He's BACK - A Second Langley, from the First Phil!
Posted by Phil Fuss (via Matty) on December 4, 2011, 10:46:35 Message modified by board administrator December 4, 2011, 10:53:31
(Editor's Note: Apologies for the title, but I couldn't resist playing on the coincidence of just having posted about our "Other Phil" [When it "Phils", it Pours! ] - and involving a P-40, no less - but now here, without further ado, is the latest from The Original Phil, himself):
"...I haven't visited (ModelFleet) in a while. Lost my hard drive along with all of my links, address book etc....
(Editor's Note: I own the domain name "ModelFleet.com", and it will ALWAYS redirect to this Board [and likewise "MattSteinModels.com" will ALWAYS take you to Matty's Models'], no matter if- or how many times I might ever have to change providers - so that's all you need to type in! -Ed.)
...(During the above I had) a pretty long break from ship building, (but now) I finally tackled Loose Cannon's Langley as the AV version. (Here are) some photos:
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I'm not quite done with her. Still waiting on the P-40's from David Angelo to have the deck load she had when she was sunk off Tjilatjap, Java in early '42.
She has a few crew on the "hangar" deck but they are really hard to see, as are the overhead cranes I made that I was so proud of. Then I realized there is no way to see them!
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...Here are...some over head shots:
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...She needs touch up, weathering, rigging, and a couple of details associated with a working vessel. I'm not sure I've finished a ship since last year, when I did the Nimitz.
I lost, I think, the parts to the bridge, so I had to scratch build one. Luckily Mike Robinson has been posting pics of his absolutely stunning build of Langley as CV-1 on Hyperscale, which helped immensely.
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...I'll send the completed shots when I finish. I think the P-40's are going to slow me way down, while I round up and install props and landing gear, decals, etc.
...Hope you had a great Thanksgiving."
- Yes, I did Phil - Thank You, buddy - and I can see above that you did, too! You sure build one helluva 700-scale carrier, Phil! I've said it before, and will repeat it now: those 700-scale guns, with their (primarily) overscale barrels, do NOT do justice to the fineness of all your craftsmanship. Speaking of which, I see LOTS of great little cranes under there - but I guess you're referring to an overhead sliding unit, right up under the flight deck? Anyway, it's true quality work and YOU know (and now we ALL know) that it's under there!
Wish I could fix you up with P-40s, but they're out of (smaller than) "my" scale. IIRC I might have a 700-scale plastic KittyHawk or two in the parts box, which I could cast for you, if it comes to your needing that. Just let me know.
And DEFINITELY keep us posted - including the final, as-completed pics - of this gorgeous Langley, Phil!
Langley-as-AV was just no longer the (decisive) weapon she had proven herself to be, during the inter-war Fleet Problems.
If they would just have left her with a full-length deck, she could've ferried that many P-40s PLUS defended herself with a handful of WildCats parked forward - minimally fuelled but fully armed and ready to be flung off the bow, one-time-only - just like Hornet's deck-park, in the runup to the Tokyo Raid. (Or even just some more P-40s - what the heck, their pilots were going to end up taking a swim if the ship got shot out from under them anyway, right?)
Either way could've wreaked havoc among any long-range bombers - disrupted the attack, even if escorted by fighters - and very likely saved the ship.
But, I guess that lesson was still yet to be learned - the hard way - in the few more months until Hornet's hour of glory, the debut of the RN Catapult-Armed-Merchant ships and similar tactics...
Thanks again for this peek at your Langley build, Phil. I tried to search for the Robinson Langley pics at HyperScale, but couldn't find any. (I think my browser does not display all of their website's features.)
Can you go back there and copy the URL(s) that would take me straight to those pics, for a look? Any help greatly appreciated, Phil!