Building the
Gambier Bay CVE-73
in 1/72 Scale Part 2
By Bill Waldorf
The following pics will show flightdeck nearing completion. Note that some items have not yet been added, such as the tie down tracks, the aircraft / cargo boom, arrestor and barrier arm wires, and the catapult tracks. I will try and give a good description of each photo. The first one you see is a good bow shot of the ship.
This is the aft elevator. Note the airbrushed lines on deck. The deck was made from 1/16th" basswood sheeting. The first coat of stain is red mohagany, then over coated with dk. blue. I then lightly sanded the deck to show wood grain. I used 400 grit automotive sandpaper for this.
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 to enlarge
 Port side of island. Note fire ext. and life rings. Next shot is a bow view. Large 73 is also airbrushed. Lines and numbers were done after staining. Lots of tape used here.
A couple of shots of the stb. side. Note the valve wheels on the fire plugs. These are HO railroad freight car brake wheels. Most of the fittings are from HR Products and are cast metal.
More shots of stb. side. Note the lookout chairs in the 2nd photo. These were scratchbuilt using some leftover parts from the cast metal fittings and some fine steel wire. There are 8 of these on the ship. 4 fwd. and 4 aft.
One of the 40 mm gun stations here. Note all the small details. The ammo boxes are from Sirmar of England. The 40 mm guns are a small kit in themselves. Each one consists of 12 pieces. Super glue works good for assy. but allow time to dry. I put these together on a small assembly line basis, rather than one at a time.
Starboard side aft under deck bracing.
A couple more shots of the gallery deck areas. 
Aft view of flight deck. 
The island and radar tower.
More shots of the island. Note I have added a few more parts. Searchlights, optical range finders, etc.
Note the fwd mast in the 1st photo. This was scratchbuilt from brass tubing, small pieces of styrene and fine wire. The 2nd photo shows the fwd. elevator. 
 Epilog,-  Now that the flight deck is nearing completion I'll begin to finish the hull. More photos to come as I proceed along with it so stay tuned. A big Thanks to this web site too!!

Any questions anyone has or if I can be of any assistance, please feel free to e-mail me at bjsww@earthlink.net

Bill Waldorf
Lowell, Michigan, 49331

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