1/350 USS Reagan CVN-76

[sgtryan13]

Thanks very much guys!

Laci, it is funny how so many aircraft can still seem like a small amount on one of these beasts. Gives you a good appreciation on just how vast these flight decks really are! In a couple of the above pics of the "full" layout, there are still planes missing, namely the hawkeyes x3, prowlers x3, and 7 seahawks including 2 with rotors extended getting ready for takeoff foreward of the waist cats.

sirpaul, i do plan to attend granitecon, but by then, Reagan should have competed at the IPMS Nationals, if she is lucky enough to place at the nationals, I believe that disqualifies her from competing at any locals or regionals.
Reagan WILL however be making her public debut at NorEastCon in Chicopee on 03/30/14, so if you can make it you'll see her there.

Well the crew is slowly making their way aboard, slowly but surely. It is a mix of about 75 l'arsenal figures, 75 northstar, and 10 or so dragon figures that forum members on here were kind enough to donate to the cause. the northstar figures are really cool with their poses, but it also make positioning them much more time consuming. The poses are so fine and so realistic, that you can not just plop them down on the deck somewhere. Many of them are in casual leaning poses, where you need to find a structure of appropriate height to lean them agains, while others are climbing, and others are leaining over rails, etc. I think for a carrier deck, the l'arsenal figures are a must, as they are much more adaptable to pose all over the place, while many of the northstar ones are more suited to be placed in specialty applications.

Case in point, what so far has become my favorite "scene" on my deck. One of the northstar sets comes with a group of sailors standing togeter, arms over shoulders posing for a picture! I posed them in front of one of the aggressor birds, assuming that a rare bird like that on deck would probably be a tempting photo-op for most sailors on deck! I think it looks badass.

As I said earlier in this build log, I am going to try to make this massive deck into a whole bunch of individual little scenes, so there is always something new to see and look at, hence the very slow process of installing the 150+ crew figures all over the deck. I did not want to go overboard and do too many crew, as there are flight ops underway, so the deck would not be covered with crew milling about smartly, but I want a good# and I think I am going to have a happy medium.

[PetrolGator]

I love the detail but dude, Bud Light? Why?

[Uzun Elendil]

I really liked the guys who have a photo in front of the F-18.

After I saw this work, I believe that we definetely need a "like" button for the messages which was written here

[Cliffy B]

Is this thing making the trip to Norfolk?!

That photo op by the Aggressor bird is brilliant! Love CV models with the crew doing thing like that. Those little vignettes breath life into an otherwise static display. Don't forget some guys on the island.

Oh and I have to agree with Petrol...Bud Light man, seriously?! You're around he corner from Boston, where's the Sam Adams for crying out loud?!

[sgtryan13]

Cliffy, you bet she is making the trip down to VA this summer! maybe I can convince the guys at the shipyard to let me in to take a picture of her with some 1:1 hardware.

The island has a small population on it already, but I may use a few of the guys in jerseys that are in more leaning poses to populate vulture's row a little more.

And sorry guys, but if Budweiser was good enough for my Grampie, then it is good enough for me! But since bikini season is right around the corner, my idea of dieting is Bud Light.

[Dan K]

Ryan, she looks great. Looking forward to seeing her in a few weeks.

[MartinJQuinn]

I love the detail but dude, Bud Light? Why?

LOL. Glad I wasn't the only one who thought that.

[sgtryan13]

Thanks Dan, I'm looking forward to making the trip down there and seeing you guys again. I enjoyed judging last time, so I am hoping to get to do that again as well.

This is a tough crowd for the Bud Light huh? Well I can have a few of those while I am modeling, but I think the results would suffer if I went with my Jameson or vodka!

Well a few more scenes on the carrier taking shape (amidst placing the crew I am also workign feverishly to get the hawkeyes, prowlers aned helos done).

I have a scene at the aft of the island that i think is pretty realistic. The yellow shirt is having some kind of briefing/ ass-chewing session with his green shirts. You can see the "leaner" not too interested in what is being said, 2 guys paying attention up front, the other leaner way in back doing his best to show just how cool he is and how little he cares (likely the ass-chewing is his fault), and then you have the prepetually late guy hauling ass up the stairs before he suffers the wrath of his boss (again)! ...I think some of my own staff may have been the inspiration for this little scene!

Yeah, I think I have officially gone off the deep end, I am now all but writing out scripts for crew figures that are only a few millimeters tall!

[Goodwood]

Well Ryan, I drink Dr. Pepper while modelling...

Love the little stories behind your crew figures, actually. It shows that your model's got a heart, and isn't just an assemblage of plastic, resin and brass with paint and decals thrown on. What is it they say about something being more than the sum of its parts?

[LE BOSCO]

Ryan

Sean have quite right, a model isn't just an assemblage of plastic, resin and brass with paint and decals thrown on,and that the heart placed on a project is felt ,I say that you have a big heart , such the whole is superb
bravo
cheers
Nicolas

[anyahajobuzi]

I also have to agree with the others before me, regarding all that "life" on your carrier! You make those awesome figures REALLY pop! Seeing all that detail and work you put in your Reagan, I wish you didn't use those awful Trumpy decals. Regardless of your skills, I can't forgive Trumpy for making those and anyone using them.
But I have to end with something good, before I have angry Ryan-fans breaking down my door. Since I am a Ryan-fan also, I am sure we'll be able to work things out though
All in all you have built a very impressive ship, and even did ground-braking experiments with that water, and that really paid off!

Keep it up, buddy!

Cheers: Laci

[pingjockey]

Another great piece of work Ryan!

[sgtryan13]

Thanks guys, I am really trying to make the ship come alive with the crew figures, I don't want it to look like I just popped em down on deck wherever, cause that can ruin the overall impression.

A note to anyone using a combo of northstar figures and l'arsenal ones- As I stated I feel the l'arsenal ones are necessary sicne the poses are a little more generic, so can be used all over the place. The nortstar ones are much more highly detailed, with very realistic poses, but many of the poses are very "specialized" and thus it limits the places you can put them. But, if you are using a combo, you can not use l'arsenal and northstar in the same "scene" or right next to eachother. The northstar ones are smaller than the l'arsenal ones, and this minute sizxe difference is pretty apparent in this small scale. So on my deck, I am using both sets, butmaking sure that they are not placed near eachother.

[sgtryan13]

Laci, I assume you are talking about the elevator markings? All the other deck lines are painted, At this point I can't recall if I painted or decaled the elevators, but here are my observations, since I know what your gripe is:

I know full well that the elevator lines and the red/white "foul lines" are incorrect and out of scale, BUT... I really like the "texture" that the kit deck has to it, kind of a slightly rough surface, that when painted and weathered, I think really keeps the deck from looking flat and smooth when viewed up close. It has that rough non-skid look to it like the real thing.

So that being said, I was faced with 2 options:

Sand the offending lines down, and likely sand the texture surface off as well, and then end up sanding the entire deck flat to match, and thus lose the non-skid texture that I like,

or

Decide that I could live with the incorrect lines, as I would rather have those than have a smooth deck surface.

I went with option B. I like the rough surface more than I dislike the incorrect warning lines. And with all the activity and aircraft on deck, only a few fellow CVN psychos like myself, you and DWD will ever notice that the lines are inaccurate anyways!

This rationale is the same approach I took to the tie-down points in the deck. Are they overscale? YES. Do I still like the overall effect with them as they are better than if I were to sand or fill em to make them more to scale? YES.

In a case like this I was forced to make a compromise and to decide what is more important in the build to me. I just really dig the textured surface, warts n all!

[anyahajobuzi]

hi Ryan! yeah, I was referring to those elevator markings. I was just really happy with GMM's decals, but I didn't realize you painted them all, purposely using the the original lines.
Thanks for the clarification.

I love the figures and the separate little "stories" happening on your deck!!

Cheers:Laci

[gtbred]

As always.

[sgtryan13]

Moderators- still not done, don't move it yet

Well guys, Reagan is still not done, but... I think she is "done enough" to at least make the trip to Chicopee this weekend to compete in ValleyCon, and New Jersey next weekend to compete in MosquitoCon.

I have been doing marathon sessions at the work bench every weekend with at least 8-12 hours every sat and sun, and I am burnt out! There are 130-150 crew aboard now, and I think I am going to add another 50-100, but that will be once I recharge or get bored. I have not scratchbuilt the tilley crane yet, that is the one thing I am hoping to do before this weekend, but we'll see, I am not going to start cutting any corners this close to the finish line. The Prowlers and COD are in-progress, but due to the burnout, I think I will save those for a little later as well, rest assured that they will all be in place by the time the IPMS nationals rolls around this summer!

The lowered elevator will eventually have a much bigger "scene" going on, but I am waiting for a shipment of some backordered/pre-ordered items to arrive so that I can finish off that part. The elevator cables will remain off until that scene is done being populated.

[sgtryan13]

And a few more deck scenes.

[PetrolGator]

Brilliant work man.

[DWD]

Ryan, that is some BAD A$$ work my friend. I like all the extra's you have added to bring life to your Reagan. Your personalized plaque is pretty damn sweet too. I really like that. Sorry to hear about your Hawkeye. That does suck. Especially the last piece!! That's BS! It's crazy how much time can be spent working on such a small aircraft. But, those things are kits in themselves. Your tricked out deck tractor looks so fast it looks ready for a cat shot! Which figures did you find to be better between the northstar and L'Arsenal? Again, really great work Ryan.