1/350 USS Lincoln, CVN-72

[DWD]

The weathering process of your deck is looking dang good Ryan! I will be watching your progress. Keep up the CVN stamina!!!

[sgtryan13]

thanks very much guys! The deck is getting closer to where I want it, but I am still not quite there yet... I have a particular grey pastel color that I love for an effect I want, but it is on the lighter side, actually really light, and it has a reaction when I spray it with a clear coat, the effect that getting wet from the clear coat is permanently making the grey MUCH darker, and therefore making it blend right into the surrounding deck...

[davetwin]

Love what you have done with the deck, this is going to look amazing when you get the airwing on

[Jaguar]

Wow, your weathering work on the flight deck is amazing. Looks real. Congratulations.

Jorge

[LE BOSCO]

HI sgtryan

your weathering work on the flight deck is really well rendered
well done
cheers
Nicolas

[sgtryan13]

Thanks very much my friends, this is my favorite flight deck I have done to date, I tried a few new (to me) techniques, and I am very happy with the results.

I took some time off from the ship, and started analyzing, and we all know what kind of trouble that can lead to...

I decided I was not happy with the seascape afterall. I ilked the colors I had going, but I did not like the choppy seas look I had. So I attacked the sea with reckless abandon, and now I am much happier with the look. it is more or less done as you see it now, with a little more light froth to be added when I get around to it.

[anyahajobuzi]

Holy crap Sergeant!!!

The fact that you took these photos in natural lighting gave me the illusion that this was a real carrier !!(without an island).
That water looks FAN-TAS-TIC! I am truly impressed!!!
And that flightdeck is shaping up very beautifully too!
With your next CVN you'll probably master the re-fueling of the reactors!

Bravo Ryan!

[sgtryan13]

Thanks very much Laci! I have to say that your work on your flight deck motivated me to step up my game on weathering this one, so thanks for that as well!

Well I was in a modeling rut for a month or so, life decided to give me a swift kick in the junk, but I think I am finally getting back into things.

For much of this build, I have been trying to build it as if I have not built this kit before, and see if I can come up with new techniques or build sequences, and so far it has paid off in spades. While the photographic evidence is not quite there, and there is not a lot to look at yet, one major area that I have completely changed up is how I am doing the catwalks.

My normal sequence after removing all the kit catwalks, was to install the PE ones, then install the braces underneath, then the detail parts and rails, finished off with the installation of the life raft racks and canisters. I often fought with aligning the PE catwalks properly, then wound up knocking and banging them a bunch of times as I installed all the other stuff.

Well I decided that there had to be a less damage-prone way of doing things, and I found one! This may not be a big deal to other CVN builders who may have discovered this sequence naturally, but it is a big breakthrough for me anyways, and I am excited about it.

This time around, I installed the underside braces and staircases first, this allows me to align all the rails while the catwalks are not installed yet, then install all the bulkhead details, then install the racks on the rails, and install the catwalks (painted mind you) as more or less one complete part that I do not have to worry about detailing once the fragile things have been attached to the ship.

[LE BOSCO]

I confirm sgtryan you made a very realistic sea
cheers
Nicolas

[boomstick68]

Awesome deck weathering Ryan. Very impressed with the level of detail right down to the water.

[sgtryan13]

Thanks very much guys, the seascape owes much credit to the detailed "how-to's" posted by Chris Floodberg. I did a few of my own things to alter his techniques to my tastes, but I certainly relied heavily on his stuff for the foundation. For the flightdeck, I was like a kid in art class, most of the coloring and variation was done by smearing my fingers with pastels and just getting the deck dirty.

Well, I am just about done with the catwalks, with only the island section left to do. I put in two very long days at the bench this weekend solely working on PE, and yesterday afternoon is when my joints in my hands and fingers finally said that they had enough, which is too bad, because I wanted to keep working but it would have been counter productive once the hands start shaking.

I made some jigs to help with the installation of the life raft canister racks, and it turned out to be a very good idea. I had almost zero accidental bumps/bends/breaks, and it was a nice sturdy surface to work with. MUCH easier and less stressful than when I have done this detail work after installing the catwalks on the ship first. I guess this old dog can learn a few new tricks.

[anyahajobuzi]

Hi Ryan!

Well, that sure is an interesting approach to a very complex problem. Catwalks are tricky allright!

Now that I saw the inside of your bulwarks,( I saw it somewhere that that's what they call the solid walls of the forward catwalks) I am going back to add some detail to my ship. Those are nice add-ons!!! Thank you for opening my eyes!

Chers: Laci

[LE BOSCO]

HI Ryan

very good idea for the jigs the catwalks are not the easiest things to align....congrats for your work
cheers
Nicolas

[sgtryan13]

Thanks guys! Laci, glad I can add some more work for ya on the Nimitz, since you are breezing through it way too fast!

The catwalks took WAY longer than they usually do for me, but I think the extra time will be well worth it in the end. Almost all of them are attached to the ship, except for the farthest aft ones on the port side, as I needed to do some touch up work to the hull over there. I am very happy with the catwalks so far, but now that I see my PE work on the rails on some of the sponsons, I am not happy with myself at all! I don't know if it is picture angle, or macro lens tricks or what, but I am going to have to take a long hard look at some of them later on. I spent way more time on those rails than ever before, so my disappointment is a little confusing at the moment.

Needing a break from delicate PE work, I decided to get started on the Intrepid, since all the early work is the grunt work of sanding and filing, so I can work on that stuff with no risk of messing up PE when my hands are tired.

[MartinJQuinn]

Digital photography tends to maginfy any and all flaws. Don't be too hard on yourself, overall it looks great.

[boomstick68]

Seeing the life raft canister racks installed is impressive and if I ever build another CVN I will use them...if I can find them.

[sgtryan13]

I used the canister racks for the first time on Reagan, and love them, so they are a main-stay on all of my CVN builds from then on.

[LE BOSCO]

really a good job Ryan
cheers
Nicolas

[sgtryan13]

Thanks Nicolas!

Well I planned this weekend to be a big modeling weekend, but I just could not get in the groove. This PE work is killing me for some reason, and it is not even very difficult stuff.

I did manage to make the main parts for the port side satcomm sponson, I am too embarrassed to even say how many attempts it took to make the seams on the braces disappear. Also I was able to finish the stern rails, but after that, and how many times I dropped and/or bent the rails I was installing, I decided to call it quits and work on some scratchbuilding for the intrepid.

[krgf15]

your deck weathering BLOWS MY MIND