More Drilling

While reviewing parts in preparation of placing the Midway on its base, I realized that I never drilled holes into the floor of the elevator that is not attached to the deck. Fortunately I still had the document to print a transparent label with the guide for drilling the holes with my hand drill.

Anchors Away!

Tonight I glued the photo-etched versions of the anchors and with a little pleasure I threw in my trash bin the plastic ones.

Too Many Anchors

Yesterday I decided to work on the anchors and proceeded in painting the plastic ones that came with the kit. Today going through the box of the model as it has been a long time since I worked on the Midway I noticed on the aftermarket photo-etched sheet that bought several years ago came with much more detailed anchors which is nice as I was not fully impressed with the kits version. So I painted those ones and was just glad that I made this discovery as I was about to super glue the plastic version to the hull.

Electronics

Installed the electronics for the hangar lighting but found that the switch enclosure was a good 1mm to thick so I took it apart and just kept the actual hardware which shaved at least 2mm and used hot glue to keep everything in place.

Improving the Base

I found that the square mouldings made the base too "square" I returned to the hardware store ont the 19th and bought an 8' rounded moulding, saw by hand and glued with carpenter glue. I definitely prefer this look as it gives the base a more traditional look you wood expect to see with a ship case. The next day I spray painted the base with a primer since the base is composed of plastic and wood to give it a uniform look. Finally last night I gave the base a few coats black spray paint. Today I installed the bass stands and it really looks sharp!

 

Raising the Base

After analyzing the electronics needed to be placed under the base for the lighting system I determined that the base needs to be raised. So off I went to the hardware store and bought a 8' square moulding that I cut with a hand saw and glued with carpenter glue. I then super glued the wood to the plastic base and also filled some existing indentations on the top of the base.

Installing the Brass Stands

Was looking for a way to properly align the holes I need to drill into the ship case base, something that had been bothering me for a while now... I finally found the solution by using a laser level that I had and it was accurate enough for the cause. With the holes marked I used a drill and after a bit of filing the brass stands fit perfectly in place. I placed the Midway on the stands to see how it will eventually look and am very satisfied with the results.

Case

My wife got me a nice display case for my birthday (which was last month) as promised. Unfortunately when I opened the box I discovered  a crack on the side.  A few days later I got an exchange at my local hobby shop and all is good.

I had been trying to find a solution of how to display the Midway properly and this was the best solution that I could come up with that was affordable ($50) and proper scale. I will have to raise the base (will probably add some wood) so that I can incorporate a battery for the lighting in the hangar.

Complete!

Sprayed a final coat of clear flat, removed the mask from the canopy and this model is now complete! This build took me 43 hours and 17 minutes, a lot more than I had originally planned but I am very happy with how it turned out.

Weathering

Applied diluted oil paints to the seams of the grey sections of the plane but noticed immediately that this is not going to work for the white sections so I will not weather those sections.