Literalman
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Japanese and world navies
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Japanese and world navies
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New to Wood Boat kit building
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New to Wood Boat kit building
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Japanese and world navies
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Japanese and world navies
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My first model was also the solid-hull Phantom. It came out pretty well. That was about 50 years ago. It's still on a shelf in the living room, but when it needed some minor repairs after moving, I no longer seemed to have the dexterity or eyesight to do the work. However, after the Phantom, when I was young, I was able to do the solid-hull Model Shipways Forester and scratch build a Revolutionary War Washington galley. I'd agree that the Phantom is a good place to start.
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Two e-books added at the Gutenberg website offer naval history and may be helpful to modelers: The Imperial Japanese Navy by Fred T. Jane (of Jane's Fighting Ships), 1904, with illustrations & specs. https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/74624 Navies of the World by Lieut. Edward W. Very, U.S.N., 1880, with descriptions, specs & crude plans https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/74406
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mtaylor reacted to a post in a topic:
Model Shipways schooner FORESTER
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Yes, I built this model almost 50 years ago but no longer have the model or plans. Not much I recall about building it either. 😞
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This book is now available as a free download on Project Gutenberg at Sea life in Nelson's time by John Masefield - Free Ebook (gutenberg.org). The first chapter has many details on ship construction and what colors were used on hulls, gunports, etc., in different parts of the 18th and 19th centuries.
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The Sinking of the Bismarck ... with LEGOs ...
Literalman replied to uss frolick's topic in Nautical/Naval History
Remarkably good. -
When I was a kid, the church hall had those balls of fire extinguisher mounted on the wall. They never went into action, fortunately. Around 1998 I went to work for a government contractor in Virginia, USA. (Is there another Virginia? I don't think so, but in the Philippines you can buy Virginia hot dogs, which I've never seen in the USA.) I worked in the publications group, and I had to wear a tie. Although I was an editor, I sometimes worked in the print shop like everybody else in the publications group. Around machinery, I would tuck my tie into my shirt, something I think I learned from Navy movies or photos.
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Decades ago, I was talking to an old-timer who said he had flown the B-26 Marauder. I said I had heard it called the Widowmaker (maybe in a Wings documentary). He told me you had to fly it, in contrast to some planes that were easy to fly and almost flew themselves. He said that their saying in training was "One a day in Tampa Bay." These points are noted in an article that someone posted a few pages back.
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Scratch Builders Reply
Literalman replied to Dave_E's topic in Modeling tools and Workshop Equipment
For scratch building or kits, I think I've used only one power tool ever: an electric drill. I'm sure that with other power tools I could mess things up faster and more thoroughly than with hand tools. 😉 -
Regarding plexiglass cost: when I lived in Boston (more than 40 years ago) there was a plexiglass dealer in South Boston that sold the scraps left over from cutting. I was able to get pieces big enough to build cases up to about 2 ft x 3 ft x 1 ft. The dealer sold the scrap by the pound. I would pick out the pieces I wanted and carry them to a big scale. It never cost much. If you can find something like that it makes the plexiglass affordable.
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Inside a B-24: one of my uncles died in a B-24 in World War II some years before I was born. In the 1990s, probably, I was at an air show and saw a B-24 on display. Although it was a big plane for its day (considered a heavy bomber, I believe), inside it seemed small. I could imagine going into battle in it with nothing but sheets of aluminum, I suppose, between the crew and the flak.
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"old, old … from the 1960s": hmm, yes, that's when I was building plastic kits as a kid. Mostly Revell, as I recall. I started on wooden models when I was in my 20s: a couple of kits and a scratch build. I have a mostly untouched Model Shipways Harriet Lane still in the box, and I will attack it again one of these days. Being old, old, and retired about a year, I have more time but less energy and eyesight not as sharp; however, I intend to do it.
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Pyro/Lindberg Nantucket lightship build
Literalman replied to Shotlocker's topic in Plastic model kits
Looks good! I like lightships. I've seen a few and imagined I would have enjoyed serving on one. -
Some materials are free and worth it, but I'd like to point out that U.S. Govt. publications and photos are issued without copyright. The Naval History and Heritage Command, for example, has information that may be useful to some modelers. As someone who spent decades in publishing, I agree that good work usually has to be paid for. A long while back I saw a proposal for micropayments to view articles and news. It seemed like a good idea to me. Pay 10 or 15 cents to view a news story. I would do it. I think that unless you're on a really tight budget you would pay it without counting the cost. But most paywalled news sources want you to sign up for a subscription.
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The US Coast Guard cutter "Modoc, in company with cutters Northland and General Greene rescuing survivors from torpedoed convoy ships, … witnessed a large part of German ship Bismarck's last battle 23 to 27 May 1941," according to the Wikipedia article on Modoc. Modoc was so close to the action, she almost got hit. The Wikipedia article is at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USCGC_Modoc. Chuck Hill's Coast Guard blog has a detailed story at https://chuckhillscgblog.net/2013/05/24/the-coast-guard-and-the-sinking-of-the-battleship-bismark/. I've read claims that the Modoc shadowed the Bismarck and helped the British find her. An article, "Americans and the Bismarck," at http://www.avalanchepress.com/Americans-Bismarck.php says maybe. Although US battleships were involved in the North Atlantic neutrality patrol, I don't recall any reports that there were any near the Bismarck action. Maybe the cutters grew into battleships during retelling of the story.😀
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A Model Railroader adding ships to the repertoire!
Literalman replied to T_Warris's topic in New member Introductions
Impressive modeling work!
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