Another thing I've noticed is researching this takes a huge amount of time, trying to find ship photos, plans, etc. One of the biggest hurdles I'm having trouble with is paint. I'd like a scale paint job that's durable, but options seem limited. There's True Color Paints, but apparently theyre acrylics, as are Tamiya paints. I think I might be stuck using model master paints. Ugh, getting stuck in paralysis by decision. As Im waiting for my deck plywood material, I practiced with some scrap, just to see ho it turns out. First prepped it with sanding sealer, then sanded w/100/220, then shot with auto primer. Seems pretty smooth! It should make a nice deck. I only wonder if I can still glue the superstructure on after sanding sealer, or maybe it wont adhere.
Working on rx mounting, Ill be using Spectrum equipment. Ive seen some of you guys had issues with it, so Ill plan to use this full range AR7000 rx, and leave one of the antenna to protrude the deck. The goal is to keep most of the rx equipment under the afr deck for ease of access. Note- deck is being swapped for light ply, using the old one for positioning only.
Got the new plywood decking wood, started tracing it out for the 3 different sections. The only thing is, I don't have a great solution for cutting them out. My jigsaw rips this material on the up stroke, neighbors bandsaw does wavy cuts, and using a utility blade is tricky, but so far might be the best option.
A fine blade on a jigsaw will work. If you really care then you can be picky about the direction you are cutting relative to the grain - if you have to cross the grain, then cut towards from the edge you care more about (best explained by trying it out on a small section). Either way both edges should be good from any distance >1 foot away, maybe a tiny bit of sanding on the edge post cut
The other possibility is to cut about 1/8" away from your traced lines, then use a belt/disk sander to trim up to the line.
Ok, maybe ill have to give the jigsaw another try with a finer blade. Its a handheld unit. In the meanwhile, I took a cue from you guys and started fashioning some new barrels from brass tubing, even though the wont fire. The will pivot though. I might even put a servo in the gun director.
Yeah the builder was creative with materials. Part of this project is to keep the spirit of his creativity intact, since thats part of the charm. I could easily go get a bunch of 3d printed parts (and I might get a couple), but that will clash with the scratchbuilt vibe if overdone.
Progress has slowed down alot due to holidays, but I did manage to contact a historian from the navy and put in a request for plans to the ship. They said they can do it for such an old ship. Learning more about paints and finishing- I contacted Dumas boats directly and they recommended Testors Model Master paints, not acrylics. Got the first piece of deck cut out, its a paint working with thin ply, now I know why the builder used balsawood.
Just about finished with the new deck, stripped the superstructure from the old balsa deck. Heres the wood being trace in prep for cutting, getting the hols for the screws lined up was a real challenge, even with existing templates. Im finding paints to be an enormous challenge- model master enamels are discontinued, and Tamiya acrylics really suck bad. I bought a couple to practice with, and they dont brush at all. Plus, rubbing alcohol strips them right off like nothing.
So take the colors you need to home depot and have them match the colors you need in the sample bottles they sell, they can match any color in existence, assuming the associate knows what they are doing. Larger bottles to use more often and not that much more expensive than what you are buying.
From what I understand, the model specific paints have finer ground pigments, and will airbrush alot better than home grade paints. Is that inaccurate?
Flotrol helps spraying and I have always filtered my paints when spraying, ymmv. I have worked paint and remodeling and use the home paints with no issues, I am also not a museum quality builder(nor do I wish to be truth be told, love you guys that do, but I'll battle thank you very much). Other wise buy paints on eBay that you like and again, ymmv.
FYI, She is a Mitscher Class Destroyer, originally DD 930, and than recommissioned as DL 5 if it's The Wilkinson, my brother was on the Mitscher for 6 months or so before going to the USS Chicago CG 11. The class was the pre curser to the Forrest Shermans, Two were converted to DDG configs, they were cutting edge for their time, and very short life spans... 15 ish years. I always have liked the Mitschers, Forrest Shermans and Farrugut\Coontz, and Adams Class destroyers due to the appearance of the superstructures and the hull shape, they look like Destroyers... They make me think of the the tennessee at the end of WWII, they all look like they would Knock your A$$ out as soon as look at you!!!! Just my two cents, love what you are doing and keep on keeping on. Hope to see you on the water, Craig
This is great information Panzer, thank you. I think it has to be an early 60's version of the DL-5, as it has the Gyrodyne QH-50 DASH (Down At Sea Helicopter) hanger and flight deck. Information on these destroyers is very few and far between, your brother wouldn't happen to have any pictures of the Mitchner? I made a little progress on paints, been testing out some Model Master colors. It looks like light sea gray is the vertical color originally used on the model. However, USN spec for the FS colors calls for Haze Gray, which looks like Light Sea Gray, but is semi-gloss as opposed to flat, while deck colors vary, depending on what picture you look at. Seems like in some pictures the helipad is a darker grey than the rest of the decking. For the below waterline hull, I've found Insignia Red is what the static ship model folks are using. I like the idea of going this route, as it currently has that rust brown color. That might be more accurate, but for what's going to be primarily a shelf model with a rare summer outing, I really like the brighter red better for some reason. Then there's the issue of clearcoating- can't decide on Semi-gloss or flat. Granted, I realize this is down the road, but I'm trying to get a plan together now, and have been practicing with the airbrush in the meanwhile. The paralysis of decision on paints is real.
It probably seems like im not moving fast on this, and thats true. However, I tend to jump around alot, as the last couple of days I spent modifying and restoring th Motor Whale Boat. I wish I took a before photo- it was a vague, carved hull with no detail, and a paper "tarp." I added the interior, deck, chines, and am working the prop and rudder. Still a little rough, needs more sanding and paint. A pain to work on, I needed tweezers and pins to do anything inside it.
Heres the prop I made for the whaleboat, this kind of stuff takes so much time. The whole project is like eating an elephant- one piece at a time.
Also did some propulsion work- was lucky enough to find a trashed powerwheels jeep. Took its dual 550 air cooled 6v motors out, had to cut and torch off the pinions. Ive since learned the original builder used a Dumas Adapt A Drive transmission, a durable brass gear unit thats still in production. So, Im now working a refit to use dual motors instead of the large single. I bought a couple of 6v alarm batteries, which if not too heavy Ill wire in parallel. My plan is to buy a Dimension Engineering Sabertooth dual channel ESC, and be able to use both rudder and differential thrust to steer.
Fun fact, the new Spektrum DX8e has a switch on the back that will spring load both gimbals center- perfect for this application. Ill be able to drive it like a tank, or snow cat. Finally, a visit to a pool is a possibly.
Cut some holes through the bottom of the superstructure- this will allow the Harbor Models smoke unit to breath. The porthole "windows," which are open brass servo grommets, should supply enough air to the unit, as it cant operate in a sealed environment. Btw, what types of construction adhesives are you guys using? I need a gap filling glue to attach the superstructure to the birch ply- ca is out, not sure if I want to use epoxy. Titebond or Sigment seem to be what Ive narrowed it down to.
