USS Missouri by mtdoramike - FINISHED - Trumpeter - 1/200 scale - PLASTIC

[mtdoramike]

I adopted an orphaned kit of a battleship by Trumpeter 1/200 scale of the USS Missouri aka:Big Mo a while back and has been awaiting it's turn on the building bench. It had never been started, however one of the previous owners (not sure how many? purchased a twin screw drive system from England for it. First impression, this kit is huge, and not for the faint of heart.   

 

upon completion of the Big Mo, I will either offer it for sale or possibly see if a local VFW would be interested in it to raffle off as a donation. 

[mtdoramike]

I know you can buy a ton of Photo Etched brass upgrades for this kit, but I don't plan on buying very much upgrade or detail; up sets for this kit. You can buy brass turned canon and such, but the guns to me from the kit look quite detailed and fine. I did however purchase a wooden deck for the Big Mo and chose the blue deck, which is like a peel and stick.

 

I also decided not to use the twin screw setup from the previous owner and opted to go for the realistic look of the actual ship and use a 4 screw setup and ordered it from China, which set me back $199.00 shipped. Now let me point out here, if I were going to keep this model for myself, I would have used the twin prop or screw setup rather than the four screw because I saw a video of the Big Mo with both twin and four screw in operation and then performance of the twin screw was way better than the four screw, which required a lot more room to turn and slower to react than the twin screw.    

[mtdoramike]

The Big Mo came with a decent plastic name plate, but I can't roll like that, so I ordered a nice brass name plate for such a grand ol gal.

[CDW]

Quite a project on your hands there, Mike. She should look majestic under power and full sail. 

[mtdoramike]

Thanks CD, a fellow modeller built the Trumpeter 1/200 scale of the Bismarck and met with me at Lake Dora and floated it around the boat ramp area and it was magnificent.

[mtdoramike]

I was having a battle with myself on how to allow access to the stern portion of the ship once the deck was attached to allow access to the rudder posts and rudder arms, which do require adjustments at times. I finally desided to glue blockes to the insides of the hull from midship back to the stern which allowed me to screw the rear half of the deck down. So now if access is required, you just have to unscrew the deck rather than glueing the rear deck to the hull like was done on the front half of the deck.

[mtdoramike]

I'm using Tamiya IJN Gray LP13 flat lacquer paint for the upper portion of the hull and Dark Ghost gray LP36 flat lacquer paint for the super structure and deck fittings, which actually looks more like a light blue than gray, but I liked then name Dark Ghost gray.

[mtdoramike]

Well against my best judgement, I ordered a PE (photo etched) brass crane and catapult sheet from from Sprue Brothers for a sum of $34.00 shipped. I put together the plastic crane and catapult systems and although they were adaquate although a might rough they would be acceptable, but I thought maybe a photo etched crane out of brass would look more detailed. So I ordered the PE sheet and it arrived today. To my surprise, there were no crane unlike the what the description said. You have to use the plastic crane from the kit while using brass inner supports from the PE sheet. That blows!! So that was a total waste of $34.00 on a very misleading description.  

[CDW]

The trouble with photo etch detail sets is the delicate nature of it. Besides that, Eduard is over priced IMO for many of their products. Not sure how well parts like these will hold up under use in RC applications. When I just touch my finished ships in the wrong way, itty bitty parts often fly off. Right now, I have entered five of my finished models in a regional IPMS contest this month, and am contemplating how to get the models there without damaging them.

[mtdoramike]

I hope you win. I usually build a display/transport base for my models, which allows me to strap them down to the base when need be. As far as durability, I use Tamiya glue for the plastic parts, which causes the plastic to literally fuse together. On the metal parts or parts that I want to bond instantly so I don't have to hold them for 30 minutes and the PE brass parts, I use CA glue with a kicker, which causes the bond to be instant and strong. But, you better be right the first time because getting the parts apart is a bear.

Edited March 2, 2023 by mtdoramike

[CDW]

Thanks Mike to be totally honest about it. The main reason I like to go to those contests is to look at all the vendor tables. I’ll often take some models and enter them just to have a little extra fun on the side but the main interest for me are the vendor tables, I am often able to find models for sale that are out of production and unavailable in hobby shops, or online shops 

[mtdoramike]

I know what you mean, you can even find some orphaned projects at these venues looking for a new home. 

[CDW]

3 hours ago, mtdoramike said:

I know what you mean, you can even find some orphaned projects at these venues looking for a new home. 

At this same event/contest some years ago I bought the 1:60 Corel Realle De France kit at a vendor table, complete and unstarted for $45. Talk about a steal of a deal...

[mtdoramike]

that was a steal of a deal.

[Cathead]

This Missourian will follow along!

[mtdoramike]

I started putting on all the time consuming tidbits on the main deck.

[CDW]

Looks like you are going to be doing a whole lotta fine brush painting in your future.

[Javlin]

Looking good Mike and moving right along.

[mtdoramike]

On 3/4/2023 at 12:00 PM, CDW said:

Looks like you are going to be doing a whole lotta fine brush painting in your future.

Your right, but fortunately I painted quite a bit of the parts while they were on the sprues or parts trees, to try and minimize the painting once the parts are installed. My daughter bought me a airbrush attachment for my Worx Makerx rotary tool that she bought me last year for my birthday. So she showed up today with the airbrush attachment for this years birthday and might I say right on time. It's nothing fancy mind you, but it will get the job done and easier than the old brush on those small parts.

Edited March 5, 2023 by mtdoramike

[mtdoramike]

It kind of reminds me of one of those make up airsprayers for women to spray on their make up. I think it might work out OK form small craft applications, but not for bigger more complex stuff. I've yet to try it out, but when I do I'll post whether or not it's worth while.

[mtdoramike]

I just tried the Makerx Airbrush on a bunch of the parts still attached to their sprues and I must say, I'm delighted with the results. I got a much better coverage with one coat versus two with a brush and it took a lot less time and I used a lot less paint. However, I'm not an expert with airbrushes and honestly, this was my first time using one. It's easy setup, compact, easy to use and best of all easy cleanup as well. So although this setup isn't what you would call a true airbrush system, for the budget minded, novice who only has limited usage for such a tool, it works perfect for my needs.   

[CDW]

Those rechargeable airbrushes are quite popular and I have read some very good things about them. Glad you're not having to do all that by hand/brush. Would be an enormous job on a model this size.

[mtdoramike]

I added a bunch more do dads to the main deck over that past few days.

[mtdoramike]

I have had a few people contact me about the portable airbrush from Worx. Now, I in no way ever intended to insinuate that the Worx MakerX portable airbrush could ever replace a regular airbrush with a real air compresor nor that it would equal a hobby grade airbrush setup. This system is mainly for light use and would be great for modelers who only use an airbrush on the rare occassion. It works perfectly for my application as a very novice person with an air brush with very limited experience due to it's ease of use, easy setup and cleaning.

 

But, it ain't really that cheap. If you already have the Worx MakerX power share system like I do, it's a $50.00 investment for the airbrush. If you don't, then by the time you add the Power share Hub, 20v battery, charger and airbrush, you will have well over $125.00 invested, which isn't a lot less than most cheaper Hobby grade airbrush setups that come with airbrush and compressor. I hope this clarifies my earlier post a bit better. 

[mtdoramike]

Well......I hate it when a story starts out with (Well), but here it goes, I had a bit of a set back today with the Big Mo. I ordered a transmitter and receiver just for it so it can be offered ready to run with motors, speed controls, batteries, transmitter and receiver as well as the battery charger. The transmitter arrived today and while installing the receiver in the Big Mo and pulling out the old receiver from my old transmitter that I use mainly for RC builds, I decided to hit the throttle on the new transmitter without checking the throttle rates on the new transmitter and failing to make sure the propellers where clear of obstruction, I heard a sound that sent a shiver up my spine, kind of like two cats fighting in a brown sack. The transmitter was wide open, stuff went flying off my work bench. I was afraid to look, but I put on my big boy britches this morning and went for it. Yep, the two center brass props (5) blades no less were toast, stripped clean like a chicken leg when I finish with it. Not a blade left on either prop. Fortunately the two 4 blade outter props were fine.      

 

Those aren't petals from a flower folks, it's the blades from one of the props I was lucky enough to find.

[mtdoramike]

This is the transmitter I bought the other day that caused me such grief. Even with the mishap, I really like the radio, it looks like the stick of a jet fighter and great for one hand operation if filming and such. It was one of those Amazon purchases that my wife keeps questioning me about when the CC bill shows up in the mail. For $29.00 I just couln't pass it up, well I could, I just didn't want to.

[mtdoramike]

I have been steadily working on the Big Mo and getting some of the super structure built.

[CDW]

1 hour ago, mtdoramike said:

This is the transmitter I bought the other day that caused me such grief. Even with the mishap, I really like the radio, it looks like the stick of a jet fighter and great for one hand operation if filming and such. It was one of those Amazon purchases that my wife keeps questioning me about when the CC bill shows up in the mail. For $29.00 I just couln't pass it up, well I could, I just didn't want to.

Just $29? Man, I am behind the times. I had no idea you could by a transmitter for that small amount. How many and what type batteries does it take? I presume AA's. Did that include the receiver, too?

[CDW]

You should have seen my mishap with my first full-size RC helicopter. I had the Tx stick in the wrong position and as soon as I plugged in the Rx, the main rotor started to spin up and that thing left a heck of a mark on my forearm. It's crazy how much power those things produce. If fully spinning, it could easily cut off a finger, I am certain. It's good for you that your hand was nowhere close to your props when that thing fired up or this would have been a whole different story. These things are definitely not harmless toys.

[mtdoramike]

3 hours ago, CDW said:

Just $29? Man, I am behind the times. I had no idea you could by a transmitter for that small amount. How many and what type batteries does it take? I presume AA's. Did that include the receiver, too?

Yes, it came with the 4 channel receiver as well. It takes 4 AA's which fit into the handle of the TX. The red button on the left is actually a cruise control buttom, you set your speed, push the button and it will cruise on it's own and if you want to up the speed, just push the button again so you don't have to constantly hold down the trigger.With Tax, $31.00 with free shipping from Amazon.