by Mario (Moe) Mares |
Being my First resin kit, I was a bit nervous but the build went MOST Excellent!! A “clean” molded kit with detail “I” didn’t expect (doors and hatches molded onto kit was SO accurate, I didn’t need to add Any!!)… chocks and bitts W O W! After washing the kit with a soapy dish water and a ‘soft’ toothbrush (that I Don’t plan on using), very little clean up was needed, but BE Careful of those chocks and bitts, they are fragile!! The PE was Near Superior, not too thick/thin with extraordinary detail, the masts/platform radars and antennae were the Best thing I have seen…but there was some small omissions, like not enough rails (but This should not be a Major problem, just a bit short for the rest of the superstructure). I did have enough to do the masts railings and part of the forward superstructure. The SPS-10 radar is missing its horn, so in both cases I used spare GMM rails. The radio spars came in different sizes, but the ‘thicker’ diameter “paper clip”-type wire was a bit Too heavy for the aft platform. And the Most important item on the kit…. The Talos Launcher is misshapen, so I Had to purchase my first 3D-printed item from ShapeWay… a new Talos launcher ( this made my decision from “Superior” to “Near Superior” [a Strong B+ from this former teacher!!])
After spraying with Mr. Surfacer 1000 paint adhesion went on well ( the Most nervous part of the Entire build ). Using Model Master (acrylic) Neutral Gray (vertical bulkheads), Gunship Gray (decks) and Engine Gray (flt deck), a Mixture of Engine Gray + Polly Scale Dark Blue (70-30 ratio) for the helo. Rigging lines were done by Mig rigging 0.2mm (very fine) for signal flags and ModelKasten metal rig line for radio leads.
Diorama was built on top of a foam board (colored and adhesive on one side) about 3mm thickness, then water-colored paper was dipped in water to adhere onto foam board with diluted white glue. Paper was colored using Vallejo ‘Dark Sea Gray’, once dried painted with lighter shades of Tamiya ‘IJN Kure Gray’ with drops of Tamiya Flat White. After giving a couple of shades of gray, then Vallejo ‘Off White’ topped off with, again, Tamiya Flat White (straight out). Next added strips/torn squared dots of toilet paper…mixed with Vallejo ‘Still Water’… paper dipped in ‘Still Water’ then added onto ships perimeter where it meets the ‘ocean’, then contoured around wakes made by ship. Lastly, after a day or two of drying between steps, gave one final brush of ‘Still Water’ ( three [3] layers total ).
Lastly, this is being given as a gift to a Vietnam Veteran, just in time for Father’s Day ….. yet another ‘First’ for me! Thank YOU for your Service, Sacrifice, and Time (SST Baby!) Fredrick Arnold Jr. BM3 (1966 – 1968).
