CV-61 USS Ranger WestPac Cruise

[tcoat]

Oct 27, 2023 4:40:20 GMT -5 kyledehart5 said:

Ah yes, the old model company tactic of rename, add new decals, rebox and sell again. It never fails them does it.

The saving grace, and why they do it in the first place, is that the kit was dirt cheap. I sort of knew going into it that at $30 (this is VERY cheap for a kit in Canada) I was not getting a showpiece. A bit of scratch building and even some basic photoetch rails and greeblies on the platforms could make a more accurate depiction if I was so inclined.  

[406 Silverado]

Oct 27, 2023 6:17:48 GMT -5 tcoat said:

Oct 27, 2023 4:40:20 GMT -5 kyledehart5 said:

Ah yes, the old model company tactic of rename, add new decals, rebox and sell again. It never fails them does it.

The saving grace, and why they do it in the first place, is that the kit was dirt cheap. I sort of knew going into it that at $30 (this is VERY cheap for a kit in Canada) I was not getting a showpiece. A bit of scratch building and even some basic photoetch rails and greeblies on the platforms could make a more accurate depiction if I was so inclined.  

Now that.....makes total sense.

[tcoat]

Base paint on. Deck in Tamiya German grey and rest Tamiya Sky grey. These colours are more in scale and less stark than a base coat of black and haze grey would be. They will darken up with the weathering steps to come.

[tcoat]

All walking and deck surfaces roughly hand painted in by hand. Doesn't show well in the pictures but it is a slightly darker more bluish shade. I make it sort of blotchy so that when the next steps go on it isn't 100% the same colour which I never think looks real.







Detail painting for island done. Not a lot of variation there of course.

[tcoat]

First step of weathering is a coat of tinted Rejuvenate. I am out of Future so thought I would try the new product. Not as thick nor glossy as the Future but self levels nicely and creates even more subtle "shadows" and detail pop so overall I am happy with it.

[handiabled]

Great progress! I recently ran out of Future and grabbed a bottle of Rejuvenate. I was wondering how it would lay down. Looks like you had a great result with it

[tcoat]

In the process of decaling the flight deck and although the decals are wonderful there is an inexcusable error.

You require two #22 and two #14.

Here is the whole sheet:

[Medicman71]

Oct 30, 2023 10:03:54 GMT -5 tcoat said:

In the process of decaling the flight deck and although the decals are wonderful there is an inexcusable error.

You require two #22 and two #14.

Here is the whole sheet:

Man that sucks. Are you going to paint the foul lines that you're missing?

Oh and a trivia question. Anyone know why the ships island is painted black on the bottom half?

[tcoat]

Oct 30, 2023 10:51:48 GMT -5 Medicman71 said:

Oct 30, 2023 10:03:54 GMT -5 tcoat said:

In the process of decaling the flight deck and although the decals are wonderful there is an inexcusable error.

You require two #22 and two #14.

Here is the whole sheet:

Man that sucks. Are you going to paint the foul lines that you're missing?

Oh and a trivia question. Anyone know why the ships island is painted black on the bottom half?

Most of the lines are going to be almost blacked out or dulled way down anyway since in reality they probably looked so nice and bright for about a day after being painted. Also there will be aircraft lined up hiding the one so I am not going to worry about it much. Just pointing it out for anybody else that may ever want to build one of these and stumble across this thread.

I did wonder about the black. From all the pictures I looked at it was only that way for a few years. 

[406 Silverado]

That DOES suck about the decals Tony but it looks like you've already got the plan laid out to hide it with the aircraft. Flight deck looks GREAT so far!!

I'm also curious about the island being painted black on the bottom half.

[Medicman71]

Some carriers in that time period (USS John F Kennedy being one) had the lower island painted black so that it wouldn't show all the damage and exhaust staining from all the jets.

[406 Silverado]

Oct 30, 2023 11:32:51 GMT -5 Medicman71 said:

Some carriers in that time period (USS John F Kennedy being one) had the lower island painted black so that it wouldn't show all the damage and exhaust staining from all the jets.

And there we have it. Interesting fact about that Mike and thanks for sharing that. I was looking on the internet and found nothing about it after a short search. Then I come back and you've got the answer right here.

[Medicman71]

Oct 30, 2023 11:34:43 GMT -5 406 Silverado said:

Oct 30, 2023 11:32:51 GMT -5 Medicman71 said:

Some carriers in that time period (USS John F Kennedy being one) had the lower island painted black so that it wouldn't show all the damage and exhaust staining from all the jets.

And there we have it. Interesting fact about that Mike and thanks for sharing that. I was looking on the internet and found nothing about it after a short search. Then I come back and you've got the answer right here.

I did a commission build for a co-worker of the JFK and it had the same black island. I asked about it and got the answer from someone that served on it.  

[tcoat]

LOL That both makes sense and doesn't at the same time. You would think that blasting the jets at the island would be a bad idea no matter what colour they were painted. 

[tcoat]

sure is colourful! 

[handiabled]

You made fast work of that! The flight deck look great so far!

[tcoat]

Oct 31, 2023 9:16:04 GMT -5 handiabled said:

You made fast work of that! The flight deck look great so far!

Still several layers to go on the deck to dirty it up a bit. 

[Leon]

This progressing nicely Tony! Flight deck looks great.

[Medicman71]

Oct 30, 2023 19:40:31 GMT -5 tcoat said:

sure is colourful! 

Damn that was quick! It looks great!

[tcoat]

Nov 1, 2023 11:09:10 GMT -5 Medicman71 said:

Oct 30, 2023 19:40:31 GMT -5 tcoat said:

sure is colourful! 

Damn that was quick! It looks great!

LOL. It doesn't look much like that anymore!

[tcoat]

Deck step 4 another coat of tinted Rejuvenate to start the blotching and darkening.

[kyledehart5]

Making incredibly quick work out of this one. That all looks great and it's starting to look like a used piece of equipment.

[tcoat]

Nov 2, 2023 6:29:48 GMT -5 kyledehart5 said:

Making incredibly quick work out of this one. That all looks great and it's starting to look like a used piece of equipment.

Thanks. I have a July deadline so need to keep up the pace so it doesn't get put aside and I am scrambling June 30th!
The picture is a bit deceiving since to the naked eye those big black blotches are much more subtle. Think that the combination of gloss and camera flash are making them pop out more than they really do. 

[kyledehart5]

Cameras sure do weird stuff to my builds. If you go look at the photos of my Audi I just posted it has all sorts of waves, particularly in the decals in the glare of the light. Its sitting right in front of me and the decals look perfect. It's crazy what a camera and lighting does to subjects. At any rate your flight deck still is looking great. July is plenty of time right? lol

[tcoat]

Ship is done. Now what to do about the airwing comes into affect.

[406 Silverado]

Man this is looking GREAT so far Tony and I like all the weathering you've done to the flight deck. The effects really make all the difference and helps to give it a more realistic look. I can't wait to see what you're gonna put on the deck.

[stikpusher]

The flight deck looks really good! Now she just needs an Air Wing.

[kyledehart5]

The ship itself is very convincing and as the others have mentioned the flight deck looks superb. Great work on the weathering there to get that looking like it should. Looking forward to seeing the airwing on there now.

[handiabled]

Great technique on the flight deck weathering! Watching for more

[deafpanzer]

I am with the guys that the flight deck looks great!!! Can't wait to see it filled with air wings!