Scattergun Mickoo's Military modelling

mickoo

Western Thunderer
I have many anoraks, nay, many closets full of many anoraks and occasionally one breaks ranks and demands attention, this one has been dormant for years, maybe ten or more and just before Xmas I fell into a rabbit hole that was in no way linked to military modelling but ended up there.

Suffice to say, old book marks were opened, back up drives explored and plastic crates from the very depths of castle Mickoo recovered and browsed.

The up shot was the procurement of a 1/96 RC warship, it's not here yet, it takes a while to get all the castings together and the hull made up, but hopefully in a few weeks it will be here. It's a semi kit in as much that you get a fibreglass hull, most of the fittings but no decks or superstructure, you're on your own scratch building there I'm afraid.

Further digging on the web source suitable drawings, plus many others for potential future projects, that packet arrived today. You can't always get the drawings in the scale of your model, luckily for the RC model you can but I opted for two scales, 1/96 for the RC model and 1/192 for a scratch built static model, I'll round that up to 1/200 at a later date.

So herewith, 1/192 side views of the RC vessel. In this case the US Arleigh Burke class, coded DDG, Destroyer - Guided Missile.

IMG_9690.jpg

This plan is quite faint but workable (the rest are the same or better) but is more to give you a feel for generic placements and shapes, the RC 1/96 model tips the length at around 63" long, just long enough to be big, but not overly big that it takes more than one person to move it.

My chosen vessel naturally had to be DDG 81, USS Winston S Churchill, a Flight IIa variant, the details are important....

DDG 81n.jpg
Copyright US Navy

Moving on, my biggest craze back in the day was US carriers, specifically Essex class onward and the original Top Gun movie was and still is a firm favourite, yes it's cheesy, yes it's corny and yes it's Hollywood, but some of the background stuff and flight deck stuff is genuine and pretty good overall.

Anyway, Top Gun was the first movie I took my girlfriend to see, second date I seem to recall, and we couldn't get it, no pre booking back in those days, so we queued the second night for ages to get in, we've since been married for 28 years.

That year we also visited the US for the first time and in the model shops was the biggest warship kit you could buy, hellish expensive in the UK but cheap as chips in the US, it was duly procured with no thought on how to get it home :eek: I was reluctant to put in the cargo hold and fortunately the flight home was not full and the aircrew allowed it to go on with me. Thus is sat in the seat next to me for most of the time (they did insist it was in a secure crew area during take off and landing), much to the amusement of other passengers and flight crew, even the Captain came back for a laugh.

That model came and went but 34 years later I chanced on one on Ebay, an original one with said same box art and all parts still in sealed bags. The exact same model can be had more recently from other manufacturers, but it was the original Tamiya one that I wanted for nostalgia.

IMG_9688.jpg

It's a big plastic kit, you can get bigger these days and the choices offered is massive compared to handful that were on the market 34 years ago. The kit models the carrier in later years, after her corn cob mast and antennas were updated to newer versions.

031021-N-6259P-002.jpg
Copyright US Navy.

I'm no fan of the modern stealth grey the USN currently wears, so it'll get done back in the 80's and the kit has some glaring errors that will need changing and uplifting.

The original kit was motorised and had simple 2 channel RC fitted and made a few voyages but after a while it just kind of disappeared, I still cannot recall when or where it met it's demise.

The 1/350 kit will serve a double purpose as I'd like a 1/200 version as well, a chance to add some etches and push the 3D printer to make up parts will be a welcome distraction for railway stuff. Most of the aircraft for most of her career are available in 1/200 as well.

I'll update when the 1/96 DDG arrives or as things progress. It's nice to open old anorak closets :thumbs:
 

Eastsidepilot

Western Thunderer
Nice to have a modelling alternative to railways Mick, what ever floats your boat as they say :rolleyes:, mine is trucks and the odd aircraft, boats also feature for me and a Thames barge, to 1/43 scale, drawing is waiting in the wings but that is linked to the railway.
Look forward to seeing more of this project mate......so you fancy yourself as a bit of a shooter ?
:D.
Col.
 

Chris Veitch

Western Thunderer
It's good to see that others veer off in these sort of things from time to time. I've recently lurched into WW1 tanks as a bit of a therapeutic change and I'm really enjoying it.
 

Len Cattley

Western Thunderer
Hi Mick, I remember when we went to Corpus Christi and went aboard the USS Lexington about 1998, I new it was a big ship but I didn't no it was that big, ( mind you the modern one are bigger).

Len
 

mickoo

Western Thunderer
So, the fibreglass hull arrived today, suddenly 53" seems bigger in the workshop :eek: mind, out on the open water it'll just be a dot :))

It's good hull, clean and smooth and despite what the pictures (poor phone ones) show, the top edge isn't as wrinkled as it appears, there's a few shallow deviations but these will hopefully straighten out once the deck edge reinforcing strip goes in. Once that's in the the top edges can be leveled and smoothed off and I can work on the internal bracing, water tight compartment divisions and other platforms for motors, batteries, RC gear etc.

Image1.jpg

Image2.jpg

However, before that it needs somewhere to live, above the layout.....ha that's a joke......or where it's planned to go....would be good, all up it needs 22" from keel to mast top, stacked up on top of finished kits waiting to be delivered due to Covids give a good idea of where it could live, +- an inch or so.

Image3.jpg

That still leaves 16" clearance underneath once all the other stuff has been cleared away. Thus, first task this weekend is to fabricate a shelf of sorts to keep it clear of stuff underneath.

I'm not sure where I'm going with the eventual finished scene so to speak; two choices are a simple wood cradle to support the model (aka RC mode) or a section of dry dock (aka display mode). Probably the latter as it'll be more of a detailed model that can sail rather than a stand off RC model that sits in the garage between sorties.
 

cmax

Western Thunderer
Comfy Chair - Tick
Favourite Tipple - Tick

Let Battle, I mean the build commence, Looking forward to this.

Gary
 

mickoo

Western Thunderer
A little update to the scatter gun diversion.

The rest of the castings and running gear turned up this week, some good and bad points and I'll go through them in turn and reasons for the eventual outcome.

Way back in post one I picked my vessel (DDG 81 USS Winston Churchill) which as y'all know is a Flight IIa, well you probably don't...or care, but it is important.

The Arleigh Burke class are a big (growing) class and with such a long build time specifications evolve, as such there are (currently) four basic Flights,

I:- Lead vessel DDG 51
Ia:- Not a real Flight but a minor improvement on the lead vessel, most sources group both Flights as I
II:- DDG 72 to 78, upgrades to Flight I in avionics and weapons
IIa:- DDG 80 to 127. Large structure changes, twin helicopter hanger added to rear of vessel, a by product was the blocking of the rear SPY radars so the rear of the bridge structure was raised to regain line of site tracking. There are several variants within Flight IIa which are not really applicable here.
III DDG 128 - Principally Flight IIa with avionics and weapons upgrades.

Weapons fit was a deciding factor in choosing a vessel, well sort of, initially the target was a vessel with CIWS (we'll come to them much later on in the build) front and rear, currently DDG 51-84, though later vessels are now being retrofitted with CIWS at the front. The other criteria was a hanger which then limits you to just four vessels; even then there are differences between the first and last two, but as I'd already kind of decided on Winston Churchill they were inconsequential.

Having decided the vessel it's time to decide what sort of model you want, in WT terms, scale 7 or garden railway course scale. given my bent toward details I headed for the detailed model, it'll spend most of it's time feet dry at home but I also want to sail it occasionally. At home it'll sit on a dry dock diorama (more later) rather than a wooden cradle.

So, we're heading for a high quality model of DDG 81 USS Winston Churchill, where to start.

The hull would be a good place, it's pretty good to be honest, well I don't have any information to conflict with what I see on the bench. The front sheer (amount the deck angles up toward the pointy and blunt bits) looks slightly out and the rear sheer (helicopter quarter deck) most certainly is. I've not yet marked up the water line so it maybe that the centre free board (height of main deck above the water line) is moulded too high, in which case it's an easy job to cut it down and thus increase the sheer for and aft. If the free board is correct then the only way to increase the sheer is to build up the pointy and blunt ends.

Is it worth it, can it be seen, yes to both, the Arleigh Burkes have a pronounced sheer and when viewed ¾ on any corner is really obvious. I'll check the plans I purchased but suspect they are out as well, therefore it'll be the Mk I eyeball to get it to look right.

Below the water line everything looks tickity boo and now we get to the exciting bits. The hull is marked out for the A frame stays and there is a small raised edge to help line up the bilge keel (stability strip of metal running down the side of the vessel), there are also markings for the stern tubes and rudder posts; there are no mouldings for the rudder shoes or stern flap (detailed below).

One of the packages arriving this week is the running gear from Sitek, not cheap but certainly worth it if you want good looking running gear.

Now we get to the pictures.....

IMG_9748.jpg

Basic running gear, the screws are handed....like the real thing...and there are a couple of coned thrust bearings, not sure where the best places to put them are yet, technically one goes inside the A frame and one inside the hull, but, the long cone one would improve the (wet) blunt end visuals of the stern tube. The flat A frame struts also need fattening up, probably a 3D print overlay or coated in Plasticard and blended to an airfoil profile.

IMG_9749.jpg

The screw is a gorgeous casting, even down to the hub cover securing fixing holes.

IMG_9750.jpg

In profile the A frame bearing enclosure needs some treatment, currently the front end is bulbous, it needs to be more coned, I think that turning is well and truly stuck in the main casing so some thought required to alter the profile.

Right. now the real deal I'm going to try and replicate, all of these images are from the official USN pages and are free to use under common users rights. If you fall down the right rabbit holes there's hundreds of thousands of high quality digital Images of pretty much every aspect of the US forces, most seem Naval based but other divisions are covered.

The up shot is that one has no excuse to get it right.

DDG 115a.jpg

A nice overall view of the main running gear, note the tapered section to the stern tube where it leaves the hull, also the skeg (fairing joining tube to hull) which needs to be added. The A frame struts flair into the hull and rear bearing housing whose leading profile is longer and less rounded than the model. The tail end of the bilge keel is also evident to the right.

DDG 56k.jpg

Close up of the A frames and bearing enclosures, good as the Sirtek screws are they do not have the CP (controlled pitch) bearing plates and fixing screws, adding those is prohibitve and would almost certainly destroy the screw or worse, knock it out of true. The rudder shoe (profiled section above rudder and fixed to the hull is also evident.

DDG 86i.jpg

View from the rear, note rudders are not in line with the screw axis, the Sirtek screw blades are a nice close match to 1:1. Of importance here the the stern flap, that's the platform that sticking out the back of the transom. It's primary role is fuel saving and hull efficiency, flat transom vessels create a vacuum here which holds back the vessel, the flap is angled down and it's role is to create turbulence to try and break that suction, apparently it works and save roughly 11% fuel on the DDG class.

USS Shoup I believe is ASW fitted and the steel donuts are where the sensors are paid out, the two on the right are called 'nixie' ports....I have no idea why! Winston Churchill does not have these.

DDG 59e.jpg

Straight on stern shot...almost, rudder centre lines off set for screw centre line, note small central skeg on hull between screws, it's on the model already so no extra work there. Note how fat and tapered the rudders and shoes are, compare with Sirteks offerings which are very thin. Some work required there, I'll probably overlay the Sirtek rudders with brass sheet formed to the correct profile, the shoe will probably be a 3D print bonded to the hull. Note shape profile on the top of the stern flap.

DDG 115.jpg

Finally as an off topic, new rudder profile being refitted to some vessels, they are more efficient and are less susceptible to cavitation damage.

The shot also highlights a lot of the holes and ports in the hull, the bigger ones I'll add with thin bore brass tube sealed on the inside. I'll also be adding all the pad eyes which can easily be seen on previous images.

That just about covers the rear of the hull and I'll post up shots as I go along, the forward end also needs a little work which I'll detail up later.

The other packs that turned up were the fittings, weapons and other sundries, curious to see what I had paid for I aimed straight for the 5" gun.

Now, Arleigh Burkes have two types of 5" MK45 gun, the earlier 52 caliber and the later 64 caliber, easily spotted by their casings, the earlier one is a moulded blob, the later one a faceted one to reduce radar returns, personally I think they ran out of yogurt pot moulds for the 52. The 52 is also fitted a great many earlier classes of vessel, one being the Ticonderoga class which I also have my sights on, so much so that they were my preferred vessel but at the time could only get drawings for the Arleigh Burkes.

So, the real Mk 45

CG 54a.jpg

The 52 caliber with moulded cover as fitted to a Tico (CG) class, also early Arleigh Burkes up to DDG 80

DDG 81.jpg

Now the 64 caliber with angled cover.

The one supplied in the kit is the 52.

IMG_9751.jpg

IMG_9752.jpg

The barrel is just stuck partially in, I've not measured it but it looks long enough for the 64, either way its not getting used and I'll turn up a new brass one that replicates the 1:1 a bit closer. The resin 52 cover is.....course scale, part of that is due to the casting medium and process, part of it is due I think to old moulds, again, like the barrel it's not going to be used (wrong shape anyway) nor saved for the later CG model, it'll go on ebay at some point as i suspect most of the resin castings will.

The replacement will of course be a 3D print, whilst detailed drawings are not available BAE systems do publish a very nice glossy brochure that give basic overall dimensions, so it's not hard to scale from that.

One other item that caught my eye in the same bag was the triple torpedo tube launcher.

IMG_9753.jpg

:eek: ack, if there was ever a scale below course, this would be a lead example. Not the best mould I've seen and like the Mk 45 it'll go on Ebay. To be fair I quickly checked some other castings and the white metal windlass and mooring bits looked just fine.

Anyway, whatever weapon that is supposed to represent it's not fitted to the Arleigh Burkes, this is.

DDG 84a.jpg

DDG 110a.jpg

Once again, I think I can get better with a new 3D print, or a combination of 3D print and brass tubes etc.

FWIW, the weapon above chubby boy in the last image is a CIWS (Close In Weapons System), if you hear that going off and it misses (multi threat inbound) then you only have seconds to make your peace.

Okay, enough babble for now, time to start making a mess, clean up the hull mould joint line and 3D print new rudder shoes and stern flap.
 

SimonT

Western Thunderer
CWIS? What the hell is CWIS? Then I see a Phalanx instalation. Now I understand;)
Simon
PS There is an interview/article on the AEGIS system on The Drive as one of todays offerings.
 

mickoo

Western Thunderer
I've no idea what CWIS is either but CIWS I know ;)

Its a generic phrase I know and covers several systems ( more so recently) but Phalanx was one of the first effective ones so you often see CIWS associated with Phalanx, mostly by modellers I suspect.
 

ScottW

Western Thunderer
Its a generic phrase I know and covers several systems ( more so recently) but Phalanx was one of the first effective ones so you often see CIWS associated with Phalanx, mostly by modellers I suspect.

The RN loves to use acronyms and CIWS is a common one.
 
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