Heading out to sea...

So, you have been waiting to see what this secret project is all about.

Well, this was a Christmas gift from my Brother-in-Law, who knew that I wanted to attempt some waterline model ship dioramas.  I had also discussed with him my dilemmas over the various scale possibilities. 

Since I have not had a chance to see the models in person, I could not get the best sense of what 1/1500, or 1/700, 1/200, etc. would mean in a practical sense.

I had a feeling that 1/700 would eventually be the way to go for my own 'before and after' USS West Virginia project, but this is an interesting test piece!

These next few images show some of the parts.  There are actually fewer than I expected.

These pieces will be difficult to prep in terms of mould lines without breaking them!  I will also have to apply glue with needles, in all likelihood.

Mike was also kind enough to snag some extra aircraft for the hangar deck!  Lots of variety in these booster packs!

They are very tiny, as you can imagine!

This will be an interesting color scheme.  I did not expect a green camoflague scheme at all. This was done to mimic merchant ships, and to disguise its true scale.

Ironically, this was meant to fool submarines.  It was a submarine which sank her in late 1944.

There is also no red dot on the flight deck, as the Battle of Midway showed that such a marking is little more than a "Hit it Here!" bull's eye.

Another illustration of the color scheme.

This ship was originally going to be completed as a Yamato style super battleship.  Needs dictated otherwise, and the Shinano was converted into a large carrier.

This image shows how I want to display this waterline vessel.  I am really looking forward to the challenge!