USS Indiana BB-58 Scratchbuild in 1/96 - 1944

[kennylibben]

wow, amazing results bill!

[Francisco P. de Nanclares]

Wow Bill, the hull looks good?. The hull looks spectacular!. And your solution for the blast bags is really amazing. I don�t want to post much and clutter the thread, but I was speechless with this update and couldn�t help but hit Reply.

Keepitcoming, keepitcoming!!

Cheers.
Pachi.

[Dave Wooley]

Hi Bill a superbly turned out hull and turrets a true testimony to your skill. I look forward to seeing more of your work.
Dave Wooley

[JIM BAUMANN]

Very sexy looking hull....

but the blast bags are excellenrt!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the look kind of baggy and rubbery-

JIM B

[Mark Deakin]

Hi Bill,

the quality and the speed of build are amazing



Mark D.

[TommyL]

Nice smooth finish Bill. Ever thought of getting into the auto body industry? You have the touch.

TommyL.

[Avery Boyer]

Very Nice!

[Bill Waldorf]

Hello again all. Hull now fully primed and sealed with autobody sealer, 10 coats of primer, 2 coats of sealer. No pics tonite. The hull is in the garage in the curing stage. I had mentioned that I was going to finish the Indiana in Measure #32, but that has now changed. She will now be in Measure 22. The Measure 32 was only applied to the Indiana for a short period during 1944. It was used as a camoflage scheme to confuse size and distance from enemy subs. However, it was no good against air attack. The Navy decided to do away with the Measure 32 scheme, because air attacks from Kamikaze planes were a greater threat to ships than subs, in the later years of WW2. The measure 22 scheme was thought to hide ships a little better from the air.Indiana was also the only ship in it's class that wore the MS 32 scheme. The museum felt that the MS 32 scheme would detract from the overall view of the ship by the general public. I tend to disagree, but it's not my call. I'll do what they want. It's easier to paint, for sure!! Anyway, here's a photo of Indiana late in 1944 in the measure 22 scheme. She is at full speed. Note the wake at the stern. Hell of a lot of thrust there!! Indiana could make almost 28 knots at full speed.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't she look a little like the Bismark! What do you think??
Stay tuned........................ More to come!!
I continue on.................

[Francisco P. de Nanclares]

I agree with you. There is a certain general resemblance with Bismarck, especially the bow wake.

Looking forward to more updates.

Pachi.

[Ludwig]

Hi Bill,

I do not follow in that , her conning tower is to high , no resemblance with Bismarck whatsoever , very nice photo anyway , this conning tower is synonimous with US built I guess , the N.Carolina Class had also such a tower , with 2 funnels. A pity that the museum wanted an other type of camo , not the measure 32 , this green camo was very beautifull .
I realy looking forward to new photo's , keep up the wonderfull build Bill.

regards,

Ludwig

[Jefgte]

for the hull

for the turret



Jef

[Dave Wooley]

Hi Bill Indiana has one of the best warship profiles of any battleship
Dave Wooley

[Scale Shipyard / W.L.U.]

The Indiana's camo has been discussed at length on the boards and it was not in a Green camo scheme, at least not in a Measure 32 or 33 scheme.

Measure 22 is the best looking in my opinion

[Bill Waldorf]

OK. While we are on the subject of camoflage and paint schemes, here's a breakdown........................

Here is an example of MS12, which was haze gray, 5-H, with splotches of either sea blue,5-S, or ocean gray, 5-O. I believe Indiana carried this scheme early in her service. Note how the pattern carries on to the superstructure areas. Decks were deck blue, 20-B.

Here is measue 22, which was navy blue, 5-N, from the lowest point of the main deck carried across horizontally on the sides of the hull. Haze gray, 5-H from there on up, including the superstructure areas. Decks were deck blue, 20-B. I will do Indiana in this scheme, same as the Indianapolis project.

Lastly, here is measure 32/3D. This was a geometric pattern of light gray, 5-L, ocean gray, 5-O, and black. The slash(/) indicates a different geometric pattern, there were many but all similar to this. Decks were a pattern of deck blue, 20-B, and ocean gray, 5-O. I have evidence that the ocean gray was actually either light gray or haze gray, on the decks anyway. The pattern carried over the deck and on to the superstucture. Indiana carried this scheme for a short time during 1944, and was the only ship of the class to wear it. She then went back to MS22. Thanks to Snyder and Short for the info. Thats it for camo class tonite!!

[Bill Waldorf]

Hello again all!! Well, here you go, one South Dakota Class BB Hull, ready for final paintwork. There are 3 coats of epoxy resin, 10 coats of Hi-Build Red Oxide primer, and two coats of sealer. Lets take a look................

Port side here. Note the armor belt area is left unfinished. I'll tackle that next, then prime when it's all detailed out. The gray "sealer" is shiny, so I'll scuff it down before final paintwork begins.

Another shot of the portside. Once the armor belt area is detailed, I will continue with other small details on the sides of the hull. Finish paint will come after that.

Same side, only looking from aft.

Here's a closer look at the bow on the portside. Note anchors in place.

Bow view from port again, only upside down. Note the hull has smoothed out well.

Another view upside down. Hull is smooth as a babys rear!! I'll scuff it down as I said, before final paint. Scuffing is not sanding. I'll use a pad, sort of like a scouring pad to rough the surface a bit to help adhere the final coats of paint. The sealer is not sandable, but it will scuff.

Bow shot here, taken from slightly beneath. Again note that teardrop shape. The knife like edge turned out pretty well too.

Another bow view, dead on.

Stern view here, again from port. A little filler needed at the base of the rudders ,yet to be done.


Couple more shots here of the propshaft, skeg, rudder arrangement. Looks almost like plastic, don't it??
Well, thats it for tonite. On to detailing the armor belt areas. More to come! Stay tuned.......................... I continue on....

[JIM BAUMANN]

Bill wrote...

>> Looks almost like plastic, don't it?? <<

Certainly looks very very smooth and fair..!!--

Remarkable progress with high quality result--you are almost faster scrachtbuilding than I am kit-building...!! hehhe!

Cool stuff-- I am watching...!

JIM B

[Neptune]

Nice build Bill, indeed looks like a Revell Plastic model! Really neat!
In the beginning the stem seemed to be very blunt, yet from the head on shots you can clearly see that's not the case! Very disturbing perspective in those first shots!
I can't wait to see the rest of this ship taking shape!

Regards
Roel

[Jefgte]

Congrat for the high quality of the paint.
Very nice look

And congrat for your clean shipyards.
It is not so easy to have clean place for scratch but that is a help for high quality work.

Then, you made...




Jef

[Bill Waldorf]

Hello again all! Well, while awaiting my paint orders from various manufacturers, I decided to start to detail the armor belt areas, since they need to be completed before final paint on the hull begins. Now the involved stuff begins. I'm finding out that Battleships are a lot of work!! I'll be lucky to be finished in 7 months time from now. We will see. At any rate, let's take a look..........................

Here's a photo of the port side of the USS Alabama that I visited a couple of weeks ago. Got lots of detail pics. Note the armor belt area. Lots of little details here. I'll try to model most of them. Note the degaussing cable, scupper pipes, bracings,maintainence hatches,etc. Lots of small items that can bring a model to life, so to speak.

Here's what I got so far. Note that this is stb. side since that is where I started, nothing done on the port side yet. That'll go easier once I get the game plan down on this side. Most of what you see is fabricated from styrene, with the exception of some small steel eyelets and wire that make up the degaussing cable.

This view is from midships looking fwd.Note I have not yet installed the scupper pipes that come from just below the main deck. Since I am moving the hull around alot, these would get broke off easily as they stick out beyond the edge of the hull a bit. I'll wait on those and install them after the bottom of the hull and the boot topping are painted.

Here's another view from midships looking forward. Note the scupper openings in the side of the hull.They are an oblong opening. To accomplish that, I drilled holes straight through and then redrilled at the correct angle.

Here's the aft end of the belt. South Dakota Class BB's amour belt was internal. It was behind the outer hull plating, thus the angle you see. Note the maintainence hatch. Why they needed to get between the outer plating and the belt itself is a mystery to me. Again note the oblong scupper openings on the side of the hull.

Another shot from midships. Rivet pattern is done with a pounce wheel before attaching the styrene. Scupper pipes are 1/16" styrene rod.

Lastly, here's the very forward end of the armor belt area. Lots more little things to be added before finish paint on the hull. I am getting there!! Stay tuned..................... More to come.........................
As always, I continue on.............

[G. Shoda]

Wonderful work! I have never seen a closeup photo of this particular detail. I can see why you need lots of time to finish your model!