So, anyway....
I placed what I had done for the deck so far, onto the hull to check/mark the longitudinal alignment of the stripes for the middle part of the deck. Better to double check as you get one shot at the transfers






Once the deck is fully decaled (tranfer-ed?) , I will be sealing it and then turning it upside down to add the pe underdeck supports you saw a couple of pages back. Thanks for viewing! -Tim

**edit** for what its worth)... to "warm up" the transfers (these ones are 6 years old) and to make them more pliable/willing to come off the cellophane topper and lay down nicely, I borrowed my wife's blow dryer. It has a very low setting and I used that to warm them a tiny bit once they were taped in place on the deck (but not yet burnished down)...then I did the burnishing. It made a difference I found. Thanks again, Tim

Just gets better and better Tim!! Just a thing of beauty emerging!! Good tip on the transfer!! Filed that away now!!

Thanks and anytime Todd! I have learned from others on this site (many times!) and if I can relay anything in return, it is because I feel most grateful for their experience and tribulations.

I didn't want to leave my build thread on a negative tone, so here's a couple of pics I wasn't going to include..but here they are anyway. These are the deck windscreens (??I think thats what they are??) that can be in a raised or lowered postition on the deck. I have seen them displayed both ways, but I haven't made up my mind which way I'll go with these. They look ok...so maybe in the raised postiton because they look pretty good from both sides and with them up, you'll be able to see both sides

One side:


And the other:


closeup:


So...what say ye? Raised or lowered??
Thx for viewing and cheers to my fellow ship modellers! -Tim

Those deflectors have a lot of nice detail to them! I vote for up!!

Tim, the detail on those what ever they ares looks good, especially with the contrasting grays, I vote up. Having a great time watching your build, that ship is so complex I dont even know where to start looking.

Following closely,
Bryan

Tim

I concur with up. They look great whatever they are

Dave

The votes are in! Raised it shall be!
I have about 8 additional diagonal support beams to attach to put them then to show them properly in the raised position, but I think they'll look great! Unfortunetaly, they will be one of the last things to be installed on the model...but we'll get there eventually I know.

And thats right Bryan, they are two different shades of the same gray...which is some artistic licence taken by me I'm afraid. Both front and back parts are color numbered to be the same grey (as the rest of the deck), but I've used the two tone variation on radars before and they add to the visual I think. The lighter shade is Vallejo Medium Sea grey and the darker shade is Vallejo Dark Sea grey. They look good together I think, so...thats what I did.
Thanks for the input, makes this more fun for sure. -Tim

Sorry that I missed out on the vote but I would have voted for 'raised' as well!!

Great work, simply one astonishing build!!

Cheers,
Jan

Thanks Jan! I am enjoying watching your build as well!

So... the dry transfers are done:


A couple of light-weight clamps to ensure a good tight fit on the leading edge of the now varnished deck. I used one coat of satin, then 2 light coats of dead flat varnish for the seal. The leading edge of the flight deck takes a very small curl downwards right at the end, and I wanted to make sure the wood deck stayed down there:


Side tubs added, they are of the light grey parts you see down the side of the black deck parts:


Here's 3 pics of the photoetch support beam structure (that will soon be 80% unviewable as the small plastic deck part that you see sitting in the background will cover quite a bit of it, but the leading edges and the sides will be in full view). Last look at this part in its entirety before adding the other deck part on top:





Added the deck part, clamped fairly well so I could avoid using any glue near the edges or on the pe itself:



Thats it for now, but progress should go more quickly in the coming week. Thx for viewing..and, as always, comments are most welcome! Cheers, Tim

Tim,

Your Akagi is looking great. I really like how the dry tansfers bring the flight deck to life.

The Akagi is definately on my wish list but I need to hone my skills more before I take on such a task.

very impressive build. Even though you cannot see the majority of the PE under the deck just knowing it is there adds to the build.

I look forward to seeing you bring this fantastic ship together.

Dave

Great progress with the deck Tim, looks splendid with the markings!

It's just a shame for all your marvelous PE work to hide it, but you can at least see still a part of it, and just knowing it's there is important, too!!

Cheers,
Jan

More fantastic work Tim!! That deck is just awesome!! Nice to see things come together!! Can't wait for the next update!!

Awesome support from the members here and I really appreciate it! Thanks very much fellow ship modellers!

I removed the clamps this evening, and was quite pleased with how the support grid set up...perfect fit. This pe set is really well engineered. Here's a couple pics after the clamps removed:





I think you guys will like what you see next...so be sure to check back! Cheers, Tim

Tim,
All that photoetch girder detail is absolutely AWESOME. Be sure to display her high enough up on the shelf so people can see it all!

Tim,

Even though much of the PE is covered you can see quite a bit and it looks great. It defeinately makes the deck pop.

Dave

Thanks again gentlemen...your kind comments are much appreciated by me, certainly!

Despite what the instructions said, I painted my underdecks black instead of grey, to increase the contrast between the pe and the deck, so the photoetch grids could be seen more clearly. And for the same reason, I painted the grids themselves Vallejo Aluminum instead of the called-for flat grey.

Speaking of which:


Thats the second layer of the photoetch parts for the stern deck of course, and if you look closely, you can see that the second layer beams at the rear are in decent alignment (depending on the camera angle) with the first layer beams below it.



And although you cannot see it in these particular pics (more to follow later), the side beams of the second layer line up really well with the side beams of the lower part.

Thanks again everybody for your time and attention, and thanks especially to those who have commented! Cheers to all -Tim

Tim,

that's absolutely awesome, seeing the parts going together and the fit! Great work!!

I like your creativity with regards to the colors - all in 'dull grey' would likely be correct somehow - but not do the work justice. Black/aluminum still looks realistic and makes the structures stand out, that's really good!!

Looking forward to follow your progress!!

Cheers,
Jan

Hi Jan! You and I are of the same mind when it comes to the paint! Thx for your support.

Last night I added the next peice:




On the right hand side of the pic, you can see that lower part side beams line up (fairly) well with the upper ones.


The 6 tabs you see in the middle of the grid and the two towards the back, are locators for the tramways that will be added next. I almost sanded these off by mistake when putting the part together!





Too many pics of the same thing? Anyway... thanks for your time and comments are most welcome! Cheers, Tim

Tim,

Absolutely phenominal work. I agree with the color choises, it defeinately hightlights the support structure. Painting it dull grey would not do your work justice.

Truely amazing work. Looking forward to seeing more.

Dave

Sorry...still drooling over the details on this!! Well done so far Tim!! Certainly a thing of beauty! Nice to see the framing under the deck at the bow does not go unseen!! For me....this pic says it all!!



Keep it coming!!

Hey guys, thanks so much! I'm adding the trams to that section next...and there's still 8 pe columns to add to the sides! Hopefully working on the trams tonight. I've been looking forward to this part of the build since I started on the model! Till later, Tim

Tramways added:

That looks simply stunning Tim!