CV-6, Wooden Decks and Iron Men

[Weaver]

>That midships lift on the Enterprise is interesting: I wonder if it's like an "inboard deck-edge-lift", so to speak, running up the side of the island structure on one side with the other side supported by a cantilever structure from beneath?<

...or supported underneath by two "shiney shafts"!   

With the "partial lift" underneath it having holes in it for the shafts and aircraft still having to be swerved around them?

[sequoiaranger]

>With the "partial lift" underneath it having holes in it for the shafts and aircraft still having to be swerved around them?<

I think so, or at least the partial elevator might stop just at the first shaft it encountered, since the shaft would be an impassable obstacle anyway. The seemingly deliberate offset of the elevator (that is, NOT in the true centerline like the fore and aft elevators) and that fact that the "nearest" piston is still relatively near the center of the elevator SHOULD give enough room to maneuver aircraft, even fixed-wing aircraft like the Dauntless, back and forth without much problem. I tried out my idea with the 1/480 Dauntlesses on the 1/480 flight deck where the midships elevator is, and it seems that there is ample room for a "one-lane" passage around the elevator well. It would seem that the landing gear would be VERY near the elevator margin if the wing is to keep from scraping the opposite hangar wall, but the wing overhanging the elevator well would glide past the "shiney shafts" with room to spare.



I'm sure it was a relief when the SB2C dive bomber came aboard so that EVERYTHING in the hangar deck had folding wings!

This is fun!

[Weaver]

Not kidding, non-folding wings are no fun at all - look for a pic of Sea Hurricanes on Argus sometime.....


Chilling footage (despite inappropriate music) of an attack on the Enterprise: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFXcnUtMT4A&NR=1


Some cracking colour footage (and hilarious dialogue/commentary) from the film Dive Bomber, made using Enterprise in 1941:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_jOkvJERlk&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ny-SZL50RJ8&feature=related

It'd probably be worth you checking out this film....

[sequoiaranger]

Thanks for the links, Weaver. The one of the "Eastern Solomons" contains either pre-war footage or Yorktown footage (not surprising, really) whose silhouette doesn't show the 20mm gun tubs directly under the flight deck in the bow that both the Enterprise and Hornet had by May of 1942 (three months earlier than Eastern Solomons, and of course Yorktown had been sunk by then).

The explosion in the 5" gun gallery should have killed my dad, as he was in charge of some 20mm guns nearby, but he was called up to the bridge to tackle some radar plots (dad was a radarman, but as an officer also was in charge of a gun gallery). His replacement at the gun gallery was killed in the explosion!

I purchased "Dive Bomber" a LOOOONG time ago, but really should refresh my memory and see it again.

Also, the History Channel did a whole 10-episode series on the Enterprise (which I have). The series has the unfortunate "short-attention-span" style of whiz-bang, constantly-changing imagery that is rather irritating, but maybe deemed "necessary" in this day and age to capture young audiences who would otherwise be bored. Hmmm. The show was sponsored by "Enterprise Rent-a Car", whose founder was indeed a USS Enterprise shipmate who prospered in his business enough to "give back", and wanted to present his beloved ship's history to the world. Good on him!

The model Enterprise now has an appropriately "boxed-in" aft elevator well, and for the mid-ships elevator in the "up" position I carefully gouged out a trough in the precious wood and inlaid some plastic to replicate the mid-ships elevator perimeter. I have now replicated the wooden deck up to and including part of the island area. The pic below shows the aft elevator at deck level just to give the idea of the wooden progress. It'll be "down" on the finished model.

[sequoiaranger]

Weaver: >Interesting discussion about elevators by the way: it's amazing how few clear pictures showing their workings you can find, isn't it?<

Yes, but... I've now discovered it is also knowing what to look for.

I have had a wonderful picture of the hangar deck of the sister CV-8 Hornet all along, but it doesn't show very well here on this forum (I'll post it anyway), and NOW THAT I KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR...I can "plainly" see the midships elevator "nook" on the side-wall, the elevator "well", and the "shiney shafts" holding it up!! What is new information is that you are partially right about the "interior deck-edge elevator" theory! The "shiney shafts" are  positioned "fore and aft" and only about one-quarter the elevator width from the side wall of the carrier, giving LOTS of room below (and three-quarters of the elevator unsupported except for cantilever effect). As you might remember, the boxed-in, hangar-end elevator "shiney shafts" were positioned centrally and port-and-starboard. I can just barely see the dark line of the elevator well (whether covered or not is not clear in the photo). There are "guides" hanging down from the roof of the hangar, but extending only partway down toward the hangar deck, so there is a LOT of "clear space" under the elevator.





This has been an exciting "voyage of discovery". Thanks for participating!

[sequoiaranger]

Underneath the flight deck there are/will be lots of little "support structures" (some very crude and hopefully unseen/unnoticed on the finished model), and I have added some "interest" for the hangar deck. The first pic shows some of the underpinnings (in white), some of which I painted gray to see how it would look and check for visible cracks.

The model kit curiously has a large gap between fore and aft sections of the hangar deck. Curiously, too, the sides of the hull in this gap section flex. It would seem logical to strengthen the rigidity of the model AND have a continuous hangar deck, but that was not what was done. I have a semi-circular "curtain" across the hangar deck to screen off the empty space of the model interior and provide some support structure for the flight deck. I *MIGHT* paint a crude "mural" to simulate hangar deck goings-on, but will probably just paint it interior gray and maybe "fade to black" to give an illusion of space when seen from outside. I may "crowd" the curtain with parked aircraft to obscure the fact that it is a transverse wall. Most likely there will be another such "curtain" farther forward as I progress with the deck substitution.

I added some "interest" to the smooth, flat interior side-walls of the hangar with some "channel" stock. Again, I'm not trying to micro-detail the hangar deck and add machinery, piled goods, etc., but ameliorate an overly-plain inside. The second pic shows the channel stock painted---I think it makes the walls look "busier". The "shiny shafts" of the aft elevator support are not there yet. I have some "shiny shaft" stainless steel tubing that I will put in AFTER all hangar-deck paint has dried--after all, I couldn't PAINT them better than they come naturally.





I have been debating what to paint the inside. I *THINK* that much of the interior of ships are painted white (off-white?) so that maximum illumination with minimal light source is achieved. I think I will paint the interior a very light gray (like the underside of an aircraft) unless someone here vehemently assures me that "white" is the only proper color. I don't want the interior to "pop out" as a major source of visual interest, just be an "extra" for those who want to examine the model more closely. I bought two TBD's and two F4F's, but think I will buy another set of each to show folded-wing aircraft in the hangar [edit: Uh-oh! the planes are now no longer available--Hmmph!]. MAYBE even suspend a plane from the hangar ceiling. Dunno if that was dispensed with in wartime, but in peacetime it was done.

[NARSES2]

I've seen photo's of suspended aircraft but I'm darned if I can remember the period

[Mossie]

I've seen a on the net photo that's dated 28th October 1941, so imediately prior to the US entry into WWII, but I've no idea if the practice continued after this.
Hanger deck on USS Enterprise

[sequoiaranger]

Am I Kidding? Nope!

I decided I would attempt a bomb trolley to go with my 1/487 Dauntless. The result, shown below, is a whole 7mm long from tip of bomb to tip of handles. I cut off some .040 and .030 stock for the wheels (you see, the front wheels were smaller than the rear ). I had to mount them half-on and half-off the cart--no mean feat. It took me some twenty tries to cut off decent wheel discs from the stock-- the rest looked like barrels, and I would have used them for added "interest" around the hangar deck except for a puff of breath that scattered them into the carpet  . The handles are fishing line. The cart is some of the same "channel" stock I used earlier for "interest" on the hangar walls. The bomb is a short piece of sculpted .040 round stock. Another piece of fishing line is under the bomb to hold it level. Anyhoo, I think it looks cool, and it only took about 20 minutes to make!

[proditor]

WOW!  More amazing work! 

Love the back gunner position btw.

[sequoiaranger]

As you can see in the accompanying photo, I have only a small section of flightdeck remaining to be replicated in wood, and then I can work on adding details, paint, and ***FINISH***

Proditor--thanks!

The bow section has proved the hardest, most complicated, but most satisfying of the deck sections. The section you see is over 18 pieces!! I had originally thought to just cut out the kit catapult, but realized it was going to be VERY difficult, and the kit catapult is just a raised outline. Since I decided that I was going to have to replace the kit catapult with some thing of my own, I sought to create the "slot" look, somehow. The "channel" stock I had had too wide a groove, but my modeling muse asked me to interlock THREE channels (one up and two down) to create a groove---it worked!! I had to add, cut, and shape the rest and make it all fit (VERY time consuming, as I didn't want to OVER-correct and have to start all over again). The section of cross-grain represents the wind strakes that are visually obvious as "cross-grain". Truly, I don't know if they are metal or wood-faced (other significant metal parts have been left as gray plastic), but I am representing it in wood for visual effect.



When doing research for the catapult look, the main photo I was using seemed to show more flight deck room on the sides of the groove than the model kit did. Closer examination revealed that the catapults were "pigeon-toed" in, not axial! The photo was from 1945, however. The catapults must have been replaced sometime mid-war, as the early-war catapults were definitely parallel, but indeed, very close to the sides. That is, I would think that the original catapult tracks would be fine for the F4F's narrow track undercarriage, but a "wide-track" like a Helldiver might catch a wheel in the gun gallery as the forward flight deck tapers. I guess "they" knew that when they built the later, similar-but-not-identical sister Hornet whose flight deck did NOT taper at the front (one of the visual characteristics distinguishing it from the two other Yorktowns).

The deck area between present wood replacements will need two sections, and one of them "needs" the inlaid elevator outline, but otherwise the remaining deck pieces should take little time. I have do do a few underpinnings to make sure the spindly deck perimeter is solid, then.....!!!

[sequoiaranger]

No, this isn't some lurid headline from a police "domestic violence" report.

I just couldn't contain myself when the last of the oh-so-carefully-sawed-and-shaped Enterprise deck pieces was placed on the model and CV-6 was now clad stem to stern in original CV-6 flightdeck wood!! **HAD** to get a picture!

I have yet to inlay the forward elevator "metal" rim, need to Krylon Kleer the fresh deck parts to preserve the wood, "face" some bare wood deck edges with plastic, and carefully make minute final trims to the underpinnings to get all the wood pieces to line up evenly with each other, but otherwise the decking part of the model is complete!!

The photo below has the island temporarily set on the deck, and the old, original kit deck is alongside. No doubt in my mind which is "cooler"!!



I still have beaucoup work to do to properly finish off the deck and island, and "series-build" some of the parts of which I have made a single sample (guns and aircraft, mainly), but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!! When I started this massive project, I reasoned that it would BE a long tunnel, not a dead-end cave, but it was long and dark, with many "monsters" to fight along the way. Unless something blindsides me from a side-tunnel, I should be able to complete the model SHIP by my self-imposed June 4 (Battle of Midway anniversary) deadline. I have plans for the ultimate display mode which will most likely NOT be realized by the BOM date, but I'll get there eventually.

[sequoiaranger]

With great labor I now have the peripheral "metal rim" of the flightdeck mounted and secure. I then scrutinized the flightdeck understructure and am making minute height adjustments to make sure the flightdeck pieces lined up level to one another (an enormous headache since the milled wood surfaces were NOT parallel, but wedge-shaped--some front-to-back, some side-to side--and needed to be individually custom-fitted to maintain a level top surface). I am also putting in .022 square stock in significant gaps. I don't mind SOME gaps; they are inevitable.

I put a preliminary primer coat over all the "white-work" of my scratch-builds and mis-matched color parts of the two donor kits (original and substitute) for a uniform color. It felt REALLY GOOD to have put paint on!! That always is a pleasure, if nothing for the notion that the end of the project is indeed near!!

On the UN-pleasurable side, when I set the island sub-assembly on top of the deck for temporary admiration of my work, a slight jiggle sent the island tumbling down three feet to the floor, and OF COURSE it made first contact with the delicate PE radar and bent it all up. Terminally.  But I have taken the opportunity of thinning the clunky framework, so the replacement final product will be better. I have now learned something the hard way, and will put on the delicate, fiddly bits LAST, after the model is otherwise complete.

A photo here really wouldn't show much not already known, so I will wait to post a picture until the model is done.

WON'T BE LONG NOW!!!  

[proditor]

That is just gorgeous.  The wood deck alone looks amazing, nevermind the fact of it actually being from the Big E! 

Superb work.  Just stunning. 

[sequoiaranger]

I can *FEEL* the end near!!

Here is an "interim" pic of the near-done CV-6! I haven't painted the 5" guns, just placed them for the interim photo, and the island is still just mounted to a card base for ease of handling.



I worked on display mounting concepts. I will have an "interim" display mode for the upcoming IPMS meeting next Friday, and the Midway commemorative (I have initiated negotiations with the USS Midway museum for a temporary display for June 5th observance). The plywood plank upon which the original model was mounted is warped and minimally attractive, but will have to do for now. I used the "W" girder-like display supports from the Revell USS Essex kit (all the old Revell ship kits had these massive girder-thingys upon which to mount their model ships), added an insert that snugly fit the Enterprise's hull shape, and installed a bolt down through the center bottom of the hull. A wing-nut will be securely fastened inside the hull, a circular "riser" will hide the bolt coming up through the bottom of the plank. The force of the tight bolt will hold the hull securely onto the girder thingys.

I had to saw off my custom propellors to enable proper painting of the hull. I had a rattle-can of red paint I was going to use, but the application could not be "subtle" enough, nor overspray contained enough for the work, so I mixed myself some red hull color (better than the bright red of the rattle-can anyway) for airbrush app.

I series-built the rest of the 5" guns, using old German AA gun mountings, highly modified, with a hole-punched circular base of .010 sheet. I had to drill a hole through this tiny mount to put the Stainless Steel tubing I was using for the guns. I only had EXACTLY enough mounts, so I could not afford any screw-ups.

I also series-built the "1.1" quad AA guns. The kit comes with quad 40mm AA guns that were not in use at the time of Midway. I found that the original moldings for the 40mm guns were superior to the new re-issue, so used them, cutting them down the middle and re-attaching the sides, adding "interest" (LOVE that little .022 square stock) around the breech, and likewise putting them on a circular, .010 hole-punched base. (The kit's 40mm guns were too long for 1.1's, and were configured in a definite "pair of pairs", whereas the quad 1.1's had four guns equally-spaced in the center of the mount.) The circular gun tubs were re-done with tubular stock, a circular .010 based inserted, and six little .020 square stock vertical reinforcements mounted around the outside and filed down to a "triangular" shape.

Here is a pic of the original 40mm setup:



and now the 1.1's (still not affixed to the deck and in the exact, proper position)



I have decided to "weld" together the two wooden deck pieces in the center, including the island, and leave as a removable part, in order to facilitate getting into the hull for any reason. The rest of the wooden deck pieces will be securely affixed to the hull when the time comes to "button up".

Oh, BTW, the gray smudge by the gun mount is part of a failed attempt to put on the ordnance elevators (metal). I have since put on dark-gray, rectangular decals where the elevators should be. Still don't know if the elevator "clamshell" doors opened front-to-back, or side-to-side. Easy enough to draw in the hinge line whenever I find out!