The Jig

I wanted to recreate the the holes which criss cross and cover the hangar and flight deck. These holes have a cross in them and are used to attach aircraft and equipment securely to the deck.

I used Adobe Photoshop and printed out a template with the criss cross pattern which I then taped to a small piece of styrene. This now became my Jig and will be used to accurately align all the holes on the decks with the proper spacings. The next step was to take a 0.5mm mechanical pencil and make the pattern on the deck where afterwards I will take a small hand drill and make small holes but not go through the styrene sheet. I have made some small tests and applied two coats of paint on another piece of plastic and the results were very nice. My only regret after completing the dots is that I should have used a transparent piece of styrene so that I could see easier where I am placing the dots.

Below is a photo of the jig on the hangar deck, if you look carefully you will see the pencil marks to be my guide when using a small hand drill.

Photo Etched Sets Arrive!

Today I received the Gold Medal Models (GMM) photo etched detail sets I ordered from www.goldmm.com. It is not in 1/800 scale but the difference in size is very small and I believe acceptable. I will have a few challenges since the USN SUPERCARRIER photo etched set is not actually intended for the U.S.S. Midway, however I have seen it adapted for it in another model from research I have done and I believe that I can do the same. This will be my first time working with photo etched parts.

1/720 Scale USN SUPERCARRIER

1/700 Naval Figures

1/700 USN NUCLEAR CARRIER DECALS

Hangar Wall Layout

Originally I was to have straight walls in the hangar, however after doing some research I was able to find a photo which had the layout of the hangar deck. With the aide of Adobe Photoshop I resized the image and printed it out to scale. Afterwards I taped it to the styrene sheet and with a red marker made an outline for future reference.

Below you can see the deck with the wall outlines on the hull. Also notice in the stern section (back) the elevator shaft and in the bow section (front) to the port side (left) the stairway shaft which I have added for extra detail.

Cross Section

Here we can see the cross sections needed to support the scratch built hangar deck. I determined that six were needed to give proper support and make sure the deck does not slope inwards. Fortunately there were two slots designed to hold batteries which the styrene sheets fit perfectly and helped keep everything aligned properly.

You may also notice that in red I have signed and dated the model as an artist would sign a canvas painting. This is a tradition I have done with every model I have built since I was a child.

Gold Medal Models

Today I placed an order with "Loren Perry Gold Medal Models" www.goldmm.com for photo etched parts and a decal sheet to be used on the U.S.S. Midway. I was a bit disappointed that the site does not accept a direct credit card payments and initially I thought I would have to create a money order but fortunetly they do accept PayPal now.

I have ordered the following:

• 1/720 Scale USN SUPER CARRIER ($20)
  
• 1/700 Naval Figures ($6)
  
• 1/700 USN NUCLEAR CARRIER DECALS ($9)

Shipping was only $2 and I had to add 3% of the total to cover for PayPal fees which is cheaper then having a Money Order created and I would also get my items faster!

I have done some research and despite not being 1/800 scale it has been proven by other modelers that the 1/700 scale can be adapted fairly well. See this interesting article from SteelNavy.com of how Mark Leonard built an ARII U.S.S. Midway with some of the exact same parts.

Hangar Deck

To make the hangar deck I used a piece of paper cut out to the maximum width of the hull. I then proceeded in trimming it to fit the hulls curvature. Once I was satisfied with the cut I then placed it on a styrene sheet with tape and cut the pattern out. With only a few slight adjustments which were probably due to the thickness of the styrene sheet it fit perfectly in place.

On the scale model is the paper mock up and below the styrene sheet.

Contruction Begins for the U.S.S. Midway!

Below is a photo of some of the first steps taken in this project, I drilled out a hole on each side of the hull where the anchor is linked with chains inside the ship.

Details Plans for the Contruction of the U.S.S. Midway

Today I have started work on the ARII 1/800 scale U.S.S. Midway aircraft carrier. This model will be the first one that I will apply major scratch building to it.

For this project I plan to do the following:

• Open up the elevator doors so that a detailed hanger will be viewable.
• Ceiling piping will be added
  
• Details to the interior walls
• Interior elevators
  
• Add real cables for the arresting cables on the landing pad.
• Raise the jet blast deflectors.
• Add the doghouse to the island (the doghouse is an extension of the island).
• Fold wings of some of the aircrafts which are not in use.

I have purchased several "Gold Medal Models" items to add extra detail including:

• Photo etch Naval Figures (set of 100)
  
• U.S.N. Supercarrier Decals
• U.S.N. Supercarriers photo etch parts

New Kit - U.S.S. Midway

Upon visiting the U.S.S. Midway located in San Diego California on October 20th 2007 I purchased the scale model of the vessel from there gift shop.

It is a Chinese ARII kit in 1/800 scale model measuring approximately 15 inches long and has 76 various aircrafts. I plan to make extensive modifications and super detail this kit.

I have since been fortunate enough to return to San Diego and visit the U.S.S. Midway a second time on April 7th 2008, this time taking lots of reference photos in anticipation of the construction of this kit. I was glad to have purchased this scale model on my first visit because when I returned to the gift shop they no longer had any left and from the research I did it is a hard to find kit.



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Tamiya 1/35 German 6x4 Truck Krupp Protze

I purchased this model on eBay back in 2003, the trucks unique look caught my attention. I started working on it in November 2007, took a pause during December because of the holidays and I estimate that it should be complete sometime next month (April 2008). Below are a few images (there is still a bit of work left to do):