USS Monterey in heavy seas, December 1944

1
April 22, 2023
USS Langley during the same storm - this pic started me down this path
2
April 22, 2023
Not sure which CVL this is from, but it gives me leeway to include sailors on the decks 🙂
Update: this was on the escort carrier USS Anzio in the same typhoon
3
April 22, 2023
From the deck of the USS Cowpens during the typhoon
4
April 22, 2023
Some smiling (??!) sailors on the Langley during a particularly nasty roll
5
April 22, 2023
Hull laid down - not a huge fan of their multipart hull design - lots of filling and sanding to come - at least I won't have to deal with the props or rudder - those will still be safely under water 😉
I don't think I'll need to remove any of the lower hull - I'll bulk up the "ocean" base a bit to fit, but I know I'll need almost the entire hull for the side of the ship away from the roll
6
April 22, 2023
Bit of fit issues at the bow, again, filling and sanding is warranted
7
April 23, 2023
Ok, I guess I signed on for a dazzle scheme - specifically Measure 33/3D
8
April 24, 2023
This is gonna need some planning for the masking
9
April 24, 2023
OK, here is my first rant for this kit - whoever did the planning for the instructions was not thinking of the final model - if you look at this picture, the Dragon instructions call for the final step to be joining the top and bottom hull halves together at the seam shown.
I have no idea how they expect anyone to get the hull to match up smoothly at that point.
Instead, I PVA glued the bulkheads to the underside of the deck, and cemented the bulkheads together to get the next picture...
10
April 24, 2023
Here is the upper hull separated from the deck, and ready to be mated to the bottom hull
11
April 24, 2023
Not a great fit at the bow - I can't imagine how it would have turned out with the deck and associated details attached. Not to mention not being able to access the inside of the bulkhead to move it around for a better fit 😛
12
April 24, 2023
The stern fit isn't as bad - at this point I put the deck back on to make sure I was positioning the bulkheads without compromising the fit with the deck
13
April 24, 2023
At this point, I definitely opted for "no interior" and went with structural stability instead. I may add some horizontal supports, but this little CVL doesn't need it as much as the CVN models do
14
April 24, 2023
Ugh, I hate puttying...
15
April 24, 2023
...and of course, I'll need a bit more puttying to fill in the gaps between some of the gun platforms and main deck
16
April 26, 2023
OK, so I did opt for horizontal supports, but not for stability. These bits of sprue acted as shims to gently shove the bulkheads into a better match with the lower hull, as well shaping better overall lines for the ships hull - there were some weird indents where two of the horizontal bulkhead bits met, and this smoothed everything out.
17
April 26, 2023
OK, airwing in planned positions 🙂
18
April 26, 2023
Lower island attached to the deck - appreciated the much nicer PE part, but Dragon neglected to provide a side wall and a lower central shaft for the crane, both very obvious in ref pics
19
April 26, 2023
Worst case of sink marks in the kit so far
20
April 27, 2023
OK, these parts ready for cleaning and priming
21
April 27, 2023
It turns out after further examination of refs, the below-decks column for the crane was square in cross-section, not round, so a quick replacement there, a bit more bulk underneath it as also shown in refs, and added the support beam back on
22
April 27, 2023
Got the 4 new Model Colors to go with the 3 that I already had in my stash that I will apparently need for the Measure 33 camo - never thought I would own this many different variations on the color "gray"
23
April 27, 2023
It was also a PE day.
The middle platform on the tower was super fiddly to attach, causing some warpage on the tower beams, and it's still not on as straight as I'd like.
If anyone has any advice on how to straighten out warped PE after the CA glue has set, I'd love to hear it 😛
24
April 27, 2023
Sitting next to me as a storm rolled through - at least they weren't wandering around the work space this time
25
April 28, 2023
Based on available references, I think I have the bridge as close as I'm going to get to her late 1944 configuration.
There were quite a few changes to her tower in 1945, and the model instructions seems to be based off of a 1951 post-war pic of her tower, but luckily the kit included a number of parts for an earlier 1943 iteration of the USS Independence, so on they went
26
April 28, 2023
Test fitted on the hull - that is quite the tiny island compared to what I've been used to (modern CVNs and LHDs)
Radar to be fitted on the masts right before painting - past history has shown that I can't be trusted to keep everything attached at this point 🙁
27
April 28, 2023
Today was not only a partial PE day, but also everyone's favorite WW2 ship day - gun day 😛
I'm not even doing PE Oerlikons and Bofors... my hat's off to those who regularly produce those 1:700 wonders
28
April 28, 2023
I like Dragon's new design for the Oerlikons - easy to remove from the sprue, and allows you to keep the shields and mounts on the sprue for easier installation. Now if only they had cast the guns so they fit between the shields 🙁
I had to sand down each gun (along with half my fingerprint) so they would fit.
29
April 28, 2023
Guns ready for priming - I made a couple extra of each to appease the fly-away gods 😉
At least I don't have carpet...
30
May 1, 2023
Times main mast knocked off: 1
OK, I was going to add support stays to the main mast so now is as good a time as any
Also getting deck railing cut out and ready for painting - I typically prefer to put railing on prior to painting, but with the camo pattern going on, I'm worried about pulling things off when unmasking
31
May 1, 2023
"Stays" are on, so hopefully it stays on
32
May 1, 2023
OK, lets do some more PE work prior to painting
I scratch built all of the bridge radar from other bits of PE, as everything included in the kit was for a post-war build
33
May 1, 2023
Bridge radar on
34
May 1, 2023
Deck railing - can't wait to do touch up on the blue-tacked areas 😛
35
May 1, 2023
A few other bits that cried out to me for correction; from left: 1) added middle platform by adapting an unused deck platform, 2) added deck support cut from bridge tower that was replaced with PE, 3) same pic, added hawseholes (had to look up what the anchor holes are called 😉) that were not mentioned anywhere in the instructions - I did find the bits (probably for something else) from this kit, 4) had to do some surgery on the island supports so that they would actually rest against the hull when the deck is attached
36
May 1, 2023
Best ref I could find of a CVL island (USS Cowpens in this case) - although it is from late '43, the radar sets match what can be seen in pic 8, which is the Monterey in late '44
In '43, Cowpens’ actual bridge has not yet been fully enclosed, although you can see some of the plexiglass around the bridge area that eventually become windows
37
May 1, 2023
OK, last touches, I promise - I think I've done all I can to avoid moving on to painting
Can you see what I added here?
38
May 3, 2023
Primed! Hull is not shown as it is too embarrassed to be in a group shot with the other pieces
There's also a primed Benson-class destroyer around here somewhere that I quick built (no guns, details, etc) for weathering practice
39
May 3, 2023
Some cleanup needed 😛
40
May 3, 2023
First of multiple coats on these guys to try to give them a bit more dimension
41
May 3, 2023
First (I believe) round of clean-up
You can see the Benson and a Pegasus hydrofoil in the background - lots of fodder for paint practice 🙂
42
May 3, 2023
Was not happy with the SC radar, so added a bit more detail using railing bits
43
May 3, 2023
After 3rd round (I'm pretty sure) of putty-primer-sand.
Nothing like primer to show lumps on what looked smooth just a moment ago.
At this point, I'm done - I'll let the camo hide any small blips, especially on the side down towards the ocean 😉
44
May 3, 2023
Finished (probably) bridge, except for fishing out all of the dust/fibers
45
May 3, 2023
First layer of rough seas laid down - I think I rolled the ship the wrong way at least twice while positioning.
I doubt I'll reach the top of the styrofoam with the "water", so I'll trim to fit once I have the waves how I want them
46
May 5, 2023
First coats of Navy Deck Blue on horizontal surfaces
47
May 5, 2023
First coats of hull red - needs a couple more before I mask off the boot line
48
May 5, 2023
Note to 1/700 carrier modelers - if you're planning to show clear canopies, its a good practice to do a layer of "interior" color prior to priming, otherwise the cockpits will look primer colored rather than whatever color you're intending
I learned this the hard way with a Hornet Doolittle raid model - all of the B-25s had light gray interiors through the windows 😛
49
May 7, 2023
Intermediate blue on, masked for next two colors (white and flat sea blue)
50
May 7, 2023
These guys don't need masking - straight up boring old glossy sea blue 🙂
51
May 7, 2023
Wing tips all frosted white so I can mask the Monterey's air wing identifier stripes
52
May 7, 2023
OK, two colors down, one left for the TBFs
53
May 7, 2023
Boot stripe on, camouflage masking process to begin once everything is dry
54
May 8, 2023
Second layer of ocean laid down - this should be a good base to further sculpt with gloss gel, gloss medium, and tissue paper.
Once it's dry, I'll trip the foam down around the water, and the later layers will cover the entire surface
55
May 8, 2023
A look at the roll from the stern
56
May 8, 2023
Apparently you shouldn't try to remove masking tape after it (and the underlying paint) gets wet 😛
57
May 8, 2023
Luckily, the "up" side was fine - I'll just correct the other side with a brush since it won't be seen without really craning your neck
58
May 8, 2023
The ID stripes went on fairly successfully - of course, I'm showing you the 2 best of the 6 sprues 🙂
59
May 8, 2023
A look at the planes after I unmasked and touched up the TBFs a bit (F6Fs didn't need any touchup given their simple paint scheme)
The canopies had been masked with PVA glue and a toothpick - it works fairly well, but doesn't guarantee straight edges, so touchup is usually needed
60
May 12, 2023
Following good advice and replacing the island supports with PE
61
May 12, 2023
Definitely look better with the new supports 🙂
62
May 12, 2023
Still needs a bit of trimming, but I'll wait until the CA has cured completely
63
May 12, 2023
Ocean effects V2 - scale modeling life lesson: papier mache shrinks way too much to use as landscape/seascape - this time I'm trying air dry modeling clay
64
May 12, 2023
Modeled bow wake in addition to the waves - hope everything doesn't look too oversized, but drama is nice, right? 😉
65
May 15, 2023
First set of masks for Haze Gray sections - fingers crossed!
66
May 15, 2023
First layer of gloss medium mixed with various blues to give an consistent surface for further painting/airbrushing.
Seals the clay and starts the final surface wave textures.
67
May 15, 2023
Some waves modelled by with the gloss medium - each successive layer will add more between the primary waves molded in the clay.
68
May 15, 2023
Unmasked - starboard side 🙂
Some minor bleed-under corrections needed, and big chunk of Haze Gray was lifted by the tape, but generally happy - after I brush correct, I'll just need to match the deck camo to the hull
69
May 15, 2023
Unmasked - port side.
This side has some interesting camo patterns, but will be mostly hidden by the angle of the ship
70
May 16, 2023
Everything starting to come together! Paint corrections went on as intended and only knocked a couple parts off when matching up the deck and hull camo 😉
A quick gloss coat to protect and prep for weathering, and on to finishing the deck surface!
71
May 16, 2023
The more complicated bits when consulting the camo application guide (pic 8 above)
72
May 19, 2023
Deck markings on
73
May 19, 2023
Some wear and tear in the appropriate areas - washes and pastels to come next
74
May 19, 2023
First couple coats of color to the ocean - this will provide the base color for the semi-transparent layers I'll add as I "build" the surface around the ship
75
May 19, 2023
Spent some quality time adding prop hubs to the PE props 🙂 I'll need to trim some of them down, but they went on pretty well overall - on to painting
76
May 19, 2023
Waiting for their props and wings
77
May 22, 2023
Props painted up
78
May 22, 2023
The planes that will be lashed to the deck
79
May 22, 2023
F6Fs
80
May 22, 2023
TBFs
81
May 22, 2023
Deck and remaining bits washed
82
May 22, 2023
Vallejo dark gray and gray washes mixed with a little dish soap and water - muted the deck colors and also acted as a pin wash
83
May 24, 2023
One last test fit before I start adding more fiddly bits to the ship
84
May 24, 2023
Getting excited about putting in the ocean effects - lots more to come
85
May 24, 2023
Railings on
86
May 24, 2023
And now she's armed
87
May 30, 2023
Sailors
88
May 30, 2023
Weathered
89
May 30, 2023
Fiddly bits on - need to be weathered a bit to match the rest of the ship and a couple spots need touch up for the camo scheme
90
May 30, 2023
At some point I need to psych myself up for rigging
91
June 1, 2023
Trying something a bit different this time - pre-bundling the rigging with a spot of CA glue and attaching from the base first.
My last rigging job was driving me crazy with the individual lines not wanting to attach at the bottom when securing from the top first
92
June 1, 2023
It works! Just a few moments of panic/annoyance when the individual lines get twisted together and you can't see them well enough to separate them
93
June 1, 2023
OK, all lines attached (the ones I'm going to bother with at least) and I think I'm going to secure to the base since it now needs the protection of the plastic cover from inadvertent paws/noses 😉
94
June 2, 2023
Given the chosen subject and pics 2 and 3, I didn't think I could get away without mooring the planes securely to the deck, so this is my attempt of adding mooring lines in 1/700 scale...
BTW, I did manage to knock the main mast off the bridge when taking the "protective" cover off, so Times main mast knocked off: 2 😛
95
June 9, 2023
All done!
96
June 9, 2023
Port side
97
June 9, 2023
Bow
98
June 9, 2023
Stern
99
June 9, 2023
TBF trying to get away from some sailors
100
June 9, 2023
...and the one that got away
101
June 9, 2023
Probably one of the safer places to hang out on the ship at this moment
102
June 9, 2023
Thankfully these are still locked down
103
June 9, 2023
A little more detail on the planes, as well as a bit of fuzz that looks to be glued between a couple planes
104
June 9, 2023
I hope the mast is permanently in place at this point...
105
June 9, 2023
Scratch-building the hook for the crane was not fun, but overall, this was a fun build 🙂
I wonder if I can fit any figs through the bridge windows so I can have watch-standers for navigation...lesson for next time...

Kommentarer

57 22 April 2023, 20:43

Tom B.
Great idea there! I lately watched a video made by a Naval History Youtuber named Drachinifel detailing the "Typhoon Cobra"... some quite scary stuff.
Looking forward to your further progress 👍

23 April 2023, 13:20

Jennifer Franklin
Okay wow, this is an amazing build! Following.

27 April 2023, 14:26

Dave Flitton
Watching!!

27 April 2023, 17:31

Tyson Tu
Welcome Tom, Jennifer, and Dave! Thanks all for the likes - should be a fun journey, especially when I start tinkering with the base soon…

27 April 2023, 18:20

bughunter
pic 25: you will need 50 shades of grey 😉

27 April 2023, 21:42

John
Should be a fun project and an interesting diorama. Those "Jeep Carriers" were pretty tiny by modern standards. For a point of reference, the CVE Anzio in photo 2 was actually smaller than the modern cruiser Anzio. Hats off to those naval aviators who were able to land on them back in WW2.

27 April 2023, 23:39

Tyson Tu
Thanks Tom and John for the supportive comments on choice of topic 🙂 I'm enjoying stretching myself a bit on my more recent dioramas, but I'm a bit worried about getting the water effects right…I think I have some YouTube videos in my immediate future!
@bughunter: LOL, but with all of the Model Air modern naval ship and aircraft grays in my box, I'm probably more than halfway there 😉

28 April 2023, 11:00

Shar Dipree
Interesting. Following. 🙂

28 April 2023, 19:28

Tyson Tu
Welcome aboard Shar, and thanks all for the likes!

28 April 2023, 20:11

Shar Dipree
Aboard? Äh,thanks but, I prefer to observe from air or land, the sea is too rough for me on your carrier, 😉

28 April 2023, 21:04

Tyson Tu
Agree with you Shar, I wouldn't make it too long on the carrier either - just looking at some of the "rough seas" reference pics I found make me a bit sick 😉
Appreciate all of the likes, thanks all!

29 April 2023, 19:47

Christian Lehmann
👍

29 April 2023, 21:14

Tyson Tu
Looking at that last pic I posted, I wonder how well I'll be able to paint the interior of the bridge, and I'm curious if any of the PE crew could be placed through the windows. I had thought about leaving the bridge in two pieces for painting, but of course I ended up putting everything together for "stability" 😒

1 May 2023, 19:38

Christian Lehmann
Wow!

2 May 2023, 04:55

Pietro De Angelis
Amazing build, congrats!

2 May 2023, 12:28

Tyson Tu
Thanks all for the likes, and thanks so much Christian and Pietro for the kind comments - especially coming from such accomplished modelers as yourselves 😃

2 May 2023, 15:51

Tyson Tu
I don't think I got my paint mix right - not sure why I was getting the large "rings" on the deck - will do less thinner and more water next time

5 May 2023, 21:47

Steven Van Dyck
Hi Tyson. One thing I changed to the 1/350 Princeton were the island supports, they are provided as thin sticks but in reality the depth is much more profound. [img1] . For the deck you should try the effect of gloss varnish, this may remove the stain effect.

9 May 2023, 16:42

Tyson Tu
Thanks for the suggestion Steven! After I finish up the air wing, I'll scratch up some replacements for the supports - the fit of the kit provided sticks still bothers me anyway, and I haven't done much painting in that area 😉

11 May 2023, 00:51

Ben M
Watching this!

12 May 2023, 13:56

Villiers de Vos
Being posed on that angle, this promises to be an eye catcher.

12 May 2023, 21:28

Shar Dipree
Yeah, this is going to be really great. I can already see the carrier fighting its way through the waves.

12 May 2023, 21:56

Tyson Tu
Welcome Ben!
Thanks Villiers and Shar for the motivating comments, and thanks all for the likes! 😀

13 May 2023, 12:54

Jennifer Franklin
Looking really good!

18 May 2023, 04:35

Tyson Tu
Thanks Jennifer!

19 May 2023, 22:06

Tyson Tu
Thanks all for the likes!

20 May 2023, 13:15

Rui
Watching 😎

21 May 2023, 05:14

Tyson Tu
Welcome Rui!

21 May 2023, 20:40

Christian Abraham
Great, lot of details

21 May 2023, 20:48

Tyson Tu
Thanks for the kind comment Christian, and thanks all for the likes! 😀

22 May 2023, 12:43

Rui
Coming along well! 👍

31 May 2023, 01:47

Tyson Tu
Thanks Rui for the encouragement, and thanks all for the likes!

31 May 2023, 12:22

Tyson Tu
Thanks all for the likes! Getting close to done, so I may not have too many more updates til the final reveal 😉

3 June 2023, 14:52

Tyson Tu
Quick update today - times main mast knocked off: 3 😜
I wasn't even working on the ship, just had the cover off to allow the seascape to dry…

7 June 2023, 21:33

Tyson Tu
Comment from my 14-year-old daughter: "it looks like a bunch of cotton all around the ship, sorry" 😒
So a bit more shading and shaping seems in order - hopefully will have final photos tomorrow 👍

8 June 2023, 17:40

Shar Dipree
Amazing how many details can be found and the work that goes into it. Good work so far.

8 June 2023, 18:42

Hans-Jürgen Haag
Awesom!👍👍👍👍

9 June 2023, 20:25

Munkyslut
That sea is EPIC!!!!

9 June 2023, 20:32

John
Oh boy, someone is going to be in trouble for that overboard Turkey!
Great work so far - very convincing.

10 June 2023, 03:27

Jennifer Franklin
Super nice, I love the water effect, you can feel the waves.

10 June 2023, 05:37

Tyson Tu
Thanks so much to everyone for the likes, and extra thanks to Shar, Hans, Munky, John, and Jennifer for the motivational comments - always appreciated!
@ John, I couldn't figure out if Monterey was one of the carriers that lost any planes topside during the typhoon, and the model doesn't really allow for showing the chaos that was going on in the hangar deck, so I took some artistic license and dropped one in the drink 😉

10 June 2023, 11:52

John
Monterey lost aircraft overboard in addition to the conflagration in the hanger bay.

From a historical standpoint, it was only by ADM Halsey's strong public influence on the home front that he was not relieved from command for his horrible handling of TF-38 during Typhoon Cobra. By electing not to refuel the fleet, many of the smaller ships were below 20% fuel which made them very unstable in heavy seas - causing the worst non-combat loss in USN history.

Great diorama and it's nice to see an important piece of history brought to life and shared with many.

10 June 2023, 14:26

Villiers de Vos
Very nice work. The water effects add drama to the scene.

10 June 2023, 16:44

Tyson Tu
Thanks Villiers! From the planning stages, I was worried about sculpting water effects that would do the subject justice 🙂 I'm happy with the results, and I'm much more confident with cotton balls and matte medium now 😉
Thanks much for the historical context John! Its amazing that we have a hobby that allows us to honor history while indulging our OCD 😉

10 June 2023, 20:28

Album info

In December of 1944, Task Force 38 was caught in the Philippine Sea attempting refueling operations when a typhoon ("Cobra") hit the fleet and caused enormous damage over the course of two days, sinking three destroyers, damaging a number of other ships, and sweeping dozens of aircraft off carriers.

USS Monterey was one of the light carriers of Task Force 38.1 that was caught in the storm, and suffered major hangar deck damage from planes careening around the deck after getting loose from their moorings.

At this point, I'm planning on showing her in heavy seas with a heavy roll. I hope this is not biting off more than I can chew - I'm already wondering if I've committed to lashing down a dozen or so planes in 1:700 scale 😉

USS Monterey in heavy seas

105 bilder

1:700

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USS Belleau Wood (CVL-24)

US Navy (1794-now)

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