USS ARIZONA Model Ship Part 1

I built this model a long time ago as a kid and I still have it. Nice to see it being built, brings back memories

had another question about this kit any tips would help how would you make the decks planks look aged and worn a bit

Can I ask which PE set I can order for the railings on this kit? I already have the Tom's Model Works PE set and it's nice but lacks the railings, so please tell me how to order the Railings PE please?

This will be an interesting video series to watch for supplementing my own Arizona build. I picked mine up for only $12 using a 50% off coupon at Michaels. It's funny, you've called out all the same issues and fixes that I noticed when opening the box and had already planned on correcting. I too have multiple PE sets for this kit, as well as AM guns, turrets, turret barrels, funnel, towers, etc. I also intend to include lighting. LEDS are available much smaller than 1.5mm, and the resin packaging around the chip can also be reduced and re-polished for smaller lights. Another option is fiber optic lighting. I personally haven't done the research yet to know the location and size of lights, and that will dictate the methods I use for including them. Looking forward to watching your other videos on this build and see how many more of my private ideas you've stolen! LOL j/k

The propellers on my model of this actually had no holes, and I had to drill them in :\

I had this same model when I was a kid around 50 years ago. The only thing that always irritated me was the cover painting on the box showing the "Arizona" firing her 14 inch guns at the Japanese aircraft. I even wrote the company asking about that, but never received a reply.

got this model and when I opened it up I saw that there were nazi flags with it was wondering why there were with it due to the fact that the ship was American and not german

I´m thinking buy this model on amazon, it comes with a display base for the ship?

I wish I had beenin contact with you at the beginning of this build. I've always had a soft spot for the Arizona. I think I have done this build at least 5 times. In the 5 builds, I will say that my best was with the GMM PE addition. The previous times I didn't know PE existed (maybe it didn't at the time?). Knowing that what the end product was to be depended on your effort made you work the existing parts to the max. Don't misunderstand me, I appreciate the PE in the hobby. I did the research and went as far as trying a 1:200 scale build in wood. Sadly, I never got much past the hull.What I wish I could have shared with you was the use of fiber optics. I had never thought of lighting my models. As soon as I saw your first video on this kit, I thought, "I could make a good lighted version of this build." Although I now try to keep all my builds of the same scale (1:350), I look forward to this build for the perhaps 6th time.If I get the lighting working, I will be glad to share the end results.

Yeah, I had some problems with this model as well.

If you look at the inside of the hull halves, you can see mounting points along the bottom for a small motor and battery container - at one point Revell issued a motorized version of this kit. Back then they weren't as focused on historical accuracy as they were intent on just putting out something for kids to have fun building and playing with afterwards. I'm pretty sure the two pegs that extend from the underside of the deck were meant to secure either the motor or the battery case so they didn't move about and capsize the boat when it was in the water.

I have an unbuilt copy of this kit in my basement, and remember building it back in the late 60s or early 70s as well. Back then it was either Revell or Monogram - if there were other companies around I wasn't aware of them. I spent so many hours building and painting (horribly) dozens of model kits - it's a blast seeing them come out of the box once again and watching someone else having fun (hopefully) with them once again.

Keep up the good work!

I had that model a long time ago, but I didn't build it, my dad did.

Helped me alot coming back to Scalemodelling, been about 10 years but I got myself the Tirpitz 1:350 770mm. So this was a great help getting back into the game! Great job and nice video!

Good Job!! 

Thanks

I'm ordering this kit today. Revell kits are a wonderful option for lower income hobbyists and beginners. The kits require a lot of work and that's actually a good thing. I think for most model builders the harder you work on a model the greater the pride when finished. I'm paying $18.00 for this kit plus $10.00 for the photoetch. For this category of model kit that's next to nothing. I've built the Revell 1/72 Schnellboot and much to my surprise it was a very good kit. Sure, it had the flash that comes with their kits, but they're free of charge so I don't complain. Trimming pieces from Revell kits is a lot easier than the more complex kits like Trumpeter. It drives me crazy having to trim pieces so small that you need an electron microscope to see it. Having rheumatoid and fibromyalgia not only makes it really hard, but also really painful. Revell kits are a nice break from that.

I can understand how you feel about photo etch. Four years ago when I really jumped back into building models, those damn things scared the hell out of. me. When I built a Trumpeter US armored vehicle I had no choice, I was surprised they weren't as hard as I thought. Now that I'm really jumping into ships, the photo etch aren't going to be at the kindergarten level, but I'm up to the challenge. The USS Arizona deserves all the care I can put into it. It's just my little way to honor fellow sailors who fought and died so bravely.

I really like this scale because I have limited space to display my models. My son is going to buy a real house and then I can get into building the big babies. I want to tackle those 1/200 scale ships really bad.

Great job, I hope I do as good.

Thomas

Well, that kit was initially released in 1958. Is isn't surprising that it doesn't meet current state of the art molding standards. For its time, it's a pretty good kit, I built one around 1970. I'm currently working on Revell's 1:720 Arizona using Tom's Modelworks photo etch and a lot of Evergreen and Plastruct stock.

I got the same kit in my stash to.. Really don't like it but MIGHT give it a go now.. If I can find some PE to go with it.. great vid I might steal some off your ideas if I build it

you are just awesome

Nice video! I just recently started building models and so far I've only made those simple ones with screws...really thinking of getting into something more complex