WIP � US Standard Type Battleship(s)

[MartinJQuinn]

"Thingys" added to both cranes. Another round of painting next. Then some rigging from the top of the kingpost to the tip of the boom.

Given that I'll probably bump into these while handling, I decided to fix the alignment of the PE hooks right before attaching these to the ship.

[MartinJQuinn]

Before I broke out the airbrush, I spent some time seeing if there was anything else that needed work before painting. Of course, there was.

The small cranes on the quarterdeck needed some attention. I added PE ladders, wire booms, then grafted on the ends of the PE booms that came wit the kit onto the wire with CA. If I could manage to use a soldering iron properly, I would have soldered them, but solder and I are no bueno, as the folks in my office like to say.

I also spent a lot of time going through photos of California, especially Pearl Harbor photos. I noticed details on the funnels that weren't included in the kit.

So, I took out some brass tubing, cut to approximate length, and added those. More wire and "sh*t" need to be added to the forward funnel to finish making them resemble the photos.

[FFG-7]

are you talking about the soldering irons used on circuit boards & not solder guns used by diy? self trained on the use of soldering irons then properly trained while working at Celestica in the late 1990's. used that skill to replace the left switch on 2 computer mice with gaming switch of 80 million clicks. have not used a solder gun in decades, maybe late 70's into early 80's.

[MartinJQuinn]

Plain ole soldering irons. They hate me, and I them,

I spent most of the day looking at archival photos. Realized my initial interpretation of the funnels was wrong, so I redid the forward one. Also added vertical ladders to the aft funnel

[MartinJQuinn]

Broke out the airbrush and gave the funnels, cranes and boat stowage another coat of 5D.

Also airbrushed ION figures white in advance of detail painting.

I'll check those for any additional touch-ups, then figure out next steps.

[Jon C Ryckert]

Nice work as always. Do you lighten your colors? maybe it's my monitor as the 5D looks not as dark as my Colourcoats 5D.

[MartinJQuinn]

Nice work as always. Do you lighten your colors? maybe it's my monitor as the 5D looks not as dark as my Colourcoats 5D.

Thanks! I do not. That's Colourcoats 5D straight out of the tin.

[MartinJQuinn]

Been a busy couple of months since my last post. Started a new job and my son got married. All that's conspired to limit my time at the bench.

Figures (300+, in both 1/700 and 1/350) are painted. Some of them have been put in place, so I can put the superstructure part over top of them.

Among other things I was working on was adding while glue to the opening where the barrels protrude from the turret, to replicate blast bags.

Everything that's been painted got a coat of gloss...

For some reason, the gloss did not self-level on these parts.

That definitely a de-motivator, especially because it happened on some very prominent parts. There were the only three parts that came out like this after glossing. I weathered everything with an oil wash after leaving it all to dry for several days.

Not sure what I'm going to do with these parts, other than say "f*ck it". I've have no interest in trying to strip them and repaint. Nor do I want to buy replacements and start all over again. California might become a "shelf of doom" model until I figure out next steps.

[Timmy C]

No guarantee, but I would just brush the gloss on top and see if that helps. It can't get worse, right?

[MartinJQuinn]

No guarantee, but I would just brush the gloss on top and see if that helps. It can't get worse, right?

lol Famous last words!!

[MartinJQuinn]

I decided to take the "f*ck it" approach, hoping that directors and other deck gear would hide any offending areas. Having thus decided to give no f*cks, I used slow set CA glue to attach the next level of the superstructure in place.

I then used water soluble putty to fill in the seams. After that dried, I used small Q-tips, dipped in water, to smooth down the excess.

I then touched up the paint, then added the highest level of the conning tower and the 3in gun tubs to this level.

I also added a pair of inclined ladders to the back of the superstructure, and filled in a seam around the back of the water soluble putty.

[Dan K]

Looks good. The self leveled area just looks like it sees heavy foot traffic.

[BB62vet]

Martin,

Regarding the splotchy painting photo - I get that when I'm spraying parts and the can is about to go bust on paint, or if the can's spray hole is getting clogged. You didn't say that you sprayed the items, but it looks like it to me.

One thing I'm finding out about Tru-Color enamels (lacquers) is that they don't work well when overpainting with a different color - i.e. touching up haze gray items/areas after painting with deck blue - the colors (in spite of drying overnight) tend to bleed into each other. I don't get this problem with Mr. Color lacquers.

But, your overall superstructure looks OK; I don't think those small areas will be visible once the model is complete.

Hank

[ModelMonkey]

Very nice recovery!

[MartinJQuinn]

Martin,

Regarding the splotchy painting photo - I get that when I'm spraying parts and the can is about to go bust on paint, or if the can's spray hole is getting clogged. You didn't say that you sprayed the items, but it looks like it to me.

One thing I'm finding out about Tru-Color enamels (lacquers) is that they don't work well when overpainting with a different color - i.e. touching up haze gray items/areas after painting with deck blue - the colors (in spite of drying overnight) tend to bleed into each other. I don't get this problem with Mr. Color lacquers.

But, your overall superstructure looks OK; I don't think those small areas will be visible once the model is complete.

Hank

Thanks Hank. Appreciate the comments. I am painting with Colorcoats Enamels. Initial coats are airbrushed, with some touch ups with a hairy stick.

[Joelle]

The paint issue is barely noticeable anymore; it looks more like intentional aging.

So, nice progress!

[JoeP]

Argh, photographs! Why do they insist on hiding details from your eyes until you've already put the parts together?
It is astounding how things will appear in an image you've been reviewing repeatedly after you think it's done.

These are great works, and I'm enjoying your journey.

[MartinJQuinn]

Thanks for the kind comments fellas. Much appreciated.

After my last update, I glued the next level of the superstructure in place. I then wanted to start railing the superstructure, then realized I was out of two-bar rails, so I had to order more.

While waiting for those to arrive, I finished one project and started another.

Bronco 1/35 M22 Locust

Tamiya 1/48 N1K1

When those finally arrived, they were primed, and then I got to work.

CA_061426_04.jpg (55.18 KiB) Viewed 2291 times

Once the first two levels were done, I added rod to replicate the braces that help up the platforms for the small directors that were added to each side of the superstructure, as well as some small poles at the back of the superstructure, before starting the rail the pilot house level. I also added inclined ladders. The rails and the inclined ladders are from Infini Models.

The small directors are dry fit in the next two pictures, to make sure they clear the rails.

The pilot house level comes printed with the cage mast attached. In advance of adding this to the model, I attached the two Mk19 directors and the spotting top to this part. I will detail most of this - especially the spotting top, before permanently attaching to the model.

[MartinJQuinn]

I've run into a few hiccups with California. When I went to add the 24" SL to either side of the bridge, they didn't look right. Then, looking at plans (for WeeVee), I realized they were on raised bandstands, like other standard battleships. So, I made two pairs - one pair for CA, one for WeeVee:

These are now ready for paint:

Speaking of paint, I airbrushed some parts 5L, then realized that, even though it was the same color, it came out a different shade than the previous batch. New paint is on order. Hopefully that will more closely match what I had been using previously.

I also permanently glued the forward spotting top, AA defense station and the Mk19 directors to the top part of the bridge. I then glued figures inside the pilot house, so they'd (hopefully) be visible once the pilot house is in place

A few other issues cropped up. The photo-etch "yard" for the forward spotting top is, I believe, incorrect. It was designed to be somewhat similar to the yards on Arizona and Nevada, in a triangular shape but straight across the back of the spotting top, not angled, like AZ & NV.

Looking at photos, I determined that if I cut the PE part in pieces, I could use a flat section to help fabricate the mast, which is what I did. Again, I made 2: one for CA and one for WeeVee:

I also glued the main spotting top to the aft/main cagemast, then starting railing the SL platform.

I dry-fitted the 3D CXAM radar that was graciously sent to me by another modeler (thanks Jim!) and found, to my dismay, that it doesn't fit:

I pulled out an Infini PE radar set, and this part matches up to that part, so I suspect that the small platform above the pilot house that housed this might be too small/short? I guess I can turn the radar a bit, so it will fit, but it will be obvious upon inspection that it wouldn't be able to turn.
Finally, while adding some resin parts and additional inclined railings to the quarterdeck, I realized i never purchased 3" gun tubs for said deck. Guess I'll be heading to the Model Monkey website right after I post this...

Oh, and I don't have enough 36" searchlights either...

[Joelle]

Wonderful.
The figures in the wheelhouse made me smile. I had asked myself the same question—whether they would still be visible later on. I can tell you: just barely.