The Ship Model Forum

Great photo's Randy: It looks like I got it partially right. The one of the ARizona with the box perpendicular to the hull was a pre 41 fit as they moved the boxes aft and at an angle matching the lattice yards. I like the way the halyards are all secured at the same point.
Thanks for posting.

A couple of photos of the port and stbd flag bags of BB63. Unfortunately the lashed canvas cover obscures the rail.

Tom,

Thanks - at least the rail is there and that's what I suspected. Much appreciated.

Hank

Added a bunch of main deck level 20 mm gun tubs and some other "stuff" which seems to never end. With all the white added stuff it looks a bit like it has measles.

I wonder if this is the rail on the Arizona?

The flag bag is gone from the explosion. It should be right behind this frame. Source: NavSource

Fliger, your model is looking quite beautiful! Again as I've said, really clean,crisp work. If it looks that good unpainted, it's a good sign!

Flieger: You are certainly making some progress on your model. It is looking like a proper ship, white stuff notwithstanding.

Randy: I bet that is the rail. Jeff incorporated that into his build.

Thanks guys!

Be a while before I get to the fine points you are exploring now. But at least I get some ideas about how I might proceed when I do get to that point. Glad to see some attention payed to the halyards etc, which are usually abbreviated with a single line... Not sure how I am going to pull all that off as yet. Still awaiting Steve Wipers Alaska book as there are never too few photo references. Great here how many do have new reference material, especially as to how the ships change with time!

Regards. Tom

Tom,

Looking really good!!! Quite an impressive model - the details add so much. Yes, I'm also interested in the discussion about the signal halyards, etc. Having worked with Bob's Buckles (eyelets/tubes = turnbuckles) now for several days, I'm thinking that possibly one of his eyelets at each location on the yardarm will work to enable one to make the halyards 2 line sets as would occur in real life. This would be the 1/32 size eyelets, not his 1/48 size - which are REALLY tiny .

After doing workbench cleanup, I now have a temp. white poster board work surface in place in order to work on antenna wiring and other rigging.

How to attach the eyelets to the yard arm? Those might be about the right side for your padeyes for the fwd hull? Looking forward to the results!

Cheers. Tom

Flinger747 wrote:

How to attach the eyelets to the yard arm? Those might be about the right side for your padeyes for the fwd hull? Looking forward to the results!

Since these eyelets are twisted copper wire, I'm guessing that by trimming the stem of the eyelet to the depth of the yardarm, you could then CA glue the eyelet to the arm (maybe on the afterside of the yard) leaving the eye just below the bottom of the yard.

They possibly could be the right size for the padeyes on the hull. However, I have some solid brass eyes that I have kept since the 1970's in reserve for that purpose - I hope I have enough to do the hull. If not, I will order more of the ones from Bob's Buckles.

Hi Guys:

Okay, for the eyelets in the yard arms, I trimmed and superglued the eyelets into the yard arm. For a sold arm, I would think you could drill a hole and glue the trimmed end in, otherwise a wrap around the yard.

Thanks "MG"!

My yards are solid wood, tapered and mounted on the ship. I might or might not be able to drill them as mounted on the ship. Will be interesting to see how the turnbuckles work out, a great excursive in micro surgery!

I think that the paddies on the hull could also be accomplished by taking small diameter wire and making a "J" such that one hole could be drilled instead of two.

Cheers: Tom

I was wrong - the IOWA class signal halyards are attached to the yardarm with a "clothesline" rig. They were not directly attached to the yardarm.

This is a photo of NEW JERSEY during the early 1950s - her halyards (and yard) did not change in her 1967-69 commission. The signal halyards (4 sets/side) were attached to this clothesline by my guess at specific spaced attachment points for an even distribution for displaying signals. The halyard was run up/down as req'd thru a pulley at the clothesline.

The Trumpeter 1:200 model includes this clotheline in the kit supplied plastic mast and also is included on the Pontos PE set. What exactly this clotheline is for I'm not clear about - perhaps one of our members who was a former skivvywaver can enlighten us all!! NEW JERSEY had a 2nd yardarm added in 1967 which provided the forward connection point for her fan array radio antenna and other navigational aids similar to the ones on the signal yardarm.

I'm guessing again that most WWII era ships followed this same pattern or setup with their signal halyards. I will take some time this weekend to check out other warships and see what their arrangements may have been.

Hope this helps,

Hank

Attaching a flag with snaps to a fixed halyard? Note ring around fixed line and attachment at the bottom with a large turnbuckle. Ship and date unknown.

Cheers: Tom

Looking at a photo of Alaska, she has them attached to the yard arm, with a foot rope below. Interesting as to how variations in rigging and equipment keep coming to light!

Cheers: Tom

Tom,

Not disputing you, but two photos of ALASKA seem to me anyhow, to indicate a similar "clotheline" system for the halyard setup: It's hard to see, but even with my "impaired" vision, I do see this setup in both photos. However, it could, as you said, it could very well be a footrope.

Hank

Hank:

I have a somewhat higher resolution photo of that area, provided by Colleseum, detailing many of the yard, radar and mast features, one can make out the halyard sheaves attached directly to the yard bottom, with the lines clearly passing behind the foot rope. As far as I can tell SODAK et al. were similarly configured whereas the Iowa's seem to be in the "close line" configuration from commissioning. Somewhere I have one of those great antenna photos of North Carolina but haven't found it as yet. I wonder what the genesis of that configuration was and what advantages their were.

Not sure these small res photos will show this well.

I find the number of main deck ventilators on this ship astounding. Especially as they are all of differing configurations and shapes! Slowly reducing the amount of visible main deck! Made masters and poured the mold medium for life raft stacks, more raft molds and bits and chocks. My experience with this stuff is that it takes seemingly forever (many days) to fully cure. I do have one of those micro scales that makes it much more precise to get the proper 1:10 mixture ratio.

Perhaps with a Ship named Alaska it should be cool and breezy below decks.

Cheers: Tom