Egilman

There is no doubt of that brother, the circumstances of the situation forced that.... I really wish this was so brother, unfortunately is isn't, Surigao Strait has a maximum width shore to shore of only 25 miles, on average it is ten miles wide.... The navigable channel is only 5 miles wide at it's widest. both side of the channel are too shallow for heavy ships to maneuver in but deep enough for destroyers to have a field day... 48 hours before the attack which we knew was coming, Oldendorf had the navigable channel mined and stationed his PT's as early warning (and they actually put a torpedo into the Abukuma) and destroyers into the unmined shallows creating a shooting gallery.... All that was left was to move his battleships into a cap over the end of a very narrow tube..... The only people who call this an example of tactical brilliance, the rarely accomplished tactical maneuver of "crossing the "T"" only understand the firepower enhancement establishing such a position brings. This wasn't Lord Nelson splitting the larger french battle line on the open ocean at Trafalgar.... This, (really sorry for this description) was more akin to the St Valentines Day Massacre or the battle of Wounded Knee..... Half his ships were lost to mines, and the Fuso, although claimed by the destroyers, the official US Navy history isn't so sure she wasn't lost to a mine as well..... No real way to tell the destroyers were firing their torpedos by radar plot cause it was a moonless black night and they never caught sight of the Japanese ships.... The same for three of Oldendorf's battleships, the Pennsylvania and Mississippi never fired a shot cause they couldn't locate a target with their optical gunnery system and the Maryland fired one salvo at the burning blowtorch that was the already destroyed Yamashiro... Oldendorf didn't cross the "T", he set up a killing field... Don't get me wrong, I would have done the exact same thing in that situation.... But the truth actually is, there was nothing heroic or brilliant in the battle at all and that is what the whole "Crossing the "T"" description tries to impart on it..... Look at it this way, aside for the exaggerated "T" argument used to describe the battle, what is the other glowing description used? Five of the battleships from Pearl Harbor were there...... the idea communicated is "Final Revenge for Pearl Harbor".... I point out another thing that doesn't make it into the common history, Oldendorf was sending out desperate pleas for help to Halsey who rightly estimated that he had sufficient power to handle Nishimura's small fleet without problem, so Halsey ignored him... UNTIL he received a message from Oldendorf that his OBB's were low on ammo!!!! (through extensive searching through records I don't believe an actual original written copy of this message has been found in the archives) Three of his OBB's were low on ammo the Tennessee, the California and the Wee Vee were low on ammo, he still had the Maryland, Pennsylvania and Mississippi that were fully armed combined having fired only nine shells in the entirety of the battle.... It's another one of those situations where the written public history doesn't fit the actual happenings.....the Battle of Surigao Strait was the hang a target at the end of the shooting gallery and see who can shred it first type things.... The official historians are trying to spin over the truth, Oldendorf doesn't get the credit for the doing what he was supposed to do and gets exaggerated credit for what he didn't do, and the message creates an aura of impending disaster that prompted and woke up halsey to the danger so he courageously sends all his fast battleships south to meet the enemy... (and cover up the biggest blunder of the war) Problem is even though the truth is now out there and is kinda well known, the public releases spinning the truth are what the newspapers got and spread far and wide burning that story into the public memory..... Sometimes I don't like being a historian, I'm always reminded that sometimes the hype becomes the history....

The company that makes it, (and ships it to me) has assured me it will be fine as long as it is kept cool. The real issue is can UPS keep it cool and they have assured me that they can, there are specific procedures they have to use when shipping meds and they've been doing it for decades... Unfortunately, their recent record of service forces one to question that claim... It's frustrating from the standpoint that the dispensing pharmacy called days earlier to make sure someone would be here to receive it and I was..... I was waiting on it all day... They didn't make much of an attempt to notify me that they were here. (none that my wife nor I am aware of) I'll be fine, I still have a two week supply of it (as of today) so if it gets delivered warm I'll have a chance to contact the issuing pharmacy and get it replaced.... But yeah, it sucks for sure....

I'm fine, it's just that is has to be refridgerated at all times before use, and I don't know if UPS can handle it... Guess I will find out....

Thank you very much Ed it is really appreciated....

Thank you Lou, it is very much appreciated... I'm taking my time on this one as I not only want it to turn out nice but I want to make sure I learn the stuff needed for the new tech these kits represent.... So you know what a torch does to styrofoam, I'm going to use it to create the base form of the seascape in the styro before I mount the ship, and will show the steps of the technique, it a really neat and simple way to do a non flat waterway... Working up the history right now will be posting it later.... Again I appreciate the compliment, it means a lot...

I think your misunderstanding this point... they would never be front line battleships in the role they needed battleships in the navy at the time... They needed fast battleships to keep up with the carriers, the old WWI and peacetime battleships, (the big five, Tennessee, California, Colorado, Maryland and West Virginia) were dreadnaught type ships and built on an old requirement and as such could only do 21-23kts... Their throw weight was almost as good as the newer "Fast" battleships, but they were overloaded and slow, with much weaker armor.... Only three were upgraded with modern fire control equipment and they stopped on the fourth cause even with it they weren't going to be part of the main battle line anyway.... In an open ocean fight they wouldn't have lasted very long, yes they would have given as well as they got, but with aircraft in the mix...... Nishimura's Force "C" consisted of the battleships Fuso and Yamashiro, heavy cruiser Mogami, and destroyers Shigure, Michishio, Asagumo, and Yamagumo. Surigao Strait really isn't a good battle to judge. At 22:36, on the 25th of October 1944, PT-131 was operating off Bohol when it made contact with the approaching Japanese ships. The PT boats made repeated attacks for more than three and a half hours as Nishimura's force streamed northward. No torpedo hits were scored, but the PT boats did send contact reports which were of use to Oldendorf and his force. Nishimura's ships passed unscathed through the gauntlet of PT boats. However, their luck ran out a short time later, as they were subjected to devastating torpedo attacks from the American destroyers deployed on both sides of their axis of advance. At about 03:00, both Japanese battleships were hit by torpedoes. Yamashiro was able to steam on, but Fuso was torpedoed by USS Melvin (DD-680) and fell out of formation, sinking forty minutes later. Two of Nishimura's four destroyers were sunk by mines; the destroyer Asagumo was hit by a torpedo and forced to retire, but later sank after hitting a mine.... So all the 7th fleet faced was one old damaged battleship, one modern but damaged heavy cruiser and one relatively undamaged destroyer, none of them having radar, none of them actually getting a shot off at the 7th fleet battle line.... It was a slaughter.... The Fuso was a burning wreck before she ever came into range of Oldendorf's battleships and two or three of his battleships didn't even fire a single shot, the Pennsey comes into mind off the top cause she couldn't even locate a target to shoot at, the Wee Vee, California and Tennessee did most of the shooting using their radar guided guns, the Maryland only fired one salvo... Admiral Nishimura's battleships were the older dreadnaught type ships built about the same time ours were..... They were useful as gun platforms, shelling shore targets, or trapped naval targets that couldn't maneuver or return fire, but in a running open ocean gun fight against battleships built after 1930? with modern guns and ammunition and fire control? Dead Meat.... Technology had outstripped their survivability...... The example of the Hood and Pearl Harbor thoroughly demonstrated that.... But then the navy knew this in the early '30's and had designs on the board for the Fast Battleships just waiting for the money and political will to build them.... Surigao Strait was an example of a suicide attack mission that should never have been made, and Nishimura made that point to his superior Kurita before carrying out his orders...

I feel it brother, I've had that happen to me several times, then there's the get to my PO, gets sent back to the hub, gets sent to a different PO, gets sent back to the hub again, get sent to my PO and I get a delivery notice, it isn't delivered and winds up back at the hub AGAIN...... Made it across the country in two days, took a week for the locals to get it delivered.... Two days ago I received a call from my pharmacy, they were having my medication delivered Dec 31st and wanted to make sure I would be here to receive it.... Told them I would be.... I was here all day specifically waiting for it... Checked the front porch at 5:30 there was this little note on the door that they attempted to deliver it at 3:30... no doorbell, no knock, no call.... So's I call their number give them the notice number and they can't deliver it until monday the 4th now... meanwhile it needs to be refridgerated.... Time sensitive medication, this is UPS.... yeah OOPS..... Delivery services have really dropped the ball over the last year or so..... Especially USPS....

Oh no, gonna be especially careful......

Yep, that is becoming the new norm isn't it...... Oh, and for some reason I just remembered to check in the workshop to see if I still have some butane fuel for the torch, It's required to make the sea base... It's been a long time since I've played with fire....

yeah, a whole battalion of them......

You got a good woman there brother....

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We all get enamored of the quality of the current designs over the last decade or so, so it's not a big deal.... test fit and check was the mantra of the day and should still be... Excellent work brother... Looking good....

Yes careful cutting is needed... I have received news that the needed AM splinter shields will be on the way in a week or so, after christmas backorders are done, very nice resin prints.... So I went ahead and cut the parts getting ready for the replacement parts.... A razor saw is your friend for this kind of work, unfortunately this puts the build sequence on hold for a bit... So I went and bought the HD foam for the water base from the local big box store... And will start the process of figuring out the scene... More on the scene (based upon that April 18th pic), the history of what the ship was doing at that point, and the known weather conditions at the time.... Onwards.....

They are gorgeous OC, (pricey as well) but I'm installing .50 cal splinter shields/tubs, they are visibly smaller and in slightly different but noticeable positions.... Hence the need to change them.....

Absolutely brother, although different classes of ships, they had the same guns, the same fire control system, the same power plant, same armor etc. etc..... Their capabilities were almost identical..... As far as the crews having a jaded eye towards each other, some of the personal stories that made it as far as official recording seem to want to lay the wreath of heroics at the feet of the SD's command staff and such trying to get the actual commanders to forget the immense tactical blunder the conn made at the opening of the battle.... They generally run along the lines of the Washington wouldn't have had such a spectacular showing if it wasn't for the SD's deliberate sacrifices setting them up for her..... Basically saying that the blunder was a intentional act of bravery and the SD should get the credit for being the hero of the day.... I'm sure my friend given your experiences, you have heard people trying to explain an absolutely bonehead move as the right and heroic move/action to superiors.... I know I have.... (and monday morning quarterbacking always enjoys a much clearer line of sight) And like all great heroic moments the history behind the "official" history, (the "monday morning" after story) tell little bits of the story a bit different..... The ship constructors got into the act as well claiming that the South Dakota, the newest battleship in the navy at the time, was rushed into service before well before she had a proper fitting out period.... as a result, when time came to perform in combat, she had problems.... (namely the balky #3 turret traverse) Much like the Prince Of Wales still having workmen aboard in the Bismarck example.... She had, I think it was, a 4 month working up period after commissioning, insufficient time to work out all the kinks... Normally a battleship usually works up to fighting trim over nine a month to a year period before being sent into service.... (the Washington's workup period was 14 months, the Indiana's was a year) It was claimed in some channels that she was rushed into service too quick...... Those arguments make a lot of sense given the SD's performance, but are not part of the "official" public record as well... They quietly suppressed those stories and claims and got to work repairing her and returning her to service as airing all that info and investigation was viewed as counter productive.... (the arguments went like, "I understand all that, but we are here, how we got here doesn't matter, where do we go from here" was the order of the day and a big part of the military mindset in war) But every battleship sent into service after the SD, got a full year of trials before being sent into action.... That result of the battle experience to me tells the tale.... My opinion, they sent the SD into battle too early, much like the POW being ineffective during the Bismarck action for the same reason... They were pressed for ships especially battleships given the time it was taking to rebuild the Big Five into front line battleships, (which they never would be) and the old battleships were not capable of modern front line action... So a decision was made that put front line operations over tried and proven construction doctrine, and it eventually caught up to them and caused a fiasco which is another thing they wanted to keep quiet.... There is a lot to study about what transpired and it is hard not to make the argument that the SD's experience was pre-ordained by an administrative decision almost a year before the battle ever took place... But like I said, it is not part of the "Official", "Public" historical record, but it is all there in the official archives.....

Yeah they assigned it to mechanical failure due to blast shock.... Problem is there are three other battleships with that exact same design in the exact same location that never had the same failure from gunfire blast.... They claim that the mains were wired shut, (they were, it is what caused the mains fuses to blow) and that is as far as they would admit... But the damage was so extensive she had to go all the way back to Norfolk for repair which took almost six months... There is a lot not being said in that damage report..... I was reading anecdotal yard stories that a lot of the wiring in the gunnery and communications systems were puddles of copper with bits of scorched insulation inside miles and miles of conduit.... electrical/electronic equipment that had to be completely replaced, equipments that was top secret and were built by hand... It was a real mess... Also one of the inadvertent unfortunate things that came out of it, was that the South Dakota and Washington crews from that battle forward didn't have a lot of love for each other.... A perfect example of what lack of communication can do to a situation... The SD crew thought the Washington disappeared from the fight and left them high and dry to take most of the punishment from the enemy, (what really happened was an inexperienced command group in charge that turned the wrong way illuminating their own ship to the enemy... But the crew didn't know that... To the Washington's crew, the SD turned tail and ran from a fight after firing just a few salvos leaving the Washington unprotected and alone to press home an attack against a superior force.... They didn't know that the SD took a pounding from 6",8" and 14" gunfire that caused extensive damage to her superstructure and killed some 50 sailors and lost all ability to return fire, that she was nothing but a target and retreat was the proper decision and nothing Admiral Lee said repeatedly to the crew of the Washington would change that underlying thought.... For years afterwards there was tension between the two crews that were there...

He was allowed to resign his post, in lieu of a CM, it was kept quiet and out of most of the basic reports made public.... (I read that somewhere years ago, but for the life of me I can't remember where, my mind says NARA but I really cannot remember for sure)

No need to be, it's your choice as always..... Now I'm off to the peanut gallery... (hmmmnn, I wonder if I can hoist a comfy chair up there?)

Oh yeah I remember, Ken, your the guy that makes plastic look like cast UHMD resin..... (or, in the alternative, give us the location of your miniaturizing machine) {chuckle} You ought to teach this stuff..... Very Very nice

Even heat and gentle massaging of the kit parts or replacement with thin flexible acrylic.... You should be able to bend the acrylic around the warped pieces to get the right shape, and you can pressure bend them into the right shape for gluing.... The other option for creating windshields is again using clear acrylic to make the replacements, the same as above, using .005 styrene rod or quarter round, build a frame around the opening and then install the flexible acrylic windows just like the real thing.... paint the styrene frames rubber to look like the black gasket that is used in real life to install them..... Two best suggestions I have used.....

VERY sharp paint!!! Excellent!!!

Very Cool!!! A 4-6-2 "Pacific" Locomotive which runs on rubber bands on 8' of track.... The real deal..... They were used all over the world and were the last steam engine used for passenger service... The world speed record for a steam powered locomotive was set with this type, 125 mph.... Locomotive & tender was usually about 70 ft long (depending on design) and the kit is 22" from their website.... That makes it approximately 1/38th scale.... Impressive.... Most impressive.....

Ok, Time for another update.... Research this time... This is a pic of what I'm modeling, I'm trying to come as close as I can to this pic, a moment in time so to speak.... I'm using the Dragon Uss Livermore kit which represents her late 1942 armament fit of 8 20mm guns or 7 20mm's and a 1.1" chicago organ... She has to be converted to a 1941 King Board modified 12 .50 Cal MG weapons fit... For this the Kraken models '41 USS Kearney update set for this kit has been purchased, it give me the 6 MG positions on the after deckhouse and 2 positions on the pilothouse roof... But the kit is set up for all 20mm's which means the two 20 mm on the O1 deck level behind the #2 turret and the two 20mm's outboard the aft stack have to be replaced as well.... The kit parts..... The 20mm tubs have to come off..... This is what they should look like.... The red circled splinter shield in the foreground does not overhang the bulkhead underneath and is the same size as the ones on the pilothouse roof so part A8 has to be modified... Looking back down the side of the ship you see the midship MG position next to the aft stack, the splinter shield is the same size as the two on the fore part of the ship and doesn't extend as far out as the 20mm tubs do on part B1... They will have to be modified as well to make a proper King Board modified USS Gwin..... Going to try and duplicate the splinter shields from the Kraken update set as this will give me the size I need.... And hopefully I don't screw up the parts when I modify them..... More later...

So it's rubber powered, does it actually roll down the tracks? or does it just turn the wheels as a display of the mechanicals?