Very cool Steve.

Thanks Kenny. Keith Magee really liked it too. Then he and I reminised about riding in the birds way back when.... me on airmobile insertion runs he on Seal team water drops

That looks impressive Steve, well done.
Was it a nice kit to build?

Cheers
Dus

Good job on the Huey, Steve. Now we have some air transport for the riverine forces

Dus:

Yes it was a nice kit to build. Great directions and good parts fit. The usual gap filling along fuselage sections and engine covers. The only bad one was the main windscreen to body fit. Had to round off edges and do a bit of filling to get it to flow right. The other sections were just minor seam lines when you joined 2 pices together. Has thin cartograph like decals so care must be taken with them. My kit had 4 figures which I understand are also with the Dragon kit. I would highly recommend this kit if you want to do a nice large scale slick.

Hey all,

I've made a little progress on th eUSS Montrose





I left the tape on the build so I won't mess up the black that I have already put on the hull.

Looking very good Frank.

Frank,

You've made more progress on that than I have on my PBR!!!!
Looking like a mission with all that brass, is that a resin gun in the picture aswell?

Dus

Dus,

Yes thats a 5"/38 resin gun in the pic. I had to go with a 1/350 since I couldn't find a 1/400 but it didn't look all that much bigger than the gun that came with the kit.

Good choice Frank. Revell's Montrose kit actually isn't that far off from 1/350.

Gator,

Ya, during my internet research I found that it was around 1/400- 1/420 somewhere around there so I figured what the heck. I got the 5"/ 38 gun from L'Arsenel(all the resin guns are from them). Nice resin peices but now I have some extra guns, only needed 1 of the 5" and I got some twin bofers-received 6 and only needed 4.

Hey all,

It seems I may have to many guns on my USS Motrose. I was using the kit as a guide to the guns I was adding but I want to build the ship as she was in 67-70. I was told that she had some guns taken off.

Russel McDonald(served on th USS Montrose) sent me this;

"We had 40 mm mounts as our main batteries We had a quad-mount on the fossil, with a double port and starboard. We had 50 cal. mounts on the mast tables and the open bridge and mast table aft of bridge. We also had 40 mm doubles on port and starboard on fantail. The open 5 inch 38 on fantail was taken off in a frame job in early 60's. Our boats were out fitted with 50 cal on the LCM's and 30 cal and BAR's on the LCVP's with the BAR's being traded for M-79 grenade launchers in late 60's. The sentries used old M-1 carbines on watch with the OD and Petty Officers of watch having 45's. Where you ever on board?? Hope this helps you out."

Whats a mast table?

does any one have any more info on this???

Mast table is the base of the after mast, between the booms and the mast.


But I still think you should keep that great looking work on those 20mm and 5" guns and change your plan to be a different ship in the class that was present in Viet Nam, other than the Montrose. According to Navsource, there were probably a dozen other APAs there besides the five that had the FRAM II refit: Pickaway, Bexar, Okanogon, Montrose and Navarro.

You shouldn't junk that great work you have completed to date, unless you are working on Montrose for a crewmember (like I'm doing Navarro for a crewmember) or wanting to do a set of local counties (like I'd like to do Skagit and Okanogan, two areas close by my home.

Rick

Rick,

You have me thinking, I'll try to get online once I get home and do some research. Do you think the other ships had .50 cals at the mast tables? What are mast tables?????

Mast tables are the little platforms at the base of the mast.

Hey all,
The quest for the right ship to fit my build may be at an end. The problem I had was the USS Montrose went through a Modification in 1964 that did away with a great many of the weapons that were on board. From the research that I've done and the information that Rick gave me indicated that of the 13 Attack transports of the Haskell class that served in Vietnam(I may be wrong on the number but I should be close)
1. USS Montrose APA-212 River assault squadron 2
2. USS Bexar APA-237 River assault squadron 15
3. USS Okanogan APA-220 River assault squadron 15
4. USS Pickaway APA/LPA-222
5. USS Navarro APA-215 Amphibious Assault Forces of the 7th Fleet
These first 5 went through the "Fram II modification around the "1964" time frame.

6. USS Talladega APA/LPA-208 Task Group 76.3
7. USS Renville APA/LPA-227
8. USS Lenawee APA-195
9. USS Granville APA-171
10. USS Bayfield APA-33
11. USS Sandoval APA-194
12. USS Magoffin APA-199
13. USS Mountrail APA-213
These eight ships were also in Vietnam but they seem to have kept their weapons. I started the campaign building the USS Montrose but now I will be building the kit as the USS Talledaga.

As a side note......Of all the Attack Transports (APA) that were made in the WWII years of the Haskell class only one is still around in her original configuration. The USS Gage APA-168 is birthed with the James river reserve fleet near FT. Eustis, Virginia awaiting a determination whether she will be made a museum or scrapped. The Haskell class attack transports have a ton of history behind them. They were present for all the beach landings in the pacific, they participated during the D-Day landing. They were at the atomic bomb tests in the 1950's, and even participated in Apollo recovery missions. These ships not only served the wartime goals of the country, but they also served humanitarian goals throughout the world. The USS Gage APA-168 should be saved. If you would like to help go to www.ussgage.com to get more info.

P.S. Thanks Rick for finding that info

A short update on my build. The work as previously shown went very well with my M113 and I was and am satisfied with the outcome of the vehicle itself.

Since then I have incorporated it in a water diorama. This I have tried before, but not to the depths I was going to try here. Basically this slowly turned into a disaster. I have been adding thin layers of resin for months now - basically since two weeks after this campaign started. I have really not been satisfied with the result. Therefore I decided to get the M113 out of the diorama as the diorama was simply looking awful. I would then use the M113 in another diorama experiment. Needless to say it is not easy breaking a M113 out of a chunk of resin. The result can be seen below.



However, as I was planning on not using the suspension anyway for my next diorama try on this model it was not a problem if the wheels and tracks would get damaged. Which the obviously did.
Now I will try to use another "water" product to submerge the lower part of the M113 in water in a diorama box. I have not decided on what product to use yet, but I will when I visit my LHS this weekend. If no good solution presents itself I will just go for another amphibious vehicle or maybe a helicopter. Anyway, I will of course keep you all updated

Awe man. Sorry to see tha Jesper. That hurts to see a nice build end up like that.

Frank, here's another bit of trivia for you. Revell's kit can build into the Montrose or the Randall. The Randall was used to film the movie "Away All Boats". Ol' Beachhead Belinda's hull number was APA 22. For the movie, the studio painted over the last digit in the Randall's hull number, APA 224.

Gator

Jesper,
Sorry to see you're having such problems with the build. It won't help now,but might I suggest a product called "Mod Podge". Craft stores normally all carry it here in the states. I've had fairly decent luck with this product. Unlike resin, it does not heat up when drying, but it does take quite a while to dry and must be built up in layers. I then overcoat in future to give the best water look.

Muddy water (Rivers,etc.) can be accomplished by tinting with acrylic paints. But beware... a little color goes a real long way !

At present, my 1/144th PBR diorama is almost completed, next week should finish it, so you'll see it then. It won't be the best example, but it might give you some ideas. Keep Building....Bruce

Kenny,

I saw that about the USS Randall APA-224 but that ship didn't put in a show during the brown water afair.

Thanks for your suggestions guys. I rumbled through my old materials stash and found some strange water gel. I will try to use that and see how it works. Hopefully I can still get a reasonable result out of this.

More to follow.....

Hi Jesper

I thought what you had done originally was cool.

Have you thought about using plaster or polyfilla as a base to add depth and then perhaps using a gel on the top to give some transparancy?

Might work out cheaper?

All the best
Dus

Thanks for the suggestion, Dus. I think I will try to follow it.

I found this half used pot of Nimix "water gel" in my stash. As I recall I just need to heat it in warm water and it will become liquid and it can be poured into the small diorama for my M113.

I will create a riverbed for my M113 and then add the liquid water gel on top of this to create the water effect. Maybe top this of with some resin gel to create waves etc.

More to follow.....

Ahoy Crew,
Well, it took quite a bit longer than I planned, but my entry is completed for the Riverine build. The majority of the photos are in the completed file, but a few are attached here. Please feel free with any criticism. And lets see how everyone else's projects are coming !

Also I have a possible favor to ask. Does anyone have any decent plans for the Light Seal Support Craft (LSSC) ? It doesn't have to be detailed, even just rough plans would do, I can size them myself (1/144th....of Course !!!) Thanks Guys, Semper Fi .................Bruce

Wow Bruce your PBR dio looks great i really like the muddy water what did you use to get that muddy look, once again awsome.