 Naval weapons fascinate me. And the Close-In
Weapon System or CIWS
(pronounced "see-wiz") is among the most unique of the many special purpose
weapons designed since WW2. Operating autonomously of other shipboard weapon systems, CIWS locks on incoming targets using its own
radar, evaluates the threat and then destroys the cruise missile or aircraft. Firing
at a rate of 4,500 rounds per minute, the CIWS saturates the target with depleted uranium
20mm shells. It is the last line of defense for naval warships and is extremely
effective in that roll.
I designed the CIWS kit so this article is not a review. I'll leave
judgements about the kit's quality to others. Rather, this is a blow-by-blow account of my
build-up of the test kit. Three years ago I scratchbuilt a 1/32nd scale Close-In Weapon
System and it placed second at the IPMS Nationals. After being featured in FSM's
Modelers' Gallery I received a lot of mail wanting to know where I got it. I
repeatedly explained that it was a one-time scratch built project. After a couple of
months I thought all this had died down. Not so. Soon I was getting requests for
the drawings and photographs used in building the model. To this day, I still receive
inquiries about that model. I finally sold it for a fair sum to a fellow who just
could not live without it. And I vowed that someday I would build another CIWS and keep it
for myself.
About a year ago, while designing the 1/350th USS Texas photo etch for
Viking Models, I suggested production of a CIWS kit. Both owners thought it would be a
good seller and encouraged me to produce a master pattern. When it came time to hand
over the bill for my efforts, the Viking people asked if I wanted to trade for casting
services. This was the opportunity I had been looking for. With the availability of
casting I could build another CIWS master and sell it under the Flagship name. I already
had many photos, so making drawings would be easy. There were only two changes made to the
new CIWS pattern. The gun would be shrunk to 1/35th scale. This made the kit a bit
smaller and cut the cost of production, thus keeping the retail price down. It also
put the kit in the "diorama" scale popular with armour modelers. The other
change involved creating the latest CIWS version. The only noticeable differences
from earlier versions were the additions of a roller ring at the front of the barrel and
stabilizing braces due to the higher rate of fire.
 Photos of the latest CIWs version were hard
to find. I tried the Navy without success. Internet friends started sending
photos from their collections showing this later version. This was the last piece of
the puzzle needed to start building the masters. I especially want to thank Phillip
Toy and everyone who generously emailed photos from their private collections to make this
kit possible. Armed with good photos I produced a complete set of CIWS scale drawings
using a CAD program. The rest as they say, is history. Masters were assembled,
photo etched designed, instructions printed, box art designed and we were ready to go into
production. However, I first had to assemble a "test shot" to check for fit and
correct any problems. So Viking cast the parts and construction began.
ASSEMBLY
After looking over all the parts, it became apparent that the kit would best be built in
sub-assemblies. (1) The "dome" included the white protective covering of the
radar and it's electrical components. (2) The "gun" assembly includes the
20-mm Gatling gun, ammunition drum, gun box, bullet tracks, gun mounts and barrel
bracing. (3) The "base" includes the gun platform, electronics base,
electronics box and electronics cabinet. (4) The 2 "pillars" include PE and
brass wire.
THE GUN
After gluing the gun barrels and gun mechanism together, I carefully filed the metal gun
mounts to insure the gun barrels would be dead center and level in the gun housing box. This is very important. If the gun isn't centered
in the box,  the bracing will
not fit properly. I painted the inside of both box halves, added a wash and
dry-brushed the parts to bring out the detail. The gun was painted Testors Gun Metal
and dry-brushed with silver. The box was then assembled making certain the barrels
sat dead center from the front and level from the sides. The trickiest part of this kit is
installing the resin cast ammunition tracks. I found it best to completely paint the
tracks, gun and box housing before performing the tricky installation step. A very
important thing to remember about the gun housing box is don't
remove the round pour marks. Sand them down until about 1/8"
remains. Since this model is fully poseable, these round plugs allow the modeler to
elevate the gun if desired. They also attach the box to the pillars. After my gun
assembly was finished, I noticed that the track going from the gun to the rear of the
ammunition drum shouldn't have any slugs in the shells. This is the return track. Any
shells here would have been fired already. So sand down the slugs on one of the
tracks.
The casting process produced paper-thin flash between the slugs and shells
on the tracks. This would be a nightmare to remove from between all those shells and
slugs! The fix was simple. Using 100 grit sandpaper on a flat surface, I sanded the
backside of the tracks until the flash was nearly gone. It was then a matter of using a
toothbrush to clean the area between the shells and slugs; then re-sanding with 400 grit
wet/dry sandpaper to smooth it out.
 The
ammo tracks were painted using Testors Gunship Gray and dry-brushed with a slightly
lighter shade to bring out the tiny details. The shells were painted Testors Brass and the
uranium-depleted shells were painted Haze Gray. A good mixture for Haze Gray is to mix two
parts Testors Medium Gray with one part Testors Camouflage Gray. Once the ammo drum
was installed, it was time to install the dreaded ammunition tracks. Until I tried it
myself, I wasn't sure resin ammo tracks would work. After all if I couldn't bend
these parts without breaking them, I certainly wouldn't expect anyone else to. I
feared they might have to be cast in metal. Even though the resin tracks were thin
they were surprisingly sturdy. I dipped a track in hot water for a minute to soften
the resin. After removing it from the water, I quickly bent it in a tight spiral
resembling the shape needed on the front track. It took several bends to get it just
right but it worked like a dream. The track was still flexible enough to be glued at
the front and bent to meet the gun through the box. The final step was to add the bracing
to the gun barrel. The gun assembly was set aside for the final assembly.
 THE
PILLARS
Using the brass wire supplied with the kit, I affixed the grab bars to the pillar access
doors. To insure a good bond, I drilled small holes to anchor the bars and super glued
them into place. The photo etched pillar steps were folded and bent to shape. Make certain
the steps are evenly spaced up the pillar. Also, it's important to make certain the first
step is staggered as shown in the photo. The pillars were painted as described above with
a chocolate brown wash to pop out the detail and give a slightly dirty appearance.
 THE DOME
The metal dome on the CIWS houses the surface-scanning radar. The delicate photo etched
parts attached to the dome made it difficult to handle. I drilled a hole in the base
and inserted a piece of sprue to make handling a bit easier. I first added the PE
base ring and followed up with the PE pressure handles. The steps are arranged like
stairs traveling around the dome. They were bent to shape and applied using a piece of
masking tape wrapped spirally from top to bottom. Take care to evenly space the steps
identically on both sides. The dome was painted Testors Camouflage Gray and weathered as
described above. This really helped bring out the base ring detail.
THE BASE
 The base has most of the
kit's cast metal parts. The access doors are adorned with cast metal pressure
handles. These handles tighten when they are turned to 90 degrees. All my
photos indicate that most of the handles were turned the entire 90 degress, leaving them
at different angles. I duplicate this on my model and I feel it adds a little more
visual interest. Once the metal parts are on the base, the electronics cabinet can be
glued to the back of the model. The model depicted here has the electronics cabinet
located on the back as on a Perry class frigate. This arrangement changes from class to
class. For example, aircraft carriers have them on large mounts with the electronics
cabinet located elsewhere for example. The gun mount was added to the top of the
base. I painted the entire base Haze Gray and weathered to match the other
components.
FINAL ASSEMBLY
It was now time to put together the sub-assemblies. The pillars must be dead center on the
gun mount just far enough apart to allow the gun housing box to fit between them. I test
fitted the pillars and the gun box several times to
make sure I had good alignment. I then drew a couple of pencil lines to show me where
the base of the pillars was to be attached to the gun mount. I glued one pillar in place
and let it set well. I inserted the plug on the side of the box into the hole on the
pillar and glued the other pillar in place. Once dry, the gun was poseable in any
position. The Phalanx CIWS can rotate as high as 60 degrees if you wish to expose the
ammunition tracks. I chose to only slightly elevate my model just to add a little
interest. The marking on the CIWS vary greatly from none to eight or ten. I decided to
leave the model free of decals. I sprayed the entire model with Testors Flat coat to
eliminate all the shiny super glue marks. I later decided to add a base to my model
along with the red warning stripe around the perimeter. It adds quite a bit to the overall
appeal.
I wanted to make a line of unique kits produced by no one else. I'm very
happy with the CIWS and think it's a good start.
For more information contact:
Flagship Models
2204 Summer Way Ln
Edmond, OK 73013
USA
Email: SHIPMDLR@aol.com
Phone/FAX: (405) 330-6525
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