Airfix Lightning IIB

I was visiting my local model shop. I really wanted to make a purchase, but I was struggling to find a "pocket money" sized treat for myself. That is an infrequent purchase bouncing around the £10-£20 mark that is not a major purchase. I looked and looked but was about to give up hope. Then I saw an Airfix starter kit of the new RAF (RNAS?)  Lightning IIB that is supposed to be equipping the Royal Navy's  HMS Queen Elizabeth CV and maybe at some time in the future HMS Prince of Wales CV [or just a spare trans-shipping deck?] too (see below. she is a quirky looking bird but like the Typhoon I should really get one and find an unused piece of ceiling to hang it from): 

By making a model it always helps you spot and identify a real one in the sky, if it pops up quick out of the blue on a spontaneous fly by!  

The Essex Class - Basing the War Battle Winners

Their time has come, the war winning class of USN aircraft carriers which made it simply impossible for the IJN to get back into the war after Midway. Fast Carrier battlegroups dominated the 1944-45 Pacific Theatre of Operation (PTO) in TF 58 (see below, these are eight of the beauties that came crisply from teh Navwar 1/3000 moulds):  

Sadly Navwar experienced mould degradation and the remaining nine (see below) I received needed some tender loving care (TLC) in the form of the miracle Vallejo Plastic Putty. Navwar discontinued the mould shortly after I placed my order (several years ago now), but Davco still do a 1/3000 model (see below, my seventeen [of a total class of twenty four] that were commissioned during WWII (see below, it may seem slightly obsessive, but blame the appeal of the Orange Conway encyclopaedia and Avalon Hill's "Victory in teh Pacific" - and in one sense having started collecting these models some twenty seven years ago, in for a penny in for a pound):

From late 1942 onwards the USN replaced the CV fleet she had going into teh war more than twice over which is simply phenomenal. A strategic Pacific Game seems destined to follow in teh footsteps of War Plan Orange at a future Conference of Wargamers (CoW). Some sea texturing and model painting is needed before then though. 

Shiny Board Game Moment: VUCA Simulations

You can blame Whispering Al for this one, not me, if you succumb (see below, a very likable looking set of board games awaits the unwary traveller):

• https://vucasims.com/

Hmm, Pacific and Bismarck games immediately catch my immediate eye, but to be frank, they all look good!

• https://vucasims.com/collections/available-games/products/the-chase-of-the-bismarck-operation-rheinubung-1941
• https://vucasims.com/collections/available-games/products/task-force-carrier-battles-in-the-pacific

Not cheap, but the most expensive game is the one that is never played .. as it serves as a distraction!

Second Corona Project: WWII Pacific Pre-War Carrier Fleet

Next up on the "Painting Tray" are some old naval friends from WWII (see below, Navwar 1/3000 USN commissioned pre-war CVs): 

The hulls as painted in Airfix Grey Primer and the bases covered by a thin layer of cheap DIY flexible filler(see below, the painted "hull" one to the left is CV1 USS Langley in her converted [again] to a seaplane carrier):

Next came the painting of the sea bases, something I had done before so a search of my blog manually revealed nothing - but a Google search of my blog found this link:
http://exiledfog.blogspot.com/2010/10/note-to-self-painting-sea-bases-fro.html

Something about automated AI indexed being far better over large complex data sets than manual tagging methinks! Thankfully I even had the original Anita Acrylic paints in the loft. The magic formula being: (50:50) - Midnight Blue/Navy Blue with Jungle Green, which I erroneously  interpreted as a 'blue mix' or a 'green mix' - we'll see how it goes (see below, "end state one", everything dark blue or dark green blue; I also touched up the grey primer again as some waves had inadvertently splashed over the sides):

Fast Forward - This is the desired end point, but again I have forgotten exactly "how" I achieved it and my note to self does not really seem to cover to get to this effect (see below, the USS Washington and the USS South Dakota - the sea is also varnished Satin if my memory serves me correctly);

Moving on .. next .. experimenting with a "wash".

Update: It seemed to be a Gloss followed my Matte varnish!
http://exiledfog.blogspot.com/search/label/USS%20South%20Dakota

The US "Early War " Ladies (mostly in the Pacific) of WW2

The striking power of the WWII US (Pacific) Fleet was built around the US carrier force. In the early war (before the mass produced Essex and light Independence class dominated the Pacific arena) these unique almost experimental ships faced by the equally bespoke IJN flat-tops (see below):

The battle wastage in these craft was high (only USS Ranger, USS Saratoga and USS Enterprise survived the war), Going from left to right:

• USS Ranger
• USS Saratoga
• USS Lexington
• USS Wasp
• USS Yorktown
• USS Hornet
• USS Enterprise

Notably the USS Ranger is noted spent her active life in the Atlantic versus the Pacific, her capabilities (she was the first US "as designed" carrier and was part of a (steep) learning curve) deemed better suited

Next stop: Basing the Flat-Tops