Essex: Completed!! (Part B)
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.
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.
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.
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.
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