WIP � US Standard Type Battleship(s)

[Dan K]

Looking good.

[MartinJQuinn]

I finished adding all the rafts to the turrets. In a "Kaplan-esque" moment, I found I hated the straps I made, so I tossed them and started over, making them thinner and shorter. I added these to the turrets, lopping them over the rails and gluing them under the edges of the rafts. While it's not 100% accurate, it achieves the "look" I was going for. I'm reasonably happy with how they came out...

With those done, I concentrated on making the larger raft sets.

After these dried, I added three to the starboard side of the vegetable locker.

Before I add the last of the rafts, I'm reviewing photos and trying to see if I'm missing any locations. I have some questions, which can can find here.

[MartinJQuinn]

The turrets are complete, with all rails and rafts attached, including straps made from copy paper, then painted a slightly lighter shade than the ship.

All the raft sets are done, they also got the same paper straps. I've added almost all the rafts to the ship (one behind the port crane can't go in place until the crane is there). The the locations of the rafts are based on my interpretations of period photographs, many being of photos of the wreck. TaskForce48 pointed out the possible location of the starboard side of turret 3, below the catapult. I have to decide if I'm going to add that, as I'll have to add pad-eyes to the turret side to hold the straps.

Meanwhile, I�m working on touching up the paint, especially the exposed brass on the railings, then I�ll move to painting the lower portions of the ships boats black, and see whatever else needs to be touched up. I'm also working on putting together the L'Arsenal .50 caliber MGs, which is what I had on hand. For future Standard BBs, I'll go with 3D printed versions.

[Dan K]

She's really coming together nicely now. Looks great.

A lotta work into that old ISW kit.

[pascalemod]

Is the water base finished or this is just work in progress like a placeholder for now until you go with gels, mediums, etc.

[MartinJQuinn]

Is the water base finished or this is just work in progress like a placeholder for now until you go with gels, mediums, etc.

It's a placeholder. The edges have to be filled in and blended, then finished. That will be the last thing I'll do.

[pascalemod]

Is the water base finished or this is just work in progress like a placeholder for now until you go with gels, mediums, etc.

It's a placeholder. The edges have to be filled in and blended, then finished. That will be the last thing I'll do.

I am relieved to hear this haha. Ships are coming along nicely!

[MartinJQuinn]

2nd last thing as the last thing you'll do is placing the model on a shelf for display purposes.

I am relieved to hear this haha. Ships are coming along nicely!

[taskforce48]

Outstanding work and perseverance Martin! The Okie is often overshadowed by the other ships of Battleship row, but her history and crew are no less deserving of a well done build to honor them.

Keep up the great work!

Matt

[MartinJQuinn]

Thanks Matt! And thanks for the input you provided on the location of the rafts.

Went over the whole model and touched up all the areas that I could find. Needless to say, I'm sure I'll find more spots, after the model is finished.

I painted the bottoms of the boats black, and also painted the "curtains" on the 40' Motorboats. These boats came from Shapeways, with TMW PE rudders and props/shafts, as the printed versions came broken (twice!).

I have to paint the boat racks I made (again, from the TMW AZ boat set) for the nested boats that sit on the boat deck, then put those stacks together. The only issue I'm having is the PE cradles are all the same size, so as the boats gets smaller, they don't really fit, and I'm not entirely pleased with them. I don't see anything available aftermarket wise. I'm open to suggestions if anyone knows of anything that might work.

In between touch up work and while the paint on the boats was drying, I cleaned up the ModelMonkey casement deck for the 700 Arizona, then sanded the sh*t out of Arizona's deck, so the part would lay flat.

Couldn't resist test fitting parts to see where she is at. The base Dragon kit is a turd, the 3D parts really make the kit. In fact, if there were no 3D printed parts, I'd probably would have binned it my now.

[MartinJQuinn]

Started working on the davits for the accommodation ladders and on the boat booms. After spending a good portion of my Sunday afternoon looking at OK/NV pics, to figure out the placement of said davits/booms, I started cutting them out of brass rod, using a slightly thicker rod for the boat booms.

When those were done, I cut 1mm strips of strip styrene to mount to the hull.

Each of these strips had one end rounded off, and then a hole drilled into them, to accept the davit

Here's what I was going for...

With that done, I then mounted all these supports to the hull

Then prepped it all for painting

Along with the davits & booms, I airbrushed the boat cradles with a first coat of 5D. I also sprayed some AZ parts.

Next up is a second coat of 5D on the davits and booms, after flipping the parts over. Once those are dry, I can start installing them onto the model.

[SG1]

Each of these strips had one end rounded off, and then a hole drilled into them, to accept the davit

okie020524b.jpg

Wow! Excellent!

[hypno7]

Those boats look great!

The progress is coming along very good and all those 3D printed parts really enhance your builds.

I couldn't help but notice... but you have a mighty collection of brushes as seen in some of your photos of the workspace.

[MartinJQuinn]

I couldn't help but notice... but you have a mighty collection of brushes as seen in some of your photos of the workspace.

lol - I keep buying them, hoping to find some I actually like!

[Devin]

lol - I keep buying them, hoping to find some I actually like!

At last year's Scale Model Challenge, I purchased brushes from a few different places, as I haven't had much luck lately, either. Even the Windsor Newton brushes aren't as good as they used to be. So far the brushes by Hawk Miniatures are working the best; so far no splayed bristles.

[MartinJQuinn]

I added the accommodation ladder davits, as well as boat booms and their respective support posts, to the model. Of course, it didn�t go smoothly, and I had to reattach several, after knocking them off.

I also made a representation of what I think is the garbage chute on the port side, from half round plastic strip and scrap brass squared �tubing�. Once all the aforementioned parts were attached and touched up, I went back to the boat cradles for the nested boats, which I didn�t like. Using a tip from Keith Bender, I reworked them, especially the ones for the 26� whaleboats. I think they look much better now.

Supporting the boat booms while they dry

Garbage chute:

Reworking the cradles for the nested boats:

Boat dry-fit only

Where we are as of today...

New .50cal MG are on their way - the L'Arsenal resin & PE versions I had were not usable. Also waiting on a 3D printed strongback for the aircraft handling crane from a source.

Not sure why the photos are showing "sideways" in the preview. They'll open up normally once you click on them

[Dan K]

Really nice cradles.

[ModelMonkey]

Simply sublime.

[MartinJQuinn]

Some parts for Oklahoma have arrived and allowed me to continue with the build. The first part is a �strong-back� for the aircraft handling crane. It�s 3D printed from Tom�s Modelworks, and a major improvement over the kit �part�. After cleanup, I folded and attached the kit PE crane to the 3D printed part. Needs some touch up before being added the deck.

The other thing that arrived were .50cal water-cooled machine guns. I was planning on using what I already had on hand from L�Arsenal, but these 3D printed versions from Black Cat Models are superior in every way.

Inching closer...

[marijn van gils]

Those are some very nice parts!