USS Indiana BB-58 Scratchbuild in 1/96 - 1944

[Richard J OMalley]

DYNAMITE

[TommyL]

Wow Bill,

I can see now how your going to do the hull blisters. Very interesting so far.

Hey some of us missed the hull build up of the Indy so could you answer some questions for me/us.

After the hull is fully sheeted do you fiberglass matt the hull to give it strenght?

I read that your going to use auto body filler to shape the bow wich is the same as I have attempted to do in the past. It worked but seemed to get that "ripple" look............sand sand sand Its fun at first but then gets to be a nightmare. Must be a patience issue

Ok in closing, your deck is only 3mm off wich is great. 1in is 24.5mm so 3mm would be only .122in off.

Another inspiring build! I cant wait to finish my current project and start working again.

TommyL.

[Bill Waldorf]

Wow Bill,

I can see now how your going to do the hull blisters. Very interesting so far.

Hey some of us missed the hull build up of the Indy so could you answer some questions for me/us.

After the hull is fully sheeted do you fiberglass matt the hull to give it strenght?

I read that your going to use auto body filler to shape the bow wich is the same as I have attempted to do in the past. It worked but seemed to get that "ripple" look............sand sand sand Its fun at first but then gets to be a nightmare. Must be a patience issue

Ok in closing, your deck is only 3mm off wich is great. 1in is 24.5mm so 3mm would be only .122in off.

Another inspiring build! I cant wait to finish my current project and start working again.

TommyL.

Hello Tommy L. In reply to your questions:
Once the hull is fully sheeted off with two layers of balsa, laminated together using industrial contact cement, and staggering all joints I will "paint" the hull with epoxy marine resin. This product works a bit like polyester resin, but it does not smell near as bad and dries harder. Cure time is overnight (12hrs.). I do not "mat" the hull with fibreglass cloth. The resin has an additive which looks like wood powder, if you will. You add it to the mixture and it really seals up the balsa well. You can add more or less depending on the viscosity of the resin you prefer. Anywhere from milk to oatmeal.
As for autobody filler.............. The trick with that is you shape it before it is fully cured and hard. About 2-3 minutes. Much easier to rough shape the filler while it is realitivly soft. Final shaping can be done after full cure, about 30 min.I use 50 grit paper to rough shape the filler, then follow up with finer grades as things take shape.
Lastly, 3mm is roughly 1/8", correct me if I'm wrong. So the real ship would be 1 foot bigger overall. Givin that the real thing is 680 feet in length, I doubt 1 foot would be discernable in an overall view. Hope this answers your questions. Thanks for your post, as well as all.

[Ludwig]

Great build Bill ,
Very impressing BB's those South Dakota Class.

regards,

Ludwig

[Jefgte]

Nice hull to come Bill






Jef

[Millard]

Looking good Bill.Bill has the climate in Fla. made any difference in your construction from when you were in Mi?
Rod

[Bill Waldorf]

Looking good Bill.Bill has the climate in Fla. made any difference in your construction from when you were in Mi?
Rod

Hello Millard!! Yes it has, I can work all year round painting, filling, applying resins, etc. All this dirty, nasty stuff can be done outside. No more 5 month break for winter. Average temps. here this time of year are 60 degrees at night and low 80's during the day. Otherwise, no. The shop is climate controlled and is kept at 78 degrees, with a realitive humidity at about 48%. This keeps everything nice and cosy, including me!! Saw your sailing ship, stunning job as usual. You are a master at them. Hope you are well. New update on this build coming soon............... Stay tuned!!

[TommyL]

Gah!

Bill,

I saw that you posted something to this tread so I got all prepared for an update with pictures.

TommyL.

[Bill Waldorf]

Hello again all. Progress continues on the USS Indiana(BB-58) build. I have added the second layer of 1/16" balsa sheeting to the hull, roughed in the stern, and prepared the bow area for scupting with autobody filler. Let's take a look................................

View of the port side here. Note the second layer of balsa smooths out the hull a bit. Still a bit wavy here and there but that will be cured after the resin application, when I can use autobody filler to smooth out things further. Everything running pretty straight so far.

Here's a stern view from stb. side. Note I have used balsa blocks in between the last two formers on the hull to rough in the stern shape. A bit of wood filler too. Blocks were cut over size and then sanded to shape after installation.

Nice shot of the stb. side of the ship. Note that the second layer of that balsa sheet really smooths things out. I have not really sanded this yet. Also note how tight the segments of the sheet fit together. This was time consuming but worth the effort. I used Industrial Grade contact adhesive to attach the second layer to the first. Strong stuff and resistant to heat and humidity.

Here's a bow shot from above showing the balsa sheet bent around the frames. Note the shape of the forward end of the bow is too pointed at main deck level. This will be shaped later after the main deck is installed so I get the right curve. Balsa blocks used here too, as in the stern, but not all the way fwd.

Here I have added 1/2" blocks to the inside of the bottom of the hull and installed "t-nuts" to the blocks. This will facilitate the mounting and final leveling of the ship to her display base when completed. I'll use 10-24 machine screws with washers, going through the display base and into these t-nuts. Makes it easy to "tweak" the mounting of the ship. Everything here is epoxied in.

On to the bow. Here you can see the use of balsa block to help form in the bow and as a base for the filler to be applied soon. I have added a strip of .040 styrene to get that knife edge of the bow, which somewhat blends in to the top of the bow and the bulb on the bottom. After the main deck is installed, I'll get rid of that pointed look. You'll see as things progress.

Here's another shot, only upside down. The general shape of the hull is coming together now, still a way to go.

A closer view here. Note the balsa blocks used here as in the stern area. I sealed this area with clear acrylic spray to seal the balsa somewhat before I use the filler. Resin coating will come after I form this area.

The stern from portside. Note the balsa blocks used here. The outboard skegs are taking shape, too. Once the main deck is attached, I'll blend everything together at the joint between the main deck and the hull. It will look like one solid piece.

On to the outboard skegs. The second layer of balsa really helped here to form the shape of these. They are somewhat difficult to duplicate, since I have no real drawings of them and minimal photo references. I am assuming these are close to correct. Note the catamaran look.

These next few photos show the outboard skegs again from different angles.







Well, thats it for tonites update!! Hope you enjoy. Next I will mount the main deck and form in the bow, as well as other areas before the resin coating begins. Stay tuned!!!!!................... More to come.....
I continue on..........................................

[TommyL]

Now thats impressive. I didnt know you had the touch with full sheets of balsa. Ive only seen strips layed out then sanded to a uniform shape.

Did you steam the sheets to prevent them from cracking around the tight bends?

TommyL.

[kennylibben]

Tommy,

i cant answer for Bill but i use full sheets all the time and you can get them extremely thing and they dont crack, they can bend like paper if you buy the good stuff. Stay away from Great Planes (Plains?) .... it cracks and splinters like crazy.

[TommyL]

Yup...........I bought from Great Planes.

[kennylibben]

i did too my first time! i'll try to get ahold of the name of the good stuff for you.

[Scale Shipyard / W.L.U.]

Bill:

Your project is coming along nicely, but I am dismayed that your using Balsa wood to build this model, no established museum will knowingly pay for that, I wish you luck. The problems will show up in the future.

At the very least you should glass the hull with 2 oz cloth with your Marine epoxy resin.

Are you going to add the knuckle to the aft section of the hull at a later stage.

A problem that will pop up with the extra 1/4" you added to her beam with the planking, is at the bow where the hull flares, but mainly the taper of the hull at the stem will be too blunt. I scrapped my first Baltimore class cruiser hull master for this reason, when she was about 80% complete.


I am not trying to beat on you here Bill, Your a damn good builder.

[Sean Hert]

I've gotten great balsa from Lone Star Balsa before.

[kennylibben]

yeah sean, i think that is what i use.

[Bill Waldorf]

Bill:

Your project is coming along nicely, but I am dismayed that your using Balsa wood to build this model, no established museum will knowingly pay for that, I wish you luck. The problems will show up in the future.

At the very least you should glass the hull with 2 oz cloth with your Marine epoxy resin.

Are you going to add the knuckle to the aft section of the hull at a later stage.

A problem that will pop up with the extra 1/4" you added to her beam with the planking, is at the bow where the hull flares, but mainly the taper of the hull at the stem will be too blunt. I scrapped my first Baltimore class cruiser hull master for this reason, when she was about 80% complete.


I am not trying to beat on you here Bill, Your a damn good builder.

No offense taken here, Mr. Upshaw. I can assure you that the Museum knows exactly what I am doing. The hull will be coated with the marine resin as I said, but instead of the 2 oz. cloth you mentioned, I'll gel coat the hull. The inside of the structure is also resined, so the possibilty of any problems as far as longevity is concerned are minimal at best, in my opinion. As far as me adding a quarter of an inch to her beam, it is less than that, probably more like an 1/8". I am not done with the hull yet, so let's wait and see what it looks like after I get a little further, than pass a judgement call. Fair enough?? Thanks for your post..................

[Bill Waldorf]

Theres been some discussion about balsa wood here lately. I've used many brands in the past such as Sig, Midwest, Lone Star, etc. I found a company called Solarbo out of Miami, Fla. (Solarbo.com) They manufacture their own brand of balsa and it is very good. I requested a rather soft grade of stock when I ordered, and I got just that. Their service is great and delivery time was fast. Plus the prices are real good. I was very happy with them and will be a return customer.

[TommyL]

Theres been some discussion about balsa wood here lately. I've used many brands in the past such as Sig, Midwest, Lone Star, etc. I found a company called Solarbo out of Miami, Fla. (Solarbo.com) They manufacture their own brand of balsa and it is very good. I requested a rather soft grade of stock when I ordered, and I got just that. Their service is great and delivery time was fast. Plus the prices are real good. I was very happy with them and will be a return customer.

Thanks Bill,

Ill have to keep that in mind if I do a some work with balsa in the future.

TommyL.

[Guest]

Bill, in terms of longevity, I'd have to agree.

I've seen balsa-clad models that aren't gel-coated, are used in water regularly, and are over a couple of decades old. Place those models, unused, in the stable atmospheric environments of museums, their hulls sealed with resin, and I'm certain lifetimes are possible that'll well outlast the average builder. And their great-grandchildren.

Andy