1:200 USS Missouri Build Log - Trumpeter w/ Pontos Detail Sets

[ScoobyDoo]

On 6/21/2019 at 8:26 PM, steinerman said:

 

Thanks for the comments, but no, I'm not going to oil can the sides.  I'm not even going to emulate the hull plating.  I tried to scribe the plates but it turned out to be a total disaster, so I puttied it over, sanded my goofs down and repainted.  I figured that with all the detail above deck, nobody would notice the hull anyway, and so far I'm right!

 

There is still a dent on the side of the Missouri from where a Kamikaze kit it.  There are photo's of the hit too as it occurred.

[ScoobyDoo]

Very impressive build, I love the techniques you revealed here and your display case. I have the 1/200 Hood which I have not started yet. I have invested the same as you into it.

 

I have an attachment to both the Missouri and the Hood.

 

I first toured the Missouri in Bremerton, Washington, since then I have visited her several times in Hawaii. My uncle was the curator that had her transferred to Pearl Harbor. He requested the move and signed the documents accepting her in Hawaii.

 

The family connection to the Hood is my mother's cousin, Boy First Class Eddie Holmes, was killed on her at the young age of 17 years-old. The mother had never let his memory fade, now that mom is gone that is my responsibility. 

[TorbenD]

My gob is well and truly smacked! Hugely impressive build so far - love the dry dock mounting - Hat’s off to you sir.

 

Torben

[steinerman]

Howdy Friends!  Hope you are all safe and staying healthy. This is not a good time and I hope and pray that once more people are able to get the vaccine that things will once again start to return to normal.  Being an old fart (78) I, along with my wife, have already gotten our 1st shot and are scheduled for our 2nd one in 3 weeks.

 

But, I didn't post here to tell you about that!  I have actually been working (now and then) on my ship, and, since I haven't posted anything since October, I thought I'd give you an update on what I've been up to.  It's coming along - slow but sure, and I think I'm actually starting to see the end.  During the last few months I've been working on the stacks, masts, and the main control tower.  As you can see in the accompanying photos, I've finished these and am now working on the two seaplanes that are mounted on the stern catapults.

 

After that, what remains is to build the small whaleboats and their mountings, add the railing along the sides of the main deck, and the rigging.  Plus, of course the 300 sailors that will populate the finished model.

 

OK, let's see some photos:

 

Here is the front stack and the control tower in process.  Lots of detail still to add yet but you can get an idea of why this part took so long to build.  If you look close just below the wing of the top radar and again a little below the horn, you will see a box with three vertical lights, red above green above white.  These are called "Fighting Lights" and depending on what pattern is lit tells the other ships in formation what the ship is doing.  They are not lit during battle at night as they make excellent targets to aim at in the dark!

 

Here's another shot from another angle.  There is a ton of brass photo-etch on this sub-assembly - along with a lot of little fiddly parts!

 

Here the foremast and the fore yardarm have been added.  Also, more of the antennae that sticks out all over the bloody ship!

 

More of the front stack assembly. The various brass parts are extremely thin and fragile.  You can see the very top antenna is bent.  It's since been straightened.

 

There are 2 horns on the ship.   One is a siren.  Note the brass bell and the fire hose and red water supply valve.  Yeah, I know - there's a bent antenna on this end of the yardarm. Every time I touch this I upset something!

 

Here's a closer view of the yardarm and the SK-2 Air Search radar dish.  This dish was a real ***** to make.  It's not perfect, but from a few feet away it looks fine!

 

A view from the top looking down at the MK-37 Gun Directors and the dual 36" searchlights.  Note the detail at the top of the stack.  This is all brass PE.  The 12" searchlights mounted on the railings were a real bear to glue in place.  And yes, the railing needs to be straightened.  There's a lot of tweaking and straightening to do once this assembly is glued inn place!

 

Here's the rear funnel and the attached mast and yardarm.  While the mast on the forward funnel is taller, this one is called the "Main Mast".

 

This stack has two 36" searchlights mounted on it as well as two MK51 gun directors on either side.

 

 

Close up of the main mast and yardarm

 

This is what the ship looks like with both stacks glued in place.  The superstructure is just sitting on the main deck because I haven't screwed down the boat to the base yet.

 

Looks kinda busy, don't you think?

 

 

Antennae all over the place!

 

 

A shot of the superstructure from the starboard bow.

 

I don't know about you, but I think it's turning out fairly well.  KInda hard to see the individual boo-boos when you stand back and look at the whole thing.

 

You wouldn't think it, but there is a LOT of rigging to add to this ship.  I haven't decided yet if I want to use EZ-Line or stretched sprue - or possibly a combination of both.

 

  

 

This spot is where the Japanese surrendered on September 1945.  I have a small table, chairs, and microphone, along with a whole bunch of Japanese officials and sailors.  I don't know if you paid attention or not, but several of the windows on the bridge have windscreen wipers added.  Wanna know how difficult that was - tiny wipers glued to tiny arms!

 

 

 

The rectangular shaped structure on the deck with the sloped top is called the "Flag Locker".  There's one on either side and all the signal flag halyards run down to these lockers.  Notice a 3rd set of Fighting Lights on the outboard side of the 40mm Bofors gun tub.

 

There's a flag locker immediately aft of the rear shack as well.  This is for the battle flags, pennants, and Old Glory.  You can't see it, but each of the 20 40mm Quad Bofors gun positions have tiny numbers on the sides of the tubs as well as on the sides of the shields themselves.  (Trying to be authentic here, folks!!)

 

OK, that's it for now friends!  Stay safe and stay healthy!!!

 

Edited January 24, 2021 by steinerman

[LSP_Ron]

Wow,  tremendous respect on the quality of work here. Very well done.

 

I'd suggest EZ line, and yes the big M does have a surprising amount of rigging for a battle ship.

[Out2gtcha]

For sure! Excellent work, on what is definitely a very fragile but detailed set up.

[LSP_Kevin]

Spectacular!

 

Kev

[Brett M]

Really impressive. She’s turning out great!

[aircommando130]

All I can say is WOW! Awesome work! I just got the 1/200 USS Enterprise....yikes!

Will be reading through your build again probably several times to keep me going 

on that! Gonna be great to see the Missouri finished!

 

Cheers...Ron (Got my first shot the 22nd...second one Feb 19th) Stay safe everybody!

[Troy Molitor]

She looks amazing.  Wow.   

[Confusionreigns178]

Just.....plain....superb. The patience involved in building this is astonishing. 

 

Thanks for sharing with us. 

 

Chris. 

[themongoose]

What a great effort your putting into this. The detail is amazing. I’m also enjoying learning a little bit about the ship from your explanations. It’s just stellar.

[mustang1989]

That right there is a LOT of detail. These 1/200 scale builds are really off the charts in terms of size and detail. 

[Scotsman]

An amazing build , I'd love to try one of these 200th scale battleships, and as soon as Trumpeter bring out a KG5 class ship I'd be there in a heartbeat !

[Rockie Yarwood]

Absolutely beautiful! I'd go blind trying to work with all that photo-etch.