I can see some LHD-mania coming up nice! Looking forward to your first pics, Julian!

Morning Daniel, you could be right there
Julian

December 2nd update:
here are the first snaps. Bulbous bow has been fitted, puttied, sanded with wet and dry sandpaper and painted with grey ground. Still needs a little attention:




I have started adding i-beams to the well deck overhead. This will busy it up very nicely:




The fit of the well deck parts is superb:




This will give an idea of what can be seen when all is fitted :





All for now,
Cheers,
Julian

I really like these i-beams, nice idea, Julian. The well deck area can really be a looker in this scale, either having a LCAC/LCU in it or departing it, AAVs et cetera... do you plan to add figures/sailors?

Cheers, Daniel

Not sure on the crewmen yet Daniel, I have a lot of 1/350th Japanese WW II crewmen left over from my Haruna build but I don't think I can enlist them on a USS vessel
If I see something online maybe.
Cheers,
Julian

I've used Tamiya 1/350 sailors on my last three USN ships. Now I think about trying Eduard's 1/350 painted PE modern USN naval figures. Does anyone know them, are they good?

Julian:- Any intention to put any illumination in the Hanger / Dock, to show off all your hard work.

Daniel:- I find the etched figures look too two dimensional in 1/350th, a bit "cardboard cutout", I use the fujumi IJN figures, interspered with a few L'Arsenal resin ones for different poses etc.

I have pressed the Fujumi lads into the RN, USN, Kreigsmarine & Imperial Russian Navy and they have worked very well.

Si

Hi Simon, at the moment no although I have found some photos of the well deck illuminated with green lighting that look interesting.
Thanks for the heads-up on the Fujimi sailors, might just send the press gang into the spares box to get some crew
Cheers,
Julian

December 5th update:
First of all compliments to the guy's at Kitmaker Network for getting the sites back up and running again.
I have started construction of the well deck:




Dry fitting the well deck here. The end beam isn't correct but it does look good. I think with painting and a wash the overhead will look just the job.




Photo's online seem to indicate a wooden covering for the well deck. First colour line has been sprayed here.




Sprayed the dock sides worn railway black here.



Now some railings and more colour and weathering plus stripes and marks on the deck.

cheers,
Julian

@ Simon: Thanks for the heads-up. I'll take a look at the Fujimi sailors.

@ Julian: Your progress seems to be very smooth! Nice pictures. Now we can get a feeling for how much work will go into this beast.

Cheers

Julian, I think you will find that the well deck is not illuminated by green light but they are using low-light vision devices to take the photos, aka night-vision goggles etc etc.

Nope, not night-vision goggles. Green lights:


I remember that the old chartroom lights on the freighters I sailed on as an apprentice years and years ago were red. Probably not in use by the US navy due to associations with Amsterdam's "red light zone"
Julian

All the aircraft I have flown have had switchable lights either white or red. I suppose it is the Marines trying to be different. You may find they have different lights for different deck modes as well. If all is OK they are green, if it has to be closed for some reason they may go red... Dunno..

Red isn't supposed to affect your night vision, not sure if that goes for green.
Fitting some green LEDS is tempting though.....................................
Cheers,
Julian

Luckymodel yesterday listed the 1/350 Marine Air Wing set and 1/350 Freedom LCS from Trumpeter. I had to order one of each.

Will you have enough parking space on the Wasp for all the extra's?
I have been wondering how to stuff two LCAC's and two landing craft up the stern of the Wasp
Julian

Oh, I'm playing with the thought to only use CH-46Es OR MV-22Bs, since these two types of aircraft normally wouldn't be deployed together. The -22 is the replacement for the -46, if I recall correctly. So we'll see. But I think there is enough deck/hangar space...

According to Tom Clancy's "Marine", an LHD should be capable of transporting two LCUs or three LCACs...

Nominal load 3 LCAC's or one Tom Clancy
Julian

Just a small update:
My beady eye fell on this photo:



You can see a white line on the starboard sie and a yellow line on the port side. There is a yellow block painted on the deck as well. Now I am not even sure on which of the LHD's this photo was taken and the number of yellow blocks is a "guesstimate" but I liked the combination so here is my well deck:




all for now,
cheers,
Julian

Hi Julian.
I was just looking at the WEM site and there PE for the Wasp has that refueling rig included. Whether it looks a little too flat in this scale I am not sure but it is there.
My Wasp is on the water somewhere between China and here..

My KA/Mark 1 set was mailed on Monday so I'm expecting it to arrive next week.
There seem to be two sorts of refueling rigs: one with a scaffold type frame and the rig supplied with the GM/Revell models. Might be a case of early models and later models, (as causing black radar scanners etc. as opposed to the current all grey).
Julian

Julian, looking forward to your review of the KA set. Meanwhile I have received a second batch of 1/285th Micro Armour Vehicles like the ones below. I'll try to set up a MEU together with the LHD.

Beautiful detailing there Daniel, really amazing in that scale.
Julian

Thanks, Julian, but these GHQ castings are just awesome. I don't have a new photo yet, but I did actually do the three tone standard NATO camo pattern on these vehicles with my airbrush. These little tanks look phantastic.