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

[popeye the sailor]

the sign says goslow...............silly,  it says go slow!     love the Stooges....my you tube is loaded with fun facts about them    Moe........Larry.....the Cheese!      "Pop goes the Weasel"   I alos have some Abott & Costello shorts.........look for the one,  "your not here"  

 

nit pick'in right along.............at long last........the two lower mast arms were added to the fore mast!  I tried to affix them higher ,  like at the bottom of the 'director station' {main station,  as listed in the instructions...it's broken up into four parts},  but they would not fit right.   they fit well where I have them.  they would have interfered with the short mast top,  that is in the back of the station.

here is a better shot of the radar and direction finders.   though it has been addressed,  the paint seems to be convoluted.....I'm at the end of the bottle,  and it needs mixing often.

the next milestone arrived with the anchor chains.  it's the smallest I got.   the anchors are in place as well.  two on port side,  one on starboard.  for now,  the capstans were added to the bow

the other 5 inch guns were added to the aft deck.   at a later point in time,  these guns were removed........I believe they were to be replaced with pom poms.

on the top of the fore mast station,  there is a radar platform.......I didn't see it in the Tom's PE set,  but it is in the diagram picture.  I found a suitable platform in the Hood PE,  and I added it.  the short mast top is also added.

there is one on the main mast,  but that is a machine gun platform.  on that tri pod,  I added the other radar unit,  the short section of mast,  and the spotlights.

I jumped the gun earlier............here is the anchors and chain set up.......  I even added the tiny bits of chain that holds the anchor chain.......slips my mind as to what they are called.

the holes are drilled slightly larger and I added three more holes near the capstans.  #1 & #2 turrets are cemented in place too.

I added ladders to the side {one side} of #2 & #3 barbettes ** gotta touch the paint work** 

on the aft deck,  there are five or so hatches,  leading to below deck.  the two alongside the turret are closed........the others are open

outside of a little more touching up here and there,  it's as far as I've gone.  I pre-painted the railings.......I guess that will be next on the list.....errrrr step     list is a bad thing for a ship! 

 

[lmagna]

10 minutes ago, popeye the sailor said:

slips my mind as to what they are called.

Chain Stoppers

 

Great progress Denis. I should probably give you a call to see how your laugh is progressing first hand. Then I can grade it on a scale of one to ten!

[popeye the sailor]

thanks Lou.......or I should call you      been awhile........

[GrandpaPhil]

The Arizona is looking good!

[lmagna]

4 hours ago, popeye the sailor said:

been awhile........

Yes it has.

Been a little busier than expected trying to get my life back together after my time down with the ankle. I'm still pretty slow and so is progress. Not going like a ball of fire like you and your Arizona. It is amazing how many things need doing after what amounts to a short time. My wife mentioned another one to me today that to be honest I had forgotten I had promised her just a few months ago.

[popeye the sailor]

this week was a total wash..........spent two days digging up a bush for the landlord.   why........I have no idea >shrug<    I did get a little done on the Arizona......the railings are in place on the aft deck,  and the two aft turrets are in place.

......another step closer  

[Old Collingwood]

Very impressive work denis  - all the pe really makes it pop.

 

OC.

[Jim Lad]

I agree with OC, mate - she's really looking the part now.

 

John

[popeye the sailor]

thanks John and OC..............thanks also to all who hit the like button    I may have enough railing after all.........I found another section that I had been using for the upper levels.  I though I had used it all,  but  I breathed a sigh of relief to find that I hadn't    I still may have to cut down the height along the mid ship,  to allow for the 5 inch guns,  but they are movable,  so I can just swing them out of the way.   I'll let the cat out of the bag now........I was disappointed with the planes.  the insignias will be a welcome sight,  but the numbers will be omitted.......they are simply too big for the fuselage    even the 'Navy' decals are too big.  I scrounged through the decals I have on hand,  but I could find nothing smaller that will fit.  one nice thing about all this though,  is that should I ever need any decals that are that small,  I now have a source where I can get them.  I'm also on the look out for another decal program.....the 'decal it' program just doesn't cut it anymore.........I have expanded beyond it's means..................I want something better  

    that and comparing the decal sheet from Hannant's to the sheet from the kit.........there is quite a bit of difference in the scale size of the decals.   I'll see what I can get to in the next update.   thanks to all who are following along  

[ESF]

Denis,  it's really coming together nicely.  Great detail for something this small.  For future reference regarding white "ghosts", and you may have already heard about the product, I mostly use a primer called B-I-N available at paint stores and big box.  It comes in spray or brush, seals and covers dark colors well, and accepts both oil and latex top coats.  I once put two coats over a very dark brown stain color on window trim with one coat of white gloss over it and had no bleed through.

Steve 

[popeye the sailor]

thanks for the tip Steve.......half the time,  I don't use a primer.  wood can be just as hard.....depends on the paint.

 

I did the decal work to the planes........again,  it's kinda sad I couldn't do the fuselage.  the decals are from Gold medal models {Hannant's}......it seems the adhesive on the sheet is a bit thin.  they didn't want to stick very well, but I slid them onto the revell decal sheet {the part that had the navy decal,  after it was wet},  and that helped out.

the painting of the cowl and prop was done too.......then I painted the top part of the tri pod masts....haze gray.

one of the planes was added to the catapult  on the turret

the stern deck catapult and the crane was added next 

after it had a time to set,  the other plane was added...

the 11 inch guns were added next.

I left off with the beginnings of cementing the fore deck railings in place.   one side so far.......and I will have to see what to do about the mid ship............especially at the deck elongations for both sides.

I got tired of the blurry pictures.......taking a look at the lense,  I saw that something got on the outside of it!   wiping it off,  the pictures seemed to get better.   not sure what it was

I'll get the rest of whatever it is later.............could be just jammed!   

[Old Collingwood]

Thats great work at that scale  - really looking nice with all the details now, and dont the planes so add to it.

 

OC.

[popeye the sailor]

thanks OC for the kind word    thanks also to everyone for the likes.  I didn't get to do any more on her......I'll have more time since the General is finished.  another update soon!  

[ESF]

Denis,

So much great detail in such a small space - very impressive.  The pictures are very sharp without the lens smudge.

Thanks for sharing and making the build entertaining.

Steve

[popeye the sailor]

thanks Steve....yea,  don't know how it happened.  I haven't fully cleaned the lense yet,  but what I did made a difference.  all this time I thought it was the camera going south.   I was gonna do a bit of work this evening,  but after getting up late this morning and feeling the effects all day long,  kinda took the wind out.   my son Kevin was doing some work on his car,  but ran into a snag and now it's sticking out of the garage with the nose all apart.   this is a good thing,  'cuz I can't get the lawn mower out to mow the lawns {there is a god}     this will set up my days off nicely.......whoooo-hoooo! 

[lmagna]

On 8/16/2019 at 12:52 PM, popeye the sailor said:

the 11 inch guns were added next.

I think that if you take your magnifying glasses off you will see that those guns are 5".  I agree with the others though. She is really coming together and filling out. Just enough color to make her interesting without compromising authenticity. 

[popeye the sailor]

not according to the instructions..........the guns  on the main deck {the round ones} are 5 inch guns {part #9}.   the first pair of guns on the gun deck {from the bow} are 5 inch AA guns {part #11}.  the five guns further stern {the ones your referring to} are 11 inch AA guns {part #12}.  there is another pair of 5 inch AA guns on the stern deck.   this is the way the part's list reads........Sigep Ziggy has a set of the instructions too.  I'm sure he can confirm it,...... scout's honor    it is looking better than I thought it would..........I thought I killed it!

[lmagna]

1 hour ago, popeye the sailor said:

{the ones your referring to} are 11 inch AA guns {part #12}. 

I think that should read 1.1" guns. 11 inch guns would have been almost as large as the main guns.

[CapnMac82]

Yes, the 1.1"/75 anti-aircraft gun.  Also known as the "Chicago Piano."  Nearly universally hated in service for it's propensity to jam.  The need to supply water for sooling jackets on the barrels , oin a rotating mount, was less than endearing, too.

 

Refer here for reasonably dry write-up:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1.1"/75_caliber_gun

 

Was also rather limited by the range of the weapon, in both slant range and horizontal fan.  So, a 5 ton gun with only a 4x150rpm rate of fire (nominal) and only a 7000 yard range with a slow traverse--what was not to dislike.  Which is why only 1000 were made.

[CapnMac82]

Er, isn't Turret Three supposed to not be painted red?

[popeye the sailor]

well then.....I guess Revell needs to worry...........they skipped a period.   won't be the first time that a typo has been found in a set of instructions.   gotta remember folks.......this is an older kit.  it hasn't even seen a retool since the re-release.  it one of those 'it is what it is' kits.   there is a limited amount of upgrades for this kit.

 

yes,  I painted turret #3.........didn't figure one more inconsistency would make a difference.

[CapnMac82]

20 hours ago, popeye the sailor said:

didn't figure one more inconsistency would make a difference

Given the number of flame wars on the topic, just wanted to be sure.  And, given the level of online grief the venerable Revell kit sees, a not unreasonable position.

 

And, it's fiddly details, like, if BatDiv Five had formed, would Texas' 4th, or 5th turret been red?  In the spirit of the thing, probably turret 5, but, tray and find definitive proof.

 

We build models for ourselves.

 

 

[edmay]

nice work Denis

[popeye the sailor]

no flame here good sir,  I've seen many variants of this kit.   the hull color was the one I read of most.

 

hello Ed....thanks for the good word.  sorry I haven't gotten back to you.......I hope your admiral is feeling better                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

[SigEp Ziggy]

Looks really good, Denis. I cut up my no3 turret, so I can't offer it, if you wanted to do a re-do. I sill have one untouched, if you want it?

Edited August 27, 2019 by SigEp Ziggy

[popeye the sailor]

thanks Ziggy.........but no.........#3 is firmly in place and I'm not changing it     I had them all on there at a time earlier,  and I though it would look good painted........that's the reason why I painted it.   I appreciate the offer though.  the model has been moved to the main table....yesterday I had no gumption to do anything.  today I feel a little more alive  

[Piet]

Very nice progress Denis, she's really filling out.

 

Cheers,Piet

[popeye the sailor]

thanks Piet...so good to see you    have you started a new project of late?   ......miss reading your updates.....

 

i did a bit on her yesterday.......added the port bow railing and the aft mast.   I need to do a PE transplant to the tip of the bow........didn't quite conform to the shape 

once I touch up the aft mast,  I can do the aft rigging

[J11]

I envy you PE work, that stuff drives me batty trying to get all the angles correct without destroying the PE parts!! The Arizona is looking great, looking forward to more updates. 

[popeye the sailor]

thanks Johnathan.......I'll never get as good as some here on the site    but it is nice to have the ability to add detail that one thinks should be there.  these older kits miss the boat.......sometimes wish it was around when I was younger.  it's still trial and error.

 

thanks to all for the likes