Members Harbour
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USS Fletcer, 1942
1/48 scale destroyer, lead ship in a class of 175 built.
ToraDog
3 years ago
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4 Photos
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USS Eastwind 1/48th scale
USS Eastwind, a US Coast Guard operated icebreaker, circa 1944. !/48th scale plank on frame with F/G covering. Lots of lights, three motors, 1 bow, 2 stern.
ToraDog
5 years ago
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2 Photos
5 Likes
V4-MA-1 Tug
My V4-MA-1 US maritime Commission tugboat. 45+ built in WW2. Based upon the the Dutch(at the time the HMS) Zwarte Zee. Plank on frame construction cover in F/G. Lights, sounds and fire monitors.
ToraDog
5 years ago
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5 Photos
7 Likes
USS Jimmy Carter
USS Jimmy Carter, based upon a 1/48th scale F/G Seawolf hull. Lengthened and modified. High pressure( Scuba tank) air ballast system.
ToraDog
5 years ago
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7 Likes
USS Diver
A WW@ US Navy salvage/rescue ship. Built from a F/G hull and scratch, except for fittings, from there on. Working fire monitor, lights, radar, and anchor.
ToraDog
5 years ago
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1 Photo
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USS Halford
My 1/48th Fletcher class destroyer. One of three converted to carry a catapult mount amphibian. Controllable gun director, guns, torpedo mount, catapult and airplane motor start up, sound system and smoke system. Her camouflage scheme is not accurate, but it was a learning experience to try to do.
ToraDog
5 years ago
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Members Blogs
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A new build
I will, most likely, have to rename this Blog, at some point.
In the mean time...please do not expect much for a while as she is in her very early stages.
First a disclosure: This hull was built for me by another gentleman. It was delivered in a not quite completed state. Therefore I have spent the last two month working on it to get to it's present state.
So.. what is it? She is one of four ships in a class that was later enlarged to around eight maybe ten members of the class. Her main armament was eight 5"/38 caliber twin turrets. She and her class namesake sister were both lost during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. This ship is most noted due to the loss of an entire generation of one family, five brothers.
This should be enough for identification.
She is being built in my preferred scale, 1/48th or 1/4"=1'.
This ship was used for numerous camouflage scheme experiments and, sadly, there is little definitive documentation to pinpoint her second to last and last schemes carried. That said, my plan, subject to change without notice or reason, is to present her as she appeared following her New York Navy Yard overhaul, or perhaps as she may have appeared after repainting in Placentia Bay NewFoundland, 1942.
She measures out to 11' 3" and her power plant is to be two 24 volt Buehler motors.
Pictures of her and the build to follow.
Wish me luck please, she will not fit in my van....
ToraDog
1 month ago
12 Posts
10 Followers
74 Likes
USS Fletcher DD-445
Well, while I have been laying low since finishing the USCGC Eastwind, I have not been idle. I actually started this build about a year and a half ago. Like the Eastwind and the majority of my fleet, she is in 1/48th scale so she is a little over seven feet.
Quite a few years back I bought a second hand 1/48th Fletcher hull which I built into the USS Halford, DD-480, one of three Fletchers which mounted catapults and OS2U Kingfisher float planes. She came out pretty well. Later I was offered 3 1/48 USN destroyer hulls, another Fletcher, a Sumner, and a Gearing. I gave the Sumner and the Gearing to friends and kept the Fletcher. I had decided that I wanted to try to build the name ship of the class, as she was commissioned. I need to point out that, as commissioned, lasted only until she had completed her shakedown trials, after which she entered the New York Navy Yard and her appearance began to change. As such, she is modeled to represent a period of about a month of her life, which ran from 1942 to 1972 when she was sold and broken up for scrap. I will not go into her history, except to say that she was in the thick of the Southwest Pacific campaign from Guadalcanal right thru to Vietnam. She was the first of 175 ships in her class. The fastest recorded build of one of her class was 90 days, from keel laying to commissioning, built by Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine. Her functions, to date, are independent motors, rudder, smoke from both stacks, independent search lights, independent control of turrets and gun director with the ability to mix as needed, torpedo tubes, and some sound systems as well as radar and sonar.
To date she has passed her trials and is awaiting the placement of stanchions and wire ropes, which I hope to finish this year.
Her radio system uses telemetry so I can read her running voltage and amperage. I know her lat/long( like I need that!), and her speed in knots. She does not quite make the true 39+ knots that she did on trials, rather about 36, which is quite fast in her scale as it is. When I compared trial photos of the original to my model, they had almost the exact same bow waves and wake patterns. I was happy.
Here is the Fletcher on trials. This is the image that I am aiming to achieve. I will start the build blog in a day or so. Enjoy and I will entertain all queries.
ToraDog
3 years ago
16 Posts
7 Followers
86 Likes
USS Eastwind 1/48th scale icebreaker
This may ramble a bit as I am not that straight forward. I have always loved icebreakers and thought that they were a very under represented class of vessels in the modeling world. I remember building a plastic kit when I was around 15. It may have been a "Wind" or the Glacier. Either way, at around 14" it was way too small. Around 5 years ago, I stumbled upon an advertisement for a 1/48th laser cut keel and rib set for a Wind class icebreaker. It was a one off the gent was not going to produce it again. I grabbed it up. The "kit" consisted of the keel and a full set of ribs cut from a decent grade of aircraft plywood around 1/4" thick.
The first thing I did was start my research. Which ship, what configurization, date, paint pattern, weapons, ect.
There were seven ships built for the US Navy and Coast Guard combined, and one built for the Canadian Coast Guard. There were many variations, but two ships stood out. The USS Southwind and her sister the Eastwind. I chose the latter. Furthermore I chose to build her pretty much as built and commissioned. This led to her carrying an impressive weapons suite and an aircraft, which just happened to be available in a 1/48th kit form.
There were many challenges to build this model, not the least of which was to get accurate plans and photographs. The US Coast Guard Museum in Seattle, Washington was an immense help in that regard. Next was that research indicated that all equipment on Polar rated ships had to be of larger, stronger sizes than standard CG or Naval standards called for. Ie, lot's of masters and castings to be made in the future. Lastly was the weapons suite, which calle dfor large and unique fittings. Shapeways came to the rescue there. More of all of this as I go along.
These first pictures are of the kit set up, just to get a feel for it, on a build board. Followed by some planks pictures. The shaft logs are unique. They taper for there entire length and the shaft runs through them, but NOT centered. The shaft centered on the outboard end, but off center on the inboard end. I had a local shop turn these for me. WAY above my pay grade.
ToraDog
4 years ago
Recent Posts
๐ Interesting trivia ..
2 days ago by
๐บ๐ธ ToraDog (

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It does not get any better than that... except in
"The Twilight Zone".๐ฎ
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๐ฌ Re: Paint came in, hull paintedโฆthe blue is mot quite right
6 days ago by
๐บ๐ธ ToraDog (

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Cash,
Looking good!
Two paint comments. 1) Is the Tamiya a flat or a shiny finish? If the latter, a layer of dull coat will soften the color a bit. 2) Blue contains Red, the fastest fading color found on ships. As such, Blue's dull quite rapidly and often chalked. All that said, the color at the ship yard, vs even 3 months at sea will look appreciably different.
It has been interesting to follow several museum ships that have recently been re-paint in camo scheme. The comment most often heard is "they don't look right".
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๐ Boy, could this apply to us
7 days ago by
๐บ๐ธ ToraDog (

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It is on my bucket list Bill!๐
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๐ Boy, could this apply to us
7 days ago by
๐บ๐ธ ToraDog (

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Roy,
Yes Adam was one of the two original "stars" of Myth Busters. He has a channel on YouTube that he shoots in his "cave" and addresses all sorts of issues. Quite fun and tons of idea.
Jump I envy you!๐๐๐
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๐ Boy, could this apply to us
7 days ago by
๐บ๐ธ ToraDog (

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I have watched a wonderful video on Adam Savage's YouTube channel and I thought that so much of it applies to many of the challenges we face.
All to often, I find myself over engineering a solution to a problem and this video brings me right back to the KISS principal.
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๐ American Scout C-2 Freighter
8 days ago by
๐บ๐ธ ToraDog (

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ARRGGG Doug,
Yep Screech is NOW made in Jamaica, but it did not use to be. Until around 1960-70 it was made in house. AND it was not 80 proof, just a tad more, Something like Sunset, made in St Vincent 180 proof. I think there is an entire story about how the name came about, something about a USN Admiral at the start of WW2.
Either way, Jump needs to learn his rums if he is going to skipper some tramp steamer...๐คฃ๐คฃ๐คฃ๐คฃ
Even if he does build a nice lookin' tramp.
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๐ American Scout C-2 Freighter
8 days ago by
๐บ๐ธ ToraDog (

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Jump, Don't listen to that old codger. he may out rank you, but anyone who tips Capt. Morgan's rather than NewFoundland Screech does rank at all๐คฃ๐คฃ๐คฃ
He is right on one point though, she looks really sweet!
Great job. Now comes the fun stuff. (That's what you need the Screech for).
Oh, yea, don't forget her Plimson Marks. Her prop tip may have actually broken water if she were light loaded. Remember those Liberty's that preceeded her๐
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๐ American Scout C-2 Freighter
9 days ago by
๐บ๐ธ ToraDog (

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"think some research is in the offing!"
That is what it is all about. Get cracking!
The units have gotten a bit better than the old Lionel units we use to use....๐
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๐ American Scout C-2 Freighter
10 days ago by
๐บ๐ธ ToraDog (

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Jump,
You are doing her proud. Are you going to install a smoke unit in her? That would look really nice. The small Harbor Models unit would fit in your superstructure without issues.
Now about those rust stains....๐
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๐ American Scout C-2 Freighter
10 days ago by
๐บ๐ธ ToraDog (

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Jump,
She is looking sweet!
Our Maine winter was messy as well. Our spring consists of rain, rain and more rain. But, on the bright side we have a great crop of Ticks this year.๐๐๐
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๐ฌ Re: P2583 motor torpedo boat
15 days ago by
๐บ๐ธ ToraDog (

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One of, if not, the best looking PT's ever designed and built!!!๐๐๐
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๐ American Scout C-2 Freighter
15 days ago by
๐บ๐ธ ToraDog (

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"The stretchy black elastic also stretches if it gets wet."
Roy, You are talking about rigging line, yes?๐๐๐
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๐ American Scout C-2 Freighter
16 days ago by
๐บ๐ธ ToraDog (

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Stretchy black thread is great, BUT, be aware that over a short period it will lose it's elasticity if left stretched. I would suggest being able to unhook/unload any such lines so that they rest in a relaxed condition.
Guess how I know...๐
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๐ American Scout C-2 Freighter
16 days ago by
๐บ๐ธ ToraDog (

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Jump,
I "inherited" a bunch of BlueJacket metal blocks. They are all too small for my use( 1/48 scale) so if you would like them, you are welcome to them. Most fit 1/16th and 1/96th scale in various sizes. PM me your address and I'll send them out by snail wagon train.๐
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๐ American Scout C-2 Freighter
16 days ago by
๐บ๐ธ ToraDog (

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I have no doubt that the first mate rigged that line...๐
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๐ American Scout C-2 Freighter
17 days ago by
๐บ๐ธ ToraDog (

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Hey Jumpugly,
The Captain should throw the First Mate overboard for loading her like that!๐คฃ
Before you remove too much from her stern, try adding some ballast forward. That in and of itself will raise the stern.
She is looking really nice ( for a target๐)
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๐ Easter greetings
24 days ago by
๐บ๐ธ ToraDog (

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I saw the Easter bunny!!!!
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๐ฌ Re: Revell 1/72 scale Flower Class Corvette
24 days ago by
๐บ๐ธ ToraDog (

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OK Doug,
You got me, how is scale expressed in your converter? As a fraction or as a decimal? Foggy brain cells want to know๐๐
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๐ฌ Re: On research ...
24 days ago by
๐บ๐ธ ToraDog (

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Oh! Here you go... talking politics again.๐คฃ๐คฃ๐คฃ๐คฃ
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๐ฌ Re: Revell 1/72 scale Flower Class Corvette
25 days ago by
๐บ๐ธ ToraDog (

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I am attaching scale speed chart that I save from an old Ship& scale magazine. I have used it for 1/48th models, my scale, and it seems to provide a fairly accurate basis.
We need to remember that scale speed will almost always appear to be to slow, so some adjustment maybe warranted. Also, it is always nice to have just a tad more power, in one's back pocket, for those unexpected moments.
Cheers All.
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๐ฌ Re: Kitbashing a Revell Flower Class Corvette into HMCS Woodstock
25 days ago by
๐บ๐ธ ToraDog (

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Doing the research can be a great challenge, but it is so delightful to do. You have made a great start and I look forward to following your build!๐๐
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๐ Help with wiring 2 motors please
28 days ago by
๐บ๐ธ ToraDog (

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Good Oh! Duncan Bravo Zulu to you. Those nast little un polarized servo plugs can bite you. This is why Futaba polarized their servo leads. One has to be very careful these days. I have had radio battery packs that were, from the factory, inverted. That was a head scratcher.
And No, Canada is not stupid enough to adopt the USA. Who would with PumpkinHead and his syncopates running around?
I am hoping that Maine secedes and joins Canada.
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๐ Help with wiring 2 motors please
30 days ago by
๐บ๐ธ ToraDog (

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Duncan,
I am confused. ( Normal for my age). I know what you are trying to achieve, tank steering, but after reading the manual for your WMixer, I am not sure that you can get there.
Are the lead labels, motor 1, motor 2, ect, factory applied, or did you apply them?
The removal of one red lead from one of the ESC radio leads is the correct way to go. Go on you.
The manual talks about connecting motors to leads 1 and 2 and that leads 3 and 4 are duplicates of the former. There is no mention of mixing the rudder into the throttle commands. Strange.
If all else fails, Action Electronics makes a good tank mixer here:
https://www.componentshop.co.uk/action-electronics/mixers-multifunction.html |
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๐ Flysky radio behaving erraticly
1 month ago by
๐บ๐ธ ToraDog (

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LOL๐คฃ
Welcome to Chinese instructions!๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
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๐ Flysky radio behaving erraticly
1 month ago by
๐บ๐ธ ToraDog (

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When in doubt:
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๐ฌ Re: Update and mods. USS Cushing TB-1
1 month ago by
๐บ๐ธ ToraDog (

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Isaac,
I knew that I had a photo somewhere...
This is the USS Tingey, Shubrick, Wilkes,. Blakeley Cl torpedo boats at Bangor, Maine, July 2, 1909.
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๐ฌ Re: Update and mods. USS Cushing TB-1
1 month ago by
๐บ๐ธ ToraDog (

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Nice Isaac!
Take a look at the USS Blackley, TB-27 here on Navsource. She may be what your ship was modeled after.
https://www.navsource.org/archives/05/tb/050327.htm |
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๐ Flysky radio behaving erraticly
1 month ago by
๐บ๐ธ ToraDog (

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It sounds to me like your radio is not binding. I have created a similar situation using my FrSky system. After many strange words came out of my mouth, I opted to start from scratch.
I created an all new model in my transmitter, without any settings for the channels or servos, and bound the receiver.
Once there, I added the servos I added an extra servo as a stand in for an ESC), and then made up my settings.
The only time this did not work was when my receiver was programmed to a difference protocol.
I don't think that your receiver battery pack is an issue, could be but doubt it. It could be the switch for the pack, in which case you can by pass it and connect the pack directly to the receiver.
Do separate the transmitter and receiver by a couple of meters when you bind them. X-mitters can easily over power the receiver which will then, not bind.
Hope this helps.๐๐๐๐
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๐ Question of the Day?
1 month ago by
๐บ๐ธ ToraDog (

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AI=Alleged Intelligence
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๐ Titanic - Scuttled??
1 month ago by
๐บ๐ธ ToraDog (

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This idea rates right up there with the theory that Neil Armstrong never set foot on the moon.
As for TV documentaries, Trump watches them so....๐๐๐
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