Trumpeter 1/200 USS Missouri Build Log (Sept 2015 - ?????)

[Fliger747]

I have to laugh! 25 years ago I roughed out my Alaska, superstructure, turrets, directors, gun tubs and I once told someone to was 90% done. Well, as it turns out maybe it was 10% done at that point. It was a project that I putzied away at in an apartment I had in Anchorage where I was flying out of. Tried bringing it home and quickly discovered the predations of CATS... Disliked CATs ever since. So it stayed stored away for a LONG time!

Cheers: T

[steinerman]

So, you don't like cats, huh Tom?

Have you ever seen this? My sister is a cat lover and she didn't speak to me for quite a while after I sent this to her!!

[gott_cha]

I like cats..mine anyway..but that was funny.

Whats not funny, is all the coffee on my keyboard now

[steinerman]

Hi folks, Need a little help here if I may be so kind as to ask.

Subject: USS Missouri - September 1945.

Paint Mfg: Tamaya Acrylic Spray

Question: 1: What color grey is the superstructure?
2: What color is the floor of the gun tubs and other flooring on the superstructure?
3: What color blue was the deck painted?


Thanks a heap!

[Channell]

Hi folks, Need a little help here if I may be so kind as to ask.

Subject: USS Missouri - September 1945.

Paint Mfg: Tamaya Acrylic Spray

Question: 1: What color grey is the superstructure?
2: What color is the floor of the gun tubs and other flooring on the superstructure?
3: What color blue was the deck painted?


Thanks a heap!

Bad news... correct me someone if I'm wrong and/or out of date but I don't think you'll find the right colors in Tamiya as they focus on Japanese military and modern colors. I think Model Masters does ww2 USN colors (or at least a close approximation of haze grey and deck blue) in a rattlecan though...

[Fliger747]

In Measure 22 she was painted 20B (deck blue) for decks, 5H (haze Gray) which at this time was quite dark and the hull parallel with the lowest part of the sheer, 5N, Navy Blue. My Alaska is painted in theses same colors which I mixed from the Snyder and Shorts color chips from Golden Acrylics. Model Master Acyrl does have the deck blue and haze gray, not sure about the match of the Navy Blue.

Colors... always fun!

[Harquebus]

What are you going to do with it when you're done?

Knowing your past experience with R/C, this kit just screams "convert me!". Back in the day an R/C conversion of a plastic ship model was a daunting affair as they were smaller, usually, R/C components were bulkier and heavier and the results were a bit more tender on the water and not much larger than the Tamiya 1/350 battleships which were some of the more popular subjects. But the current glut of large or large scale plastic models makes the whole proposition a cinch. That's certainly where I thought you were going with this build after showing us your creative prowess with the Scarab...

[gott_cha]

What are you going to do with it when you're done?

haahaa i need to read closer...thought you meant the "used' cat! ')

[steinerman]

Well, Harq, and anybody else that's interested,

To be really honest I haven't the foggiest idea of what to do with it yet. One thing I do know is that I'm not going to convert it to RC. This one is just for show. I may sell it, or, possible donate it to some public museum or place that might want to display it. My enjoyment is building models, and once they're done, I find myself more or less losing interest in it.

As for RC boats, I'm currently searching for hull plans for an old Chris Craft mahogany barrel-back. My next RC project is to make a 1/4 scale model of about an 18-24 foot boat. My initial plans were to power it with a weed-eater engine, but with the power of electric motors now days, I might go that route. At any rate, that's quite a ways down the line and who knows, by the time I get around to figuring out what I want for a powerplant, small nuclear cells might be available at a reasonable price.

And by the way, thanks for the complements regarding the Scarab. It turned out great and was a hell of a lot of fun to build. Thing went like a striped-assed ape, too!!!

[steinerman]

.... haahaa i need to read closer...thought you meant the "used' cat! ')

I'm gonna toss it in a pot, add some potatoes and carrots and onions and make stew out of it. What the hell did you think I was gonna do with it!!

[Thomas E. Johnson]

How many sets of Eduard's hull plating do you figure would be needed to plate the entire hull?

[steinerman]

Hi Folks, It's been some time since I've posted on this thread, but I don't want you to get the idea I've given up or abandon this project. The 'Monster Mo" is still very much alive. However, I will add that for some reason I don't seem to have a lot of time to dedicate to it. It's strange, but when I retired I assumed I'd have tons of free time to play. Now I wonder how I ever had time to go to work. But that isn't what this post is about.

I am taking Jason's advice and working at least a couple hours a week on it. Yes, it's not much and yes, it's slow going, but it's progressing and I definitely am not getting anywhere near "burned out". Besides actual work, however, I'm doing a lot of thinking, planning, and revising what I want to do. I recently decided that I wanted to put drop grab irons on my ship, which resulted in a few evenings research and investigation before I found exactly what I wanted - with the help of the great folks on this site, I might add. And, I've been reading Stillwell's book. A fascinating history of the Missouri, in case you haven't read it yet.

Would you believe I'm still working on the 40mm Veterans quad Bofors! Yeah, I've been building guns for close to 5 months now. Tom Johnson is going to have his whole fleet of ships done before I finish this beast. It's hard to imagine, though, that something that can fit on a quarter and have room to spare can have so many blasted little parts (36 to be exact). Some of them you can't even see when the whole gun mount is done. A few of you have said that one of these big boats is nothing but a collection of smaller kits, and I'm starting to see what you mean. Anyway, I have 10 of the quads together and aside from the final painting and minor tweeking and straightening of gun barrels, sight shields, and foot pedals, they're done. I've been trying to do at least 2 o 3 a week. I think they look halfway decent.

I started out following Jason's tutorial on how to put these together but when I got to the gun sights and the curved sight shield I ran into problems. I had trouble getting them down into where they belonged and after ruining one set, I decided to try a different approach. The next gun set, I added the gun sights and shield to the gun barrels before I glued the guns to the mount. Worked like a charm - for me at least. Now I have the sights on all the rest of the guns and it's not problem at all to see where the sight shields attach. The only thing is, you have to be very careful gluing the guns to the mounts.

So there you have it. I have to spray the little buggers and then brush on a coat of gunmetal on the barrels and recoil springs. And oh yeah, as a final item, glue the ammunition clips to the guns - after I carefully paint the shell tips green.

Take care peoples, and keep on posting your pictures and progress. You wouldn't believe how much I learn from you.

[Channell]

Your bofors look great! Good to see some progress.

About retirement... sounds like you're doing it wrong.

Seriously though, there's nothing wrong with going slow and steady and no need to apologize. These 1/200 battleships are maddeningly huge and complicated projects that take A LOT of time and I think this group is of patient disposition generally (if you don't count understating the release dates of promised aftermarket sets ).

[Mgunns]

I think you are doing a great job with the bofors. As you mentioned, lots of tiny pieces that would literally drive me mad. You are also correct in that a ship is made up of a bunch of smaller models. Each sub assembly is a model in itself and you can claim accomplishment when the sub assembly is complete. Keep up the good work.

[steinerman]

Hi Friends,

I bet you thought I fell off the face of the Earth - or, in Jason's case, that I got discouraged and gave up.

Nope!

I'm still plugging away, except for the past three weeks I've had a cold that turned into bronchitis. Let me tell ya, guys and gals, it's not a good idea to be fooling around with itsy-bitsy pieces of brass when you have a coughing spell. The two do NOT go together!!

Yeah, there's 20 quad Bofors on my Monster Mo and each one of the mounts has 4 of these tiny cartridge clips. But, those are the very last items to be glued in place.

That's right!!! My guns are done!! All 50 of the 20mm Oerlikons and all 20 of the Quad Bofors And you want to know something? The box cover of this kit says there are 1573 pieces to it. That's not including any 3rd party detail kits. Now these 20mm and 40mm guns have a total of 1290 pieces to them all by themselves. Kinda blows ones mind, eh what?

As I was ruining my eyes assembling these little bastards, I seriously wondered at the level of detail. Why on earth would they have the cranks to the Bofors as a separate piece when there is no way in hell you can see them on the finished gun? But, I put them on like a good little modeler. At least I know they're there.

Now, for a little advice. Since these Veterans quad Bofors have so much detail to them, and there are so many pieces, once they are all together, there's literally no place to grab on to break them off the work base. So, I sent a PM to Jason and asked him how he got his off. His reply: Use a razor saw to cut part way through, then gently rock the gun back and forth until it separates. Then carefully sand the bottom to remove any burr or unevenness. I did it and it works like a charm. So don't give me credit for this one - Thank Mr Channell.

Now that the AA guns are done, I can start on the fun stuff! Look for more frequent posts from your friendly neighborhood idiot (Blind idiot, that is!)

Peace, Friends

[robertmelvin]

Stinerman, great work on your Bofors. The number of those buggers, along with the 20 mm's, it truly daunting, even I imagine in 1/200. The repetition can be mind numbing. I do have a question for you. How did you settle on gunmetal for the barrels of the Bofors? If seen photos of Bofors mounts on battleships with the barrels in gunmetal and also painted in the camo color of the ship in that area. What persuaded you to go gunmetal?

BTW, I admire your skill, perseverance, patience, and pure out and out determination in getting that monster built. I have no doubt that when you are done you will have a museum piece sitting on your display shelf.

Bob M.

[steinerman]

Good morning Bob,

How are things down in Kentucky this morning. I gotta tell ya that spring in Michigan is beautiful! It got up to 77 degrees here yesterday and with the sun shining, it sure does make foe a great case of spring fever! Problem is, I'm still coughing like a fiend and my Better Half won't let me outside to play in the dirt.

Now, about your question. Actually, I painted 5 of them gunmetal and after they dried, I didn't like it. It's hard to describe, but they looked blotchy and not very realistic. So, I painted another 5 flat black and decided that they looked a lot better. Result: I ended up painting them flat black and they look OK as far as I'm concerned. Hey, when you stick them on a ship that's 4-1/2 feet long who in the hell is ever going to know the difference?

My next step is the bow gun tub. The kit piece is quite spartan. According to TFD's plans, it needs a phone box, a fire suppression valve, spare gun tubes, cooling tubes, and 2 3" support columns plus the Pontos items in the detail kit. Should keep me busy for a while. Then once I get this done, I get the wonderful job of running the .02" brass wire around the top of the lip I added. Gonna take some steady hands for that job!

Hope your weekend is going well and that your weather is as nice as ours is.

[Mgunns]

Hello Steinerman:

We are having wonderful springlike weather here in Western Wisconsin as well. Hard to be indoors on days like this after a very slow start to spring. I can see that you have taken advantage of the inclement weather up there in the U.P. and have done masterful work with the AA for your model. When you add the after market parts numbering 1200 plus change, it shows your dedication to this build. They look great and I can only imagine your relief to move on the more "meaty" portions of your build.
Looking forward to your next step.

[Channell]

Larry, gotcha covered buddy.

Let me tell you how good it felt to put the very last AA gun on my Nelson yesterday... totally worth it!!

[Scott56]

Hi folks, Need a little help here if I may be so kind as to ask.

Subject: USS Missouri - September 1945.

Paint Mfg: Tamaya Acrylic Spray

Question: 1: What color grey is the superstructure?
2: What color is the floor of the gun tubs and other flooring on the superstructure?
3: What color blue was the deck painted?


Thanks a heap!

I used Tamiya on my Missouri. The combination I used for the deck was XF-50 field blue 5 parts, XF-2 flat white 2 parts. This worked pretty good on mine. I did use their haze grey lacquer for verticle surfaces. If you use Tamiya buy the 23 ml jar of blue. I made 1 bat h and it got me through my Missouri. That said, mine was 1/350 and I added a blue deck. Nice thing about the acrylic is you can brush it in areas finished or hard to mask. I would assume if you used the same blue on a wooden deck you would have the same effect as would have been in 1945. Try on a scrap first as I have NOT tried this. As usual, I'll add this is my 2cents worth. You can download the Tamiya maual from their site and the model number is 78018. Not going to say how accurate their paint scheme is, but it may be a start if not a guide.