Rhino
Super Moderator
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.
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1/700 USS Entemedor, SS-340 Balao class GUPPY 1b 3D printed Model Kit.
- Thread starter Rhino
- Start date
I did everything the same as I have done of every other mold. I did recover all the Masters.
Fingers crossed. 
Rhino
Super Moderator
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
Super Moderator
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!
Looks like that set will be a bargain.
Rhino
Super Moderator
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
Super Moderator
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.
It's a shame I've never been there. Only 3 hours away.
Rhino
Super Moderator
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...
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That'll be cool, git'er done!
Rhino
Super Moderator
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?
