USS Arizona BB-39 by GlennS_TX - FINISHED - Revell - Scale 1:426 - PLASTIC - As she may have looked in December 1941

[Glenns_TX]

I haven't seriously worked on models in years. But over the years, I've acquired some kits I want to build. One being Trumpeter's 1/350 USS Texas BB-35 and Bronco's 1/350 USS Fort Worth. Upon examining the kits, I realized I was not up to the challenge yet. I needed experience. So I decided to build this historic Ship, and I given it's age, historic kit to. I began researching the subject and learned when she was sunk, she had been repainted that year. So she was not the standard Navy Grey. And I liked the look. So I tried to find the closest color matches. I've stumbled some. One the hull seem would not go away with glue, clamp and sanding. Primer showed how bad it really was. So I had to fill and sand. The other issue was the paint. I had read online she was SeaBlue. So I purchases Tamiya SeaBlue. After priming and painting the lower hull Tamiya Hull Red, I added the SeaBlue. Well that was almost black. So I did more research and learned that Tamiya Medium Blue is a close match for 1941 Navy's 5-S A and B. That is much better. The latest was airbrushing the Tamiya black for the waterline stripe. It bled through the blue painter's tape badly. I repainted the upper hull yesterday. So the pictures in the album reflect that. Still need to fix the Hull Red. Then try again with stripe. Will try a black paint pen. In addition, I began painting the wood deck color. That will take a few coats. Then some dark brown wash to add some realism.

 

My USS Arizona Picture Album

[popeye the sailor]

your building the old Revell kit,  as I am.   I wouldn't lean to heavily on the blue aspect,  since water reflection and fading may have played a part in the hue.  take a look at the Arizona thread I have in the nautical forum,  and you will get a few more ideas as far as the paint choice.  I hope you show your progress  

[Glenns_TX]

Second coat of paint on the decks. I think the fore and aft deck need only one more. The upper deck needs two. Then the dark brown wash. Followed by cleaning up the blue. 

I plan to continue the deck tomorrow. As well as fix the paint job on the lower hull. And paint airbrush the top of turrets 1,2 and 4 Tamiya red. That is if it is warm enough.

 

Popeye, I like the Blue color. The new historians may be wrong. But if memory serves, we once had a Great White fleet. So they could be correct.

 

Edited October 13, 2018 by Glenns_TX

[popeye the sailor]

I have quite a bit of info about the paint.......all i'm saying is,  don't dwell on it like I did.  I've mixed up some paint that I think will suffice...the color your using looks fine      I'm planning to remove some of the casements and do railings.  this model is misleading concerning the smaller guns as well,  but I plan to put them in anyway.   for example,  the two forward most placements near turret #2,  were never there.......they were to be anti aircraft guns.

     the two on the aft deck were not there either...they were to be the same.   this kit is from 1959.....never changes from it's first production,  although I recall the tops were assembled very different than what is shown in the model...I'm a bit baffled about that.  I built this model before.......I am a devout Revell fan     back then,  I had never really looked a tamiya,  Italeri or any of the overseas companies.   what your doing looks very good......have you thought about PE?  

http://www.tomsmodelworks.com/catalog/index.php

http://freetimehobbies.com/1-350-toms-modelworks-photo-etch-ship-rails-with-ladders-5-styles-of-rail/

https://www.model-monkey.com/

 

check these out........there's a lot of cool stuff here to enhance your build   

[Glenns_TX]

Popeye, I thought about PE. But I think it cost more than the model when I looked into it. I think, Im going to finish her with what she came with. Later I may choose to build one of the 1:350 kits.

 

Were those 2 midship port and starbord 8 sided plates on the aft deck wood or steel?

[Glenns_TX]

Cool and rainy day. So I didn’t airbrush the hull. Maybe tomorrow. Should hit 77F.

 

continued painting the decks. I think they’re done. Just need the brown wash. Then clean up the blue sections. Painted the top edges of the boats and cross members tan. 

 

Began assembing the super structure.

 

 

 

 

[Glenns_TX]

Busy day of modeling.

 

• Applied brown wash to decking.
• Cleaned up blue sections.
• Airbrushed assembled bridge superstructure.
• Airbrushed turrets 1,2 and 4
• Glued upper and foredecks together
• Added guns and turrets to decks.
• Assembled masts
• Added search Lights to stack

 

And airbrushed lower hull after last weeks waterline fiasco. Tamiya masking tape is much better. But costs an arm and a leg.

 

 

 

 

[popeye the sailor]

looking really good......those two areas on the aft deck look to be steel........likely something that Revell neglected to monopolize on.   I'll look through some of the links I have to see if I can get something from the pictures.

http://www.researcheratlarge.com/Ships/BB39/BOGP/

 

doesn't look like anything too significant..........bolted plate.......there is a life boat covering one of them.   I have some PE that I'm going to add to mine.....model Monkey has some nice stuff for her,  but looks like too much work for the fore upper structure.   I do believe that your upper hull color,  and the one I mixed.......is the same hue!   we'll have to compare      again....looks good!

[Glenns_TX]

Last night I masked off the hull for to paint the waterline with a black paint pen. Should have put another coat within 3 hours but didn’t. So that will wait till tomorrow night.

 

Tonight, I continued construction. Inserted the decks into the hull. Added the boats, cranes, catipult, stack and bridge.

 

 

 

 

[Glenns_TX]

Should I paint the top of the stack? If so, Matt black or just black wash to grime it up. Same question for the chains.

[popeye the sailor]

for the stack top,  I mixed up some flat black and flat white,  coming up with a color that looks a lot like soot.   the chain is so-so........I've seen many do them in flat white,  but I find it hard to see the logic in that,  considering the function and use.   I will usually go with flat black and wash it with rust in some cases........for this one,  I would go with just the black.   if you mixed up the soot color.......you can even use that   

 

made a lot of progress since I last saw her........looks great!  the main structure second level deck isn't planked,  so it would likely have been in the gray color.   it looks really good though.......I like it     makes the upper structures stand out 👍

[Glenns_TX]

Not much progress tonight. I painted a second coat for the water line with the paint marker. I eyeballed the location and width of the waterline. Hope it is close enough for government work.

The masts are on for dry fitting. Wanted to paint the masts with my new Iwata Neo gravity fed airbrush. Should have known there is no standard airhose lines for airbrushes. So didn’t get the masts painted yet.

Bought some decorative wood from hobby lobby to mount her on. Sanded and stained that.

 

Edited October 18, 2018 by Glenns_TX

[popeye the sailor]

Hobby Lobby carries hose....I think.   the one here does.   I've been using a cheap Testor's  'amazing air' airbrush........works fairly well with easy clean up. 

    I have two others that I haven't tried yet.....a Spraycraft gravity feed,  and an Aztek 320 siphon feed.   the Aztek is a complete system too...I have two of each nozzles,  extra bottles and stuff.

 

she's look'in good.......the waterline is fine  

[Glenns_TX]

The airbrush was $28 with their 40% coupon. Harbor Freight has a hose for $8.

 

Funny you mentioned Testors. I inherited my father’s Testors airbrushes and Testors mini compressor. But I’ve been using it for my Badger 200.

[Glenns_TX]

Best $37 I’ve spent in awhile. So much easier for those small airbrush jobs than siphon fead.

 

 

[popeye the sailor]

I've never tried a gravity feed before.   I hardly used an airbrush in my early days...relied on the good 'ole rattle can.   when I did my first wooden ship,  I stumbled on the 'amazing air' kit in the local Hobby Lobby.   I adapted it to run on my 25 gal compressor.....the only thing I had where the air could be regulated.   they were designed to run of the cans of compressed air,  but I couldn't see sticking the can in a bowl of warm water, every time I wanted to use it {the can would freeze if you didn't}.   the last thing you'd want is something that can create it's own moisture problem.   I also like to use lacquers, so that was another strike against it.  I've been using the airbrush in the house with the Spraycraft compressor.......darn thing can fit in the palm of your hand.  I might as well go out and buy an aquarium aerator    one of these days,  I'll have to try out the brush that came with it.  the Testor's airbrush kit goes for around $25.00 bucks or so,  and comes with caps that screw on the 1/4 oz Testor's bottles .......they even sell the empty bottles to use for mixing.   I just buy the little bottles of thinner and dump them into the 3/4 oz bottles,  or the larger size cans........so I save that way  

[cog]

On 10/14/2018 at 1:51 AM, Glenns_TX said:

Popeye, I thought about PE. But I think it cost more than the model when I looked into it. I think, Im going to finish her with what she came with. Later I may choose to build one of the 1:350 kits.

 

Were those 2 midship port and starbord 8 sided plates on the aft deck wood or steel?

It does, but it gives you a lot more time on the model, and a lot more detail. ON the other hand it largely depends on the budget you have and what you really want to spend on your model. 

 

She is looking good

[Glenns_TX]

Almost done. Attach screws. Paint stands. Decals. Rigging.

 

 

[popeye the sailor]

did you order Kingfishers?    looks very nice   

[Glenns_TX]

No. I didn’t look very much. But I couldn’t find any in this scale. So I figured the Gulls are so tiny, just cut the wing pegs. Then sand and paint. Try to pass them off as Kingfishers. 

Edited October 21, 2018 by Glenns_TX

[Glenns_TX]

Well the screws are attached. The kit stands painted with grey primer and glued and screwed to the wood stand. Mike Holmes would be proud. The Arizona is tacked to the stands with a few drops of super glue. Thanks to Imagna for pointing out that Revell’s instructions have the turret plane mounted backwards on the catapult. I flipped it around. But need to decal, rig and clear coat. Forgot to get beeswax. So I’ll continue working on this tomorrow.

 

 

[lmagna]

I hate to say it but it may be possible that the Arizona on Dec 7 still had Seagulls attached to her.

• The first 54 Kingfishers were delivered to the U.S. Navy beginning in August 1940 and six had been assigned to the Pearl Harbor-based Battle Force before the end of the same year. Many of the following 158 OS2U-2s were attached to flight training at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, but 53 were assigned to equip the newly established Inshore Patrol Squadrons, based at NAS Jacksonville, Florida.

I have a book coming on the Arizona, "USS Arizona (BB 39) Ship's Data: A Photographic History, Norman Friedman," It should be here on Tuesday I'll take a look if you are interested.

 

[Glenns_TX]

Lou, please let me know what your new book on the Arizona says about her planes. I still have the wing sections. But with those bottom pegs gone, it would be a pain to attach them. All the sea plane research I did online said the Gulls were no longer in service by 1941. It said the Navy replaced the Gulls with another plane before the Kingfishers in the 30's.

[lmagna]

They did replace the Gulls with the Curtiss Seamew, but that plane turned out to be an under powered piece of junk. So for the first time in history they pulled a plane out of second line operations and returned the Seagulls to front line operations while speeding up the development of the Kingfisher.

 

Look again at the picture I showed you about the Arizona catapults. It is clear that in August 1940, only 16 months before Pearl Harbor she still had Seagulls. The first six Kingfishers were also delivered, probably to the battleships first, in that same month. It was then a matter of how many and how fast the remaining planes were replaced, and to what ships in the pecking order. Newest to oldest, place in the battle line, or random. All I know at this point from the research that I have been doing on the Houston was that none of the cruisers had been updated by 1941, some of them never were, and the Seagulls served on until 1945 even though no new aircraft were made.

 

If it ends up that you want to convert back to biplane I could send you a couple of !/350th Seagulls and possibly use them?

Edited October 22, 2018 by lmagna

[Glenns_TX]

Thanks Lou. I wasn’t even sure if her birds would be loaded while in port. I still have the upper wings. So I can make it work if I change my mind. Just cut and CA tooth picks. Paint. Add the upper wings.

 

Not much work on her today. I bought the beeswax for the rigging. And I applied a clear coat to make the decals go on easier. I’ll spray a Matt clear after.

[lmagna]

2 hours ago, Glenns_TX said:

I wasn’t even sure if her birds would be loaded while in port.

That may well be the case according to these pictures I can not see any evidence of planes on either catapult.

Edited October 22, 2018 by lmagna

[mtaylor]

In port, wouldn't the planes have been flown off before docking and sent to a land field for whatever needed to be done to them such as maintenance and overhaul?  I really can't see them wanting them in the way in port and any support work on the planes would be best handled in a facility that already had the equipment.  I don't think even the modern carriers dock with aircraft on board.  The times I was around carriers, we flew out to them after they left port.   But I could be wrong.... 

[lmagna]

8 hours ago, mtaylor said:

But I could be wrong.... 

I don't think so Mark.  With the exception of modern day helicopters I think it has been the practice to fly off the aircraft before entering port and recover them after leaving, if a shore location is available. As you said maintenance is MUCH easier on shore than on board. Plus in most cases fixed wing aircraft can't be launched from a stationary ship, even though in this case they could have lowered the planes overboard with the cranes and then flew them off from the water. Much easier to just catapult off while still underway.

Edited October 22, 2018 by lmagna

[popeye the sailor]

there were no planes on her at the time of the attack.  .

[lmagna]

According to "USS Arizona (BB 39)Ships data: A photographic History By Norman Friedman, the Arizona was upgraded to the Kingfisher aircraft in her last overhaul at Puget Sound late in 1940. On her return to Pearl Harbor in July of 1941 "She was equipped with her final spotter complement of three OS2U-2 Kingfisher monoplanes." As can be seen in the above pictures these planes were not on board at the time of the attack on December 7th.