Hello again all!
Work continues on the USS Indiana build. Having completed all the resin coating on the hull and lots of sanding, it was time to apply the first few coats of primer to the hull. Here I will be using Hi-Build Red Oxide primer/surfacer, laquer based automotive product. Great stuff for finishing but it is best done outside as it smells very solventy and leaves dust everywhere. Extemely flammable, too.
Let's take a look......................
Here's the bow again. Sorry about all the upside down shots, but thats how I'm working on the hull for now. Note how the primer further smooths things out. This is not sanded yet. I'll be able to see any bad spots very well and correct them at this stage before adding final coats of primer. This procedure could take several days. Note I have added the anchors.
A stern view here, stb. side. Note I have covered the threaded prop shafts with styrene tube to keep the primer off of them. You can see a few minor imperfections here. These will be rectified with "spot putty", sort of a real thick primer that dries fast and fills imperfections in the surface, red in color. Overall, things are looking good.
Another view of the stern, this time from port. These primer coats are not yet sanded. Things will smooth out alot more once I do that. I'll use 220 grit wet or dry sandpaper next.
Another bow shot. The teardrop shape is really evident here. I was pleased with the results of my previous efforts. Again, note the anchors installed. Cast metal from HR Products.
Overall view of the stb. side. Note the little mark on the bilge keel. I bumped into a corner of a wall while moving the ship up and down the stairs, and took a small piece out of the keel. These are made from strip balsa, and although coated with the resin, they are still pretty soft, and can get beat up easily. I should have used styrene strip. The other marks visible are the bolt holes to mount the ship to it's base. I taped them off so as not to dirty up the threads in the t-nuts. The hull looks pretty good so far, not a lot of goobers in it. That's good, less work for me!! I'll fix that bilge keel with autobody filler. Note the armor belt is taped off with masking tape. Lots of detail work in this area to come, so I did not want primer on it yet. Adhesive will stick better to the unpainted styrene in this area.
Forward shot of the bow looking aft. Once a little body work is done and all is sanded out and then reprimed, I'll be ready for final paintwork on the hull before proceeding to topside construction. I was happy that the imperfections on the hull were few. Pay's to do your homework!!
Another shot of the stern here. Everything lining up pretty good so far. A bit more fine tuning on those outboard skegs yet to do, as well as the struts inboard.
The weather here has been rather cool, so I was not able to do primer work until today. While waiting for the temp. to get warmer, I have been working on the master pattern for the 16" 45 cal. main gun turrents. Here is what the progress is so far. When completed, I'll make a mold from this pattern and resin cast three turrents. Much to do yet, but it is coming along.
Here's another view of the turrent master pattern. The top and bottom of the turrent are .040 styrene, while the front, sides and rear are .030 styrene. Inside the turrent is a balsa framework, a center "keel" and ribs along each side to assist in attaching the styrene. Note the blast bag rings. These were made by making a small master pattern from balsa wood, then vac-u-forming that pattern to make a small mold. I then cast the rings from resin. The trunnion block is where the barrels will sit. This block is the same angle as the face of the turret. Drilling the holes for the barrels at the correct angle I wanted, about 15 degrees, was a bit of a challenge.Actually, I can attach the barrels anywhere from -5 degrees to about + 20 degrees angle. This allows for some adjustment when permanantly attaching the barrels to the turrent structure. I can also have each barrel at a different angle if I want, since all three guns could be aimed at different angles on the real ship. Turrents will also be moveable, in case the museum wants a different look! I doubt they will mess with it after the fact.
In this photo the barrels are loosely placed in the trunnion block. Barrels are cnc turned aircraft aluminum.
Here's another view of the turrent. Some of you may be asking,"What's he gonna do for the Blast Bags??" Good question. These things have drove me nuts ever since I built the 1/200 scale Yamato. In that build, I tried to use fabric, like bedsheet material, to duplicate the blast bags. The results were ok, but not great. For those of you who don't know what a blast bag is, it is a rubber shroud that covers the turrent where the gun barrel enters it. This keeps out water and debris. It is a difficult thing to duplicate accuratly. I think I have found a solution to the problem.At least, another attempt at them. Read on......................
Here's my attempt at solving the blast bag configuration. I have made a simple master pattern from balsa wood and modeling clay, seen on the left of the photo. The base and the wood dowel you see are at the correct angle that I want the guns to be at, about 15 degrees. The clay forms the "bag". This pattern was then vac-u-formed with red plastic, which, when heated, is thinner than white plastic. The vac-u formed part is seen on the right. Each time I mold the part the clay moves, so each bag is different than the last. I reform the clay after each "pull" from the master.
And here are the results! Note that everything here is loosely placed for now. Once I permanantly attach the barrels to the turrent, I'll slide the blast bag over the barrel and then glue it to the ring that I have made already, as shown here. Once the bag is attached permanantly, I can "scrunch" it around a bit to make more folds to duplicate the rubber shroud. Since the plastic is very thin, I can't fold it up too much more than you see here, otherwise it will tear. But, that can be fixed too. More fine tuning to come, --I'll get it.
Another view of the turrent, barrels and the blast bags. I'll add a clamping ring around the barrel and the blast bag, made from thin strip styrene, at final assembly. That will cover up the rough edge at the barrel end of the bag.
One last look at the turrent here. Note the folds in the bag don't show up well in this photo, but they are there!!
Thats's it for this update of the BB-58 build. Hope you enjoy!! Back to work!! More to come............. Stay tuned!!
I continue on.....................
Check these few shots out.......................
