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Hank

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Everything posted by Hank

  1. Last night saw further results on the upper conning tower modifications for the ECM equipment rooms and external ducts, etc. The following photos, while rough in nature, show the additions: Tonight I will assemble the modified stbd steam whistle platform & horn (using the Pontos PE parts). This platform will be shortened and lowered as modified in 1967-68. Also, I hope to get the FC rangefinder base modified with the SATcom antenna addition (scratchbuilt) and all PE parts. I have found that working topside down is more logical so you have less chance to forget to add something that should have been put in place first. This also applies to adding back various pipes & conduits that were modified from the kit supplied conning tower. Once again, the mast and FC base are only sitting in place temporarily at this point. The white angled plastic part in the center of the 011 Level Platform is the antenna base for the 35' whip antenna (to be added later). You don't realize how much time it takes to make all the alterations to the kit parts in addition to creating other parts from scratch until you start working on this stuff. My next set of photos should look a lot more "presentable" once railings, paint, and so forth are applied. Hank
  2. Popeye, David - Thanks for the kind remarks. I post when I have something worthwhile - some evenings I can work all evening but the results are incomplete (such as right now!) so I wait until I have something worthwhile to show the forum. Hope to have further work on the conning tower early next week - made progess last night, but not enough to get out the camera! Hank
  3. Popeye, Kevin - Thanks so much for the nice comments!! Always appreciated - and glad to have you both aboard. This will be a long term project, no way around that fact. Hank
  4. Last night's construction involved modifications to the 011 Level Platform and additions of ECM equipment rooms to the upper conning tower: Tonight I'll continue with the stbd side ECM room bulkheads, cleaning up and rounding edges, and further addition of equipment. Note hand rung holes on forward face of tower - I used my Tamiya Handy Drill w/0.3mm bit - worked very well, indeed! Hank
  5. Well, the mainmast after leg assembly and rado antenna platform & antenna are now complete - until the superstructure is in place, these parts will be stored. I will now begin working on the upper conning tower modifications for the ECM houses & antenna. Hank
  6. As of last night, I finally have the Foremast/Radars pretty much completed. Additional details such as waveguide, elec. cabling, other support legs, etc. will be added at installation. Also, touch up painting and handrail "fine tuning" will also be done at that time. These parts were all scratchbuilt from sheet styrene, kit & Pontos PE & brass, other brass rods, and styrene rod. Modifications to the upper conning tower (shown in photos) will be next for additions on either side for the ECM houses and antennae. Hank
  7. Mark, Yea, the fiddly bits are what take so long to make - and there will be more before it's over. Hank
  8. It's been a while since I've updated this build, but I've not been twiddling my thumbs. I'm sort of in a holding pattern on hullwork, waiting to see what some other modelers building this kit (The Ship Model forum) will do regarding some discrepancies in the molding of the hull. So, with many other facets of the build to address, I've turned my attention to the superstructure and masts. The last two weeks I've been working on the Foremast/Radar Suite and the following photo show it's current status. With the exception of the main mast pole (Pontos part) everything else is scratch made. The brass comes from both the Pontos and kit PE sets. I'm about 75% finished and will post new photos when complete. I'm waiting on a couple deliveries of parts, tools, and radar set drawings in order to build the surface and air search antennae and then will put the railings around each of the platforms, add ladders, whip antenna, waveguild trays. The uppermost radar platform will be added once the others below are complete. This is has been a very tedious process to say the least...as you can see from the photo, the PE is very delicate and I have a couple areas that need straightening out with needle nosed pliers in order to unbend them. I'm using a combination of the kit plastic with the Pontos Detail Set PE in order to achieve the best results on this. Hank
  9. Norman, Thanks for the reply. I know you mentioned this in one of our pm's a while ago. It's ironic that the Pontos PE also "seems" rather flimsy but I can't compare 'til I get back to the shop where the model resides. Pontos has done a really great job in all the areas that they provide parts for - actually in some way of thinking they may have overdone it - the complete brass top for the 16" turret is, well, necessary? While the underside of the turrets are spectacularly detailed in brass which is a big plus! The kit parts + Pontos Details on the 40mm & 20mm guns is the most detailed modeling I've seen on anything yet! I won't be using these, but installed into one of the super detailed tubs, they would look above museum quality IMHO. I may keep one of each aside for assembly and possible display for my own use. (I have another modeler interested in the balance of those mounts and assemblies) One item that I may use the majority of the kit parts on is the aircraft crane on the fantail. I don't know at this point whether it was (on NEW JERSEY) replaced in the '50's or simply reinforced with triangular gussets between all the support tubing, but both the kit plastic and Pontos PE cranes will NOT be correct on my build without modification. I plan to use the plastic crane (due to it's being molded as round tubing which is more realistic than 1 dimentional PE brass) with added scratch gussets and the PE from Pontos for the extra detailing of pulleys and other parts. I will also add new scratchblt. red night lights that were added to the crane in '67. The Pontos PE for the crane operator console and so forth are really spectacular in their detail. I could go on and on but you get the picture - this will be a long term project, to say the least. Hank
  10. Having purchased the Pontos Detail Up Set without Deck for the 1:200 Trumpeter MISSOURI last week - I received it today - WOW!!! There is SO MUCH to this set. First - the machined parts are bagged separately (gun barrels, bitts, mast parts, antenna, etc.) and the 16" barrels are really so much better than the Trumpeter Upgrade that Trumpy should remove that set from the market - it ain't worth a crap in comparison. All the barrels were included as stated in the instructions. (Other modelers have stated that they did not receive the correct numbers of 20mm/40mm barrels). There is a separate bag of resin cast parts - bloomers for the 16" and 5"/38 guns and other parts. I'll have to compare these to the kit supplied bloomers and use whichever is more realistic. They are both comparable, I think. Then there are the various sheets of brass etched parts - more, much more than I will be using on my build (67-69 NEW JERSEY). I guess the more unusual aspect of this set is the very nice colored instruction sheets (7 sheets - doubled sided) that would make an Egyptian hieroglyphics researcher jump with joy . I guess that since hiring an English translator to actually come up with Printed Instructions (to accompany the photos) is out of the question, this is the next best thing. OK, criticism aside, the parts themselves, seem to be very well etched and detailed. I will, however, compare them with the PE included in the kit and use the better of the two. In some fashion, I don't see at this point why Pontos chose to redo everything that Trumpeter included in the kit, but I'll go through this with a fine tooth comb once I get back to my shop in early January. I will note one other item - the waterways - while this set does include them, they are not what I would consider as totally correct. They are one dimensional and to my way of looking at this detail they should be at LEAST a brass angle with its short leg being inside as the very edge butting up to the teak decking. I may have to explore this a bit more before I make a yea or nay on it. One thing I do like about this set is the rung hole patterns for the correct placement of hand rungs on the stern of the ship as well as elsewhere on the superstructure. I'm not sure if they include enough to put them in the proper locations at the stern as were on NJ in the late '60s, but I'm sure there's a workaround if not. So, my initial assessment is that this Detail Up Set is probably a big plus for the model - whether it's worth the retail price may be up to the modeler to decide.
  11. Well, last night I got the putty work done & sanded on the bow joint and got the shaft housings installed, but have to putty/sand them when I return to my shop in early Jan. 14. Photos don't show a whole lot, but that's where we're at right now! Hank
  12. Thanks for the various comments, they are appreciated!! Progress on model - After cutting out the forward part of my main deck plan, I had to make quite a few adjustments in opening locations, etc. I've reconciled 2/3 of the plan and hope to fiinish checking/redrawing the stern section tonight. I've re-printed it and will go thru complete cutout/recheck tonight - hopefully with better results. With the bow sections mated, I filled in the minute holes in the bow and the seams w/Green Stuff and later sanded, etc. The bow section is now mated to the hull and tonight I will apply Green Stuff to hide the seam. Hopefully, I will post pictures tomorrow - I forgot to download them from the camera last night. Hank
  13. Walt, The hull is 53" long by 6 1/2' wide (approx.). The actual dimensions are 887' L x 108' W (approx.). Sailor12345etc - I have many pix I could post, but this is a build log and I don't want to get off topic. There are a lot of online pictures of the IOWAs - you just have to look. Jaxboat, I'm getting ready to purchase the Pontos PE Set w/o deck. I'm working on CADing the wood decks and see what Scaledecks can do for a wood deck set for me. I agree the prices are rather steep, but they really add to the basic kit - no doubt about it. Hank
  14. Last night was mainly shop area cleanup, actual modeling was off the table. Tonight (Tues.) I plan to get the bow section assembled to the hull and puttied. I did, however, take a few photos of the hull pieces:
  15. Ready to go??? I won't go into it, but NO, N-O-T quite yet. But, getting all the ducks in a row. Pull up a chair, Aye!! Our one and only WesPac cruise was Sept. 68 - April 69. We were scheduled to depart Long Beach in Sept. 69 but Nixon cut 50 ships in August and we headed the list. It seems the main sticking point at the Paris Peace Talks was one item - NEW JERSEY - the reason being they had absolutely NOTHING that could stop us and it was the deal breaker. So, we didn't return, the talks continued and history took it's course. I know this first hand from Capt. Snyder (later R. Adm. Snyder) our C.O. at the time. He was relieved, and Capt. Penniston took us to Bremerton in Sept. 69-Dec.69 for decomm. End of story. What you probably heard were the 8" shells from either NEWPORT NEWS or ST PAUL. One of them relieved us and alternated up until one of them had her 8" turret problems. NEW JERSEY was the only battleship reactivated for Vietnam Service. Later, Hank
  16. O.C. - I have Under Siege - that movie was filmed mostly on ALABAMA and a small portion on MISSOURI. NEW JERSEY did not play a part I the movie. Jud - I also was on a Fletcher class can - USS STODDARD (DD-566) - 66-68, Westpac 66-67. We had the single 5"/38 mounts and the 3 open 3"/50 mounts that were replacements for the orig. 40mm mounts. I was 3rd loader and then mount captain on MT. 32 and then 33 before I was transferred to a Sumner class Fram 1 can. Hank
  17. Well, let's see: Len - the picture I have (Panamal Canal forward looking aft) shows 51/52 without hoods. I'm guessing that they could cause a conflict with the bottom of the after bridge overhang, above those particular mounts, when the mount was traversed. Walter - you've got your answer!! Jud - the IOWA's only had twin 5"/38 enclosed mounts. The open mounts were on the older, pre-WWII battleships, such as ARIZONA/PENNSYLVANIA/TENNESSEE, etc. BB55 forward all had the twin enclosed mounts. Joe - I remember you guys!!! Thanks for the encouragement! Later, Hank
  18. As for the gray paints - I've ordered Master Modeler Light Sea Gray (bottle/spray) for the Haze Gray vertical surfaces, Master Modeler Gunship Gray (bottle/spray) for the Deck Gray horizontal surfaces. These two colors were available in both spray and bottle and that was the determining factor. I consulted the Tester's comparison chart on their website and the Lt. Sea Gray was very close to the Neutral Gray, which was not offered in a spray. In addition, I've ordered flat white, flat black bottles in the Master Modeler Series, as well. Still waiting on the Teak Deck samples from Scaledecks but I've already thought of a way to incorporate their uncut decking for use on the main deck - this will entail CAD drafting the shape of the main deck (actual wood areas) exact size and then printing this out. Adhesive spray glue to hold the pattern in place and then cutting out from the uncut deck piece. I've considered actually putting the deck on the ship upside down and adhering the teak to that side, thus eliminating the sanding flush of all raised areas molded into the deck, but I'm not completely sold on that idea. The other side of the coin is to draw up the paper pattern with all raised areas (hatches), etc. drawn in as cutouts. I may do this first, and see what kind of fit I get. I do know there will be some sanding off of minor items. Pre-formed holes in the deck that are deemed necessary will obviously be drilled out in the teak decking, as well. Styrene plastic rods, squares, and bars I horded for years will now finally be used (if needed) on this build. That brings us up to date. Hank
  19. Martin, Well, can't say when pix will show up but keep an eye out - I hope to get started in the next week or so. Len, Hey, Guy!!! Yea, you were right across the ship from us - were you in 4th Div.? My Enlisted Personnel Office is (or was in 2004) a nasty ole storage area and our berthing area (X Division) has been made into the walk-thru museum (stbd. side). You are correct in that there is plenty of 3rd party stuff out there for these kits. But, this NEW JERSEY (67-69 configuration) was unique and many of the 3rd party vendors haven't a good feel about the profitability of offering detail sets (PE, decking) specifically for this era. So, I'm sort of picking and choosing how to go about this. I do have one question re. MT. 51/52 - the forward-most mounts - did they or did they NOT have the sight hoods on the top rear of the mount? I'm of the opinion that they had been removed and a couple photos in my collection seem to bear this out. Later, Hank
  20. WW, The blast bags, or Bloomers as we used to call them, are separate pieces for each gun. This is a very nice improvement over the Tamiya 1:350 battleship kits. I bought the upgrade kit from Trumpeter which is metal barrels, anchors, screws - I'm not sure yet whether I'll use the kit plastic or these metal ones; more than likely I will. The 5"/38 upgrade barrels are brass and I will use these in place of the kit plastic. I may refer to photos of the actual bags on NJ 67-69 for comparison to the kit bags before I decide on making ones from scratch. One of the modelers posting on Ship Model Forum is building MISSOURI (1:192 - semi-scratch) and posted photos of his hand-made bloomers and they turned out nice. This would be a good application for Sculpy or similar modeling putty. Hank
  21. Jeff, Thanks for the support! Augie, Well, the serious thought took place back in the '60's - the application was thwarted by dried up paints when I was doing this on the 1:350 Life-Like/Tamiya kits back in the 90's. So, now with the 1:200 scale at hand and many more super detail sets available - decking to name one, I'm tackling this again. Hopefully, this will have a successful conclusion. Hank
  22. Purchase of the Trumpeter 1:200 MISSOURI kit took place the last week of Nov. 2013. I received the kit today, Dec. 05, and began to access what was needed to turn this into a model of USS NEW JERSEY (BB-62) in her 1967-69 configuration. As for reference materials, I will be using various sources in order to obtain the best information possible for this project. They include, but are not limited to: USS MISSOURI Plan Book – 1945 - The Floating Drydock Battleship NEW JERSEY – Paul Stillwell IOWA Class Battleships - Robert Sumrall United States Battleships, 1935-1992 - W.H. Garzke, Jr. & R.O. Dulin, Jr. Photoetching for the Plastic Ship Modeler - Loren Perry Dreadnaught Returns & Dreadnaught Farewell – Neil Leifer Dreadnaught 68-69 - 1968-69 USS NEW JERSEY Cruise Book – LTJG J.T. Vernallis, Editor USS NEW JERSEY – The Navy’s Big Guns – Neil Leifer Warship Data – USS MISSOURI (BB-63) Warship Data – USS IOWA (BB-61) The IOWA Class Battleships – Malcolm Muir U.S. Battleships – An Illustrated Design History – Norman Friedman USS NEW JERSEY (BB-62) Plans – Floating Drydock – Deck Plan/Sheer Elevation – 1967 – Tom Walkowiak Floating Drydock – G Series, from U.S. Navy Plan Book In addition to the plans/publications listed above, I will be referencing photos taken by myself aboard NEW JERSEY and those of Tom Fally in visits to MISSOURI (BB-63) in Pearl Harbor, HI. The model will be bashed as necessary to achieve the 1967 renovations made to NEW JERSEY at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. Those include: removal of all 40mm AA batteries, removal of various HVAC ventilators and repositioning; the addition of the UHF antenna on the bow of the ship, addition of the 4 ABM Chaff Launchers (modified Zuni Rocket pods), modification to the forward fire control tower with addition of the ECM suite, modifications to the forward/aft masts and radars, addition of the helo pad on the fantail and supporting equipment, and various other minor changes made to the ship at that time. In addition to the basic kit, Teak Decking will be installed over the kit deck on the main deck and 01-04 levels as well as photoetched details will be utilized in place of plastic parts from the kit. These are or will be provided from a third party vendor. Vendors under consideration are: Pontos – Basic PE Detail Up Set w/o Deck (purchased) Scaledecks – Uncut Teak Deck sections as necessary Nautilus Models – Uncut Teak Deck sections as necessary Toms Modelworks – PE Doors & Hatches (purchased), Upright Stairs & Ladders, and various other PE deck equipment and fittings Gold Medal Models – 1:200 scale U.S. Navy Decals (purchased) At this point I've done an initial assessment of the kit and have a couple observations to make: 1) The PE provided in the kit has been evaluated for it's strength (thickness) and may be used where appropriate. In addition, the Pontos Teak Deck Detail Set may be purchased for the 01-04 Level decks and PE equipment - the main deck is not suitable for this build. Under consideration is the uncut Teak Decking from Scaledecks which will be fashioned for the main deck of the model. 2) Kit provided decals are deemed not suitable for this build - GMM decals were purchased and will be incorporated throughout. I am still looking over choices for solvent based paints to be used (Haze Grey/Deck Grey). I've decided on Gundam Mr. Color #29 – Hull Red (Bottle) and GSI Creos Mr. Color Hull Red (Spray) for used on the models bottom (paint purchased). So, for the initial "eyes-on" of the kit, I'm fairly satisfied with what I've seen so far. There has been some discontent by other modelers as to the hull of this model and whether or not it's underside faring aft of the skege keels down towards the inboard shaft skegs is correct. I am not going to get into this argument at this time - there's a lot of other decisions to make before deciding that the hull needs revamping - a major task to be sure. Once my shop area has been policed, inspected, Field Day held, and all scallywags, drifties, slackers, and any other riff-raff taken to the brig, construction will commence. Hank
  23. Norman, Great build!! I'm very impressed with what I've seen (and we've PM'd about) here in re. the MISSOURI kit. Still haven't made a decision yet, but leaning hard towards one soon. The Pontos Detail Set will be rather expensive in addition to the kit price, but almost a given if I were to take the plunge. One question - was the lower hull pre-painted red or not? Thanks,
  24. Mike, Very interesting build. You're doing 1st class work; I'll follow this build through the end!!
  25. Maria & I will be leaving the dock this morning for a 1/2 day drive SE to Charleston. Hope to meet & see all of you there. 3 NRG members from the Triad NC area (that I know of; may be others??) will be meeting up there. It will be my first NRG Conf. I'm really looking forward to it.
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