Armored Cruiser USS Maine (HMV 1/250)

[gregbal]

Subtitled "My first paper ship in nearly a decade...relearning all the old tricks.'

I've been a forum member for nearly a decade, but it's been almost as long since I've tackled any serious paper projects. (Strayed from the 'true path.') In order to 'get my feet wet' again, so to speak...and possibly risk well-deserved public ridicule, while I'm at it...I thought I'd share my attempt at what is the historically earliest vessel in my small stack, HMV's 1/250 USS Maine. Despite its 'pre-Deadnought' design eccentricity...with casemates and staggered turrets and old-timey fighting tops and such...it's a reasonably clean and simple design with which (hopefully) to get back up to speed and enjoy a little 'enforced vacation' time.





I'm mainly using shirt- and cereal-box cardboard for a bit of added sturdiness, with a single thicker and heavier sheet for the waterline baseplate. I remembered to adjusted 'on the fly' for the additional thickness of said parts, seemingly without much difficulty.
Pretty standard 'egg-crate' hull structure:





And with the main deck parts attached:





Once I laminate the paper parts to their cardboard backing, I usually press them between two cutting mats for a little extra weight and flatness while the adhesive cures. Naturally, I slipped up and forgot to check that the underside of the top mat was clean...and got a little 'schmutz' on my deck, by way of yon High and Mighty Deities of Paper Modeling telling me to pay more attention.



The two main deck parts were printed as 'L' shapes that fit head-to-toe, in order to leave fairly minimal join lines visible. I got fairly close:



I'm re-learning all the old lessons. Since the thickness of the cardboard backing offers a nice surface for gluing, most of those annoying tabs can be cut off to start, leaving cleaner and straighter lines as well. Mounting 'raised relief' bits like hatches and portholes on pre-colored card stock lessens the need for edge touch-ups with Prismacolor or colored pencils. And cutting 'trim strips' from border or left-over edge color sections helps to disguise rough or uneven join lines...as well as giving a bit more finished look.





I also worked out that attaching 'stops' from spare cardboard on interior areas will help to more-easily position parts like deckhouses and such.



And here's the result, the stern deckhouse test-fitted to check that everything's 'ship-shape.' (It looks like the 'dotted line' effect underneath will disappear once the part is actually clamped for gluing.)



That's my progress so far. Glad to be back...and happy to entertain any questions, comments, criticism, or just plain good advice. Hope everyone is staying healthy during these trying times.


Greg

[Michael Mash]

Hello Greg:
I think "yon High and Mighty Deities of Paper Modeling" would approve.
Always a pleasure to see this grand old ship being brought back to life.
Looking forward to following your progress.
Mike

[Don Boose]

Great beginning. Always glad to see an early steam and steel warship under construction, and this is certainly a historic one.

Don

[gregbal]

Thanks, Mike and Don!

[Madbrit]

Not merely a great but also informative beginning. As I'm contemplating a marine subject as a future project following this build will likely be high on my list of viewing priorities. I too look forward to your progress.

Derek

[Kevin WS]

Thanks for posting this, and for your detailed descriptions of your approach. I enjoyed this a lot and look forward to more...

[gregbal]

Thanks, Gents! I appreciate the encouraging words.

[Beachead]

Man what a great build. I've thought about getting this one myself. You're doing a great job and thanks for the hints on building.

[gregbal]

Originally Posted by Beachead

Man what a great build. I've thought about getting this one myself. You're doing a great job and thanks for the hints on building.

Thanks, Greg, I appreciate your kind words. All hints and tips have been soaked up through the years of perusing this forum. (All lapses in craftsmanship, on the other hand, are entirely my own. )

Making a little progress. What I at first (based on the somewhat imprecise details of the instructions' drawings) took to be 'boxes' to be mounted through the fore and aft decks, turned out to be some pretty nifty companionway areas recessed beneath them.





I got the fore and aft deckhouse assemblies attached and squared up, and the fiddly casemate structures for bow and stern guns laid in. (I didn't have the guts to open the hatches and detail the gun compartments...maybe next time.)

I made the decision to cut all the troublesome gluing tabs from the hull sides, since the cardboard-reinforced main deck and baseplate should provide ample surfaces for gluing. I spent some time methodically sanding the hull side formers to even out bumps and get clean straight contours for attaching the hull sides.



Starting to 'skin' the hull. I backed the relatively thin-paper kit hull parts with 65 lb. card stock: still thin, but stiff enough to resist buckling and bubbling. I'm still using a PVA adhesive, but by gluing only the deck and waterline edges...and leaving the formers just for 'structure,' without any glue...the first bit seems to have gone on nice and smooth. Here's hoping that trend continues!

[gregbal]

A little more progress.


I finished skinning the hull, and built and attached the 'center island' which will comprise the secondary gun deck.





I'm adding a bit more 3D texture to the hull by adding braces to the coaling hatches. I'll do the same for the hull-mounted life-ring cages.





The secondary guns have multi-part carriage assemblies:





And the (nearly) finished product, mounted in its small open turret:





More later.