T-2

It's pretty hard to do better than Auke's T-2 site.

www.aukevisser.nl/t2tanker

It takes a bit to learn how to navigate (pun intended) around the site. As I recall I had the best luck going by shipyard.

With a little patience, you'll find a lot of good photos.

I think the Revell kit is really great. While impressive, the deck piping is all wrong though. The hold vent pipes are the biggest, the distribution pipes the smallest etc. I carved it all off and replaced it with styrene rod. and wire. In hindsight, it would have been simpler to make a new deck piece by simply tracing the kit part onto a sheet of styrene and starting from scratch.

A good set of drawings is helpful too. They're available from the National Archive, I'll look around for the order form for you.

Best of luck.

T-2

I have exchanged many photos with Auke Visser. Guess I have used this site for the last four years and maybe more. He is still looking for some rudder/ stern tube photos for me. Love to check back every couple of weeks for the updates. The Revell models are 350 scale? I'm going a 192 scale at almost 3 feet. I still have much scratch building to do yet. I remain puzzled about the rudder horn and the bolting pattern used  to attach the rudder. My plans from Bluejacket really are vague, so I'm just waiting for more details to emerge. Hopefully soon.

I'll look at my drawings and if they are helpful I'll send you a scan of the portion you need.

Revell is around 1/400.

Thanks for the help. Have you by chance done or do air brushing? I'm thinking this would be the route to take. Any suggestions? I've never ventured into it, but would like to give it a try. Not going for all the gray paint scheme, but the Keystone ship colors. Hum...

I believe the kit is actually around 1/380 scale which makes it closer to both 1/350 scale and 1/400 scale so details in either scale might work though there is more guns and fittings in 1/350 scale than 1/400 scale.

It's been a while since I did the math, but 1/400 scale is pretty close for the Revell kit.  The old Hawaiian Pilot was 1/380 or so, as was the Montrose and Savannah.

Turbo-electric

Thanks for the help. Have you by chance done or do air brushing? I'm thinking this would be the route to take. Any suggestions? I've never ventured into it, but would like to give it a try. Not going for all the gray paint scheme, but the Keystone ship colors. Hum...

I know a number of ship modelers who don't use one and have learned how to brush paint well. I think one advantage in ship modeling is that the well formulated color sets don't come in rattle cans, so it's brush one way or the other.

I find the airbrush to be quick and easy. A good basic brush is the Badger 105. They can be had for less than $ 100.00.

You might want to find a book titled Merchant ships, a pictorial study by John Ledage. Published by Cornell maritime press in 1955 and 1968.

This book is the best reference to merchant ship parts you'll ever see in one book.

Numerous photos of ship props, rudders, machinery you name it it is in this book.

An interlibrary loan may turn one up as well.