SHIP CONVERSIONS and the same for other models .
HI ,
How many of you are looking around at your shipmodels and finding ones that CANNOT be restored ? Here's an idea. Remove ALL the parts you can save , until you have a bare hull , except the rudders and screws . Now . sit and look at it .Does the general profile remind you of a ship you saw somewhere ? Do you see a new sheer line just at the bottom of the sponsons on a carrier ? Maybe you are looking at an ARLEUGH BURKE that didn't quite make the cut for some reason . Does it remind you of any other kind of ship ?
This is what is called re-planning .You have a hull , waterline or otherwise .Why not convert it to that ship you are thinking about ? You can take an ARLEIGH BURKE and strip the deckhouses off and then re-do it into a smaller version of a replenishment ship . Or if you are among the braver of us ,convert it to a high endurance COAST GUARD CUTTER ! The , ideas can be endless .I once took , years ago a S.S.BRASIL/BRAZIL (a REVELL model ) and mated it to the Full bow section (from the deckhouse edge forward ) of the S.S.SAVANNAH ( the nuclear ship ) also a REVELL model . Both had been heavily damaged from a fall off the boxes over the blinds initiated by the housekeeper that I guess was my sitter too . She had this thing about dusting , even though DAD had told her don;t dust there !
Now the resulting ship after sanding didn't look bad .I joined them together where the contours were perfect on both ships .It worked ! This opened the door to many other conversions by a young lad that got NO allowance ! I also cleaned a pool where teens sunk their ships by B.B. fire at night . I did this once a week .It got me the damaged models and a six pack of PEPSI ! I know I've told you about this .I just can't seem to impress on folks the importance of salvaging those damaged models because of the original costs , especially today .
This suggestion also crosses over to armor and planes . When you spend $ 90.00 plus on all you need for a tank , Plus the cost of the armor piece .Don't you want to salvage as much as you can if it gets damaged beyond restoration ? Shoot , make a armor recovery vehicle out of it .Or a munition shlepper for Anzio Annie ! The plane guys do what if's . That's the spirit and ships aren't hard .just use your imagination and go from there .I've built , as i've said many tankers of different types from destroyed carriers .I also took the old LINDBERG W W 2 carrier and because of the hull , converted it to a fascimiliy of the U.S.S.DIXIE .Based on one picture only .You know what ? , The finished model didn't look that bad either .
When you have this damaged hull , look at JANES FIGHTING SHIPS or other pubications and you will find a ship you can grow that wreck into . A good for instance .Those of you into civilian ships .Do you have the old REVELL (small ) or PYRO/LINDBERG (large ) model of the sidewheel steamer (Robt.E.Lee ) or the( NATCHEZ ) . Heavily damaged now .Moderate damage does not count .take her and convert her to the STATEN ISLAND type ferryboat . OR convert her to the paddle wheel aircraft carrier WOLVERINE ! In one case you have to remove the paddles and the other you don't . There , did I give you any ideas at all ? Remember , at a couple of hundred bucks for a large shipmodel and darned near a hundred for a piece of armor or plane and at least that for a high quality model car you cannot afford to waste that plastic .On a car . if it's marred bad , turn it into a home grown oval track car .It's something different and you haven't thrown your hard work and money in the round file . With that I have only one more thing to say . Model On ! ! Tanker-builder