Gallery Page 21

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Stanley Hepler's USS Arkansas (CGN-41)

I wanted to build a model of the USS Arkansas, CGN-41 to give to my son who served as a gunners mate(missiles)on the Arkansas from 1995 through her decommissioning and salvage. I had the privilege of participating on a "Tiger" cruise in August 1997. We sailed from Pearl Harbor to Puget Sound and took 6 days to do so. I shadowed my son and we checked out nearly every space on the ship. We were allowed to take the helm, received a celestial navigation primer, nuclear power primer and some target practice at a floating barrel with the 50 cals. All I can say is if you ever have a "Tiger" cruise opportunity on any ship - take it!

To my surprise, no one makes a plastic model of the Virginia Class Cruiser. One day I was playing on the internet and came across B.A.D. Ship Models website and there she was! A 73" long Virginia Class Cruiser. So I ordered the kit. I have seen the bad publicity that B.A.D. Ship Models has received, but in all fairness to them, you CAN build a ship model with their kit. And it is complete. However, after viewing the kit, I decided to use the hull and scratch build the rest. But, at least I had the hull. I purchased a 1/96 scale starboard side view drawing from The Floating Drydock. It was the only drawing available. Then, while on Warship Models Underway website, I was introduced to Duane Curtis. Duane has made drawings of all of the decks. So I ordered those. I thought I took lots of pictures the three times I was on board the Arkansas, but I soon realized I needed more. I found several sets of CGN41 photos from SeaPhoto and ordered them.

I still call my son occasionally with questions I can't answer with the info I have and he usually remembers what I need to know.

The superstructure section will be one removable piece to allow access to the internal workings. Fortunately, all of the rigging, etc. is confined to this section. I am building the superstructure entirely of styrene and I am just now becoming comfortable working with this media. I decided to keep track of the number of parts in the superstructure section and I am currently around 1700. This is my first large scale ship model and maybe my last if I don't start moving faster. I started in March 2001 and now believe it will take 10 years to finish! Just kidding - or maybe not! I chose to use 12 volt system. Like most others, it has twin motors driving counter-rotating screws. She has undergone sea trials and is pretty fast. I am pleased with her stability also. When it is finished, I plan on giving it to my son and grandson to enjoy.

I'll send in more pics in a few months that hopefully will show some progress.

February 21, 2003 Update

I am building my railings (1/96 scale) out of .030" and .020" styrene rod from Evergreen Scale Models. I use the .030" for the posts and the .020" for the railing. I've tried two methods. First, I installed the posts at their proper position and then cut the railings and glued them between the posts. That is slightly labor intensive to say the least but the result is good. For my superstructure railings I glued the posts on and then added lengths of the .020" railings by gluing them on the back (inside) of the posts. You can build a lot of railing quickly with this method and it looks good after painting. The styrene allows you to make curved railings with ease. The railings are pretty durable and can withstand some handling.