The instructions for this kit don't make any reference to the long hull OHP, so make sure you use the long-hull flight deck piece and stern part when putting together the basic hull.
I was so young and naive in this picture. I thought I would just build everything and then paint everything once it was all assembled.
spent so long trying to mount railings on those little raised hexagons that I just gave up.
this darker grey is probably closer to an accurate deck grey than what I ended up with, but thats more of a 20-20 hindsight thing.
What do we think? Getting a layer down so I can add a few details, but ultimately I'll do it again when/if I get an airbrush
Like any expert modeler, I only use the most advanced bracing methods
New OHP updates!!
Hull: Primed (and base-coated) with Tamiya Light Ghost Gray spray primer.
Boottop/flightdeck/radar: Mr. Surfacer Black 1500
Antifouling: Vallejo Model Color Hull Red (I'll be using the Model Air hull red in the future, as even when heavily thinned, the airbrush HATED spraying the model color)
Deck surfaces given dusting of Black 1500 to experiment with weathering.
better view of the black weathering on the decks. I'm not skilled enough to know what if this even is a technique, much less what its called.
boottop is surprisingly low on the OHP hull.
Fixed with Mr. Super Clear Gloss
Mainmast was sprayed mostly in light ghost gray, then gone over with dark ghost gray. Especially from vertical to try to darken the catwalk surfaces.
got too excited with the dark ghost gray and colored the hull sides. Will go back over with Vallejo light ghost gray model air to blend the color.
went a little too heavy on the dark ghost gray, thinking i could color correct it with some light ghost gray. Of course, what i didnt realize is, I dont have any non-spraypaint light ghost gray. :/
Good view of the Dark Ghost gray on the deck.
There's a lot of things about this build that I'm not thrilled with, but as my first 1/350 ship (and the second model I ever started, even before my ov-10) it is a massive learning experience. And it does still look very cool
First layer of gloss varnish going on to avoid more deck staining as I add the last railings
A 5 star models 26 ft whale boat is on order. Its the wrong Mk, but i dont see anyone making cheap Mk8 26 ft whaleboats. I'll also use a little bit of PSB pipe to make the lower rail that holds the boat in place.
thats... um... weathering... on the turret.
oh are the colors not consistent??? I HADN'T NOTICED (JK it'll get fixed)
thought i would buy the longhull decal pack and do the lines of the flightdeck like that, but that thing is almost 30 bucks and its only through a boutique retailer! So i'll try using the pontos masking to airbrush on all the white lines first.
if you look closely, you can see the remains of rigging on the bottom of the mainmast catwalks that was ultimately removed due to how frustrated i was getting with the whole endeavor. will come back to it before the project is done.
She's not quite done, and she's not quite perfect... But damn I think she's beautiful.
as one of my first builds, I started out under the impression that I could build it all and then paint everything at once, which is part of the reason it looks kinda funky.
There was some... Uh... Accidents that led to the bridge antenna not looking good anymore. I know the antenna aren't really whip antenna, but I think they look really good.
The way decals work on this ship is really frustrating. Because of the deck clutter, you HAVE to add the red "caution" circles to the top deck before mounting any structures onto the deck. At the point in the build pictured here, there's basically no way to add the caution circles around the CIWS or the 3 antenna structures.
In an alternate reality where the US Navy was smart, that OTO would have been replaced with a STRALES version for improved point defense... but alas.
The Mk. 1 26 ft Motor Whale Boat is really quite similar to the Mk.8, and almost no one would notice if I hadn't told you just now.
Boat was primed with vallejo light ghost gray, then a coat of. Mission models insignia white. Boottop was in Mr surfacer black 1500, then used testors enamel rust for the mohogany accents. Dark ghost gray for the raised deck surfaces and light ghost gray for the engine. Then the deepest deck floors got a very light brushing of tamiya black panel liner.
The raised PE railings did not survive first contact with my elbow.
This pontos mask is fucking terrible. It's barely cut at all, I have to retrace all the edges with a blade because it's so firmly attached.
second attempt at rigging going much better than the first.
Note, the actual ship has six... guy wires? I dunno what they're called, per side. I did 5 per side because I miscounted.
Pontos mask payed off. Someone with more skill and experience than me could likely get all the circle/t-shaped elements cut out and painted also.
The kit itself only includes water-slides for a short-hull OHP (different marking configuration on the flight deck), and only has naming and numbering for FFG-7 herself. Its very bare bones waterslides, and the only company making a decal set for long-hulls appears to have gone out of business.
She's almost there
I don't have any good numbering watersides, so for now I'm using some gunpla transfers.
The instructions booklet for the kit (at least the one I got) is not updated for the Long-Hull OHP, so it's easy to miss some stuff. If you're not looking for it, you might not realize they include a small FLYCO structure for the long hull flight deck.
NLAWScametovisit Sorry for the delay on updates! The OHP long hull decals from floating Dry dock are still in the mail, as are PE for the flight deck nets and bridge antennae. Hopefully it all gets here soon!
19 June, 17:23
NLAWScametovisit So, she's all done and there's some good workbench pics of her up, but I'm waiting to find time to do some cleaner pictures of her in her finished state before I officially complete the project.
9 July, 19:09
Album info
FFG-54, USS Ford
Gunners mate Patrick Osborne Ford was postumously awarded the Navy Cross for his actions in Vietnam. An account of his death is provided by Ralph J. Fries of River Section 535:
"Ford was the after .50 gunner. When the boat took a B-40 rocket in the port fuel tank, it blew and started a fire in the coxswain flat where BM1 Delph, the boat captain was killed instantly. Patrol officer, Lt. William Dennis was standing at the entrance to the coxswain flat talking on the radio. He was blown overboard, hitting his head on the canopy railing, and drowned. His body was picked up later on that day. The engineer, EN1 Knott was wounded while either standing on the engine covers, or close by the forward bulkhead of the engine compartment on the starboard side of the boat. I would assume he was on the engine covers manning the M-60 machine gun or Honeywell grenade launcher that was attached to the engine cover splinter shields. GMGSN Barry Johnson was in the forward .50 gun mount and was wounded from the blast of the port fuel tank.
Ford left the after .50 and pushed EN1 Knott into the water, then he pulled GMGSN Johnson from the forward .50 gun mount and put him into water. Ford, I assume, went to the coxswain flat and put the starboard engine throttle full speed ahead and straightened out the rudder to head straight to the beach as the boat was going in circles. After the boat hit the beach, Ford manned his gun until he was out of ammunition. This is when the VC captured him, before the cover boat could arrive on scene. When the cover boat arrived, they picked up Knott and Johnson out of the water.
The survivors stated that during the late evening and night of June 21st, they could hear screams that made their hair stand on end from a man on the land in the under brush, close by where Ford was captured near his boat. They knew that Ford was alive but being tortured most unmercifully. They retrieved Ford's mutilated body on the 25th.
Patrick Ford was not killed by a burst of fire after leaving the boat, he was captured and tortured to death."
NLAWScametovisit
