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USS Arizona by Snug Harbor Johnny - FINISHED - Metal Earth - 1:1325


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  Ahoy mates,  I was looking at the Scarnhorst build and that was enough to spur me to built a little metal kit of the U.S.S. Arizona thats been laying around since last Christmas.  I've been very busy trying to keep the Admiral happy, so have not made further progress on my long term build (Wasa) - so I found some You Tube sites with tips for the Arizona (and other metal models as well), and it looked like something I could actually FINISH in a day.  The caveat on this model is the SMALL scale - 1:1325 - based on a 608' prototype shrunk down to 5.51" long!

 

  The Arizona was built in 1915 and refurbished in 1931 ... we all know of her fate on December 7th 1941at Pearl Harbor.  The model is configured to that time, and has a surprising amount of detail for something so small.  Of course, compromises were made - but the product will not take up much space on the shelf.

 

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  The picture above shows the tools needed - actually the flush cutters were still a little large to sever the 'clip points' on the laser-cut stainless steel sheets (2), so I had to touch them up with a grinder to refine them.  The drill bits were to form small curves in the pliable metal, or to form small cylinders.  My lighted magnifier was a MUST, as I found it hard to work with some of the tiny pieces ... or even see some of them.  The metal is actually delicate, and I accidentally broke a couple of small bits off ... there were a couple of small repairs made with 1 minute epoxy.  Building this was a 'crash course' in dealing with this type of model, and in future will take on a better kit of this type (not as small) of the U.S.S. Missouri.

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  Zowie, here are the sheets with a hand shown for scale.  I applied a wash of diluted Testors enamel red to the hull where it had anti-fouling paint, and light brown to the wooden areas of the deck (not shown here) - those area had some laser-etched texture.  The rest of the parts were left bright metal, since the paint doesn't stick well to dead-flat shiny surfaces.

 

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  Here is where I had over-bent a tiny compartment and broke off part of the wall.  I did this repair with kneadable J-B putty to fill the compartment to be a backing for the broken section of wall.  When mounted, the repair was a success, as the cured putty (6 minute set variety) is not visible from the outside.  Fine tweezers,  and finely tapered needle-nose pliers (no serrations) a dental tool and also an X-acto knife were wielded as need to push, prod, tease, bend and otherwise work this thin-metal medium.

 

 

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Above is a substantial part of the superstructure.

 

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Here are the aft guns.

 

 

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  Now I've got the deck together ... this is an ABBREVIATED build log, since this sort of model was (as stated at the start of the log) just a break from the many things I have yet to do on my 'honey do' list.  Lat year the Admiral got a new deck.  Now I have to put  a spa next to the deck.  But really, the model has a certain 'charm'.  The total build time turned out to be 10 hours over two days.  There was a lot of fiddling with it, and some errors had to be un-done and corrected, but it is very good practice at manipulating small objects.

 

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  And here she is ... all of 5 1/2 inches in length.  You can see the applied red and tan paint in the areas mentioned before.

 

 

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  Here you can see that there is a lot of detail etched into the metal.  I think that for the Missouri I will apply the lessons learned to be able to do a better job on a better model - one etched on larger sheets.  

 

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  Here is a view from the stern.  Other than for the aforementioned repairs, no glue was needed ... just a lot of patience.

 

Smooth sailing and fair weather !  Johnny

 

 

Edited by Snug Harbor Johnny

Completed builds:  Khufu Solar Barge - 1:72 Woody Joe

Current project(s): Gorch Fock restoration 1:100, Billing Wasa (bust) - 1:100 Billings, Great Harry (bust) 1:88 ex. Sergal 1:65

 

 

 

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Thank you all for the comments.  I might 'tweak' some of the metal here and there - but don't want to break-off anything else.  I really MUST get back to my wooden model - but fair weather means I'll be spending time on Admiralty projects for a while.  It a 'good news - bad news' situation ... like being an oarsman in a longboat where the good news is a round of grog for the crewmen aboard.  The bad news? ... The Admiral want to waterski ! 😉  Johnny

Completed builds:  Khufu Solar Barge - 1:72 Woody Joe

Current project(s): Gorch Fock restoration 1:100, Billing Wasa (bust) - 1:100 Billings, Great Harry (bust) 1:88 ex. Sergal 1:65

 

 

 

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A very nice job, Johnny.  I love the pluses you added along the way.  I have done a bunch of these Metal Earth models over time, mostly famous buildings and spacecraft.  I love the detail they are able to build into the designs.  You have given me some good ideas for doing curved pieces that  I can add to future efforts.  Thanks for sharing!

 

Bob

Current build -- MS Bluenose

Future build - MS Flying Fish

 

"A ship is safe in harbor, but that's not what ships are for." - William G. T. Shedd

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Nicely done Johnny. These little kits are not as easy as some people think to build. You did yours very well. 

Lou

 

Build logs: Colonial sloop Providence 1/48th scale kit bashed from AL Independence

Currant builds:

Constructo Brigantine Sentinel (Union) (On hold)

Minicraft 1/350 Titanic (For the Admiral)

1/350 Heavy Cruiser USS Houston (Resin)

Currant research/scratchbuild:

Schooner USS Lanikai/Hermes

Non ship build log:

1/35th UH-1H Huey

 

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I tried butterflies once........failed miserably :(   hats off to a really neat model!   great job!

 

 

reminds me..........gotta get the Revell kit off the table :blush:

I yam wot I yam!

finished builds:
Billings Nordkap 476 / Billings Cux 87 / Billings Mary Ann / Billings AmericA - reissue
Billings Regina - bashed into the Susan A / Andrea Gail 1:20 - semi scratch w/ Billing instructions
M&M Fun Ship - semi scratch build / Gundalow - scratch build / Jeanne D'Arc - Heller
Phylly C & Denny-Zen - the Lobsie twins - bashed & semi scratch dual build

Billing T78 Norden

 

in dry dock:
Billing's Gothenborg 1:100 / Billing's Boulogne Etaples 1:20
Billing's Half Moon 1:40 - some scratch required
Revell U.S.S. United States 1:96 - plastic/ wood modified / Academy Titanic 1:400
Trawler Syborn - semi scratch / Holiday Harbor dual build - semi scratch

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Great job, Johnny. I've only done one of those Metal Earth kits - made the Hubble space telescope for our astronomer son for

Christmas a few  years ago. Not as much work as your Arizona but definitely good practice for fiddly bits! I put it in a shadow

box for display...perhaps you could do that for yours?

Hubble.JPG

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  A few tweaks have improved the fit of the bottom from what they were (seen in the photos).  Something not easily seen in the photos (but seen on broadside images of the same kit) is that the act of forming the stern together (the last phase of attaching the hull sides to the deck/superstructure) causes the an upward deformation of the deck ... a little like a banana curves - although not as much.  The railings want to flair outward as well.  I blush with the positive comments on the build, since (as many builders are) I see every fault ... yet have learned enough to do better on round two as noted below.

 

  I looked at the components of the Metal Earth (Iconic deluxe kit) Missouri and saw that the rear hull sides have been laser cut with a 'compensating' downward arc that should deform upward on assembly so that the deck will stay level.  'Guess they learned this from the Arizona.  The Big Mo kit has actual turned gun barrels for the main armament.  Build observations on-line have noted that when assembled as-is, there is some 'wiggle' in the big guns and they don't align well ... unless one uses epoxy in the tiny gun mounts before attaching to the turret pieces.  Secondary armaments are flat and bent up like that of the Arizona - so I intend to clip them off, fill the small turrets with kneadable epoxy and insert steel pins as the guns from the outside (going into the yet-to-cure epoxy) for a more realistic effect.  In fact, I might try to scare-up a few hypodermic needles to cut off with a Dremel so they'll have a 'bore'.

  Idea #2 is to have small screws imbedded (centered with a jig) into the turret epoxy on the main turrets so that the finished turrets can be mounted (secured with a nut under the mounting plate) so that they can swivel - as if BB63 were about to deliver a broadside for a shore bombardment.  The Missouri is 887' in length and the model measures right about 1 foot ... so I guess you could call that around 1:900.  Will it be any easier than the Arizona (e.g. larger parts)?  Well, it seems the designers have put in more detail and there are more parts total - and some of them are just as tiny.  After a session on the last model I was a little cross-eyed.

 

  From doing the last model, as levels are stacked to make the superstructure, there is cumulative 'play' that needs to be addressed.  So idea #3 is to 'fill' the various layers that will get stacked in order with kneadable epoxy, making sure to level-off the epoxy at the bottom before it cures.  Then when that level is attached to the one below (having a solid metal 'roof') a dab of regular epoxy in the center of the filled bottom will bond with the surface below upon attachment.  That way there will not only be twisted (or bent) metal tabs holding the higher level on, but a glue bond as well - which should eliminate any 'wiggle' between parts altogether.

 

  'Guess these would be 'minor busts' to the kit as supplied.  In between household chores, I'm reading Underhill's "Masting & Rigging the Clipper Ship" ... a good balance of both text and illustrations that make a good primer for any would-be modeler of sailing ships - wood or plastic.

 

Fair weather and smooth sailing to all !     Johnny

Completed builds:  Khufu Solar Barge - 1:72 Woody Joe

Current project(s): Gorch Fock restoration 1:100, Billing Wasa (bust) - 1:100 Billings, Great Harry (bust) 1:88 ex. Sergal 1:65

 

 

 

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Those are some great ideas for future builds.  I did their Titanic (might have posted it here, or on the old site) and recall the difficulty getting the hull to line up properly with no twists.  I also recall that after completing the deck assembly and seeing the instruction on attaching it to the hull, I thought to myself "you've got to be kidding!".  I had a second run at it a couple of years later and the second version turned out much better.

 

Bob

Current build -- MS Bluenose

Future build - MS Flying Fish

 

"A ship is safe in harbor, but that's not what ships are for." - William G. T. Shedd

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