Hi Everyone.

Now the Liberty ship is finished I thought I may as well start another one, but this one is a lot more involved than the Liberty ship, Trumpeter's USS Alabama with Flyhawk Detail Set, Master 20mm Oerlikons and a Pontos Wooden Deck.



















So I started by removing various parts of the plastic deck like bits etc..



One thing that won't be going if I can help it is the moulded on chain which actually mush better than the chain supplied with the Pontos deck set that looks like a bit of chain you would wear around your neck, not a small scale ships chain..



Next I sanded all the detail off the main turrets, glued on the sides then applied the PE turret roofs and turret fronts..



Then I started the most tedious bit of the build, almost 40 20mm cannons. The ones that came with the Flyhawk set are just too thin and are all photo etch, including the barrels which look 2 dimensional. The mounts are resin. I tried building one and gave it away as a bad joke. Luckily I had 100 spare Master gnus which have turned brass barrels and mounts and I started the long slow process of building them. This picture is of the barrel trunion mount and shields, which of course have to be glued together...





Then they have to be glued to the bases..



Then you take the barrel and glue it to the mount you folded earlier..



And after dropping a number of barrels on the floor due to them not being glued in place properly you then have to glue the barrel assembly to the mount which I have started earlier this evening but haven't taken a photo as yet.

I also have another PE set that I won't be using, Tom's Modelworks set for this and the USS Massachusetts.



But I won't be using it so if anyone is interested in it give me a hoi and maybe we can work something out.

That's it for now,
Warren

WOW...you're not fooling around here Warren! Great to see this one show up! You get an extra cookie this morning for having the patience to work through those gun shields! Keep up the good work!

Warren,

I have the USS Alabama in my stash so I will be watching this build closely. I echo Todd's sentiments regarding the 20mm's. It is a monumental effort to work through so many tiny details, my hat is off to you my good man.

Dave

Hi Warren!

WOW - even if Todd already said it... 40 of those Masters' Oerlikons in one day - that's stunning.... It would have taken me a full week or so (well of leave, that is...)

Great start, and a very interesting subject. Of course I'm in, that never was a question. Good old BB 60 is a fine museum in Mobile, AL, one of the best accessible (if not the best accessible) of the old battleships. I should have photos somewhere, if you're interested, I can try to find them.

Looking forward to your build!!

Cheers,
Jan

Thanks Todd and Dave.

Next up will be a bigger scale ship to give the eyes a rest!

Cheers
Warren

Hi Jan.

Would love to see those photos.

Cheers
Warren

I'm in! Where else would I be?

40 Oerlikons in one day?! 'Struth!

That would take me,er um, well a lot more than one day!

Great work Warren

Hi Warren!

That'S how the old lady looked in 2001 in Mobile, AL.









I sent you a PM that should - hopefully - allow you access to all the pictures I took during my visit to the museum, should be around 35 pics. Please let me know if the link does not work...

Cheers,
Jan

And just to prove I wasn't pulling your legs..



Thanks goodness that is over!

A tremendous feat getting tall the wee guns out of the way early!

Warren,

Amazing work and patience. I think I would have to extend that over a period of a couple of weeks...ok who am I kidding, a couple of months.

Looking good, cant wait to see her come together.

Dave

My my my my my! Those Oerlikons!

Incredible.

Wow, you really did this - 40 Oerlikons in a row...great job!!

Cheers,
Jan

THE BIG 4-0!

Wow! Fantastic commitment Warren!

Thanks for the compliments everyone.

I have been busy with lots of little, fiddly armament things lately. Some of the Flyhawk stuff is too thin for the job and I decided not to use it as it was just too hard to bend. But anyway we start with the 5 in twin mounts , all Flyhawk with resin bodies and brass details..











Then I started on one of the radars..







And then another radar. From part 7..



to..





That;s it for now.

Cheers
Warren

Warren,

Great work on that extensive amount of PE. Not sure how your eyes can handle items so small for such a duration of time. great work, cant wait to see how she comes along.

Dave

Outstanding organization! Those 5" guns look fantastic....as does the radars! Keep slapping this around!

After seeing a couple of your posts I will never complain again about the amount of PE I had to add to my last ship. Your work is outstanding.

Great job, Warren!!

Outstanding work on the PE! The Flyhawk stuff really looks fragile, but the effect on the 5" and the radars is outstanding!

Cheers,
Jan

Hi Dave.

I use an opti-visor all the time.

Thanks Todd.

Hi there Mark

Thanks for that. I am addicted to PE and find it hard to even contemplate a build without using it.

Cheers
Warren

Thanks Jan.

Well its time for another one of my infrequent updates.

First up I started with the ship's crane that handled the aircraft. It started with a flat piece of PE..



And after much folding, and some swearing..







It ended up looking like this..





Then I put 20 or so life rafts together to upgrade some of the plastic ones..



Next up I painted a few assemblies in Haze Grey, which is incorrect but makes a good under-coat..





Then I finished off the main armament turrets (but not the 20mms yet)..





Then I removed all the plastic thingies they use to pass ropes through to tie up the ship, and replaced them with far finer resin ones..



Then I started painting the brass deck pieces and assembled the ships hull.

That's all for now..

Cheers
Warren

A nice, albeit infrequent, update Warren!