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Trumpeter 1/144 USS Seawolf SSN-21


ewahl

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My first 2014 completion is this 29.5" long submarine. I did the major painting outdoors with rattle cans last summer and used up a lot of masking tape in the process.

 

The hull is split horizontally, including the nose and stern. While the long hull halves look straight out of the box, when you put them together they are wavy. Since the top waves do not match the bottom waves, you have small to large ledges along the entire length. Much putty and Mr. Surfacer 1200 was needed to smooth it all out. The nose cap was just a tad smaller in diameter than the front of the hull, so more ledges to deal with. Same with the stern cap. The worst problem, however, was the fact that the lower hull half was 0.030" shorter than the upper half, all at the aft end. A shim of 0.030" strip styrene was a necessity. Of course the shim went through scribed details that had to be fixed.

 

I'm glad it is done and off my list. Comments and questions are welcome.

 

Ed

 

USSSeawolf1_zps6347ca40.jpg

 

USSSeawolf2_zpsde019fef.jpg

 

USSSeawolf4_zps884240e4.jpg

 

USSSeawolf5_zps8ab86728.jpg

 

USSSeawolf3_zps5e9290dc.jpg

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Thanks for the nice comments, guys!

 

For Z: The last submarine in the Los Angeles class, Cheyenne SSN-773, was commissioned in September 1996. All Los Angeles class boats were nuclear powered. Commissioned in July 1997, Seawolf SSN-21 was the first new U.S. attack submarine designed since the early 1970s. Seawolf supports multiple warfare missions, including strike, mine, anti-submarine, anti-ship and littoral special operations. The third boat of the class, Jimmy Carter SSN-23, commissioned February 19, 2005, is 100 feet longer than the other two submarines of the class (453 feet vs. 353 feet for Seawolf and Connecticut). Its construction schedule was extended so a 100-foot multimission section could be installed aft of the sail. The enhanced payload allows Jimmy Carter to conduct special missions along with research and development efforts that aid in the advancement of future submarine technologies and capabilities. [Thanks to the January 2013 issue of Seapower for this information.]

 

It would take two Trumpeter kits to kitbash the extra 100-foot section onto the Seawolf to make a Jimmy Carter. That's another 8.33 inches of model and a lot more seams on the hull to make match. Anyone up for this?

 

Ed

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Actually Ed, I think Trumpeter already has a 1/700 scale "Jimmy Carter" already released. I may be wrong, but I remember when I saw that box, I was thinking, 'did they really name a ship after our second worse president?'

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