Wasp class amphibious assault ship 1/700

[sandiego89]

Oh awesome.....!!! Cheers Mr89.....!! Which one is it....?? I seen a pic of Boxer and Makin Island together.....seems to be slight differences re defensive armament and sensors....a quick question as you have one so close......what colour to paint the lifeboat/dingy canisters please....? I was thinking a very light grey as white I think would seem to bright.....the pictures I've looked at show different shades an that may be due to lighting/ resolution of the pics......many thanks....H

IWO JIMA.  Depending on the particular ship and era, yes there are some differences in sensors and weapons.  For the lifeboat cannisters go with a light gray, a little lighter than your hull, but definitely more light gray than white. At this scale the some color as the hull would likely be OK, but they seem to be a little lighter ahde than the hull.  The real ones are fibreglass, so have a different texture than the hull.   Earlier cannisters in the 1980's/90's may have been white, but as you say white would come off too bright.  If you build it with a forward rolling airframe missle launcher, the shell of that should be white. 

Remember the MAKIN ISLAND is quite a bit newer than her sisters in the WASP class (perhaps half-sisters would be a better term?), and does have quite a few differences from the ships built some 20 earlier.  Some of the differnces would be apparant in a side by side photo.   

[Army of One]

Thanks for that info.....much appreciated, I'm not that experienced with building ships....the pic I was reffering to is an arial view and some of the differences are apparent....

[Army of One]

A little bit more progress.....and some experimentation with subtle use of ink/wash...

[sandiego89]

Flight deck color looks much better now.  Nice adjustment.   And the wash does help with making the doors/scuttles stand out nicely.

Marking the flight deck can be a challenge.  I have had mixed results with decals with several failures due to old and cracking decals. Hope yours are freshish.  Sealing flight deck decals with a clear coat is almost always needed to keep them down flat and to prevent silvering.  Keep the island off until you do the flight deck decals or paint.  I have had to paint flight deck lines due to decal failure, or making carrier WHIFS as no decals existed.  If you need to paint flight deck lines, suggest masking and spraying the long lines (like the ones that go the whole length of the flight deck).  Brushing can work as well, but as the lines are mostly white, you may need several coats.  Smaller painted lines can be done freehand with a very fine brush, but it is tough (at least for me) to keep them straight and from getting too wide. Decals likely you best bet for you first ship.  Keep it up!  

[Army of One]

Cheers..... ....the island isn't fixed yet and still stuff to add to it....I'd love a crack at the 1/350 one now.....gotta work a bit on the weathering....not gonna be to heavy.....the decals are in tip top condition, they will be sealed with a Matt coat of varnish......H

[Army of One]

A little bit more progress....



Nothing like a little bit of modelling on a scheduled break while at work.....

[NARSES2]

You put these props in deliberately don't you  

[Army of One]

Maybe......

[Weaver]

You'd be more worried if the "props" were spent casings.......

BTW Hank: don't load the V-22s into the mag by mistake. Pretty sure they won't chamber.....

The carrier looks great Hank - if you're going for a whiff operator, how about non-US weapons and/or sensors?

HUGE hi-res pic of the USS Makin Island here: http://chattahbox.com/us/2009/10/22/first-green-hybrid-warship-in-the-world/

HUGE hi-res pic of the USS Boxer here: http://agebb.missouri.edu/news/pics/jv010a.jpg

[Army of One]

Weaver, cheers....no worried re what I use for work  ......as for the operator, it may be a collaboration between Malta and Israel.....don't ask me how but that will be it.....

[Weaver]

Well if the Israelis have anything to do with it, it would probably have Barak SAMs instead of RAM and Sea Sparrow: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barak_1

Barak launch cells: http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/NAVY/Images/Barak01.jpg

Barak arrays and trackers on an Indian destroyer: http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/NAVY/Images/Delhi9.jpg

[Army of One]

Cheers......I'm thinking of a phalanx or two as well.....the Ospreys will be Israeli...not sure what else will be on it yet....bit of a mixed bag I think.....thanks for the help....