It's GOT to be March 24th somewhere! Can I start now, can I, huh, can I?

On a more serious note, does anybody know how awnings were rigged on American warships? I still haven't decided to build the Arizona as a full hull or waterline but I'm thinking of rigging the awnings she had up on December 7th.

Hey Half:
There was a site I posted on the thread http://www.navsource.org should have all the photos you need.
Hope it helps, and I am glad to see that my hands aren't the only thing twitching to get my hands on that 1/350 chunk o plastic

I know what you both mean!! But I don't see it up on the Campaigns page yet...

Yes. :-)
The warship campaign officially starts today!

Sailors, begin your boats!

(I dunno if that made much sense or not... but it's already typed in so I guess I'll keep it.)

YodaMan

Warlock, thanks for the site. I already have that as one of my favorites but I haven't found any close up pictures that show the awnings. I've ask the question on a few forums that I hang out at, warships1.com the history channels WWII forum, and Historic Battles and I'm waiting for an answer.

I'm still not sure if I'm going to put the awnings on the Arizona but I thought it might be something I could do that would make her stand out.

WIll keep my eyes open for ya for pics. I popped that box open and started bathing the plastic. My bathroom looks like I had a mold explosion in it , but the keel is laid down nad fun has begun. Just a couple quick question though. When the campaign is posted do we have to enlist or will it be done for us automatically? and when posting pics where are we to post them?

First salvo fired sir!!!!!!!

What colors would i use to accurately paint my U.S.S. Nimtz, I need the model masters colors for the red bottom, and the right shade of grey to use for the rest of the ship. If anyone knows this info or where to find it that would be great because im stuck! :-)

Hey Kev:
I recently did a new jersey I used mm insignia red for the bottom color( closest I could find). Light ghost gray for the hull and stuctures, but from what I have read there are new MM naval colors out now. may want to check testors website.
Hope this helps. Hope to see pictures of the boat soon

thanks for the advice, my local hobby shop has the full mm line so i should check that out with confidence now

I too use MM Light ghost grey for all of my modern US ships. Other people use Dark ghost grey, but I think it is a little too dark. Others have used neutral grey which is even darker. I use that for my soviet/russian ships.

Kent VH,

Are you building the Italeri Nimitz? I am in the finishing stages of that carrier, and it has build a good build. You will enjoy it...just make sure you take your time with the mast.

Good luck,

i thought i would share a few things with everyone. number one is a tip i picked up somewhere on the internet that i am sure all the first time ship builders can use. The thread from nylons(panty hose) makes great rigging for ships. its thin, and can be stretched nice and tight while you are glueing it down. my second thing is a very comprehensive web site that has alot of pictures and info on just about every ship there is. very extensive wwII coverage on this site.
http://www.warships1.com
And for those that are making very new ships this last site might help. it has info and pictures on the latest ships in the world and ships that are still in the design phase.
http://www.naval-technology.com/projects/index.html

Cheers,
Paul

Great information Paul. I knew about the websites but that is a great idea about the thread. Now I just have to raid my wife's panty drawer. Wish me luck.

Here is another tip I might pass on. If anybody is interested in finding books on ships, or any other subject, try www.abebooks.com This site doesn't actually sell you the books but it finds book stores around the world who have new or used books in stock. For example I've always wanted an excuse to get Paul Stilwell's Battleship Arizona. This campaign gives me a good reason to do so. Like I really needed one. Abebooks has several listed for $45 US and up. Since they also have bookstores all over the world this site might be of use to anybody here.

Hi Nimitzfan, (and everyone else)
I'm actually building the old Monogram 1:600 scale U.S.S. Nimtiz. I just started out yesterday and i can tell already that i will be doing a lot of scratchbuilding to get the result I desire. I'm using very recent photos as reference and have already had to fix many things.
It is still fun nontheless. This is my first ship so it is very interesting to do.

My model has raised panel lines all over the place, should i be sanding them off of the hull, its 1:600 scale, or leaving it be?
Thanks,
Kent

Sorry for the delay fellas. The 1st warship campaign (which I named "Anchors Away") is now up in the Campaigns module. You can enlist there and add journal entries, images, and such.

Have fun.

Jim

Hey Kev:

Sanding will be totally up to you. I know that on the 1/350 scale ships I have built the there are no raised details on the hull. The only raised lines are the waterline, but looking at some pics of the hulls. It seems that the plate seams are't really a raised. More of a shadowline.
Will try to find a couple of pics for ya for referance, hope this helps

Actually, I think that kit is closer to 1/800.

Here is an except from a review site.

Nimitz (USN CVN-68) [1/819] {3004} (Mod) FH
FAIR. Much detail is lost in this scale. BPDMS molded into the deck. It is NOT 1/600, as often advertised. Scale is kind of odd, so you can't even use Skywave parts on it. (DRW)

well my original plan was to build a british o class destroyer. but plans change.. i got a real good deal on a 1/700 king george v battleship. it had no box, but all the pieces and instructions are there, so for $10CAD (which is about $6USD) i figure its a good buy. its a good deal bigger then the o class so i think that i will be entering the battleship.

Cheers,
Paul

Hey Paul:
Sounds great but with no box it hard to see what see looked like. I know it isn't much but I found this for ya. http://www.angelfire.com/fm/odyssey/KG5.htm
hope it helps, but like I said it isn't much

Thanks a lot, Jim! :-)

"Anchors Away"... Why didn't I think of that?

I haven't started on my ship yet. Been trying to finish my Tatooine speeder (I'm on the home stretch now - Yahoo!!), and have had other things to do in 'real life'... job, college, *cough*agirl*cough*

:-)

thanks for the link warlock. i have been able to find alot of info on the web about the HMS King George V. one of my more interesting finds is a possible relative of mine who served on one of her sister ships the Hms Prince of Wales. John Ashton (ashton is my grandmas maiden name), who served on the prince of wales was from liverpool (my familys home), his mother was a Mary ashton (we have a mary ashton in the family).

Cheers,
Paul

wow! Nimitzfan, thats quite the shocker! Thanks for opening my inexperienced eyes (first ship ever) ! I think im gonna dump the Monogram junker and go for something better. I'm still interested in the subjet though, do you have a recommendation for a good U.S.S. Nimitz or carrier of that class? I will go look around on the web right now to see what i can find.

This one was going to be to much trouble anyhow!

O.K. I'm looking at the 1/500 scale U.S.S. Nimitz from Trumpeter over at militaryhobbies.com and i see they call it a "high quality kit" but my question is, is it?
I havent heard very good things about Trumpeter.

AVOID the Trumpeter 1/500 at ALL COSTS!!!! I cannot stress it enough. It is a bath tub toy at best.

The best one currently, and I say currently because Trumpeter is coming out with a 1/350 version in the next 18 months, is the Italeri 1/720 version. It is a very nice kit. If you want a Nimitz as launched, go with the Nimitz kit. If you want one in a more modern fitting get a John C. Stennis or Harry S. Truman. All of the Italeri Nimitz class carriers are the same model with different sprues added.

If you are into it, a Gold Medal Models photo-etch set will help it greatly. If the Italeri aircraft are not up to your standards they can be replaced with Skywave and Fujimi aircraft sets. I have a Italeri Nimitz that is almost completed...I need to build the display base for it. I used the photo-etch set and figures also two sets of skywave aircraft and one set of fujimi aircraft. I was very pleased with the results.

Nimitzfan hit the nail on the head. Avoid that one at all costs.