CV-6, Wooden Decks and Iron Men

[Mossie]

Great idea, thouroughly looking forward to the finished tribute.

[sequoiaranger]

>Do you have the contact information for the Organization?<

You can apply for membership at:

U.S.S. Enterprise CV-6 Association
c/o Pauline Klopfenstein
127 Lake Street
Walkerton, IN 46574-1004

>The Enterprise has always been my favorite ship from WWII and the Nuclear version since <

My dad engineered and headed up the early SINEWS electronics (Ship Integrated Electronic Warfare Systems) for the CV-65 nuclear Enterprise as well, and was proud to contribute the the namesake.

>kudos to you for the outside-the-box thinking that got you into it.<

My "outside-the-box" thinking has gotten me into it....and a LOT of trouble over the years. What, me Worry??

[Sauragnmon]

Bah, what's life without a little trouble in the nature of progress?  People don't make progress by thinking in pretty little shiny boxes, they make it by stepping forward, by taking a challenge, by thinking outside of the box and daring to move above the status quo.

[philp]

Thanks for the info.  I did find their website.
http://www.cv6.org/site/association.htm

Only $20 per year or $100 for lifetime membership.

Looks like their last reunion was here in Salt Lake just last September  .  Wish I would have known, would have been neat to build a kit for them.

[Joe C-P]

I salute your salute, to the ship and her crew. Accuracy is not the point here, but a tribute using a part of the ship herself.

[sequoiaranger]

Now that my Douglas Decimator is done, I can proceed to my next project. A "major" one, but one of love and dedication. I am hoping to complete the project in time for the Battle of Midway anniversary commemoration on board the USS Midway this coming June in San Diego harbor.

The idea is to take the old Revell 1/480 USS Enterprise model that I had made for my dad twenty-some years ago, and "transform" it by making a new flightdeck for it and upgrading some details. The upgrade is not meant to accurately replicate the Enterprise, but rather to enhance the fairly simple model and be a tribute to the ship and my father. My dad (deceased) immensely enjoyed the model just as it was, and I plan to keep the model substantially as he saw it.

The timeframe represented by the "Phoenix" re-build will be the Battle of Midway, June 4th, 1942, in the afternoon when a strike was launched to attack the sole remaining Japanese aircraft carrier (Hiryu) that had survived unscathed during the morning attack in which her three accompanying carriers were sunk. The Enterprise will have an F4F taking off the bow, another F4F rolling down the deck, and several SBD's gathered on deck waiting to take off (no TBD's were included in this second attack). Below decks will be an F4F and TBD visible from outside. The aft elevator will be partially down, bringing up an SBD for launch.

I plan to upgrade some of the guns, the large gun directors (Dad's station), radars (Dad's responsibility), various decks, sponsons, and features that are depicted in contemporary photos but are not present on the model. Some will need to be scratch-built. I have a spare, in-the-box copy of the Revell USS Enterprise (actually "Battle of Midway Carrier" enabling any one of the three Yorktowns to be made—though there are errors) from which to make or add parts, and to experiment.

The flightdeck will be made from milled sheets of actual flightdeck wood salvaged from the original  U.S.S. Enterprise c. 1956, as authenticated by the United States Naval Historical Center. This wood will simulate the flight deck, with natural cross-wise wood grain representing the individual planks, and will be left un-painted to accentuate the wooden-ness and authenticity of it.

I will re-paint and re-decal the ship, fill in cracks, thin some "thick" parts, carefully eliminate "flash" and mold marks, add aircraft and detail them slightly, and buy and/or create an elegant case to display it.

Taking a deep breath, I begin!

[sequoiaranger]

I had some setbacks with the decking project, so while cooling off, I decided to test out a scheme for Enterprise's aircraft.

The main "armament" will be a squadron of SBD's, though I will also have a token F4F and TBD. The pictures below depict the "raw" kit SBD (notice TWO-bladed prop!), the former model's rendition, and then my new rendition. The former model had too-dark paint, silvery decals, no side decals, and although the "spinning prop" was a grand idea, this particular one had the center offset. Notice the "elephant trunk" undercarriage.

My new rendition has proper light blue-gray topside, cocades in six locations, thinned undercarriage and "tires" painted, a bomb underneath, cut-away gunner's position, rear-defense gun (regrettably, only a single fishing-line gun-when I tried two tinier fly-fishing-line "guns" it was just frustratingly impossible to get it right), canopy framing, and centered "spinning prop" with yellow tip ring. Seemingly a lot of work for a plane that could fit on your thumbnail like a carrier's elevator.

[PR19_Kit]

Are they 1/700 scale? 

Whatever scale they are, and they must be small, your new SBD looks great, well done indeed.

[sequoiaranger]

Not quite 1/700, but tiny all right!



This first "prototype" of a Dauntless went pretty well, though for the "production" SBD's I think I will used thinned yellow for the props (too bright as it is), actually use a round black circle for the wheel (half-round was a good idea, but looks like the Dauntless had two flat tires) and a smaller bomb. Otherwise, I like the look. I may vary the canopy configurations on the others just for variety (some open pilot area, some closed gunner area, etc.). This prototype MIGHT be the one "coming up on the elevator" so one doesn't see the above imperfections. In that case I will scrounge a 3-bladed still prop.

The making of this tiny aircraft was a "diversion" from the decking project--back to THAT with a new idea for making the elevator opening so the plank doesn't snap apart. It would make the whole thing easier if I chose NOT to have the rear elevator in the down position, but that would be too simple!!

[GTX]

I think the panel lines need more highlighting...

Regards,

Greg

[PR19_Kit]

I think the panel lines need more highlighting...

.... and the altimeter is calibrated in metres, not feet...........  

With a bunch of 1/700 aircraft needing modelling for one of my projects I'm awe-struck, hope I can do even half as well.

[sequoiaranger]

The illustration below will show my progress on the decking. I started from the back, thinking that would be easier than the front, where the catapults "intrude" into the wooden deck. But...putting in the elevator well was quite challenging. You can see that I have chosen to retain a "rim" of steel around the deck, and outside of those will be the plastic gun tubs and catwalks of the kit. The elevator itself was made from a "spare" section of a plank that I used for a deck section. There are two sections pictured (each Enterprise deck plank is 2 1/2 inches "long")

OK, I busted two planks (VERY expensive to create, and precious little to spare) already—they are thin and FRAGILE. The first attempt to put an elevator "well" in the plank had me sawing a rough smaller square, then trying to work my way to the outside to make the elevator-sized hole. WHACK! Busted the piece. Next, I thought of drilling four holes for the rounded "corners" of the elevator well. Good idea. Bad execution. I figured a small "pilot hole" would be good to get started, then ream out the small hole with the larger drill that "fit" the rounded corners. WHACK! Busted the piece. (That's when I decided to work on an SBD for awhile!!) When I came back, I just decided to drill the "large" holes for the corners of the elevator well without pilot holes. Worked FINE!! Now I had to saw out the space between the drill holes and finish off the shape with files. WHACK! Busted the piece, but was able to glue it back and re-inforce it to finally have the elevator well finished. WHEW!! I *THINK* that will be the hardest part until I get to the catapults up front. Plenty of time between now and then to strategize.

The small "round down" at the rear of the deck went all the way across in mid-1942 (the Revell kit is a curious mixture of time frames) and will be replicated by either a quarter of a drinking straw, or metal tube.

[Weaver]

If that planking is as thin and fragile as it looks, then I wouldn't attempt to saw it: I'd put it on a flat surface and cut it by applying a sharp chisel, or chisel-shaped craft knife blade, vertically. Going across the grain, I'd do it directly on the line. Going with the grain, I'd first cross-cut the ends of the intended cut (so it doesn't run to the edge) and then cut it a bit short of the line in case it doesn't run straight. Then finish off with a file.

[sequoiaranger]

>If that planking is as thin and fragile as it looks, then I wouldn't attempt to saw it:<

The planking is roughly 3-7mm thick, and pretty firm wood. I don't think a chisel would be able to cut it. It will split on the grain lines if too much torque or pressure is put on it. The places it broke were the narrow section between the elevator well and the outside edge. Much of it is just careful technique. My saw is a rotary, about a 1/2 inch diameter, on a Dremel. I have cut several pieces quite successfully.  The planking part is easy--it was trying to make a hole that was difficult. I have passed that hurdle now, so the rest should be relatively smooth sailing until the bow, and I have a new strategy for that, too!

But thanks for the concern and tips.

>I think the panel lines need more highlighting...<

Actually, there are several raised "panel lines" on the wing that are TOO raised. On my next SBD's I will actually have to sand them down a bit.

>With a bunch of 1/700 aircraft needing modelling for one of my projects I'm awe-struck, hope I can do even half as well.<

The 1/500 planes are about half again the size of the 1/700, but if you're CAREFUL... But thanks.

I also have hand mixed my two hull/deck colors for Measure 11. Basically a medium gray with a touch of blue for the hull sides and any other vertical surfaces, and a darker gray with a touch of blue for the "top" surfaces (won't be many of them with the natural wood decking).

[sequoiaranger]

Sure, I could have purchased the $40 photo-etched detail set for my Enterprise, but remember, I am not trying to REPLICATE, nor super-detail this ship, but make a fair-to-middling RESEMBLANCE.

However, the main CXAM radar and the AA fire-control director were my dad's concern aboard the ship, so I wanted to put some effort into those things. Shown is the CXAM atop USS Ranger (now why do you suppose I picked THAT ship? )



The clunky kit radar had a thick frame and "A" supports (photo below left). My research indicates that these "A" supports were there, all right, but decidedly thin and spindly. At 1/4" tall there is not much one can do to thin this plastic. I happened to have a freebie 1/700 PE set for "HMS Sheffield" (have no idea which one) that had multiple railings close together and reasonably approximated the look of the CXAM radar's grid. I found that the railings split apart readily (and altered the "grid" spacing), so I left the PE "frame" around the railings until AFTER I had super-glued the desired piece onto the altered kit radar frame. I had shaved down the kit frame to make it thinner front-to-back, and trimmed three of the four edges, so that only the "A" supports and the bottom were left. This would give good support for the flimsy PE. The radar grid slopped over the bottom frame in my research pictures (above), so I did for the kit radar, too. Though I don't have any front-view diagrams, indications are that the CXAM was NOT longer in the horizontal dimension as depicted by the kit radar, but either perfectly "square", or slightly elongated in the vertical dimension. I think I got close (certainly closer than the kit radar!), and that's what I wanted.



The "bow and arrow" antenna above the CXAM is a "YE" homing device, also used on the Enterprise in the Midway time frame. I am trying to somehow replicate THAT, too, but have come up empty so far.