A 1:700 scale 1944 Mare Island Navy Yard

[JIM BAUMANN]

Simply magnificent modelmaking-- your fortitude and dedication is breathtaking--right up there along with your serious study of the true under-works of a Pier--the finished effect is intricate and beguiling!!



Jim Baumann

[nick]

AMAZING!!

[Foeth]

Nice work!

[Olaf Held]

All I can say is 'WOW'....

This is a very impressive piece of work!!!

Go on like this and keep us updated!

Cheers ~ Olaf

[bgire]

More pictures of this project.
Those tiny little things all began as photo etched sheets with numerous parts... Below are two pictures of our prototype sheets, direct from the acid !

The sheet for the USS Endicott (dredge). This was the first try. Some errors corrected later.


This is loaded with rail road equipment (first try too) :


Bravo to Jean, who did the researches and master drawings
Bruno (just did the etching for the moment)

[Cadman]

The trains look cool. I would love to see some closeups of the various RR equipment. I have a real soft spot for trains.

[Guido]

Are these PE sets commercially available?
Guido

[bgire]

Are these PE sets commercially available?

We're thinking seriously about. But first we have to both complete our full dioramas and make sure every part is workable and flawless (as you may see on the prototypes, there are some defects to be corrected). Then we'll decide if we go on and how to define modular subdivisions so any customer could buy one or more parts of it. This will certainly take another few months, this will take us to the second part of 2008.

The trains look cool. I would love to see some closeups of the various RR equipment. I have a real soft spot for trains.

Jean is now working hard to assemble the numerous RR equipment. Here are his comments (with pictures below, more to come in the future) :
"The RR equipment only includes those seen on the NavSource pictures for the period : box cars, gondolas, flat cars and tanks. I designed two type of diesel powered locomotives only to find later the Navy Yard used two old steam ones to move the cars on the piers (one of these can be see on the USS California pictures from NavSource). Unfortunately I missed identifying this loco (reader's help invited). I added -just for fun- a type of caboose which wasn't in Mare Island.
I found the Japanes dockyard diorama by Philippe Malliart ( http://www.modelshipgallery.com/gallery ... -main.html ) very inspiring ..and maybe he could help us for the steam locos.
The main source was the astonishing site by Rob ( http://prr.railfan.net/ ) which provided all the plans and dimensions."

Here is an enlarged part of the NavSource photo with the mysterious steam loco :


...and now, Ladies and Gentlemen, Jean's first completed models :

a boxcar :


a flat (his finger escaped safely) :


box and cabooses (the paint tin is a real one) :


...and still his busy caterpillar working and working again to get that dio ready


More to come later...
Bruno

[JimRussell]

Bruno,

The steam engine is probably a 0-4-0T (the capital "T" indicates a "tank" engine). A lesser possibility is a 0-6-0T, but the 0-4-0 was much handier around tight curves. This type of engine did NOT have a tender. Google "0-4-0T steam engine" and you will get plenty of pictures. Many of these engines had a small coal basket behind the cab but since Mare Island was on the west coast odds are good that the engine was oil fired, thus the saddle tank (the tank wraps around the boiler like a saddle wraps around a horse) would hold both water and oil.

Jim

[bgire]

Thanks Jim !
I've forwarded this to Jean to update the RR photo etch sheet
Bruno

[TTTTTTTTTT]

Incredible work - I can hardly believe my eyes. Wow. Speechless!

[Cadman]

Don't toss the diesels. They might be suitable for other naval yards.

The steam engine looks too long for an 0-4-0, but I could be wrong. I will look through my RR books when I get home and see if I can ID it.

[ARH]

To me it looks like a small 0-4-0 engine pulling a fuel tanker , the large bit in the middle of the tank seems to be a cover over valves.

[JIM BAUMANN]

I think ARH cracked it!

that looks to me too to be a tank wagon obscuring the steam engine ahead of it...

Certainly food for thoughts!!

JB

[Karsten]

Truly amazing work and when you get finished you will both be blind....

There will be so much to take in it will be overwhelming but awesome.

Karsten

[nick]

The photoetching is amazing!!! especially the size!

[Guido]

Bruno!
Don't let us hang too long! This is amazing stuff! You can count me in as your customer. If you decide not to produce this yourself your should consider selling the designs to WEM or GMM!
Guido

[Edward Pinniger]

Absolutely mind-blowing! The sheer level of detail and precision in assembly + painting is incredible.
I particularly like the railroad/railway equipment - apart from the wheels, it's hard to believe they aren't N gauge (1/144)... and the crane would look equally impressive (if scaled up by a factor of 10) on an OO/HO gauge railroad.

I really envy modellers like you the ability to work with such tiny and intricate etched parts - my own attempts at 1/700 PE have resulted in mangled wrecks glued to my fingers, or to any part of the model other than where I actually want it to go.

[bgire]

About that mysterious old steam engine...

Jean has located this (below) which could be the right one... He's ready to start drawing the masters.
Cadman or Jim or anybody else : could you confirm ?





Thanks !
Bruno
(Sorry all folks, this is going off-topic)

[ARH]

No way, the engine on the other side of that tank is to short, also does not have a tender.