Hello again all.... Now that the small USCG cutter is finished, time to move on. This new project will be the Escort Carrier USS Guadalcanal CVE-60, and the USS Pillsbury DE-133 in a waterline scenario, side by side. These two ships among others were responsible for the capture of U-505. I won't do a history lesson here, you can find that on your own. The project is for the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, Ill., and the ECSAA. The museum has the real u-boat, in pristeen condition from what I have seen in photos. I can't wait to see it! I am really getting into the waterline displays. Showing the ships in their own "element" is pretty cool. Thanks to Jim Bauman. So here we go.........
Photo of CVE-60 with U-505 in the foreground. Note the CVE's MWB next to the sub.
Good stb. view of the CVE. Note camo MS. 32 / Design 4A. Interesting scheme. Some parts are shaded rather then straight lined. Colors are 5-P, 5-L, 5-H, and 5-N, for the hull.
Here's the DE with the U-505 again in the foreground. Pillsbury was an Edsall Class DE and is in MS22 scheme, circa 1944. Note her whaleboat.
Nice profile drawing of the DE.
Heres the start of the Carrier. I have fabricated the main keel from 3/16" plywood. Ribs or sections are 1/8" balsa. This photo shows the first layer of 1/16" bala sheeting installed to cover the hull. There will be one more, again 1/16", laminated and staggered to this first layer.
Forward section of the CVE from stb side. Note the large number of hull formers, 51 on each side. I did this in an effort to keep the shape more uniform. Seems to be working well. Forecastle deck is 1/8" balsa. Hull sheeting rough at this stage, will get much better with the second layer.
Bow view looking aft. Again note the number of "formers".
Portside view looking aft. Bow not formed yet. I will use autobody filler here after hull sheeting is completed and sealed.
Portside view showing the flightdeck rough-in. Flightdeck is 3/16" plywood. Sides of gallery deck are .040 styrene, with 3/16' plywood behind to stiffen the structure. Note the elevator locations.
Portside aft view here. The aft elevator will be lowered eventually so the visible framework here will be removed. I'll detail it out later. Note the holes in the flightdeck. These are from screws holding the flightdeck dead flat to a work surface while installing the sides of the gallery deck. Very aft end of flightdeck is shaped balsa, as well as fwd. end.
View of the framework for Pillsbury. In an effort to save some time, I decided to purchase a DE in semi kit form from BAD shipmodels. I regret that I did. I usually don't do any sort of reviews on other peoples "stuff". But I was rather dissapointed with this so called "kit". For the time it will take me to make things right, just with the hull, I should have built it myself. I will do the rest of the ship scratchbuilt, as the rest of the "kit" is junk. Just goes to show you, trust your OWN abilities. I will not make the mistake again. I will not say anymore on this.
Another view of the hull framework for the DE. About the only thing thats close to being correct. I'll fix it , in any event. Guess I'm getting too picky in my age......
Well, another project underway. In spite of some setbacks and dissapointments, things are moving forward. I have a deadline of June 2011. We will see. Wish me luck. My 58th birthday today. No wiser and no younger. At least I can still see, somewhat Stay tuned...More to come....I continue on..............
Attachments
Good overall view from port of the Carrier rough-in.
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Hi Bill back in the "carrier" groove, wonderful. I do like the scenario theme particularly in large scale of having more than one vessel with in the theme. I think you have well and truly cracked the art of creating seascapes and I just love the effects that are produced. Many of the carrier models in the FAA museum are set in this way which adds enormously to their visual presentation. Good to hear that the destination for your work will be the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. Another air lift job I presume? I am certainly looking forward to this build as they say we never stop learning and I sir am a willing pupil. BILL all the very best to you
Dave Wooley
Last edited by Dave Wooley on Tue Feb 08, 2011 3:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.
hi bill ,happy b.day.another great project,you certainly have set yourself a tight finish date,you must have a seperate area to take pics,if not then you have the neat'est work shop in the world .great pics.
So aircraft kits do exist in this scale! Awesome! I don't know if you know what her airwing at the time was but this PDF should help you. The Naval Historical Center has PDFs available that show where ALL of the USN's aircraft were at a given date, usually weekly, for the entire war! The attack was on 4/8/1944 and there's a PDF for 4/4/1944.
Cliffy B wrote:So aircraft kits do exist in this scale! Awesome! I don't know if you know what her airwing at the time was but this PDF should help you. The Naval Historical Center has PDFs available that show where ALL of the USN's aircraft were at a given date, usually weekly, for the entire war! The attack was on 4/8/1944 and there's a PDF for 4/4/1944.
Great to see another build on the way, wonderful work so far, great inspiration for us newbies and important lessons to be learned. Looking forward to the demonstration.
Andrew
Ex RAN. Anzac, Duchess, Vampire, Yarra, Betano, Bombard, Brisbane, Swan, Melbourne (Carrier), HMS Leander
Great to see another build on the way, wonderful work so far, great inspiration for us newbies and important lessons to be learned. Looking forward to the demonstration.
Andrew
Stay Tuned............!!!!!
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Hello again all Moving along on the project, I have now finished sheeting off the Carrier, and covered the DE framework. Lets take a look......
Portside bow view of the CVE. Note that the second layer of 1/16" sheeting really smooths things out. I'm able to make the joints alot tighter, too.
Portside stern view here. By using large sections of the sheeting, I can cover alot of area realativly quickly. Contact cement used here.
Midships, portside. Again note the tight joints between the sheets. This second layer also adds rigidity.
Port view of the DE. Covering this was a little different. Since the spacing on the hull sections was much greater than the CVE, I planked this first with 1/16" x 3/8" balsa strips. Then the second layer was added using the sheet goods. Deck is 1/8" hard balsa. Stern is rough shaped balsa block.
Portside fwd. of the DE-133. Note as I get closer to the very front of the bow, I reduce the sheeting size so the wood will bend easier without splitting.
Overall view portside of both hulls. The table is 25" wide. In the display when completed, the ships will be about 36" apart, center to center, to give more room for water effects.
Bow view of the DE. Note the piece of .040 styrene added here for the bow stem. I'll form this area with autobody filler using the styrene as a guide to get that nice sharp bow. Once finished, this will all blend in and you would never know it was there.
The CVE's bow is alot more blunt than the DE. That sharp edge does'nt start till just above the waterline. I'll use styrene here too for the stem, but the upper part of the bow is quite rounded, fat, if you will. Same procedure with the filler will be used.
Stb. side here. Again note that second layer of balsa sheet really smooths things out.
Another stb. side view.
Good study from stb. showing the size comparison of the two ships. The CVE is about 200 feet longer than the DE. About 2 feet in scale terms.
Next step will be to seal the wood with polyester resin, then sand,sand,sand. Stay tuned, more to come...I continue on..............
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For those of you who are interested, heres a shot of the CVE USS Kalinin Bay in 1/96. Not waterline, but the same ship as this new one. Camo here is a bit different too. Both ships are Casablanca class CVE's.This is about how the new project will look when completed. I finished this replica some time ago and it is on permanant exhibit at the National Naval Air Museum, Pensacola, Fla.
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Hi Bill, I have been enjoying all of your builds for years and was happy to see you start another one. We are very fortunate that you share with us, your presentations and written descriptions which are very well done. I learn new techniques and reinforce old techniques each time I visit your posts. Thankyou for taking the effort with the photos, tips, and thought process of your creations.
Mike Glasgow wrote:Hi Bill, I have been enjoying all of your builds for years and was happy to see you start another one. We are very fortunate that you share with us, your presentations and written descriptions which are very well done. I learn new techniques and reinforce old techniques each time I visit your posts. Thankyou for taking the effort with the photos, tips, and thought process of your creations.
Best regards
Mike Glasgow
You are more than welcome. Thanks for the post.....Bill W.
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I have been planning a visit to Chicago just to see the U-505. Now I will wait until your project is done so I can examine your work first hand! Of course I will also look at the submarine while I'm there. I'll be following this thread with interest.
Phil
A collision at sea will ruin your entire day. Aristotle
Now that the small USCG cutter is finished, time to move on. This new project will be the Escort Carrier USS Guadalcanal CVE-60, and the USS Pillsbury DE-133 in a waterline scenario, side by side. These two ships among others were responsible for the capture of U-505. I won't do a history lesson here, you can find that on your own. The project is for the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, Ill., and the ECSAA. The museum has the real u-boat, in pristeen condition from what I have seen in photos. I can't wait to see it! I am really getting into the waterline displays. Showing the ships in their own "element" is pretty cool. Thanks to Jim Bauman. So here we go.........
Stay tuned...More to come....I continue on.............. 
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