U.S.S. Iowa BB04 1896 Golden Bear 1:250

[Michael Mash]

Hello Modelers,
This is the start of my construction report for Golden Bear’s U.S.S. Iowa BB04 1:250.

Prologue to the project: In the summer of 2009, I sent a proposal to Carl/Golden Bear offering to pay him a fee if he would be willing to design Iowa for me. Carl was not interested in compensation; however he liked the ship and decided to make it a Golden Bear project. So I provided him with a set of plans I had purchased some years earlier and by the spring of 2010 the project was underway. My participation in the development was limited to some consultation and a bit of research. Of course, Carl, equipped with his CAD abilities and software did the real work. I was amazed at just how much research and effort is required to take a battleship from an idea to a reality. The plans were not enough. Many many images were needed to work out all the details. By January of 2011, Carl was ready to share the project with those on this site. His development thread can be seen as: U.S.S. Iowa, BB04, 1896 1:250 GBM Model 05.


My purpose for building this particular ship are twofold:

1) As a test exercise (beta build) to assist Carl in detecting any flaws, in the event that he decides someday to make it available to the public.

2) For the fun of it. This is my favorite American pre-dreadnought battleship.

Brief Biography: U.S.S. Iowa was laid down by Cramp & Sons, Philadelphia, on August 5 1893; Launched March 28, 1896, Commissioned June 16, 1897.
Displacement: 11,400 tons
Length: 362’5” (110 meters)
Width: 72’3” (22 meters)
Machinery: 11,000IHP supplied by two vertical triple expansion engines.
Speed: 16 knots
Main Armament: Four 12-inch rifles, Eight 8-inch rifles, Six 4-inch rifles.

The most significant event of Iowa’s service came on July 3, 1898 during the Spanish-American war. Along with the other American battleships: Indiana, Massachusetts and Oregon, she participated in the Battle of Santiago De Cuba and played a role in the victory over the Spanish fleet.

Here are the first images. The hull frames are 65lb card laminated to 65lb card. The hull frames are assembled in two halves. Above the waterline and below the waterline. The fourth image shows the frames above the waterline. The last two images show the parts and assemblies for propellers and drive shafts. All those parts are paper.


Regards,
Mike

[Don Boose]

Definitely the best-looking of the American pre-dreadnought battleships!

The arrival of this thread is the best post-Thanksgiving news.

I look forward to seeing your version of Carl's superb design, and hope for much input from both you and Carl on paper model warship building techniques, naval architecture, and history.

As always, the initial work looks flawless.

Don

[Paperwarrior]

I'm looking forward to this thread. I remember Carl's, but always like to see these American Pre-Dreadnought Battleships. Thus far this is looking great.

Jeff

[ccoyle]

There can never be too many pre-Dreadnought models in the world! Good start, Mike.

[Zathros]

This is such a cool looking ship! It is amazing how much water she pushed when running, she must have moving at a real clip in the pic below. If you cross your eyes, you get a real nice stereo image of the deck and guns on the stereo viewer photo.

[Papercut]

Oh Boy, I am looking forward to this.
Rick

[jimkrauzlis]

Me too!

Cheers!
Jim

[Michael Mash]

Thanks Don, Jeff, John, Chris, Rick and Jim.

Special thanks to John (Zathros) for the the great images. With pictures like that available, it gives the builder many opportunities to study the details for accuracy.

Yesterday our local internet provider was experiencing technical problems when I was making the first post to this project. So I was unable to include this historical image. Here it is.

It shows Iowa during her sea trials in 1897. Notice she is flying the company flag (Cramp & Sons, Philadelphia).
Also, one can see the company flag, at the top, in the second image provided by John.

Credits: Photo by A. Loeffler. LOC LC-USZ62-60462. Photo courtesy of Tom Kermen, via NavSource.org.

Regards,
Mike

[DavidESP]

I really like the framework design, lightweight but strong. I hope this one gets released.

These heavily gunned ships, the pre-dreadnaughts such as the Oregon and Indiana, were actually small ships in comparison to today's ships. A Perry class frigate is 50 ft longer.

Have a good one.

[Michael Mash]

Originally Posted by DavidESP

I really like the framework design, lightweight but strong. I hope this one gets released.

These heavily gunned ships, the pre-dreadnaughts such as the Oregon and Indiana, were actually small ships in comparison to today's ships. A Perry class frigate is 50 ft longer.

Have a good one.

Thanks David.
Yes, these early warships were quite compact. Its quite remarkable when you consider than many of the large yachts owned by the rich and famous today are about the same length as the early battleships.
Mike