USS Iwo Jima, LHD-7, model in 1/350 scale

The Build - Aircraft for hanger - February 3, 2015

In this session I built all of the aircraft for the hanger bay. The aircraft I am including are:

2 x CH-53E Super Stallions
2 x CH-47E Sea Knights
2 x AV-8B Harrier IIs
1 x MV-22 Osprey

I started by painting the aircraft on their sprues...having first glued together the two halves of aircraft wherever I could on the sprues, and then painting those halves together, along with the wings, nacelles, rotors, horizontal stabilizers, landing gear, etc. Once painted in their various colors, and I used Light Ghost Gray for the Marine aircraft, black for the landing gear and cockpits, and various shades of gray for weathering effect, I then glued the main portions of the aircraft together.


Once this was complete and dried, I then glued the landing gear to the aircraft and let that dry too. At this point I did a dry fit of the aircraft in the hanger in various positions until I came up with one I liked. Once that was done, I added the decals, and then added the rotors and other details (Refueling props on the CH-53Es and the MV-22, etc.) to all of the aircraft. As you can see, the MV-22 has its wing rotated for the stowed position, and the props folded in for storage as well. I then took pictures of the individual aircraft.

Now I was ready to add the aircraft to the hanger bay. The CH-53Es are large aircraft and take up a lot of room. I added them together, forward in the bay, and then added the two Harriers behind them...being serviced. Across from the Harriers I added the CH-47s and then added the Osprey in the after section of the bay. Here they are, together, and individually.

Now, with the aircraft located in the hanger bay and all of the details done, I will be able to complete the wiring of the lighting system, routing it through the hole I drilled in the forward bottom of the vessel, and then start adding the details for all of the decks around the flight deck. At that point, when those auxiliary and service decks are completed, I can add the full flight deck to the vessel. We will see how far we get on all of that in the next session.

I am looking forward, after that, to building the island...which will be a full session in itself.

The Build - Well deck doors, Elevators, Flight deck catwalks and details, lighting connections, adding flight deck - February 10, 2015

There was a lot to do in this session. I started out by painting and then building the two well deck doors (upper and lower) and placing them, and then building the two aircraft elevators that transport aircraft from the hanger to the flight deck. These were each small assemblies in their own right.


Then, I added the various catwalks that surround the flight deck. They extend along both sides (starboard and port) the entire length of the vessel, just below the level of the flight deck. There were four or five separate pieces on each side and I painted them, aand then carefully applied them to the vessel.

At this stage there were numerous details to add to the catwalks. Supports for the various extensions of the catwalks where various sensors, weapons, life buoys, or other equipment were located, a myriad of cabinets that store various equipment, radars, chaff and decoy ejectors, the main launch for the Iwo Jima, and the rails for the elevators. This took quite a bit of time to paint them appropriately and then carefully add them all along the catwalks.

There were also several small auxiliary catwalks at various levels to add.

I also added the connections for the lighting system within the hull because once these details are completed it will be time to add the flight deck itself and close off the hull and the lighting systems for the hanger deck, the well deck, and the vehicle deck. I decided to series the well deck and the vehicle deck together so they both light up together. The hanger deck will be separate. I added a terminal block for the well deck and the vehicle deck to facilitate this. I checked the wiring and the continuity while doing all of this to make sure the lighting continued to work after each step. It's never a good thing to get it all together...especially clueing the flight deck down...only to discover that something happened to make the system not work. Better to spend the extra time to check the wiring and continuity after each step.

With this complete, it was time to add the flight deck to the vessel. It is a single piece and the lighting system for the hanger deck had already been added. I carefully glued the adges of the hull, and then positioned the flight deck in place and used clamps and rubber bands to hold it in place. I then added the elevators to the vessel once the flight deck had dried in place overnight.

Once this was done, it was time to check the lighting system for each area. Never hurts to be sure, though after my earlier testing I was 99.99% sure they would.


...and they did! As you can see.

The next session will be putting the island together. it is a model all in itself of a few hundred pieces altogether. I still have more details and the PE railing to put on the catwalks, but decided to go ahead and build the island before doing so.

What stuff !

What source of energy you use for lighting, battery ?

FORBIN said:

What stuff !

What source of energy you use for lighting, battery ?

Click to expand...

Yes, it will be a 9V DC system.

I will have three circuits...one for the well deck and vehicle deck, one for the hanger, and one for the island. I will have a four position switch to control them individually and the fourth position to turn them all on at once.

Started working on the island yesterday. it is a very detailed and involved structure and will take me a couple of weeks itself.

The Build - The Island and Decals</b> - February 10, 2015

The island for the Wasp class vessels, and for the Iwo Jima in particular, are very involved. Lots and lots of parts. I had hoped to be able to fully complete the island in this session, but ended up setting for everything but the photo etch railing. I then also added all of the main decals to the vessel and the island.

For the island it involved putting together all of the structure first and then adding the masts. The Iwo Jima island is somewhat different than that of the earlier Wasp class vessels, and this model reflects that. Forward, behind the weapons systems, the structure varies, as well as around the masts and the after portion of the island.

However, it went together nicely, although care needs to be taken for the indented area along the starboard side where the two walls for the indentation have a tendency to not fit properly. You just need to watch it to make sure they remain vertical and properly aligned.

I then built the masts. They are rather involved themselves with all of their supports. Not the combined/enclosed masts of the newer San Antonio Class LHDs where the enclosures help mask a lot of the radar return. Lots of support structure showing, with various platforms within the masts for all of the various sensors.