Trumpeter 1:200 Arizona

[Heavens Eagle]

Thanks for looking in Alex. The depression is a low level thing that sneaks up occasionally. Just don't feel like doing much for 2 or 3 weeks then I snap back into it and off I go. I do appreciate you commenting on it. Not really that deep or dark, just bored (?) mostly I guess. I have some more stuff for the Az' to post soon, just been working on it a bit here and there.

It seems that most meds and I don't get along all the well either. Lately have been weaning off the sleeping pills for insomnia a little. I have found that 1/2 the dosage seems to do well and I don't feel as draggy. Just that cutting the little tablets in half is a pain and if I don't take that quick, the bitter taste is awful.

As to the building, just been studying some nice real high res photos. They really help.

 

[Heavens Eagle]

Just a quick note to bump this thread. Finally got a new tool (printer yeah!) Have the trusses built and caster master made and 2 good resin castings. A new photo update is partly done and should be posted in the next few days.

 

[Heavens Eagle]

Here is a new update (YES WITH PICTURES) :facepalm

Slowly getting my mojo back and it helped playing through a computer game that I had never finished before.

The cranes really have some issues if you compare them to photos. While the Arizona went through a lot of changes during her lifetime, the major changes were done during the 1929-1931 refit. After that it was small changes and details. The cranes had some changes to the railings later on that are easy to confirm from Pearl Harbor aftermath photos. Anyway, here is the next update, enjoy!

The following is a bit of a rant about the newest version of CANVAS that I use to do these posts and have used for about 20 years. Read on or not as you see fit or are interested.

As a little tack on note, I have been using CANVAS since version 6 back in the mid 90's. It was acquired from Deneba by a new company, ACD long about version 10 which was titled CANVAS X. For a long while I didn't use CANVAS and when I started building and posting photos online I started using version 10 again. A little over a year ago ACD offered version 16 for $100 which I jumped on even though at the time it was a 64 bit program and I was still working on an old Windows XP 32 bit machine.

When I finally built a new computer back in December, the first thing I loaded was CANVAS 16. To say it has been a disappointment is like calling the USS Nimitz tiny. So far I have only lasted about 10 minutes using the new program without starting to swear a blue streak and shutting it down. All of the "improvements" that have been done only break the program and make it frustrating and exceedingly difficult to do anything with.

Without going into gory details I will NOT EVER buy another version of CANVAS as they have basically screwed it up and made it so difficult to work with that it is not worth the time to try. Every time I have attempted to learn ways to use the new program, I discover something new that doesn't work or has been disabled or broken. As there are numerous complaints on their forums about a lot of the same things it is apparent they are not listening to those that pay the bills (the customers).

So, informative rant done. You might as well pass on checking out CANVAS as it is garbage these days. Time for bed. Sorry for being a cranky butt but felt the need to pass that info on.

 

[Brokeneagle]

Great Modelling.... :dude

 

[lupanzer]

...great job, as always!

Luiz

 

[moon puppy]

Stunning Paul!

Sorry about the software going bad, any way to roll back and use an earlier version?

 

[Heavens Eagle]

Stunning Paul!

Sorry about the software going bad, any way to roll back and use an earlier version?

I have both Canvas version 10 and Canvas version 16 loaded on my machine. Version 10 pretty much works the same though it has some odd glitches when I do a couple of certain things. Nothing that breaks it though. The worst is if I click and hold an object for too long the work screen goes white until I release. That and the printer doesn't pull up the print menu screen in the older 32 bit program. So far 16 will open and version 10 file and 10 will open version 16 files. Looks like version 16 will get used for doing printouts only.

I have been tempted to contact the marketing department and see if their sales of Canvas are dropping off a little. If folks are getting upset with the current versions of the program they might be passing on purchasing newer versions. Ammo to beat them about the head and shoulders with.

 

[jknaus]

Spectacular as usual
James

 

[surfsup]

The Detail Work you are doing Paul is just stunning.....Cheers mark

 

[Heavens Eagle]

Thanks for your kind comments Broken Eagle, Luiz, Bob, James and Mark! Always appreciated.

Actually worked on things yesterday. Assembled the truss and caster on the port side crane with the funny shaped plate added. The line for the winch that goes to the tip snakes up through the truss from below to a small offset pulley on top. Did some initial lookig at how the cable is supposed to run and with the truss correctly built, it sweetly pokes straight through with no problem at all.

The Starboard side crane is undergoing assembly and I learned from the port side assembly what NOT to do. Also trying to assemble it so all the changes match properly.

 

[Duke Maddog]

I am running out of accolades for this sensationally magnificent model. Your detail work is beyond reproach and certainly far beyond anything I could even dream of doing. I am stunned and overwhelmed with the quality of your work.

 

[Sherman 18]

Fantastic!

 

[Plastik Smurff]

Stunning work mate

On a personal note I share your fight as I also suffer from it and right now I am at home with a badly damaged left hand that has requried surgury so no work or modeling for a while
But stay strong and you will win :drinks


Sorry for going off topic admin :tomato

 

[Heavens Eagle]

Thanks for your kind comments Mark and James, much appreciated!

Smurf I am really sorry to hear about your hand. I make my living with mine and it is rather critical that they need to be in good shape. It would put a real crimp in my life to have one damaged. Real hard to imagine. The depressive moods come around and about all they do is make me less inclined to jump in and build or do anything. It's never real bad, just a case of "don't feel like it". I have experienced some dangerous stuff, but it was situational (going through and unexpected divorce) and was 26 years ago. You have my sympathies. In your place I would still be trying to do something. Would be coming up with ideas so I could work one (and a half?) handed.

As to the cranes, I have the original reassembled with the new truss and caster. I really looks different. Still have to redo the heavy cable that was in the middle, add the double pulleys at the tip and the cable for the light crane. Lots of little stuff that add up.

I also have a bunch of basic photos (3 shipments worth) for the Millennium Falcon build and have 2 more shipments inbound for a total of 5 shipments. After I receive the 2 new shipments there will be 7 more left before I get all the parts. Postings for that should be soon.

 

[Duke Maddog]

I have also been following this closely and now that I'm caught up after four days at Comicon, I can honestly say this is stunning work. Those cranes are simply sensational in their realism. Magnificent work my friend.

 

[Heavens Eagle]

Today is December 7th 2016. It is the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. My original intention was to have this build finished by today. Unfortunately the Trumpeter kit leaves a LOT to be desired. Thus while it isn't finished, it is still in the build cue. There is so much to do that I decided several months ago to do it right rather than to a deadline.

Let's take a moment today and remember those that gave their lives that day 75 years ago.

 

[Heavens Eagle]

Well it is almost another December 7th. In 2 days it will be December 7th 2023. It will be the 82nd anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor and 7 years since this build went on hiatus.

I just went through this thread and replaced all the PooterBucket pictures. (PhotoBucket that Bob "Moon Puppy" hates so much) I worked on my Ju87A a bit tonight and am starting to work on the outside of that build. The cockpit is mostly closed up and the fuselage halves are together. The cockpit still is a ways from being done, but it is moving along.

Once it is done I will drag this beast out get all the parts back together and start making work on it. I just wanted to get this thread pulled back up from La-La Land and take a look at what I had done in the past. Hopefully shortly after the first of the year I will be able to restart it.

 

[moon puppy]

"Moon Puppy" hates so much

Hate is a strong word but I did tell y'all that site sucked.

 

[Greg Kimsey]

I have been thinking of getting this kit for my store. Looking through your thread it seems that there are a LOT of problems with this model. Does anyone know if they have been fixed by now? Looking through my sources I noticed that KA models makes a detail set for the 1/200 Arizona.

To get both kits my investment would be $350+, plus I pay shipping. Before I invest in that kind of thing I would like to know if the problems have been fixed and if the detail set is worth getting since it costs more than the model!

 

[Heavens Eagle]

I have been thinking of getting this kit for my store. Looking through your thread it seems that there are a LOT of problems with this model. Does anyone know if they have been fixed by now? Looking through my sources I noticed that KA models makes a detail set for the 1/200 Arizona.
View attachment 164035
To get both kits my investment would be $350+, plus I pay shipping. Before I invest in that kind of thing I would like to know if the problems have been fixed and if the detail set is worth getting since it costs more than the model!

Greg, I have seen this kit built up basically out of the box and it "looks" like the Arizona. My attention to detail and level of detail I am willing to build to is taking it to a completely different level. As far a fitting together most Trumpeter kits seem to build up fairly well it seems. As for the KA set with the wood decks, that will have to be up to you. My opinion on the wood deck thing is that they are placing a thin piece of wood over what should be the deck level. If that wood sheet is 1/64th inch thick, it adds 3 scale inches to the deck and if you look closely you can see a lot of things that have to be changed. I don't really know much about the KA set, but I am sure that it will be done to enhance the basic out of box kit. I chose to paint the decks so as to get the exact look I want. As I posted I bought the Eduard Big Ed set and I believe it will work fairly well for me, at least what I end up choosing to use.
There is a book that is considered the "Bible" for the Arizona that for a long while was much sought after, hard to find and really expensive if you did find a copy for sale.

I also found a lot of my references as photos online. I think there is a ship building forum that another guy was doing similar to what I was doing on this, but he stalled out years ago. Have not been back there in many moons. I did find the link to the actual blueprints for the Arizona from there. Downloaded them and then cleaned them up in a major way and reset them so they could be printed out in 1/200 scale if you so chose to do it. I could e-mail a copy of those to you if you are interested.

Anyway, to build the model it is your choice as to what you decide to do. Of all the people that would ever look at it, maybe 1 in a thousand might know some of the things that I found out from research. I think it is a better kit than the 1/350 kit by a long shot, but it is something that can and should be detailed up to give the best tribute to the original ship in Pearl Harbor.