US NAVY BATTLE-CRUISER USS GUAM CB2 IN 1:350 BY HOBBYBOSS

[Haddock]

                                        Next project folks and it's a whopper.
              Got the kit last year at North Shields from "Models for sale", price, £70. This sounds a lot but the same kit is on the Hannants website at £109.99 plus postage so I reckon I've got a bargain.
              The colour scheme is Measure 22, Navy blue (5N)below the main weather deck from a horizontal line drawn from the lowest part of the deck down to the boot-topping which should be black. All vertical surfaces above this to be Haze grey (5H), wooden decks and all horizontal surfaces to be Deck blue (20B).
             The finished model is 704mm long, that's about 27 3/4 inches. It's supplied as full hull, so needs to be water-lined. The hull is moulded in one piece, the deck comes in two pieces.
             There are fifteen plastic sprues and four etched brass frets, some chain, a small transfer sheet and two aircraft moulded in clear plastic (yuk).
             The parts count is quite high. If I add together just the part numbers on each sprue I arrive at a total of 584 parts, this doesn't allow for multiple parts with the same part number. the same exercise with the brass comes to 255 parts, that's a lot of modelling for the money.
           Haddock.
             




 
             

[MSea]

Now I know why you have taken over the large dinner table !!!!!!!

[Haddock]

                 Water-lined.
                               The waterline isn't marked on the kit, it would have been handy if it was.
                  If I use the painting instructions as a guide, something doesn't look quite right. The hull looks a lot leaner than the picture.
                 Some rudimentary measurements and a bit of maths show that the ratio between the kit and the diagram in the horizontal axis is 2.25:1, in the vertical axis, it's 2.70:1 which makes the diagram look dumpier than the kit. This doesn't help when deciding where to make the cut and where to place the top of the boot-topping. I may add a plate to the base to lift the ship out of the water a little.
Haddock.
By the way, I'm using Mrs haddock's best work-top at the moment, it's nice and flat and gives more room to work. Once I'm happy with the hull, I can return to the model-room. The hull can go back in it's box.

[zak]

Nice work.

[Haddock]

Cheers.
Haddock.

[Haddock]

                        Bit more progress folks. Nothing much is glued together, just working on sub-assemblies ready for painting.
                  I've re-shaped the stern to look more in keeping with the images I can see on t'internet. Good old Milliput.
               The plastic is very nice but as usual, the problems start with the etched brass (stop moaning Beesting and get on with it).
                  The railings round the inboard side of the catapults are in one length with seven bends, each bend is on a stanchion with a tiny gap to allow for the bend but each panel is the right length, that gap, multiplied by seven adds nearly 3/4 of a mm to the length, the only thing I could do was try and lose it in strategic places by letting the brass hang over the edge of the deck, then fill the resulting gaps with PVA. This is where all the time goes. Besides that, I'm happy with the progress.
Not as fast as Zak though.
   Haddock.

[zak]

Turned barrels and lots of brass.

[Haddock]

               Lots of brass, here's some more.
                    These are the jibs for the aircraft and boat handling cranes, two of these.
             First impressions were "flippin' 'eck, this looks so fragile as to be unbuildable", however, faint heart never won fair lady. After some head-scratching, here's my solution.
             I've added some brass rod (0.4mm) to the ends of the struts that don't touch the side frames till it's all glued together (hope this makes sense).
             Then it's removed from the fret.
             Then the first bend.
             Then the second bend.
             Then the final side (bottom actually) is brought down and glued to the sides.
             Finally, the finished article.
        Must admit, I failed at the last fence, there is a strange appendage at the end if the jib which refused to bend on the relief etch so I chopped it off and added a plastic disc to represent a pulley.
            (Must try harder in future)
Haddock.

[MSea]

10 out of 10 and a gold star - for excellent work.

[zak]

Wow!

[Haddock]

Bit more progress folks.
These are MK37 directors with MK22 fire control radar fitted.
The pictures probably speak for themselves.
Haddock.

[Haddock]

One missing!
Posted the same one twice, silly me!

[Haddock]

                                           Bit more progress.
Cable reels, winches and Carley floats stacked three high.

Quad 40mm Bofors (14).

Single 20mm Oerlikons (34).

Type CX-1 radar antenna.(2 pics).

MK38 directors with MK13 fire control radar antenna.

Multiples of small parts can get a bit tedious, hey-ho.
Haddock.

[zak]

You must be a sadist at heart.

[Haddock]

That's a bit rich coming from a bloke that's building tiny guns in etched brass!
Respect.
Haddock.