The Ship Model Forum

The Ship Modelers Source
It is currently Thu Mar 28, 2024 3:09 pm

All times are UTC - 6 hours [ DST ]




Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 23 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2  Next
Author Message
PostPosted: Tue Jan 22, 2019 12:09 pm 
Offline

Joined: Sun Jan 04, 2015 9:25 am
Posts: 45
Location: Green Mountains of Vermont
I'm backdating Trumpeter's 1/350 USS Ranger CV-4 to 1935, as she appeared in Fleet Problem XVI, her first. I thought having a build log would be a great way to seek info on Ranger, as well as on method and technique, as I am a novice shipbuilder (though not a novice modeler). As sources, I have Robert Cressman's excellent book,

Image

as well as every period pic I could pull from Navsource, US Naval History & Heritage Command, and pics of the large Ranger model in the National Museum of the United States Navy at the Navy Yard in Washington, D.C. There are plans for Ranger (https://www.hnsa.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/cv4.pdf) available online, however these plans reflect changes to the ship through 1944. There are parts of the plan that are still quite helpful, however, as the draftsmen did not erase all of the original plan, which was dated 1934.

I decided to start with the island superstructure...

Image

... by opening up the bridge windows. A combination of X-Acto saw, X-Acto and Olfa knives, a pin vise, and a square file were used to do this. I then went on to the six archways (they were not doors) on the port/flightdeck side of the island:

Image

I began by drilling relief holes in each door, and, working first with a knife, then later with both round and square files, slowly opened up each aperture. I also removed the gun tub on the aft end of the island, filled the slot with Evergreen plastic, and replaced it with the period-correct walkway, which I scaled off the plan. The plugged quarter-round opening was a recess for
an additional barrier added in a later refit, so I plugged it with Evergreen, hit with a little Squadron putty, and sanded it smooth.
I then penciled in the location of the archway than had been there, using the plans and photos as a guide.

Image

An hour's worth of work, mostly with the round and square files, and the as-built archways are starting to take shape!

Please feel free to comment, critique, ask questions, and/or contribute info, know-how, etc.


Report this post
Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
PostPosted: Thu Jan 24, 2019 11:39 am 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: Mon May 21, 2007 5:49 pm
Posts: 1586
Location: The beautiful PNW
WOW! Very nice and clean work, will be following. Love the Dazzle of 44', but a 42' with MS12 might be the fate of my Ranger.

Keep up the good work :thumbs_up_1:

Matt

_________________
In the yards right now:
USS Utah AG-16
On Hold
1/350 USS Portland CA-33 1942
1/350 Trumpeter Texas with a twist


Report this post
Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
PostPosted: Thu Jan 24, 2019 1:28 pm 
Offline

Joined: Sun Jan 04, 2015 9:25 am
Posts: 45
Location: Green Mountains of Vermont
Can anyone tell me what the box-shaped object in the picture is? And, would this object be open to the top, or closed?

Image


Report this post
Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
PostPosted: Thu Jan 24, 2019 1:38 pm 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: Mon May 21, 2007 5:49 pm
Posts: 1586
Location: The beautiful PNW
Looks like the flag locker, so open on the top.


Matt

_________________
In the yards right now:
USS Utah AG-16
On Hold
1/350 USS Portland CA-33 1942
1/350 Trumpeter Texas with a twist


Report this post
Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
PostPosted: Thu Jan 24, 2019 2:14 pm 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: Mon Jan 10, 2005 10:46 am
Posts: 2409
Location: Hoboken, NJ
Agreed, those are "flag bags", open from top. Photo below.


Attachments:
visual_flagbag_sm3_wagner_left_1958.jpg
visual_flagbag_sm3_wagner_left_1958.jpg [ 13.13 KiB | Viewed 3448 times ]

_________________
We like our history sanitized and theme-parked and self-congratulatory, not bloody and angry and unflattering. - Jonathan Yardley
Report this post
Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
PostPosted: Thu Jan 24, 2019 2:16 pm 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: Mon May 21, 2007 5:49 pm
Posts: 1586
Location: The beautiful PNW
Here is a close up of it,
Attachment:
Ranger Flag Bag.jpg
Ranger Flag Bag.jpg [ 151.04 KiB | Viewed 3448 times ]


She also had one on the Starboard side, later date but can be made out in earlier distant shots.
Attachment:
ranger stbd flag bag.jpg
ranger stbd flag bag.jpg [ 98.87 KiB | Viewed 3447 times ]


HTH
Matt

_________________
In the yards right now:
USS Utah AG-16
On Hold
1/350 USS Portland CA-33 1942
1/350 Trumpeter Texas with a twist


Report this post
Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
PostPosted: Thu Jan 24, 2019 8:03 pm 
Offline

Joined: Sun Jan 04, 2015 9:25 am
Posts: 45
Location: Green Mountains of Vermont
Matt and Devin, thanks, super helpful. It looks like it has a canvas cover in one of the pictures, so
I may try to model it that way, if I cannot find suitable photo etch to model it with.


Report this post
Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
PostPosted: Thu Jan 24, 2019 8:14 pm 
Offline

Joined: Sun Jan 04, 2015 9:25 am
Posts: 45
Location: Green Mountains of Vermont
Something interesting about Ranger in the time period I'm looking at her... her hanger doors did not roll up like garage doors, they slid along a track side-to-side:

Image


That'll be interesting to try to model, huh? It looks like as-built, the doors had very hangar-y windows at the top, which were then painted over (like the windows on the secondary conn under the forward flight deck) at some later date.


Last edited by Aggie on Fri Jan 25, 2019 9:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Report this post
Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
PostPosted: Thu Jan 24, 2019 9:14 pm 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: Fri Jan 11, 2019 4:11 pm
Posts: 62
I like the work you are doing so far.....Cheers Mark

_________________
If I was your Wife I would poison your Tea
If I was your Husband I would drink it

Winston Churchill


Report this post
Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
PostPosted: Fri Jan 25, 2019 8:36 am 
Offline

Joined: Sun Jan 04, 2015 9:25 am
Posts: 45
Location: Green Mountains of Vermont
I modified the island's splinter railing to look like it did in 1936; I was able to carefully cut away the existing railing and re-use sections of it, which maintained the 'lip' on the railing:

Image

It's going to need some more careful puttying/priming/sanding, but it's most of the way there. I'm approaching having the 'archway' doors to their proper size and shape, too.


Report this post
Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
PostPosted: Thu Jan 31, 2019 11:11 am 
Offline

Joined: Sun Jan 04, 2015 9:25 am
Posts: 45
Location: Green Mountains of Vermont
Continuing to work on Ranger by removing objects on the flight deck that weren't there in 1936, which includes arresting/barrier locations, and the mounts for the clipping rooms that were added (I think in '42) which then had AA mounts placed on top.
Image
Aft of the island, by using a sharp chisel blade, and working slowly, I was able to lift the housing mount as one piece, almost flush with the deck. One nice thing is that, inside that housing, as you can see, is wooden flight deck and tie-down strip still molded in. So, all you have to do is re-scribe over the blank area left by the mount. Using a small metal straightedge is really helpful to keep the scribe lines straight. The Tru-Color Mahogany should help to hide any goofs.
Image
Forward of the island, same thing, except in this case I think I need to move the barrier location back out to the edge of the flight deck... I suspect it was moved in when the housing was added. You can also see where I modded the mounting area for the island, so that when one looks in the archways, you won't see that thick curb of plastic.

Another weird thing for people building Ranger in any time period: Trumpeter located the bomb elevators on the hangar level, but left them off the flight deck... here's where they should be, forward and aft of the forward elevator:
Image
The thing to do would be to tape the bomb elevators off, and use Squadron white putty to add them in. Or, use some rectangles fabricated from leftover photo-etch? Hmmm...


Report this post
Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
PostPosted: Thu Jan 31, 2019 10:17 pm 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: Fri Jan 11, 2019 4:11 pm
Posts: 62
That is some very clean and very nice work so far.....Cheers Mark

_________________
If I was your Wife I would poison your Tea
If I was your Husband I would drink it

Winston Churchill


Report this post
Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
PostPosted: Fri Feb 01, 2019 9:31 am 
Offline

Joined: Sun Jan 04, 2015 9:25 am
Posts: 45
Location: Green Mountains of Vermont
Surfsup63 wrote:
That is some very clean and very nice work so far.....Cheers Mark


Thanks!

Hopefully, this weekend I can get to the bomb elevators, and finish re-working barrier locations... I'm on the lookout for
photo etch for the barrier supports, as I'm going to have to re-locate several of them.


Report this post
Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
PostPosted: Tue Feb 05, 2019 4:23 pm 
Offline

Joined: Sun Jan 04, 2015 9:25 am
Posts: 45
Location: Green Mountains of Vermont
Progress! I ground off the bow gun tub, at first using a Dremel with a sanding wheel, then file, and lastly garnet paper; I also fashioned a new bulkhead, and took off the extensions that were added in '42, so the forward bulkhead sits further back, now, allowing room for the as-built secondary conn:
Image

I also cut off the stern gun tubs, again with Dremel and files, but left a 'shelf' for the as-built fantail extension:
Image

Fan-tail extension in place on the model:
Image

Prototype pic of the fantail extension:
Image


Report this post
Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
PostPosted: Wed Feb 13, 2019 5:39 pm 
Offline
Model Monkey
Model Monkey

Joined: Sat Aug 20, 2005 9:27 pm
Posts: 3952
Location: USA
Following with great interest! Love carriers in their pre-war configurations.

_________________
Have fun, Monkey around.™

-Steve L.

Complete catalog: - https://www.model-monkey.com/
Follow Model Monkey® on Facebook: - https://www.facebook.com/modelmonkeybookandhobby


Report this post
Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
PostPosted: Wed Feb 13, 2019 8:53 pm 
Offline

Joined: Tue Jan 11, 2005 10:56 am
Posts: 8561
Location: New York City
This is really nice work.


Report this post
Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
PostPosted: Fri Feb 15, 2019 1:05 pm 
Thanks, fellas! I've been working on getting aircraft to look less 'toylike', and I'm finding that photo etch and
Starfighter Decals go a long way (not an aircraft for Ranger, specifically, of course!):

Image

I have found the Trumpeter aircraft really need 'remanufacturing', involving plugging existing holes with Evergreen
plastic rod, then re-drilling mounting holes to get wings to rest at the correct angles and levels:
Image


Report this post
Top
  
Reply with quote  
PostPosted: Mon Feb 25, 2019 8:07 am 
Offline

Joined: Sun Jan 04, 2015 9:25 am
Posts: 45
Location: Green Mountains of Vermont
Worked on several aspects of my 1936 Ranger this weekend; first up was spending some time working on a new stern round-down. I cut off the existing, shortened one with a razor saw, again leaving a little 'shelf' to attach the new section of flight deck to:
Image

Sticking with the flight deck work theme, I also trimmed the deck back to its 1936 appearance:
Image

Up underneath the forward flight deck, I started re-working the girders to look more like the prototype; I also shaped the face for the as-built secondary conn:
Image
You can see the underside of the forward flight deck pretty clearly in this pic:
Image

Lastly, did some work on some aircraft for Ranger, specifically 3D-printed F4B-4s. I cut out the outside struts, and the
struts between the wheels, replacing them with photoetch and wire:
Image

Image

It's coming along slowly, but it's mostly just a weekend thing...


Report this post
Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
PostPosted: Tue Feb 26, 2019 10:36 am 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: Mon May 21, 2007 5:49 pm
Posts: 1586
Location: The beautiful PNW
Very nice!!

Matt

_________________
In the yards right now:
USS Utah AG-16
On Hold
1/350 USS Portland CA-33 1942
1/350 Trumpeter Texas with a twist


Report this post
Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
PostPosted: Mon Apr 08, 2019 6:27 pm 
Offline

Joined: Fri Feb 22, 2019 8:21 pm
Posts: 77
Looking good!

_________________
Michael

Love building and CAD modeling WWII Capital Ships

1/1200 Battle of Hampton Roads diorama in progress
1/1200 1945 USS Pennsylvania CAD model in progress


Report this post
Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 23 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2  Next

All times are UTC - 6 hours [ DST ]


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Bing [Bot], JCRAY, JIM BAUMANN, Majestic-12 [Bot], Martocticvs and 66 guests


You can post new topics in this forum
You can reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Jump to:  
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group