Calling all USS Enterprise CVN-65 fans

[bigjimslade]

Here is the drop in hangar deck (minus the roof and fore and aft structures) printed out.

The support strutters with the points on the end go into the stern keel recess.

[bigjimslade]

Here's the assembled hangar segments.

I have structures for the bow and stern, not shown here.

Now I have to do the ceiling.

[subhunter1]

Does anyone else on this thread have any details/pictures on the brows/gangway sponsons called out on page 7 "No.3 Elevator Sponson", and "No.1 Elevator Sponson". None of the photos that I have give me any detail as to what the recessed area looks like. Furthermore, none of the photos that I have provide the sort of detail I am looking for regarding the fuel transfer equipment on those same sponsons.

[bigjimslade]

What detail sets are available for the Tamiya 1:350 Enterprise?

[DWD]

Hey Jim,

Check page 24 of this thread. I added some links to some photo etch sets available. It should be the second to last post on that page. The only bad thing is with White Ensign Models closing, it will be difficult tracking down those sets now. If you can't find them.....all you are pretty much left with is the Gold medal models set, which is a good set, but each one of them provided useful items, so hopefully you can still find them. Good luck Big Jim.


Subhunter1, if you are still coming up empty on your photo search, send me a PM and I will see what I have.

[bigjimslade]

Looks like GMM is the only game in town.


Thing's I'd like to to find:

Deck decals. Looks like GMM made them at one time but no more.
Lighting plans for the deck.
Measurements for the various antenna (such as the new landing antenna).

[DWD]

Hey Jim,

Yeah, you may be right about that if you can't find the white ensign sets anywhere. And you are correct about Gold Medal Models no longer printing their CVN decals. However, there are a couple others you might be able to find for deck decals and markings. There is a member on this forum that goes by "Rouyax" and he designed 1/350 scale hangar decals for the CVN-65 Enterprise kit. I have included the link here. viewtopic.php?f=12&t=34259 Also, there is another company you may want to check as well. The company's name is "Boatswain Models". I didn't include a link but you can do a google search for the company name and you should be able to find it easily. The company is based in Hong Kong and they do decal sets for Nimitz and Enterprise in 1/350 scale as well as some air wings. I have mine ordered for Enterprise and they are in transit so I cannot speak of their quality yet, but their website shows what all is included. Hope this helps.

[bigjimslade]

Thanks. Let us know how the Boatswain's models turn out. It looks like they have the outline 65 for the deck. Where can you order them from?

I am also wondering about the deck edge nets on the GMM set. They look heavy in the pictures but I don't see any alternative.

I am probably not going to do the artwork in the hangar. I should update my shopping list as:

1. Decals
2. Propellers
3. Photoetch details -- need extra railing, ladders, doors,
4. Boats and cradles
5. Deck light plan
6. Plans/measurements for some of the large dome antennas. I could make a lot more details but I don't have good references.
7. Tugs and other vehicles.

I'm printing off the ceiling for my hangar as we speak. Section 2 out of 4 then I am all done..

[Rob Jansen]

Hi everyone;
I bought both sets of the Boatswain Model Decal sets for the Enterprise; I have not used them yet so I cannot comment on how well they work. But the printing and register is fantastic and they really look good. They come with a nice placement sheet and seem to have everything covered from 82' to present.

Subhunter they offer decals for CW 11 for the 82'-83' WestPac that we were on! I waited 30 years for a decal set and they are really nice!!! I bought two (2) just to be sure I would have enough (though one would have probably worked).

I ordered directly from their website and had no troubles at all; they came in a reasonable time, well packaged and in excellent shape. A little spendy but I feel they're worth it, but like I said I haven't actually used them (that will probably be in another thirty years...when I'm 83...LOL).

[bigjimslade]

Is this the right site: http://www.boatswainmodel.com

I don't see any ordering facility there.

[simon b]

Just send an email with your wants and details. They will then send you a paypal invoice.

[Rob Jansen]

Yes that's the right site; and as "simon b says" just send an email boatswainmodel@gmail.com and Mr. Yung will send you an invoice for PayPal.

[bigjimslade]

Thanks,

Here is the fully printed hangar:



I need to sand, add details, etc.

I'm printing another for a friend to see if he can cast them. That might be difficult due to all the undercuts and platforms.

[subhunter1]

Very nice work Jim! Where were you when I was doing all my measuring and layout work to fit my hangar deck?

Just having accurate dimensions to fit the deck is worth its weight in gold! Out of curiosity, what did you end up with for a scale number of the hangar bay bulkheads? My calculated number came out to .944" (23.98mm).

I decided to take a break from detailing my hangar bay, and pulled out my supply of Tamiya and Trumpeter aircraft to do some preliminary fitting. I figure if I plan things out ahead of time, I can build some fixtures that will both improve the quality and reduce the time to assemble the CW.

Was anyone else shocked at the poor quality of fit and finish of both the Tamiya and Trumpeter aircraft? I'm almost wondering if I might be better off finishing one of each aircraft and casting the balance. And of course, everything looks worse under the magnifiers....! Just Yuck!

[subhunter1]

Does anyone have any sort of wipe in, wipe off filler recommendations, or their own brew that they have had success with. The fit of the molded parts for both the Trumpeter and Tamiya aircraft is really bad but if I get too aggressive with fillers and sanding, I'm worried about taking out details of the molded parts.

As I'm still rather new to this site, I'll see if I can find some suggestions on light duty fillers under another heading.

On another topic..... making canopies. Thermoform, or vacuumform.... does anybody have any thoughts on the matter either way?

[bigjimslade]

For measurements, I started with Rob McCune's plan. I used that for the general layout. Unfortunately, the kit hull shape is a bit different so I had change the walls. A lot of the stuff then turns out to be artistic rather than matching plans (I was not going to change the kit hull).

I made a bunch of trial parts for the areas around the doors and adjusted them by trial and errors.

[subhunter1]

I understand what you mean by having to take creative license with fitting your hangar bay. Nice work none the less Jim.

How is the surface finish on your finished product out of the printer?

[bigjimslade]

The side on the base is smooth. The other sides have the texture of antiskid. They need some sanding for the walls. The floors are good.

[Timmy C]

A semi-update for the Dragon 1/700 kit: ETA next quarter, according to their reply to my question on Twitter.

[Jon C Ryckert]

Does anyone have any sort of wipe in, wipe off filler recommendations, or their own brew that they have had success with. The fit of the molded parts for both the Trumpeter and Tamiya aircraft is really bad but if I get too aggressive with fillers and sanding, I'm worried about taking out details of the molded parts.

As I'm still rather new to this site, I'll see if I can find some suggestions on light duty fillers under another heading.

On another topic..... making canopies. Thermoform, or vacuumform.... does anybody have any thoughts on the matter either way?

You may want to try Mr. Surfacer out of the bottle. They have three different variations, 500, 1000 and 1200. You brush it on and when dry, wipe it off with some type of remover who's name I can't remember right now. A Youtube search for Mr. Surfacer is where I found out how to use it. Hope this helps you out.