David Perry's NEW MEXICO, in Progress

Posted by David Perry (via Matty) on November 29, 2014, 18:37:38, in reply to "Not to Mention: NEW MEXICOs"
Edited by board administrator November 29, 2014, 19:41:32

Click on Image to Enlarge (Comparisons to Revell 1/426 Arizona): Click on Image to Enlarge(New Mexico on bottom)

David Perry's CALIFORNIA, in Progress

Posted by David Perry (via Matty) on November 29, 2014, 18:30:17, in reply to "Temerity to do: The TENNESSEEs!"
Edited by board administrator November 29, 2014, 19:42:11

(Comparisons to Revell 1/426 Arizona): Click on Image to Enlarge(California on bottom)

David Perry's COLORADO, in Progress

Posted by David Perry (via Matty) on November 29, 2014, 18:18:14, in reply to "Yes, and Even: The COLORADOS (n/t)"
Edited by board administrator November 29, 2014, 19:40:49

COLORADO (Comparisons to Revell 1/426 Arizona): Click on Image to Enlarge (Colorado in middle)

Perry's PENNSY '45, in Progress

Posted by David Perry (via Matty) on November 27, 2014, 19:44:34, in reply to "PENNSYLVANIA - Of Course."
Edited by board administrator November 29, 2014, 19:39:33

"...(I've) almost finished the 1945 version of the Pennsylvania: ...this...picture...is a closer view of the (mid-)section (than in the final pic, below)...show(ing particularly well) the twin 5" mounts: Click on Image to Enlarge...the(se) twin 5" turrets (as at left) are almost done except for the gun barrels & the slots for those barrels on the face of the turrets. These turrets are made from sandwiched sheet plastic & carved to shape. (For the) 5"/38cal barrels...haven't decided on what to do about the barrels yet...(but) i might use 1/350 5"25cal barrels...(of) machined brass not plastic. (Note also) the deck winch(es above at right, and one in the following) which is not complete sitting between the deck edge & the 2 (aft) 14" turrets: Click on Image to Enlarge (For this) 1945 version of the Pennsylvania (also) i need...quad(- 40mm)s..." Click on Image to Enlarge

David Perry's NEVADA and OKLAHOMA, in Progress

Posted by David Perry (via Matty) on November 29, 2014, 18:11:26, in reply to "The One that Almost Got Away: NEVADA"
Edited by board administrator November 29, 2014, 19:38:22

NEVADA (reconstructed) Click on Image to Enlarge OKLAHOMA Click on Image to Enlarge (Comparisons to Revell 1/426 Arizona): Click on Image to Enlarge(Oklahoma on top) (BOTH): Click on Image to Enlarge

Little ARKANSAS

Posted by Matty on December 7, 2013, 17:54:41, in reply to "A Little Further - to ARKANSAS: The American Agincourt"

Well, I finally got around to "dry-fitting" the kitbash graphics for the two smaller models under consideration: Click on Image to EnlargeThe Airfix Warspite (second from bottom) and Airfix Iron Duke (bottom), again will most "naturally" bash into Arkansas' ("Arkansi"?) of the following sizes: - From Airfix WARSPITE => 11.4" LWL, 1:593 scale ARKANSAS - From Airfix IronDUKE => 10.6" LWL, 1:638 scale ARKANSAS As usual, to output the following graphic at true scale, print the full-resolution (link target) version at 170dpi, again, annotated in the full-res version: Click on Image for FULL-RESNote the Warspite (top) converts in 5 sections (outlined), with three left over (blue-green, painted) - while the Iron Duke (bottom) requires only 4 sections - and only really 2 leftovers (blue plastic), the "third" being simply a crescent (which need not even be cut out) from under a barbette. While Warspite may fit better around the casemate guns, the the Iron Duke idea requires notably simpler- and fewer cut-lines, and also leaves a smaller, simple-rectangular gap (pink) remaining amidships. However in either case the latter falls entirely within the flat stretch of deck under the midships turrets - i.e., quite easy to provide. A bit more difficult will be the addition/augmentation of hull-blisters, likewise required in both kitbashes. Again as usual, minor over-extension (green) is no detriment along the hull-sides where the blisters end - and small issue at the extreme stern, where they simply reflect the overhanging Captain's Walks of the RN BBs, easily shaved off. Thus, the only advantage apparent for the Warspite-conversion idea (so far, anyway) is its larger size, and near-perfect match to 1:600 scale. However that last has powerful appeal - to me, anyway - and I may explore what would be required to force a (best-) fit between Iron Duke and Arkansas, at exactly 1:600 scale. Cheers, - Matty

How to get to ARKANSAS

Posted by Matty on October 20, 2013, 11:12:00, in reply to "A Little Further - to ARKANSAS: The American Agincourt"
Edited by board administrator November 2, 2013, 20:57:27

--Originally Posted 10/10/13-- [Editor's Note: Again, this post was not particularly about utilizing the Revell Arizona mold - however it does show a kitbash of Arkansas from this kit to be quite feasible, below.] Like virtually all the other USN Old BBs in WWII, Arkansas was serially refitted - with her most interesting configuration (IMHO) being her last: Click on Image for FULL-RESThis view from perfectly (orthogonally) abeam was captured 11/5/44, luckily - and lucky I was, to find it - revealing substantial inaccuracies (which it was then used to correct) in several of the most commonly-available drawings (which were REALLY off - be so advised!). Arkansas did not have exactly the above fit (nor disruptive camo) when she supported the D-Day landings - however this was the fit in which she attended the subsequent landings at Iwo Jima and Okinawa - again, in yet a third camo scheme: Click on Image to EnlargeSeen here on 1/1/45 - about a month before Iwo Jima - Arkie has just been repainted in overall Navy Blue (5N), in which she would serve out the rest of the Pacific War. With the precise fit/period of interest determined, an appropriate drawing was then be obtained, for graphic comparison against readily available/affordable models - kitbashing candidates in- and around (as always, with me) 500-600 scale: Click on Image to EnlargeHere, I compare my corrected line-drawing of Arkansas - the plan-view (milky overlays) - against four kits, the former resized in each case to match the maximum beam of the model - each of which in turn, has been scaled to be in true proportion to the others. Note Arkansas was a stubbier ship than virtually all these models - nevertheless, each mold does show (at least) one area of significant match with Arkansas: three of them towards the aft end, and a sole contrarian - Royal Sovereign - matching almost perfectly (disregarding the minor scalloping of the casemates) right forward. Surprisingly, the match for Arizona - the sole USN candidate - with a fantail admittedly a near-perfect match for Arkansas, overall otherwise does not appear to match Arkansas especially better than do the other (all RN) candidates - particularly Warspite, which may indeed present the best general match. Irrespective of which may be easiest/best, the above kitbashes will produce Arkansas' with the following characteristics: - From Revell ARIZONA => 14.9" LWL, 1:454 scale ARKANSAS - From Revell (ex-FROG) RoyalSOVEREIGN => 13.2" LWL, 1:511 scale ARKANSAS - From Airfix WARSPITE => 11.4" LWL, 1:593 scale ARKANSAS - From Airfix IronDUKE => 10.6" LWL, 1:638 scale ARKANSAS Note these options span the range between (just a hair smaller than) 450- to (about) 600-scales. The concept using the Revell Arizona will, at 1:454 yield an Arkansas just 6.2% smaller-scale than - i.e., about perfectly compatible with - your existing Revell Arizona. However, again the Airfix Warspite option stands out, at 593-scale, as matching even closer (just 1.1% oversized) against your other 600-scale collection - including Warspite herself, alongside whom Arkie participated at D-Day). Also fitting notably well - including around the casemate gun-decks, forward - was the Royal Sovereign conversion, and (also as the second-largest-sized kitbash) I examined her option in more detail, along with that of the Revell Arizona, in the following "graphic dry-fitting": Click on Image for FULL-RESNote, perhaps surprisingly that each of these hulls, starting out considerably longer than Arkansas, ends up - after chopping into 5 sections, with 3 leftovers (blue-gray) - leaving a substantial gap (pink) amidships, roughly abaft Arkansas' 6th main-battery turret. For both, this is due to the ends - particularly the bows - being strongly telescoped inward, to reposition as many as possible major features - turret barbettes, lower superstructure levels, gun casemates and hull-sides, etc. - corrrectly for Arkansas. Although - particularly for Arizona - over-extensions (green) may appear to indicate severe mismatches, in fact these can probably be faired-in relatively easily (and probably very effectively), wherever they occur over the hull blisters. Meantime, the above gap - again, in both kitbashes - occurs in a flush stretch of deck, very easy to fill using "v"-groove plasticard, with essentially just a single (main-battery) turret on it. Thus, both these kitbashes appear quite do-able - though the Royal Sovereign does clearly appear simpler/easier. In any case, to do either of these, print out the FULL-RESOLUTION version at 170.42dpi (labelled in the graphic, but not above). Of all the USN Old BBs, an Arkansas kitbash would suffer least from shifting away from the Revell Arizona, in favor of using one of the above RN BBs. Not least for the fact that Arkansas' older-style, blocky (twin-gunned) turrets least resemble Arizona's more modern, conformal (and triple-gunned) ones. Indeed all the above together suggests the Airfix Warspite option (though still remaining to be confirmed) might well be the best/easiest of the lot, for bashing (a 1:600) Arkansas. And, for you yet-smaller-scale modelers, remember the Iron Duke (also still to be analyzed) already has a fifth barbette, amidships! So, stay tuned for those - and, if any of you Big Guns out there decide to do- or have already done - any of the above conversions, do pipe up and let us know. Cheers, - Matty

David Perry's TEXAS, in Progress

Posted by David Perry (via Matty) on November 29, 2014, 18:44:38, in reply to "TEXAS - that's what!"
Edited by board administrator November 29, 2014, 19:37:30

(Comparisons to Revell 1/426 Arizona): Click on Image to Enlarge

Re: TEXAS - that's what!

Posted by David on November 26, 2014, 20:52:26, in reply to "TEXAS - that's what!"

TEXAS on TV

Posted by Matty on July 19, 2014, 11:03:11, in reply to "TEXAS - that's what!"
Edited by board administrator July 19, 2014, 12:58:20

--Originally Posted 7/19/14-- Ever notice how you just can't get away from reminders of Texas BB-35, on TV and the Silver Screen? Computer-graphic rendering of Texas, at left, with other USN BBs behind, from the movie "Flags of Our Fathers" (see below). I'm serious: in fact, yet another mention of her was just encountered, even while compiling this post - actually, not on TV but DVD - of the circa-1950 movie "Suddenly", with Frank Sinatra and Sterling Hayden. And Ed Gleason as the Old Geezer, who, at 0:04:25 says: "That's Technical Talk, boy - I was radio operator on the battleship Texas in World War One...!"() That film debuted in theaters at- or about the same time as another set of movie newsreels including glimpses of Texas - later shown as a bona-fide TV documentary serial, today of course preserved on DVD - the "Victory at Sea" series: Click on Image to EnlargeAt left, Texas (or, it occurs to me, any of these could also be her sister, BB-34 New York) is shown for a moment in Victory At Sea - Chapter 9: "Sea and Sand" - plodding serenely in convoy to the Operation Torch landings in North Africa. Appearing again, at center and -right, in Chapter 23: "Target Suribachi", unleashing a broadside against Iwo Jima, during the amphibious landing there. Note before firing she looks uniformly dark - consistent with Texas' overall Navy Blue 5-N, worn at Iwo - however, once the giant fireball from (at least) her forward 4x guns lights up her topworks, they look far brighter than 5N: instead, now more consistent with the lighter-overall, disruptive-type camo worn at Iwo by New York. Clearly some trick of the light must be at work in at least one of these frames - you can pretty much take your pic as to how, and whether it is actually Texas or New York that is shown. Regardless of definitive identification though, clearly the best such clip in Victory At Sea has got to be the following: Here, with the entire port side virtually exploding in full broadside - turning daylight exposure into apparent night against Mount Suribachi - Texas (or, again, her sister) opens up from truly lethal, point-blank range. The salvo blast so stark and gigantic that the ship herself appears to be blowing up, this is a perfect USN companion to the classic shot of Bismarck doing the same. Yet further clips of Texas (and/or again, New York) appear - now in color - on the DVD documentary set: "Iwo Jima: 36 Days of Hell": Click on Image to EnlargeAt left, a New York class BB takes turns with a heavy (Pensacola class?) cruiser in the foreground, New Mexico-class BB at left, and (distinctive silhouette of the reconstructed) BB Nevada, behind, in shelling Iwo Jima. At right, an overall-dark blue BB - surely Texas - cuts loose yet another broadside against Iwo. Although, like the above (black-and-white) Victory at Sea frames, again seen from the front, firing to starboard, with mast-top flag looking very much the same, this is not printed from the same original - as careful comparison reveals the two were shot from different elevations. Those are some historical archives - but Texas also appears in the fictionalized re-creation, "Flags of Our Fathers": Click on Image to EnlargeAt left, without introduction nor fanfare, Texas appears - rendered using computer-graphics - her aft batteries roaring out against Iwo Jima, followed a moment later by her forward guns, as at left-center. Later on, another clip, as at right-center and right, shows her firing from the opposite side - but not simply in a mirror-copy: note the angle on the bow is now a bit narrower, with muzzle blasts and background, etc., not exactly the same as in the prior clip, either. The aft guns do again fire first, followed by the forward ones - probably so the lighting calculations didn't have to be changed much (if at all), in the computer-rendering. In any event, the overall dark blue appearance leaves no doubt that the above depicts Texas - who, indeed, works her way back into every scene showing a(ny) BB(s), in the movie: Click on Image to EnlargeEven when showing only the bow of a BB, as at left, that nose belongs to Texas! And at right - even with the subject being a devastating (fictional) hit on an Iowa-class BB, by a Japanese shore battery - still Texas(' aft end) is included, in the foreground. Several of the above clips are repeated as well in the companion movie, "Letters from Iwo Jima". So clearly, (at least) somebody loves to put Texas "on TV": And we love to see her, there! Cheers, - Matty

Gun Directors: TEXAS-Style

Posted by Matty on October 18, 2013, 13:14:09, in reply to "TEXAS - that's what!"

-- Originally Posted 9/2/13-- [Editor's Note: The following discussion, while perhaps more trivial for some, is nevertheless accompanied by numerous reference pics showing just about everything you would need, to depict Texas in any of her various fits during WWII.] Fire-control devices on USS Texas varied greatly through WWII. The following is a photo-analysis of exactly which Main- and Secondary-Battery Gun Directors were fitted, and where on the ship, for her quartet of (most) historic missions: fire-support for the amphibious landings at North Africa (TORCH), Normandy (D-Day), Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Operation TORCH: 11/8/42 Notable from photos of Texas August, 1942 (awesome camo!) and 3/15/43 (as well as a second 3/15/43), is the complete absence of gun directors from the foremast, mainmast or (anywhere around) the bridge - at least, none enclosed in any type of cab/turret. "LARGE RANGE-FINDERS" In the above, the lone, yet prominent enclosed FC unit is a highly-chiseled-looking, rectangular device that I will call (because Revell's Arizona instructions do - though I am not at all sure this is correct) a "Large Range Finder", as seen to excellent advantage on Texas' sister New York, 2/18/45. On Texas herself, prior to June, '43 (see below), the sole such unit appears only atop the roof of "D"-turret (of the 14-inch-gun Main Battery: the higher turret, aft, fitted also with a prominent RangeFinder Bar, of its own), offset to the turret's port side. A closeup of this specific unit (viewed side-on, rotated to port) can be glimpsed in a LIFE Magazine "1942" pic, very possibly dating to (the pre-dawn hours of) Operation TORCH, itself. In any case, the above was certainly the fit of Texas' fire control devices (note also the two prominent Mk8 FC Radar antennae, directing her Main Battery) for the TORCH landings of November, 1942. D-DAY (Normandy): 6/6/44 The Viking1:350 (resin) kit of Texas reputedly depicts her as fitted between the end of June, 1943 and February, 1944 - a period during which (AFAIK) she logged nothing much of historical import, and from which (perhaps accordingly) I found but a single pic, dated only "between 6/30/43 and 2/44". It reveals a Mid-Sized type director now fitted to the starboard (as, undoubtedly, also the port) bridge wing (exactly as seen on New York, above). Whether or not Texas still retained her "D"-turret-roof unit is unclear, however by the time of a pic taken "between March - May, 1944" (as above, but at higher-resolution), the Large RangeFinder is gone from the roof of "D"-turret (replaced by 20mm tubs), while the units on each bridge wing (now viewed from port) remained. This, then, was the arrangement of Texas' gun directors for the D-Day landings off Normandy, 6/6/44. MARK-50 DIRECTORS Not until Texas' return to New York Navy Yard by 9/14/44 - and refitting there, ending 10/14/44 - did she receive any larger-type directors: one just ahead of the foremast, and another aft, in a tub atop the mainmast - as first appear in a pic taken 11/1/44 (and in another, dated simply "11/44" - possibly even from the same photo-shoot). These roughly cylindrical, stump-like director cabs - notably lacking any (significant) range-finder arms - are those of Mk50 Directors, as explicitly labelled in this drawing), from an excellent USS Texas website, and (pretty much) as illustrated by the following, (brilliant, for its day) apparently retouched-photo art. Note there were some differences: the Mk50-type cabs on Texas were clearly somewhat more flat-sided than in the above artwork depicting a true, smoothly-cylindrical cab. Also the cab-roofs appear more sharply stepped - as opposed to sloping, in the above artwork. This is even more apparent for (at least the aft Mk50-type director on) Texas' sister USS New York, on 11/14/44. Finally, in contrast to both those of New York and the artwork above, Texas' Mk50s do not (yet) have the small radar dish protruding from the roof centerline of each, but instead a more blunt, peg-like protrusion offset to port. Thus, all these various configurations of Texas' earliest "Mk50-type" directors could well have had different Mark numbers, in official records. IWO JIMA (Bonin Islands): 2/3/45 By the time Texas went to support the Iwo Jima landings, as seen here (at lower-resolution) on the first day - 2/3/45 - each "peg" atop her Mk50 Directors had been supplemented by the radar dish, above. On the forward Mk50 there appears possibly even to be a third rooftop protrusion - though this may very well be simply an open hatch (or similar). However in any case, note the bridge-wing Mid-Sized Directors remain unchanged - and now the large, bedspring radar is apparent (uncensored) on the MainMast, in this, her fit at Iwo Jima. OKINAWA (Ryuku Islands) 4/1/45 The invasion of Okinawa, coming (less than) only two months after Iwo, seems likely to have seen Texas' fit completely unchanged from the above. On the other hand, before War's End her Mk50 Directors were again reconfigured, as seen on her return to Los Angeles 45oct15, and shortly thereafter, in NYC on Navy Day 10/27/45, when they retained only the single, centerline radar dishes, as in the artwork shown earlier. In any case, note her Large RangeFinders on the bridge wings remain, such that these and the Mk50-type Directors, in just these locations, had comprised her larger-caliber Gun Director fit, continuously since 11/44. I hope the above proves helpful/interesting. If anybody out there has anything(s) to add and/or to correct, do pipe up! Cheers, -Matty

Kevin McClure's NEW YORK, in Progress

Posted by Kevin McClure (via Matty) on October 18, 2013, 11:21:46, in reply to "TEXAS - that's what!"

--Originally Posted 12/24/09-- [Editor's Note: This build of Texas' sister, New York, is not bashed from the Revell Arizona but (from the Viking resin kit), at 1:350 scale, gives a very good, concrete idea of what we've been talking about…] " Here's a shot of my 1/350 USS New York BB34: Click on Image for FULL RESIt's the old Viking kit, with lots of added aftermarket stuff and a lot of scratchbuilding... (and needs a good dusting I might add!) The kit has a bad reputation, but really it's not all that bad...It's finally nearing completion..."