1/700 Pearl Harbor Diorama

[Jeff Sharp]

In the spirit of the Big 5 finally coming to the masses in plastic form, I thought I would share with you a project I've been working on for over a decade now in hopes that it will motivate others to try it as well.
This little project of mine has no deadline and will never be completely finished as I add to it and replace things to improve the accuracy of it in between other projects.
It all started as a wild idea and a drawing on a 8' x 2' sheet of paper. Then trying to get my hands on all the ships to start the process.




With a Dio this large I knew the most important thing was to get a display case to protect it over the years.


Then the detailing process of Ford Island started and the debates of the color of the Battleships started to heat up.
The turret tops got colorful and my Arizona kit got a fresh coat of sea blue (briefly) to match the color of Vestal.


I'll post more pictures soon. Hope this inspires some of you to give it whirl!

[Channell]

That's just a "wow" project, plain and simple. It already looks like it should be in a museum somewhere! GREAT JOB!!!

[ArizonaBB39]

Looks fantastic Jeff! How big is the display overall? I'd like to do this once I can afford all the ships. Which kits did you use? Sorry for all the questions but this is something I've always wanted to do. Such an inspiration!!

[Cliffy B]

That's not the one on display aboard CV-10 is it?! They have one in one of the model rooms (FANTASTIC and LARGE models BTW) that I could have sworn was 1/700. Maybe its 1/1200 but its not any smaller than that. I remember marveling at the shear size of the thing. I'll have to find my photos of it.

I admire your dedication to such a complex and well made dio sir

[Brian K.]

WOW VERY NICE! Did you have plans for the buildings or just size them from photo's?

[Jeff Sharp]

So after a year or so of detailing Ford Island and creating the harbor water, I convinced myself that the Sea Blue Arizona theory had too many holes in it so back to 5-D she went. I am now wondering if Vestal was wearing Sea Blue. I'm starting to think she had Ocean Gray.

And I had Tennessee's #4 turret color wrong. It is now red.

And my Maryland has no torpedo bulges yet. The machine guns in the bird baths are the size of 5" guns and Ford Island started to warp before I had it securred to the base.



Kit list
Nevada - HP
YG-17 - Battlefleet
Arizona - Himold
Vestal - Corsair Armada
Tennessee - Himold
West Virginia - Himold
Maryland - Himold
Oklahoma - HP
Neosho - Himold
California - Himold
Avocet - Corsair Armada
Mooring Quays - Loose Cannon
Everything else - scratch built.

[Bigdaddy Mark]

Holy Molly absolutely amazing!!!

[Jeff Sharp]

That's not the one on display aboard CV-10 is it?! They have one in one of the model rooms (FANTASTIC and LARGE models BTW) that I could have sworn was 1/700. Maybe its 1/1200 but its not any smaller than that. I remember marveling at the shear size of the thing. I'll have to find my photos of it.

I admire your dedication to such a complex and well made dio sir

Hi Cliffy,
No, this one is proudly displayed in my house. I told my wife to donate it to a Naval museum after I die.

[Jeff Sharp]

WOW VERY NICE! Did you have plans for the buildings or just size them from photo's?

No plans. I simply used photos.

[JTninja]

Great build so far! I plan on doing something very similar as well, with the dream of spending the next 60 years of my life building the entire harbor. I think Ill only get as far as Battleship row, and you've given my some great inspiration!

[JIM BAUMANN]

Now that is really rather special-- I like the harmonious colours and it all looks like it hangs together well

BRAVO!!!!

Jim Baumann

[PetrolGator]

My God. There are no words.

[Jeff Sharp]

Here's a few more pictures further along.

[NigelR32]

Incredible work there I must say. I wonder how many hours total are in there??

[LE BOSCO]

a very impressive work, colossal !!
Nicolas

[MartinJQuinn]

That is pretty f**king cool, Jeff. Though I would say its more obsession than project!

[snaphappy321]

Truely amazing work Jeff, very inspirational as well. Somthing like this is a work of love and takes on a life of it's own. I hope you're able to finish the project.

[Cadman]

Love the buildings Jeff. I'd be interested in hearing how you constructed those. OK the ships are pretty freaking cool too, but it's not everyday someone puts that much work into the buildings.

[Christian Bruer]

A very impressive, nice and clean work Mr. Sharp. You did a really good job on this diorama. Could only guess how many hours you spent � again, very well done!

[Jeff Sharp]

Love the buildings Jeff. I'd be interested in hearing how you constructed those. OK the ships are pretty freaking cool too, but it's not everyday someone puts that much work into the buildings.

Thanks for all the kind words guys! It is definitely an obsession, but not one that I felt any pressure to finish so I've never really got burned out on it. I just keep adding to it in my spare time. The hours are countless and worth it from all the comments I get when visitors come over. It's a huge hit with the kids and gives me a great opportunity for a quick history lesson.
The buildings are definitely the most tedious part of it all. Many are kit bashed from old skywave kits (and other manufacturers as well) like this one that was one of the first ones I built. This one is on the North end of the Island.


Others are completely built from scratch like this one that is on the South end of the Island. This building was incomplete at the time of the attack and still had no roof on it so I had to build the unfinished roof.

I've had to analyze as many photos and film as I could get my hands on to get the buildings as accurate as possible. It has been quite the adventure.