Re:1/144 HMS Courageous: SHIP COMPLETED

[Spey_Phantom]

update number 2

the ship has now been moved to the sched, where i have prepared a make-shift spraybooth with newspaper and washing pins.
one side of the ship has now been spayed, in about 15 to 20 minutes from now, im gonna turn it arround and spray the other side, then after that its the flightdeck itsself.

if all goes right, i could have it all done within the next 1 or 2 hours.
the full completion of the ship, including the airwing will take less then a month or so.
i happy that after two and a half years im finally reaching the finish line with this project 

here's a pic from the shed, just after the first sprayjob 

[Spey_Phantom]

ok, final update for today 

the ship has now been completely sprayed in grey primer, and paintwork on the island has started to,
the darker grey on the flightdeck has also been applied, the landing area will get a matt-black coating with white stripes on the side (with optional fluorecent coating)

the island is currently a dry-fit, as i still need to flip the ship over for the red/black underside, under the waterline
i also need to start on deck markings, equiping Sea Dart & Phalanx systems, OLS and the airwing.

next on the build list is the Hawkeye AEW.1 (profile see last page)

here's a pic of the ship now, not long now until she's finished 

[RussC]

Looking great. Thinking about any crew figures or deck gear/vehicles ?

[NARSES2]

Looking good Nils 

[Gondor]

I still think the deck looks wrong. I thought Americans called aircraft carriers flat tops for a reason 

Way to late to change it now though

Gondor

[RussC]

I still think the deck looks wrong. I thought Americans called aircraft carriers flat tops for a reason 

Way to late to change it now though

Gondor

  Recall that Akagi had a slight banana profile to it, although it was the inverse and aircraft landed "uphill" and rolled to takeoff "downhill".
I'm sure there is a reason why this man-o-war is shaped as is, and we will be informed on a need-to-know basis. 

[Spey_Phantom]

with the workbench (almost) empty and cleaned up again, thought it was time to work on the carrier again.

the work on the island is almost complete, still needs to be (more) painted in some places, not visible in the pictures are the aerial antenna's.
another coat of white will be neccesary 



as for the ship, itsself, i just turned it over to start on the bottom, begining with the red paint, black waterline will be added later.
now in its 3rd year of construction (3year mark in october) and its nearing completion, although as noted earlier i cant give you an exact finishing date, but i guarantee, the finished ship will be great sight 

[NARSES2]

It really is starting to take shape now Nils 

[Spey_Phantom]

its been a while, but i have an update.

disaster has struck, this time a joint effort between my mother, a windy day and the carpet monster 
my mother opened up a window this morning, white it were force 7 winds out there 

when i got home, the parts for the CIWS, SeaDarts and OLS and decals were scattered over the floor, i managed to retrieve some of them, the deck decals were luckily enough not damaged, but i lost the Sea Eagles intended for the Sea Tornado GR.2's and 1 of the SeaDart missiles (witch will have to be replaced)

my reaction when i got home:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFZTko2TXNY

[Old Wombat]

But..... were you being held onto by an attractive brunette at the time though, Nils?




Sorry for your loss!

[Spey_Phantom]

UPDATE:

i am only 5 days away from the 3 year mark since the project began, but the news its that the ship is almost finished.
the lost parts have been replaced and Sea Eagle ASM's for the Sea Tornado GR.2's have been aquired.
launchers for th e Seadart missiles still need to be painted and work on the remainder of the airwing is also expected to start soon.

here's a pic of how she looks now.




and here's a preview pic of another Aircraft carrier, currently in progress in between.
this is my old BNS Dendermonde, my first attempt at a 1/144 carrier made a number of years ago.
i discovered some cracks in the island superstructure and it had to be replaced. i decided to change the plan and refit it as a STOBAR configured carrier for my own New Flanders Navy, work wont take that long as on the Courageous, as the ships aready here and built.
ive started on the base for the new island superstructure, i still need to work on the front parts and detailing, as this is currently just the rough build. the airwing is to consist of 2 MIG-29K's, 1 MIG-29KUB and 1 EC635N, a single S-70B Seahawk helicopter might be added later aswell as an undetermened AEW platform.

the strange loking mast you see on top is what i like to call the Sea Diamond AESA system, witch reduces the need for AEW aircraft and other naval navigation sensors, as most of the equipment is packed into one mast.
on this image, i placed a sparesbox Rafale and my earlier built MIG-35 for carrier suitability tests.

[proditor]

Crazy!!   

[NARSES2]

Crazy!!   

Yup, but in a good way 

[tigercat]

Excellent work.

Don't worry about the time of the build. Their is one of those Partworks currently building a sailing ship that will actually take 18 months longer to complete than the original ship so obviously ship modellers are expected to be a patient lot.

Ingenious use of a Flower class hull.

[Spey_Phantom]

update.

1 month later and tomorrow's the big day, Sea Trials 
the CIWS and missile defences have been fitted, aswell as the OLS.
i just need to do some retouching on the landing-area and then its gonna be picture time.

the ship should be finished tomorrownight, then all thats left is the airwing