USS iNDIANAPOLIS - 1944; Trumpeter; 1/350 On the bench March 2024

This is the USS Indianapolis - 1944 in dazzle paint.  The Indy is remembered as much for the Robert Shaw soliloquy about being sunk and losing crew to shark infested waters more than the battle stars won in WWII.  I want to stay removed from the infamy and build a fine ship.  As warships builds go this follows the Academy Warspite,  Trumpeters USS Texas,  USS Buckley and HMS Dreadnought.  There are other reasons for me picking the 1944 kit:  The Dazzle paint, both catapults (the starboard was removed in the 1945 refit); included PE and the SOC Seagull bi-planes, which brings us to this first post.

The Seagulls are in the kit instructions as the last construction.  However; I chose to start with them just as I did with the Walrus during the Warspite build.  This fed my DIY appetite by considering building one Seagull straight up as can be seen here and the other with wings folded back being pulled from the storage deck (more about the storage deck later).  The planes are molded clear so some paint is applied followed by decals - easier that way.  the challenge was how to make the wings in the fold back position?

I used the xacto saw blade with the wings on the sprue,

You can see how the wings are folded - hinged - but how best to do this?

First I folded back the bottom wing, but realized the difficulty of this plus  the brittle clear did not hold this shape.  Therefore; I separated the wings from the center portion that connects to the fuselage.

I put the fuselage together and attached both wing center portions.

I built the outer wing portions using a paper jig to hold the position of the wings and pontoon while glue set.  Now I had to figure how best to attach the wing sections.

I used a small piece of 26 gauge wire glued to the center wing portion and bent outward so that I could glue to the underside of the upper wing.

first one side, let dry then the other side.

With both wings attached I could add drop of glue to the point where the bottom wing hinge would be.

After attaching the center pontoon and finish painting I had to attach the tail planes.  Being cheap, I don't spend $ on fancy jigs and such, but rather make do with what I have on hand to hold things in place while delicate attachments are attempted.  The arrangement held the SOC in place so one hand could hold a tailplane to the fuselage and the other hand held the cement brush.

And there you have two Seagulls put aside until needed.  ON TO THE SHIP!

Large Scale modeling -a 3D printing adventure

Hiram Maxim was one of a long line of American inventors who were unable to interest the US Government in their products, which were later embraced across the Atlantic. It was not his patented curling irons, mousetraps, or steam pumps he is best remembered for, but the granddaddy of all machine guns, the Maxim gun. The British eventually knighted him, and their Vickers MG was a direct adaptation of his design. Not to be outdone, Imperial Germany also adapted the design, dubbing it the MG08 (introduced in 1908). Belt fed, water cooled, reliable for its time, it would serve through two world wars. It would be modified several time to lighten it and air-cool it, now designated MG08/15, ultimately for use in aircraft where it became the de facto standard for Imperial German scout (aka "fighter") aircraft as a fixed, forward firing weapon. 

Originally manufactured by the Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken Spandau Arsenal, it became known as the Spandau by its enemies,  and the "nullacht funfzehn" by its users. So ubiquitous was it that nullacht funfzehn became a slang term for something uninspired, dull, unimaginative.

As a long time fan of WWI aviation, and more recently,  a dabbler in WWI living history, it seemed only right that I add a "Spandau" to my display of artifacts.  But despite their large production numbers and length of service, most were destroyed by the Victor's of several world wars. Rarity, notoriety, and the legal barriers for full auto firearms made getting an original out of the question.

But hey, it's the 21st century,  why not just print one?

I had no such printer, nor a file to print, but it helps to have friends who do.

A few weeks later I was picking up a box of plastic chunks which, when stacked together correctly, would resemble a full sized MG. 

Like all 3d printed items, they carry distinctive marks of having been printed in layers. This would be dealt with by sanding and auto body filler. Since there are no located pins, and the prints are not perfect, a certain amount of test fit, adjust, remove material,  re-test will occur. First up would be the four slabs that make up the receiver. 

The project would be printed in subassemblies, as some places would become inaccessible after assembly. After all of the 'body work" was completed,  E-6000 adhesive would be used to assemble the sections. The "barrel" was a length of 1/2 plain steel tubing bought at a local big box home improvement store. Painting was all done with OTC spray paint, primer (gray) followed by a dark metallic, followed by a bright metallic, followed by semi gloss black (originals were "blued" in an almost jet black formulation) which would allow for some natural looking wear to occur, accelerated by some 800 grit sandpaper.

(Assembled)

By studying both original and modern museum photos,  I was able to add some color where appropriate,  the cocking lever handle to all silver (paint completely gone) and a few additions to the aviation model, the interrupter gear on the bottom and the Klingstrom device on the side of Brass. Note, the Klingstrom device made one-handed loading and cocking possible, a big plus when you're also trying to fly your marginally stable aircraft and avoid being shot down,  simultaneously. 

To finish off the display, I used that 800 grit to put some light wear on all edges, and procured an original Maxim gun cloth belt, which will ultimately be filled primarily with, you guessed it, 3d printed 8mm dummy rounds.  

I built a crate to transport and protect my plastic nullacht funfzehn, which doubles as a sturdy display base when out in public.

If you're a modeler, the sky's the limit in what you can create without either major manufacturing support or mad scratch building skills. Try it, you'll like it!