Shipshapes
The Flight Deck Project
Saratoga with the new aircraft addition on its revised flight deck.
Without a doubt, detailing is what gives these models their sense of realism. Without them, they would simply be hulks of wood with a mast or two and funnels. Which wouldn't be very realistic, would they?
On second glance, the Saratoga-class carrier that I built a while back seemed... lacking. While there were details carved onto the black plastic to resemble paint markings, there weren't any aircraft or planes on the deck. Additionally, the front shape of the carrier was unrealistic; being a flat shape instead of a more tapered front.
With these changes in mind, I decided to create two squadrons of aircraft to be placed atop the Saratoga.
The first step was to make the base for the planes to be on. I decided to use some spare, thin plastic from a container lid.
I trimmed the plastic to around half an inch long and a quarter inch wide. I made three, one extra, in the event I screwed up one of the squadrons.
Now for the actual planes themselves. With the scale presenting another challenge, of course, I decided to use the tips of toothpicks for the actual plane bodies and shards of balsa wood for the wings.
Finally, after assembling the plane parts, I glued them together, dipped them in blue paint, and subsequently glued them to the plastic. The end result is below.
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| Saratoga with the new aircraft addition on its revised flight deck. |
On second glance, the Saratoga-class carrier that I built a while back seemed... lacking. While there were details carved onto the black plastic to resemble paint markings, there weren't any aircraft or planes on the deck. Additionally, the front shape of the carrier was unrealistic; being a flat shape instead of a more tapered front.
With these changes in mind, I decided to create two squadrons of aircraft to be placed atop the Saratoga.
The first step was to make the base for the planes to be on. I decided to use some spare, thin plastic from a container lid.
I trimmed the plastic to around half an inch long and a quarter inch wide. I made three, one extra, in the event I screwed up one of the squadrons.
Now for the actual planes themselves. With the scale presenting another challenge, of course, I decided to use the tips of toothpicks for the actual plane bodies and shards of balsa wood for the wings.
Finally, after assembling the plane parts, I glued them together, dipped them in blue paint, and subsequently glued them to the plastic. The end result is below.
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