Hey Guys/Gals,

Thought I would toss up a blog for a build I am hoping to finish for The Mighty Battleship Campaign underway right now.

Mighty Battleship Campaign Build Thread

With a little help from a couple of the guys, I pulled a kit form the stash; The USS Arizona.




I picked the kit up at a show I attended last year. Couldn't leave it there as it was $30. Came with essentially two kits in the box as the previous owner was thinking of maybe building two versions of this pretty girl!





With the set came the Eduard PE set, which is rather extensive, one waterline and one full hull and almost two sets of the kit supplied PE with barrels. I picked up a set of 5 inch guns, forgetting I had some in the stash already...LOL!!







Also the wood deck from Atwox. The wood deck is for the Hobby Boss kit, but there is always a way to make things work!





I am thinking to not get to bogged down with the complete accuracy. The main goal is to have some fun building and take part in the campaign! So with that, I guess I can get the ball rolling soon and see what I can get done in the next couple months on this! I am thinking of going with the waterline version and making a first attempt at that watery stuff...if I can pull it off

Thanks for stopping in!

Todd

Glad to see you chose the USS Arizona. Will be looking forward to watching as you build this beauty


Dave

Hi Dave! Thank you!! Glad to have you along for the ride!! I hope to at least start cleaning up some parts soon!!

Thats a special ship, Ill be following with interest.

Bryan

That she is Bryan! Thanks for climbing aboard!

Nice choice Todd, I'll be along for the ride.

Nice choice Todd.

Watching with interest.

Russ.

Thanks Luciano and Russ!! Nice having a crew backing me up along the way!! A little more snow removal this morning and I think I can steal some time to start cleaning!!

Hey Todd,

Nice choice, it is always fun to see an Arizona build. Are you going to paint her up in Sea Blue with red turret tops? I hope so - it is so fun to see how some folks go apoplectic over that controversial scheme!

Thanks Tim! Nice to see you climb aboard!! I was thinking of how she was just before the 7th...or at least I how see it! LOL...I do know all too well about the controversies surrounding just about everything on this ship! I will have all I can do to work up the 1/700 scale and the watery stuff. All about having some fun building and painting!! I have a 1/350th with a pile of goodies waiting for that day I get hyper-sensitive about color matching!!

I'm afraid you will be disappointed with this combination of kits. This version of Dragon Arizona is very old, and has rubbery un-glueable control tops, and die cast metal main turrets. A later kit, which is almost identical, does have the molds cleaned up and sharpened a bit, and contains styrene turrets and control tops. The Eduard PE set was designed for Hobby Boss Arizona and very little is going to fit the Dragon kit. I also find that the nickel-plated Eduard PE does not glue well, even with CA. 3DModelParts makes excellent printed resin replacement parts - contol tops, 5" guns, splinter shields, even water-cooled .50 cal's http://www.3dmodelparts.com/ship-accessories/ The Artwox deck looks very good, but when you cut off the 'aztec' ladders/stairs on the plastic kit, you're going to have voids to fill on the wooden deck, as it was designed for the kit without any alterations. I have the same kits you are using, and some of it will lead to endless frustration!

Well thank you very much for the heads up on items I should look out for Biggs, but I doubt I will be too disappointed. This is an older kit that should dress up into something half way decent in the end. I am more worried about pulling the water scene off myself...LOL!! Since This is not the "dream" kit build and a friendly hop into the campaign, I am thinking things will work out for the most part.

As for the CA not working with the Nickle plated stuff, I have not had too much of an issue myself in the past. I typically switch back and forth between Gel and thin VA as well as different versions of PVA. All depends on what I am trying to attach and where. I like to solder to, which eliminated many tiny pesky parts from getting away from me.

While there are plenty soft features with regards to the kit, The PE set makes up for it in other areas. The guns are a big area...and they get seen being out in the open and all, but I'll try and tackle that when I get there.

Thanks for that link though...great looking stuff that appears to be a great outsourcing for upgrades! I may even pick up the 5 inch guns as for a base unit do look great and then slap the brass barrels into them

Nice projekt Todd!

Count me in!

Cheers

Jan

Thanks Jan!! Glad to have you along!!

I also forgot to mention that Lion Roar makes much better boat cranes than the Eduard ones. Like you, I bought the Eduard set hoping to improve the Arizona, but now I probably will be using very little of it. The 3DModelParts, Gold Medal PE, and Lion Roar, (and some scratch building) should be enough.

Thanks again Biggs! The Eduard set was actually stuffed in the box when I bought it at a show along with two sets of PE from the kit...I have 4 options as it stands. The Eduard set did look a bit soft looking on their site...but then again, they probably should have paid a bit more to have someone build the sample ship...that was ugly! I think with a little love and some plastic things will turn out fairly well.

With regard to the 3D parts I thin the 5"/25's would be the best buy. I may pick up the 51's but in all actuality all you see with those would be the barrel sticking out in this scale. Time will tell! I need to go through everything and see what to keep and what not too! Not too bad though, all part of the fun!!

Well the journey needs to begin somewhere! Pulled the kit out of the box and looked things over. Turns out the two separate kits inside are in fact, 2 different kits...but essentially the same DML's 7040 (the old one) and 7053, the premium edition. The instructions are completely the same with the exception of the added items in the Premium edition.

Anyway, I spent some time cross-checking all the PE with parts in the instructions for the kits. I needed to find out what can go and what should stay. Pretty much everything on thee decks went except the vents, bollards, barbettes and winches.





I spent a little time cutting out the deck so I could dry fit everything and see how it worked. I was expecting to have some minor items give me issue due to the fact this is for the Hobby Boss version...the fit was pretty much perfect.







Things look like they will sit down quite nicely I think once I get to that point. I opted to keep the winches but cut off the flat sheaves on the sides and will replace them with something a little bit rounder. Although I left the chain plates and boiler plates in place, I removed the flat plat just forward the fantail catapult. Figure I could replace that easy enough. I know I might see a little of the cutout squares that would have been removed to fit around various parts...but for the most part, I am thinking it will work out!


Looks like I am into figuring out some PE next. I might paint the hull and remaining fixtures on it. All the small parts will get painted first before hitting the decks, or in it!!

Thanks for tuning in!!

Todd,

Gat start. The deck looks great. How you guys manage to work on something so small amazes me. Looking forward to watching you progress.

Dave

Thanks Dave!! I know for me the small scale stuff I barely manage...LOL!! And a good set of eye wear!

Todd

There no coke bottle thick enough for me to see 1/700 scale...lol

Dave

LOL...you and me both Dave!! I have three grades of eye stuff and need the middle for this!! LOL!! Figure I give it a shot while I still can!!

Why didn't you paint the plastic deck, as well as the hull, before laying down the Artwox one? That avoids a lot of masking later to prevent paint on the wood deck, as well as providing a matt surface for better grip for the wood deck.

It's no surprise that the wood deck fit so well - it is for Dragon model # 7053 (Premium Arizona), and not for Hobby Boss. It's visible right on the packaging!

Disregard this as maybe I didn't read where you were dry-fitting!! My bad! BTW I see a possible error by Artwox. They left cutouts over the removable steel plates on the after deck, just abeam of the mainmast. These plates were removable for access and maintenance of the engines. In photos of Arizona these plates were also planked over with removable wood sections. A possibility would be to save the wooden cutout bits from the Artwox deck, level the platic deck detail, and replace with the wood bits.

Thanks again for the information Biggs! Artwox got the decks pretty much correct, there is sections that were in the two spots where the plates go. I still have them. Only section I didn't get to cleaning yet.