The Ship Model Forum

Hi again! Are you bored yet!

Too bad!! Here's the next 10 photos:



I placed the 1st Superstructure Deck in place here just so you could see where Turret #2 goes. This photo shows it straight out of the box with nothing done to it.



















OK, that's the 2nd batch of 10. I have 6 more to post but my wife and I have to go over to church and work in the kitchen for a few hours. I'll post the remaining 6 when I get back.

Laters!!

_________________
Larry Steiner


Completed: 1:200 USS Missouri (Monster Mo)
Next project: Definitely NOT another big ship!!

Was going to leave it until you had posted them all but, I have to say Larry, I have to interrupt to say it is so neat, precise and clean. I just hope mine comes out somewhere close to this, will have to concentrate more I think!

A real credit to you and worth every minute of all the hours work you have put in.

Cheers, Jabb

_________________
HMS Hood, the big one!

I used to be indecisive, now I'm not so sure.

It's me again!

I know you're getting sick of me by now, but here's the last 6 photos. Then I'll get out of your hair.











And now for the last photo - what a way to end this series with a shot of my terrible looking stern. It's really ugly, isn't it?



A lot of people have asked me what I'm going to do with this ship when I finish it? Truthfully, I have no idea! I definitely am going to enclose it in a protective case to keep the dust off, but other than that, I haven't decided. I'm thinking of possibly displaying it for a while here at home and then possibly donating it to the Veterans Home here in Grand Rapids. Who knows - that's a long ways down the road.

_________________
Larry Steiner


Completed: 1:200 USS Missouri (Monster Mo)
Next project: Definitely NOT another big ship!!

Awesome looking PE!!!!

Hi! Did you think I've died? Good Lord, I can't believe it's been that long since I've posted here. Seven months!! Guys, I apologize, I'm really falling down on the job. However, I will say this in my defense that when you have a house and yard that needs to be kept up, as well as a wife that absolutely LOVES to see how long she can make her "Honey-Do" list, that modeling time becomes a low priority. Then, winters here in Michigan are no picnic, not to mention that I'm trying to set up the equipment and procedure so that our church can live stream our service. But, yeah, I know - enough excuses. You want to see pictures of model boats! OK, Let's do this.

When I left off, If I recall, I had pretty much completed the main deck and was about ready to start on the superstructure, namely, the first deck of the superstructure. Here you see it exactly as it came out of the box, unpainted but with the flash removed. Doesn’t look all that impressive but hopefully it will look better when I'm done.



The first thing we do is to drill out the portholes with a hand drill. I decided that I wanted a couple of the hatches opened so I drilled out the opening using my Dremel. Then I added the ladder rungs. Luckily they give you a drilling template, as you see here. Drilling is done by hand with a 0.3mm drill.



The next step is to glue in the porthole rings and the “eyebrows” above the portholes. You can select the portholes as being either open or closed. There is enough brass photo-etch supplied with the Pontos detail kit for whatever pattern you choose (providing you don’t screw too many up!)



This photo shows the porthole rings glued in place. As you can see, some are open while others are closed. Also, note that I added are brass hand wheels on some of the hatches. Yeah, I had to buy these extra, too. Dang boat is costing a fortune!



All the side detail is removed with an X-acto knife and sandpaper. This includes fire hoses, life preservers, and vent pipes. I’m going to add my own detail since it’s much more realistic than molded on items.



Now we’re ready to paint. The sides get a coat of primer and a final coat of Haze Gray acrylic. When dry, this is masked and a coat of Deck Blue is sprayed on the tops of the 5” gun platforms I'm using Model Masters paint for this because I thought the Tamiya Haze Gray was too dark. And, after looking at several colors, I selected Model Masters Intermediate Blue for the vertical surfaces.



Next comes the waterways, or “scuppers”. These are strips of Pontos brass photo-etch (PE) that have been primed and sprayed Intermediate Blue.



The plastic part has an embossed deck pattern but the Pontos detail kit includes an actual wooden deck. It’s extremely thin and very fragile, which for my clumsy fingers is not a good combination.



The wood deck is adhesive backed, but many model ship builders here have complained that it does not stick down properly over time. To prevent this, we instead glue the decking down using artists matt gel medium. An 8 ounce bottle like this costs around $14.



We kill the adhesive on the back of the decking with Krylon clear spray and then slather on the matt gel, making sure every bit of the surface on both parts is covered.



I don't know what the image limit is on a single post, so I'll stop here and continue on Part 2.

_________________
Larry Steiner


Completed: 1:200 USS Missouri (Monster Mo)
Next project: Definitely NOT another big ship!!

OK, Here's Part 2:

The gel doesn’t dry right away so we can position the deck where we want it. Then we make sure there are no bubbles or air pockets underneath, and using a brush and water, we clean all the excess off and set it aside to dry overnight.



Now we’re ready to start adding detail to the sides of the deck. I’m using a set of plans for the ship from The Floating Drydock that shows the deck in accurate detail as to what should be placed where. Yep, these plans cost extra too, but they are a little over 9 feet long and worth every penny! Unfortunately though, a lot of the detail shown on these plans are not included in either the ship kit or the two detail kits and must be hand made. Here's an example of what these plans show:



Space is limited on a battleship and consequently, every foot of unused space in utilized as storage for equipment of some type or another. Which means, there’s a ton of crap hanging off the sides of the decks.



Here I've placed a dime next to this part so you can get a relative idea if the size of small parts I'm dealing with. Now, mind you, this ship model is 53 inches long. That's 4-1/2 feet! A magnifying glass is a must!



Once both sides of the deck are detailed (we’ll show more of that later), we turn our attention elsewhere. As you may imagine, a model of this size and this delicate must be screwed down to a base. Up until now, the ship has been mounted on a temporary base that is not nearly as long as the ship. Now, though, we must mount it to a permanent base before we go any further. Once we glue the first superstructure deck to the ship, the opening you see here will be partially covered up and we won’t be able to get to the holes to screw the ship down. So, it’s time to build a base.



I don't know how many of you saw the photos of Hank's (BB62Vet) finished New Jersey mounted in it's case, but I likes the idea he had so much I contacted him to see if he could tell me about it. He graciously gave me the details as well as the sizes and how he built it (Thanks again, Hank!). For my base, though, I chose cherry to make the base out of. I bought two really nice cherry planks from a local guy who planed them down to the proper thickness for me. (Another $50 down the drain!) I cut them to size, then I cut out an opening in the bottom board so it wouldn’t be so heavy ( unfortunately, it still is!). After sanding for a half day, I finished the boards with 5 coats of hand rubbed water based poly, sanding between coats. Not to brag, but they are as smooth as glass. (I was going to say a newborn baby's butt, but since this is a public site, I won't.



Normally big, elaborate ship models are mounted on brass pedestals, but I didn’t want to do this. I wanted something different - something on the order of what Hank mounted his New Jersey on. I wanted my ship to rest on keel blocks. And even more, I wanted the keel blocks to emulate the layout of keel blocks that were installed in the drydock where the Missouri went for its last refit. Here’s a picture if what the drydock looked like - before it was filled with water, of course!



My pattern isn’t exactly the same, but it’s close enough for me. I used walnut for the keel blocks to provide a contrast to the lighter cherry wood. Besides, I had the walnut so it didn’t cost me anything.



I used 288 walnut blocks 3/8” x 3/8” x ¼” spaced every ¼” apart. Actually, it was easier to do than it looks. The hardest part was cutting them out. My thumb suffered an injury from the blade of my hobby saw. Told you earlier I was clumsy!



At the same time I was cutting out the keel blocks, I found a local acrylic fabricating company that could make me a clear acrylic case for this ship. If any of you are from southwest Michigan, I highly recommend a company called PlexiCase, located here in Grand Rapids. They were competitive, dependable, and did an excellent job. This case only cost $235. (Yeah, I know! More $$$$$$)

_________________
Larry Steiner


Completed: 1:200 USS Missouri (Monster Mo)
Next project: Definitely NOT another big ship!!

Part 3:

Plexicase borrowed the base and made the case to fit exactly over the lip of the bottom board. They did it in only a couple weeks, too. I promised them that when I finished the model, they could put it on display in their showroom for a month or so. They were delighted to hear that. Sure hope I finish it before they go out of business!



The case is 60” long, 10” wide, and 15” high. It is make of 3/8” acrylic and the seams are rounded and flame treated for smoothness. The ship is 53” long, which gives 3-1/2” clearance at both bow and stern. I’m having a nameplate engraved for the case, but it’s not finished yet. And yes, the case IS high enough. I may be dumb, but I ain't stupid!



This and the next three pictures show the ship resting on the keel blocks. Looks kinda neat, don't you think?



I think this looks a lot nicer than if the ship was mounted on a couple pedestals.



Another shot of the ship resting on keel blocks. This is a lot more work than using pedestals, but I think it looks a whole lot better.



The stern of the ship mounted on the base. I don't know if I told you or not, but the silver colored strips on the prop shafts are zinc anti-corrosion plates. There are some on the rudders also. This is actually automotive striping tape!


This is an overall side view shot of the ship mounted on it’s base. A 36” yardstick is placed in front of the model to show the relative size of both the ship and the base. This is one BIG ship!! And please don't ask me where I'm going to put it!



The next several pictures show close-ups of the detail on the sides of the first superstructure deck. The angled tubes you see on the outside of the 20mm splinter shield are spare gun barrels for the 20mm guns. Also, note the 9 gun crew helmets located on the outside of the 40mm gun tub. These items were all made out of bits and pieces of plastic. They are not part of any kit.



Here we are starting at the front of the starboard side of deck #1. We see a hose reel, fire hose, and life preserver. Note that all the vent pipes are hand made from thin brass rod, with a tiny dab of CA glue at the tip.



This view shows the detail of one of the 40mm quad Bofors gun mounts as well as the ladders and miscellaneous equipment hanging from the deck sides. I see from this photo that the open hatch is slightly drooped, which has since been corrected. This deck has not been glued down yet, resulting in the visible gap where it joins the hull deck. Note that many of the vent pipes are "kicked out" at the bottom about 4-5 inches. This bit of information came from the TFD plans.

_________________
Larry Steiner


Completed: 1:200 USS Missouri (Monster Mo)
Next project: Definitely NOT another big ship!!

Part 4:

Progressing further aft on the starboard side, we see the life rings, the fire hoses, and the compressed air cylinders. There are red fire water nozzles that are glued to the main deck near every fire hose. These have not been added yet. I’ll do that after deck #1 is glued down. The short squat compressed air cylinders are acetylene, the ones with the green top are oxygen, and the ones with the white top at the far left are hydrogen. This is the way the tanks were painted in 1945.



This is a little further aft on the starboard side. Note the hoist on the side of the 5” gun platform. The two red valves above the fire hose are identified on the blueprints as steam cutoff valves. Also, the compressed air tanks with the yellow top are dichlorodifluromethane, which is used as a refrigerant. The location of the compressed gas bottles I've shown here and not actually as positioned in 1945. I'm trying to show a representation of the types of gas bottles that might appear on the ship.



This is a closer view and shows the detail of the front of a 5” gun mount. There are 10 of these on the ship, 5 on each side. Also, if you look very closely at the white fire hose, the nozzles are painted red. A good magnifying glass is a definite necessity when building this ship!



This is the aft starboard portion of Deck #1 – and actually part of deck #2 as well. I painted the ventilator intakes black behind the gray grids to make them look more realistic. The grids are actually separate brass pieces. Note that there is another open hatchway here.



Now we start down the port side of deck #1, looking at the locker room and also turret #2. Again, the side of this deck is cluttered with all sorts of equipment and hardware.



Progressing a little further back, we see 5” gun turrets, a fire hose, a life ring, vent pipes, and more gas cylinders. The ones with the red tops contain propane and/or other fuel gasses. The solid black ones contain just compressed air.



I took this next shot to show the detail on the back of the 5” gun turrets. Note the hatches to gain access to the insides of the turret and also the two shell ejection chutes. These little snots were a bugger to make. Took me a couple weeks to make all 10 of these assemblies. Building a model like this as actually building dozens of small models and then putting them all together. Well, more or less!



Here we’re looking at the aft end of deck #1 in the port side. Still more hardware mounted on the side. The brown topped cylinders are ethyl chloride and the red valve is another steam cutoff valve. I have no idea what the yellow valve is, the plans don’t tell me. The ventilator grill on this side was painted black behind the grill also. Yeah, the 40mm gun mount looks crooked, I agree. I’ll have to straighten it. Close-up photography is great at pinpointing problem areas!



I took this to show that there is stuff mounted on the sides of the 5” gun platforms. Here we have a hose reel, a fire hose, a loudspeaker and a rack with mops. No, these weren’t included in the kit! I had to make them by unraveling string and gluing strands to a plastic rod. Then I had to drill tiny holes in the rack. I have to make two more of them for deck 2, too - UGH!



And speaking of deck #2, I set it in place temporarily so you could get an idea of what I’m working on next. I’m building this beast from the bottom up, however a lot of the railings and other really intricate detail won’t go on until the ship is nearly complete. They’re way too fragile. Also, there is quite a bit of detail that mounts on the main deck in front of deck 1 that isn’t in place yet. Things like ladders, winches, fire nozzles, etc.

_________________
Larry Steiner


Completed: 1:200 USS Missouri (Monster Mo)
Next project: Definitely NOT another big ship!!

Part 5:

Here’s a closer look at the next deck – and part of deck 3 as well. You can see I have the portholes drilled out and the porthole rings glued in place, as well as the handles on the hatches. There’s a long way yet to go on this sub-assembly. One thing I have to do is to make a few Stokes Litters from scratch to mount on the side of this deck, and I have absolutely no idea how I’m going to do that. But that’s what makes this fun and exciting, right?? We call that “Improvising”!



I don’t know if you noticed or not, but several placed throughout these pictures, you’ve seen ladders going up the sides of the deck. These are made using individual rungs, a pair of very sharp pointed tweezers, and a magnifying glass (and a glass of wine, depending on how many of the little buggers I have to glue in!).



There are brass PE patterns for every place there is a ladder of this type, and a whole sheet of tiny rungs – which is a good thing, because you lose almost at many as you get glued in! Oh, and you use Elmer’s glue diluted 50/50 with water to glue them in. And, you glue them in by using the tip of a sewing needle. CA glue (super glue) would be a disaster with these. You tape the pattern in place, then VERY CAREFULLY drill 0.3mm (0.0118 inches) holes where the pattern indicates. And incidentally, you buy the drill bits 10 to a pack from Amazon. I’m on my 4th pack. You look cross-eyed at them and they break!



OK, Friends, that's it for now. I do have more done than what's shown here, but it'll be a bit before I can post more. I have to set up my tripod, take the photos, then clean them up a bit before I can let you see them. In the meantime, take care, wash your hands, and make damn sure you don't get this crazy virus!

_________________
Larry Steiner


Completed: 1:200 USS Missouri (Monster Mo)
Next project: Definitely NOT another big ship!!

Larry,

Your model is coming along A-1, very impressive!! I used a slightly simpler method with my rungs (cryo, tweezers, and deep breath) after the hole patterns were removed. Varying results and V-E-R-Y thin patience!!!

I appreciate you mentioning my display base method and using it - I think you got a much better deal on your Plexiglas cover than I did. But, since the War of Northern Regression (when all the industry moved North!!! ) I have to pay major shipping costs for items such as that....and now Toilet Paper, to boot!!!

Your treatment of the various gas cylinders was w-a-y beyond my painting scheme - and I must compliment you on your painstaking work - excellent overall!!!

Keep up the excellent work!!!

Hank

_________________
HMS III
Mocksville, NC
BB62 vet 68-69

Builder's yard:
USS STODDARD (DD-566) 66-68 1:144, Various Lg Scale FC Directors
Finished:
USS NEW JERSEY (BB-62) 67-69 1:200
USN Sloop/Ship PEACOCK (1813) 1:48
ROYAL CAROLINE (1748) 1:47
AVS (1768) 1:48

Greetings and salutations, Friends,

Yep, that's right, it's been close to a year since I last posted here. To be honest, I thought long and hard about even making this post, but I finally decided to go ahead and do it. The reason for all this?? Well, it seems that I got some private messages from a couple individuals who for whatever reason decided to take issue with my abilities, or lack thereof, as a model builder. For a number of reasons, the beginning of the COVID pandemic, my mental health at the time, and the efforts I was putting into this ship, I took offense at these "rivet counters" and their "I don't know why you have the gall to post on this site" attitude and decided that I would do just that and stop posting here. Instead, I joined a Facebook group called "Mediocre Modeler's", which apparently was more my style. However, I still visited this site daily and continued to communicate with several of my closest friends here.

Recently, I guess I've mellowed some and learned to put on my "Big Girl Panties" and not let the opinions of a few upset me. I'm building this ship for ME! No one else, and if they have a problem with that, tough! No, it's not perfect. Far from it. I've made lots of mistakes and also learned a ton. But I've had fun and if you look at this ship from a couple feet away, especially when it's in the case, I think it looks pretty damn nice - at least my fellow "Mediocre Modeler's" think so!

So, I decided to bring you up to date with this build and show you what I've done and why I've done it during the past year. I've got probably close to 100 pictures to post, which I'll try to do over the next few days. No, it's not quite done yet. It's getting there - I'm maybe 85% done and yes, it's starting to look like a battleship. I still don't get a chance to work on it as much as I want; I'm still married to SWMBO (She Who Must Be Obeyed) and I still own a house, which takes a lot of time and money! Plus, I'm now 78 years old and don't get around as fast as I used to. In addition to my 2 knee replacements, I had a hip replacement last June and yes, I've had both my COVID vaccination shots, so I'm hoping I'm good for however long it takes to finish this beast!

So, with all that jabbering, I suppose you want to see some pictures of my 'Monster Mo". OK, Here's the first 10 shots.

When I last left off, I was starting the second deck of the superstructure, starting to add the portholes, eyebrows, and grab irons from the Pontos Detail kit. For those of you who don't remember, here is what the Pontos detail kit looks like.




It consists of a wood deck, 299 pieces of turned brass, 18 sheets of Photo Etch, 33 resin parts, and 16 round life preservers. It's an awesome kit and well worth the money.

I'm building this ship from the bottom up, so the next step involves adding decks 2 and 3 and the associated detail that goes with them.



As you can see in the following picture, I added some detail to the life rafts. I took Evergreen plastic rod, cut it to length, and squeezed one end flat to simulate oars. I then also tied the stack of rafts down with fine wire to make things look more realistic.



Here is more added detail to the ship. Note that the superstructure is not yet glued down to the deck, resulting in a slight gap. The net baskets have fine fabric (called Toule) rolled up in the bottom and small pieces of plastic rod painted brown on top. The triangular protrusions on the conning tower and below the windows are antenna lead-in for when I attach the rigging to. Also note that I added windscreen wipers where they were found. The one turned out OK, but the rear one not so good. I since have replaced it with a better one. And oh yeah, there's a rack to hold spare stanchions at the base of the conning tower. The Floating Drydock plans I have indicate this is present.



Here's a closer view of the life rafts as well as a mop rack. Hey, they look like mops, don't they? If you use your imagination??



This next view shows the various compressed gas bottles that were carried aboard the Missouri during WWII. The ones with a green top are Oxygen and the short, stubby ones with grey tops & a red stripe are acetylene. Also shown are the spare gun barrel tubes attached to the outside of the splinter shield of the level 3 20mm gun position.




If you look just inside the passageway between the port and starboard sides of the ship, you will see a rack of compressed cylinders of propane secured to the wall. Just more detail that my TFD plans show.



According to the plans, there is a spare seaplane float secured to the deck at this position. I had to buy a box of (5)Kingfisher seaplanes to get this extra float! Here also, you can see my first feeble attempt at making Stokes Litters. Needless to say, they probably rate a C- at best. Later on, you will see I replaced these with ones that are much better!



OK, I guess that my limit of 10 pictures per post is reached, so I'll post this and, hopefully, I'll get another set posted shortly. And, let me say this: I WILL accept constructive criticism. In fact I welcome it. But, if you're going to PM me just to gripe and tell me I suck, then you can kiss my ass. Like I said, I'm building this for ME, and while I would prefer that you appreciate my efforts, I really don't give a rat's ass if you do or don't.

Laters, Friends.

_________________
Larry Steiner


Completed: 1:200 USS Missouri (Monster Mo)
Next project: Definitely NOT another big ship!!

I really don't know who would have the gall to insult your build, but I bet they are all outliers on the statistical scales........ I think this is a gorgeous model that I would be very proud of! So glad you are back and showing progress. COVID sucks......

Regards,
Timothy

Larry,

1st - You D Man!!! I'm glad you posted your feelings - I sometimes feel the same thing - either they complain, or as is the current case on my DD build, they visit and don't leave any message or comments - that's to me just as frustrating as the complainers. Anyhow, BRAVO for speaking up!!!

Now, you need to STOP adding so much detail - You're Killing Me!!!!!

Your build is excellent, Mein Freund, keep it up!!!

Hank

_________________
HMS III
Mocksville, NC
BB62 vet 68-69

Builder's yard:
USS STODDARD (DD-566) 66-68 1:144, Various Lg Scale FC Directors
Finished:
USS NEW JERSEY (BB-62) 67-69 1:200
USN Sloop/Ship PEACOCK (1813) 1:48
ROYAL CAROLINE (1748) 1:47
AVS (1768) 1:48

Thanks, Hank, and you too, Tim! I appreciate the vote of confidence - and, the boost to my ego. It's guys like you who made me decide to come back and bore you with my "mediocre" attempts at model building. No, let's be honest, I'll never be as good as some of the guys here. Their talent blows me away, especially the folks who add so much detail to those 1:350 scale kits. My fingers are way too fat and my eyesight is way too bad to even begin to match that kind of perfection. But, I'm having fun, I'm learning a boatload of new stuff, and, I like what I've done so far. If I ever decided to tackle one of these monster man-killers again, I undoubtedly will do a much better job.

However, I've decided to go over to the dark side on my next build. Yes, I'm going to tackle an airplane!! I have a 1:32 model of the Trumpeter F-14D Super Tomcat with about $250 worth of 3rd party add-on parts that I'm going to play with next. Not a whole lot of added detail to dress it up with, but I am going to try to expand my painting abilities. Not sure I'll try weathering just yet, I'm one of those guys who thinks the F-14 is too beautiful an aircraft to muck it all up with dirt and grime.

But not to worry, I've still got a long way to go on this ship. I have 300 sailors and officers that has to be painted and added to the decks of the ship. Plus, I am in the process of going back and trying to correct some of the blunders I made earlier on, and, let's not forget all the rigging there is on this blasted boat. Which reminds me, Hank: What size EZ-Line did you use when you rigged your New Jersey? I bought some of each, thinking that the thin (.02") would be best because it would represent 4" rope at 1:200. However, when trying a sample, it's so fine you can hardly see the stuff. The heavy (.04") looks better, but it's not protypical. What did you use on your battlewagon?

Laters, Gents

_________________
Larry Steiner


Completed: 1:200 USS Missouri (Monster Mo)
Next project: Definitely NOT another big ship!!

Larry,

I'll have to check out in the shop and I'll let you know tomorrow. I have (I think) 3 sizes...maybe 2 sizes??? - in any event I'll reply tomorrow after I check.

Hank

_________________
HMS III
Mocksville, NC
BB62 vet 68-69

Builder's yard:
USS STODDARD (DD-566) 66-68 1:144, Various Lg Scale FC Directors
Finished:
USS NEW JERSEY (BB-62) 67-69 1:200
USN Sloop/Ship PEACOCK (1813) 1:48
ROYAL CAROLINE (1748) 1:47
AVS (1768) 1:48

Seriously, people gave you grief for the level of your work?! That's not right... I see nothing to be ashamed of and a lot to admire. Your build is top tier!

Haters gonna hate I guess... I get it from time to time too. Such is the interwebs... too many trolls in the world.

But hey, maybe we can bring back old times now that we're both back building our 1/200 monsters!

_________________
-Jason Channell

Current Project: 1/200 Bismarck

Looks good Larry! At least you have the great benefit of considerable patience (which I lack). Good job on the base and case, something which I have yet to build for any model. One has no idea what the drive by viewers think. I've had some 15,000 views of my APA and only about a half dozen people who comment. Maybe in my case it's a matter of "if you can't say something nice...". I've been going back and replacing a lot of earlier home made parts with newer and better home made parts on Alaska and Missouri in 1:192. I've even replaced some commercial parts!

Keep plugging away! Very nice cumulative work! Tom

Greetings, Peoples,

I figure it's about time to share a few more pictures of my plastic toy boat. So, here we go:

This shot shows gas bottles, hose reels, life rafts, fire suppression equipment and again, my feeble attempt at making a Stokes litter. I painted the area behind the air intake grills black to make them stand out better.



A few places on the ship I opened up the hatchways for a little more realism. You can see where a 20mm AA gun mounts here and also the ammunition racks that are mounted on the inside of the 40mm gun tub. Those of you who built or are building this ship know what a pain these can be!



Here's a close up of the oars and the tie downs I added to the life rafts. Gives a little added realism to the ship.



Now we're on the port side working our way up toward the bow. Pretty much the same as on the starboard side.



The kit doesn't mention it, but my plans show a rack mounted here containing refueling hoses. So, thanks to Evergreen shapes, we now have said rack, complete with hoses.




Working our way forward on the port side of the ship.






The ladder on that last photo looks really beat up. Yes, I have replaced it since this photo was taken.

_________________
Larry Steiner


Completed: 1:200 USS Missouri (Monster Mo)
Next project: Definitely NOT another big ship!!

Larry,

You've done an outstanding job!!! I wish I had thought of those open doors back when NEW JERSEY was in the shipyard I've sort of done the same thing here n there on my current build.

Great job!!!

Hank

_________________
HMS III
Mocksville, NC
BB62 vet 68-69

Builder's yard:
USS STODDARD (DD-566) 66-68 1:144, Various Lg Scale FC Directors
Finished:
USS NEW JERSEY (BB-62) 67-69 1:200
USN Sloop/Ship PEACOCK (1813) 1:48
ROYAL CAROLINE (1748) 1:47
AVS (1768) 1:48

Kind of a toss-up to know where to post this. If the moderators don't like it here, they can move it to the completed section.

THIS SHIP IS FINALLY DONE!!

That's right, friends, this beast is finally finished! After umpteen years, even more $$$, and lots of cussing (+ many bottles of vino!) I can call it finished. The last thing I had to do was paint 368 little people, approx 1/3" tall (360 sailors and officers + 8 Japanese). You wanna know what a pain in the butt that was! Especially the neckerchiefs the sailors wore! By the time I did all that, and positioned them in somewhat resembling a realistic manner, I was more than ready for this thing to be done. So, gang, let's take a look at the final project, shall we?

Here is the entire ship. You can't see a lot of detail in this shot. Be patient, we'll get there.


In case you've forgotten, I elected to mount the ship on simulated keel blocks similar to how they were when the ship was in drydock. I thought it looked nicer than mounting it on a couple brass pedestals.



This next photo shows a yardstick alongside the ship. The model is 53" long overall. It's a big sucker! And yes, if you look close, you can see some of the crew.


Here's a bow-on shot. You might be interested to know there are 4395 individual pieces of brass PE making up this ship. This is from the two Pontos detail kits, various Eduard sets, and the PE that came with the ship. As I finished a subassembly, I listed the parts on an Excel spreadsheet. (Yeah, call me anal!). In case you're interested, the modal contains 6754 discrete parts: 1325 plastic pieces; 730 resin parts, and 305 other misc parts, aside from the PE.


You have seen similar shots, but in case you forgot, here are a few pictures of the starboard side. I'm not showing port side photos as the ship is mostly the same on both sides. You can start to see the little sailors walking around.


I don't think you've seen the boarding ladders. There's one on either side.



Kinda hard to see all the people, but we'll get closer in a little while



Pictures continued on next post:

_________________
Larry Steiner


Completed: 1:200 USS Missouri (Monster Mo)
Next project: Definitely NOT another big ship!!