USS Arizona by popeye the sailor - Revell - 1:426 scale - PLASTIC

[popeye the sailor]

I was off and runn'in at 6:00 AM.......started on one project and beginning to make the rounds    got a movie date tonight with the admiral,  so I will have to scramble!

[popeye the sailor]

hi there......hey...........hello!   there is a small update,  basically,  just to let you know that I haven't thrown this one in the circular file.   it took me making three more of those blinds,  but I managed to get them all drilled.....breaking two bits in the process.   the camera was still being recharged at the time, so no pictures were taken.   even when it came off the charger,  it couldn't........the hull was masked up.   the hull bottom is painted.

then I added more gray into that paint I had mixed up for the upper hull and structure.   I have a bad feeling that Billing's paint is not going to work well on plastic.........instead of using a piece of sprue to test it out on,  I painted one of the turrets.   it came out terrible.............I think to the point that it distorted the finish on the part    I'll know better once I strip it off.   I'll give and update soon.

[CDW]

Is the Billing paint acrylic?

PS: I wonder how many frogs are used in the manufacture of that masking tape. What's the recipe? 🙂

Edited October 12, 2018 by CDW

[popeye the sailor]

Billing's paint is kind of an auto grade paint......smells the high heavens.  it does give a very nice finish though....and hard.   it easily resists the minor dings and stuff associated with building a model.  I got quite a few bottles when Billing USA was closed down.   some of them are no good....all gelled or dried up,  so I've been using up as much of it as I can.   it's been a while since I got'em......unknown how they sat on the shelf.   I'm hesitant to try them through the airbrush anymore......they tend to clog it up fairly quick.   I added some thinner to the mix,  to see if I can thin it down some.  I haven't tried to clean the paint off that turret yet.......serves me right for not testing it beforehand.

 

PSS:  I read the label........says it's leg free.....I wonder why?!?!

[CDW]

🙂😀😂

[popeye the sailor]

I guess my lament was slightly over rated........the paint didn't come out as bad as I thought.   it was a little rough,  but I think some sand paper and a light coat of the thinned paint will fix it.   more on this later  

[popeye the sailor]

I made some movement on this model as well.   earlier,  I thought I killed it when I removed the railings before cementing the deck in place......I still think I did.  either that,  or I didn't do it any justice .  I've been playing with the PE........slowly learning to get used to it.  I figure that this one would be good to practice on.....should have an update soon.

[GrandpaPhil]

Replacement railings always look better 

[Jim Lad]

Good to see you're back on your ship models, Popeye!

 

John

[Old Collingwood]

Good to hear you are back having a go on her denis.

 

OC.

[popeye the sailor]

thanks for the kind comments.......good to know that I haven't scared anyone off    before I go further,  I just want to mention an observation I made,  while working on the General.  I had painted the parts of the drive train with battle ship gray,  and I couldn't help but notice,  that the photos reflected the gray with a bluish tint.  the paint I was using has battleship gray in it.  I'm thinking of scraping that paint and continuing with the B. gray.  of course I'll test it first.  gotta fix the waterline.......short of trying to strip the entire hull,  I guess it would be the better of two evils.  I began to see what of the Hood PE I can use.......railings and hatches seem the safest.  I had removed some of the casements between the 11 and 5 inch AA guns on the first level.

    the open areas I will dub in sections of railings......I hope to do more as I work with the upper levels.  first off though,  I need to get the hull in order and do the railings there,  so I'll know how much I have to work with.   really wouldn't be beneficial to throw more money at this model.  here is what I've done so far........it might be hard to see.

I got the rest of the open areas done........I did notice one that I had messed up on.  I have removed it and will be re[placing it.

as I get more done......I will surely post it    thanks again for hang'in there......the rabbit hole is very deep.  you would thing that with all the rigging thread I have,  I'd have enough rope   

[CDW]

You need a beagle to chase those rabbits. 🙂

[src]

Good to see you picking her back up again Dennis.

Sam

[popeye the sailor]

thanks CDW........the rope would be used to help me climb out of the hole.........I already have a dog that goes bananas every time he sees a squirrel   

 .....you should have seen him when he saw his first raccoon ❕    I have so many projects.........MAN.......I wish retirement would come soon........I'm busting at the seams!  I have one project { a what if} that I've already traced out the hull parts,  but haven't had the courage to cut them out!  if I do.........I'm doomed!    I really am crazy at heart,  don'tcha know   

 

thanks Sam........I've made a little more progress.   I've got the hull somewhat into shape.......still more to do.   I think once I get the railings back on,  I'll feel a little bit better about it.  for now though, I'll use it as an experiment in PE     I'll see what I've got........

[popeye the sailor]

here are a couple of pictures of the progress on the hull.   I did some fixing to the bottom hull paint and painted the fore deck in teal.  I used the white ensign paint and I found it to be very watery.  there is a little bit of ghosting since I used a brush,  but another light coat should do the trick.

as seen in the instructions laid out,  I assembled the tops.  there is a lot of cleaning to do.......all the windows look terrible  

I'll try to square them out a little better,  but I don't think there is much I can do about it.  I'm gonna check with the Hood PE to see if there is something I can use to make them look better.    more soon   

[popeye the sailor]

when I first got the PE for this model,  I tried to assemble the turret catapult.   I didn't get very far,  before putting it back in the box.   I didn't do too badly with the Vendetta.......but some of the parts led to be desired {I won't lie}.  so I will experiment with this model,  to see if I can get  better,  before going back.........I do plan to finish it.  the model is still on the table  .    the hull is a mess,  as I mentioned earlier.   I goofed on the bottom paint,  haven't done the waterline yet,  and yesterday I found out that the paint I had mixed for this model,  is now garbage.  the paint was a mass of silly putty at the bottom of the bottle.......just suspension and thinner on the top.   so I can add paint the upper part of the hull on the list too.......figures.  so first was to fix the bottom paint.  after that was done,  the waterline was painted next.  I had done some touch ups with Battleship gray......shows like a sore thumb.

I had painted the fore deck in teak.........I touched up the fore deck and then did the aft deck soon after.  I will need to do a second coat due to some ghosting,  but it's not a biggie.  I worked on the PE in between all of this.   the boat cranes were first.

parts will need to be cut off and substituted with the PE parts......these are the main part and the support for one of the cranes.   I had also cut out the foremast flag booms........they were next.

the stern aircraft crane was started next...

still more bending to do on that one...........both of the boat crane PE is assembled now.

the crane parts have been cut off....and I was going through the instructions........hard to figure out how these fit onto the crane tower

I'm going to need to figure out how the railings go on........I would think there are a pair for each one,  but there is only one pair on in the PE sheet.  to make it even harder.......I've assembled one of them.

there is still a little but more to do on them,  so I will let them dry and move on to something else.  I have a couple of the Hood panels in the background........looking for something else to add from them

[rwiederrich]

Looking great......

Love the Arizona.

 

Rob

[ESF]

Denis,

Thanks for taking on such an important ship.  It's looking great and is weathering your self critiques very well 😉.  I had a chance to visit the Arizona memorial many years ago and it was both humbling and very moving.  I wish you all the best with the build.

 

Steve

[popeye the sailor]

it would be a lot better Steve,  if I paid better attention when I cut the railings off.   I think I corrected a lot of it though........it will look better with the PE railings on.  I'm almost done the painting........the upper part of the hull,  then I can work on the deck.   today,  I finished what I was doing with the PE.

 

thanks Rob.........I'm hoping it comes out that good   

[popeye the sailor]

so here's a rather expansive update on the PE and mods.   as mentioned,  I started with the boat cranes.....figuring out as best I can,  on how to assemble them.

with nothing to go on concerning the hooks and rigging,  I cut off the hook from the cast off plastic and glued them in place.  note that one of them has a railing around it....they both will soon enough.  the aircraft crane had been partially assembled.......prepped and ready to go with the mod for it next.

I also dug out what I did on the catapult......this one will be located on the stern deck.

I kinda goofed here.......the top part of this catapult was supposed to go to the turret catapult.....I got them backwards.  oh well!    the pontoons for the planes are molded to the plastic catapults,  and need to be cut off.   I didn't do well with the first one......I had to trim off the odd part I missed and repair the float.

I scored the second one and averted a repeat occurrence.   the planes were assembled and cleaned up for paint.......I'll need to look up the paint scheme.  PE props are included,  but I didn't use them......the original looked fine.

the turret catapult was next........lots of add on stuff for it.

the stern catapult was easier.........not as many parts as the other one.

I noticed that it did't have the aircraft chock........it had fallen off.

the boat cranes saw a few more add ons........pulley bits and ladders

                                                                                                  the two catapults...........

I got creative with the aircraft crane........I used a couple of bits from the Hood PE.

 

shoot........got an errand to run!    I'll be back...........                            

[CDW]

Those are a huge improvement over the kit plastic. Nice job Denis!

[rwiederrich]

I have a bunch of images of the Arizona for you....if they can help.

Some before her modernization and some just after.

 

Rob

[lmagna]

Great work on the PE detail Denis. It is going to be a vast improvement over the original kit.

 

Remember though that the #3 turret catapult/plane is backwards on the Revell kit and has the plane launching over the barrels. The plane in fact launched the the other way, over the back of the turret.

 

 

Edited June 28, 2019 by lmagna

[Jim Lad]

Nice going, Popeye.  I'm looking forward to seeing all those bits come together.

 

John

[Old Collingwood]

Great work denis  - take deep beaths  with that PE  its a tasking medium  and tests the best of us,   you are doing a suparb job   she will look superb when finished.

 

OC.

[popeye the sailor]

big thanks for the continued interest........keeps me going on this disaster I created.  although,  the more I repaint,  the better it seems to look.  thanks for the pictures Rob........in the beginning,  I has a desire to do the original masts.  I'm not afraid of scratch building.......but there is a lot to do,  and a crazy amount of research to get 'em right.  I have most of the pictures in the several sites that I've got bookmarked.  I also have this site,  which is a compilation of finished models.  I get ideas from what others have done.

ModelWarships.com

 

I failed to notice that Lou........I'll keep it in mind.   I'll have to check where I have the plane chock on the turret catapult.  it fell off earlier in the assembly, perhaps it won't be hard to correct if I do have it wrong.   might as well tell Tom's that they have it wrong in their PE set too {yes,  I assembled it wrong,  but I followed the instructions}.   I'll correct it if I can    as a matter of fact,  I was looking around for the paint scheme for the Curtis Seagulls.  I was surprised by how many folks modeled this ship with the Voughts.  no one has ever modeled this ship with the Nieuport 28C-1's........they were the first plane to leave her deck in 1920.  I suppose if one was to model her back that far,  it would be an important feature.  it would also be quite a feat to find then at this small a scale    Revell did a terrible job with the planes........there are no wing pontoons.  

 

thanks John......I've a lot more mods to do  

 

I hope so OC.........

 

 

 

oh..........'fore I forget...just a textual update.   the upper hull is redone.........scared to remove the masking.   I've also started to paint the visible deck structure,  with the hope that I can start adding to it.  it will be nice to move forward with this build.

Edited June 28, 2019 by popeye the sailor

[popeye the sailor]

spent more time on the hull today........also spent time trying to find the paint scheme for the seagulls

 

AdmiraltySeagull200FBustelo

 

this is a place to order resin planes  @Admiralty Models.   I also went looking for better decals.

 

Hannants - Plastic model kits and accessories

 

they didn't have the decals in 1:428 scale,  so I ordered the 1:350 instead.   I also read an article where the Arizona lost one of their planes......didn't say why or how........but it was lost at sea.  had I known about Admiralty before hand,  I would have ordered the decals from them........that'll teach me    I have pictures of the paint scheme,  but I can't post them.

Edited June 29, 2019 by popeye the sailor

[src]

Great to see you back on this Lady Dennis. The PE looks real good, adds a lot.

Round about story; I learned just last night Better Half's father served on DE 393 Haverfield from shakedown through the end of WW2. Named after Ensign James Wallace Haverfield who is entombed (assumed) on the Arizona. 

Sam

Edited June 29, 2019 by src

[lmagna]

You could try here; http://wp.scn.ru/en/ww15/h/1686/3 Takes a little more work to find what you may want but it is a pretty comprehensive list.

[rwiederrich]

Dennis I also found this closeup of her forward turrets...before modernization.

 

My brother is sending me a photo of the Pennsylvania(sister to the Arizona) and inscribed on the back is information from a crew member who was on her during the attack on Dec 7th...   

Another of the Pennsylvania in color.