Thanks Daniel, you might also try getting hold of the Squadron/Signal book: Tarawa/Wasp Class Assault ships in action, ISBN 0-89747-502-X
Not World shaking but does give some nice background information and photo material.
Cheers,
Julian

That is going to be a great build.

Thank you very much Mardis, I still have a long way to go yet though
Cheers,
Julian

Saturday 17th December update:
Back underway. Sprayed the forward well deck and hangar deck. Sealed this in with Vallejo matt varnish. After varnish dried I started with the oil washes, great fun, looks as if the model has been completely ruined When it is dries things look much, much better






Time for a glass of wine while everything dries
cheers,
Julian

Looking good, Julian. And...
Cheers!

You COULD have started on another area while that dried, slacker...

I find my modelling time is so precious now I use up every second of it building.

Hi Daniel,
thanks mate !
cheers to you too !
Julian

I am a slacker, it was a 2006 Reserva Rioja
Comfortably numb at the moment, so no more work until tomorrow
Fingers feel like little cucumbers
Cheers,
Julian

Hello Julian, my hat's off to you. Just looking at that intimidating amount of minuscule photo-etched parts you have to deal with raises the hair on the back of my neck! It would have me talking (and swearing) to myself in no time at all! My family cringes every time I mention the words photo-etched. If my wife saw that plethora of parts she would move out for sure! Al

Hi Al, funny thing is that it gets less intimidating as you move along I remember my first big PE set: the Eduard PE for the 1/350th Revell Tirpitz. It had me wondering what on Earth I was doing.
Cheers,
Julian

Once you get into PE it is not so hard mate. First one I did was the Tamiya Tirpitz with the Eduard Super Set. Always start with the hardest one first is my motto!

Sunday 18th December update:
The hangar deck is nearly finished after a spray of different shades of gunship grey, Tamiya smoke and a wash of Brown and burnt umber. The shading and glazing doesn't show up properly on the photos I am afraid, the real deal is rather dirty, sexy looking. Conclusion after all this is that the decks in the reference photos of these assault ships appear to be dirtier than the result here,(which does open perspectives for the flight deck
I have also started work on the forward hangar deck:





All for now,
cheers,
Julian

Hi Julian

Looking good, I am impressed by the amount of interior in that kit.

Si

So am I Simon but it's a bit like a conjuring trick when you fit the flight deck: You dona see notting itsa alla gone.........................................
Julian

Lookin' good, Julian. I was just informed that the ordered new Trumpy 1/350 LCS-1 Freedom was sent. Hopefully I'll have it after christmas!

Cheers

That will be an interesting ship to show in combination with the USS Wasp !
Julian

December 24th update:
Not much happening over the last week; busy at work and getting ready for Christmas. I have bought some Led's to experiment with lighting the innards of the Wasp: green for the well decks and white for the hangar bay. Not really sure if this will work out well or not I also built one of the Osprey's with folded rotor blades to fit in the hangar bay. It is still coated in Future for decalling so looks rather yucky at the moment.







My sons are spending Christmas with Mrs. Grem56 and me so I won't be doing too much work on the Wasp the next few days. I have taken the first week of January off so should make some progress then.
A very merry Christmas to all the other model builders who frequent this site.
Cheers,
Julian

Julian, thanks for the Christmas wishes. Have you added KA PE to the Osprey? The rotor blades seem to be a little oversized, but I'm possibly wrong. Since I'm going to add one additional aicraft set to my Wasp with WEM PE I'm gong to compare the two PE manufacturer's solutions for the aircraft.

Wish you nice christmas, to!

Hi Daniel, no, these are the kit rotors, not PE. You won't be seeing much of this Osprey once its in the hangar bay The fit of the engine pods and gear wheels was excellent, the fuselage needed some Mr. Dissolved putty and Mr. Surfacer to cover up the join line. There was also some sort of gunk on the wings that marred the paint job, probably to ease removal from the mold. The rest of the aircraft and choppers will get a wash and clean before spraying, (That is why I did a test run first).
Cheers,
Julian

OK, thanks for clarifying. I was just looking at your pics of the KA set again... are there any parts to "pimp" the AV-8B Harriers?

None at all Daniel, all rotors for the choppers.
Julian

Okay thanks.

I am extremely happy that I decided to do a test run on an Osprey destined for the hangar bay: the grey/blue paint colour indicated in the instruction sheet as the colour for the choppers and aircraft turns out to be exactly the same shade as the decals I am applying to the engine intakes and the tail fins. This means I am applying decals for nothing Choose a darker grey or skip the decals. I'll try and get some photos up this weekend.
Julian

Julian, if they are going in the hanger and you will see little of them I wouldn't bother with the decals.

It's the ones that go on deck I am worried about
Julian