Hi Folks!
I was cleaning out a file cabinet in the Garage. I found the old 2012 issue of the I.P.M.S. Journal! I hadn't even had a chance to read it! So, I proceeded to do just that! The articles were good, but the one that caught my interest, Well, there were actually two, were the One about Movie Planes and the other about "What Ifs". I got to thinking about my varied career and some of what I have seen in real life and what was seen in " Reel" life concerning boats.
Reel life,-The opening to Tora! Tora! Tora! I am sure you remember the destroyer, Bone in it's teeth chasing something? in the opening? That Destroyer sat for more years than I want to count in front of a Antique? Store on the way to Brentwood C.A. from Oakley C.A.. I offered to buy it numerous times as it sat and fell into further disrepair. It was the destroyer from that scene !! Right down to the Bracket inside for the trolling motor the occupant operated.!!
Then there was a boat on the Sacramento river. Why, it was the steamer from " Blood Alley" ( Actually John Wayne's yacht dressed up for the part.)I like doing "Reel Models as well as historic ones. And in whatever format the sky is the limit.
Did you know that even old decrepit Steam engines in junk yards have starred in movies. The first shot of the Steamer in Thunderdome, With of Course Mel Gibson andthat Gorgeous and Breathtaking Black actress who could knock over a crowd just by smiling her awesome smile, Tina Turner!!
The engine we are talking about was Non -Op. But through early C.G. it played it's part well. Even if the later shots were of a hidden G.M.C. four ton truck with Rail Wheels ,Now let's go back further! Remember "The Enemy Below"? tha ship seen in the close ups was to my knowladge a Coast Guard Cutter! Now, that Movie started my serious Model Ship Building Run. A run that has never really stopped.
"What If's" are fun too. The moon landing spurred all kinds of stuff I saw at model shows in Arkansas. My favorite was one of mine of course. A Monogram M-48-A-1 modified with a closed propulsion system( the Reactor from a wrecked, U.S.S. Long Beach model) And a Clear Bubble top over the Control Room( the turret area) from an Easter Egg. The controls and figures from a "Mega-Blox Submarine with lights and sound" and the treads from A.M.Ts Bulldozer kit!
Look all around You, there are many things that "Light that Fire" if you are in a slump. Try it and you will have a good fun time building " Reel" "What If" creations Whatever they may be!
One time, starved for sometthing to model I saw something in a pet store. Bought it and proceeded to restore the " Black Falcon" sailing Ship, to it's original Aurora, Beauty. Betchya ya didn't even know it wound up doing Bubbler duties fo Aquariums, didja? So did A.M.Ts 1950 Chevy Pick-Up for a while, then they just disappeared.
See? they exist everywhere. Try Them, even Mikey likes them!