Calling all Iowa-class (BB-61) fans

[Channell]

I found this really cool video on youtube that gives a "modeler's eye's view" of the (real) USS iowa.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8iNYTjsHhI

...and now I have the intense need to buy another new toy. Imagine the rivets I could count with a neat little gizmo like that!

[RandyM]

...just to prove that I work on ACTUAL models too...

My goal for the holidays is to have the hull painted. It has been final-sanded and I hope to install the butt-plates and get the last coat of primer on tomorrow. I'm using MM enamels this time. First shot is of the focs'l - the wood deck and the 20mm bow tub are only in position, not installed. Second pic is of the stern - I'm pretty happy with the overall fit of the replacement hull section around the 40mm tubs.

http://www.nulspace.com/hobbies/missouri/123014a.jpg

http://www.nulspace.com/hobbies/missouri/123014b.jpg

[BB62vet]

Randy,

Indeed! Looking good!!

What brand/type, etc. of primer did you use on the hull? I have a rattle can of Testors but it is rather dark and I'm thinking of using something else closer to the actual Haze Gray finishing spray. Also, what brand/type of putty did you use in the joints between the hull pieces?

Lastly, In the first photo there is a glue syringe in the picture - what/where did you get that?

Thanks,

Hank

[RandyM]

Got the first set of butt-plates installed, and now I have a question. Does anyone know the diameter of the pipe installed at the top of the shell plating? See second photo.

[Fliger747]

Scaling from my photographs I get 2-2 1/2" or 0.010-0.015"

WAG T

[RandyM]

Thanks Tom - I happen to have some 0.020" styrene on-hand (scales out to 4-inches) and while it looks good, it does look at bit overscale. I guess I'm going to have to make a run to my favorite train-supply store today.

[Fliger747]

Steel wire is available in these small sizes and is quite inexpensive. Brass is easier to bend but that is only really a consideration right at the stern.

Cheers: T

[RandyM]

Hank...

The primer I use on projects like this is rattle-can Dupli-Color primer/filler #FP101 (see below). For traditional projects I really like Mr.Surfacer because it sprays so nicely. But for larger efforts this works very well (and I really don't like rattle cans!). It sticks to pretty much anything, is very forgiving, and dries completely - even in frigid SoCal temperatures - overnight (though it can be sanded within an hour of application). You can sand it to virtually mirror surface if desired, or leave it reasonably rough as necessary. Superglue sticks very well, as do both acrylics and enamels. I buy it at O'Reilly's (ex-Kragen, ex-Dormans... whatever you have in your locale). I think it's 7 or 8$ / can.

[BB62vet]

Thanks, Randy for the primer info.

Any info on the glue syringe in your photos?

I'll assume that you do not need any further info on the butt strap layout dimensions, correct?

Hank

[RandyM]

Ha! Good eye. My wife is a scientist (protein chemist) and from time to time some of her lab equipment has to be renewed/replaced, and I have the opportunity to grab the old stuff. I have an assortment of glass syringes - the one in the photo is a Hamilton Gastight 50uL. I use it to apply liquid cement - it holds enough so that you can do numerous joints on one load of cement, but allows for extremely precise application. It has replaceable "needles" (which I have to purchase) that I file to various shapes depending on the type of seam I'm working with.

This is an outstanding tool, but can be pricey - the ones in my assortment range from ~ $50 to well over $100 each... which is why I'm fine with the leftovers.

[BB62vet]

RandyM wrote:

Ha! Good eye. My wife is a scientist (protein chemist) and from time to time some of her lab equipment has to be renewed/replaced, and I have the opportunity to grab the old stuff. I have an assortment of glass syringes - the one in the photo is a Hamilton Gastight 50uL. I use it to apply liquid cement - it holds enough so that you can do numerous joints on one load of cement, but allows for extremely precise application. It has replaceable "needles" (which I have to purchase) that I file to various shapes depending on the type of seam I'm working with.

Very interesting...Well, since my company Extracts proteins from blood plasma (centrifuge/filter press) I just may take a trip over to the labs and see what I can scrounge up I would think that there would be a fair assortment of these tools being used and eventually discarded. Thanks for the info.

Hank

[Fliger747]

Randy:

Very good photo above showing how closely the anchor nests in the hawse. Are the needles available commercially or does one get into the whole drug paraphernalia surveillance scenario?

Regards: Tom

[BB62vet]

Tom, et al:

Are the needles available commercially

I just looked those syringes up online - the model 1805 of that size (50uL) - runs $94.00 @ Fox Scientific, Inc. Model 1705(n) - $43.00. So, if they are able to be purchased, they are not cheap. I did not explore that facet of the question.

When I get back to work, I'm going to look into this from the "used" standpoint and may stop by a local medical supply store and inquire there regarding the "rules, etc. for general purchase. Randy's application of various needles would be a very useful tool to have available to modelers. If the needles are modified for modeler's purposes, would this negate any restrictions/regulations, etc. of possession?

Hank

[RandyM]

These are pricey when purchased new - I've only bought two of them new in the entire time I've been using them. The replacement needles are available commercially, and to my knowledge are NOT under any sort of biomed restrictions. My wife says there are many biotech-type resellers online who sell these things at a significant discount.

Hank - the syringe you saw in my photo is a model 1705. I've had it for YEARS and the only trouble it has ever given me is that - after prolonged periods of non-use, I sometimes have to draw liquid cement in two or three times so it will get a good seal again. Takes about 5-seconds.

The needles I use seem to me to be heavy gauge - if someone tried to stick me with one I'd probably pass out. They are 0.70mm OD. I file them to an angle that I need. That way I can use the plunger to develop a tiny "bubble" of cement at the tip, then rotate the needle around until the cement wicks into the part being assembled. For long seams I use a needle with an almost perpendicular cut, then draw the needle down the seam while applying the desired amount of pressure to the plunger. Not rocket science, but certainly takes a little getting-used-to.

Here's most of my stash which I've accumulated over the last 10-15 years. They range in size from 25 to 1000uL. Most of them are from Hamilton, and I have a couple of monsters (500+ uL) from GlenCo - take a look at p/n 19925 for example). The plastic cases are replacement needles - you should be able to get an example p/n from them. If I get a call from the DEA I'll know who to find...

[RandyM]

Bow 20mm tubs reworked... maybe I should start a real build log to avoid clogging this thread???

[BB62vet]

Randy,

I've emailed you re. the syringes, etc.

Your Fwd 20mm tub looks really good. Mine will be a simply fashioned curvature w/o any armaments. 60's era NJ had the plain bow enclosure unlike IOWA, WISCONSIN, and earlier MO. This will, of course, be a scratchmade piece and I will create/add that after fashioning the hull upper lip which will be installed first.

Hank

[RandyM]

I have a question which could - I'm afraid - start an argument. I'm looking for FACTS on the boot top for 1945-era Missouri. Photos I have show the top of the boot at either 36 or 37 feet. This *fact* is based on being able to see the draft marks in the photos. Of course, the assumption is that someone hasn't edited those marks in such a way as to be indiscernible...

At any rate, 37 feet scales out to 2.22 inches in 1/200. There is a potential ambiguity in that the baseline is not always coplanar with the extreme bottom plating of the hull, but the references I've seen show an offset of a few inches at most - so I'm playing it "easy" and assuming the baseplane = extreme bottom of ship = "0" on draft marks on hull.

So for the top of the boot, I can choose either 2.22" from the bottom of the hull or 2.16" and be historically accurate. There is the second fact: the difference in 1/200 between 36 and 37 feet is 60-thousandths of an inch, which no one is going to be able to identify using their naked eye.

Next fact - which may be incorrect. I have seen numerous references - including the Floating Drydock's planbook - which state the boot was 4-feet tall during this period. This makes for a boot top which is just under 1/4" "thick". If anyone has in their possession documentable FACTS that dispute this number, please post!

So.... given the above, I finally get to my question. Let's say I choose to place the top of the boot at 37-feet. This would put the stripe between 2.22" and 1.98" om the 1/200 hull. HOWEVER, in looking at others' builds, this seems to be fairly high on the side of the ship - using the overboard discharge ports as reference, the boot on these builds is below these ports while 2.22" is just above them. I have first-hand experience with yachts which puts many of these ports within the bootstripe to hide them - purely an aesthetic consideration. But I hardly think this was in issue for USN warships. So does anyone *KNOW* whether these ports were above or "within" the limits of the boot top? Note that even placing the top of the boot at 36 feet still puts these ports within the stripe...

THANK YOU,
Randy

[chuck]

Randy: I am thinking It might be visually more important to make sure the position and width of the boot top has the correct relationship with the row of water discharge ports trumpeter molded into the hull side than having the boot top the correct distance from hull bottom.

[RandyM]

Chuck - thank you for putting my wordy conundrum into so succinct a statement

From your reply, I assume the ports are above the boot top?

[Fliger747]

Where the boot top location is important is at the stern where there is slope and curvature, a good place to check vis a vis the photos.

Perhaps it goes without saying with the hull in question, a good place to double check. With the current museum ships the boot top is astoundingly different than the operational waterline. I have seen some models that replicated the slanting boot top of the museum ships!

Cheers: T