I was too sick to work during the first week of winter break, so I got off to a late start modelling. However, by redoubling my efforts during the second week, I was able to make significant progress. I focused on building up the San Francisco's complex superstructure, which had to be built in many small layers. At the time of the Battle of Guadalcanal, the San Francisco was painted in Measure 21 Camouflage, which stipulated that all vertical surfaces be painted Navy Blue and all horizontal decks be painted the darker shade Deck Blue (this color scheme was adopted in 1942 after the Pacific theatre turned towards almost entirely air conflict rather than naval battles, and allowed ships to blend into a flat ocean from the air at the expense of making ships easily visible from the water). Thus, on the advice of Dr. Holtgrewe, I am building and painting the ship in layers to make it easier to mask off the two colors. The San Francisco's superstructure is largely complete, as are many of the small deck details like winches and ammunition boxes, which are too small to be airbrushed and will have to be painted by hand. My immediate next steps are to continue modifying the model using photo-etch parts, especially by adding greater detail to the San Francisco's portholes, hatches, and doors, which I've already assembled and only need the addition of brass detailing. Given the age of the kit and the vast distance it had to travel, I've also had to spend some time repairing damaged parts, such as the cleats used to tie down the San Francisco in port. I've repurposed parts from other kits (such as cutting up an unused .50 caliber barrel from a B-25 Mitchell I've previously built into new cleats) to fix the damage. I look forward to beginning the process of painting the San Francisco, which, despite only prominently featuring three colors, looks to be quite challenging due to the many layers that need to be masked off and painted separately. I look forward to beginning the painting stage soon. I've also drafted a checklist of everything I should need for a student model-building event, and identified the perfect kit: Airfix's 1/72 F4U Corsair kit. This model only has 35 parts, and features a monochromatic color scheme, which should hopefully be easier for beginning students to paint. Best of all, as a so-called "model set," included are the paints, glue, and a brush necessary to put the model together. The only other materials necessary should be easily obtainable by Severn's art department, such as masking tape or crafting knives. I look forward to sharing my work and discussing this event in greater detail with Ms. Carsley as we return to school. Current status of the San Francisco. I still need to finish her catapults, smoke stacks, Baker gun turret (which requires a different base than Able and Charlie), and radar masts, after which I will begin the painting process. The advantage of photo etch. The kit's included crane boom, molded in plastic, cannot capture the same detail as one made out of folded brass, although the latter takes far more effort to assemble. Photo etch will allow the ship's portholes, doors, hatches, and other small details to become more visible, and allow large wire structures like radar, catapults, and cranes to have greater detail. The San Francisco's bridges proved to be a challenge to assemble. Given how packed together the ship's navigation, fire control, and radar bridges are, it's no wonder that a single lucky hit to this area killed most of the San Francisco's officers. The heavy damage sustained by the bridge meant that this area was completely overhauled after the battle, both to repair damage and install upgraded radar sets. Also visible is the quadruple spotlight tower, a relic of an age where ships depended predominantly on sharp-eyed lookouts to spot each other, and tubs for the San Francisco's 40mm antiaircraft guns, which I will install after the deck is painted. The prevalence of aircraft in the Pacific theater meant that this area would also be overhauled after Guadalcanal to replace her .50 caliber and 5-inch antiaircraft cannons with 26 new 20mm quick-firing cannon to ward off Japanese aircraft. The San Francisco's cranes and aircraft hangar. I've had a hard time figuring out how to assemble the San Francisco's catapults, as catapults were heavily modified and unique to each ship. Her twin catapults and cranes were cut down and reduced to one of each after Guadalcanal, so the few reference photos I've found haven't been very helpful. I will probably end up building the catapults to be the same as those of the U.S.S. New Orleans, the San Francisco's sister ship.
1 Comment
Mary Ellen Carsley
1/20/2022 09:59:33 am
Dear Alex,
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
Alex BreniaMy name is Alex Brenia, and I am a senior at Severn School. I am passionate about military history and service to veterans, as I come from a military family. I see this project as a unique opportunity to combine both of these interests, within the scope of the Severn community as a whole. Archives
September 2021
Categories |