Ahoy mates and welcome to MSW’s Scuttlebutt! Let’s see what going on today.
Community Build Contest
TWO days and counting, Community Builders, until the close of Build Session 2 of our "Community Build Contest", make sure your images are uploaded (or ready to upload) and in your "BLOG" thread by the end of the day on July 31, to be eligible for this months points to be added to your total....Keep modeling!
2008 IPMS/USA Nationals MSW Roll Call
MSW Managing Editor Mark Smith (Gunny) is looking to put together a "face to callsign" session, MSW group photo, and just an all around BS opportunity. Sound off here if you plan to attend.
MSW Roll Call
New Resin parts from Starfighter Decals
For those modelers who have the old Revell box scale Essex 27C kit, Starfighter Decals has announced that they are now offering a resin island structure for this kit. In the kit you get island top and bottom, Various radar platforms, new catwalks with deck planking, new bridge and flag bridge, corrected gun director with antenna, (you will need the P.E. part form GMM set to complete it), 3 different domes for the aft end of the island, and the UNREP bridge. No price has been given.
New Buchanan Paint Masks from Gator’s
Gator’s Paint Masks is pleased to announce that the long awaited 1/350 USS Buchanan Measure 12 Mod Paint Masks is now available online. Digitized from the Dragon instructions, these masks will greatly assist the modeler in replicating this camouflage measure. Also, look for the 1/350 USS Alabama Measure 12 Mod Paint Masks to be available by the weekend.
This Day in U.S. Naval History
1918 - Units of First Marine Aviation Force arrive at Brest, France.
1941 - Japanese aircraft bomb USS Tutuila (PR 4) at Chungking, China; First Navy ship damaged by Axis during World War II.
1942 - FDR signs act establishing Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES). During World War II, more than 80,000 officer and enlisted women served in the WAVES.
1944 - Naval Task Force lands Army troops near Cape Opmarai, New Guinea.
1945 - Japanese submarine, I-58, sinks USS Indianapolis (CA 35) in Philippine Sea; 316 out of 1,199 crew survived.
Nation's First Littoral Combat Ship Under Way
History was made today when the nation's first Littoral Combat Ship, Freedom (LCS 1), put to sea for the first time, marking the beginning of Builder's Sea Trials for the first-in-class coastal surface combatant.
The agile 378-foot Freedom, designed and built by a Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT - News)-led industry team, is conducting Builder's Sea Trials in Lake Michigan. The trials -- which are a coordinated effort between the U.S. Navy and the Lockheed Martin team -- will include operational testing of the vessel's propulsion, communications, navigation and mission systems, as well as all related support systems.
"Freedom is now under way. Our team is looking forward to this trials period to demonstrate all the capabilities our unique design for LCS will bring to the Navy," said Joe North, director for Lockheed Martin's Littoral Combat Ship program. "We're pleased to be closing in on delivering this advanced warship to the Sailors who protect our nation all over the world."
Following the completion of Builder's Sea Trials, Freedom will return to Marinette Marine to prepare for Acceptance Trials that will be conducted by the U.S. Navy's Board of Inspection and Survey. LCS 1 will be delivered to the Navy later this year and home ported in San Diego, CA.
The Lockheed Martin team's design for LCS is a survivable, semi-planing steel monohull that provides outstanding maneuverability with proven sea-keeping characteristics to support launch and recovery operations, mission execution and optimum crew comfort. Team members also include naval architect Gibbs & Cox, ship builders Marinette Marine, a subsidiary of The Manitowoc Company, Inc. and Bollinger Shipyards, as well as best-of-industry domestic and international teammates to provide a flexible, low-risk war fighting solution.
Photo of the Day
The Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Mobile Bay (CG 53) steams through the North Arabian Sea supporting the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln
Gator
