It's crazy, I've been a member of this group forever and this is the first "real" naval subject aside from the odd submarine, I've ever built. I guess it's taken me this long to soak-up all the knowledge from you guys. So, I've had this kit for about ten years and the PE set for it just as long and I decided I'd go ahead and build it. At first, I'd planned on building it as she appeared on Dec 7, but through other discussions and further research, I chose to build her as she appeared in October of 1940 when she was painted in the standard overall grey. A word on the turret tops. I painted the tops red as the indicator that she belonged to Division 1. Now, I know there may be some controversy in this decision, because they may have only been painted this way after the Measure 1 scheme was applied, but I found an image of her in 1940 where the tops were dark, so I extrapolated that this could have been red. If it's wrong, it's wrong. Anyway, I like how she is turning out and so far I've enjoyed this and kinda have some confidence in tackling another down the road.


The deck painted. This has been a little victory for me. A year ago, my hands shook so much I could not have painted those fittings, let alone the demarcation of the wood and metal.


Pre-shade


the base coats



Thus far

Very nice Steve.

Looking nice!
You don't need to worry about the turret tops; the only ones that it is still controversial with are those who refuse official documentation as proof.

Still looking very nice Steve. Will look great when she is done.....Cheers mark

So, there is documentation that the tops were red in 1940, before the shift to the Measure 1 scheme?

Thanks Mark! Didn't know you were here as well!

Beautiful build Steven,
Julian

Thank you Julian!

Yep I am here also Steve and good to see you here also.....Cheers mark

Happy Veterans Day to my Brothers-in-Arms here, and to the memory of those who served this elegant lady.


Lest We Forget.

I tried PE for a ship one other time, for a 1/700 scale USS Indianapolis and it was disastrous. Last night I managed to successfully fold and glue these for the Arizona. Seemingly a small feat, but if you had seen the Indianapolis, you would understand why I sort of view this as micro-turning point. Maybe the curse of the Indianapolis has been lifted for me.

I marvel at those of you who can do this in that scale.

Very nice job on the P/E so far Steve.....Cheers Mark

After 3 hours of glue and wait, I was able to finish the turret catapult. The real irony is that I experience less grief with parts like this than I do trying to glue the window frames into the mast towers.


Resting on her permanent location. I will go back tonight and tack-down that corner rail and add the pulleys. And in looking at the photo, I can see I missed a couple of spots in the paint touch up.


It's a amazing what a difference photo-etch makes in comparison huh? That said, I have not found this easy or therapeutic.


Tonight the yard arms and maybe the other cranes. I'm slowly running out of sub-assemblies I can build before I have to come to grips with the railing.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Very nice job on the Cat Steve.....Cheers mark

Sorry for the tardy response - I don't make it here enough, I guess. Yes there is documentation - I just have 1938, 1940, and 1941 posted here, but Dana Bell is working on a book that will explain the whole system from 1925 until the start of WWII.

Beautiful! Thanks so much Tracy! It's a good thing I have a spare turret for #3...Since I had it painted red as well.

Again, thank you!
Steve

Very nice pe work Steve.

Great work on a real old Beast Steve, nie to see these old kits turned into show stoppers.

Si

Thanks Kenny and Si, I'm taking her nice and slow.

really nice work
Any updates?

Ditto

Yes I too am watching this as I just bought this kit at a swapmeet for a woping $5.00. Also what photo-etch are you using? Also what paint are you useing? Good luck and keep up with the good work

wow that is some fantastic pe work. I am working on the same model but only out of the box, so it's nothing compared to yours. baby steps after not building a ship in over 30 years. Will follow this one closely.