A
AlasdairGF
Guest
Well, I almost entirely stopped modelling over the summer, and recently picked it up again as the nights have grown longer and the weather cooler. I had two models unfinished early in the year - the USS Arizona and a Revell 1:48 Spit Mk.XVI. I wasn't really enjoying the Arizona, and my wife dropped something on the Spit, breaking off all the fragile beams holding the exposed engine onto the rest of the fuselage... my heart broke! It was pretty much then I put things away, back in the spring.
But... have been wanting to get back into it, so a few weeks ago I dug everything out again and have now finished off the Arizona. Honestly, I can't say I enjoyed this terribly much, though it got better towards the end as things started to come together.
The build is totally OOB - and in this case, the box had three bits missing! A top wing for the second biplane, one of the screws and one of the AA guns from the aft deck. The screw & gun - just made sure one angle was presentable, so all shots are from the starboard side! The plane - rather than have one of the catapults empty, I mocked up a single-engine float plane with a bare metal finish. No historical justification for this: honestly I just wanted it out of the way.
Similarly, I recently discovered sources showing that the Arizona was actually not coloured as it is in the kit instructions, but was far more blue above the water-line, with hull-red tops to the gun turrets and very light grey or even white structures at the top of the tripod masts. By the time I'd found out about this, though, I'd already painted almost all of the superstructure, and going back to do this again seemed like an awful idea. If I do another ship, I'll def use an airbrush next time (which means a long wait as that's not likely to happen this coming year!) - the ole hairy stick was a real pain for this.
Anyway, moaning & excuses aside... here she is:
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I don't see myself getting terribly into ships. The scale means that it's very obvious that a lot of detail is fudged on the moulds themselves. Railings for instance - they're all presented as a solid piece of plastic with detail of the shapes of railings, but obviously at this scale you can't render these fine details with soft modelling plastic. The answer is of course PE sets - but I suspect I would go mad doing all of that incredibly fiddly work! To those of you who do that - and there have been some great examples here - you have my undying admiration.
But... have been wanting to get back into it, so a few weeks ago I dug everything out again and have now finished off the Arizona. Honestly, I can't say I enjoyed this terribly much, though it got better towards the end as things started to come together.
The build is totally OOB - and in this case, the box had three bits missing! A top wing for the second biplane, one of the screws and one of the AA guns from the aft deck. The screw & gun - just made sure one angle was presentable, so all shots are from the starboard side! The plane - rather than have one of the catapults empty, I mocked up a single-engine float plane with a bare metal finish. No historical justification for this: honestly I just wanted it out of the way.
Similarly, I recently discovered sources showing that the Arizona was actually not coloured as it is in the kit instructions, but was far more blue above the water-line, with hull-red tops to the gun turrets and very light grey or even white structures at the top of the tripod masts. By the time I'd found out about this, though, I'd already painted almost all of the superstructure, and going back to do this again seemed like an awful idea. If I do another ship, I'll def use an airbrush next time (which means a long wait as that's not likely to happen this coming year!) - the ole hairy stick was a real pain for this.
Anyway, moaning & excuses aside... here she is:
View attachment 94458
View attachment 94457
View attachment 94459
View attachment 94460
View attachment 94461
View attachment 94462
View attachment 94463
I don't see myself getting terribly into ships. The scale means that it's very obvious that a lot of detail is fudged on the moulds themselves. Railings for instance - they're all presented as a solid piece of plastic with detail of the shapes of railings, but obviously at this scale you can't render these fine details with soft modelling plastic. The answer is of course PE sets - but I suspect I would go mad doing all of that incredibly fiddly work! To those of you who do that - and there have been some great examples here - you have my undying admiration.
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anyway the result is magnificent, almost for me lol
