RE: USS Alaska (Treaty/fast-gun) She will start out as a Treaty boat. Even though she only gets 4.5 units, she is very fast as far as capitalships go. 33 knots. So 27 seconds over the 100' speed course. So she will have a speed advantage over pretty much all axis capitalships, and a large number of the axis cruisers. I haven't decided yet just how I will arm her, but I have never been a big fan of stern guns, so I would anticipate using the ship to run down axis cruisers, and/or finish off any axis capitalships that are already pumping. She has the ability to have twin firing sidemounts (in the same turret), as she is over 800' long. I think she will not only be a nice addition to the allied fleet, but also be a good running mate for an Iowa class battleship. Mikey
RE: USS Alaska (Treaty/fast-gun) A hearty well done to the Strikemodels team for another great fiberglass hull. All of the dimentions are correct. Hull has a nice uniform thickness. The upper edges are nice and even. My favorite part of the hull is the armor belt. I have read that the actual ships had the armor belt welded right on top of the hull plating, and the belt on the Alaska hull matches my plan set, and has a step at both the upper, and lower edges. So for the formats that allow two stingers on the hulls that require them, I can keep the armor belt as-is, and keep the ultra-scale appearance. (Which I like). But for the formats that only allow one stringer, it would be a simple task to feather in the lower edge of the belt, and leave the upper edge as-is, and the hull will still look great on the water. So thanks again to Stephen, and Keri, for getting another fiberglass hull on the market. Especially one that might be loved by many, but prefered by the few, when it comes to combatants. Thanks also to those that started this project, and those that put forth the effort to make sure that it would be finished eventually. Some of us have seen similar really cool projects get started, only to die an early death, simply because there wasn't enough interest in it. I am not sure who all was involved in this wonderful project. But if anyone else knows, perhaps you can post it here, so that we can all offer up our gratitude. I am extremely excited about getting started on this build. Especially with the other build-up of the U.S. fleet with the Iowa class ships, and the Omaha class cruisers. So thanks again to all that made this possible. Mikey
RE: USS Alaska (Treaty/fast-gun) I also picked up some of the new masking tape from Strikemodels. 1/4" wide, and 3/8" wide. It will certainly make taping off the ribs, and cap-rail easier, and less expensive. Mikey
RE: USS Alaska (Treaty/fast-gun) Yeah, I can definitely see this big ship running with an Iowa-class; who knows, Mikey, maybe your Alaska will someday hunt with my eventual Iowa. Here's a side-by-side Iowa and Alaska comparison: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:USS_Miss...,_1944.jpg Also in the picture are some tin cans.
RE: USS Alaska (Treaty/fast-gun) So how hard is it to convert an MWC Iowa to Treaty? Slow it down and pin one gun to make it 7 units?
RE: USS Alaska (Treaty/fast-gun) Some of the things that come to mind are as follows. Slow the boat down to 27 seconds (33 knots) over the 100' speed course. Pin one cannon. Reduce your pump volume to 1.25 gpm. We have a rate-of-fire limit of 2 shots per second. We also use the muzzle velocity test (Dow foam) that the big-gunners use, to limit how hard the cannons can shoot. Some of the things that we limit that may or may not need changing on a typical fast-gun boat to comply to Treaty rules are.. Maximum down-angle on cannons is limited to 15 degrees. (instead of 20). Limit on the size of drag disks. Maximum weight on ship class 4 and above does not include the additional 10%. Looking for scale waterline, and freeboard. Note that if the boat is also active in another format, then we can waive some of the issues, like weight, waterline, and freeboard, so as to make it easier on the skipper to jump between the two formats. Mikey
RE: USS Alaska (Treaty/fast-gun) Very nice looking hull Mikey. I love the armor belt. Looks very clean. Someone did a great job on the plug. It's nice to see ships like this on the water. Bobo U.S.S. Iowa
RE: USS Alaska (Treaty/fast-gun) Thanks for the kudos Mikey. Dave Vogtman is the one who made the plug and mold, and Tugboat worked to help us get the mold. Thanks to everyone! Keri Morgret http://www.strikemodels.com
RE: USS Alaska (Treaty/fast-gun) Thanks for the info Keri. Again. A hearty well done to all. This is going to be such a nice addition to the fast-battlecruiser fleet. Mikey
RE: USS Alaska (Treaty/fast-gun) I look forward to seeing this build progress. The Alaska class is probably one of the few american boats I'd consider building for combat. --Chase
RE: USS Alaska (Treaty/fast-gun) I really like that photo of the Alaska, and Iowa class side-by-side. It clearly shows that the camo pattern was applied on the decks as well as the sides of the ships. Very nice. Mikey
RE: USS Alaska (Treaty/fast-gun) Nice to see an update to this thread; is that the quarter-inch masking tape that Strike Models sells with their kits now? Awesome! Are those black lines for stringers?
RE: USS Alaska (Treaty/fast-gun) That is in fact the 1/4". and 3/8" ,asking tape from Strikemodels. It is great stuff. The black tape is marking the upper, and lower edges of the armor belt. I have been wanting to get started on this project, but have been too busy. I would anticipate that my progress will be rather slow on this ship. But I am excited about getting started on her, so that will have to do. Mikey
