Calling all USS Enterprise CV-6 fans

[Tracy White]

It's a matter of personal taste. What looks good to you?

[David Gatt]

Starting my Merit Enterprise. Finally. How far should I sand down the hull plates?

Vern

Completely. At 1/350 scale you cannot see them. I e done it twice now. Be careful not to sand to top edge down any lower than it is as you will have an over hang of the hanger deck bulkheads.

[mconnelley]

Starting my Merit Enterprise. Finally. How far should I sand down the hull plates?

Vern

Hello:

I'm also completely removing them. Rather than sanding, I'm using a scalpel blade to scrape the plastic off. The plastic comes off in fine ribbons rather than dust, which I prefer. It's also fairly fast material removal. I finish off with files and then a little sand paper to blend in.

As I recall, there were some plates on the side of the hull, roughly amidships under the island, that I was thinking of adding back on with very thin sheet plastic, or by masking off the area and using a few coats of primer. Here's a photo where you can see them:
https://www.navsource.org/archives/02/020644.jpg

Cheers
Mike

[admiralcag]

Starting my Merit Enterprise. Finally. How far should I sand down the hull plates?

Vern

Completely. At 1/350 scale you cannot see them. I e done it twice now. Be careful not to sand to top edge down any lower than it is as you will have an over hang of the hanger deck bulkheads.

Thanks!

At least this will be easier than filling the trenches on the Polar Lights Star Trek TOS Enterprise. Spent a year filling, sanding, priming, and repeating on the saucer grid lines. Ugh!

Vern

[admiralcag]

Starting my Merit Enterprise. Finally. How far should I sand down the hull plates?

Vern

Hello:

I'm also completely removing them. Rather than sanding, I'm using a scalpel blade to scrape the plastic off. The plastic comes off in fine ribbons rather than dust, which I prefer. It's also fairly fast material removal. I finish off with files and then a little sand paper to blend in.

I will have to switch to that method. Seems like it will be less mess. Thanks!

As I recall, there were some plates on the side of the hull, roughly amidships under the island, that I was thinking of adding back on with very thin sheet plastic, or by masking off the area and using a few coats of primer. Here's a photo where you can see them:
https://www.navsource.org/archives/02/020644.jpg

Thanks! I think I have that photo in my references already. I will have to look to see if there are any pictures of her in drydock.

Vern

[admiralcag]

What is this? It has an indent on the Merit hull, but no other details. I haven't been able to find a clear picture of it. I figure someone here would know.


Thanks!

Vern

[admiralcag]

that is the starboard stern main deck level. are you talking about that oval shape opening near the end of the hull main deck level?

Yes. I have been able to confirm it is on both port and starboard sides, It is on the same level as the fantail deck. It may be a hatch, but it is definitely not flush with the hull. The gook of general plans shows a ladder coming down from it.

Vern

[David Gatt]

that is the starboard stern main deck level. are you talking about that oval shape opening near the end of the hull main deck level?

Yes. I have been able to confirm it is on both port and starboard sides, It is on the same level as the fantail deck. It may be a hatch, but it is definitely not flush with the hull. The gook of general plans shows a ladder coming down from it.

Vern

It�s an opening, you�ll need to drill them out as Merit/ Trumpeter moulded them as depressions only.

[Tracy White]

It's essentially a non-watertight opening. I've seen them referred to as open air archways on the catwalk levels but am not sure if there's a technical term that is different for open doorways lower down. Since the area inboard of it is a weather deck there was little reason to spend the weight on a door and it provided access to the boat booms pre-war:

[admiralcag]

Thanks for the replies. I will open it up.

Vern

[Ottawarignjig]

Quick question: what are the canvas bags/pads I see strapped to the railings on various parts of the ship?

[Dick J]

Quick question: what are the canvas bags/pads I see strapped to the railings on various parts of the ship?

They are "splinter mats". British experience early in the war, concerning injuries from bomb fragments, was forwarded to the US. This resulted in the steel gun tubs and the shields attached to some AA guns. But these were usually mounted in a shipyard. As a temporary measure, splinter mats were attached to the rails to give some measure of protection to the gunners. They would also be used in areas that were not intended as permanent gun locations until the gun mounts could be relocated to their "ultimate" positions.

[Tracy White]

Dick's right, *but* you may also see mattresses folded over railings to dry out after a cleaning - if you see a similar look not around a gun gallery this may be what you are seeing. One tell-tale is that the mattresses didn't regularly extend down to the deck. If you look closely at this photo of CV-19 Hancock, this is what you see in the roller doors amidships.

[ArizonaBB39]

Hi all, I would like to back date the Academy 1/700 Enterprise to how she looked in December 1941 (pre Dec.7th). What all would I need to do to accomplish this? Is the Academy kit a good point to start from our is there a different kit that would be better? I know there'd be no 20mm, correct? The first page of this thread indicates the 1941 fit, is this still correct? She'd be in Ms1 with blue flight deck? What were her deck markings at this time? Thanks for any insights.

[Tracy White]

She'd be in Ms1 with blue flight deck? What were her deck markings at this time? Thanks for any insights.

Enterprise in 1941 is interesting and frustrating because we know Halsey used her for experiments. She had the silhouette of a destroyer painted on her side for a bit, for example, and NO ONE has managed to locate a photo of this yet. At least by summer of 1941 Halsey started experimenting with camouflaged decks - this color photo purports to be from June 1941 and in natural wood decking but if you look closely at the port forward flight deck you will see patterns that suggest blocks of paint.
This memo indicates that by the beginning of September Enterprise had painted over her original Mahogany stain with a blue-gray paint similar to aircraft non-specular blue-gray being applied to the aircraft at the time. This was then replaced in October with a new formula, given here with a textural description of "a grayish-blue appearance, with the original maroon flashing through to some extent." There is also a description of the deck lines that may be helpful.

This is the last/latest documentation I have located for Enterprise at this point.

[Guest]

She'd be in Ms1 with blue flight deck? What were her deck markings at this time? Thanks for any insights.

Enterprise in 1941 is interesting and frustrating because we know Halsey used her for experiments. She had the silhouette of a destroyer painted on her side for a bit, for example, and NO ONE has managed to locate a photo of this yet. At least by summer of 1941 Halsey started experimenting with camouflaged decks - this color photo purports to be from June 1941 and in natural wood decking but if you look closely at the port forward flight deck you will see patterns that suggest blocks of paint.
This memo indicates that by the beginning of September Enterprise had painted over her original Mahogany stain with a blue-gray paint similar to aircraft non-specular blue-gray being applied to the aircraft at the time. This was then replaced in October with a new formula, given here with a textural description of "a grayish-blue appearance, with the original maroon flashing through to some extent." There is also a description of the deck lines that may be helpful.

This is the last/latest documentation I have located for Enterprise at this point.

Thanks for the info Tracy. From what I read (and that picture) she'd have two lines on the flight deck, divided into dashes in yellow, presumably following the lines that were on the deck already? By December they were probably 4" as stated in the document? If I did my math right that's 0.15mm in 1/700.

[ArizonaBB39]

Doh, I was on a different device when I made that last post and didn't realize I wasn't logged in.

[admiralcag]

MartinJQuinn, I saw your build pics of your Enterprise but can't find them anymore. Could you point me to the thread?

Thanks!

Vern

[MartinJQuinn]

MartinJQuinn, I saw your build pics of your Enterprise but can't find them anymore. Could you point me to the thread?

Thanks!

Vern

Here's the final product, Vern: http://www.modelshipgallery.com/gallery ... /index.htm

Don't think I did a WIP thread with her

[admiralcag]

Thank you, sir!

Don't think I did a WIP thread with her

I could have sworn I picked up using the Five Star portholes from you. Hmmm...

Vern