GPM USS California 1:200

[RAFleischman]

There was some discussion on another thread about the cage masts included in the detail pack for the California. I think they are definitely worth the cost and I probably would not have bought the kit if the laser cut masts were not available. They are cut from .008” card so they a bit flimsy to work with. I coated them with thin CA to beef them up before trying to roll them. To glue the joint I used Roket Card Glue and worked down the joint a little at a time. It didn’t come out great, but good enough. I painted it with Tamiya gray primer.

I’ve built the forward mast so far. The after mast is twice as tall, so that should give me no end of trouble!

[Isaac]

Considering it is card material, it looks great. Coating them with super glue ( CA ) is a must for thin supportive parts ( I use it all the time for ribs and struts ).

I wonder is there is a metallic version of these masts out there ( like photoetched parts for plastic models ).


Isaac

[Don Boose]

I can't imagine that cage mast could look any better, no matter what material it was made of.

A tribute to your patience and skill, Russ.

Don

[Michael Mash]

This is a very interesting subject. Cage masts on American battleships are a challenge for paper crafters.
I have given some thought to a variety of methods to produce them from paper, but none of my ideas are as simple as a laser cutter.
Thanks Russ for posting an image of the mast still in the sheet before you began to work with it. Cutting that all by hand is possible, but daunting.
The forward mast section looks wonderful. Glad you created a thread, so we can see all of this in action.
Mike

[PAPER FAN]

That looks really good, I would never even try one of these without the laser cut, even then very daunting. The aft mast is much longer going from the deck all the way up, have you attempted that one yet?

[RAFleischman]

Re: after mast- it’s getting to the point where I can’t avoid building it much longer!