# SS United States



## sydney heads (Oct 10, 2007)

Hi all!
I am currently building a 1-400 model of the United States from a Glencoe kit.
Work is progressing slowly at the moment for two reasons.
1- The main deck mould is badly warped, and I've had several attempts to straighten it without success. As I am only a novice, can I get some advice as to how I may fix it from someone in the know? I am surprised how thick the components are in this kit.
2- With so few colour photos, and no indication on the very basic Glencoe instruction sheet, can anyone tell me what colour the ship's decks were?
Any advice most welcome!
Cheers John.


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## Jim MacIntyre (Mar 11, 2006)

John 
I'll leave question 1) to the experts. 
Deck colour - following are excerpts from a recent article by a member of a movie production team allowed on board to prepare a do***entary film on teh old girl... 
'The forecastle located in front of the bridge and once in several layers of protective green paint is almost completely caked in rust' 
'Unlike the wood decks of old liners the decks of the S S United States were metal, coated with a durable green macadam-like walking surface, once again part of her designers intention of creating a completely fireproof vessel' 
Cheers 
Jim Mac


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## sydney heads (Oct 10, 2007)

Thanks Jim, a most interesting description, not to mention highly interesting historical note. 
Cheers John.


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## Jim MacIntyre (Mar 11, 2006)

John 
See you're not getting much back on the warped deck. My guess would be heat of some sort - blast it with a hairdryer or heat it (carefully) in the oven until it is pliable enough to straighten out the warp. Alternatively if the warp has not totally distorted the deck try using a fast setting glue and hold it in place somehow until it has set up. 
Jim Mac


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## sydney heads (Oct 10, 2007)

Hi Jim.
Once again thanks for your thoughts. I think the hairdryer idea is well worth pursuing. 
It is a substantial warp, about one third of the 15 inches or so of the main deck component. The thickness and rigidity of the plastic seems to be the main problem.
I am led to believe Glencoe is a rather aged brand. I had never heard of it in Australia, but a friend who new how desperate I was to find a model of the big U, found this one on the net and had it sent to me from the US.
Fear not- I shall perservere!
Cheers John.


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## sydney heads (Oct 10, 2007)

Hello again Jim.
Just an update to tell you that I have indeed had success with your hair dryer suggestion. 
I placed the rogue component on a wide piece of timber and clamped it using two pieces of timber strip. Using the hairdryer I blasted the most warped areas in a circular motion for a couple of minutes. Let it cool for ten minutes or so then repeated the blast. I repeated this about a dozen times over several days, then left it clamped for another week, and I'm delighted to say I have a workable piece of decking.
My thanks to you for your help!
Cheers John.


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## Jim MacIntyre (Mar 11, 2006)

John 
Glad it worked out with the hair dryer. The more I thought about the oven suggestion the worse that option sounded. I had seen a couple of models of the ship for sale here on e-Bay - prices in the fifty dollar US range plus shipping. Hope you can post some piccies as you go along 
Cheers 
Jim Mac


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## sydney heads (Oct 10, 2007)

Hi all, particularly Jim Mac!
Have posted a couple of piccies of United States in the Gallery section.
Although rather basic components, she did prove a bit of a handful for a novice due to few pieces being square, but claiming modellers licence, I am pleased with the final product.
The waterline presentation box is still incomplete, so one more shot of the final product will be posted in due time.
My thanks again to you Jim for your help.
Cheers John


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## Jim MacIntyre (Mar 11, 2006)

Hi John 
She looks great.. you have every right to be pleased.. 
Look forward to the final shot and hearing about your next project.... 
Cheers 
Jim Mac


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## AndyJohannessen (Nov 17, 2006)

Hi John,
Glad someone is tackling a model of this gret ship! I do posess a few wierd facts about her if you don't have them yourself.Firstly, her bilge keels were compressed balsa wood just to make her even lighter in displacement.I'm full of this useless stuff(Smoke) .
However,good luck and happy modelling.

Andy.


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## jerome morris (May 27, 2008)

John, You might want to check the guy's on this sight. They're big into oceanliners and merchant ship models http://www.russellwild.co.uk/forumdf/


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## sydney heads (Oct 10, 2007)

Thanks Jerome. Very interesting and well worth a look!


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