kg4kpg Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 (edited) This scale hurts my eyes but I wanted to do a USS Arizona to put on my desk at work. Anyone else built it yet? From reading, it looks like the earlier edition had some rubber parts that were replaced plus they have a little PE to add to it. I thought about grabbing the Tom's Model Works fret but with shipping that adds another $20 bucks. Other than that, I've read it is the best Arizona in any scale but I'm no expert. I'll probably do the Bobby Boss 1/350 kit later for home display. This ship is significant to me not only because of her history, but I also got to visit the memorial back in 1993. Chris Edited November 1, 2011 by kg4kpg Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JasonW Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 This scale hurts my eyes but I wanted to do a USS Arizona to put on my desk at work. Anyone else built it yet? From reading, it looks like the earlier edition had some rubber parts that were replaced plus they have a little PE to add to it. I thought about grabbing the Tom's Model Works fret but with shipping that adds another $20 bucks. Other than that, I've read it is the best Arizona in any scale but I'm no expert. I'll probably do the Bobby Boss 1/350 kit later for home display. This ship is significant to me not only because of her history, but I also got to visit the memorial back in 1993. Chris Chris,The Dragon kit is beautiful. I started it not that long ago and have had little in the way of fit issues yet. The version I have has some etch and also brass barrels for the 14 inch main guns. I bought the Tom's etch set for it and also the etch cage masts to try to back date the kit to an earlier fit. If you're looking for a 1/700 Arizona the Dragon kit is the way to go in my opinion. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kg4kpg Posted November 3, 2011 Author Share Posted November 3, 2011 Chris, The Dragon kit is beautiful. I started it not that long ago and have had little in the way of fit issues yet. The version I have has some etch and also brass barrels for the 14 inch main guns. I bought the Tom's etch set for it and also the etch cage masts to try to back date the kit to an earlier fit. If you're looking for a 1/700 Arizona the Dragon kit is the way to go in my opinion. I grabbed one last week. I like the little brass barrels. I found a big article searching the web that said at Pearl Harbor on Dec 7 the ship was painted a medium blue with the number 1, 2 and 4 turrets having red tops and the masts in medium grey, can anyone confirm? I'm not sure what medium blue looks like but I have a little time before I have to paint. Weird color for a ship. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Grey Ghost 531 Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 I grabbed one last week. I like the little brass barrels. I found a big article searching the web that said at Pearl Harbor on Dec 7 the ship was painted a medium blue with the number 1, 2 and 4 turrets having red tops and the masts in medium grey, can anyone confirm? I'm not sure what medium blue looks like but I have a little time before I have to paint. Weird color for a ship. There is a great deal of controversy on the color of the Arizona on 7 December. The facts are: The Navy decreed the color change in the early fall of '41. The Arizona was MS1 (dark gray with above the top of the funnel light gray) in October '41. The Arizona was in a minor collision with the Oklahoma and went into drydock in October and came out in November. At the time of the attack the upper parts were still light gray, the new scheme would have had them blue. The Arizona was scheduled to go to California on 8 Dec for a long rework. Would they repaint the Arizona in the new scheme just before going to a major refit when it would be repainted again? None of the survivors remember the Arizona as being blue but 70 year old memories of 90 year old men may not be accurate and bluish gray and grayish blue is kind of a fuzzy distinction. The red gun house roofs were well documented, the #1 and #2 being red indicated first battleship division, the #4 being red indicated the Arizona was the flagship of the division. There were definitely some cruisers at Pearl Harbor that were in the sea blue scheme at the time of the attack but nothing to date has proven or disproven whether or not the Arizona was blue. I'm going with MS1 on my Arizona because I think it looks better. I'll just have to say it's as she was in October. That way I get to put the Kingfishers on board too, they were on Ford Island at the time of the attack. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kg4kpg Posted November 3, 2011 Author Share Posted November 3, 2011 (edited) There is a great deal of controversy on the color of the Arizona on 7 December. The facts are: The Navy decreed the color change in the early fall of '41. The Arizona was MS1 (dark gray with above the top of the funnel light gray) in October '41. The Arizona was in a minor collision with the Oklahoma and went into drydock in October and came out in November. At the time of the attack the upper parts were still light gray, the new scheme would have had them blue. The Arizona was scheduled to go to California on 8 Dec for a long rework. Would they repaint the Arizona in the new scheme just before going to a major refit when it would be repainted again? None of the survivors remember the Arizona as being blue but 70 year old memories of 90 year old men may not be accurate and bluish gray and grayish blue is kind of a fuzzy distinction. The red gun house roofs were well documented, the #1 and #2 being red indicated first battleship division, the #4 being red indicated the Arizona was the flagship of the division. There were definitely some cruisers at Pearl Harbor that were in the sea blue scheme at the time of the attack but nothing to date has proven or disproven whether or not the Arizona was blue. I'm going with MS1 on my Arizona because I think it looks better. I'll just have to say it's as she was in October. That way I get to put the Kingfishers on board too, they were on Ford Island at the time of the attack. Very interesting. So, can I use Model Master Dark Grey? Seems really dark to me. Here is that article I had found about the blue. I think I'm going to go with the ealier color as well, I really like the little Kingfishers that are in this kit and can avoid the issue. Thanks for the input. Chris http://archives.starbulletin.com/2006/12/07/news/story04.html Edited November 3, 2011 by kg4kpg Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Grey Ghost 531 Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 Very interesting. So, can I use Model Master Dark Grey? Seems really dark to me. Here is that article I had found about the blue. I think I'm going to go with the ealier color as well, I really like the little Kingfishers that are in this kit and can avoid the issue. Thanks for the input. Chris The dark gray is what the Navy calls "5D". It's very dark, darker than gunship gray and pretty darn close to NATO black but with a bluish tinge. I have White Ensign's 5D and 5L for mine. I saw a Trumpeter 1/200 Arizona at GraniteCon in WE's 5D and it was very dark. The 5L is a little lighter than Gull Gray. If you take into condideration that the 5D weathered pretty fast to a chalky lighter gray and if you also interpret some "scale effect" you can pretty much choose how dark you want to go and have a valid reason for it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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