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

[Guest]

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?

Hi Jim

Just logged on the first time this year to see how you're getting on with this. I've had a thought - probably a dumb one but nevertheless I offer it up to you: perhaps you whould have TWO Lady Lex's on the go ... one for prototyping, figuring out stuff, one where you find out where you need to make alterations not only to the basic kit but also to your work, and one that will be the final version from the lessons you've learned from the prototype. That way your final model won't be scarred with alterations and re-work. Just an idea.

You know, with all the errors everyone on this forum has discovered going through the joy and the pain of building CV2, it's astonishing the amount of creativity Trumpeter deployed to to make their kit at so variance with all the plans and published information that is readily available, and also less readily available. Their determination to twist the naval architecture askew so badly is really quite remarkable.

Best regards, Chris

[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?

Hi Jim

Just logged on the first time this year to see how you're getting on with this. I've had a thought - probably a dumb one but nevertheless I offer it up to you: perhaps you whould have TWO Lady Lex's on the go ... one for prototyping, figuring out stuff, one where you find out where you need to make alterations not only to the basic kit but also to your work, and one that will be the final version from the lessons you've learned from the prototype. That way your final model won't be scarred with alterations and re-work. Just an idea.

You know, with all the errors everyone on this forum has discovered going through the joy and the pain of building CV2, it's astonishing the amount of creativity Trumpeter deployed to to make their kit at so variance with all the plans and published information that is readily available, and also less readily available. Their determination to twist the naval architecture askew so badly is really quite remarkable.

Best regards, Chris

Have you been reading my mind? Was just pondering that a few days ago. I just got the new Squadron at Sea Lex book and did a quick skim as I'm leaving tomorrow for an anniversary trip. I have the new rear platforms for the funnel shaped out but waiting to see if the PE program bears any fruit. Had visions of having the computer skills to do it myself but no such luck. So no new pics until I get back.

James

[lvsquarerigger]

Been working on the funnel platforms when I worked but have been busy. First anniversary called for a return to Sedona and a few days of reconnecting. Then it was on to Vegas for my grandsons second birthday along with a night dining and dancing with friends. Then it was down to Phoenix to visit with one of my wife's best friends and at last home. Intense! My advanced PE program is taking some time so haven't really done anything to the bridge or funnel. Got the new Squadron at Sea Lex book and found some new pics and information. I knew the boat pockets were off, wrong size, shape, and location, but one of the pics of the Lex being launched showed a new to me detail of the hull. Above the floatation bulge there is a definite indentation for about one hull plate in height. Was talking to Jon on Skype and he brought it to my attention. I thanked him appropriately, thanks for giving me another thing that's wrong, and we both laughed. So since I can't move forward with the bridge and funnel it was back to the hull. I feared I might go all the way through the plastic making my change so decided to reinforce the hull on the inside just in case. Turned out not to be necessary but it was better to be safe than cry when it broke. I cut a small line along the top of the blister and intended to cut back to it from the top and then sand the rest to shape. First I tried using my small chisel as a scraper to make the vee groove and it worked pretty well. Tried sanding some and that was not getting the results I wanted so I went to a utility knife blade as a scraper and that did the trick. Of course I had to have a few slips along the way but no biggy. Then it was time for the sanding sticks and it worked out pretty well. It doesn't really show that well in the pics but it satisfies me. To do the reinforcing I had to remove the cross baces Trumpeter had put on the upper hull but I had braced the lower one so it didn't matter. Then the boat pocket was in the way and since it was wrong anyway it went too! So now I have the correct shape on the starboard side and one big hole where the boat pocket was. Next it will be copy the plans to cover the pocket and forward beyond all the doors (28) and make a new piece for the hull side. The kit is .060 thick so I think I'll make my piece out of .020 0r .030 and then reinforce the top. In comparing I also noticed that the boat pocket is lower than it should be so one more thing will get corrected.

[Jon C Ryckert]

Sorry to ruin your Sunday James. BTW, there is still the issue with the deck being planked around the forward 5"/25 AA guns. In early pics I see it being a lighter color (unpainted or stained pine or Douglas Fur) compared to the after 5" guns which the deck appears darker. But in later pics both areas appear to be a dark color. Do you think it may have been removed? If anyone has the new book by Squadron, the upper left pic on page 51 shows the wood decking. Looking forward to our discussion on this.

[lvsquarerigger]

Sorry to ruin your Sunday James. BTW, there is still the issue with the deck being planked around the forward 5"/25 AA guns. In early pics I see it being a lighter color (unpainted or stained pine or Douglas Fur) compared to the after 5" guns which the deck appears darker. But in later pics both areas appear to be a dark color. Do you think it may have been removed? If anyone has the new book by Squadron, the upper left pic on page 51 shows the wood decking. Looking forward to our discussion on this.

I have that same picture on my computer and when enlarged the wood decking and open grating are very plain. Will look through all the pics I have to see the decking in different times. And also you didn't ruin my Sunday, just gave me a new challenge

[Jon C Ryckert]

And also you didn't ruin my Sunday, just gave me a new challenge

I recall you have given me a couple of challenges also.

[lvsquarerigger]

It's been an interesting period that started with my printer dying. Turns out the printhead died and as I searched for information and parts it's pretty common for the model I have. The real kicker is the small part costs almost as much as I paid for the whole damn machine and it's an all-in-one!!!!!!Of course it had to happen just outside the warranty period and I had some choice words with HP about their quality and continuing to sell a machine which has demonstrated such an inferior track record. So if you're in the market for a new machine avoid the HPofficejet 6500A. My daughter has a similar, though upscale model, and it's holding up fine. Ok, rant aside. I took my plans on a flash drive to Kinko's and had the one page I had that was wrong and had it redone. While there I copied the appropriate sections I wanted to work on and brought them home. I then proceeded to make a new piece for the starboard side and then scribed it in place. Then I cut out the offending section, Scraped it down for the new piece to sit in, and then glued it in. Then it was a lot of sanding, some putty to fill the seam, a lot more sanding, and now it's almost done.

The original sides of the kit were .060 thick and I made the new piece of .020 stock. So that way I could scrape a recess for the new piece and also reinforce the top with some .040 stock and be back in the same place I started. In the first pics you can see the plans clipped over the hull and backlit to show the discrepancies. The pocket is too far back and the ventilation doors are also wrong. How Trumpeter can screw up so badly continues to elude me but anyway I persevere. I had put braces along the ship to force out the top so the deck would drop on without having to force it. In one pic you can see one of them showing through the new pocket while it was in front of the original in the kit. Not worrying too much about them for now as they will come loose on the other side when I do the port pockets. A real sucker for punishment.

[Jon C Ryckert]

Looking good!!

[lvsquarerigger]

Well the person who is doing the new set of PE is having illness problems in the family so that is on hold for awhile. Meantime I'm working on the hull, namely the boat pockets. I removed the offending section on the starboard side, replaced it, and now I have a new pocket to fit, painted, and installed. I made the pocket according to the HNSA plans and it is not the same shape all around as the kit part is. The plans clearly show a difference in depth forward to rear and also from deck to deck. I have the 20mm gun platforms done some time back but I painted the one for this pocket just to have it done. I did the painting by brush as I didn't feel like using and cleaning the airbrush for such a small part. But I did want the pocket finished and painted before I put it in permanently.

[lvsquarerigger]

Been busy and haven't had much time for modeling but have made some progress but not much. Mainly I've gotten the openings for the port boat pockets glued on but not filled or sanded. As I was looking at the vents forward of the front pocket I was not happy with the look of them so I cut a patch and replaced that section but haven't redone the vents yet. I figured it would be easier doing that when it was part of the ship. We'll see how that works out. Anyway I've gotten pics from first starting by putting the pattern on the styrene to the finish of the piece being installed. I won't go into how much time it took to get that indent for the new piece to fit in but I sometimes wonder if all that time is worth it and then look at the results and figure it is, at least if you're as anal as I am. Enjoy.

[MartinJQuinn]

Beautiful work

[lvsquarerigger]

While looking at different WIP posts I saw Petrolgator post some pics of his small workspace and figured I could match him. So here are a couple of pics of my small, cluttered workspace. The first is how it looked this morning after working last night. Notice the angel, who took a header off the entertainment center courtesy of our cockatiel, in for repairs. Next I placed my 1/350 Lex on the bench for size comparison.

[lvsquarerigger]

Now with my mess out of the way let's get a little update. First I had to put stiffeners across the hull as the thinner .020 styrene doesn't have the strength of the original hull, even though I reinforced the top edge back to the .060 thickness of the original kit. I sanded a lot to get the new port side smooth, and then went out to the kitchen sink and wet sanded for the final finish. A lot of testing the edge between the new and old using my fingers, as friend who did auto body work taught me, and after scraping very carefully and then sanding again got it pretty close. Then it was print a new pattern for the vents forward of the forward pocket and get that done. I first drilled out a hole and then used my small needle files for that.

Next up boat pockets.

[PetrolGator]

Match me? I haven't managed the cajoles to actually SCRATCH something like your Lex. Heck man, you make me feel shamed for nothing working on my Bismarck just for a little concern like SPACE.

FWIW, I took those pictures shortly after cleaning up the back room. I'm sure it'll be back to hell when I get around to, you know, actually putting effort into my build.

[lvsquarerigger]

Petrolgator thanks for the compliments but this model has been a total new world for me. I had built wooden square-riggers in 1/72 to 1/96 scale and the switch in scale and material was quite a shock. I learned by doing, tearing out and redoing, and then doing it again until I was satisfied. For awhile. Then I would learn a better technique, or new information, and it was do it over again. So here I am now some years into this build and perhaps it will get done after all providing some new book, plan, picture, or whatever doesn't come to light. Anyway I'm posting a couple of pics, first of my cleared workspace with the plate glass back, and then a couple of the ship dry fitted just so I can avoid burnout. In the ship pic you can't see the boat deck cut off the other side of the funnel, the missing rear platforms, and all the other detail I had put there only to find it wasn't quite accurate so off it came. I have more pics of the boat pocket construction but ran into a snafu there, said many !@##$%^^^&*(*&&*&'s but managed to get back on track. Perhaps I'll post some tomorrow.

James

[lvsquarerigger]

OK. What happened was I started my boat pockets and was doing a test fit in the hull when I started saying dirty words and many of them. I made the new sides out of .020 stock to thin down the openings so they would look something like a normal thickness, not the oversize walls of the kit. I figured it would also bend and conform to the curves of the hull better too. Along with this I reinforced the top with some .040 stock to come back up to the kit thickness and help the flight deck fit as it did on the regular hull. Being of sound mind I allowed what I thought was enough room around each pocket opening so the pocket itself could be glued in and also allow the front edge to help form the curves in the hull. Did I measure just to be sure? Well if I had there wouldn't have been all those dirty words. So now it was measure, trim and cute back the reinforcement and try some more. Along the way I got carried away with some pressure in the chisel as I marked what had to be removed and broke right through the top edge of the forward pocket outline. So now not only did I have the reinforcement to remove I had a break to repair. I spun my glass plate out of square so I could set the side of the hull on it, keep it flat, and then glue it in place. Worked out pretty well too. Then it was finish the rest of the removal, fortunately not all of them needed this, just the two biggest ones, none on the third one, and only a little on the fourth. Then it was back to production. What I did was cut some sheet styrene to the depth of the pockets, cut them to length, allow some for the tops and backs, then start assembling them.

The first part is easy, just glue the ends on each one but save the fourth for last as the shape is very different on each level and the sides front and back. I used my small machinists square as a prop for each end and then began the inner decks. I would cut out the deck from a copy of the plans, tape it around the edge, and then cut out any openings or deck shapes. then build the storage lockers and other stuff. The small circular fans in some of them I used .125 rod, sliced on my cutter, as the covers for these. Then add railings and ladders. I had one little glitch where I made the vents go all the way from one deck to the other and then got looking closely at some pics and saw that they didn't. They went up a way and then the top was beveled so it was take out the offending part, reshape it, and reinstall it. As of right now the front pocket is pretty much done, minus the top which I won't install until after I spray, the other three have the ends on, and the second one has the inner deck cut out. To ease some of that burnout tendency I put the 20mm deck in place, just glue on one support, and then clamped it in place to see how it would look. I like it. Ran out of picture space so will post another to finish

[lvsquarerigger]

Here are the other pics that wouldn't fit in the previous post.

[PetrolGator]

Nice, man. I'm REALLY looking forward to how this will look with paint.

I'm needing to build some platforms for some 1/700 Midship garbage kits, once I get around to breaking my model burn out. What do you suggest?

[lvsquarerigger]

Nice, man. I'm REALLY looking forward to how this will look with paint.

I'm needing to build some platforms for some 1/700 Midship garbage kits, once I get around to breaking my model burn out. What do you suggest?

Boy you have me there. No info. What kind of shape or detail? And 1/700!!! I have nothing but admiration for anyone who works in that scale. I pull my hair out at 1/350.

[FlowerPower]

With crazy builds like this, I don't even dare to think about doing a flat top