1/200 USS IOWA

SHE'S LOOKIN Really good Kevin in some ways i cant wait to start on my big carrier as i love ships an this will look a cracker when lit up
well done so far
chrisb
 
I got into the habit circling parts on the instructions after installation on the model.
It started with my 1/16 King Tiger with full interior. That kit had over 2500 parts. I don't always follow the build order in the instructions, so I wanted to make sure I didn't miss any small part in the build process.
This USS IOWA kit I have two set of instructions, Trumpeter's and the Pontos aftermarket PE set. Lots of chances to miss something along the way.......
 
kevin said:
two set of instructions
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Gotcha. I sometimes highlight steps or parts that I think should be done first, or alternatively, that I've saved for later. PE really does throw a wrench in the main build instructions, so marking those parts that need to be replaced helps too.

Ship looking great, must be hard to cover up teak decking!
 
BarleyBop said:
must be hard to cover up teak decking!
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YES it is.......
I bought the Pontos set mainly for the teak decks and brass gun barrels. I then started to research the ship and came across the Measure 32 camo scheme. I really like the camo scheme and painting the deck is part of the process, so gotta bite the bullet and go for it.
1st coat of blue.
17459519457165976558854439228962.jpg
 
Thanks,
I'm trying real hard not to over do it on weathering. The camo scheme I'm doing is early 1944, so she has been afloat for a year at this point. The more I look at it, the more I'm thinking of toning it down a little more with the grey in some places.
 
This is my first time using them. I could not get it to spray from my airbrush. Says "Water based acrylic " on the bottle. I thinned with water, but no matter how much I thinned it would still clog the airbrush. Tried Tamiya X-20A thinner and I got it to spray. It dried weird and oily looking.
Its probably me, I've had no luck spraying a couple different brands of paint in the two years I've had my airbrush. The only brand I found I could spray is Tamiya, so I'm just sticking with that for airbrushing.
I hand brushed the Squadron paint on the decks, working just fine that way.
 
@kevin I absolutely love what you have going on here with your Iowa! I have to remind myself almost every time you are building Iowa and not Missouri...lol. Interesting to hear about your troubles shooting the Squadron paints. I hope I don't have similar problems shooting Vallejo for my first time. Maybe I should test it before I continue to build any more models...:oops:
 
Calico Jack said:
@kevin I absolutely love what you have going on here with your Iowa! I have to remind myself almost every time you are building Iowa and not Missouri...lol. Interesting to hear about your troubles shooting the Squadron paints. I hope I don't have similar problems shooting Vallejo for my first time. Maybe I should test it before I continue to build any more models...:oops:
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i just recently started airbrushing. always been intimidated by it and used rattle can and brush. ive been using vallejo model air paint right out of the bottle and seems to work great.
 
domer94 said:
i just recently started airbrushing. always been intimidated by it and used rattle can and brush. ive been using vallejo model air paint right out of the bottle and seems to work great.
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Great to hear. It's why I switched, well one of the reasons. I've heard great things about Vallejo and that it sprays very well. I was a Testors kind of guy for a very long time, but the paints aren't what they use to be and scarce to find anymore.
I tried Tamiya and Mr Hobby, but not much luck there. I still use Mr Metal Primer for my photo etch prep though.
 
Amazing job Kevin! I will be starting soon the 1/350 Missouri from Hobby Boss (without the Pontos kit) and learning a lot from your work.
 
kevin said:
This is my first time using them. I could not get it to spray from my airbrush. Says "Water based acrylic " on the bottle. I thinned with water, but no matter how much I thinned it would still clog the airbrush. Tried Tamiya X-20A thinner and I got it to spray. It dried weird and oily looking.
Its probably me, I've had no luck spraying a couple different brands of paint in the two years I've had my airbrush. The only brand I found I could spray is Tamiya, so I'm just sticking with that for airbrushing.
I hand brushed the Squadron paint on the decks, working just fine that way.
Click to expand...
Not all acrylic paints can be successfully thinned with the same thinner

Tamiya thinner is specially branded for Tamiya style paints and are thinned/cleaned with alcohol

Squadron paints are more like Vallejo I believe and are thinned/cleaned with water

I know if you try to thin Vallejo paints with Tamiya thinner or alcohol, they also get weird and oily looking

I would stick with either the Squadron Scale Colors thinner, or try the Vallejo Model Air thinner

As far as thinning with just water for the airbrush though, even if it is a water based acrylic paint, thinning too much with just water creates issues
One trick of many figure painters is to put a small drop of dish soap instead of straight water

You really need a retarder of some kind thrown in and that is what some of the glaze mediums and retarders are for in the Vallejo line

I personally think it is easier and quicker to just use the Vallejo Model Air thinner instead, or in the case of the squadron paints, the scale color thinner
 
kevin said:
This is my first time using them. I could not get it to spray from my airbrush. Says "Water based acrylic " on the bottle. I thinned with water, but no matter how much I thinned it would still clog the airbrush. Tried Tamiya X-20A thinner and I got it to spray. It dried weird and oily looking.
Its probably me, I've had no luck spraying a couple different brands of paint in the two years I've had my airbrush. The only brand I found I could spray is Tamiya, so I'm just sticking with that for airbrushing.
I hand brushed the Squadron paint on the decks, working just fine that way.
Click to expand...
Thanks, I have been using Model Masters for thirty years and with its demise, been using Vallejo but its been hit and miss. Tamiya has kinda been my go to lately but again, its taking quite a learning curve to find out if the paint chemistry and color matching right. My current USS Texas project turned out more greenish blue than the expected gray.
 
Saw this on the "inch high guy" blog, immediately thought of this thread.

1746739767039.png
Sisterships USS Iowa (BB 61) and USS Missouri (BB 63) conducting a personnel transfer at sea on 20AUG45, after cessation of hostilities and only days before the formal surrender of Japan. The photograph was taken from the bow of Iowa, she is identifiable by the three 20mm mounts on top of Turret Two. All other Iowa class Battleships mounted a 40mm quad Bofers on the tops of Turrets Two and Three. This perspective also displays the massive anchor chains to advantage - each link weighs 130 pounds (59 kilos).

https://inchhighguy.wordpress.com/2025/05/08/picture-of-the-week-71/
 


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