Montana Project

The hatches of this leviathan are enormous compared to the hull of the VU.

 

I applied fiberglass matt that I had bundles of not in use. I cut off 3 to 4 inch strips an 1.5 inches wide and made right angles with the strips which fitted nicely beneath the subdeck and the hull . Resin was applied with a stiff brush to soak the matt and get a nice join working in. This will seal and give the subdeck much needed strenth along the hull as this ship is almost as heavy as Yamato.

 

Looks more like a decomposed animal but all that hard excess will be trimmed and cleaned off the hull. This time I had no hardened resin drips running down the side of the exterior of the hull.

 

I checked hatches and they were still tacky. Been a few days now and I do not know if the resin dried . If not I may have to use Acetone and remove the tacky resin , sand the hatches and reapply a new batch. I think the resin I used was a bad batch. There is only a small section of the aft stringer that is still tacky too. The rest dried nicely.

 

The deck hatches are still tacky.Looks like I will have to use strip the sticky resin off using acetone then sand the gatches and try again but with a new can of epoxy resin and better mix.

 

that suck , that had happen , but the project is looking nice, please keep in detail the actions you are doing for us less fortunate builders. i am getting ready to do a yomato build , with the strike's fiberglass hull , thanks to my group members. i know they can answer all my questions , but its nice to see pictures and detailed actions being performed. Thanks again for sharing. Fred

 

Hey Fred I will detail the Build.I just checked Strike's site and they don't have a Yamato hull.They do have line patterns to make a wood hull though.Battler's connection has the Yamato hull and deck kit One time they had the full kit which would include the deck and superstructure.The deck used to be fiberglass which I used on my Ralph Coles Yamato hull.They no linger carry tge fiberglass deck and vinylvrwsin superstructure anymore.However the hull main and secondaries and AA dome turrwts are available.

 

yeah i apologize for that , i thought it was a striker hull i miss understood the situation. if i ticked anyone off im sorry. but it is a battlers hull , i have herd they pump out some great stuff also, if i ruffled any feathers on my posting I'm sorry. but i hope to get started within the week, since ive never done a build before a club member will be guiding my hands through the process, so i don't waste money and get it done correctly. i will be using both striker and BC parts. on the build. and i hope to also post all of the details for others whom are just starting off like myself.
thanks fred

 

Hey Fred sorry for the bad typos in my last post. I was using the phone when replying and it is hard to see on such a small screen. No problem no feathers ruffled here or anywhere. I use both products from Strike and Battlers. I have kits and other packages from both sources so you cannot go wrong. Glad your getting guidance from an experienced Captain of the Hobby. Nothing worse then investing a lot of money into mistakes so keep the build simple and basic and you can get into the tecno engineering afterward.

 

hey , thanks for being understanding, i don't need a battle against me for choosing over Pepsi or coke battle if that makes since. both strike and battlers has there strong points, hey, they are a vital to the hobby in my own opinion. right now im waiting to find out how many ribs and the spacing on them before i start cutting the hull. and im putting together a list for each company.which i will not reveal that lol. i dont need to be hit over who does what better online , i'll go with , what i have seen used in the group. for i have seen what works and what style i like.
BUT. i hope to see more of your build on here and as soon i get started i will post pics and info on what i have done and why.

 

Awesome Fred.Looking forward to your build pics.

 

Been a while since I posted here. Been extremely busy. Montana update. Most of the fiberlglass excess and cloth have been removed from the hull. Need more sanding on the forcastle deck and the subdeck stringer in the hull. The exterior needs sanding and repair as the gelcoat on sections of the armor belt had been cracked or punched through. Not happy with the gelcoat in the armor belt areas. Too many cavities. The bow on the port side the gelcoat there looked like it caved in. No problem for me to make repair to to that though.

Anyway Christmas is nearly upon us. Will be back to the projects after New Years . Merry Christmas and Happy NEW YEAR everyone!!

 

How big is she compared to the MO

 

Gunner she is 77 inches long. About 3 inches longer than Mo.However nearly 20% heavier. She is wider also all the way through her length.

 

Work on Montana proceeded today. Sanded off the resin and fiberglass cloth blemishes. I did notice the armor belt ridge is cracking mire and becoming holed . Not happy with the quality of the armor belt. Typicalky there are no voids in tge armor

 

If that was in combat the BBS would destroy the ridge of the Armor belt. It's very brittle.

 

Plus it is pitted most of it's length. A small section of the bow also has that issue. Like an egg shell in that section.

 

Hi Curt,
How many ships have you got now? Is Tom Cromwell still interested in the hobby? It would be nice to see the HMS Erebus I sold him finished and tested. I think the WWI versions of Erebus and Terror are the only ships in the hobby with rudders at each end. Should turn as well as Abercrombie/Roberts or Gorgon/Glatton (i.e. 4' diameter turning circle).

Bob

 

Hi Bob! Happy New Year to you and Kim. Hope all is well with you guy.

Tom and I discussed setting up combat with the ww1 ships and we have 1 merchant ship for convoy. Our problem is we both have busy schedules and our days off are all over the place. Plus the very short season for battling and the weather makes it extremely difficult to get together.

The Erebus is sheeted and Tom last mentioned he will use it for convoy and
not arm it.
His Nagato internally has been rearmed and refitted. Just needs testing. His Iowa he has no interest in.
.Get back to you later to update the post on my fleet and give you a full run down on them and what is planned for them.