¹⁄350

USS Duxbury Bay AVP-38, Seaplane Tender

the model...

Obviously, it is the USS Duxbury Bay that I have chosen to depict using the 1/350 USS Mackinac AVP-13 resin model kit from Commander Series Models, Inc.’s Iron Shipwright Signature Series.

I am so, very grateful to Commander Series Models, Inc. for creating a model kit of this obscure and little known class of little ships. Their resin model is a very nice one and is a terrific base from which to create any of the USN, USCG, and foreign navy variants.

On my conversion of the Mackinac kit from ISW I have had to modify or scratch build the following listed items in order to more accurately portray the USS Duxbury Bay AVP-38 in her 1952-53 configuration:




Since the Duxbury Bay lost her 5” gun turret in 1952, I scraped off the round turret base that was molded into the deck on the forecastle as well as on the fantail. I did this on the forward O2 level, too, for the Duxbury Bay never had a 5” gun turret there, just a Quad 40mm.

Both Quad 40mm gun tubs were scratch built. Both gun tubs were rather unique on these ships. The forward gun tub having a raised “lip” on the front and the aft one being raised off of the main deck and having a hand rail around its rim.




The fire control shack (carved from balsa wood) and range finder above the pilot house were scratch built as was the fire control shack on the fantail. Commander Series Models, Inc. sent, to me, three Mk52 gun director radars that replaced the Mk51’s that came with the kit.




The companionway enclosures, or spray shields were scratch built. I used Evergreen channel styrene and 1/350 PE vertical ladders which I cut off every other rung and one side’s hand rail in order to emulate the supports underneath.




I extended the O4 deck a little aft along with the O3 level compartment.

I filled the gap that existed on the model between the after O2 level compartment and the compartment fore of the stack. I cut off the pre-existing signal flag bags and angled them to the proper position and using Yankee Modelworks white metal flag bags.

I scraped off some fire hoses, lockers, and gas cylinders that were on the front of the O1 level compartment and put some GMM watertight doors and proper lockers on in their place.

The model came with an O2 deck that extended too far aft of the crane, for my Duxbury Bay, with a Quad 40mm gun tub on it. I cut this gun tub off and shortened the aft O2 deck and constructed a small boat support structure aft of the crane. This is where the Dux carried the admiral's barge when he was aboard and traveling on her.

I added a platform to the front of the stack and mounted whip antennas atop of it. I had to modify the mast and added two yardarms to the crane mast. The SATCOM dome on the mast is a CIWS dome. The “Bedspring Radar” array is from L’Arsenal.

I added inclined ladders to the starboard side of the forward Quad 40mm and on the starboard O2 level. (There was not a corresponding ladder on the port side on the Dux, which I found to be rather odd.)

I trimmed down the sponsons on the upper twin 20mm guns and inserted single bar railings on them. I added the square support stanchons under the upper Twin 20mm gun sponsons.

The sponsons on the O3 level were too, big and too, far aft for the Duxbury Bay, so I had to cut them off and make new smaller ones from Evergreen tubing and positioned them correctly. It is in these sponsons that the saluting gun cannons were located and I used 1/700 single 3" guns for these. From a distance, they look pretty close to the real thing.

I drilled holes and insert plastic rod to make all of the bits on the main deck. I left off the chocks. I found nothing suitable in 1/350 for this size of ship. Most were too, big.
I added the anchor brake hand wheels on the forecastle. I even put some hand wheels on the crane pulleys to make them more realistic looking.