USS Essex CV-9 by CDW (Craig) - Trumpeter - 1:350 - PLASTIC

[Robin Lous]

spectacular!

 

Robin

[mtaylor]

Wow....!!!!!

[CDW]

As I am working on my model, I like to set things in place to see what it looks like and help keep me motivated to finish. 

Marching onward, trying to get the last few things attached to the hull before painting it. After it is painted, there are tons of detail that goes into recreating the catwalks that outline the perimeter of the deck, the wooden decking, a myriad of antennae and pieces that get attached to the deck (photo etch). I will have to paint all these parts before attaching them so as not to ruin the wooden deck.

 

 

 

[CDW]

Oh, and by the way, most of the parts seen attached to the hull are not actually glued on at this point. I just have them sitting in place.

[cog]

Still lots of eye candy to come our way!!! Looks promising. You seem to have straightened the deck pretty good daddyrabit1954

 

P.s. I'm strongly considering to call you bunny ... your nickname wears my fingertops away ...

Edited December 4, 2016 by cog

[WackoWolf]

She is beautiful. Thanks for sharing, I always remember being on her when I was a kid. Thanks for taking me back in time.

[mtdoramike]

She is looking sweeeeeet.

[CDW]

She's got some paint on the hull and the beginnings of a wooden deck.

 

 

 

 

 

[WackoWolf]

More, More

[RGL]

Looks great but how do you keep your desk so clean?

[CDW]

Ha - there is a mess all around it. If I had a wide angle lens, you could see it.

 

As far as I know, there is no other alternative to the wood deck that came with the Pontos set except to leave it stock and paint it. But my copy of the Pontos deck is rather poor. Have you ever had a balsa model with die cut parts where the parts are not cut through the sheet so you have to either sand one side until the parts are free or re-score everything with an X-Acto knife to free the parts. That's the way this deck is made. The cut outs are not completely cut through and it requires each and every one to be cut free with a blade. What a pain.

And then, there are several variations of the Essex class of CV under different names. Apparently, my deck is maybe cut for another version and not the Essex because a couple of key spots like the side elevator are not cut correctly. I'll make the best of it but if anyone else decides to give this build a go, be aware of the wood deck issue.

The aft elevator is cut in a completely different place as the stock kit elevator. I just glued my elevator in place and let the deck fall where it may as there would be no satisfactory way to otherwise correct that in my view. In the end, I am probably the only one who even knows unless one is a real micro detail expert. It won't be a glaring error that will be easily noticed.  

[CDW]

I took these pictures just to add a flavor for how subtle the photo etch details for the deck will appear after they are painted. It almost makes it seem like a long climb for a short slide, but I will plow on notwithstanding. I think with all the deck PE details, the stencil work and some rigging along with all the aircraft might be okay once all is said and done.

 

 

[Old Collingwood]

Looking great my friend,  all the PE makes such a difference even if maost of it is heart stopping while working with it,  I think my heart stops while messing with it

 

 

OC.

[CDW]

Started adding the catwalks. These will extend around the entire perimeter of the flight deck.

 

 

 

 

I'll have to work a little harder/better to get clearer photographs next time. Not sure what I did wrong here, but they sure are fuzzy.

[CDW]

These are maybe a little easier on the eyes.

 

 

 

[RGL]

Loving this build Mr Rabbit

[CDW]

Hey Greg

 

I noticed you and I are both using the Small Shop's black plexi photo etch cutting board. After using the board for a while, it gets full of nicks and scratches from cutting the etch pieces from the frets. Those scratches are raised and sometimes cause the photo etch to get stuck in place rather than sliding around freely on top of the board. By accident, I discovered you can take a single edge razor blade, holding it at about a 45 degree angle to the cutting board use the blade to scrape the board and it takes away all those scratches like magic. Makes it smooth and glass-like again. if you haven't already discovered it yourself, try it on your board and those scratches will be gone.

[RGL]

I'll try that thanks

[cog]

Mr Bunny,

 

I use a ceramic tile to cut PE, you can get them in all colours and sizes, no problem with scratches, and/or grooves

 

I like those catwalks. Your images are getting better. A bit more distance from the subject I would say

 

Cheers

Edited December 13, 2016 by cog

[John Allen]

extremely nice build

[CDW]

Just to provide an update on where I am with this Essex build, here are some pictures of the mostly completed catwalk assemblies. Still to be added is one large portion that runs next to the control tower/superstructure. I will wait until after the deck striping and numbering is completed and the tower has been attached before adding that detail.

Speaking of deck striping, this is an exercise in frustration for me. The Pontos set thoughtfully includes precut masking for the delicate deck striping. Great, right? But the problem is the striping cutouts are not completely cut through the masking tape. So this requires that I recut each and every little bitty stripe with an X-Acto blade to remove it without tearing the mask. It's enough to make a preacher want to cuss. 

But I will get through it and paint the stripes, one way or another.

 

 

 

 

 

[Captain Slog]

Hi DR,

 

Really enjoying following this build and the work you are doing.

 

With regards to the masking, in another forum for a similar build the builder masked the lines from scratch by laying down 2 full length strips of mask with the correct width gap between them and then filling in the space with lots of short strips of mask to leave individual gaps.  May be an option if the Pontos stuff doesn't work out right.

 

Good to see they actually provide the mask in the 1st place though!

 

Cheers

Slog

[CDW]

That may be an option I will use if necessary. 

This Pontos set is an engineering marvel, but they fall short on several key points. The instructions need improvement for sure. Yes, I realize these sets are made for experienced modelers, but they can be improved for sure. The die cutting is really bad on their wood deck pieces and their masks. If other commercially available alternatives were available, would definitely try those instead of what comes with the Pontos set.

[CDW]

Trust me when I tell you, I cussed my way through this fiddly, goat rope of a masking job to get all these itty bitty stripes painted on today. Now, I shall go say ten hail mary's and our father's and be extremely thankful it's all done for this part. But I do have some more, less fiddly masking to do to finish the deck. It will be a cake walk compared to what I finished today, thank goodness.

 

 

[CDW]

Oh, and by the way...In case anyone is wondering when I'm going to get around to painting on the black hull boot stripe, I am going to make a decal to do that instead of actually painting it on. It's something I got into a habit of doing as it's a lot less hassle for me and it really looks just as good if not better than a painted on stripe.

[CDW]

Sorry for being so gabby tonight, but I am going to mention one more thing. In about another 3 or 4 weeks, I will have the bulk of this model finished with the exception of the fighter and bomber wings. Once the bulk of the model is finished, it's going into the display cabinet until I get around to finishing all the aircraft. These will be repetitive and tedious to finish. Not something I am particularly looking forward to with eagerness. Each one will be fully detailed with photo etch and some with folded wings and dropped flaps. 

I have some more projects I am interested in starting and will do so just after the new year.

 

[CDW]

 

 

 

[CDW]

This photo serves to illustrate one of the frustrations with the Pontos wood deck included with my update set.

 

The red arrows point out photo etch that circumscribe the deck elevators. These pieces fit into cut outs in the wooden deck so they fit flush with the deck, as do many of the other small photo etch pieces not signified here with arrows.

 

The green arrows point out photo etch that also should be inlaid into the deck, but for some odd reason, the areas were not die cut as the instructions indicated they are/should be. As it is, I have glued the PE pieces directly to the top of the deck. Unfortunately, these PE pieces are not straight cuts, but curved in some cases, and trapezoid shapes in others. In other words, it would be very difficult to cut the deck by hand in order to recess these pieces as they should be done. I have not made up my mind yet, but am considering just leaving them as-is. It's not too noticeable as it is, and me trying to hand cut the deck may result in more of an eye sore than it helps.

 

What do you think?

 

[Old Collingwood]

I cant see a problem there from the photo  to be honest it looks realy nice and as it should look, but guess you are same as me an don close inspection we want better and worry its not good enough.

 

 

OC.

[CDW]

I guess my malfunction with minor things like that comes from many years of entering competitive events where every little nook and cranny of each model is scrutinized by judges. Plus, I am my own worst critic.