USS Kitty Hawk CV-63 Trumpy 1/350

[stikpusher]

Jul 7, 2023 17:15:48 GMT -5 themongoose said:

Jul 6, 2023 11:17:59 GMT -5 deafpanzer said:

Those PE rails look fantastic! Thank you for reminding me why I haven't started any of my ship kits... LOL

And you know what drives me nuts about ship kits(1st time around this got auto corrected to s*** cats lol)… They don’t come with any rails most times and you gotta spend a ton of extra money on it! Glad I finally found they have some generic railings

Tom’s Modelworks… plenty of generic ship fittings in various scales… railings, ladders, hatches, etc. plus specific sets for ships, and I understand that they picked up the rights and materials for Gold Medal Models PE brass.

[themongoose]

Let's see if this will post up. It's a short video of the linear actuators. I have a limit switch on the actuators themselves and then I bought a rocker switch, a shielded connector, and a 12v 10A power supply that I could connect together. Forgot to get a pic of all that though as I got caught up in the working of the actuators. Will post one up later for sure.

themaddmongoose.smugmug.com/CVN-63-USS-KittyHawk/i-r37qLHp/A

[armornutii]

Once agian Chris ya leave me feeling whofully inadiquate as an electrician AND a modeler. Glad I call ya friend and get to sit back an' watch your amazing work.
    Those actuators for JBDs or the elevators? Perhaos I missex something pisted earlier my apologies.

[themongoose]

Jul 9, 2023 8:38:54 GMT -5 armornutii said:

Once agian Chris ya leave me feeling whofully inadiquate as an electrician AND a modeler. Glad I call ya friend and get to sit back an' watch your amazing work.
    Those actuators for JBDs or the elevators? Perhaos I missex something pisted earlier my apologies.

I can imagine you sitting there in that super comfy recliner of yours in the model room!! 

the actuators will raise the whole flight deck up 4” so you can check out the hangar bay 

[themongoose]

Here’s that pic of the electronics i promised



Well after a week delay due to a couple seems showing up i have the aircraft carrier base all painted. Next up, some varnish and the acrylic gel to create the waves.





I’ve come a long way since Model Crazy gave his first lesson on how to do a sea base! I can’t hardly build a ship without putting it on the water now.

[406 Silverado]

Ohhh man. This is gonna get nice n crazy now!! Looks you’ve got the groundwork going good for a great show Chris.

[armornutii]

  I have to agree Chris, placing ships and subs in their " natural habitat" really brings them to life. I love what I call a " Mantle Piece" however looking at a ship plying the seas brings back memories.

[406 Silverado]

themongoose

You got any updates to this one Chris?

[themongoose]

Just some small stuff, nothing much worth showing. On hiatus for awhile. I’m doing an IPMS review of the new Trumpeter 1/350 DKM H Class Battleship. Unfortunately can’t post anything on that till it’s done and published because Trumpeter gives the model for free in trade for the build review. I can say it is highly detailed and I’m loving it so far!

[buddho]

Awesome work so far, cant wait to see the finished results on this one.🤓

[themongoose]

Ok, no progress for the near future…BUT…i did get a $300 L’Arsenal order in the mail today! They’re doing 3D printing now. Wow there is some nice stuff here. And of all things i think the best is the forklifts for the deck! Mostly because they are either blobs in plastic or too skinny and hard to build in PE. Here’s an up to date teaser for you all

[armornutii]

  Oly cheat maan, youza gonna have a realy busy deck. Can't wait to see them Prowlers...should be 4 all said and done, 3 on deck ready and a hanger queen.

[themongoose]

Good info on the hangar queen, I wasn’t aware of that! Yep, i did buy 4. Unfortunately their horrible packing method resulted in 3 broken probes :-(

[armornutii]

  If I remember Kittyhawk is a Forrestal class like Ranger.
 Our Prowlers were usually parked just forward of the Forward Starboard elevator 2 each and 1 in the 6pack, port side of island just off the landing area foul line.
    The hanger queen was just about anywhere but " mostly" port side forward.
   Rangers hanger was seperated into two bays during conflaguration drills. 3ft thick doors on tracks closed from both sides of the ship. Aft bay was maybe a third larger in volume than the forward bay.
   Forward of the port side forward elevator all the way across the ship and up to the " tunnel" was storage for our jammer pods and a few drop tanks. The tunnel led into AIMD, and stores. Also drop tanks were hung from racks in the hanger overhead. IF you have extra props for your E-2s be sure to hang one from the bulkhead on the port side. Some tanks were also stored on racks attached to the bulkhead.

[406 Silverado]

Man....this 3D stuff is really amazing as there's some fantastically detailed stuff in those bags Chris. I felt the same way when I got the 3D printed update set for the Kingfisher.....absolutely amazing this stuff is.

Hate to hear the luck on the broken pieces and hope you can repair them. Still, I can't wait to see what you do with all of this.

[406 Silverado]

Jul 27, 2023 5:52:46 GMT -5 themongoose said:

Just some small stuff, nothing much worth showing. On hiatus for awhile. I’m doing an IPMS review of the new Trumpeter 1/350 DKM H Class Battleship. Unfortunately can’t post anything on that till it’s done and published because Trumpeter gives the model for free in trade for the build review. I can say it is highly detailed and I’m loving it so far!

Look forward to seeing this when it's either published or when you are able to show it to us.

[armornutii]

  Hey Chris, please forgive my " data dump" of information. In no way was it intended to tell you how to build your model. I am excited to see the work you put in and any detail YOU CHOOSE to add. I was merely thinking out loud about my time in the Navy.
    Hope you can fix the " Donkey Dicks" on you Prowlers....note they cant off to the right alittle unlike the A-6 which is vertical.
  Model on Garth

[themongoose]

Jul 30, 2023 7:44:50 GMT -5 armornutii said:

  Hey Chris, please forgive my " data dump" of information. In no way was it intended to tell you how to build your model. I am excited to see the work you put in and any detail YOU CHOOSE to add. I was merely thinking out loud about my time in the Navy.
    Hope you can fix the " Donkey Dicks" on you Prowlers....note they cant off to the right alittle unlike the A-6 which is vertical.
  Model on Garth

Dude you can data dump on me all the time lol

Good stuff you got there. I have no real experience so all that helps me to put a better display together. I'm always up for information sharing. I've found it way harder to find info on the Kitty compared to my Enterprise build. Everybody and their brother sister aunts and cousins published something on that carrier!

[Joe Rix]

It is mind boggling what you putting into your Kitty Hawk. That thing is certainly evolving into something quite spectacular. It is going to be a treat to watch you build this when you get around to it. Yor preliminary work on the base is looking excellent.

Now, on a side note, I was perusing the new Squadron catalog and reading the first section about Brandon's history. Then, there on page 6 is a photo of the 2022 IPMS Omaha Convention ship model judging crew. And low and behold if I don't see a face there that I recognize. That is you is it not? Were you part of that judging panel?

[themongoose]

Jul 30, 2023 15:28:22 GMT -5 Joe Rix said:

It is mind boggling what you putting into your Kitty Hawk. That thing is certainly evolving into something quite spectacular. It is going to be a treat to watch you build this when you get around to it. Yor preliminary work on the base is looking excellent.

Now, on a side note, I was perusing the new Squadron catalog and reading the first section about Brandon's history. Then, there on page 6 is a photo of the 2022 IPMS Omaha Convention ship model judging crew. And low and behold if I don't see a face there that I recognize. That is you is it not? Were you part of that judging panel?

Yep that's me! Now I'm gonna have to go find that and check it out lol Didn't know that was in there. I started judging a few years ago in order to get better at my modeling. You get to see so many top notch models up close that way. I did some local shows, then at the 2019 NATS I was there by myself so I joined the judges corps as a judge in training. That way you get to go around with one of the head judges in a category and they teach you what to look for. I've done it many times now at local and regional shows...and of course at the '22 NATS :-)

[Joe Rix]

Jul 30, 2023 15:50:16 GMT -5 themongoose said:

Jul 30, 2023 15:28:22 GMT -5 Joe Rix said:

It is mind boggling what you putting into your Kitty Hawk. That thing is certainly evolving into something quite spectacular. It is going to be a treat to watch you build this when you get around to it. Yor preliminary work on the base is looking excellent.

Now, on a side note, I was perusing the new Squadron catalog and reading the first section about Brandon's history. Then, there on page 6 is a photo of the 2022 IPMS Omaha Convention ship model judging crew. And low and behold if I don't see a face there that I recognize. That is you is it not? Were you part of that judging panel?

Yep that's me! Now I'm gonna have to go find that and check it out lol Didn't know that was in there. I started judging a few years ago in order to get better at my modeling. You get to see so many top notch models up close that way. I did some local shows, then at the 2019 NATS I was there by myself so I joined the judges corps as a judge in training. That way you get to go around with one of the head judges in a category and they teach you what to look for. I've done it many times now at local and regional shows...and of course at the '22 NATS :-)

Ah Ha! I thought so. That is good on you to participate. I've judged at local shows. When I was invited to help judge at the '22 Vegas Nats I considered it but, decided not to as I was just there for the experience of my first Nats. In hindsight I probably should have taken advantage of the opportunity.

[mrversatile]

You are more ambitious than I sir, The ship itself is a major project, not to mention all the extras you are adding to a dio. I am watching closely.

[handiabled]

Ok Bookmarked this one! With everything you have to add to this it's going to be quite a build

[themongoose]

Back on the Kitty again! Just some small progress as it turns out tho. Handling some family stuff this week so will be back on the major elements next week for sure. The size of the base had me concerned about applying the gloss varnish and sure enough with the airbrush it was going to be tiger striped. I didn’t want to brush paint it on tho as it seems so often you can see the brush strokes and given i already can see some from the gesso application i thought it needed minimized as what’s there now will be hidden i hope under the gel medium. Got to try out my automotive touch up airbrush from Home Depot.




And here’s how the gloss varnish looks

[406 Silverado]

Oct 3, 2023 7:54:31 GMT -5 themongoose said:

Back on the Kitty again! Just some small progress as it turns out tho. Handling some family stuff this week so will be back on the major elements next week for sure. The size of the base had me concerned about applying the gloss varnish and sure enough with the airbrush it was going to be tiger striped. I didn’t want to brush paint it on tho as it seems so often you can see the brush strokes and given i already can see some from the gesso application i thought it needed minimized as what’s there now will be hidden i hope under the gel medium. Got to try out my automotive touch up airbrush from Home Depot.




And here’s how the gloss varnish looks

Now THAT is a good area coverage AB right there.

[brandonk]

I kinda mad at myself for missing this one for so long. What an epic build this is gonna be. Love the idea and the size. We like them big...ummm...kits that is. Definitely watching.

[Joe Rix]

Now that is fine solution Chris. Will this be utilized more often on future large scale builds?

[deafpanzer]

The base is really looking good! It is starting to look more realistic where the water turns white from the ships/boats propellers!!!!

[buddho]

A tremendous amount of work here, and the results are outstanding. My brother was stationed on the Kitty Hawk..he was an ET on the Hawkeyes.

[themongoose]

Oct 3, 2023 9:51:34 GMT -5 Joe Rix said:

Now that is fine solution Chris. Will this be utilized more often on future large scale builds?

yep for sure, I originally bought it to do the carrier and battleship hulls plus the flight decks.