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Re: Laker conversion models

Posted: September 17, 2016, 5:34 pm
by Wheelsman
a couple more...

Re: Laker conversion models

Posted: September 2, 2016, 7:35 am
by Guest
I hear you about the newer reissues made from older molds. When I built the Revell "Attack Transport," reissued during the 1990s and labeled as being made in the USA, I spent several hours scraping away several large ejector pin marks on the nearly every piece of the model's deck. Conversely, several years ago I won an old Monogram Hawker Typhoon kit from the late 1960s at model show in Toledo. I found it to be one of the best fitting and easily assembled kits I have ever built. Growing up during the early 1970s, one of my favorite kits was Otaki's 1/144 scale C-5A Galaxy. Although this kit was later reissued by a series of manufacturers, a rumor persists of its molds winding up somewhere on the bottom of Tokyo Bay following some dispute. I don't know if this just urban legend or reality, but original kits from the early 1970s can fetch several hundred dollars today. Luckily, I was able to build one during the early 1990s that was issued by Testors. Sorry to get off marine subject kits, but many modelers have interests that span several genres.

Re: Laker conversion models

Posted: September 1, 2016, 2:50 pm
by Wheelsman
Thanks, guest. The lettering is all from dry-transfer letter sheets I've had laying around for years. Applied with a pencil-rub by eye, then clear-coated.
I went thru what you mention about the older kits. And the new reissue kits, besides being made in China, show tooling mold wear with a lot of flashing to be trimmed and details lost. It's worth the few extra bucks to get an original or older issue of any kit if you plan to build it, the details and molding are crisper. I did this with the T-2 ships and a bunch of AMT 57 Fords. More to come.

Re: Laker conversion models

Posted: August 31, 2016, 3:46 pm
by Wheelsman
Actually, there are few more coming, the model car box was an error.

Re: Laker conversion models

Posted: August 31, 2016, 12:55 pm
by Guest
Nice close up shots! I found the Revell "Attack Transport" or "USS Montrose / Randall" to be well engineered kits for its day. My first exposure to model building was watching my mother build them for me when I was very young during the early 1970s. My father was in the Army at Fort Gordon, Georgia at the time and the Toyland at the base always seemed to have a well stocked selection of plastic model kits, with Revell playing a prominent role. In 1974, I built my first kit at the age of 6 when I put together a Revell A-5 Vigilante and have built ever since. During my early adult years I slacked off somewhat when I built maybe one or two a year, but with my child now grown and having reached middle age I find that I have more time to pursue the hobby. Although many of the newer kits are considerably easier to assemble and more accurate in most cases, I find myself occasionally purchasing an older kit offline or at a model show to relive some old memories.

In considering the building of the Cliffs Victory from the Revell kit, I'm likely to build it to its original converted configuration with the plan to display both models in a side by side comparison. Where did you obtain the decals for the billboard lettering and the names?

Re: Laker conversion models

Posted: August 29, 2016, 5:27 pm
by whhelsman
a few last ones...

Re: Laker conversion models

Posted: August 29, 2016, 5:25 pm
by Wheelsman
a few more...

Re: Laker conversion models

Posted: August 25, 2016, 11:15 am
by Guest
Thanks for the information. I'm planning to look at carrying out this project at the beginning of next year as I have two other models I'm planning to work on throughout the balance of the year. I look forward to seeing more pictures of your ship models.

Re: Laker conversion models

Posted: August 24, 2016, 2:59 pm
by Wheelsman
Thanks, it was really something to hear that someone else had envisioned a Cliffs Victory using the Revell model. The Victory was my second effort using lessons learned from doing the Carnahan model. All the Navy attack transports were VC2-S-AP5, which differed little from the AP2 and AP3s. (The only difference between the AP2 and AP3 , besides horsepower, was that one, I think the 3, had a little "donut" at the base of the horn on the stack. The other was just the horn piece protruding from the stack.) The AP5s all had a shorter stack.
Unlike the Carnahan and Thompson models built new out of the box, the Victory started life as a built, aging Montrose model I did in 1971. It was stripped of all deck fixtures and the upper half of the midship structure was cut off. The forward cabins were fashioned from old ship parts and index paper. The pilothouse was made from a supercharger part from, I think, a large scale P38 airplane model. The base form looked right. The stack was made from an Arizona model with some putty work. The hatch cranes were made from the main deck gangways from a T2 model. The forecastle deck was extended back. I did the Victory post-lengthening, so obviously the one-piece hull of the model was cut in 2 and sheet plastic inserted to scale. The spar decks are mostly sheet plastic (Evergreen).
Styling cues were very evident on the Victory like the anchor guides, the remaining lower half of the mid-structure, the long, graceful fantail, etc. More pictures are coming showing close-ups of details.
Guest, this project is well worthwhile to attempt with your remaining model. If not, try a regular VC2 conversion. In one of the pictures, you'll see all 3 of my projects, the Drew(Montrose), Cliffs Victory and the Bessemer Victory. The latter was an easy conversion to a standard Victory ship, the main effort being deck modifications, adding a 3rd king post and raising the stack.
I knew the Victory's well. Although I didn't wheel one, I had worked on many of them during Vietnam and loved 'em as much as the T-2s.

Re: Laker conversion models

Posted: August 24, 2016, 12:22 pm
by Guest
Nice models. I believe you mentioned in a previous thread about using Revell's USS Montrose as the basis for the Cliffs Victory. A few years ago I came into possession of two of these models which were packaged with the "Attack Transport" identification. I built one up from the box and envisioned building a Cliffs Victory from the other. I usually built plastic aircraft, but have also done a few armor and ship kits, so I was wondering how advanced are the modifications necessary to produce this conversion? I would consider myself an experienced modeler with some background with scratch building but little with building ships. I'm nearing the completion of the second of two 1/700 waterline ship kits (1 Aoshima and 1 Hasegawa) and was wondering about what to do with the last remaining Revell Attack Transport Kit.

Re: Laker conversion models

Posted: August 23, 2016, 9:39 pm
by Wheelsman
more pics...

Re: Laker conversion models

Posted: August 22, 2016, 10:36 pm
by guest
Great models and photos thanks a lot for posting.

Re: Laker conversion models

Posted: August 22, 2016, 5:56 pm
by Guest
Nicely done!

Re: Laker conversion models

Posted: August 22, 2016, 3:48 pm
by Wheelsman
We were able to get some pix done and posted in no particular order. There are more to come.
I'll be happy to answer questions, but in meantime I'll just make a few comments. I wanted to get the picture of the Cliffs Victory with the ghostly photo of Capt Harry Anderson in the background in the William G. Mather's pilothouse. He skippered the Victory. When the models were on display at the Mather, he asked the facilities manager at the time if the "guy who built the model was a big guy". The character he was, wanted to have the model at any cost.
The Carnahan was my first project as it was the easiest to do. She retained more of her original T-2 features than the others after laker conversion. The Falk was close but her aft-end differed more including her stack. The usual cutting and sheet work went into the hull, but like the shipyard, the mid-ship structure was narrowed and modified to fit the extended forecastle deck. One photo shows all 3 of my T-2 projects; an original, the Carnahan, and the USNS Suamico (T-AO-49), the lead ship of the T-2 class. Originally USS Suamico, AO 49), she was de-militarized after WW II, and operated under charter to Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS), later Miliary Sealift Command (MSC). I was on her during her last trip to Midway Island in 1975 before being scrapped. I also wheeled the SS San Antonio, a jumboized T-2. Yes, I loved the T-2's.
I'll post more as the pictures come up, many thanks to a friend of mine who is doing this.

Re: Laker conversion models

Posted: August 21, 2016, 3:10 pm
by Wheelsman
A few more...

Laker conversion models

Posted: August 21, 2016, 11:51 am
by Wheelsman
The first of a series of pictures...