1/700 USS Entemedor, SS-340 Balao class GUPPY 1b 3D printed Model Kit.

[Rhino]

Wow, that is quite the muffin top! So weird that you had that kind of reaction. Some kind of contamination possibly???

Devin at Reynolds Materials says the RTV was made in 2024. I haven't sent the picture of Part B yet.
I did everything the same as I have done of every other mold. I did recover all the Masters.

 

[Rhino]

USS Clamagore ventures into "The Pink" using leftovers from a know good batch of Moldmax 10.
The round test mold for the suspect Moldmax 10 RTV contains an inconsequential Master. Results will be known 0600 tomorrow.

 

[moon puppy]

Fingers crossed.

 

[Rhino]

Test and USS Clamagore and Entemedor molds have been cast with brand new LPP resin. The castings always tell the tale. (insert Jeopardy theme music here.)

LET'S GET READY TO BUBBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!! Captain, there be submarines.

The Asian house pulled little chunks out of the suspect MoldMax 10 test mold. What's left of this package of RTV is going in the burn trash. The GUPPY III mold from old Moldmax10 worked like it always has in the past. Something changed and I won't risk all my hard work making Masters on unreliable RTV. My next order for silicone RTV mold material may well come from AeroMarine. From pink molds to purple ones.

 

[Rhino]

From this Master casting will come a tidier, more accurate SS-343 USS Clamagore mold. From this same mold and modifications, USS Tigerfish/USS Ronquil of "Ice Station Zebra" movie fame Master will also originate.

TLAR Models 1/700 1950's US Navy "Strike From The Sea" set will include both GUPPY III boats, a SS-340 USS Entemedor GUPPY IIa SSK, a P6M-5 SeaMaster jet flying boat and a pair of F2Y Seadart jet fighters.
Thanks for looking in again!

 

[moon puppy]

Looks like that set will be a bargain.

 

[Rhino]

Research shows the US Navy GUPPY III boat was 17 feet (.29 inches in 1/700) longer than her previous sisters. 328 feet LOA over the standard Gato/Balao/Tench class submarine length of 311 feet. As you can see, chopping ensued and a plug was inserted in USS Clamagore amidships to get the proper length over all. Careful manicuring of Clamagore's hull is ongoing. She's "The Gray Ghost of the Florida Coast" and I've actually been aboard her at the Patriot's Point Naval Museum in Charleston harbor. She MUST be "just so".

"Strike From The Sea" research also finds there were 7 GUPPY variants. From this set, 5 can be built, using Fujimi's excellent 1/700 Balao class model kit, to make 2 "Fleet Snorkel" 1950's Hunter-killer models with 1 of each Electric Boat or Portsmouth sails. A set of 3 PUFFS sonar antennas will also be mastered, molded and cast.

What you see here so far are 3 in-progress Masters of 4 GUPPY submarines. I often wish I had the ability to choose a "stopping point". I plainly just do not. Sometimes, I just hate myself.

Thanks for looking in again!

 

[Rhino]

Here's one for Saul! USS Torsk, SS-423 at her Baltimore MD berth.

 

[moon puppy]

"The Gray Ghost of the Florida Coast" and I've actually been aboard her at the Patriot's Point Naval Museum in Charleston harbor. She MUST be "just so".

You know they are scraping her now.

https://www.counton2.com/news/local-news/charleston-county-news/patriots-point-to-dismantle-uss-clamagore-submarine/

 

[Rhino]

You know they are scraping her now.

https://www.counton2.com/news/local-news/charleston-county-news/patriots-point-to-dismantle-uss-clamagore-submarine/

She was in pretty tough shape, cosmetically in 2016. There were places on the deck that weren't safe to walk on and the outer hull was rusting apart at the forward limber holes waterline. She's been gone from the museum for a while now. Didja notice that article is from March of 2022?
Maintaining steel museum warships in salt water is expensive and complex. I'm not sure if it's better to be scrapped and re-used, or sunk as an artificial reef? I will do my best to make sure The Gray Ghost isn't forgotten.

 

[moon puppy]

It's a shame I've never been there. Only 3 hours away.

 

[Rhino]

Hey! USS Yorktown CVS-10 and USS Laffey DD-724 are both still there. The "Galley" is open aboard USS Yorktown (or was.) Lunch was very good! There was also a very interesting Vietnam War display.

Patriot's Point Charleston Harbor, South Carolina

This Year's Dixie Flyer trip went to the Sunny South, once again. No model show, only 1 hobby shop. Donna & I visited places on my "Bucket List" and family. It all started back in 1943, When USS Yorktown was commissioned, and put to Sea under Captain Jocko Clark's command, to war in the...

modelersalliance.org

 

[Rhino]

A short resin pour produced a surfacing 1/700 GUPPY I Submarine model the other day. Not much goes to waste around here.
Unless you count the sacrificial molds made to produce most of these resin masters.

 

[moon puppy]

That'll be cool, git'er done!

 

[Rhino]

So, You're a US Navy 1/700 submarine enthusiast. You've built all the World War II boats, waterline and full-hull. Every other Sub kit is 1/350 or bigger and very expensive, these days. What about the Balao-class Fleet Snorkel boats of the 1950's and '60's?

Now I don't want you to think of this as a conversion set. It isn't. It's one Portsmouth style sail, Like USS Torsk, in Baltimore, and one North Atlantic/ GUPPY I/Ia style sail and one Electric Boat style sail like USS Requin's in Pittsburgh.

Snorkel mast, periscopes and radar masts will have to fabricated. You still have to sure about what fit your chosen boat model is, but this is a dandy starting place for a largely overlooked era of US Navy submarine history in 1/700 scale.

The intention is to give your 1/700 World War II 1/700 Gato and Balao class US Navy submarine models a fine Cold War facelift!
I recommend Fujimi's 1/700 Balao class Submarine kit. These Fleet Snorkel boats retained their original 311 foot length so you can still use the lower hull and be historically accurate. Active and passive SONAR arrays and transducers may vary from Snorkel to Snorkel boat.

The 1/700 scale "Strike From the Sea" kit is still building with a GUPPY III submarine as planned. . I may split off the the earlier 1/700 scale GUPPY boats for a kit of their own. The GUPPY III USS Clamagore/USS Tiger Fish sub kit may need to be another separate model as well.

I have trouble choosing my stopping places. What do you guys think?

 

[Rhino]

Model Insomnia: When your mind is too busy thinking about "What to do next. How to do it" to be at rest.
I planned to include 2 Sea Darts in this 2-part SeaMaster mold, but only one fit in comfortably.
Whaddyagonnado?

 

[Rhino]

While I was cooking up the black "Grave Digger" decals, I went looking for USS Clamagore's "Gray Ghost of the Florida Coast" flag or pennant.
No victory flag for USS Clamagore, USS Entemedor or USS Requin/Tigerfish could be found. Lots of shoulder patches, but no flags.

I did find battle flags and pennants for WWII US Navy Gato and Balao class boats. 21 to be exact, including favorites such as USS Growler, USS Tang, USS Harder and USS Wahoo. These flags were marked with kills and flown from the periscope shears on return from patrol and in port.
It seemed fitting to include 48-star US Flags for WWII vessels as well. I put the US Yacht ensign in for civilian vessels.
The perfekt finishing touch for decal-starved World War II submarine model makers!
We don't "Politik" much here on M/A, so the top 2 rows of flags are obscured by the author.
If you happen to be a Biden voter, they can be omitted altogether.

This decal sheet can be printed to order in 1/700, 1/350 and 1/72 scale for your Balao-class submarining model fun! The pictured proof is the 1/72 scale sheet.

Our friendly, knowledgeable TLAR Models staff will be delighted to quickly process your order and ship it with record-shattering speed!
Contact tlarsales80@gmail.com to specify the scale you wish for and place your order!
Thanks for looking in!

 

[Sharkmouth]

View attachment 173702
Here's one for Saul! USS Torsk, SS-423 at her Baltimore MD berth.

Is this a kit? was it used operationally with the scheme?

 

[Rhino]

USS Torsk is a Fleet Schnorkel Boat. That is to say, she has her modified sail, but without the increased battery capacity ot higher submerged speed of an actual GUPPY boat. Think of Torsk as a Super-Tench class WWII US Navy submarine. The only of her class to see combat in WWII.
I make a Fleet Schnorkel sail set to convert your 1/700 Balao or Gato class submarine model to Fleet Schnorkel configuration.
I recommend the Fujimi Balao kit.

It's featured prominently earlier in the very thread!

 

[Sharkmouth]

Thanks @Rhino! I knew about the sub but don't have proof it was marked thus in combat. Just in case, I did get these but they're 1/350th scale. Any recommendation as to which is best to mess with?