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Trumpeter 1:350 USS Essex Late WW2 Trim

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  • Essex: Completed!! (Part B)

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    Here's Essex sitting with another great ship that served in the Pacific. Both ships are configured in Late WW2 dress. I'm still waiting for the Plexiglass to finish up the case. I don't like all that detail being exposed to dust and spiders.

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    This was a heck of a build. It took about 6 months and thanks to all for following along with the highs and lows. To build Out of Box would have taken a couple of weeks. Once you add all the enhancements you're in for a much longer ride. The results are truly worth the effort.

    So what new did I learn on this project.
    First of all, I continued to advance my skills in soldering PE and developing more secure ways to fasten stuff onto the model.

    I continued building skill in making my own decals.

    I further developed fabricating techniques including cutting the island and repositioning the flag bridge without screwing anything up.

    I discovered Bondic and found it very successful for things that I hadn't thought of.

    I discovered 3D printed tiny guns that saved many hours of work (and frustration).

    I also found that using a fine-line Sharpie made reasonable canopy frames for tiny canopies.

    And lastly, I learned a ton about the Essex Class in doing the research to make an updated model.

    After I cleaned up the shop a bit, I got back to work on the Ford Fairlane GTA which I blog on another thread here at WAB.com. So thank you all for following along and making terrific comments, offering great insights and generally helping me build a better model.

    My next ship project I hope will be a modern LHD Essex with the usual bells, whistles and bells on the whistles. Before that I'll be doing more structures for the railroad and y'all can follow along on the train thread that I've been running for 6 years.
    Last edited by Builder 2010; 15 Jun 18,, 02:43.

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    • B2010,

      Well done!!! I think you've captured the essence of the class!! I esp. like the TBDs on the fantail!!!

      Hank

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      • Outstanding job and a great thread. Looks great on teh shelf with the Mo

        I will defiantly try the 3d printed guns

        The only fault I see is the LSO with his paddles out. he would only be there when planes are landing.

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        • Thanks Hank and Gun! Yup! I knew the LSO wouldn't be landing anything with that TBM ass blocking the deck, but… he looked so cool that I had to use him. So he's just waving off a wayward straggler and letting him know there's a fouled deck. Or at least that's how I'm rationalizing it.

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          • Are you putting flags on her?

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            • Gun, I made some flag decals and am considering possibly putting them on…

              Today, I picked up the cut plexiglass to make the showcase. The fellow at General Plastics and Rubber was nice enough to spend some time with me going over the fine points of joining it into a case. I had them route the cuts, not sawn, so the edge surfaces are pretty flat. He suggested further scraping or lightly sanding the edges to further flatten them out, and to make sure that all the abrasive lines run longways so the capillary action keeps the solvent inside the joint and not escaping to the finished surface. I have a long tool I made to sand square edges on balsa sheets for joining to make RC plane skins. It's also perfect for putting a square edge on Plexiglass.

              If I bring the model back downstairs to fit the case, I'll really look at adding the call sign flags. If I build the case and bring it upstairs to the model, I'm not going to touch it.

              And on Father's Day I developed shingles. Sucks! Started Valtrex as soon as possible and hopefully it will shorten and weaken the outbreak. Put off getting the Zostra vaccine since it wasn't very effective and heard about a new one. That new one, Shingrix, is now FDA approved and available. Too late for me this time, but not for my wife. Once this bout is over, I will get the shot since you CAN get shingles more than once. Shingrix is 95% effective at stopping the outbreak and is long lasting. It takes two shots 6 months apart for full immunity. If you haven't got the shots, get them! My son got it at 42, which is more unusual. I'm heading to 73 next month with is, unfortunately, more typical. Chicken Pox virus is a bad actor, staying in you body (in my case) 65 years after I had the chicken pox. How does it do that?

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              • Originally posted by Builder 2010 View Post
                So what new did I learn on this project.
                And using surface mount LED’s with copper foil tape.

                Get well soon from the shingles!

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                • Sorry to hear of your illness...hope its a speedy recovery.

                  And I have to echo what the others are saying....spectacular job!
                  “Loyalty to country ALWAYS. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it.”
                  Mark Twain

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                  • Essex: Plexi Case Complete

                    Ken, I am grateful to all the folks that contribute to my projects and your's have been well-noted. It's a bit of work to track all these projects step by step on multiple forums, but as I've said before, the give and take is priceless, the things I learn are as rewarding to me as the sharing I do. All of my projects are better for it.

                    Yesterday I picked up the cut Plexiglass and today built the case. While the case was setting I did attempt to add some call sign signal flags. "Attempt" is the operative word here. I aborted the plan after trying to fit the first flag and didn't like how it was turning out.

                    I found signal flags on the Internet, imported the JPG into Corel PhotoPaint and then scale them to about 1/8" high matching the flag decals that were on my Missouri. I printed them out on white decal paper in multiple sets since I was planning on putting the same flags on both sides of the island.

                    I placed the decals onto aluminum foil which is what I was told to do so it would give them some body and enable you to put some furl in them.

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                    But, as I tried to put the first flag in place on the port side signal halyards it wasn't going well. It didn't fold in the center and I was fussing with it too much. My hand was bumping into things and I was afraid that this minor detail addition could lead to big troubles, so I pulled off the flag and quit the process. Sometimes you have to know when to quit. I should have mounted the flags when the island was still in the Pana-vise after the rigging was complete. That was the time to do it when I wasn't reaching over all of those planes and little people.

                    The Plexiglass was cut on a router so it didn't have obvious saw marks, but it did have edge chipping which didn't make me happy. I have a sanding fixture that I built to sand square edges on balsa sheeting to make wing skins on large scale RC planes. I put this to use to finish up the edges. You're supposed to sand with the length so the groove trap the solvent cement by capillary action and doesn't leak out.

                    You tape the box together and then run a bead of liquid acrylic solvent (Methyl Chloride and some kind of alcohol) using a squeeze bottle with a very narrow metal nozzle.

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                    You're supposed to remove the adhesive poly wrap off all the surfaces except the one resting on the work table. I had a problem applying the solvent. The darn bottle was leaking at the screw top and every time I tipped it over to apply glue to the seams drops came out on the interior surface of the top. It was a mess. I let them dry without touching them so they're visible, but not when looking at the case from the side.

                    I also got leakage around the masking tape and this was much more noticeable, and made a mess. After it dried I worked with my multi-grit finishing system and got them so they're less obvious. They're still there, but don't smack you in the face.

                    I was very, very pleased to see that all my dimensions worked and the case both fit the base plank AND cleared all the ship's extenditures. (word?)

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                    Unlike the Missouri case, where I used 1/8" material (a bit flimsy), I used 3/16" plexiglass and it's much sturdier. The case is good enough for what it's intended to do which is keep the model in a pristine condition. I cut the opening in the back for the LED light power cord so it can be illuminated with the cover on. Here it is all protected with the Missouri. I feel much better knowing it's under cover and I can't bump into it and break something I can't fix.

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                    Man! Was I lucky in my sizing of the base. Another inch and it wouldn't have fit the shelving and that's the only good place to display it in the house. While I was testing the case fit in the basement, I then got worried that it was too high. It measured 11-1/2", and I got the tape and went upstairs to measure the space. It was 13" so I dodged another bullet. I set up the base and case dimensions just to fit the model, not fit the space. So it was just luck that it worked out okay. I could have made the case lower, but I was uncomfortable how close the case top came to the Missouri's radar and didn't want that to happen again. When I measured all the case dimensions the island was not yet built so I had to guess. Better to have a littlle too much clearance than not enough. You get lucky sometimes.
                    Last edited by Builder 2010; 21 Jun 18,, 00:21.

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                    • She looks good displayed by the Mo.

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                      • Thanks Gun! I stop by and look at it every day. These models are so complex that I often can't believe that I actually built it. I also like looking at the Mo just at eye level. You really can see all of the extra deck/angle supports that were added. The MO was the first ship model I ever built where the finished model was a detailed as the box art. For the Essex, I think the model exceeds the box art.

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