The Ship Model Forum

Walthers, the Model Railroad Supplier has .006 and .008 wire listed for $4/ pack of four.

T

A friend who sells HO scale model railroad kits told me of his trick for getting small diameter straight wires. He buys it on spools. He cuts off a length, fastens one end in a vise, and then gives the other end a quick hard tug. This pulls it into a perfectly straight piece with no tendancy for curling. Then he cuts it up into the short lengths needed for his kits.

A really good and relatively inexpensive source for wire and rod of all sizes and materials is McMaster-Carr:

http://www.mcmaster.com/#

They offer wire from 0.002" and up in many metals:

http://www.mcmaster.com/#metal-wire/=lec0k7

They also have metal and plastic shapes, sheets, tools, fasteners and just about every thing else, and it is a lot cheaper than what you get at hobby supply shops. Our company has been buying from them for decades, and I get most of my hobby supplies there also. Their web site is the easiest to use of any I have seen.

Phil

Thanks for the tips on the wire.
I have already built 3 railings with the .020 so I will have to stick with that.
I do not want to tear all of those areas apart now.

It will still look ok.

Good info, thanks. Always a consideration for the final use is the stiffness or softness. At what point is it called wire and not rod?

Cheers. T

That is a good question about wire vs.rod.
With bolts and screws it is a "screw" when 1/4 inch or less and a "bolt" when 1/4 inch or larger.

The .020 is not floppy, but I think the .008 thousands wire? would droop? Not sure really.

Back from another trip to the ship, took many photos. Something I hadn't noticed before, at the front edge of the recess under the aft Tomahawk deck the curve in the bulkhead curves broadly at the corner and tapers upward. This is a relic of the original 40 mm mount superstructure there. I hate to have to keep performing structural surgery! Also interesting to note that the 5 in mounts on the 03 level under the bridge wing do not have the gun captain hoods, due lack of clearance! I didn't have room there either!

T

Fliger747 wrote:Back from another trip to the ship, took many photos. Something I hadn't noticed before, at the front edge of the recess under the aft Tomahawk deck the curve in the bulkhead curves broadly at the corner and tapers upward. This is a relic of the original 40 mm mount superstructure there. I hate to have to keep performing structural surgery! Also interesting to note that the 5 in mounts on the 03 level under the bridge wing do not have the gun captain hoods, due lack of clearance! I didn't have room there either!

T

Thanks for the heads up on the 5 inch guns.
If you can will you post a photo of that? Thanks.

Will be a day or two as I am flying and traveling a lot, but will try to show a couple of those areas that had me fooled. The most fwd 5" mounts on the 03 level just have the hatch for the gun captain and not the surrounding blast hood. Something I decided to check out when I didn't have room for them there. As those are the top level mounts, not so much of a blast issue from the surrounding mounts, especially as they are tucked under the bridge wings.

The major surgery will be the radius and taper of the turn of the bulkhead corner at the front of the "covered porch". To coin a phrase below the aft Tomahawk deck. Look at some photos of the shipp in 1944 and you will clearly see this shape at the aft of the three Quad 40 mounts.

T

have time to get in one: Note the taper and curve of the bulkhead at the start of the covered weather deck just aft of the 56 mount, portside.

another shot stb side of the area of the covered weather deck, note how the edge turns and tapers above the ladder.

51 mount below bridge wing, stb side. Note that the gun captains hatch has no blast hood due lack of verticle clearance. The hatch, about 1 1/2" STS is spring ballanced to permit easy opening.

Blast hood and hatch 55 mount, stb side

two photos, another area I screwed up! CIWS deck has an undercut port and stbd.

Yes I missed those too!
"two photos, another area I screwed up! CIWS deck has an undercut port and stbd."

No way to get to it now.

I think what I will do is make two fake covers for those .

You know the captain has to have a place to put his golf clubs etc.,!

Thanks for the very good photos that you posted Fliger 747!!
These will make my model much better.

I found some K&S 0.016" brass rod/wire at the local hobby shop. I think that will be good enough for some scratch rail work, close to 3" at 1:192. I took a number of photos in and around the midshups expansion joint. There is a staging platform and access to the launches which I will eventually have to work in which mostly covers that small recess on the 01 level below the fwd Tomahawk deck.

T

Luky:

One note about the rail/lifelines on much of the new part of the ship, it is attached to the outside of the decks!

Cheers: T

Fliger747 wrote:Luky:

One note about the rail/lifelines on much of the new part of the ship, it is attached to the outside of the decks!

Cheers: T

Yes. Thanks, I am attaching the railings to the outside of the decks on this model.
On the previous model I attached the railings to the inside, and drilled through the deck.
The only thing I do not like about that is the glue is mostly holding on the railing.
Below is a detail of the model I built in 2005.
Click on the photo to enlarge.

Thanks! What did you make the spherical radar domes from?

Cheers. T

Lucky:

I found some wooden doll head knobs of wood that appear to be about the right size. Not at home so wonder if you have a measurement of what the diameter of the domes?

Cheers. T