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Hello folks,

Well as usual I am late to the party...but better late then never I suppose :D .

I have NEVER built a ship model before in my 33+ years of model building. Oh make no mistake, I have thought about it many times and even purchased about six 1/350 ships/subs over the years but never ventured into the waters. I tend to build more armor then anything else (aircraft a close second). But I have always had an interest in navy ships, especially modern vessels (late 1970's to present day). So, without further blathering on...

My chosen kit that I purchased when it was newly released in the 1990's:

IMG_20150820_105901629_HDR_zps64c4a370.jpg

As you can see she's the USS Ticonderoga CG-47, lead ship in the "Ticonderoga Class" of AEGIS Guided Missile Cruisers of which 27 were built and 22 are still in active service.

What's inside:

IMG_20150820_174017_zps38610306.jpg

"Tico", as she became known, was commissioned in 1983 and served for 21 years before she was decommissioned and put into storage in 2004, along with the other four of the first five ships of the class launched (Ticonderoga, Vincennes, Yorktown, Valley Forge, and Thomas S. Gates).

Gold Medal Model PE (WHOA...VERY impressive and VERY VERY intimidating :unsure: !!!):

IMG_20150827_151701_zps631e2f33.jpg

Some reference material to supplement the internet sources (that's the Ticonderoga on the cover):

IMG_20150824_184206_zpsb01d9dcf.jpg

She'll be about 22" long but only about 2" wide and her widest spot. So she's no slouch in the size category. These are sleek, shark-like ships and the model looks to capture those lines (I hope I can do them justice).

Well that's all for now. I build S-L-O-W-L-Y but I hope to have weekly updates.

Thanks all for looking and happy modeling.

Regards,

Don.

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Great addition to the fleet! Glad to see you and it here.

I think you'll find that your armor skills will fit right in.

Ships and armor, to me, share a lot of the same basic modeling components----boxes mounted on structures (interestingly, main structure is "hull" on both), antennas, guns (sometimes on fussy mounts), and subassemblies (turrets included), among other things.

If you've done armor PE, especially grills and brackets, you've got the skill for this.

Despite all that, the sense of "it's a ship" is still there and it's not the same ol' thing.

Looking forward to your build!

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Thanks for the warm welcome fellas!

So, a fellow club member and acquaintance of mine who builds ships warned me that this kit is a real bear to get together. Not that I didn't believe him but I did a quick Google search on the model and sure enough, the general consensus is she will fight ever step of the way. Oh well, I guess I will find out for myself ;).

Anyway, I glued the two lower hull halves together, added their interior strengtheners, added my own additional supports with Evergreen plastic, and attached the rear of the stern:

IMG_20150823_144335_zpsf394cc16.jpg

The hull halves were a little warped, but nothing too terrible. I glued it 3" at a time to achieve the best fit possible. It came out pretty well but there will be a bit of filler needed, especially around the sonar dome on the lower bow.

I started on the hangar bay as well (upside down shot looking at the roof):

IMG_20150828_100822_zpse57e4ef7.jpg

Looking up from the bottom (notice that bland rear bulkhead...):

IMG_20150828_100804_zps2cb18d5d.jpg

I am adding some details to "busy it up":

IMG_20150828_103030_zpsa2a28f24.jpg

And dry fitted to the hangar deck/flight deck:

IMG_20150828_103059_zps8f55325b.jpg

The hangar interior will be enclosed around/buried within the rear superstructure. Even with the hangar doors open and a helo parked within, not much will be seen. So I am not going to get too carried away. Some crates, lockers, tool bins etc.

Well that's it for now folks. Not much, but its progress and progress is good.

Happy modeling all!

Regards,

Don.

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Good choice. That's one I was looking at not so long ago. The PE really helps

out, I used it on my 1/400 U40. Speaking of armor I have a Hetzer and King Tiger

in the works. Anyways she's looking "ship shape" so far.---John

Edited by john53
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Did some work today on the hangar bay. Again, the goal here is to just add some "bulk".

First the hangar bay deck:

IMG_20150830_195326_zps4ea25fb4.jpg

Based on photos, the deck here was slightly darker and fairly clean (probably owing to it needing to be FOD free for helo servicing). So, just some paint shading and pastel work...nothing stellar.

I painted the walls and hangar bay ceiling flat white, then over sprayed a light gray for shadow, and followed that up with a few light swipes of pastel (almost none of which shows up once assembled :( ). Some Evergreen plastic was used for tool caddies, boxes, and stowage and painted using pictures online:

IMG_20150830_195548_zpsb25c319e.jpg

IMG_20150830_195524_zps141e168a.jpg

Compare the photos in this post with those that I posted yesterday and you can see the difference thus far. Once I add the Seahawk with folded rotors and a few other tidbits I think the hangar bay should look sufficiently "busy" and warship like.

More to follow. Thanks for looking.

Happy modeling all!

Regards,

Don.

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Don,

Nice job so far. Always loved the look of the early Tico's with the twin armed launchers. I know they are not as good as the VLS, but they look better to me!

Thanks! Much appreciated. And I agree, I prefer the first five of the "Ticonderoga" Class GMC. I do have a soft spot for the "Gettysburg" CG-64 though for personal reasons. Thanks for following along.

Happy modeling!

Regards,

Don.

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Filling and smoothing the seam along the hull bottom is proving a tad more laborious then I had originally imagined:

IMG_20150901_092320_zpsaf75c507.jpg

But it should be all cleaned up by tonight. I intend on leaving off the rudders and drive shafts until jut before priming to avoid damaging them. The PE screws will be among the last items installed towards the end of the build.

I attached the bow/forward deck and the fantail/stern deck, which based on my dry fitting will yield the best fit compared to following the kits instructions to add the fantail, main deck, then forward/bow deck (I have come to the conclusion early on that when it comes to building ship kits you kind of have to go with your gut and instincts rather then rigidly adhere to the plans...I hope my assumption here doesn't bite me):

IMG_20150826_100514_zpse7e9f023.jpg

IMG_20150826_100635_zps77055ef1.jpg

The bow/forward deck (forecastle I believe) simply would not fit. I sanded, added and subtracted shims, but noting could avoid large and unsightly gaps on both port and starboard sides:

IMG_20150826_100547_zpse35d0bb8.jpg

Much filling and sanding here but fortunately no major loss of detail.

Well that's it for now. Construction has been slow but steady.

Happy modeling all!

Regards,

Don.

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Main deck is attached:

IMG_20150828_101240_zps7862764f.jpg

IMG_20150827_183719_zps50fd207e.jpg

IMG_20150827_183632_zpsc946f60f.jpg

Not a bad fit at all here really (I think adding the forward deck and fantail first helped a great deal). There are a few hairline seams between the upper main deck and hull sides that will need cleanup, but nothing that a few minutes putty followed by sanding once cured (besides the PE railings will cover most anyways). That seam between the forward/bow deck and the main deck will be covered by the forward superstructure bulkhead... so, no cleanup necessary there (whew...).

I plan on taking the next couple of days to make sure the entire lower hull is cleaned up and ready for priming. I am toying with the idea of painting the red lower hull and black stripe (boot?) prior to installing the superstructure. I am thinking that it will make it easier to mask and paint without worrying about damaging the superstructure and any details attached to it. Still deciding at this stage.

Well folks...slow and steady progress. Nothing stellar. Thanks for looking!

Happy modeling!

Regards,

Don.

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That's how I painted my build, the hull was done before working on the upper structures. The last things I did to the hull were the props and rudders, then I can do the rest of my work from the display base, reducing how much the actual model gets handled. I feel that reduces the risk of breaking stuff.

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Upper deck all sanded and flush. It wasn't until I really started looking at the deck closely that I noticed some minor warping which necessitated a tad more filling then I had originally intended to get everything nice and level (again, that seam/gap where the forward deck meets the main deck is a non-issue as the forward superstructure bulkhead covers that):

IMG_20150907_083417_zps47040530.jpg

Bottom and hull sides primed. That seam along the lower hull (keel) disappeared nicely under a light coat of Tamiya primer, as did the two nasty seams along the port and starboard upper bow.

IMG_20150907_083328_zps6b40eb27.jpg

Well, my plans are to paint the lower hull in its anti-fouling reddish brown within the next couple of days, followed by the black boot. Stay tuned for pictures of both by next weekend. In the meantime I need to start on the superstructure...which I have been told is a real nightmare :unsure: . Time will tell...

So far the kit has been a challenge but I am having a blast building my first ship model :woot.gif:! Great fun!

Thanks for looking and happy modeling!

Regards,

Don.

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Hello all! Thanks for the kind words...its really encouraging for a newbie ship builder like myself :thumbsup: .

Anyway, I have been slogging away here on my "Tico". Just before painting the anti-fouling red/brown color on the lower hull I thought that I would see how the propeller drive shafts and "A" brackets fit. WHEW...glad I did! When I dry fit them to their respective locations they didn't fit well at all. Gaps and general poor fit. So, I did some sanding and a little carving and applied some filler and the result was much much improved (still not stellar but I am happy). Had I left them until the end as I was going to do I would have had to do some serious repainting of the anti-fouling red:

IMG_20150917_165624_zps1be01fe3.jpg

IMG_20150917_165542_zps06fb8791.jpg

The flat black boot is there on the hull above the anti-fouling red/brown, but its really thin! Its only about 1mm in thickness and was quite the challenge to get a perfectly straight and symmetrical line. The gray is still Tamiya primer and not the actual gray the upper hull will be:

IMG_20150917_165453_zps492ebd20.jpg

IMG_20150917_165432_zps0f6cbad3.jpg

The sonar dome under the bow was fairly straight forward to mask off...just follow the kit supplied outlines:

IMG_20150917_165601_zpse5d28f68.jpg

Well that's all for now folks. That was almost two weeks worth of assembly/fixing/fitting/painting and masking...and it doesn't look like I progressed that far :unsure: . The superstructure has been started though and I should have some pictures to post by Sunday. But despite the fit issues I am having a blast on this kit :D !

Steady she goes aye!

Happy modeling all and thanks for looking and commenting...MUCH appreciated!

Regards,

Don.

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That is really mice work. I've always wanted to build Port Royal so I could use the blue anti fouling. There is a guy in my model club that works as a manager in the shipyard, he says the blue stuff is useless if the ship steams under a certain speed.

Thank you!

Yeah she's certainly funky in her "Royal" blue :P:

web_090924-N-0676F-001_zps7ayuipom.jpg

I heard the Navy tested this blue on two ships (one in the Atlantic and one in the Pacific) and found that for the increased cost it didn't afford much more protection and actually made the ship more labor intensive then the traditional red/brown anti-fouling coating. Still be cool sitting in the model cabinet though.

The usual color (which in itself varies from ship-to-ship):

US_Navy_090112-N-2638R-002_The_Ticonderoga-class_guided-missile_cruiser_USS_Shiloh_CG_67_is_in_dry_dock_during_a_dry_dock_se_zpsn6x0swty.jpg

I am really enjoying the ship building and research :thumbsup: !

Cheers all and have a great...and productive...weekend!

Regards,

Don.

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Superstructure work from just aft of where the bridge structure will be towards the extreme rear of helicopter landing pad:

IMG_20150901_084326_zps3751259a.jpg

As you can see in the photo above, sanding and filler was needed where the upper and lower hangar sections met. The two parts were very dissimilar in shape that I thought I had the wrong pieces at first...but nope, just bad kit engineering. Not difficult to fix, just time consuming and an irritant (fortunately careful masking saved the surface detail). The other side was easy as you can see in this picture below:

IMG_20150901_083922684_zps3cbeefaf.jpg

Now this:

IMG_20150901_100932_zps61324319.jpg

What you see in the picture above is the front (facing the bow) of the hangar bay. It won't fit :bandhead2: ! Oh it will fit just fine on one side to the point that no filler would be required. But the other side would be left with about a .5 to 1mm gap that would require a lot of filler and much loss of detail (not to mention the bulkheads here are very thin and could easily be damaged). I worked at trying to get this piece to fit for a good 45+ minutes with much frustration before I said "to heck with it!" :explode:. Being a model railroader in addition to a scale model builder means you have to build a lot of structures yourself to meet your railroads needs. So...

IMG_20150901_101128_zpsdd3574da.jpg

...using the kit piece as a template I went and scratch built myself a new one adjusting its size accordingly to fit the space in the hangar bay opening:

IMG_20150901_084431_zps7bf85122.jpg

I still have a few tiny details like the hangar bay door tracks, some piping etc to add but what you see in the pictures took all of about 20 minutes work with Evergreen plastic and the fit is VASTLY improved...as is my sanity :thumbsup: !!

Now I need to tidy this part of the superstructure up and install it to the main deck. After that the forward superstructure/bridge area will be assembled and attached as well. That's what I plan on accomplishing in the next week or so. Stay tuned.

Steady she goes aye!

Happy modeling all!

Regards,

Don.

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Don,

Looking good. Quick question though, do you know what those 'catapult' looking things are on the flight deck? They look large, or is it just the photos that make it look like it is standing so proud?

John

John, I believe they are part of the RAST system (Recovery Assist, Secure and Traverse) that help helicopters recover aboard ship as well as equalizing the electrostatic conductivity of the ship and helicopter. They also keep the helicopters secure to the ship while sitting on the deck, while moving from the deck into the hangar, and while being stored inside the hangar. The pictures I posted make them look to be quite raised for some reason (I am a terrible photographer) but they are tastefully rendered on the kit in my humble opinion. I hope this helps.

Thanks for the kind note and happy modeling!

Regards,

Don.

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