1/350 CVN-65 USS Enterprise 2001

[JimVarnellABH2USN]

Doug,

Ok you just need to stop, your as crazy as Laci, No seriously, I'm enjoying following your build, please press on.
Very very very outstanding work!!!!!!
Your up there in the ranks of Ryan, Laci, Red, Kidcurrie, and a few others in a short short list.

[DWD]

Thanks for the comment you guys. Just a quick update. Since I added the perforated decking to the forward starboard sponson, I went ahead and added it to the two aft port and starboard sponsons as well. There is an area of "overhang" that the perforated decking extends past the bulk of the sponson. I also added the support structure underneath as well. The first is the aft starboard, the second is the aft port, and the third is the third is the underside support structure of the aft port sponson.

[DWD]

I started on the insane and daunting task of adding the MANY, MANY vents to the port side of the ship. The kit doesn't quite represent this, so I thought I would change it. I actually began by drawing the vertical lines where the hull stiffeners will be located which helped to locate where the vents would be. These are not completely accurate but will go a long way in representing how many more there actually are than what Tamiya molded on the kit. I went through my reference photos to try and locate these the best that I could. Once I was able to locate all the hull stiffeners, I then began locating the vents. I used a scribing template with different sizes of squares and rectangles to help keep things as straight as possible. I haven't got any of the vent covers installed yet, just the beginning process of locating and removing the material, which is no easy task considering how thick the plastic is. I have some completed vents that I finished on the bow section that were posted earlier in this thread. The rest of these should turn out like those did . . . at least that's what I hope. I actually tried using a dremel tool with tiny drill bits to aid in the removal of the material, which worked well for a while till the bit got hot and started melting plastic and broke three drill bits in the process . . . . so I stopped. Had to use a twist drill powered by armstrong. Dang it's a lot of work, but will be worth it in the end.

[partis]

I really like the work you are putting into her.....Cheers mark

[boomstick68]

Outstanding attention and execution of detail. Bravo.

[FlowerPower]

you flat top guys are crazy! In a positive way, but still...madness! madness!

great show!

[LE BOSCO]

Hello Doug

a titanic work,for a superb result these rectangular openings are not simple to realize
congrats for your mastery of the subject
cheers
Nicolas

[DWD]

Thanks again for all of the comments, it helps keep me motivated, so I greatly appreciate it. I had to take a break from cutting all the vents on the port side of the ship as it was getting a little too mundane and I needed to do something else so I started some work on the aft starboard side on the sponson and added some more hull stiffeners to that area. As I was adding these I was kind of laughing to myself because it looks like I am giving the Big E some tiger stripes!!!

[Bigdaddy Mark]

I was thinking of doing the vents on the Bataan, but that's as far as I went. Now that I see how much it takes to replace them I doubt I'll ever jump into that pool.

[anyahajobuzi]

Hey Doug!

Quality, precision work as usual. Nice, clean cuts troughout again. I got lots of practicing to do when it comes to clean work. I can't wait to see these tiger stripes painted, I am sure you pulled them off just perfect. I was considering doing these on the Nimitz, but didn't find enything thin enough.
Keep up the good work man!

Cheers: Laci

[DWD]

Work continues..........Finally. I am still working on replacing all the vents. At least I have all the vents cut out now which was a pain the @$$! I have a photo that I included that shows some type of pipes in the aft port side of the ship. Maybe someone else may be able to shed some light on what these are, and what they are for. Anyway, I attempted to replicate them on mine. I also added more of the hull stiffeners in this area as well and reshaped the aft port sponson as it should be. The sponson isn't glued into place yet as I still have quite a bit of work to do to it. I probably won't actually add it till way later.

Here is the photo of the pipes I had mentioned. I'm not exactly sure what they are for.

cropped port.png (192.98 KiB) Viewed 1976 times

[LE BOSCO]

Hello DWD

as always, I am a great fan of your WIP, I like your work clean and crisp
the addition of your personal work,gonna make a masterpiece
congrats for your obstinacy
cheers
Nicolas

[JimVarnellABH2USN]

Doug,
Another great update, the Big E is going to be one hell of a master piece when its completed.

[DWD]

Thanks Nicolas and Jim! I appreciate the comments and you guys checking out my project.

[JimVarnellABH2USN]

Well Doug you know we got to show our support in these build projects, and to get ideas for our own builds I too am greatful for you checking out my diorama build updates and the kind words you expressed.



Keep up the fantastic work and I look forward to more progress on your build of this GREAT carrier.

[Astrazoic]

Excellent work - and thank you for posting the results of your research and the progress photos. Very helpful!

[gtbred]

Just great work Doug!

[DWD]

Thanks you guys. Work seems to be going very slowly right now. I have still been working on installing all the vents on the port side of the ship and haven't posted anything in a while as it is very repetitive work. I've only got about half of them installed that I will be putting in. I am cutting each vent out of some photo etch netting material so each vent takes a little bit of time to fabricate. I have also been adding the hull stiffeners as I go along and am completing small sections at a time. Kind of breaks up the monotony of all the vent work. I will try and post some photos tomorrow of the progress. Thanks for following.

[DutchBird]

Thanks you guys. Work seems to be going very slowly right now. I have still been working on installing all the vents on the port side of the ship and haven't posted anything in a while as it is very repetitive work. I've only got about half of them installed that I will be putting in. I am cutting each vent out of some photo etch netting material so each vent takes a little bit of time to fabricate. I have also been adding the hull stiffeners as I go along and am completing small sections at a time. Kind of breaks up the monotony of all the vent work. I will try and post some photos tomorrow of the progress. Thanks for following.

Hello Doug,

this build is extremely interesting, and a true 'how to' guide concerning how to go about superdetailing a ship (of any type) or in fact any model.

Just one thing - not trying to be an annoying know it all or anything; merely wondering, when looking at all the detailing you have done whether you have missed something, or chose to forget it (considering all the work you have done rightfully so).

When looking at the picture where you point out the pipes underneath the aft port side of the ship, that sponson (or whatever it is called) that has the pipes attached to it, in the image, the aft side (non-elevator side) does NOT seem a straight line - unlike the kit part - from the edge of protrusion (where the rafts are attached) to the hul. It seems to be a stretched out 'Z'. The very outer part seems parallel to the inside (the side of the elevator) - the 'break' in the 'Z' occurring where the rounding/curvature of the outside of the sponson (for lack of better word) takes place. Is this optical illusion of the original picture (due to light), or is it really there? Because it seems the side/panel parallel to the elevator side is much lighter (better lighted) than the panel at an angle, and the only way I can explain it is because there is a kink there that is not there in the model.

Or is this kink the result of this picture being of a different era than the one you are depicting?


All that said, keep up the extremely good work, and I do definitely look forward to your next installment. And again, no offense intended with my comment.

Cheers,

Harm

[DWD]

When looking at the picture where you point out the pipes underneath the aft port side of the ship, that sponson (or whatever it is called) that has the pipes attached to it, in the image, the aft side (non-elevator side) does NOT seem a straight line - unlike the kit part - from the edge of protrusion (where the rafts are attached) to the hul. It seems to be a stretched out 'Z'. The very outer part seems parallel to the inside (the side of the elevator) - the 'break' in the 'Z' occurring where the rounding/curvature of the outside of the sponson (for lack of better word) takes place. Is this optical illusion of the original picture (due to light), or is it really there? Because it seems the side/panel parallel to the elevator side is much lighter (better lighted) than the panel at an angle, and the only way I can explain it is because there is a kink there that is not there in the model.

Or is this kink the result of this picture being of a different era than the one you are depicting?


All that said, keep up the extremely good work, and I do definitely look forward to your next installment. And again, no offense intended with my comment.

Cheers,

Harm

Thanks for the comments DutchBird! No offense taken at all sir. I believe what you are looking at in the photo is an optical illusion. The way the light falls and shadows being cast in the photo give the appearance of different angles that are actually straight except at the very bottom where the angle deck attaches to the hull. I have included the original photo that I used for this area and a couple others to show some other angles and close-ups of the same area. I can totally understand how the photo I used can trick the eye so to speak.

Here is the original photo. You can see the shadows that are being cast.

cropped port.png (192.98 KiB) Viewed 1662 times

The red arrow is pointing to a "downspout" that runs vertical along the face of the angled deck and to the bottom. What is significant about this pipe is that in the photo above, this pipe is what is giving the impression of a "break" in the angle when really there isn't one. The angle is continuous until it reaches the curvature up to the deck (I had to sand the kit part a little more to get this curvature as the kit piece is more of a 90 degree angle than the curve it should be). I think because of the curve and the angle of the photo, it makes it look like it goes different directions.

You can see the shadows that are created a little better in this photo.

Here is another. Sorry the picture is a little fuzzy as this one was taken in the rain I guess.

This photo was taken in 1999 just prior to this radar platform being relocated to where you see in the above photos. If you look just left of the platform, you can see the "downspout" that remained.

With all this being said, even with all the work I am doing on this model, I doubt my end result will be anything close to accurate. There are definitely flaws with the kit and my skills as well. I'm pretty sure that anyone else who has tried to replicate an accurate Enterprise with this kit was left feeling kind of disappointed. However, I will be trying my best to portray a good representation of her. Thanks again for your comments and checking out my build. I welcome all comments. Keeps me from messing things up! haha