Lexingtons last battle, 1//700

[Automatic250]

Very noble subject for a diorama. Even all these years later, the spectacle of a mighty US ship sinking is still jarring. How did you achieve the "scale appropriate" weathering on the USS Morris?

[MartinJQuinn]

Very impressive. I will say, however, that - while the technique and effect is very well done - she is a bit over weathered on the hull, considering she had been repainted only a month before she was sunk. That's just my personal taste - still a very fine looking model with some terrific work put into her.

[marijn van gils]

Thanks a lot guys!

coming along very nice . Glad to see some more quality work getting done in 700 scale. This site becoming a bit too 350 scale + centric for me

Thanks Alan! Maybe we're waiting for Jim Baumann to get some more leisure time again!
I love seeing great 1/350th models too, but as I like to work in fine detail capaital ships are just too much work for me. A destroyer or sub would be great in 1/350th for me, but for carriers and BB's I'll stick to 1/700 too. Just personal preference...

the bomb damage on the flight deck looks very nice and convincing. Are you going to dust that area more? In the Report of Action of the Lexington during the battle of the Coral Sea, it states that the area around the bomb damage was washed down after it stopped smoking and around the same time there was a turn to wind and an SBD went over the side.

Thanks hypno 7! That's great information! Painting the deck has only just started. I was thinking to finish that area a bit like the photo below. In Steve Wiper's book, the white is described as fire retardant foam. I would like to try and simulate this with paint. This photo was however taken well before the abandon ship order was given, so probably that area had been washed down already... Then again, it is a small thing on a large ship, and I will have to make it suffici�ntly visible that the ship was in battle and damaged so I shouldn't be too subtle... What to choose? I will also certainly still add some debris around it. P
The photo:
It is much clearer on the printed photo in the book though.

The SBD that went over the side is also great info. I want to have one plane floating belly up next to Lex in the diorama (as this will help explain the general situation to the viewer), but I was not sure anything went overboard before the big explosion which was filmed and in which a plane is thrown overboard: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vR-rQ3JCnmo

Probably, at the time of abandoning, that plane had sunk or far removed from Lex. But maybe one of the other explosions trew some more over the side? It is too nice a detail no too include...

I have to go now, but I'll get back to the other questions later.
Cheers!

Marijn

[marijn van gils]

Very noble subject for a diorama. Even all these years later, the spectacle of a mighty US ship sinking is still jarring. How did you achieve the "scale appropriate" weathering on the USS Morris?

Thanks Automatic250! For diorama's, I like to work with compelling stories, and I feel this is one indeed. It has both the (negative) drama of the loss of the first large carrier of the USN, but the (positive/heroic) element of the success of the evacuation.

About the weathering: a book could be written about that subject!
Basically: a fine brush and a good amount of time and patience!
I am a diorama modeller at heart. Having worked many years with armour models and figures (also single figure subjects), I am putting at least as much time and attention into painting as into construction, probably even more. This basic attitude is necessary for that kind of results, as you can only get out of a paintjob what you put into it, and a high level of finesse will be time consuming...
It is also necessary to study references for the weathering effects (for example: the dust and rusty effects on the decks were spotted on colour pics of other DD's, while the paint chipping on the hull is copied from pics of Morris during and after Coral Sea), to keep it realistic and to scale.

And finally, a layered approach, which many layers of different effects, usually gives the most realistic but also visually most interesting result.
On Morris:
- vertical surfaces received:
- a filter with different colours to get some colour variation and general fading/dirty surface
- a filter with dusty colours in a vertical stripy way, to mimic salt stains (hull only)
- canvas covering railings were filterd with a tan color to make their material look a bit different.
- dirty and/or rusty streaks (more on hull than superstructure)
- paint chippings: both light (previous paint layers) and dark (down to the metal and rusted). (almost only on the hull)
- deck blue decks received:
- dusty filters. I also use them as a light-coloured pin-wash to bring out details and edges
- darkbrown drybrushing on high-traffic areas (worn surfaces with dirt and rust I guess?)
- reverse drybrushing (dark over light) with darker and more saturated deck blue on details and edges. This makes them "pop-out" from their dusty (light) surroundings
- drybrush and scuffmarks with deck blue to simulate where dirt and dust might have been worn away again
- all details and edges were shaded with dark brown (except the ones that already received a light dust-coloured pin-wash). This is like a pinwash, but I really paint it in which gives more control and more depth but takes much longer. All details and edges were next highlighted with lighter versions of the various base colors. My highlighting is not done by drybrushing, but also really painting the highlights one by one. This way, I can follow the natural direction of the light, from above), which allows more contrast and depth.

So you see: quite a list! And to do it to scale, it needs a fair amount of finesse, which takes a lot of practice and time. Unfortunately, there are no shortcuts...

I am using most techniques also on Lexington. Only the first layers/techniques have been applied, and I will try to show the following layers one by one in this tread with Lexington.

Cheers,

Marijn

[hypno7]

Hi Marijn,

The reference for the information about the SBD and situation around the bomb area can be read here: (if you don't have it already...)

http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/shi ... tml#pageA1

All the mentions are after 1145. Interesting to see that 4 fighters and 9 SBDs were landed around this time too... there was a lot of action. The report was written by the Air Officer, dated 20 May 1942.

Aaah... because of you, I will have to check that Lexington sitting in my stash...

[marijn van gils]

Very impressive. I will say, however, that - while the technique and effect is very well done - she is a bit over weathered on the hull, considering she had been repainted only a month before she was sunk. That's just my personal taste - still a very fine looking model with some terrific work put into her.

Many thanks Martin!

If you mean the paint chipping: I copied this (not 100%, but quite closely) from this pic, taken on may 8 1942:


So I guess we shouldn't underestimate the corrosive effect of the sea, or overestimate 1940ies paint quality.
(keep in mind that the light chips will still be darkened a bit)
After all, this chipping is nothing by what could be seen after longer periods at sea. In this pic, most of the top layer has chalked away:


If you mean the weathering on the horizontal surfaces: I agree!
There are no photo's that give good overviews of the colours of the decks during Coral Sea, but the more detailed ones show that it might be a bit less dirty. However, I want my model to feel lived in and battle-worn for the basic story to be clear to viewers who are not very familiar with WWII naval history. Therefore, I am consciously choosing the "higher level of weathering that I could possibly assume" kneed. I based the pattern on a pic from Enterprise, but on that pic the intensity is even more than I painted here. Keep in mind that subsequent painting will still make it look less "dusty", and large parts will be covered by planes and other details (which makes it necessary to exaggerate a bit to keep things noticeable at all).
By you are right, in the end this is a matter of a matter of personal preference indeed. I like more weathering anyway, but I mostly choose it in function of the diorama and it's story.

Cheers!

Marijn

[marijn van gils]

Hi Marijn,

The reference for the information about the SBD and situation around the bomb area can be read here: (if you don't have it already...)

http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/shi ... tml#pageA1

All the mentions are after 1145. Interesting to see that 4 fighters and 9 SBDs were landed around this time too... there was a lot of action. The report was written by the Air Officer, dated 20 May 1942.

Aaah... because of you, I will have to check that Lexington sitting in my stash...

Many thanks Hypno7!

I read it quite some time ago, but clearly I have to read it more carefully again!

I'll pm you later, have to run now...

Thanks!

Marijn

[marijn van gils]

Meanwhile, I got the detail lined in to make it stand out for more 3D-effect. The dark brown color also contributes to the weathering.
Next comes highlighting the detail, but that will have to wait until the end of august because I'm on a family holiday now. I d?d bring me some equipment to make more of those figures though...

[GazzaS]

It's all looking really fantastic. Your figures are dazzling!

[Quincy]

Good grief that looks nice!






Bob Pink.

[marijn van gils]

Thanks guys!

The figures are a lot of work, but for this dio they are worth it, as the figures will do so much in telling the story.

Cheers!

Marijn

[GazzaS]

I'm pretty weak on the USN in WWII. Was it really that green?

[Timmy C]

Probably the white balance on his camera or the lights shifted the colours a bit towards yellow (since both the model and the background are blue); the yellow and blue makes it look greenish.


Looking awesome, Marijn!

[GazzaS]

Ahh, I see. I leaned way back from my usual hunched position and saw things starting to look a lot more gray. Thanks!

[marijn van gils]

Yep, Timmy C has it right: the pics are too yellowish. I did consciously make the blue-grays a bit warmer in order fo tie the colours together better, but it certainly doesn't look greenish in the flesh.
And thanks for the comments guys!

Marijn

[J. Soca]

Real nice I'm looking forward to the water base!



Jose

[marijn van gils]

Thanks Jose!

Me too! It will be my first, well not the first water but the first non transparent sea in this scale. One more experiment, and I think I'll be ready for it...

Cheers,

Marijn

[LE BOSCO]

very nice weathering Marijn very inspiring
cheers
Nicolas

[marijn van gils]

Hello everybody,

It might seem that I haven't been doing much lately, but I have been rather busy.
I just got back from a one-month family holiday abroad, during which I made another 802 figures (I made 803, but one pinged away into space�):


close-up (heavily enlarged, and with the light hitting many figures from the wrong angle):


So I'm now at 1402 figures, which should be enough for on the deck, on the ropes and in boats and life rafts. I will still make some extra ones swimming in the water though.

Now that I'm home again, painting on Lex has resumed too. I shaded all the 20mm and .50 AA guns, and I added plating effect to hull and island:


In the kit, the half-open doors are depicted as simple holes without any suggestion of the closed lower parts, so I painted this on too:


Close up (heavily enlarged):


I also simulated the reinforcement plates around the forward 5" platforms and anchors:




And some plating on the island:








Cheers!

Marijn

[Goodwood]

Holy crap.

This is gonna be mind-blowingly awesome when you're done. Just...just wow.