Gotta get one of those.....I....must .......resist.....

Yes, I like that Fred. Great, but not overdone, excellent and very perceptible. I will have to say that this type of weathering conditions on this model would only be seen after several months of neglect. One thing the Navy is on top of is the condition of equipment. Lots of Gray paint and lots of manpower to use it kept them looking very nice even under war time conditions.

My only criticism of this project is that the boats were wood bodies, with just a metal bow ramp, so the rust should be confined to the gun shields, ramp, bilge and exhaust holes. The boats did get very grungy from the salt spray and dirt mixtures and any oil or petrol that might have been in the water.

I had the very distinct and unusual thrill of making a blackout nighttime net landing off of Puerto Rico in a training exercise, during my USMC days in l960. I had made several of these boat rides previously, and just the physical intensity of climbing down a cargo net to a bobbing boat, in 10-20 ft swells is scary. Those were made during daylight hours and the total blackout nighttime landing was very much different. The sense of not knowing where the boat was, when coming down the net and then hurtling through the darkness to the shore in a crowded little craft, you lost all sense of direction and time. Quite scary and thrilling at the same time, for a 18yo! It is all pretty much like in the newsreels and the movies depicts it very well. There are a lot of dangers and accidents and deaths are common with that much machinery and movement going on.

W G
SSGT USMC
1959-1970

Yes, I like that Fred. Great, but not overdone, excellent and very perceptible. I will have to say that this type of weathering conditions on this model would only be seen after several months of neglect. One thing the Navy is on top of is the condition of equipment. Lots of Gray paint and lots of manpower to use it kept them looking very nice even under war time conditions.

My only criticism of this project is that the boats were wood bodies, with just a metal bow ramp, so the rust should be confined to the gun shields, ramp, bilge and exhaust holes. The boats did get very grungy from the salt spray and dirt mixtures and any oil or petrol that might have been in the water.

W G
SSGT USMC
1959-1970

Quoted Text

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Yes, I like that Fred. Great, but not overdone, excellent and very perceptible. I will have to say that this type of weathering conditions on this model would only be seen after several months of neglect. One thing the Navy is on top of is the condition of equipment. Lots of Gray paint and lots of manpower to use it kept them looking very nice even under war time conditions.

My only criticism of this project is that the boats were wood bodies, with just a metal bow ramp, so the rust should be confined to the gun shields, ramp, bilge and exhaust holes. The boats did get very grungy from the salt spray and dirt mixtures and any oil or petrol that might have been in the water.

W G
SSGT USMC
1959-1970

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I'm in love with what I see here, its absolutely stunning. But I'd also have to agree with what WG said to a certain degree. I was a boatswainmate second class and plenty of time coming through the ranks chipping paint, In the navy, there is no day off, specially if your at sea, they keep you very busy to cut down on the bordem and the squabling of the personel. People are actually assigned to these crafts and that's their all day function to clean and maintain them in between standing watch and praying for sleep. I was on the captain's gig and admiral's barge also attached to a motor whale boat team rescue team and every day our stations were inspected. If the boats weren't kept up, we didn't get liberty. But ya, they do get banged up really fast, they rub up against the piers, up against those boat stops along side the ship, ( over 20 years ago I forgot what they were called). Sometimes we'd anchor out and have to take mike boats in for liberty call. That didn't always go well with a full belly of alcohol on the way back. Some of the guys got pretty sick

The one thing that I would say that I might have done a little different would be to make it more sun bleached, so it would be a lighter gray. By no means does should my opinion distract you from the fact that what you've done here is absolutely outstanding. If I could afford it I'd buy it from you in a heart beat.

Can't wait to see what you have next. Thanks for sharing. I think we ALL thank you for sharing this one