to use Testor or Tamiya paints when selecting colors.

P.S. - Here's a slightly updated pic of what the Habakkuk and display base look like now. I still need to build more aircraft, Detail the interior cross section more, and build all the engine pods for along the sides of the hull.
Pic no longer available. Sorry.

[EJM]

Anyway, I was wondering if I should have one or two cranes somewhere on the Habakkuk for on loading/off loading supplies, aircraft, or equipment? It would sorta be like the way the cranes are in these pics on a British WWII carrier near the aft area by the boats:
http://www.modelshipgallery.com/gallery ... index.html

Using this pic of the stern area of my Habakkuk as a guide/example, Where do you think I should add cranes, if I do add them?

[Neptune]

Depends where the galley is... Cranes should be placed where practical, a crane for ammo should be not that far from an ammo elevator, although she shouldn't be an obstruction of course, and cranes for stores, of which there would be more than one considering the amount of stores you're facing, should be close to hatches or elevators for stores.
So perhaps on the outside of the island block there could be one or two cranes for stores, they're no obstruction there and perhaps a hatch or elevator could be made close by.

[Sr. Gopher]

Personally, other than on the stern, cranes on a ship of this size should be Tilly cranes, as any fixed crane would not have much reach to where it is necessary. An ammo crane doesn't make so much sense though, as the USN carriers would use elevators to lift ordanance. Cranes for stores and things of that nature wouldn't really be located on the flight deck, but at hanger deck level. But, seeing that there is none, the would be located internally. The only non-obstructing crane would have to be the type on the Bismarck, otherwise known as an A-frame.

Mobile deck cranes would be of different sizes, such as these:

http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/Clo ... T-p247.jpg

http://www.olive-drab.com/idphoto/id_ph ... ne_ww2.php

http://www.olive-drab.com/idphoto/id_ph ... ne_ww2.php

viewtopic.php?f=46&t=25401

And a thread that has been terminated, which held a lot of info.

Fixed cranes would look like this:

http://thatravenmagic.com/images/half/b ... /arado.jpg

http://www.bismarck-class.dk/miscellane ... k_book.jpg

The type fpund on British Carriers would do also.

[EJM]

Hi guys! I'm back! From time to time, I may have talked in this thread about how much trouble I've had trying to build the 2 dozen turboelectric propulsion pods for my Habakkuk model.
Suffice to say, I've thought long and hard about what to do next and not many solutions have presented themselves........until now that is.
For starters, the shape of the pods is supposed to look something like this:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/ ... an0002.jpg
It's supposed to be a teardrop shape. I've looked long and hard for many months to find something similar, but to no avail. Not even art and craft beads come close.
Finally though, there may be hope. I suddenly remembered last night that my mother used to have measuring spoons that were oval shaped. I went shopping today and bought my own set. Now granted, the spoons aren't in a teardrop shape, but the overall shape might be close enough to what I need. Here's a pic of the measuring spoon, the clay mold I made (Below the spoon), The original latex rubber mold I made (Top), and the clay pod I made from the latex rubber mold based on a external fuel tank half (Bottom).
I think the clay part from the measuring spoon looks better than the clay part from the rubber mold. What does everyone else think? The clay part from the spoon actually comes closer to the 1/700 dimensions that I need, which is: 11mm high x 26mm long x 8mm wide.

[Sr. Gopher]

Glad to see you back