I have been working on and off on the Mighty Mo this week and have made some 'Progress'

First up the good:

Anchor chains are on and looking good. I am pleased with them. I also am pretty happy with the various bits and bots that go around the anchor capstans.



Plimsoll lines and ship number are on. These were dry transfers and the first time I have managed to use dry transfers and get them right. Turns out that patients, time and many youtube tutorials were the answer.


Rear conning tower came out looking pretty good. I am happy with it. Just need to fix the paint a bit.


The OK:

In my infinite wisdom I decided that drilling the portholes would make the ship look much better. All well and good you say except for the fact I had already painted the superstructure etc. Queue up a couple of hours spent with a very careful handled dremel with a long drill bit and we have port holes. I am pretty happy with how it came out.

I have also decided (again, after the fact) to put in the support poles for the balcony bits as indicated by the arrow. These are not in the exact correct spot but that's the price you pay for not thinking ahead. I will be adding more on the other balconies when I get some more plastic rod.


Lastly the ugly:

The rear housing which holds the rear conning tower broke away after painting. This tore off the putty and paint and left a nasty mess. Unfortunately because of where it is and the fact I had already put on the conning tower with its fragile PE as well as the wooden deck I am having a hell of a time getting in there to sand and smooth. I have already damaged the adjacent PE ladders which I am going to have to replace.I think I have come up with a solution which, if it works, I will document later.


And lastly, I mentioned this in a previous post but the paint I am using is horrible. Its AK interactive Haze Grey and is simply the worst paint I have ever used. I am forced to use it for now since I have not been able to match it to another paint but after this build or if I find something even remotely comparably its into the trash with it.

Hi Rory,

Great job on the Anchor gear, the f'o'c's'le looks nice and busy. Pity about the dodgy paint, appreciate the heads up, looks like I will steer clear of that. I wouldn't be too worried about a mismatch in colour, paint on ships tend to weather slighty differently depending on how exposed it is, how much funnel smoke drifts over it etc.


Cheers

Si

I have fixed my issues with both paint and the rear conning tower mess.

Paint wise I found Mission Models Haze Grey to be a very close match and it behaves so well. It went down beautifully.

Fixing the messed up area was easier than I thought it would be. I ripped off the damaged PE ladders and hatches and I used Tamiya tape to cover it

Granted its tape that has been sealed with CA on the edges and impregnated with pledge but still tape. And it looks pretty good if I do say so myself.

Without paint.


With the new MM Haze Grey.


I really am quite happy with it

Lookin' good! That's some fantastic detailing on the anchor windlasses & brake handles.

Tim

Very nice! Great paint rescue!

Rory,

I feel your pain! Your experience illustrates why so many of us are so conservative with the paints we use. Some paints work better than others, and once we "learn" a particular paint range there are fewer nasty surprises! Anyway, yours was a workmanlike and effective fix with that awful paint issue.

Rory, very nice fix with the tape method!

Hi Stephen, I have reviewed your turrets and submitted to Kitmaker. Just waiting to see if it gets approved.

Thanks so much, Rory!

I recently completed two more USS Missouri designs, a 1944 bridge and 1945 bridge (details differ). The 1945 bridge may be helpful to you. Here it is:

Ups- somehow I missed your thread for more than a year...

Rory, great work so far, I just scrolled through the last pages, looks really excellent!

I should be careful not to miss your next update...

Cheers
Jan

Hi Jan,

I will be getting back into this build soon. I got distracted by things with wings and tracks

And we are back!

After a 9 month Hiatus I have returned to my USS Missouri build, spurred on by my just completed Rowangarth Tug. The juices are once again flowing.

When we left off she was on this state:



Over the last few days I have been working to build up the various subassemblies that make up the Bridge/Funnels etc.



I really like this detail, it even has windscreen wipers.



Part of the upper bridge and funnel:



Upper bridge:



And lastly all test fitted together. Even unpainted this makes a huge difference to the look of the ship:

Rory,

Nice PE work, it really enhances the detail of the superstructure. I hope your eyes weren't to strained after adding all of those tiny pieces. Good job getting them aligned with each other.

Mark

Wow, that looks great Rory

Looking good.

My "MO" has been sitting on the shelf for a year too. Kinda lost my enthusiasm for some reason.

Seeing your "re-start" I hope will invigorate me to get my mojo back. I'm up to about halfway up the superstructure, getting ready for the stack and top decks. I really struggled with the application of the wood decks and painting all the pe details after application without messing up the wood. I got the Pontos set which cost as much as the kit, so I don't want to screw it up.

Keep up the very fine work you're doing.

EJ

I get that. I built my HMS Warspite with the Pontos kit and it was very intimidating. I am building this with the Eduard set in conjunction with a set from some Chinese company.

Great to see this one back on the bench, Rory!

Great update too

Weekend update time. Been working at this a lot and while it looks like I haven't done a lot I have actually progressed a lot.

First up, all railings have been added to the superstructure. Only railing left is the main deck. I will add that after I have added all the 'bits' to the deck to avoid damaging it.



Next up the masts and radars are built and installed.



The Sk-2 Radar was a lesson in taking a step back and admitting you have failed. I went through 3 separate sets of PE radars and I screwed them all up. I eventually mcguyvered a radar out of the kit part and salvaged PE from my failed attempts. Does it look amazing? No. But it will suffice. I am not prepared to spend more money on a radar which has already beaten me 3 times.




Next up, all the direction finders, searchlights etc have been cleaned up and are ready for spraying.



Currently working on the life rafts. In my infinite wisdom I decided to add strapping to them. Its a pain in the bum and not entirely historically accurate but will add some visual pop. Most rafts were attached with ropes but I have found photos of some ships where they are attached with the crossed strapping. 13 down, many more to go.



And lastly, not sure it will show in the pics but I went back and added some tonal variation to the deck. I really, really, REALLY should have down this before I installed the deck. Live and learn for next time...



Next week I will be tackling the main and secondary direction finders, the 5 inch guns and possibly the aircraft catapults.

I also plan on painting the superstructure sub assemblies so I can start to build her up.

Rory,

That's a good work around on the SK-2!

In model building it's not about being perfect but rather about having fun and coming up with satisfactory solutions. That's exactly what you did here, and it looks good!

Rory,

And I thought PE only hated me, feel your pain. The radar did come out very nice and once painted and weathered it will look awesome.

I didn't know that rafts were tied down, wouldn't that prevent them from floating free if the ship sank? Never really research the subject so what do I know. Anyway nice progress she going to look wonderful.

Mark

Mark,

They were definitely tied down. I have read far more about Carley rafts the last few days than I ever thought possible. They were meant to be pushed off the ship as opposed to floating off.

Clear photos of WW2 era USN Carley rafts are oddly hard to find. I found the 3 below via google.

Tied down rope:



Tied down with rope:



Strapped down:

Rory,

Thank you for the feedback, now I know. Can I assume that is the same for British ships? I am finishing up my HMS Zulu and I should be adding tie downs to the those floats.

Mark

Mark,

Looks like it was the same for RN ships. There are a few pics of Carly floats on HMS Repulse and Hood with the tied down with ropes.

Todays update:

Superstructure is on and she is looking grand. She has been sitting for almost 2 years with just the lower superstructure on and its wonderful to see her looking semi complete. Still a long way to go but we are getting there.





And lastly I have installed the strapped lifeboats and I think they came out looking very spiffy.



Tomorrow I shall start tackling the Mk 37 and Mk38 Directors.

Rory,

Looking good. Knowing all the work it took just to get that far with the superstructure is now going to pay off as you add the final pieces. She already looks like she means business.

Mark