From Radford to Yorktown 1/700 Diorama

Bomber Boy

Static Grass Is The Sh!^
Joined
Sep 1, 2011
Messages
85
Howdy, some of you may know me from my plane builds, but I also Love building ships too. This diorama will have the U.S.S Radford (Tamiya) returning downed fighter pilots to the U.S.S. Yorktown (Trumpeter). this build also has another meaning as I live near Radord Va, in the southwast part of the state and Yorktown is in the eastern part of the state, and although the Radford was named for a person not a town, I thought it a good double meaning.

The Tamiya Fletcher kit I used for my Radford left a lot to be desired so I got Tom's Modelworks Destroyer, and Fly Hawk railings and armament PE sets. For the Yorktown I got Fly Hawks Essex class PE set. For the conversion to the Radford 1944 I had to scratch build the twin bofor tubs and supports at stacks and extend the rear bofor mount upward. She is painted in Dazzle 32/3D.

I haven't done much more than you see in the photos of the Yorktown as I had been concentrating on the Radford.

Enjoy!
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Building the Bofor Tubs
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Thanks For Looking,
James
 
More up to date Photos, almost done just some rigging and paint touch up, then onto the U.S.S. Yorktown and base. Over all this kit was not a bad build just a little plain out of the box but she dresses up nice.

First two show the scratchbuilt rear 20mm tub.
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Now for the almost done.
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Detail
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Thanks For Looking,
James
 
Re: From Radford to Yorktown 1/700 Diorama WIP

Now the Yorktown build up, started putting the drainage pipes on. Port side firsthas quite a bit more for the lower decks and the starboard side has not as much. also started painting aircraft for hangar deck as there will not be any on Flight deck, so I don't have to build many as only a few can be seen through open doors.

Port Side
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Detail
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Starboard
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Detail
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Thanks for Looking!!!
James
 
Wonderful detailing....Microsugery almost. Looking forward to seeing the final scene. Good job. Bill
 
Thanks for the comps Panzerman, yeah it is like microsurgery and i use the magnifier light a lot.

Building the Air Wing, Changing the bottom to top rows. Most likely no planes will be on flight deck so most of this work will not be seen, but since they will all be below deck all wings have to be folded. What do you think some on deck or not?

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Thanks for Looking!
James
 
Bomberboy,

great build so far mate, theres alot of fine detail in this build


keep it up buddy ;D
 
These micro scale ships have always interested me, watching your build progress may be just the ticket to inspire me to finally tackle one of these little beauties myself. Nice work, looking forward to seeing this unfold!
 
Got the Yorktown all dressed up today. Next week going to be a slow week for the build, so I'm working diligently until then. Most of the air wing is done, just got the props to put on. Now for all the PE by Flyhawk and weathering to be done. She's comin' right along!

Thanks guys she is tiny, and I have never used my magnifying glass so much!

masking
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unmasked and temporary flight deck and tower placement.
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Thanks For Looking,
James
 
Great work, James! I can empathize, I'm doing a similar build with Hasegawa's Essex to add the hangar deck. I like seeing how you're doing the inside, and the details you've added to the hull. Your dazzle camo looks great, too, nice job.

May I offer a note on the aircraft colors? If you're doing the tricolored camo, the one Avenger should have the dark sea blue on the upper wing surfaces, too. The one Helldiver should have that color on its upper fuselage and upper wings, too.

Are those the kit aircraft? Aren't Trumpeter's clear planes great? When I first saw those, I thought, "It's so simple, why didn't someone try this before?"

Looking forward to more progress!
 
Quite simply stunning! I'm building a 1/700 Enterprise Cv-6 over in the shelf queen group build forum. It is horrendously difficult and I'm not even putting this much detail into mine!

Great work BB! I'm going to enjoy watching this thread. 8)
 
Thanks Guys, Sorry for the slow return been running sound at a music festival all week and did not have internet there. Baron most of the planes are Navy over Gray, with just a few being tri colored and some were in this scheme for a bit and I was thinking since they got shot down so often that a various versions would be a nice touch as new ones arrived all the time. I just pick one of each type to show how I was folding the wings, on all planes. Most will go in hangar with just a few top side. Most will not be seen much at all and just in the areas I have the doors open.

More to come soon.
James
 
Before I put on the deck I like to attach hull to base so I no longer touch the ship to move it around, so I have to paint and trim the base. The first photo shows the base just painted with no Gel applied so the white caps are missing, They will be the last thing I do as I need to cover base for final assembly so not to spill anything on it. Instead of going my normal route of natural wood finish I thought it would be cool to use Dazzle to finish of the trim. I used a mix of Battleship, Carrier, and Destroyer dazzle patterns. I think it adds a nice touch. So now here is the base let me know what you think.

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Thanks for Looking,
James
 
Now for the Island. I've been working on getting the island done but I will not be putting it on the deck for a while as I don't want to knock off any of the little parts while I finish the Hull section. On the island I have scratch built the Horn, antennas, added piping and rigging. I still have a few radars to put on but they are very small and I don't have extra should I lose one to the floor monster.

I have also put the planes on the Hangar deck to cover the openings and some will be on flight deck as well. I have also painted the flight deck with the lines.

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In these shoots you can see the location of The U.S.S. Radford in this transfer Dio.
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Thanks for Looking,
James
 
Great progress! I especially like how your work on the island came out, very nicely done!
 

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