disecting the 1/350 Trumpeter NIMITZ

[anyahajobuzi]

Thank you guys for the overwhelming support and the showers of compliments


RYAN- I really enjoyed your 2 cents on how the "pinnacle of my skills" is a totally relative thing. You are absolutely right, and I finally accepted that this Nimitz is as good as it gets, and I need to get it finished. Thank you for the mental kick in the ass!!
I can't see how I will build another CV or CVN in this scale to correct all these mistakes, so my hats off to you for building just about the entire class!!! That's determination I can't compute.

JIM- Thanks for those very inspiring words. However I slipped into year 7 with this build, and unlike the chief designers and the yard workers of Newport News, I still couldn't create a functioning Carrier, so those guys are still better than me

MARDIS- You did what??? Threw it away? I am sorry to hear that.... But I built over 150 models in my life, and I have less than 20 to show for it, so guess I shouldn't be shocked how cruel "natural selection" is, but I am!!!! You put so much time into that baby! Now you for sure have to make up for that with your other ships!!! Which are the other 2? You got the JFK as well? Are you trying to catch up to Ryan's conveyor belt of aircraft carriers?!?!? I am looking forward to your new fleet and read all the lessons you learnt, so maybe I can learn some new tricks from you! Godspeed!

BLAKE- Very good to hear from you man! Thanks for checking in! When are you starting on your next build? Bremerton? I was there in august and the RCOH must have been already completed on Stennis because it was gone.. But the Nimitz was there!!!!!!!I did finally see her for the first time in my life!!!!!! You saw 2 active carriers next to each other?!?!?!? Lucky dog!!!!


Well, in light of all the reality-checks I had handed to me by you guys, I am speeding along with the project :

- The island is 99.9% done (pictures are coming soon)

- The airwing will be done sooner than anticipated. Because of SHAPEWAYS!!!!!!!!
I ordered $100 worth of stuff ( bombs and missiles and the awesome engine carts) and I painted all of them and I got a HUGE DISSAPPOINTMENT: whatever material all these things are printed from, it repels paint!!!! I sprayed everything first and the paint simply never dried and I was able to just wipe it off?!?!?!? After 3 days!! Then I de-greased the pieces again and painted them with a brush: almost the same result: the white still never dried, same with olive drab on the bombs. I even tried different colors.
They are a pain in the ass to be glued on like this. The MERs with the mk82s is totally garbage: The bombs brake off at the lightest pressure and their surface is very coarse. Plus: they come with a pylon attached to the MER that needs to be removed, for every aircraft type has different style pylons and it's not thin enough anyway. As soon as tried cutting off the pylon, the MER broke in half and the little bombs flew in every direction.....
on the other hand: the set of the individual bombs is beautiful, but they don't like the paint either... But at least I can hang those on the wings and paint them later. So I won't have Corsairs loaded to the nuts with conventional bombs.....I mean I am building some MERs and TERs , but only enough for 2 aircraft. Because I need to get this thing done, and I'll be damned if tiny little bombs will hold me back from this. Does anyone else have the same problem with the Shapeways products??
I mean: the grey stayed on the drop tanks after brushing-not spraying-on, and the engine cart never gave me any troubles. So this inconsistency is even more maddening...


Cheers guys, and a happy new year and lots of ships for everyone!!!!!!


Laci

[sgtryan13]

Are you using acrylic or enamel paints on the shapeways stuff? I only use acrylic and have had no paint adhesion issues, but I have heard that the shapeways material and enamel do NOT go together well for some reason. And don't beat yourself up over having only a few aircraft armed. Usually that is the case on the carrier deck, only a few armed for upcoming missions.

[DWD]

I ordered $100 worth of stuff ( bombs and missiles and the awesome engine carts) and I painted all of them and I got a HUGE DISSAPPOINTMENT: whatever material all these things are printed from, it repels paint!!!! I sprayed everything first and the paint simply never dried and I was able to just wipe it off?!?!?!? After 3 days!! Then I de-greased the pieces again and painted them with a brush: almost the same result: the white still never dried, same with olive drab on the bombs. I even tried different colors.

As far as painting the shapeways stuff, I have read some articles that say to leave the parts in sunlight for several hours to aide in the curing process of the 3D printed stuff before painting, OR you can leave them under an ultra violet light lamp for an hour. Plus I have heard to possibly stick with an acrylic primer. Here is a couple of links that discuss how to clean and cure shapeways parts. Hope they help.

http://interurbanmodels.blogspot.co.uk/ ... ultra.html
https://www.shapeways.com/forum/pdf.php?th=9096

Your stuff looks amazing man! I can't wait to see the photos with all the bombs, missiles, and tanks attached to your aircraft, and your engine carts painted. Keep up the great work and inspiration man. Happy New Year by the way!!

[JimVarnellABH2USN]

I ordered $100 worth of stuff ( bombs and missiles and the awesome engine carts) and I painted all of them and I got a HUGE DISSAPPOINTMENT: whatever material all these things are printed from, it repels paint!!!! I sprayed everything first and the paint simply never dried and I was able to just wipe it off?!?!?!? After 3 days!! Then I de-greased the pieces again and painted them with a brush: almost the same result: the white still never dried, same with olive drab on the bombs. I even tried different colors.

Laci,

I too had a similar problem with some 700 scale Virginia class subs from Shape ways last year, I tried everything I could think of, then my wife suggested trying hairspray after I had them washed, dried, degreased, and sun baked, I waited about two weeks and sprayed them with hairspray, allowed them to dry for 24 - 36 hours, then lightly fogged them with the airbrush using Vallejo grey primer, worked like a champ. Once I painted them, I inspected them for flaws and everything seemed to be pretty smooth, finally I gloss coated everything allowed that to cure for 48 hours, applied decals and flat coated them to seal everything all together.

Cost to fix this issue $2.19 for some hair spray................. thanks to the wifey.

Hope this helps you out some there my friend.

[anyahajobuzi]

Thank you guys for the detective work, I SUUUPEER appreciate it! Now I have a few different ways to effectively combat the situation!

The island and elevator #2 is finished!!!!!!!!!!!

Photo update coming real soon!!!!!!


Cheers: Laci

[anyahajobuzi]

Well, thanks to all the support and the endless amount of spare-time I had thrown at me in the last 10 days, I made more progress on this seemingly never ending fiasco... Unfortunately it looks like I slipped into year 7... just like the real thing..haha. Well, I am not 10000 people working 3 shifts 365 days a year... but still: I didn't start this yesterday. And now it feels GREAT to see parts completely complete, and in place for the first time since 2009!!!!

Like I said: The island is complete! It's only missing parts are the ones linking it to the rest of the ship: a set of stairs and a drainpipe!!!
The rigging was a nerve-wrecking experience. I have seen and heard a lot of different materials used, but years ago I used human hair in a test, and found it perfect! It's strong, but has enough give that if you touch it accidentally, it wont break or bend! And the best thing about it: my wife has thin enough hair, that looks perfectly scaled down for 1/350! So she is part of my hobby too!


Her hair was also perfect for the arrester cables! In this scale I think they should never be any thicker. ON a 1/700 scale ship I probably wouldn't even install them.


The #2 elevator is complete as well!!!!
Modeling the elevator cables troubled me for a long time. The PE parts were out of question since the beginning( of time, haha). Stretched sprue also didn't seem great because if it breaks off, you are hooped, and it's very frail.
Copper (or any other metal) wire wouldn't have worked for me either for if I hit them, they easily bend..... so I needed hair again! But I was torn between really thick human hair-no, not pubic hair!!!!- or horse-hair. If it's good enough for fiddlers, why not modelers? The elevator cables are very thick, and they stand out on photos taken from a distance away too... so I got some horse mane strands from a friend of mine, and put it to test.
Now that it's done, I can say it was a mistake.... It is too thick, and I think it's better to have things under-scaled, than over-scaled. It's the less evil of the 2. This hair is very strong and doesn't have much give. Although they came out just fine on the end towards the stern, I am simply disgusted with the outcome on the side towards the bow.... Here I could only attach the cables to the ship on an angle, and that angle never went away, giving these "cables" a bent look, which is impossible under the 100000 pounds the elevator weighs.... looks very stupid, but there is nothing I can do to fix it. But you guys can: LOOK AWAY



Overall I don't really care anymore, because I really need to get this thing shelved, and start something different. (Or finish Vincennes). But on the other hand I still want to keep butcher- and chainsaw-work to a minimum.
Plus, mostly all my other ideas worked out, it was time to lose a battle or 2...

I hope we all learnt something:)

thanks for checking in, and happy modeling

[anyahajobuzi]

Oh, I almost forgot: the arrester-cables! What do you guys think: Is hair OK? I personally think it sounds ridiculous, but I love how thin and straight and strong it is!


Laci

[Angeliccypher]

Truly master quality work here. I am completely awestruck with your work every time I see an update. I like the idea of the hair for the arresting wires. It looks good.

[Gabor]

Hi Laci,

I would use wire for the arrester-cables. Altough I saw only photos, but they seemed tighter than elevator cables. I'm not sure the hair can be strained that much. On the other hand your wife will not be bald

[Propman]

Hair !. I did use hair once rigging the Revell Eastwind after a long custom job on her. I still had long hair when i built her. I sold the model and regretted that. However many years later I got a call from the owner and he damaged the model. It needed a new mast etc.

Funny thing was by then I went bald and shaved my head but I wasn't done. Also by then i had a daughter who had long enough hair so she became the next donor for model repair.

Go ahead and use your hair,

Keith

[gtbred]

Man,that is one helva build. I thought Ryan builds were (are) outstanding. Wouldn't want a contest with you! Hair! Now that is smart!

[Kodai]

Very very Impressive .....Marvelous!!!!!!....absolute magnificent work...

Congratulations.

[Jon]

That is about the best weathering I've ever seen on a modern warship. Very challenging to do that sort of subtle weathering.

[boomstick68]

Fantastic job. Very realistic weathering indeed.

[Channell]

I take back my earlier comment on the island, it looks fantastic!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuWjAL1xZPY

[LE BOSCO]

HI Laci

my catalog of superlative is empty and my vocabulary is still poor....how to describe the pleasure that the eyes have to watch your work!!how to describe this weathering more subtle that I see on a model at 1/350 .....
juste sublime Laci ..
cheers
Nicolas

[anyahajobuzi]

Thank you guys!!!

The project IS nearing completion, Just like JASON's video suggests!! Thanks man, I really love your pictoral comments!!! It's always just the right video! How do you get these in here???
Thank you for liking the island now, but like I said: you were thinking before, what I almost did: start anew....

-Nicholas: Your ability to create your own parts blows my painting skills out of the water any day, my friend!!!

-Jon, Angeliccypher and Mardis: I am very humbled by your comments about my weathering, for I am a 1/72 and 1/48 scale airplane guy, and this is my first serious attempt at building a ship in this scale, and most of "techniques" are just some "things I tried". I am happy with the results, but hope you will have the chance to see her in real life at one of the modelling events, and see that it probably looks better on photos...

-Kodai: Thank you too for cheering me on, and for the VERY kind words!!!

-Keith: Thanks for the re-enforcing my faith in hair! Kids are handy to have for many reasons! Donating hair to a noble cause like that is just one of the many ways to "pay back" the cost of all those diapers years and years ago
I am glad to hear I am not the only one

-Gabor: I had no problem stretching the human hair straight. The horse hair on the hand other doesn't have much give. I won't use wire for my reasons listed above. But I will stop harvesting Zsofi' hair for a while, because bald girls are not my type.

I am bogged down with painting the crew. Looking at photos, one way to make the same poses a little less noticeable: I use 3 different base-colors for just the pants alone: tan, brown and green, and I mix these 3 in every possible way to create as many different colors as possible. Same with some of the vest colors. Time consuming as .
I did buy all 3 sets of the North star figures, but unfortunately, most poses aren't doing much action. So it will be a very lazy day aboard on my ship.. (lots of "safety meetings" going on )

Cheers: Laci

[MartinJQuinn]

Brilliant work. Can you use a (blown out) hot match head to tighten the cables on the elevator? Just don't get too close...

[anyahajobuzi]

Thank you Martin! That actually sounds like a very excellent idea, and I will put it to test. I would've never thought of that!

But I won't have time to test it for a little while, and the reason is: My wife and I are going to Oahu, and of course Pearl Harbor, and I want to ask if anyone needs reference photos of anything there. I will be there on Feb 3, so there is a bit of time to think about it. Mighty mo, Gato class submarine, aviation museum with lots of Navy ( and some Air force) planes..... Let me know and I will do my best to get you the pictures!

And after I am back ( unless A, I stay there illegally-because winter in Canada sucks or B, a shark will eat me) the Nimitz is going to enter into the FINAL stage of assembly!!! I already painted about 50 crew-members, and they turned out pretty good so far. 4000 more to go.....

Cheers: Laci

[gtbred]

4000? You planning to line the rails?