Quote from: seadude on June 09, 2023, 05:51:29 PMI'm thinking of having some sort of dome to cover the laser defense systems on the weapon sponsons when not in use or from bad weather, etc.
I tried looking on Shapeways, but there's nothing there to my liking.
I found the below pics of some sort of clamshell dome that retracts or closes to cover a laser system.
Anybody have any ideas/suggestions on where I can either buy something that is similar or how to scratch build them?

Ping pong balls?  Carefully cut apart of course.

Quote from: kerick on June 09, 2023, 06:54:59 PMDome shaped caps from shampoo bottles and such? Or would that be too big?
The device you showed looked like some sort of astronomy setup.
You could make rounded off rod and then heat some polystyrene and smash mold it.

The only shampoo bottles (or other types of bottles) that might work and be preferable are the smaller "travel size" as they might have caps in a decent size.

Quote from: zenrat on June 10, 2023, 05:32:16 AMPing pong balls?  Carefully cut apart of course.

Those would be too large.

You can buy small plastic hemispheres for crafts. All sorts of sizes.  You might be able to find some for sale more local to you.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/ema-models.co.uk/amp/acrylic-plastic-shapes/hemispherical-domes/clear-domes.html

A few more in progress pics of the island structure below.
Work on the island and/or the rest of the carrier will be slow this week and next week as I'm going to a model swap meet this weekend and a contest next weekend.

You've done really well with the superstructure!

Could you fit some louvres into those holes for air intakes for the positive-pressure a/c?

More progress on the island structure. More pics will be coming tonight or later this weekend.

More in progress pics.

This superstructure element of the build is coming along exceptionally well, mate!

This is looking very cool! I'll be watching closely.

And another small update. The small platforms for domes mentioned in one of the pics are not glued onto the island structure.
I'm only thinking about if I want them in those places or not.

Quote from: Old Wombat on June 16, 2023, 07:10:15 AMThis superstructure element of the build is coming along exceptionally well, mate!

It is indeed 

In my post # 69 slightly further above, I showed a picture of where I hoped to possibly have some sensor domes and other platforms.
I'll take any suggestions and advice on if people think I should add those things where I described them in the picture or if people have other ideas.
I also plan to add square SPY-1 radar panels on the larger octagonal tower. But I'm not sure yet whether it will be on the North, South, East, and West faces of the tower. Or whether they'll be on the Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, and Northwest faces of the tower.
I'm thinking larger SPY-1 radar panels will be on one set of "Directional" panels, while a second smaller set of radar panels will be on a different set of "Directional" tower panels.
I more than likely won't put any small square radar panels on the smaller tower at the back of the island structure as that tower is just too small to put anything on it.

I made a mistake.    Won't be the first and it certainly won't be the last.
I forgot to include what's called a "bomb farm" on my carrier on the starboard side of the island structure.
See photos below.
On most U.S. carriers, there is a narrow length of deck space on the starboard side of the island superstructure called a "bomb farm".
This is where dollies of bombs and missiles are sometimes parked while waiting to be loaded onto aircraft.
To me, this seems like a really dumb place to park ordnance because if a bomb or missile goes off in that area, then the island superstructure could be seriously damaged.
But anyway............another pic below shows that I can't move my island structure any further inland as the left side would cover up one of the areas where the crash barricade is attached.
My only two options are the following:
OPTION # 1: Extend part of the flight deck (Yellow line) on the starboard side at least another 1/2 to 3/4" to incorporate a narrow bomb farm near the superstructure.
OPTION # 2: I was going to have a small garage type area/entrance at the back of the superstructure for flight deck tractors to park. But instead, I could use this garage area as a weapon staging/assembly area instead. At least the ordnance would be inside and protected from the weather, enemy fire, etc.

Quote from: seadude on June 18, 2023, 11:33:58 AMTo me, this seems like a really dumb place to park ordnance because if a bomb or missile goes off in that area, then the island superstructure could be seriously damaged........

It is actually of the better places to put it on the flight deck.   While obviously it is safest to have ordinance on the deep magazines, ready stores coming onto and off aircraft need to be be somewhere.  The most likely threat of damage is from crashing planes, so having them sheltered from the landing zone, and other aircraft, is the "best" spot.  You do not want stacks of ordinance near the aircraft.  They can also be jettisoned more quickly in that location.   Carriers have cut outs in the coaming to push ordinance overboard.     

Look at the below pic.
To the best of anybody's knowledge, does a SPY-1 radar need to be totally unobstructed to have a clear scan of the surrounding area/sky?
In Pic # 1, I'm thinking of either placing SPY-1 radar panels on either the blue lined facets (North, South, East, and West) of the radar tower, or I may place them on the Southeast, Southwest, Northeast & Northwest red lined facets of the radar tower. Although, I would probably prefer the red lined facets.
The green circled items in Pic #1 are the flag boxes. The white angled model part that the yellow lines go to will be like a yardarm piece that the flag hoisting lines get attached to. That white angled model part sits on the very top of the large radar tower.
But if I place SPY-1 radar panels on the red lined facets of the tower, would the flag lines and flag boxes interfere with the SPY-1 antennas?
In Pic # 2, if I placed a SPY-1 radar panel on the back (East) side of the radar tower, do you think the height at which I have it is good enough or would the smaller tower still obstruct the SPY-1 antenna?