Monday, October 31, 2016

Tow Bars


I hesitated to include photo etched yellow tow bars but finally decided to add them which turned out to be a lot easier to install than I had initially imagined. Hardest part was to apply the three coats of yellow paint to the parts.



Sunday, October 30, 2016

Planes, Jets and Helicopters…


Finally reached a milestone where the whole deck is now populated with planes, jets and helicopters that I had painted several years ago.The photo etched parts such as the propellers and refuelling probes plus the tiny decals such make the Midway's deck much more interesting to look at.







Thursday, October 27, 2016

Lots of Antennas!

Tonight I decided to install the various antennas that are installed around the deck of the Midway, sixteen in all. Had a sign of relief when I was able to place the plastic case over the base and confirm that thee was still some space left!


Sunday, October 23, 2016

Small Boats & Optical Landing System

Today I glued the two little white boats found at the stern of the ship. I originally wanted to include photoeteched rudders that I had but the scale did not work out so I installed them as provided with the kit. I also installed the Optical Landing System which are composed of lots of lights with various colors. I wanted to draw individual dots per bulb but it was just not feasible and ended up having to contempt with drawing lines.



Thursday, October 20, 2016

Elevator & Crane

Tonight I installed the only elevator in the lowered position and the Midways crane. Used a Staedtler pigment liner 0.05 pen for the black markings since drilling out the holes through the crane was not an option due to the scale.

 


Sunday, October 16, 2016

Island Completed

Finally completed the island and installed it on the deck of the Midway. While certain parts were difficult to assemble and the modifications challenging at times I am glad to have reached this milestone.







Saturday, October 15, 2016

Island Markings

Spent most of the week cutting and placing very tiny decals of the various awards that the Midway has received as well as other fine details. At one point a white letter E on the port side came off and was lost due to me manipulating the island! Fortunately the Gold Medal Models "USN Supercarrier Decals" set included several aircraft carrier names. I was able to find a near identical letter E from the decal sheet. The "BEWARE OF JET BLAST PROPS AND ROTORS" decal was tricky as it was the "PROPS" was initially "PROPELLERS" so I turned one decal into four so that I could remove the "ELLER" from "PROPELLERS". Lastly I decided to paint with a red dot the eight enemy aircraft shot down by Midway's air wings as no such decals were provided and printing decals at 1/800 scale seemed almost ridiculous due to the tiny size.




Tuesday, October 11, 2016

Island Railings

Added some photo-etched railings to the island which adds a nice touch of detail that is easy to apply. The tough part will be to paint them, especially the forward one which is nestled titghly against the main mast. Will be saving that fun job for tomorrow...


 

Sunday, October 9, 2016

Island 41

I finished painting the white 41 on each side of the island and was debating if I should add the black outline around the number due to the small size and the risk of making an error which would be harder to correct since I used spray paint and not bottled. So I asked for my 10 year old son Casey opinion and after showing him the reference photo I had he said it would definitely be much better with the outline. So tonight I took a Staedtler pigment liner 0.05 pen and made the markings with not too much difficulty and it sure made the numbers pop out from the hull. Very pleased with the results and enjoy having my son's opinion in the construction of this model.

Saturday, October 8, 2016

Star Wars X-Wing Fighter

On a recent trip to Plattsburgh in New York state I visited a Walmart Supercenter where I noticed a Revell SnapTitle X-Wing Fighter for only $7 USD. What a deal as the same kit would sell for $20-$30 easily and would make the perfect gift for my oldest son Casey.

So today me and Casey took built the kit in about 15-20 minutes (can't remember the last time I built a model so quickly). Despite the age of 8+, I was surprised at the difficulty of how the parts would snap together. Despite this little surprise the quality of the kit was very good, lots of details and the paint was very well done. Overall as the first SnapTite kit I have built, I am impressed and Casey likes the idea of being able to play with the kit without fear of destroying it. I always like spending time with Casey to build a kit for him to enjoy.