1/350 USS Bennington (CV-20)

[Captain pugwash]

'Hmmm'. Well you have made up your mind allready.
Its going to your Dad for his 80th.

Like you say you can allways build another
The DC is Looking very good I might add.

[Rdutnell]

Update 63
Well, Captain pugwash, you were correct. Puff124 received a change in her duty assignment yesterday, a promotion really. From her secluded position in the hangar deck to the focus of a display, mounted on black walnut would be considered a step up on any model airship�s record. The orders came down mid-morning and though I was working today, I found time at lunch to stop by the OU Architecture Model (appropriately enough) Shop, grabbed a small spare piece of black walnut, cut it, routed it, and sanded it. Later I put a coat of clear urethane on it, and made decals while letting the urethane dry. And the decal ink had to dry before I could apply the lacquer I use to fix the ink, which then also had to dry. We had a family dinner planned for the special occasion of his 80th birthday and I ran out of time. I tried to rush it, but it looked like ^%$%# so I tore the decals off and took it as it was, with just the plane mounted. I took the plan layout I made so he could see what it would look like and told him I would give it to him later. Here�s what he got, minus the squadron plaque on the right.

So when I got home I set upon finishing it. The decision to not give it to him yet worked out good as I found some errors in the decals I had done, and I had the chance to add some things that I think make it better.

That�s all for now. I was just waiting for the lacquer to dry so I can finish it off. I will have the finished product shortly, so stay tuned.

[Rdutnell]

Update 64
Shortly turned out to be longer than I thought, but then, everything always takes longer than I think it�s going to. I first made sure I was happy with my decals. One of the things I decided to add was a brief description of the build, and identification of the medals my dad was awarded for his service in Viet Nam, the second thing I added. It took several tries until I got it the way I liked it. I then included two of everything in case I had an issue, which I didn�t, and printed them out.

I applied the back description first; both because I thought it might be the most difficult since I had to stand the model on edge to do it and because if I messed it up, well, it's on the bottom. To my amazement, I was able to slide the decal smoothly on with ease.

Then when I started to cut out the front side decals I realized that I hadn�t printed the third feature I decided to add, the scale. I had to print it, wait, spray lacquer on it, and wait again. Fortunately, since I discovered it early, it dried while I was applying which, again, went smooth as silk. I couldn�t be happier with the results.

After I took these pictures, I put a final coat of polyurethane on it, which will take hours to dry, so the final pictures will have to wait until tonight. And then, I promise, I will return to Bennington.
CHEERS!!!

[Rdutnell]

Update 65
Sometimes the elements conspire against you and you have to just make the best of it. I was going to survey today, but it�s raining enough to nix that, but not hard enough for me to collect any flow or sediment data. Well, at least this gave me time to put the final touches on the AC-47 model and photograph it. Here she is, in all her glory.

Final Comments on the AC-47 diversion: This was a thoroughly fun build! In fact, it was so much fun that I could see doing an entire airport diorama in 1/350. It was my first experience with resin and I liked it, except that the wings are a little deformed; noticeable, but not horrible. The biggest issue though is with the base finish. If I was doing it over, I would do a better job on the base, including better sanding and two thin applications of polyurethane before I did anything else. Then I would apply the decals and spray it with high gloss lacquer. I think I might have made a mistake putting the poly over the decals as it seemed to impart some streaking in the white background. The last thing I would do would be to put the plane on. Still, considering the fact that it went from conception to completion in just over 24 hours it came out well.

Now, it�s back to Benny!

[Rdutnell]

Update 66
With the diversion complete, it�s time to get off of the airfield and back in to the ship yard. I returned by painting the hull and island to which I had previously installed piping, boat booms and navigation lights. The goober looking spot in the first picture is just freshly painted. I think it all looks pretty good, even though it is clear that I am not the master that many on this site are.

The hull and island are now ready to be weathered, a process that will be a first for me. Before undertaking that new challenge, I think I will deck out the gallery catwalk bulkheads with �stuff�. It looks pretty naked as it is, out of the box, even with the addition of doors, ladders and fueling stations.

[Rdutnell]

Update 67
The last of my accessories finally arrived today, so I thought I would take stock of everything and document it while in the process. I laid everything out, and took pictures of it. Accessories shown include Gold Medal Models 1/350 PE for USS Essex set, 1/350 WW2 USN Aircraft Details PE set, and 1/350 PE Gold Plus for USS Essex set, as well as some extra PE catwalk pieces Chris Toops gave me; 24�searchlights, 36� searchlights, two sets of MK-51 Directors, sky lookouts, Willy�s jeeps, bicycles, and a perforated sheet from L�Arsenal; White Ensign Models� 1/350 USS Essex Airwing Detail PE Set with Deck Vehicles; two sets of 1/350 Grumman F6F Hellcats from Trumpeter; 1/350 Tamiya Crew Set (144pcs); A-Line�s 12" Black Chain - 40 Links Per Inch; and 3Volt LED lights, switches and adapter from Evan Designs. The 2 Corsair, Hellcat, and Helldiver kits previously bought, and assembled, are not shown.

The GMM sets are missing some pieces because they have already been used in the build, or removed from the fret for measurement purposes and put in a safe place.

The only L�Arsenal parts that have been utilized so far are 5 of the jeeps (not counting the DC3 I converted to an AC-47).

The White Ensign Models PE, the Trumpeter Hellcats and Tamiya Deck Figures were in today�s package.

Part of the A-line chain was used for the anchor chain. Even though it may be too bug, I�ll probably use it for the bow chain. I paid for it, I might as well show it.

Several of the lights have already been installed and wired, but there are many more left to go. It won�t be long before I get to try out my new soldering iron.

This is great news! I definitely have my work cut out for me, but now I can finish the hangar deck so that I can put the flight deck on. I think I�ll start the weekend off building the deck vehicles.

[Rdutnell]

Update 68
I put together the first of one of White Ensign Models� (WEM) two types of Aircraft Tow Tractors. It�s the first time I�ve used WEM PE, and it seems a little stouter than GMM�s PE. The instructions say that, �the body may be filled in with rectangles of plastic card if desired. I opted to do this and although I don�t have any plastic card, I do have 0.040� thick styrene sheets and discovered that 2 glue together were the perfect thickness. It�s not great, but it isn�t bad for the first one and I think a paint job will make it look better.

1 down 5 to go! Then 6 of the other kind of aircraft tractor, then 6 forklifts, then�

[Captain pugwash]

Well you have your work cut out, but thats the game and fun of it .

The tractor don't look half bad and as you say with a lick of paint, all will be forgiven.

Nice going so far matey.

[LE BOSCO]

Hello Rudtnell

all it'll bring from life to your project good luck for the assembling
cheers
Nicolas

[Rdutnell]

Update 69
Attempting to put more life into my model, like Nicolas said, I folded, assembled and painted the six 4-wheel aircraft tow tractors. I really like the toughness of the WEM PE. It�s tougher on knife blades, but it folds where it�s supposed to nicely. With, GMM PE you have to be a bit more careful or it will fold where you don�t want it to. Now that I�m finished, I think I got the hang of it.

I did have one particular aggravating/amusing occurrence. I had a steering wheel go �ping�. I looked quite extensively, with no luck. My wife came in, and I showed her what the steering wheel looked like using what turned out to be THE one I was looking for. She said, �Yeah, it looks JUST like that one.� Anyway, I didn�t have to use the slightly large 20-mm gun wheel that I was almost resigned to.

Since I was painting, I went ahead and cut the windshields, spare tires, and gas tanks off of the remaining 6 jeeps and painted them as well. I used Model Master Insignia Blue Enamel and Model Master Flat Black Acrylic to paint them.

Enjoy the pix!

The pictures show that I have some more painting to do, although it kind of makes them look weathered. Some are better than others, but overall, I liked making them, and I like the way they look. Some small o-rings for tires would make them look a lot better from some angles, and of course, I will put men on and around them as I progress.

CHEERS!!!

[Rdutnell]

Update 70
I�ve been working on other things, so I haven�t gotten much done today. I built 2 of the hand trolleys, but decided I needed to paint them before assembly, so I painted them Ensign Blue, right or wrong. I also put part of the 12 replacement Hellcats together. I thought they looked cool lined up waiting to be painted, so I took a picture I thought I would share. Nothing special, I just liked the way they looked.

I�m not sure what I will do next. There are so many choices.

[Rdutnell]

Update 71
Well, I seem to be stuck in the hangar. Once again I�m working on air planes.

I gave the new arrivals all a coat of the same Model Master Insignia Blue Enamel that I have been using. I will be glad when it�s gone, as I much prefer acrylics. When I use enamel, I have to close my door, open a widow, and run a fan to blow the smell out.

After one coat, they clearly needed another coat, so I worked for a while and then gave them another coat.

The second coat did the trick, so I painted the engine cowling areas flat black (Model Master Acrylic) and the cockpits Flat Olive (Testors Enamel).

Well, I was on a roll, so I put the canopies on all but two of the planes. On these two, I decided to drill out the cockpit and leave the canopy open, perhaps with pilots climbing in them. The WEM USN Carrier Airwing Accessories PE set I bought has F6F fittings that include cockpits for 6 planes, and I thought about doing them, but decided against it. I wish now that I would have done two of them, but I didn�t think about opening the canopies until after I had them all built. I did use the seats though.

Decals are next for these guys, after a little touch up painting that the pictures revealed needs to be done, especially around the nose cowlings where I was holding them to paint. The two unused canopies are stored In a safe place and will be put on later, probably just before the planes go on the ship.

[Rdutnell]

Update 72
One good thing about being at this stage of the build is that if you don�t feel like working on one thing, there�s always something else that�s completely different. I didn�t feel like putting on decals, and I need to finish the hangar off so that I can put the flight deck on, so I worked on the aft elevator.

First I added some of the board and batten to the outside of the shaft and then painted it. I painted the outside with Model Master Acrylic Light Gray. I had recently bought some Model Master Enamel 20-B Weather Deck Blue (my hobby store guy ordered the wrong thing) so I thought I would try it thinking it was acrylic. Well it was the wrong color (more gray) and clean up obviously didn�t go very well. So, I painted over it using the Life Color Deck Blue that I have been using, but am getting low on. One good thing, the gray enamel made for a good primer. When the paint was dry, I applied a �Keep Clear of Propellers� decal above the elevator shaft opening.

I then measured where I want the elevator to be and carefully measured each support provided in the kit, glued them on to the elevator and then glued this assembly and the shaft in place on the hangar deck.

In the pictures below, the Hellcats and aircraft tractors are not glued in place. They are simply dry fit for the photos, though it won�t be long.

Enjoy!

Stay tuned for another total change of pace�

[Rdutnell]

Update 73
I told you to stay tuned�

And now for something completely different! Any Monty Python fans out there?
Over the last week or so, I have been thinking way ahead and have been giving some thought to how I am going to do my frame. Actually, I have given it a little more than thought.

For the Missouri and England diorama, I built the ships full hull, and then put them in the water. I liked that approach and plan on doing the same for Bennington. Plus, that�s the way real ships are built. So, the material I am going to use is 2�� x 78" Oak Stair Nose Molding at $17.96 apiece from Lowe�s. I need 2 so there�s $35. Ka-ching!

I haven�t actually seen the molding in person yet, but from the pictures on Lowe�s web site, it looks perfect. I like the rounded top and the lip on the inside of the bottom can easily be taken off with one or two passes of a table saw for easy fitting of a �� sheet of plywood. A 2�x 4� piece is $9.65. Ka-ching!

Another feature I like about this molding is the fact that it is flat for over 2�, which is ideal for what I am currently planning on doing. I want the model to tell the viewer a story, but for them to really enjoy it, most will need some background. So with the aid of AutoCad (I love that program), I laid out the background for them.

The picture below shows the front of the frame. Printing to scale in 11�x`17� format required breaking it into 3 sections. In the center is the ship name, together with the name and date of the scene portrayed in the model display. Immediately adjacent to this is Bennington�s awarded ribbons on the left, and her three bronze stars on the right. On either side of this is a Bennington logo that I found on-line and copied. On the left is narrative about the typhoon that damaged Benny�s deck and pictures taken during the typhoon and the dog eared deck. On the right is narrative about the Kanoya Airfield Strike and pictures of a Hellcat and Corsair.

The back of the frame also had to be broken into 3 sections when printed to scale. On the left are Bennington�s Air Groups and squadron logos.

In the middle is the �Correct Order of Precedence� for Bennington�s awards. The source of this is from the uss-bennington.org site (http://www.uss-bennington.org/history-r ... wards.html), sort of. The picture of her ribbons doesn�t match the description given. In the picture of the ribbons on the site, the first ribbon in the second row is the American Defense Service Ribbon/Medal. This award isn�t even mentioned in the site�s text. Then later the text has a �Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation Ribbon with Palm� that isn�t even in the picture. I went with the photo, because it looked like the real deal. If anyone knows what it is supposed to be, I would love to know.

On the right is a list of Bennington�s World War II casualties, listed by squadron. I included this as a memorial to those young lads who gave their lives, before they had really lived them, in defense of American ideals. I obtained the names from The Patriots Files Forum (http://www.patriotfiles.com/forum/showt ... hp?t=34614).

The two sides fit on one sheet, as seen below. On the left are a brief chronology of Bennington�s history and a picture of her port side. On the right are the details of the model build. On the right side of the right side are the 4 switches for the lights I am including and the power adapter socket. The main switch turns everything on and then I am including separate switches that operate lights in the hangar deck, lights in the island and the theater, and the navigation lights.

This is a work in progress and I probably should find somewhere to put the references I used, at least the major ones.

My plan is to stain the oak a dark brown. Based on my experience with the AC-47 model, I plan on printing the photographs on photograph paper and not decal paper, spraying them with high gloss lacquer, gluing them on, probably with thinned white glue and then hitting them again with the lacquer. For the text I am considering different options. First, I�m going to test black text on clear decals to see if they show up. If not, I have a couple of options. I could print them on photograph paper and give them the same treatment as the photos, or I could inlay lighter wood so that the black decals would show up. I have plenty of time to think about it and would appreciate any thoughts and comments you may have.

CHEERS!!!

[Capt652]

Timm

[Russ2146]

Uhhhmmmm, got to question the American Defense Service Medal because the medal is authorized to military members who performed active duty between September 8, 1939 and December 7, 1941. Since the Benny wasn't commissioned until 1944..........

Note: The ribbon set pictured on the Benny site may have belonged to a crew member and that member may have been on active duty between the dates specified above, while the ship wasn't.

You can get Order of Precedence here http://www.homeofheroes.com/medals/1_precedence.html

The general criteria for the awarding of medals and ribbons is here: http://www.homeofheroes.com/medals/ribb ... ons_n.html

Details on Benny's are here: http://www.navsource.org/archives/02/20w.htm
Note that in the case of multiple awards of the same medal/ribbon, the first award is denoted by the ribbon itself, subsequent awards are denoted, generally, by a bronze/brass/gold star afixed to the ribbon. For instance, the National Defense Service Ribbon would have one star centered on it while the Asia-Pacific Campaign Ribbon would have two stars afixed to it.

[Rdutnell]

Awesome! Thanks yet again Russ!

navsource? I knew I had seen the precedence somewhere else, but couldn't find it again. This matches uss-bennington.org's text. Easy fix! Muchos Gracias!!!

[Rdutnell]

Update 74 � 9/18/2012
I fixed the award that Russ pointed out was incorrect and continued working on items in the hangar. The WEM PE kit I�m using has aircraft towing arms. Fortunately, Russ (again) had previously sent me just the picture I needed. It shows how the towing vehicle, plane and arms look together. He sent different ones too, but this is the style I went with.

The plans don�t say a thing about them, except that they are on the fret. I figured the round thins were wheels and bent them down. To get it to fit I bent up the inside prongs. This allowed it to fit better and provided a good gluing surface. It was somewhat tricky business getting everything lined up properly. It�s a good way to test if you glued the wings on very good. I had 2 fall off and had to replace them. Other than that, it was fairly smooth sailing.

I�m enjoying documenting the build almost as much as the build itself, and I like the break, so I stopped and took some more pictures, including some with them dry fit in the hangar where I think they will go. I would put them in now, but I think it will be easierr to put drivers in them if they aren't glued to the deck.

I hope you like them.

Time for a break!

[Rdutnell]

Update 75
Nothing very exciting to report. I did the first soldering of the project, testing out the battery operated iron I bought. It�s handy, but it�s only on when you are pulling the trigger and it takes it a little while to heat up. I am using the batteries that came with it though, so it may just be that they are low. Anyway, it worked well enough for me to successfully make the first connections. The first of many yet to come. I also gave the frame some more thought, specifically, how best to accommodate the switches and outlet into the frame. And by best I mean easiest that will look good.

The most substantial thing I accomplished since the last update is pretty menial. Still, menial things have to get done too. I painted the WEM PE set, or at least the things I plan on using, that haven�t been used already. It was my first experience painting my own men. On my other 2 models I used the pre-painted figures. I think I like painting them myself better.

I found a web site by the Titanic Research and Modeling Association on �Detailing and painting the GMM Ocean Liner Figures� that describes bending and posing, 3-D detailing using Elmer�s (white glue), painting, and detaching and application. (http://titanic-model.com/articles/paint ... igures.htm)

The 3-D effect method sounds intriguing, but they say to bend the men first, and it just seems that doing so would make it very difficult to apply the glue and paint them, and risks them being lost. I passed on that option and just painted them. We�ll see how good the paint stands up to the bending phase.

I used enamel paints including Model Master�s Flat Black and Ensign Blue, and Testors� Flat White and Light Tan. The pinkish tint to the Light Tan wasn�t good for the AC-47, but it is perfect for representing flesh. I painted faces on one side and hair (black) on the other. There are a couple of them that wouldn�t pass the haircut inspection and probably should see the barber. Anyway, here they are along with some deck equipment that I also painted.

Like I said, not very exciting. I did notice that the figures have �joints� for bending, unlike the painted figures I have used. This should make posing easier, if the �joints� face the right way.

CHEERS!!!

[Rdutnell]

Update 76
I haven�t been able to do much modeling the last couple of days, but I did get to spend some time on AutoCad and developed some plans for the frame.

Because I plan to put the switches and adapter connection for the lights on the right hand side of the frame, near the back, the right hand side requires more detail so I created a separate sheet for it.

I could have stopped here. Instead I took a foray into 3-D. Now, I�ve used AutoCad for a long time, but always in 2-D. I knew a couple of the basic commands (extrude, slice, subtract), and with a quick Google search, I was up and running. It didn�t take me very long to have 3-D images of the right side, showing both the outside and inside faces.

Somebody that has looked at a lot of plans can picture what the part would look like from the 2-D plans, but almost anybody knows what the part looks like after seeing the 3-D images. The rectangular hole is for the adapter, the four square holes are for the switches. Note that smaller �� holes go all the way through, but larger holes on the inside go only part of the way through. This is to provide for recessed switches and room for the connections. The little notch is to allow the wires to the adapter through at the seam. It could also simply be drilled out. I suspect that the back left corner that abuts this face may require drilling as well, if the connections are in the way.

After doing this, I made 3-D facsimiles of the other three sides, and the plywood bottom.

I then put them together on the screen. Unfortunately, It didn�t fit together correctly. I was puzzled until I found that I had entered a dimension incorrectly. When I corrected it, the virtual frame parts fit like a glove. Having done that it occurred to me that I could copy the Title, text and photos that I posted a couple of posts back and clip them onto the appropriate faces. I struggled at first, until I set the UCS before pasting. The end result shows pretty well what the frame is going to look like. It just needs a virtual ship.

The first pic was made by plotting to PDF and exporting it as a JPG, cropped and resized. The other images are screen dumps (PrntScrn) of the model. Except for issues with some of the pictures, I think they look way better. They definitely do on the screen.

Chock it up as another learning experience and another step along the way.

CHEERS!