1/350 USS Bennington (CV-20)

[LE BOSCO]

HI Rdutnell

the pictures are much more beautiful
good luck for the rest of your build

regards
Nicolas

[Rdutnell]

Thanks!
I like them better too. I'm glad you said something.

[Rdutnell]

Update 19
I made it to the hobby shop and scored a 20 piece drill set (61-80 Gauge) for $15. I drilled out all of the port holes on the island, but the bits wouldn�t fit my pin vise so I twisted the bit with my thumb and fore finger and now have a big blister on my thumb. But I got to the point where I could test out the lights and thought I would share. Again, I bought a 3V light kit (http://www.modeltrainsoftware.com/mi.html) that included 2 soft white bulbs and can run up to 10 lights off of a coin cell battery. I also bought one each orange, green and blue. Below are pictures from my test.
I started with soft white, the only color for which I had two bulbs. The results were nice and pronounced, but I think they were too bright. You can see through the plastic in several places. Perhaps if you could suspend one in the middle this wouldn�t happen.

(Ikes, the first shot shows how lame my paint job is. That�s what I get for trying to brush on paint from a rattle can sprayed onto a plate.)

Next I tried green, which as before, I really liked. One light could almost do the job, but two would be better.

Blue was next and I think it really looks cool!

Last, I tried orange which I previously was not impressed with. My mind quickly changed as it too looked really good. The pictures don�t do it justice because it was getting dark, I wasn�t using a flash, and I didn�t have a tripod, so most of what would have been the best shots were super blurry.

So my test didn�t help much for deciding which one (or ones) to use. Except that I�ve all but eliminated soft white for the island, but not yet, because I�m guessing that it is probably the most realistic. It�s possible that I could even partition inside of the island and use green in the fore and aft bridges and soft white or orange in the rest of it. I really like the blue and it looked great in the hanger in a previous test. Any input? What do you think? I�d love to hear it, good, bad, or indifferent.
On another note, I�m thinking about repainting the whole ship and replacing the black with Navy Blue (5-N) and the Light Grey (5-L) with Haze Grey (5-H) like it is supposed to be, but I don�t know if it�s worth it. I definitely don�t want to strip it. I was thinking I could just sand it good and paint over it with good acrylics. I would be painting over enamel, except for the Light Grey, which is an acrylic. Is this possible or a bad idea? Also, regarding acrylics, I have the Life Colors Navy Blue, but it looks more like deck blue than navy blue. Is 5-N not really what is thought of as navy blue and is actually lighter?
I hope I get some input on this; otherwise I might have to post it on the main forum.
CHEERS!!!

[Russ2146]

Why not take a look at the Camouflage and Coatings forum under History and Technology, for the paint issues.

At night, in a combat zone, there probably wouldn't be any light showing except maybe a little red glow if anything. You see, white light ruins night vision and if I remember correctly, it takes the eyes a half hour to adjust, so if the white lights were on in the interior of the ship, the watchstanders wore goggles with red lenses for half an hour before going on duty. When I was in, the white lights went out at 10 and the red night lights came on throughout the ship. Areas where you had to be able to read something, like on the bridges, pilot house were lit with red lights.

In addition, white light is visible for long distances, so doors leading to the exterior of the ship had light locks, small vestibules of sorts. You wouldn't open the exterior door until the interior door was closed. I believe there is posting on here about how stairways (inclined ladders), leading up from the hanger deck to the flight deck catwalks, were actually enclosed and painted flat or matt black on the interior.
Remember the DE you did? Go here and see if you can spot the light locks. http://www.hnsa.org/doc/plans/de701.pdf

Red light does play havoc with colors, which is why you couldn't work on things like electrical wiring under red light.

[Rdutnell]

Thanks Again Russ!
Your responses always seem to have interesting information in them that I learn something new from.
I knew about the light locks, probably from the threads you mentioned. I didn't know about the use of red light.
I also read that the hanger doors were pretty much closed at night so the hanger lights wouldn't be a beacon telling the enemy, "Here I am."
I found 7 of the light locks on the plans, that I wish I had had when I built the model.
Do you think plans like those can be found for the Bennington? I signed up for the BluePrint site only to find that they didn't have anything for Bennington.

Also, would you recommend that I try red lights too then?

[Russ2146]

Yes, try red lights.
You could also do a little eductional experiment by setting up a given light color across a completely dark room from the light switch. Turn on the model light and then turn off the room lights. How visible is it? or, sit in a red light lit room for half an hour, then turn off even the red light and see what you can see.

Every ship had a Booklet of General Plans which was updated to reflect new configurations after any ship mods, with the when and where of the update noted on the data page. So yes, one, or more, exists for the Bennington. The difficulty is that it may only be available in the National Archives plus you would need to find the one that reflects the ship at the time period you are modeling, rather than the ship's final configuration.
http://www.marylandsilver.com/title1.htm
Has books of shipyard plans but they are pricey and contain sheets that are of little use unless you are scratch building the entire ship. Also, as you'll note from the contents listing of the short hull Essex book, that the book contains the plans for some ships and not others and the dates of the plans for the various ships can vary as to the date of the plan.
http://www.floatingdrydock.com/Bu.htm
Has one sheet on the Bennington which is the overall plan view, in other words, what you would see when looking down on it from directly overhead. That would be useful for anything hot hidden by the flight deck or an overhang. It is dated 1945, but you'd have to get the plan to see precisely when in 45.

[Rdutnell]

OK, I'll definitely give red a shot!

Re: http://www.marylandsilver.com/title1.htm
Wow! That looks like a COOL book! 183 pages ob 11x17. It looks indispensable for serious modelers. They are expensive, but not too much so.

Re: http://www.floatingdrydock.com/Bu.htm
This looks interesting. I think a quick look at them would tell you when in 1945 it was, at least if it was before or after June, because some 15' of the forward flight deck was lopped off at San Pedro Bay after the typhoon that buckled her deck over so she looked like a moping puppy. I am considering ordering this but if I do, you can be certain that it will make more work for myself. I'm sure what I have is wrong. I guess I could get it just to know what it is supposed to look like.

[Rdutnell]

Obsessive and compulsive!
It's ordered.

[Rdutnell]

The red lights are in. I haven't tried them yet. That's next.
I did develop a lighting diagram for the way I think I want to do my lights. The current plan is for 8 lights. 2 in the island, 1 in each of the substructures, 3 in the hanger, and 1 in the forebay (or whatever that seperate compartment is forward of the hanger deck). I will have to drill a hole in the hull, two holes in both the hanger deck and flight deck and one hole in the top of each of the substructures. I think that I will use tubing as conduit for the wire.

Boy, this is fun!!!!

[Rdutnell]

Update 20

Below are pictures of the red light test using 2 bulbs. Some are blurry. The first 2 are with the room lights on, the rest are lights off. Excuse the tape. I�m preparing to repaint her as soon as my paint arrives.

Results of the test: 1) I�m definitely using red. 2) I need 5 bulbs in the hanger, not 3. That puts me at my limit of 10 bulbs.

CHEERS!

[Rdutnell]

Update 21

I was so excited about getting the lights, I had to start rigging them up. I started with the island lights. I started by dry fitting the island, flight deck and hull together to determine where the holes needed to be. I then used a small drill bit and drilled through the flight deck, the top of the forward sub-structure and the hanger deck at the same time. I then had aligned pilot holes for the 3/16� OD (1/4� ID) tubing that I�m using as conduit. I drilled these with a 3/16� bit, by hand, I might add. Power tools are not being used in the making of this model. I was then able to run the tubes into the hole and determine where to cut them so that the light was at ideal height when the bottom of the tube was flush with the bottom of the hanger deck. I dry fit the tubes, the lights and the island and took pictures.

The first picture shows the tubes (conduit) from underneath the hanger deck.

The second picture shows the conduit from above.

The third picture shows the wiring in the conduits from below. (Note the one on the right isn�t flush as it will be when completed.

The fourth picture shows the wiring in the conduits from below. (Note the one on the right isn�t flush as it will be when completed. shows the lights in the conduits. OK, so this isn�t realistic, but so what. You can�t see them anyway. I plan on using this same technique for the fore and aft sub-structures.

The next two pix show the island with the room lights on and off, respectively. The one with the lights off is blurry due to long exposure time and my inability to hold the camera still. You can still get an idea of what it looks like. You can see in the two photos that in places the light bleeds through the plastic. I think more coats of paint will eliminate this.

I also prepared for the lighting in the fore bay (?). For the fore bay and hanger deck, I plan on running the conduit along the ceiling(?) (bottom of flight deck). The picture below shows how it will go in the fore bay, with the light sticking out the end and bent down. I just temporarily tacked it for the photo. It will be assembled for good at a later date. Again, it�s not realistic, the conduit would be 6-7� diameter, but again. Nobody is going to see it, and it puts the light in the best spot.

In the process of doing this, I noticed some port holes at the bough that I had missed. These port holes are below the hanger deck and thus need a separate light. I think I can get by with four in the hanger deck and use the fifth one for these bough port holes. I'll definitely experiment before I decide.

As Red Green used to say (and maybe still does), �Keep your stick on the ice.�

[Rdutnell]

I had a good find last night. It's "USS BENNINGTON CV/CVA/CVS-20 TIME LINE - 15 December 1941 - 7 December 1994." I don't know where I got it. It was on a thumb drive I was using and cleaning up. Anyway, part of it reads:

"5 June 1945
Underway in an area approximately 300 miles southeast off Okinawa, BENNINGTON
seeks to avoid an approaching storm from the south. The ship sets, �Typhoon Condition
Two�. Condition ZEBRA and Typhoon Condition One was set at 0423 hours. The wind
increased in velocity to 60 knots at 0507 hours. At about 0528 hours, the forward
25� of flight deck collapsed due to heavy pounding seas. BENNINGTON passed through
the center of the storm at 0700 � 0730 hours. Storm damage other than the flight
deck included the bulkhead at Frame 4. The starboard catwalk at the flight deck level
was torn away. A portion of the fire main at Frame 15 buckled. All the lifelines on
the starboard side of the forecastle were torn away. The wind finally subsided during
the late morning. No personnel casualties noted. BENNINGTON steamed toward the
refueling area in the evening.

6 June 1945
Underway approximately 150 miles southeast of Okinawa, we began exercises with
anti-aircraft firing.

7 June 1945
Continued patrols and special missions over Okinawa.

8 June 1945
BENNINGTON launches patrols and strikes against planes at the Kanoya Airfields.

9 � 10 June 1945
Underway and en-route from Okinawa to Leyte Gulf."

I had read somewhere that they flew sorties after the hurricane and before repairs. This isn't it, but it confirms the fact. This means that the time I am trying to model is June 7-8, 1945. It also means that I probably need to get some bombers involved in the launch.

CHEERS!!!

[Rdutnell]

Update 22 � 8/10/2012
The new paints arrived yesterday. YEAH!!

I bought the new Model Masters acrylics 5-H Haze Gray, 5-O Ocean Gray and 5-N Navy Blue.

I�m really excited to try them out.

On another note, responding to a question I asked about chairs, oneslim suggested that I get Toms Model Works Titanic deck chairs set (link below) and cut off the arms and foot rests to get a 'chair', and since they will be in the hanger, nobody will know.

http://www.tomsmodelworks.com/catalog/p ... ucts_id=79

I looked into it and it�s a great idea. Thanks oneslim.

And the repainting begins�

[Rdutnell]

Update 23

I completed the repaint (though it still needs touching up) this morning and it went fairly well, except that I spilled about half of my new 5-H Haze Gray.

I�m glad I redid it. It would have driven me crazy knowing I had messed the colors up. It also gave me the chance to use the new Model Master paints, which I really like working with, and to do some crack filling, which I had not done previously. The gaps between the decks are still visible, but just barely compared to before. (Compare to Update of July 16, 2012.) I think I stopped sanding just a bit too soon, or you wouldn�t be able to see the seams at all.
And so it continues�

[Rdutnell]

Update 24

Well, I received the USS Bennington CV20 plan sheet I ordered from Floating Drydock and it is BIG and AWESOME! The detail is great, including that of the island. I have an 11� x 17� scanner and the island alone required 2 scans. The clip below was created by importing the scans into AutoCad, scaling and aligning them, plotting them to PDF and then exporting the PDF to a JPG, which was then cropped and resized to fit on this site. The resolution of the detail is somewhat less than the original, but you can still see the main features.

Unfortunately, my modifications were somewhat wrong and as I suspected. I shouldn�t have cut off the existing gun tub. So, I decided to fix it, mostly. On the plans, there is an addition that juts out forward of the pilot house. In images I looked at, I thought it was a round room so that�s what I built (shown in red). I didn�t change that, because I was afraid that I would do more damage than good.

So, I cut off the existing splinter shields and decking.

I then extended the deck with the gun tub, using the other half of the tub I had cut off earlier, and cut and fit new deck segments for the pilot house level deck.

This was followed by painting the deck parts�

Making new splinter shields�

Adding some support underneath the ex-gun tub. It had to have support of some sort�

And painting.

Painting is almost complete. Of course there seems like there are always touchups to make. I�ve heard it said that the camera is a cruel mistress. I think it was said in relation to fashion modeling, but I think it applies to ship modeling as well. I can go over the ship 10 times, take one picture and see all sorts of holidays I didn�t see with my naked eye. It�s not great, but it�s good enough and looks better without magnification, under normal light.

I�m not sure what I�m going to work on next. There are plenty of options to choose from.

[Rdutnell]

Update 25

I decided to work on the bow assembly and I should say that some of the information provided below has been posted on other forums on this site, but is included here as well, for completeness on the build log.

I was going to start with the anchor chain, but it doesn�t look particularly black. I suspect they may have sent me the wrong one. I�ve contacted them but don�t expect to hear back from them until at least tomorrow, so I started with the cable reels called out for in the directions for GMM�s 1/350 Essex PE set.

The directions say to mount them at 45 degree angles, but they don�t say relative to what. I posted a question about this on the Main Forum, and Cliffy B responded asking what ship I was working on, offering to look through the drawings in Raven's Essex book and let me know. Well, I certainly thanked him because I have Raven�s book and although I had looked at a lot of pictures, it didn�t occur to me that the reels would be on the plan drawings. When I looked, sure enough, they were shown on page 47. They are angled back 45 degrees from a line pointing outboard perpendicular to the long axis of the ship. I don't know how the reels were on Bennington, but I'm just going to assume they are as depicted for the Essex.

To make the reels, I used a small wire for the reel, and gray nylon thread for the cable. I built the reel with the wire and two circular end pieces first. I then tied the end of a spool of thread onto the reel wire, placed a small dab of super glue on it, to hold it in place, then cut off the excess end. It was then easy to roll the "wheels" between my fingers, keeping the thread somewhat tight, until I had as much as I wanted. The results are good although the paint job is not so good, at least on the Haze Gray one. The Ocean Gray one is OK. They both look good under normal light with the naked eye.

I also temporarily put the middle support legs (Part D15) on to see what it looked like and took a couple of more pictures.

I would like to put the support legs up now, but I think I should wait until the anchor chain is in place. There is a door in the forward bulkhead I need to put in, and a few more holes to drill, and�

[Rdutnell]

Update 26

I haven�t gotten much done on the model in the last few days, because I�ve been playing with the blueprints of the USS Bennington I ordered from the Floating Drydock (USS Bennington CV20 1945 Bu Ships# 396553aA-Y1), meaning I�ve been scanning them and bringing them into AutoCad. This is no easy task as the blueprints are at least 12� long (I should measure it, and 3� wide. To cover the entire ship on an 11�x17� scanner required 39 separate scans.

Unfortunately this proved more difficult than I thought it would be. The process required scanning a section, creating a JPG file, which was imported into AutoCad, scaled, and rotated. The first try, (I told you things didn�t go so well), I used various common points to scale each image and then aligned them. It looked decent from a distance. It even looked pretty good close up.

However, it wasn�t straight. It had a dog leg to the right. So, then I tried using Photoshop since it has the ability to merge photos (http://help.adobe.com/en_US/photoshop/c ... 75e8a.html). It too looked good from afar, but was even worse up close. There are 2 reasons for this. First, I merged all of the files at once. Merging them one at a time and using the manual setting may produce better results. The second reason was that the scans weren�t very well done.

So, I decided to try again. I moved the scanner out in the open, moved everything out of the way and treated the plans like a big scroll, unrolling one side and rolling up the other as I went. To make sure it was flat I used a large piece of cardboard with the 1981 ASHRAE Fundamentals Handbook, the first use I�ve gotten out of this tome in years. The scans produced were much better. This time I used the center line axis on the plans for distances and alignment. The results are much better. Still it got off a little at the end. If I had to do it over, which I might still do, I would start in the middle and work my way out, this would cut the natural propagation of error in half. Asit is, it�s pretty darn close, so I might just leave it alone.

Having the plans entered I then highlighted all of the landing lights red, traced and filled the numbers and all of the lines. I will use these to make decals.

I then plotted the plan to scale. It took three 8-1/2� x 11� sheets to fit it. Laying the plans next to the model, I realized that I had more modifications to make.

The 20mm guns are different. On the starboard sides the platforms are in the right place, and they are the same size, but where the Essex kit has 4 guns, the Bennington plans have 5�

And where the kit has 8, the plans show 10.

On the port side, the gun density is again higher, and the platforms aren�t even in the same locations.

I wasn�t expecting this diversion, but it is all part of the game! I hope I have enough guns.

[Rdutnell]

Update 27

After playing with the blueprints and AutoCad for a day or so, it was time to get back to actually getting something done on the model. So, I finished filling, sanding and painting the deck and I am really happy with the way it came out. It�s not professional quality by any means, but the seams aren�t obvious like they were before. You can also see the catapult I scribed (in slightly the wrong position, because I guessed where it would go, before I started learning about the ship I am trying to build).

I also decided to cut the funnel cap grille out and use the PE version. I�m a likin� it!

Now for the 20mm gun platforms.

CHEERS!!!

[Rdutnell]

Update 28
Correcting the 20mm gun platforms began with removing parts of 2 platforms, as well as some splinter shields, and all of a third one. The parts of the 2 platforms that were removed were removed using an Exacto knife and a small saw. Fortunately, I was able to remove the one that needed to be completely removed and relocated. This will make the next step far easier. If I would have determined that this piece would come off before I cut the splinter shields and life rafts off of it, it would have been even easier.

The next thing I did was cut out the place for the platform being moved. As luck would have it, when cut, one of the tabs on the platform lined up with a slot in the bottom of the flight deck, so I only had to cut out one slot. I glued the piece in place, but have yet to clean it up.

This was followed by another spot of good luck. One of the existing platforms I cut off was a perfect fit for one of the new platforms.

I just had to cut the existing walkway and glue the platform in place.

To give it additional support, I added support braces similar to the ones on the other platforms.

Next I glued on walkways where platforms had been removed.

So, the walkways and platforms are built. Next is tidying up, painting and installing splinter shields. I also need to determine how many guns I�m going to use to know where I need to drill holes and where I need to plug them. As I said before the Bennington plans show 10 guns in the same space that the Essex kit has 8 and has 5 where the Essex kit has 4. This seems really crowded. I mean they seem tight the way they are, adding more seems like it would make it dysfunctional.

We�re having fun now!!!!!!

[robertmelvin]

Your Bennington is coming along nicely. I love the lighting effects, great job on that. I admire your tenacity in tackling this project. You've set yourself quite a task. I wouldn't have the nerve to attempt that much scratch building and modification of the model with knives and saws.

Bob