[kwiky]

if someone was to make a quality deck diorama that was ready painted and very realistic i'd buy it no matter how much it cost, infact i'd buy a few

[ACpilot]

Dragon Wings released some F/A-18Es with a two piece carrier deck diorama just recently.

Here are some pics of it using CW models (from the Dragon Wings forum on this site):

If Century Wings made a Carrier Deck Diorama I would definitely buy one!

Dan

[kwiky]

yeah i have this, the card deck has warped from the weight of the CW tomcat even though i displayed it on a flat surface, and the join between the 2 parts is very noticable, in order for the catapult to line up properly i have to have the edges cock eyed.

i want a nice, one peice deck made from something that isnt gonna bend or warp instead of a peice of paper garbage

[zed550]

best thing to do with the dragon base is to glue it down to a sturdy base then frame it like a picture.
use some white glue to fill the join and wipe any excess away.
then paint and weather the seam to match the rest.
shame that dragon did'nt make it in one piece,although i have scanned and printed the pieces to make smaller bases.

[kwiky]

nice idea Zed, i think i'll try that, thanks for the info

[Nockers]

Originally Posted by firefighterpilot1

YES, an accurate reproduction of the flight deck/ catapult track (with shuttle and holdback bar of course) is a MUST. The Verlinden model kit and the Dragon diorama are both all wrong (at least I have never seen a catapult track that looks like those). It appears the CW desktop diorama is going to follow the Verlinden mold.

Guess they really do base their models on plastic kits.

It looks like they modeled the cat after the early Cat tracks. Having worked on Cat 2 on the Indy there is no raised section near the shuttle slot The large panel besides the tracks are correct as far as i can remember.They may be trying to show the old bridle arrestor tracks on either side of the outside edge of the deck plates. With the advent of nose tow the newer carries, only had a bridle arrestor on the bow Cat 1, thus the need for the overhang at the bow

[firefighterpilot1]

Originally Posted by Nockers

It looks like they modeled the cat after the early Cat tracks. Having worked on Cat 2 on the Indy there is no raised section near the shuttle slot The large panel besides the tracks are correct as far as i can remember.They may be trying to show the old bridle arrestor tracks on either side of the outside edge of the deck plates. With the advent of nose tow the newer carries, only had a bridle arrestor on the bow Cat 1, thus the need for the overhang at the bow

hmmm that could be the case. I have never really seen how exactly bridle launched planes hooked up to the catapults but your explanation makes sense. I didn't realize they had their own separate tracks.

[Nockers]

Originally Posted by firefighterpilot1

hmmm that could be the case. I have never really seen how exactly bridle launched planes hooked up to the catapults but your explanation makes sense. I didn't realize they had their own separate tracks.

All bridle plane had large hooks under them. Most had 2 but the good old F-8 had only one

Yes they had a slotted track both sides of the cat track.Right side was a slot with two bridle hookup sliders 1 front one rear. Left side had one free slideing and the rear slider was connected to a disc brake by a 300 foot long flat steel band. with a cam system that applied pressure to the brake The longer the run the more pressure applied. After the bridle stopped ya pressed the retrack button and brought the bridle back for your next shot.I shot F-4 A-4 F-8 TA-4J A-3 RA-5C C-1 And E-1 The only nose tow at the time was A-6 A-7 C-2 and E-2. The F-14 was just in flight testing when I was in But I did have the honor of shooting the first EA -6B off Cat 2 on the Indy