Working on some small kits right now and just getting all my items ready for my next build, USS Arizona in 1/426. I ordered the PE set and handbook from GMM. This will be my first kit with PE parts, so I just want to get it right.

Would like to know if any companies provide a real or replica wood deck that overlays over the molded wooden deck that comes with the kit.

Any info would be of great help.

Sam

Hi Sam,

As far as I know, nobody makes a deck for a 1/426 Arizona... or any scale Arizona for that matter. You can try individual planks or generic sheets like those by Nautilus Models. But even then, they're for 1/350, so your mileage may vary... Good luck with your build and take care!

Dade

Thank you for the support.

Sam

Just for your info. There are a few out there (super-researchers) that think maybve the "zona had had her decks stained that blue color and had the tops of the turrets painted red. I don't think that it has been proven yet, but they are showing orders directing that this be done. I would paint it a tan color, dry brush a dark tan and wash it with the brown The Detailer wash that is available.

Having recently completed a 1:350 Pearl Harbor project, I can confidently say that the battleships did indeed have a turret color code system in place at the time of the attack. If you look carefully at photos taken both during the attack and the subsequent salvage operations, certain turret tops had colors other than gray.

For the Arizona, the consensus is red for the tops of turrets I, II, and IV. Turret III, with its catapult rig, was finished in the dark blue-gray pattern of the rest of the ship's steel structure.

As for decks, I was told the other day of a method where thin basswood ply can be cut into parallel strips, and then the strips applied to a plastic deck shape edge-on lengthwise. After the wood "planks" have been allowed to thoroughly dry, the entire deck is then sanded down to just above the plastic. Deck fittings and other structures would then be applied atop the wood. I consider this advanced technique experimental, but it is intriguing. For a first-time foray into ship modeling, I'd stick to painting the kit-supplied deck.

--Karl

Karl;

Great info and I agree with you. I will stick to painting and weathering the deck. I will already have my hands full with being a first time modler using PE. Good or bad, I will post some photos.

Sam