At 'Em Arizona Fans!

[USS California BB44]

I have a question in regards to where the line from dark gray/blue to light gray was to be.
All the models and and paintings I've seen show the lighter color beginning just above the air control platform(?) or above the ship's bell.
However, After seeing pictures after the attack. California, Maryland, West Virginia, Tennessee, and even the Pennsylvania have that whole upper deck light gray. The only other exception is the Nevada but with her forward configuration it is hard for me to tell.

See anything wrong with this picture? Hint Hint, the aircraft

[alx]

Tuesday will mark the 69th anniversary...

Not the 70th, with all the accompanying hoopla that will bring, the 69th is the kind of quiet anniversary that goes unnoticed like so many of those who gave their lives that day.

I first visited Honolulu in 1980 when the advent of 747 service to Hawaii opened up the islands to us less than wealthy mortals who wanted to see.

Far more memorable than Pearl Harbor and the Memorial, at least for me, was Punchbowl, the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.



I've lost track of the number of times I have returned to Hawaii since then. To this day, I still find myself returning to Punchbowl to spend some time with them. And, no, I have no family there.

Looking down from the monument to the flag pole at the entrance, I have taken that walk among the neat rows, reading the names, the dates, the ages, and the homes to which they never returned.



Long before this current economic climate of depression and despair, I have wondered how many of these then young men found themselves far away from home in search of a way to survive the economics of their time, destined to not survive that day.

How many have never even been visited by family, unable to afford the journey?

It was a warm tropical day when walking among the dead that a cloud covered the sun and I felt a strange chill. Looking down, I met Brosig Kolajajck. In researching his name, all I came across was that he served aboard the Arizona that day. Not much said for 26 years and 3 days.



I wonder if anyone has ever visited HIM?

If you find yourself in Honolulu, by all means, visit Pearl Harbor. Experience the history.

But find some time to go to Punchbowl. Not on a bus tour, but by yourself.

Get off the pathways and walk among the dead. They won't mind.

Read the names, and the dates, and the places. Say them out loud.

If even for a moment, take the memories and make them live.

[dsk]

Even more sad is that there are very few survivors left now. Most of the ones still alive are past 90 and will probably be unable to make the trip to Pearl Harbor this or next year.

[Lewis E. Matkin, Jr.]

I would like to add another kit of the Arizona to the list here. Trumpeter has come out with a limited run USS Arizona in 1/200 scale. It is massive to say the least. Trumpeter fixed many of the problems that are in the earlier kits of this ship (both Revell & Banner). It comes with a small amount of PE, and Trumpeter offers an extra set. I believe this is the largest plastic kit of this ship ever made. Another note is that this kit is dated for 7Dec1941.
Cordially,
Lewis Ellis Matkin, Jr.
Dade City, Florida

[dsk]

Welcome to the club. Unfortunately it looks like you haven't noticed that the 1/200 Trumpeter kit has been discussed ad naseum for the past couple months here. Not only in this thread, but in the Main Forum in a thread titled "Unboxing Arizona". The kit is indeed great, but there are a few errors, such as the lack of detail and inaccurate props on the lower hull, hawespipes that are rotated essentially backwards, and minor dimensional inaccuracies of things such as the gun barrels. The amount of PE both in the kit and what comes in the upgrade set also leave quite a bit to be desired.

And last but not least, you're going to need to find your favorite chair and some fresh popcorn, and watch the argument that seems never ending over what Arizona's final color scheme was. The painting guide that comes with the Trumpeter kit is wrong, but that's about the only thing everybody agrees on.

[Lewis E. Matkin, Jr.]

No it has been quite a while since I was on this forum. Thank you for the information.

[MartinJQuinn]

Welcome to the club. Unfortunately it looks like you haven't noticed that the 1/200 Trumpeter kit has been discussed ad naseum for the past couple months here. Not only in this thread, but in the Main Forum in a thread titled "Unboxing Arizona".

Cut him a little slack, dsk, looks like it's his first post on the message boards. He may have only recently been converted to the wholesome goodness of MW.com...

[Lewis E. Matkin, Jr.]

Thanks, Martin, for going to bat for me. I am an amature militart historian, and have been studying this question of color of Arizona for quite a while. Over 30 years ago, I built my 2nd Revell 1/426 Arizona( I still have it) and painted it a shade of haze grey. Incorrect, yes. But at the time, info I had available to me, skill level, ect.... Anyway, thanks guys for this forum and the wealth of information which is available.
Cordially,
Lewis E. Matkin, Jr.
Dade City, Florida

[dsk]

Yeah, it's funny how everyone was thinking she was light grey overall on Dec 7th for decades, even with the Japanese attack photos readily available proving she was a dark color underneath the fighting tops. If you resume the discussion you'll see the latest revelation comes from an Arizona survivor that a fellow forum member interviewed in Hawaii a couple of days ago, who says they were still in the process of painting her in 5-S when the attack occurred. If his recollection is to be trusted then Arizona was a multitude of colors that morning.

[BFR4570]

I would like to add another kit of the Arizona to the list here. Trumpeter has come out with a limited run USS Arizona in 1/200 scale. It is massive to say the least. Trumpeter fixed many of the problems that are in the earlier kits of this ship (both Revell & Banner). It comes with a small amount of PE, and Trumpeter offers an extra set. I believe this is the largest plastic kit of this ship ever made. Another note is that this kit is dated for 7Dec1941.
Cordially,
Lewis Ellis Matkin, Jr.
Dade City, Florida

I am sure this model will be added to the list of Builds on this thread. As soon as one actually gets built! It's so new most people are still drooling over the parts in the boxes. Plus it is so big, most people have to finish what they are currently working on just to have room to work on this one. This one is a big change for a lot of people. Most of the RCers are used to working in scales this big, but most of the static builders are more used to 1/350 and smaller. Quite a difference when the ends of your hull hang a foot past each end of your workbench. I think a lot of people are also waiting to see what WEM (White Ensign Models) is going to come out with in their PE Set for this model. Latest I have heard, it may be out about next March.

So welcome aboard! And if someone gives you a hard time about something, they are usually just funning you. The Moderators here take it very seriously if someone starts getting nasty. Martin is one of them. So look around in here. There are threads in just about every catagory that have something to do with the Arizona. And they have tried to group a lot of it in this thread.

[Lewis E. Matkin, Jr.]

Thank you, bfr4570. I am sure that I will use this forum alot more for info, questions, ect... Over on finescalemodel.com , one of the contributors in the sept 2010 has a magnificent model of the Arizona ( he did 2--7dec1941 & today) only he elevated one barrel on #1 turret. He said that one of his resources was Friedman's vol. "U.S. Battleships-an illustrated history in design". Every picture I had ever seen of both this class and the previous class of ships shows that the guns in the triple gunned turrets to all elevate at the same time. Friedman states on p107-111 that these guns were mounted in a single cradle and were unable to elevate seperately. So if one elevates his guns seperately, he would be doing something that the original ship would have been unable to do.
Cordially,
Lewis E. Matkin, Jr.
Dade City, Florida

[BFR4570]

That model in FSM was well made, constructed, and painted, but he had a few other errors in detail. Anyone not familiar with the ship, as many of the readership are not, wouldn't be able to tell. But there were several letters posted in the Scale Talk, in following issues, pointing out the errors. The consensus was, I believe, that he did a better job on the Bismarck. But it was a clean build, IMHO, and it looked good. He just needed to do more research in THIS thread!

[SeanF]

I just noticed another Arizona vs. Pennsylvania difference: the large amidships boat cranes. Arizona's brace connects to the booms at the knuckle, while Pennsylvania's attaches below it (that is, the boom continues up a bit further beyond the connection before it bends.) See the cranes here: http://www.navsource.org/archives/01/013823.jpg and here: http://navsource.org/archives/01/038/013803g.jpg for Pennsy as opposed to here: http://www.navsource.org/archives/01/013906b.jpg and here: http://www.navsource.org/archives/01/013922z.jpg for the Arizona.

- Sean F.

[BBC_KT]

Sprue Bros has brass props for the 1/200 scale Arizona. Props + USPS were $26.33.
http://store.spruebrothers.com/1200-g-f ... 25306.aspx

[Tracy White]

They're a copy of the kit's props and shaped wrong.

[BFR4570]

I just noticed another Arizona vs. Pennsylvania difference: the large amidships boat cranes. Arizona's brace connects to the booms at the knuckle, while Pennsylvania's attaches below it (that is, the boom continues up a bit further beyond the connection before it bends.) See the cranes here: http://www.navsource.org/archives/01/013823.jpg and here: http://navsource.org/archives/01/038/013803g.jpg for Pennsy as opposed to here: http://www.navsource.org/archives/01/013906b.jpg and here: http://www.navsource.org/archives/01/013922z.jpg for the Arizona.

- Sean F.

Nice catch! It looks to me like the booms are the same, or close to it, while the upper part of the upright appears to be shorter on the Pennsylvania. Thus allowing the lower mount on the boom.

[davidwaples]

Tracy,
Is that something that can be corrected with a file or is it a bigger issue? What specifically is wrong with the shape?
Dave

[Secondo]

Tracy,
Is that something that can be corrected with a file or is it a bigger issue? What specifically is wrong with the shape?
Dave

Don't think it can be so easily corrected; the blades lack the "sheer" (the surfaces are not curved) and the fairing at their roots. It may be easier to start from the plastic ones.

[Tracy White]

I talked about it a few pages ago and posted a picture of California's props, which should be extremely similar if not the same. Essentially what trumpeter provided are small boat props; the actual props have more of a tear-drop shape and are nowhere near as wide at the tips.

[SeanF]

Links to a couple good shots of relevant props:
Arizona, early fit:
http://www.navsource.org/archives/01/0139022.jpg
And another of Arizona, during rebuild:
http://www.navsource.org/archives/01/013915a.jpg

Unless they changed props prior to Dec. 7, 1941, they are extremely similar to the ones very nicely displayed in this late-war shot of the Idaho:
http://www.navsource.org/archives/01/014258.jpg

- Sean F.