1/350 scale CVN-90 USS United States Stealth Aircraft Carrier

[Old Wombat]

Awesome stuff! Ships do have an awful lot of parts.

If they want to stay alive they do!

A significant chunk of a warship's tonnage is set aside for self-defence systems, & has been since the rapid expansion* of anti-aircraft weapons & anti-torpedo systems during WW2.




[*: I was going to say "explosion" but that seemed a tad inappropriate/potentially confusing.]

[seadude]

Awesome stuff! Ships do have an awful lot of parts.

If they want to stay alive they do!

A significant chunk of a warship's tonnage is set aside for self-defence systems, & has been since the rapid expansion* of anti-aircraft weapons & anti-torpedo systems during WW2.




[*: I was going to say "explosion" but that seemed a tad inappropriate/potentially confusing.]

You just had to jinx things, didn't you?

[Old Wombat]

Oops!

[NARSES2]

A significant chunk of a warship's tonnage is set aside for self-defence systems, & has been since the rapid expansion* of anti-aircraft weapons & anti-torpedo systems during WW2.

Dad once told me that by the time he joined HMS Indefatigable you could hardly move on her upper decks because of all the AAA that had been added. Slight change from his first ship which had one 4 barreled pom-pom and a Lewis Gun on the bridge which was for the skippers personal use. 

[seadude]

Just now ordered the following parts from 3D-Wild website.
https://3d-wild.com/collections/cvn-65-enterprise-conversion-kits/products/big-e-anspn46-1996-17
https://3d-wild.com/collections/1-350-scale-cvn-76-ronald-reagan-conversion-kits/products/cvn-76-77-bulbous-bow
https://3d-wild.com/collections/1-350-scale-modern-us-navy-warship-generic-parts/products/smq-11-2-types-pack-of-3
https://3d-wild.com/collections/1-350-scale-modern-us-navy-warship-generic-parts/products/an-slq-59-pack-of-4

Now all I have to do is wait and wait and wait and...........Zzzzzzzzzz.  x_x
Anyway, after I get the parts, the first thing I'll work on will be adding that bulbous bow part to the bow of the ship. Got a feeling that's going to require a lot of PSR.   
Then I'll probably jump back to working on and finishing the island superstructure with the SPN-46 radars that it needs.
After that, I may start to tackle getting the flight deck ready and painting that. But not sure yet.

[seadude]

I don't know whether to count this as good news or bad news? 
For a long time, I've wanted a model kit manufacturer to make a plastic 1/350 scale Gerald Ford carrier.
There's the Magic Factory 1/700 scale Ford Carrier. Too small for me. I don't build 1/700 scale.
3D-Wild comes out with a 1/350 scale 3D printed/resin Ford carrier, but at nearly $600.    Too expensive.
Then 3D-Wild plans to come out with a 1/200 scale flight deck and island superstructure only of the Ford Carrier.

The only reason I started this whole model project in this thread was because nobody was coming out with a Ford class carrier in the scale I wanted and in plastic for me to whif. So I had to resort to whiffing a TAMIYA USS Enterprise carrier instead. But now, lo and behold, guess what Trumpeter is now planning to do? 
Yep, that's right. They are planning to come out with a 1/350 scale plastic model kit of the Gerald Ford carrier.
https://www.scalemates.com/kits/trumpeter-05638-uss-gerald-rford-cvn-78--1572041

If they had come out with this months or even 1-2 years ago, I wouldn't have needed to whif my own futuristic carrier from the TAMIYA Enterprise kit as I could have just modified a GF class kit instead.
But it's too late to back out of this model project thread. I've started on a whif and now I have to finish it whatever the end result may be and however long it takes.
And I do want a Trumpeter 1/350 Gerald Ford kit whenever it comes out. It's still on my "Want List". Of course, what will I do with it even though I'll already have my whiffed scratch built and kitbashed kit? I have no idea.

[Steel Penguin]

to be honest Seadude, this is the story of every wargamer. pretty much ever,    we find a thing we like, do the planning, realise we cant get it in the scale we want, do some more research, and then end up going Tonto with the hobby budget, to get the bits to make the thing that will complete the army, for the period you want in the perfect scale, that no one makes.....  and as you get far enough along that not to finish it is heresy ..   along comes a company making it...       
laugh the laugh that would get you thrown into Arkham / Azkaban if anyone else heard it....  grit you teeth, gird you loins, empty the hobby budget, Cry Havock!!! and release the dogs of modelling.    have a quiet tea / coffee / soft drink of choice, and finish it just to spite the universe.. 

[Captain Canada]

That 3d wild stuff looks incredible !

[seadude]

Tiny update.

Still waiting.
Ordered the parts that I mentioned back in post # 244 on Aug. 15th.
Sent an email today asking about the status of my order.
Got a reply back saying my order may possibly be shipped out sometime during the week of Oct. 14th.
I hate waiting.   

[kerick]

I don't know whether to count this as good news or bad news? 
For a long time, I've wanted a model kit manufacturer to make a plastic 1/350 scale Gerald Ford carrier.
There's the Magic Factory 1/700 scale Ford Carrier. Too small for me. I don't build 1/700 scale.
3D-Wild comes out with a 1/350 scale 3D printed/resin Ford carrier, but at nearly $600.    Too expensive.
Then 3D-Wild plans to come out with a 1/200 scale flight deck and island superstructure only of the Ford Carrier.

The only reason I started this whole model project in this thread was because nobody was coming out with a Ford class carrier in the scale I wanted and in plastic for me to whif. So I had to resort to whiffing a TAMIYA USS Enterprise carrier instead. But now, lo and behold, guess what Trumpeter is now planning to do? 
Yep, that's right. They are planning to come out with a 1/350 scale plastic model kit of the Gerald Ford carrier.
https://www.scalemates.com/kits/trumpeter-05638-uss-gerald-rford-cvn-78--1572041

If they had come out with this months or even 1-2 years ago, I wouldn't have needed to whif my own futuristic carrier from the TAMIYA Enterprise kit as I could have just modified a GF class kit instead.
But it's too late to back out of this model project thread. I've started on a whif and now I have to finish it whatever the end result may be and however long it takes.
And I do want a Trumpeter 1/350 Gerald Ford kit whenever it comes out. It's still on my "Want List". Of course, what will I do with it even though I'll already have my whiffed scratch built and kitbashed kit? I have no idea.

Model ship builders everywhere thank you for your sacrifice. Just don't get the other guys started about all the vacuform, resin and PE conversion stuff bought for aircraft and armor! Seems to be the way of the universe. I've been planning how to make a multi purpose transport Bradley and now the US Army is finally buying them. Someone read my mind or has monitored my computer!

[seadude]

Well, I dug my carrier out and put it back on the table for possibly more work to do on it.
I may not have the 3D-Wild parts yet that I ordered, but there's other aspects of the carrier that I'm re-thinking of doing.
When I started to plan how I was going to build this carrier long ago, I initially had thoughts of "combining" the front port and starboard weapon sponsons with the angled structures under the flight deck. (See first and second pictures below.)
What I was hoping to achieve was maybe something similar to what's shown in the yellow rectangle in the third pic below.
But I had my doubts that I'd be able to create something like that, so I instead created seperate VLS modules that you see in the fourth and fifth pics below.
But now, I'm giving consideration to re-building those forward port and starboard weapon sponsons and trying to re-visit what I had planned as indicated in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd pics.
So here's my question:
Should I leave my VLS launchers and weapons sponsons as they are in the 4th and 5th pics. Or do you think I should try creating the type of weapon sponson you see in the yellow rectangle in the third pic for both the port and starboard sides?
Give me your honest opinions, folks. I want to hear the good, the bad, and the ugly on the design of the weapon sponsons and VLS launchers in the 4th and 5th pics below. Should they stay or go?

[Gondor]

It seems to me that combining the sponsons is a very reasonable idea.

Gondor

[seadude]

It seems to me that combining the sponsons is a very reasonable idea.

Gondor

Yeah, I'd like to. One small hiccup though.
The portions of the hull angled under the flight deck and the underneath angles of the weapon sponsons don't match up. Everything is at different angles as shown in the below pic.
I'm going to have to do some creative thinking and scratch building to connect the port and starboard weapon sponsons to the underneath angled portions of the hull.
    

[Gondor]

If I was going to extend those sponsons then I would extend the shape of the smaller ones towards the larger ones. However, as you have added your vertical launchers, which are a bit larger, I would then use them as a basis for the extensions.

Gondor

[PR19_Kit]

That's what transition curves are for, even if the USN doesn't seem to believe in them.