The Ship Model Forum

Wow, that looks great! The first pictures I ever saw of an Iowa class is when I was a kid and my Stepdad showed me a bows on black and white picture in "Ships and Aircraft of the U.S. Fleet" of the New Jersey firing in Vietnam. At the time I thought the EW "ears" made her look so futuristic. I've been a fan of the Iowa's ever since.

Hank

An excellent tour de force in research and scratch building. Even in 1:200 that is pretty small construction.

Regards. Tom

Tom K. & Tom F. -

Thanks for the nice comments! Yea, I've been learning a lot from R. L. in Long Beach - since his first hand knowledge of the ship & modifications made to her are right on target.

Hank

Hank

Great to have found such resources! One would think that plans and some photos would be enough. Even building the ship in its modern configuration with visits and hundreds of photos still leaves a huge number of questions. To peer back in time even with your personal experience cruise books etc much remains to be unearthed.

A great ship model is a historical work with just as much research involved!

It does seem as if many projects slow during the summer months. The workbench is a wonderful refuge during those darker and colder times.

Regards and looking forward to the next progress reports.

Tom

Tom,

You're so right about the research end of modeling. Speaking of which, in the book about LBNSYD, there is quite a bit about the reactivation of NEW JERSEY, MISSOURI, and to a lesser degree IOWA, and WISCONSIN. The east coast ships (IOWA, WISC.) while incorporating the basic modifications the west coast ships were given, there are differences and R.L. goes into some of this. Since NJ was the lead ship, her mods. were in some cases not identical to those on the other 3 ships. This is where the book is really helpful. The '80s modifications on MISSOURI were based on trial & error that took place on NJ the year before. He gives lots of details as to the how and why of some of the changes which, for the modeler (as yourself) are details you can't find anywhere else. I know you are well into your build, but some of this stuff is really pertinent. Ever wonder why the Tomahawk batteries face each other? R.L. and his design staff were the ones who solved that problem - how to locate the number of missiles dictated by Congress and not burn up the ship when those missiles were launched (hydrochloric acid is a by-product of the burnt fuel just to name one of the problems the missiles presented). Interior mods also varied ship to ship and these are explained, as well. I can't say enough about how lucky I am to have re-established my acquaintence with R.L. I know my model is happier for it, also

While I knew from experience that the military (as well as most other gov't departments) never does anything in a straight-forward, cost effective mannor, this book really brings out the abject stupidity of managers and directors of the various depts. charged with reactivation, etc. and how this costs all of us and the end result is oftentimes totally worthless.

I'm currently working on the lower conning tower/forward stack - still making modifications to the kit - there's more to this than first thought. I also am hoping to see my decks from Pontos sometime next month (fingers crossed!). I really need to get the air brush kit out and start learning how to use it!

Later,

Hank

Hank

Have you decided to do the raft baskets full or empty? A different unit than on the later MO. For full ones they might be a candidate for high res 3d printing. Depending on how they come out you might be able to use one or two as masters for casting.

Looking fwd to the next update!

tom

Tom,

That (the raft baskets) does present a dilemma since there are two styles of basket involved here. I was originally thinking that PE might be the easiest way to create the basket with a cast raft to go it it. But, the PE tends to be two dimensional without thickness, which I don't like. However, that might be the most expediant way to go. I have Dr. P's drawings of his 3D CAD cruiser raft baskets, so I do have something to go on. That would be a mini-project in itself.

Later,

Hank

Hank

Looking forward to the next installment! If you need close up photos of the basket style currently on BB63 I can provide them. Not sure if the size and configuration are different. Summer is a slow time for ship modeling. I will be glad to get back to mighty mo come fall time. Perhaps even get going on Alaska. One advantage of a hiatus is learning new information and new techniques and materials.

Regards. Tom

Well, after some time since my last update, I have a couple photos of the current status of the superstructure and After Air Defense Stations to show the progress I'm slowely making on the model. Once again, the assemblies are simply put in place, nothing permanent at this point: Comment - Some of you may notice the modification to the After Air Defense Tub - the bumpout on the side was unique to NEW JERSEY, added during her 1967-68 refit. I'm currently working on the two Target Designators which will be loc'd on either side of the MK. 37 director base inside the tub. I have two of those TD's also loc'd on the 08 Level Conn Station and they are just barely visible in the first photo.

I've started tryiing to make resin radar dishes for the Mk. 25 and Mk. 35 radars that are associated with the Mk. 37/Mk. 56 F.C. Directors - this (resin molds/casting) is something new to me and will be a learning curve, for sure!

Later,

Hank

Hank

That is looking really good! NJ still had the 5" 38 drilling devices on board at that point? I am pretty sure they are gone from BB63 now due to the instalation of the aft ABL's. Glad to see someone making good progress this summer. A tremendous amount of scratch work there.

Regards. Tom

Thanks, Tom!!

Yea, the 5" training units were still there - actually, there was quite a bit of modification work done, we just don't see a lot of it externally. Even so, there are plenty of small items to scratchbuild since this kit is WWII vintage and things did change from the mid-40's thru the mid-50's and later, of course.
Hank

I can see it's Swabies vrs gyrenes competition for the 5"38 loaders.

Cheers. T

Wow, looks fantastic so far!

Tom F - Yea, we had the usual competitions on the stbd 5" just like they did in the 80's/90's.

Tom K - Thanks for the kind remark - it's very appreciated.

Hank

That is some impressive looking work.

Martin,

Well, Sir - I certainly appreciate the kind remark. That's what keeps the wheel's turnin'!!

Hank

NOTE RE. Resin Mold for Mk. 35/Mk. 25 FC Radar Dishes:
When I left my workshop Thurs. morning the molds had been poured Wed. night and still had not set up properly - this is the two part Micro-Mark Fast Cure Resin CR 301. I guess I didn't mix it 100% evenly or did not properly mix the A&B parts - it could be some of both - I'm hoping (Yea, right!!) that it has turned hard, white, and set when I return Sun. p.m. BUT - I'm not expecting it to be.

If not, after cleaning the Delrin mold, I will remix using the drop by drop method to ensure equality of A/B and mix as thoroughly as possible (it's clear - how can you tell??? ). Other than that, I don't know what to do. My secondary mold, a scrap piece of wood drilled like the Delrin, is probably useless at this point.

Another modeler in Alaska (Flinger747) has sent me the molds for my life raft packs (I did the masters and sent them to him to make molds). They will be molded from the same resin, so the dishes are really the test bed for learning this process. Too bad that Part A & B aren't the kind of solution that turns a color when mixed - that would really let you know quickly if you've done it right.

So, anyhow, resin molding 101 is in session...

BB62vet,

I have used Micro-Mark resin for making such parts. One must mix each part A and B before mixing them together. Simply turn each bottle upside down many times so as not to create bubbles. There is are no visible signs that they have settled. I use a cheap balance from Harbor Freight to weigh out equal amounts of A and B. The item # is 93543, it's a shirt pocket size balance. Also use only one mixing cup by adding the second component to the first. After pouring set the cup aside to observe how the batch sets up, later when the resin has dried the remains can be popped out and the cup reused.

Hope this Helps,

Bob W

Bob,

Thanks for the info/advice on the resin molding, etc. We have a Harbor Freight in town and I will make a visit today. Sounds like a more accurate way to measure out the parts, so I'll try it. Further progress/updates will follow.

Hank

Sunday edit - Bought a model #60332 digital scale @ Harbor Freight yesterday (only one available) - also a pocket sized scale. Should do the job. Will try tonight to see what happens with the 2nd batch following Oneslim's advice on mixing etc.

Last night's pour (after a bit of miss-mixing) was a success The attached photos show the before and after for my life raft pack mold: Tonight I'll mix new resin and cast again with all three molds that Flinger747 sent me. I will be molding these packs for a while - I need close to 40 of them.

I also successfully cast the Mk. 35 & Mk. 25 radar dishes last night and will drill them out, clean them up and have pix for them in the next day or so.

The purchase of the digital scale was key to pouring a good mix. The scale, however, is not all that consistent in its readings, but enough to do the job. I may look for something a bit more accurate (this one was less than $10) in the near future. I appreciate One Slim's advice - Thanks again!!

Hank