WIP - 1/350 USS Lexington (CV-2)

[ArizonaBB39]

Excellent work! I wish I could scratchbuild that well!

[lvsquarerigger]

Excellent work! I wish I could scratchbuild that well!

It has definitely been an experience I hadn't planned on when I started but has been fun although frustrating at times.

Thank you

James

[lvsquarerigger]

After settling on the configuration I would use on the front of flag level it was time to tackle the cover and screen. I cut a piece of .015 sheet and fitted it to the front of the cabin and then rounded it to match the shielding. I glued it in place with a slight down tilt and then fitted the individual braces to it. They don't have the look that the ones on Sara did but I'm debating on how to deal with that just yet. Hmmmmm?

Meanwhile it was back to details on the lower levels. I replaced the ladders to the AA platform that my ham handed fingers had knocked off and moved to the stairway down from nav level. I made a railing to go around the opening; deciding that it would have been in place even though the kit doesn't even have the stairway never mind safety features. Then I placed the PE stairway in place, first assembling the two levels with the mast supports to make sure they didn't conflict.

Also I drilled the hole for the 8" rangefinder on the roof of flag level. Now it's time to fit out the top of flag level, do some painting, and then assemble it all once again.

[lvsquarerigger]

I wasn't satisfied with how the front screen looked on flag level the more I looked at the pics of what was done on Sara so it was take it off and do it over again but differently. This time instead of doing individual braces I put a very thin (.010) piece of styrene and drilled and carved the windows out. Then it was on to some detailing, rails, ladders, and such. I did have the rail on the very small platform on the port side of the bridge but again my fingers got in the way while doing other things so it got trashed and needs to be done again. I put the different levels together and inserted the rods of the masts and started the rails for flag level. Got the back ones done but still have to do the rest on the forward section. After that I took out the masts and glued the 8" director platform on. Now I could do the ladder to the fighting top and the final braces underneath that mount on the square mast. so that's where I am now.

[Bigdaddy Mark]

Very nice work!!!

[lvsquarerigger]

Very nice work!!!

Thank you

James

[ArizonaBB39]

That looks amazing!

[lvsquarerigger]

That looks amazing!

Thanks

James

[lvsquarerigger]

It's been a few days and a lot of work but most of it small and tedious. All the levels except the fighting top are glued in as are the masts. The railings are all in and so are the diferent braces and supports like the last two on the 8" director platform, the two on the flag level roof, and all those tiny tweezerpaulting ones under the Quad platform. Also the wire braces from the nav level down to the lower platform and braces. I did find one mistake as I tried to do the one from the bottom of the flag box to the nav level deck. It didn't seem right and when I checked against the prints I found I had glued the boxes even with the top of the rails when they actually sit a little lower so it was take them off, clean it all up, and reinstall them in the correct position. I also redid the rail on the small port side platform that my fingers had ruined and I was very careful of it while I worked on other parts. Now I have to do the splinter mattresses on all the exposed rails.

[lvsquarerigger]

I did get all the splinter mattresses applied and then it was time to reinstall the fighting top. I made a new base for the mast to slide down into as the old one was too short and round when a photo I found shows it to be square. Then it was build the braces and then the then the ones that protrude out to the side with their braces. I had to take frequent breaks as working with the magnifier really does a number on my eyes and for the PE braces I needed a really high magnification rather then the 1.8 I usually use.

[lvsquarerigger]

Been busy and frustrated also. Birthday, holidays, other stuff have not left a lot of time for modeling. On top of that I decided to do the mast from scratch, at first matching the kit part, will I ever learn, and then just starting totally from scratch. My soldering iron was in a box in storage, somewhere, so I grabbed a small one from Lowe's and then started cussing. It would not tin and I almost ruined the PE parts trying to use it. I took it back when I got time and went to Radio Shack and got their small iron and started to rescue the PE parts. So that's where I am for the moment. I also added the rangefinder and radar. Now when I can get the mast done the bridge will be mostly done.

[Guest]

... and all those tiny tweezerpaulting ones under the Quad platform.

Jim man, this is an insanely quality build. But what I want to know is, where did you get the information from about those tiny tweezerpaulting brackets under the old 8-inch deck overhangs? I haven't come across photos or drawings which show them. Either I've missed something, am going blind (both very likely) or you're making more work for yourself than is strictly necessary (very unlikely).

Best regards, huge respect, Chris

[lvsquarerigger]

... and all those tiny tweezerpaulting ones under the Quad platform.

Jim man, this is an insanely quality build. But what I want to know is, where did you get the information from about those tiny tweezerpaulting brackets under the old 8-inch deck overhangs? I haven't come across photos or drawings which show them. Either I've missed something, am going blind (both very likely) or you're making more work for yourself than is strictly necessary (very unlikely).

Best regards, huge respect, Chris

Just for you Chris I'll post at least one pic showing the aforementioned braces but there are others too. The one in WP33 showing the damage after the bombing taken from just behind the foreward quad 1.1's also shows them. And thanks for the encouragement as your build has inspired me as I go along. Just for now I'm kind of on hold with the holidays and all that goes with that but I'll soon be back at it.

James

[Guest]

Just for you Chris I'll post at least one pic showing the aforementioned braces but there are others too. The one in WP33 showing the damage after the bombing taken from just behind the foreward quad 1.1's also shows them. And thanks for the encouragement as your build has inspired me as I go along. Just for now I'm kind of on hold with the holidays and all that goes with that but I'll soon be back at it.

James

Sorry mate, I am blind, I've just looked through WP 11 and 33 and sure enough, plenty of photographic evidence inclusing the one you mention. Also went and looked at my model - and they're on that too! But moulded on. I feel very silly...

But that's an interesting pic you've loaded - haven't seen that one before.

With my very best wishes for an enjoyable Christmas and a healthy and productive new year.

[lvsquarerigger]

Just for you Chris I'll post at least one pic showing the aforementioned braces but there are others too. The one in WP33 showing the damage after the bombing taken from just behind the foreward quad 1.1's also shows them. And thanks for the encouragement as your build has inspired me as I go along. Just for now I'm kind of on hold with the holidays and all that goes with that but I'll soon be back at it.

James

Sorry mate, I am blind, I've just looked through WP 11 and 33 and sure enough, plenty of photographic evidence inclusing the one you mention. Also went and looked at my model - and they're on that too! But moulded on. I feel very silly...

But that's an interesting pic you've loaded - haven't seen that one before.

With my very best wishes for an enjoyable Christmas and a healthy and productive new year.

Same to you Chris. I kind of hit a jackpot a little while back when someone had posted pics of a Lex model in a museum and gave a link to Flickr. I went and looked and then searched CV2 images on Flickr and found a ton of them, the one I posted being one. Most of them are older times but much of the bones, like those braces, wouldn't have changed in any refits so they can be helpful in that respect.

James

[Wilhelm]

Dear James:

I just reviewed your entire Lexington WIP log (all twelve pages). GREAT WORK!

Here's a New Mexico flag to welcome you to Albuquerque...home of the "Sandbox Navy."

[lvsquarerigger]

Dear James:

I just reviewed your entire Lexington WIP log (all twelve pages). GREAT WORK!

Here's a New Mexico flag to welcome you to Albuquerque...home of the "Sandbox Navy."

Thanks Bill

[lvsquarerigger]

I haven't posted any progress lately but that doesn't mean nothing is happening. Have been spending a lot of time working to get a set of PE for all the little details I've been doing on the bridge and also carrying over to the funnel and rear deck gun platforms. Still mulling my mast and not having any luck so I went to the funnel structure to look at the boat/20mm gun deck and it's inaccurate placement. With plans now scaled to size I can compare directly. I decided my compromise to raise the deck on the rear funnel platform wasn't working as I liked so I would bite the bullet and cut off the offending deck and see what transpired. It was a lot easier than I first thought. I started underneath the deck riding an xacto knife along the edge of the structure and then also cutting down from the top in the same manner. Worked like a charm. Then I cleaned up the funnel with knife and sanding. A slight buff to the edge of the deck and it fits like a charm. I used my digital caliper, sharp edges, to scribe the line of the correct, lower, position of the deck. Haven't gotten around to gluing it in place as I'm still undecided as to how I will proceed. Some of that depends on how the PE project comes out. May end up with a lot of rebuild as I did on the bridge but for now that's in the future.

In the plan view you can definitely see the boat deck is lower and the overhead shows it separate from the level of the 8" rear and 3" forward decks.

[ArizonaBB39]

Excellent work!

[lvsquarerigger]

Work is proceeding on the new PE set but I'm still stuck waiting for it to come to fruition so I took a little bit to work on the funnel structure. The more I looked the more I wanted it done correctly so of course I wrecked it! Took it back down. The height of the rear portion, what was under the 8" guns, is the correct height. the boat, later 20mm platform was not so that was removed, see earlier post. Haven't been able to definitively decide how the front end of that was terminated when they modified it so looking hard for a plan, pic, or something. Meanwhile I compared my rear platforms and found that although they were worlds better than the kit parts they were not quite right (plans really help here) so will have to redo them. Since I've come so far back I also decided to fix the small seams and other stuff I wasn't that good at when I did this the first time. So now I'm waiting for both info and PE to complete this but at least something is getting accomplished. Also crushed the radar room while removing it so that has to be redone but what's new?