Postwar navy.

[Nektarios]

COngratulations, another impressive ship.
Regarding white paint yellowing : I put a small drop of blue paint in the white, so it's not white in the end, it's very slightly blue (you have to be told to notice it) and it prevent the yellowing.

Thank you Tom-Tom

[Hippy Ed]

I didn't know that tom-tom!

I hope Nektarios is safe given the current troubles in Greece.

Roger that!! As fer Nektarios... He's safe. He's behind all that

[NukeMM]

Well, the Model of the Year winner was announced, tonight, at the local IPMS club meeting. I was told that my USS Iowa was second in the number of votes. Only one award is given (Model of the Year) and that was a really nice 1/48 A-10 Warthog.

I knew that I should have voted for myself and not that P-47 Thunderbolt.

There were only two ships entered. Lots of planes, tanks, and dioramas. Maybe 15 entries all together.

[Hippy Ed]

Well, the Model of the Year winner was announced, tonight, at the local IPMS club meeting. I was told that my USS Iowa was second in the number of votes. Only one award is given (Model of the Year) and that was a really nice 1/48 A-10 Warthog.

I knew that I should have voted for myself and not that P-47 Thunderbolt.

There were only two ships entered. Lots of planes, tanks, and dioramas. Maybe 15 entries all together.

Ok, turn around. bend over at the waist... KICK!!!!

[Sauragnmon]

Oh, go figure the pidgeons win it. If it isn't the pidgeons, it's the damn treadheads. I don't think there's ever very often a squidiethinigie that ever wins when put beside the two. Nobody appreciates the majestic power of a good battleship anymore.

[Nektarios]

I didn't know that tom-tom!

I hope Nektarios is safe given the current troubles in Greece.

Thanks for your interest Matthew. Yup i m safe so far. I m working in a hospital that is next to the central police station in Athens. The so called "protestors" (in fact most of them are anarchists) reach us they have tried to approach the central police station a couple of times) and throw a molotof bomb it is very probable that they miss the police station and hit us. With the amount of flammable materials that we have in our department if they do hit us it will be nearly impossible to stop the fire. I just hope this will not happen.

[Hippy Ed]

I didn't know that tom-tom!

I hope Nektarios is safe given the current troubles in Greece.

Thanks for your interest Matthew. Yup i m safe so far. I m working in a hospital that is next to the central police station in Athens. The so called "protestors" (in fact most of them are anarchists) reach us they have tried to approach the central police station a couple of times) and throw a molotof bomb it is very probable that they miss the police station and hit us. With the amount of flammable materials that we have in our department if they do hit us it will be nearly impossible to stop the fire. I just hope this will not happen.

Man, dat is just too close fer comfort!! YOu're in my thoughts & I pray you will be safe Nektarios!! I do hope things will quiet down soon there.

Eddie

[Tom-Tom]

Glad to know you're ok Nektarios with all these riots.
Regarding the white paint : it won't yellow on its own. It has to be exposed to sunlight, so the UV rays will induce a chemical reaction with the white pigments.(I can't explain it further). So if you keep your models out of direct sunlight it should be ok.

On my USCG Bear the paint did not yellow, but the decals did. I assume something went wrong with the enamel paint under the decal.

Keep cool.

[ASFC]

Thanks for your interest Matthew. Yup i m safe so far. I m working in a hospital that is next to the central police station in Athens. The so called "protestors" (in fact most of them are anarchists) reach us they have tried to approach the central police station a couple of times) and throw a molotof bomb it is very probable that they miss the police station and hit us. With the amount of flammable materials that we have in our department if they do hit us it will be nearly impossible to stop the fire. I just hope this will not happen.

Ouch! Not a nice place to be in at the moment then, ditto to what Hippy Ed said.

[Hippy Ed]

Thanks for your interest Matthew. Yup i m safe so far. I m working in a hospital that is next to the central police station in Athens. The so called "protestors" (in fact most of them are anarchists) reach us they have tried to approach the central police station a couple of times) and throw a molotof bomb it is very probable that they miss the police station and hit us. With the amount of flammable materials that we have in our department if they do hit us it will be nearly impossible to stop the fire. I just hope this will not happen.

Ouch! Not a nice place to be in at the moment then, ditto to what Hippy Ed said.

I figgered there would be others amongst us who feel the same way. I know how it is to be in a "Riot Zone" Aint fun. Just think of yerself on a busy flightdeck... keep yer head down & on a swivel... and watch yer step!

[Sauragnmon]

Man, that's not a place I'd want to be with riots. Hope you can get out if things do go sideways, Nektarios. Just like Ed said, head down and on a swivel.

May the gods protect you, man.

[Sauragnmon]

Alright, last few days I've been working on two of my projects - Mightier Mo and the Sprukidd as I'm calling it, because it'll be a Spruance mostly, with the Tomahawk ABLs even, but with the Mk 26 twin-arm launcher aft for the RIM-66 Standard SAM instead of the cheap-arse Sea Sparrow. So, first on the table, the Mightier Mo. Got the gun turrets mounted, painted. Refitted the CIWS with Goalkeepers for more punch against the more threatening missiles out there. Because a chop-barrelled GAU-8 for your CIWS is always bitchin.









Now for the Sprukidd project. This one's been something of a back burner project, just progressing when I feel like it. I'd originally thought of just doing it as a Spruance with the ABLs, until I wondered what made the Kidds different and went looking. I figured the Mk 26 launchers would have been a good interrim pre-VLS upgrade to the Spruance on the aft deck, as it would benefit from still having the belowdeck magazine. The forward ASROC is powerful in itself, because the Spruances were the only ones that could actually reload their launchers on the roll from an internal magazine. The ABLs just add an extra level of menace onto this ship, giving it pretty much the full functionality of a modern ship, just without the VLS. What if the Iranians had decided to buy a Spruance off the US Navy, but with the refit of the Sea Sparrows, and stolen the designs somewhere for the ABLs and systems to operate a tomahawk-like missile? They'd be the most powerful ships native to the Gulf, that's what! I replaced the kit ASROC and ABLs with ASROC by Pitroad/DML and the ABLs with those from my Trumpeter Missouri, because they had infinitely more detail to them, and you can model them open as you see demonstrated here.

[NukeMM]

Alright, last few days I've been working on two of my projects - Mightier Mo and the Sprukidd as I'm calling it, because it'll be a Spruance mostly, with the Tomahawk ABLs even, but with the Mk 26 twin-arm launcher aft for the RIM-66 Standard SAM instead of the cheap-arse Sea Sparrow. So, first on the table, the Mightier Mo. Got the gun turrets mounted, painted. Refitted the CIWS with Goalkeepers for more punch against the more threatening missiles out there. Because a chop-barrelled GAU-8 for your CIWS is always bitchin.


Now for the Sprukidd project. This one's been something of a back burner project, just progressing when I feel like it. I'd originally thought of just doing it as a Spruance with the ABLs, until I wondered what made the Kidds different and went looking. I figured the Mk 26 launchers would have been a good interrim pre-VLS upgrade to the Spruance on the aft deck, as it would benefit from still having the belowdeck magazine. The forward ASROC is powerful in itself, because the Spruances were the only ones that could actually reload their launchers on the roll from an internal magazine. The ABLs just add an extra level of menace onto this ship, giving it pretty much the full functionality of a modern ship, just without the VLS. What if the Iranians had decided to buy a Spruance off the US Navy, but with the refit of the Sea Sparrows, and stolen the designs somewhere for the ABLs and systems to operate a tomahawk-like missile? They'd be the most powerful ships native to the Gulf, that's what! I replaced the kit ASROC and ABLs with ASROC by Pitroad/DML and the ABLs with those from my Trumpeter Missouri, because they had infinitely more detail to them, and you can model them open as you see demonstrated here.

DON'T MESS WITH THE "MO"!!!

Simon,
That looks really cool! All of those five inch turrets! Wow!

And I'm really happy that you could use those JAG 16" turrets!

I'll be anxious to see more of the SPRUKIDD as it progresses, too!

[Sauragnmon]

Yeah, it has a very different appearance with the single 5's and the Goalkeepers, not to mention the Post Office. She will ruin your weekend, for a certainty. I've got a couple of turrets that look like they could pass for Bushmasters or the like that I'll be mounting as well, two on either side for close in boat-shooting or what not.

The JAG 16" turrets and Clipper guns look very nice together. You'll only notice the difference if you know what you're looking at, but still. I mourned a little when I had to go over that beautiful paintjob you did on Turret 3, but in all the pictures I could find of Mo, there weren't any alterations in colour on top of any of the turrets - A was blank and gray, with the number in some points, B and C were dark grey all over the top.

Sprukidd is interesting for a certainty, a little tweaking and the new parts make it look certainly different. The increased details, and the open box launcher, give it some nice details.

[Nektarios]

Simon both ships look great. I do not remember if i have mentioned that i want to build a what-if modernised Iowa with VLS cells etc... before i saw Simon's what-if modernised Iowa i thought that my idea was the most that one could add to these venerable ships. Now in my mind my modernised Iowa seems underarmed.

[ASFC]

It does look brilliant Simon . My only nit-pick is that 5th VLS set, which in my mind look weird with its corners cut out IMO.

Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see what you do to the rest of the Superstructure.

[Sauragnmon]

I think you mentioned your thought of a refitted Iowa before, Nektarios. When I first mentioned my thought of the refit.

It does look weird with the cropped corners, ASFC, but it was either the corners or the whole line. I originally planned to fit it lengthwise, but the CIWS positions caused a conflict with that positioning.

As to the rest of the superstructure, I'm entertaining the thoughts of putting in a Sixth VLS in place of the forward stack, which should be doable with a little finessing. The reactor powerplants will take less space in the vertical sense, which should free up more for the mounting of the VLS Cells. John handed me some miscellaneous radomes, and a bunch of AS-909 domes, which in USN Use could well be anything, I'm considering having two of them as a new search radar in the stead of the SPS-49 and such from the main mast, positioned fore and aft on the superstructure. When lining up a broadside, with the shields up and in place over the SPY-1D, they'd be without that form of radar with removal of the SPS-49 set, so that needs to be redone. Gunwise, I'll already have the SPQ-9B radar and the other one for targetting of the 5" guns during broadside firing, so I don't need to expand that.

I got the fantail RAM mounted last night, they look pretty nice sitting in the old gun tubs, so hopefully, when I get my hands on tubs for the forward mounts, I'll be able to drop the forward RAM in easy enough.

[Nektarios]

Some photos of a couple of Turya class FAC-Ts.

[Sauragnmon]

those are small and still look quite well made - great job working on them, Nektarios!

[Nektarios]

those are small and still look quite well made - great job working on them, Nektarios!

Thank you Simon. These kits from PT Dockyard are so small that they need very little work. I build them as small projects when i do not have enough time to build something bigger.