Merit 1/350 USS Enterprise CV-6

[Timmy C]

Merit commissioned Trumpeter to produce the kit - hence the similarity in instructions style with Trumpeter-branded kits.

If you buy a CV-6 kit branded by the seller as "Trumpeter", don't be surprised if the box actually says Merit.

[taskforce48]

Still at it, Here we see the island about 90% done



Now with a coat of paint


You will need to ream the openings for the funnel out as the plastic cap does not fit at all otherwise.



The PE funnel caps did not curve like I have seen in other sets. Not sure why but all three did this.



Solution was to cut away the offending section, once painted it won't really be noticed that it's missing and will help with fit into the recess.

A couple of notes;
- The kits PE rails are designed to fit around the perimeter of the parts, not on the deck so that it is proper height. Using this approach has led to almost no fit problems that others have noted. I strayed from this approach as the instructions make the funnel cap rail look like it does sit on top vs around the outside. It would also appear that you do it this way to allow the funnel catwalks to be mounted. The rail looks way to high and I am not happy with it. It was still meant to wrap around as it was too long to fit the cap as well. I will probably leave as it but others may want to double check before fitting.

- The funnel catwalk, It is clearly there in May of 42, but I can not find any images that show it still being there in November of 42. So I am going to omit it as it was probably removed when she was repaired.

- It calls for the Ships Bell to be installed below the chin of the fighting top, by May of 42 it wasn't there. Haven't found where it was yet.

More to come soon,

Matt

[Par429]

Hey Matt-
Looks great! I had the same problem with the funnel caps, but I spread the deformation around all the segments. So my caps aren't really round anymore, but once installed and painted you can't really tell, so yours should look fine painted.

Looking forward to more!

Phil

[TOMLABEL]

She's really looking good, Matt!

Keep up the good work and can't wait to see more!

Kelley

[youngtiger1]

Matt, thanks for being the first crazy guy to build this and help us all out. I see you have found few misleading information within the instructions. I do agree with you about how their instructions are getting cluttered up within steps and the drawings are getting smaller and harder to see clearly. Well, since I am seriously looking to get this kit to go with my CVN-65 then I better follow your WIP. So, keep up the good work

[robertmelvin]

Tiger, I couldn't agree more. For every one of us who has CV-6 in their stash this thread is invaluable and will prevent many headaches and possible a few resorts to alcohol! A big thanks to Matt for blazing this trail for the rest of us.

Bob

[taskforce48]

aw shucks guys, thanks for the positive feedback. I hope to get another update here in the next few days as I have been still working at it.

Thanks again!

Matt

[taskforce48]

So on Sunday I got up and was feeling a little under the weather, when I finally staggered into my office and looked out the window I saw, you guessed it more weather


So this inspired me, but more on that later. The Big E had several prominent window areas on the Island. Being as Merit cast most of them as open, I couldn't resist putting in some windows using Krystal Klear

Here we see the forward Pri Fly finally attached and now glassed in.


Here is the aft one, if you look real carefully, you will note that she has had her first crewmembers report board from L'Arsenal and Fujimi.


Here is a snap shot showing the men manning the Pri Fly's



Now for why the weather was inspiring, I starting the weathering process.



I was on a business trip up in Seattle last month and had some time to kill before heading home. I had heard from many member of this board about a awesome little hobby shop in Renton. I braved the traffic and found one of the coolest shops ever. Skway Model Shop is definitely worth a trip if you are ever in the area. While I was there, I found Mig brand weathering washes that were actually designed for ships! I have never done any weathering like this before and all I gotta say is wow! Super simple to use, just a little bit goes a long way and I think I have found a way to brake up the 5N and give it that lived in feel. A few more odds and ends, and I will call the island done.

Stay tuned for more,

Matt

[TOMLABEL]

Matt,

She's looking good!!! I really like the figures in the pri-fly areas! Nice touch! The weathering looks very nice as well. Can you post of pic of the Mig wash that you mentioned or the name? I tried searching their products for what you described but could only find the panel line washes. Is that the same thing you have?

Looking forward to seeing more of the Big E!!

Kelley

[taskforce48]

Kelley,

Looks like they are actually made by AK Interactive.


I haven't tried the Wood Deck wash yet, but the other two I really like so far. Their website lists a couple of others that I will have to get ahold of for future projects.

Matt

[Angeliccypher]

Looking great Matt. Your work is always impressive.

[D. Lindsey]

Weathering looks really nice! I am going to have to try these. Did you gloss coat first or wash directly over the paint?

[TOMLABEL]

Matt, thanks!!!
And thanks for the link! The washes really look impressive as you have used them in weathering the island. I'm definitely gonna try these out as I didn't know they existed before you mentioned them.

Looking forward to seeing more of your progress!!!

Kelley

[ArizonaBB39]

She looks excellent so far. I especially like the weathering and am also interested in your process.

[taskforce48]

Thanks for all the comments!

Did you gloss coat first or wash directly over the paint?

About half way through I thought," hmm... maybe I should have gloss coated this?" But this is straight up on the Acrylic Model Master paints. I am curious if when I finish and dull coat, if like in previous attempts to weather a lot of the contrast will disappear. Guess time will tell.

I especially like the weathering and am also interested in your process.

I started with trial and error and sort of winged it. I started with a fine round brush as the intent at this point was to do a pin wash around details. I must have had too much on the brush and I got a huge puddle of the stuff. I had another brush and some paint thinner on standby for such an occasion, when I drew the clean brush with thinner through the puddle it produced an interesting effect as the wash spread around details like panel lines and details. So I then attempted to use a dot filter method where I used the wash for Grey Decks and randomly dotted the sides of the superstructure than mixed in some dots of the salt streaks. I then just did a repeated motion of downward strokes with the thinner and produced a somewhat random result of different toned streaks. Marijn Van Gils shows this very well in his book on his amazing build of the Lexington sinking, which is coincidently published by AK Interactive. I will use this same method on the hull and will be sure to take some more comparison and in progress shots.

Thanks again for all of the positive comments, helps keep me focused on this build and not going "Oooohhhhh.....Shiny"

Matt

[taskforce48]

Hey all,

Still plugging away, work has not been kind to the model builders soul so progress has been slow going. I am going to try my best to have her done and wrapped up for the Seattle show here in a couple of months. The flight deck has been weighing heavily on my mind, the Big E had been one used and abused ship and flight decks are no exception. The are a couple of images all reported to be of the time around that I am building her as, and the flight deck just looks trashed. Here is my early attempts to show this using a layering technique and some weathering, still a ways to go and those cursed dash marks.





Interestingly enough, the deck looks more tan than blue in these images than in person

Hopefully more to come soon.

Matt

[hypno7]

That flight deck looks incredible! Did you only use the washes?

[ModelMonkey]

[Angeliccypher]

Looking good. What technique did you use for the deck. Like wise which pictures are you referencing where it looks trashed?

[taskforce48]

Thanks for the compliments guys.

That flight deck looks incredible! Did you only use the washes?

I have only used some washes at this point to make a base for the final washes that will come after the deck markings are painted on.

Looking good. What technique did you use for the deck. Like wise which pictures are you referencing where it looks trashed?

I started by giving the flight deck a light coat of haze gray, then an even coat of Tamiya Deck Tan. After I let that dry overnight, then I did a thin and slightly random Flight Deck Stain 21 over that making sure it covered the tan but airbrushing using different strokes and angles along the deck to produce different shades and tones. After that dried, I made sandpaper band aids around my fingers using 400 grit and just alternated direction to thin out the blue and reveal the gray and tan underneath to varying levels. I'm not 100% happy as I think I got a little carried away in some spots, but am too chicken to mess up what I do like to try and fix. I then used AK Interactives Wood Deck Wash and their Salt Streak Wash to help dirty up the deck and add more tonal variation. As for the pictures, there are two good examples on the second page of this thread showing the deck and it's worn state.

Thanks again,

Matt