Landlubber Mike

If you don’t mind me asking, how did you deal the tape edges? I hand brushed Tamiya clear on my current destroyer build along the tape edges to protect stripes and triangles on the funnels, and it worked really well. Just wondering what others do.

Beautiful work Alan - love the Flower Class ships! Your camo scheme looks fantastic!

Hey Alan, not sure how this escaped me. Just caught up and wanted to congratulate you on a fantastic build. Love the water diorama, nice job!

I noticed after I posted that Lee Valley included instructions under the care tab. Looks like a great little vise!

Just ordered my Christmas presents for this year. Thanks Jack! By the way, how do you like the mini vise? I have a Panavise that I use but was wondering about the mini vice. Does it need to be attached to a bench or table?

Looks fantastic!

Having completed a 1/700 destroyer and now on the home stretch with a 1/350 destroyer, I have to say, in some respects I like the 1/700 scale better in that the models are just a lot more compact. Fewer individual PE pieces at 1/700 because you just have a single piece that you fold multiple times, versus trying to fold and attach multiple PE pieces to each other to build an item. Also, the variety of 1/700 subjects is much greater than on the 1/350 side. That being said, I have a few 1/350 kits in the stash. I also have the Trumpeter 1/200 Bismarck with all the goodies from Pontos, etc., and wondering where I'll be able to keep it. But, I would say that if you can build at 1/700 scale, the larger scales aren't going to be much of a problem.

Beautiful model! Well done!

If comparing the Caldercraft and long-promised Amati kits, one thing to remember is the scale difference. Caldercraft is a really big model at 1/72 scale. Amati I believe is going to be even bigger at 1/64.

Very cool Elijah! Nicely done!

Looking really great Kevin, stay with it my friend! You’re doing a fantastic job!

Beautiful work Craig!! Congratulations on another fantastic build!

Good to know! Your build looks really clean and crisp, it looks like the fit was very nice. Thanks for the tip! I do have the Eduard mask, along with a ton of other goodies - Eduard PE, Verlinden Detail set, Master guns, and the CMK engine kit (4100). Got the full package on eBay for a great deal. I later got this Koster conversion set which allows you to do the closed nose night version J-1 or N-1. I’d probably have to do the J-1 since the CMK engine set is for the same engines as the J-1 (BMW801 versus the DB603 used on the N-1).

Looking great Edward - show that model and detail set who’s boss 😬

Hey Kevin sorry to just see this one. What a nice model! Really well done! Is this the E-5? I have the Pro Modeler kit but was going to try using the Koster conversion set to turn it into the J-1 night version.

Beautiful Glen! Very nice job!

Beautiful build Kevin - will be waiting to see your return on this one!

Thanks Kevin, really appreciate the kind words. I have this set that maybe could fit the bill…

I bought mine from a seller on another forum, but Free Time Hobbies has them: https://freetimehobbies.com/search-results-page?q=infini+easycutting

Nice job - moving along quickly! I know what you mean about the cast pieces. I was planning to scratch mine but you seem to have gotten them to work nicely.

Infini makes a few different types, including straight lines, curves, etc. I was really happy with the purchase after first using mine. On my current 1/350 build, I used one of the templates to cut masks for the stripes on my destroyer's funnels. I think the stripes were about 0.5 or 1mm in width. The template worked very well. In the last couple of years, I've tried to cut perfectly straight/rectangular strips using a straight edge and never could quite get it right on the very thin masks. The template makes that exercise easy and fool proof.

So I think I've managed to get the hull painted. I'm not as concerned about the lower portion as most will be covered up in the diorama. I did try to emulate the oil canning effect by shooting lines of very diluted white mixed in with the hull color. I found the vertical lines much easier to do than the long horizontal lines - maybe something to do with hand motions being a lot straighter up and down than left to right. I had to correct a portion at the starboard side of the bow which looks pretty good without the horizontal lines, but not sure if I want to repaint the full upper hull again. I sprayed some very diluted paint to help blend everything together and I figure that after adding some shading and grime with oils, everything should tie in ok. For what it's worth, I used a GSI-Creos PS-771 from Spraygunner. It has a 0.18mm nozzle. I figured if I was going to do 1/700 models, I might as well try out a smaller airbrush for fine detail work. I really like it - very nice quality and easy to use and clean. Gives me a little more fine spray than my 0.35mm Iwata Eclipse. I think at this point I can assemble all the pre-painted pieces, then clear coat for decal, shading, and weathering work. Should start looking more like a destroyer very soon. Thanks for looking in!

Thank you for the information! Makes a lot of sense. Still not sure about putting it on a diorama or just leaving it as is, but this has been a real learning experience for sure - WW2 aircraft, colors, flight decks versus hangar decks, etc. Not to mention, learning how to really chop up a kit and add resin details. Maybe making a base that is a dark gray base with sorta big squares etched out like in this picture would get me there. Then I can add a mechanic or two and lay the panels down and have a nice little scene. I started looking at hot wire cutters to be able to cut styrofoam to make plane and ship dioramas, so maybe I should just go with the flow. I've been thinking about what to pull off the shelf next, and I'm leaning towards staying with US WWII aircraft and going with the Accurate Miniatures TBF-1C kit. I've got a few goodies for that kit and could build it similarly to this one with the exposed engine bay, wings folded, etc.

Interesting post on US Navy hangar deck paint - looks like they used to be painted white, but then paint was stripped to lessen issues from fires: http://www.shipbucket.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=5363 Some time ago, I asked for info on what color to paint the hangar decks on my USN aircraft carrier ship models. Several of you responded, and said that the appropriate color was flat white. I replied the Samuel Eliot Morrison's History of U.S. Naval Operations in WWII indicated that all USN ships were ordered to remove interior paint in the wake of the shipboard fires during the Battle of Savo Island. Again, I was told that hangar decks throughout WWII were white. In the book 1942: The Year That Tried Men's Souls, author Winston Groom writes on pp. 275-276, that the navy ordered paint stripped from all interior compartments, due to its contribution to spreading onboard fires from battle damage. Also, the USS Enterprise (CV-6) Plan of the Day for 29 August, 1942 states: "From an analysis of the fire we had below on the 24th (Aug 1942), it is apparent that we were greatly aided in fighting the fire and the fire did not spread from the original damaged areas due to the fact that nearly all paint had been removed from the compartments affected. The many laborious hours that the crew has spent scraping paint paid real dividends in that emergency. There is still a considerable amount of paint to be removed from compartments in which there is a possibility of fire as the result of bomb or shell damage in an engagement. It appears that the next two weeks will offer an excellent opportunity to finish the job, and we should by all means make the most of it in order to place the ship in the best possible condition for future engagements. It is desired that those divisions which do not have spaces in the damaged area start again today on the paint removal project, being guided by the priority lists which have been prepared by Heads of Departments. ... Divisions having spaces and areas exposed to the weather should also take this opportunity to clean up and touch up rust and corrosion spots and in general look to the preservation of the ship." (signed) W.F. Boone, Commander, U.S. Navy, Executive Officer Based on this info, I believe that after August 1942, the proper color for a USN hangar deck should be bare metal. I have found no info to indicate that the USN had any non-flammable paint to use in hangar decks, nor that hangar decks were specifically exempted from paint removal - especially as hangar decks were the principal areas damaged by enemy bombs, and were very prone to fires, due to the aircraft stored there.

Thanks! I was thinking of that but there aren't many pictures out there, and of course most are of the flight deck. USS Lexington: Edit: Just found a colorized version: This is said to be the hangar deck of the USS Long Island, but the decking looks like the flight deck type of deck: Yorktown: I did find this from carrier base and background from Coastal Kits but I think it's for a modern day carrier: