LPH-11 USS New Orleans by Spaceman Spiff - Iron Shipwrights - 1/350 - RESIN

[ddp]

do a notch on the top of the vertical post not on the side  & no notch on the horizontal bar so not to weaken it even with the angled supports added to it. if you have access to a small round file to be used after you roughly carve the notch with a knife.

[Spaceman Spiff]

Yep, that’s my plan. Here is the whatever that thing is, zoomed in. Shouldn’t be too difficult. Appears to hull grey with some soot staining at top. 
 

Lookimg at the flight deck, is that a thin white border around the deck? If so, that’s an easy thing but just some tedious masking. The white lines and “11” will all be painted, with the exception of the 1 -7 which I’ll use the kit decals. I’ll paint the deck a very dark grey but will use the black basing method and then mixtures for tonal differences. That’s a trick I learned with my planes. 
 

Edited November 4 by Spaceman Spiff

[ddp]

yes on the white line along the deck edge. go with deck grey as i think dark grey would appear almost black in color.

[Spaceman Spiff]

Not much accomplished tonight. I did put the white down, although I may need another coat. Doesn’t look as good in the pic. After that dries for a day or two, I’ll mask the markings and numbers. Then I’ll start with the basing colors before painting. As you can tell from a previous pic of the ship with all the people, there flight deck is heavily weathered and definitely not one uniform color. That pic was taken off the coast of Vietnam, 1970. That’s what I’m going to try to go for. BTW, painting is my favorite part of modeling. 

[ddp]

see if this helps you with that mast.

[Spaceman Spiff]

Thank you! The plastic rod I was going to use is a bit thick, however I have a bit smaller gauge brass rod or maybe even a hypodermic needle I can use in its place. I may not have to carve it out but build around it as in the pic. That’s the USS Guam in your last pic, but the masts look the same.

 

Here is something I found a bit interesting in studying the photos last night - the deck markings appear to be different in Dad’s cruise book vs other period pics. It appears that the “11” has a black shadow effect and also there is only one dashed white line on the left side of the deck. While the markings may be hidden by the people in the ceremony, it certainly looks different. Are my eyes deceiving me? 

[ddp]

depends on the time period difference between the 2 pictures but the starboard dash line might be hidden by the crew standing at attention.

[Spaceman Spiff]

Found another view from Dad's cruise book. 1969-1970 WestPac cruise. Best image of the flight deck except other bits and pieces. Note the black shading on the deck numbers, the single white dashed line down the starboard side. Seems as if the other deck markings are missing. Not sure. Also not sure of correct scale for the number size in 1/350

 

 

Edited November 6 by Spaceman Spiff

[Spaceman Spiff]

Ok, so I talked to Dad. Only a dashed line going down the starboard side and not all the extra “parking” markings going down the deck. Also noted is the black shading on the “11” at both ends…an interesting thing about that is that the shading is different fore and aft. For the aft numbers the shading is made to to look as looking from the rear and throwing shadow forward. The forward numbers look as if it’s throwing shadows to the rear. Oh, and there was no white outline of the deck as in the other “later pic.” Interesting.  Easy enough to do. Painting will begin when this humidity drops a bit. 
 

I have started on the armament, the dual 3”/50 enclosed mounts are ready for paint. Working on the last two mounts positioned aft. Pics coming soon. I will do an in-process pics of each stage of painting and post them when I finish that part.

 

Thank you so for following along! 

[ddp]

so your model will show 2 enclosed 3" gun mounts in front of the island & 2 open 3" gun mounts on sponsons on either side of the stern, correct?

[Spaceman Spiff]

Yes, sir 

[Spaceman Spiff]

Ok, sorry to keep on this subject, but I'm thoroughly confused about the flight deck markings. It's a shame that there aren't many photographs of the deck at that time. The few I found that give a date show more than just the dashed line. Now, after asking Dad again, he says he doesn't remember - after all, it's been 50+ years since he was on  her. I'll look at that book one last time, then maybe I will paint them. Just in case. 

[ddp]

go thru this link at comparable ship for the time period you are working on for the  flight deck markings. 

https://www.navsource.org/archives/10/11/11idx.htm

[Spaceman Spiff]

Work on the armament continues. The open 3”/50 mounts are a beast. They are  a Veteran Models kit. Not quite the right version, but like the enclosed dual mounts, no one makes those - hint, Mr Model Monkey! Also ordered some 1/350 Black Cat USN sailors and USN lockers, another hint…

 

So here it is so far. I’ll do the other one tomorrow. Here is what I have so far. Thanks for looking!

Edited November 12 by Spaceman Spiff

[ddp]

what mark are those Veteran 3"50 cal gun mounts as the Iwo Jima class used mk35 gun mounts?  Black Cat Models does make mk33 gun mounts.  

https://blackcatmodels.eu/en/weapons/292-mk33-3-automatic-twin-gun-x2.html

Edited November 12 by ddp

[Spaceman Spiff]

I saw that. I had gotten these years ago. Don’t know the Mark for the ones I saw in Dad’s book, but they had were radar directed and had a small antenna/dish on them 

[ddp]

the Veteran mounts are supposedly mk22 whereas your father's were mk35.

[Spaceman Spiff]

The mk35 had the small radar antenna, correct? Haven’t been able to find those

[Spaceman Spiff]

This settles it once and for all on the deck markings. They will be painted on. Note the shading on the numbers.  Not going to worry about painting a white edge around it.  Also note the deck is very heavily weathered. 

 

And here is the open 3"/50 mount. Have not been able to source this type. If anyone could point me where to go, I would greatly appreciate it!

Edited November 12 by Spaceman Spiff

[Spaceman Spiff]

Using 2mm Tamiya, I laid out the first of the landing/parking markings. Measurements came from the decals. This will take a while and then it’s on to painting the deck. 

[Spaceman Spiff]

Small update. Just about have the back-half lines on. It was a b***h getting them lined up. Once the rest are down and the numbers ready, I’ll start pre- painting and then painting. I know I have other things to build but just wanted to do something different. 

[Spaceman Spiff]

All deck markings have been laid out using Tamiya’s 2mm masking tape. I used Ammo by MiG’s masking fluid to seal the seams where the tape meets, hence the dots, in order to prevent any paint from seeping in. First step will be the black for the number shadowing. Also will spray black for the waterline even though most of it will be covered when I put it to sea.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

I was going to wait until I had finished painting the flight deck before I posted again, but decided against it. I fired up my trusty Iwata airbrush and got to work. Did I mention that painting is my favorite part of a build? I did sort of a reverse black basing technique - where I put down the black second. I love this basing method as it allows for tonal variations, something I’ve used on my 1/48 birds. The black actually isn’t black paint, but Mr Surfacer 1500 (black) thinned with Mr Color Leveling Thinner( this thinner is liquid gold) to the consistency of skim milk. You’ll notice I went a bit too heavy around the numbers, but that’s because in wanted to ensure complete shading. My next step is to mask the shadows before painting 

My hope is that can lay down the dark grey in thin enough layers to show the tonal differences. We shall see. I may have to add some white to the paint.

Edited November 18 by Spaceman Spiff

[Spaceman Spiff]

Opinion time: of all the pics I’ve posted showing her and the flight deck, is it my old eyes or is there really a shadow shade around the “11”? Masking that is a  little more difficult 😂

[ddp]

depends on the time period so sometimes there is a shadow & sometimes there is no shadow line.

[Spaceman Spiff]

First - and maybe only - coat on the flight deck. I have a couple of touch ups I’ll need to do, but I’m pretty happy with the tonal variations, although they aren’t really visible in the pic. Looks better in person. I think I may just leave it and use  oils to weather/lighten when the time comes. I used MRP lacquer Dark Grey, FS36076. MRP is one of my all-time favorites. Once it’s all dry and I’m satisfied, I’ll remove the masking. Speaking of masking, I didn’t mask for the shadows as that was kicking my butt and I couldn’t get it right. Maybe I’ll come back and hand paint it. 
 

Next up is build try mini-mast and start adding stuff and prep for the haze grey… Sorry for the crappy pics. 

[Spaceman Spiff]

Very small update - just pulled the tape off. Very pleased with it, except I feel the numbers are a little funky. Weathering will come later and will also tone down the stark contrast a bit. Thoughts? 

[ddp]

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

That is awesome! Thanks for sharing - wish it had talked about Dad’s ship a little more. Towards the end of his cruise, they asked if he wanted to re-up for the Apollo 14 recovery mission in ‘71. He said no - he was ready to come home. I wasn’t a year old before they left on their Vietnam cruise (69-70). Thanks again!!!!

[ddp]

no problem. thought it might come in handy for you when i saw it so linked it for you to watch.