The Ship Model Forum

I've managed to apply two coats of gloss to (almost) everything. I had some issues with the first coat - the airbrush started spitting and I got uneven results. A second coat went down fine and helped mitigate some of that. When that had dried, I gave the deck another wash. I think it looks better than it did before. Once that dries, I'll work on applying a wash to the hull and superstructure.

Quick update on the glacial progress that has been made on Oklahoma. Glacial due to variety of reasons - work, commute, reviews, etc - which have all conspired to keep me away from the workbench.

All the weathering is finished. After everything dried, I started applying a flat coat, which, like the gloss coat, have caused me some heartburn. My old standby flat coat - XtraAcrylic - has started drying in the A/B, which has led to poor flow and some splatter, and quite a bit of frustration, which has zapped my motivation. I've used this product for years, and I have never had an issue until recently. Hate Tamiya flat and don't want to use a non-acrylic flat over what I've done. Until I figure out next steps, she is pretty much on hold.

Anyway, here is how she looks as of today. The turrets, funnel, aft spotting top and other assorted parts are off to the side, having gotten a coat of flat too.

Nice work Martin!

She looks great from here.

Hopefully, you will figure out the flat coat issue.

Ahoy Martin Q..!

I would propose you switch your allegiance to this...

Ultra Matt-Artist quality - ( Galeria Acrylic varnish as below --use only this )
it always self-levels beautifully -- leaving no ' spray texture' .....ever
I buy the small bottles a spictured --and always on completion of a model use a new bottle...!

( after many months of work--the price of a coffee and pastry for bottle of varnish is a mere bagatelle !)

I use the started bottles in construction to matt small inaccessible-later parts, as a light tacking adhesive
and as a ' glue ' for errant decals

in addition.... if there is a faint dip in a deck or similar, I use its self-leveling properties when poured on with a brush...!
( keep the part horizontal ! )

When spraying I use a 50/50 mix with distilled ( battery ) water so as to avoid water chemical contaminants


Highly recommended ! � 4.99 in the UK at Amazon


Hope it helps you to rescue the model and re-establish your mojo and enthusiasm !!

JB

Thanks Jim! You are the second person who has suggested this brand. I'll have to see if the local art supply store carries it. I can only find the large 8.5oz bottles on line.

Martin I'm in the same boat as well. I used Model Master acrylic flat for many many moons and well we know that won't work any more. So I tried Tamiya flat as well. Long story short, if you look at my 1/200 Arizona, that weathering on the hull was accidental from using that shitty Tamiya flat. But, it looked the part so I went with it. LOL. I am also going to try the product mentioned because I wont' use anything other than acrylic.

boomstick68 wrote:So I tried Tamiya flat as well. Long story short, if you look at my 1/200 Arizona, that weathering on the hull was accidental from using that shitty Tamiya flat. But, it looked the part so I went with it. LOL.

Haha! Accidental perfection!! There are a few Blick Art stores around the NYC area, I'm going to stop in one and see if I can find the small bottles. Online I can only find the 8oz bottles.

I found the 2.5 oz on Amazon.

boomstick68 wrote:I found the 2.5 oz on Amazon.

Ah - I was looking on my phone and realized the app was defaulting to the 8.4oz size. Thanks

Martin,

She is looking beautiful! Excited to see her nearing completion.

Matt

The elusive Galleria flat coat arrived, and I finally had a chance to try it last night. Results were promising enough that I started adding additional parts to the ship tonight. After repairing an outrigger I broke off, I added the funnel and the 50' boats. Letting all that dry before proceeding. I've also been working on remasking the California to respray the casement deck. Thanks to Dan Kaplan for mixing up a paint match for me.

would the machine hatches be painted metal or covered in wood like the Pennsylvania class?

FFG-7 wrote:would the machine hatches be painted metal or covered in wood like the Pennsylvania class?

Good question. I'm not entirely sure, but I went with what was on the model.

Very nice Martin.

Your model and sea base give a fine illustration of how that dark grey camouflage scheme was found to be too dark for the Pacific!

Some more glacial progress, mostly working on the nested boats aft of the stack. There should be straps holding them in place, but as my enthusiasm for this build is fading fast, I may forgo them. Also added the 24" signal lamps, the .50cal MG to the foremast platform and the 3" AA guns.

Great to see the details being installed! She wil be coming alive now.

marijn van gils wrote:Great to see the details being installed! She wil be coming alive now.

Thank you!

So, after deciding that making, painting and adding straps to the nested boats was going to be too time consuming and not worth it, I made, painted and added straps to the nested boats. With the boats secured and in place, I added the cranes, which were custom 3D printed for me. The platforms the crane posts fit through on the original kit parts were "pre-broken", so once the cranes were in place, I had to do some repairs. In retrospect, I should not have added the 3" AA guns and the boats on the quarterdeck until after this step was done, as their being there complicated things. But, why do things the easy way?!? While the repairs were drying, I continued masking the California.

After leaving those repairs to dry, I went back and touched everything up with 5D. When that was dry, I started adding the secondary weapons and main battery turrets. I also added the Kingfisher to the catapult on #3 turret and the aircraft handling crane. I did have to remove the cart for the Kingfisher off the aft catapult, as the aircraft wouldn't have fit where I originally spotted it. In doing all this, I managed to pop off the jackstaff, which disappeared into a wormhole, never to be seen again. Which means somewhere, in someone else's workshop, a long-lost part has suddenly reappeared. When everything dried, I added the spotting top to the mainmast. This was a bit tricky, as I discovered the port leg is shorter than the starboard leg, but I think I got it on straight. I then set everything off to dry and went and watched some playoff hockey. I'll let things sit for a few days before I get back to it. Among the other things I need to do is punch out a disk of plastic to fill the small gap between the tripod and the spotting top, do any other touch up that's needed, add the Kingfisher to the aft catapult, replace the jackstaff, and start rigging. Finishing the seascape and adding figures will come last.

are the fighting control tops sitting on top of the tripods' struts or are there holes in the fighting control tops base plates for the struts to insert into?