I really did try to finish in time for today - the 70th anniversary of her sinking off Samar, Philippines - but clearly, I remain severely afflicted with Advanced Modeller Syndrome (AMS) - specifically, in this case, affecting my "sprucing up" the hull:


Click on Image to EnlargeEnding up a complete reworking of the hull-sides - adding the recessed hangar double-doors, ventilation ports/grates as well as reworked 20mm tubs (yellow) and accurized mid-height catwalks and sponsons - to burn up the last of the fast-vanishing hours before deadline. Admittedly though, now she looks beautiful (bottom), IMHO - 1000% better than before (unlike my web-host's sh** image-compression, which plays hell with the subtle shades of surface-checking white).

The above was already on top of extensive additon of girders (purple) under the flight-deck overhang:


Click on Image to EnlargeThese resin girder-strips (left, esp. at bottom) were molded for essentially unlimited casting, from masters of joined Heller 400-scale railings - the latter otherwise pretty useless as intended - but here, with some paint (center, at top) becoming pretty convincing, IMHO. Just so long as you don't know exactly what they're supposed to look like - as at right (after you finish gawking at the tripped-overboard Turkey...). Note the horizontal - not lengthwise - actual arrangement of the girders: I should've joined the Heller railings in the other direction - though this (in future builds) is easily corrected, using the (numerous) castings now obtained.

Note also a whole further level of details - smaller girders under the gun tubs, outboard piping and stacked UNREP hoses - only the latter of which are currently slated for addition. Indeed, except on the Matty's Models parts - including gun tubs (center, at bottom) having interior racks for the 40mm clips - the above level of detail wasn't added nor ever planned for this build. (However - seeing as now I've missed the deadline anyway - we'll see...) In any case, already (AMS-induced) created are fantail girder-detail (center), prop-shafts and skeg (center, at top) and soon-to-be-installed rudder (not shown).

At this point (per the original plan, anyway) only some considerable PE and detail parts remain to be tacked on:

Click on Image to EnlargeThe mast (top, far-left) admittedly still needs one more small platform - and then will take a fair chunk of the total PE: yardarms, braces, radars and railings. Not shown are a fair pile of 20mms - mostly of PE, but with barrels specially treated and bases of plastic - all still to be done. The sole, Matt Stein Models single-5inch open mount (top, far-right) looks fine, but I am not crazy about the twin-40mms - neither their carriages nor gun-pairs - which just don't look so good in-person: certainly not like they will build up (with PE) as good as the prototype, at top-right. (On the other hand, in these high-mag pics they really don't look bad, so - again, as we're now past the deadline anyway...) I'll take a couple through to completion, and again we'll see.

The Matt Stein Models' latest-version WildCat/FM2s (bottom-left) are guaranteed to finish up excellent, but the latest-prototype Avenger/TBMs (bottom-right) are not entirely satisfactory: with fuselages too slim for the perhaps too-proud canopies, whose framing became flawed and is to be improved, in any case. Already though, these all represent more-than-quantum improvements over the previous aircraft - and anyway can be white-glued on, for easy removal/replacement at any future time better replacements might obtain.

So, as of today, this is how she wound up:


Click on Image for HIGH-RES
Here shown with (again, still incomplete) mast dry-fitted, her hull-bottom is painted and flight deck masked, preparatory to breakneck last-minute painting - not at all recommended for a complex 32-15A pattern (!) - which now can wait to be done right. As also many other of the remaining items, mentioned above.

And YES - I admitt it: I HAVE ADVANCED MODELLER SYNDROME - and I missed my deadline - and I just LOVE the improvement in my Gambier Bay's looks. SUE ME!

Cheers,

- Matty