Schooner Sultana

So I just finished my first wooden ship model, the Sultana. It kept me busy for about two months and was a lot of fun.

The Sultana, a top-sail schooner, was built in Boston in 1767. She was bought by Britain's Royal Navy, which used her to enforce the unpopular taxes levied in the years before the American Revolution. 

The Sultana patrolled the eastern seaboard chasing smugglers until 1772. Even though the battles of Lexington and Concord wouldn't happen for another three years, tensions with the American colonies meant that lightly armed schooners like the Sultana weren't enough to impress unruly colonists. She was sold in Britain in October 1772.

 

 In its case in the dining room!

As a bonus, there is a modern replica of the Sultana just north of us in Chestertown, MD, on the Chester River, which feeds the Chesapeake Bay. Pretty fun to see.

"Тихий Дон" (Quietly Flows the Don)

Tamiya Soviet Tank T34/76 "ChTZ" Version, 1943

By spring 1943, the German army at Stalingrad had surrendered and the Soviets were on the attack. The offensive sent the German forces reeling back some 300 miles from the Don. This diorama depicts a T-34/76 tank on the banks of the now quiet Don River on its way to the front miles away.

The title of the piece is taken from Michail Sholokhov's novel "Тихий Дон" (literally "quiet Don," but usually translated "quietly flows the Don").The Red Star on the plaque is a Soviet Army cap badge I picked up in either Moscow or St. Petersburg.

The model is Tamiya's T34/76 "ChTZ" version. The original "ChTZ" tanks were built at the tractor plant in Chelyabinsk, which came to be known as Tankograd ('Tank City') (and a city that I have visited, albeit very briefly). It was painted with Testor's enamel, and weathered with craft paints and MiG pigments. A lighter was used to deform the track guards.

The landscape was built on an 8 x 10 picture frame and cardboard. Woodland Scenics plaster and acrylic raw umber paint created the infamous Russian mud. The trees, grass, weeds, and rocks were gathered in my backyard. Snow and water effects also came from Woodland Scenics.The commander figure is from Tamiya's Russian army tank crew at rest.

Separate photos of the tank before it was muddied up and placed with the landscape are featured in another post.

Revell Navy SNJ Texan 1/48 In Honor of Chuck Pfeifer

My grandfather, Chuck Pfeifer, was a naval aviator during the 1950s. After he passed away on Dec. 31, 2011, I built and customized Revell's 1/48 SNJ Texan in the colors and markings of an aircraft he was photographed with while training in Whiting, Florida, in 1952. The stand and frame were scratch built.

The finished product on display at my grandfather's funeral.

Revell Germany 1/32 Arado Ar 196

Revell Germany 1/32 Arado Ar 196 Seaplane

Tamiya T34/76 Soviet Tank "ChTZ" Version, 1943

Tamiya T34/76 "ChTZ" Version, 1943

Revell SB2C-4 Helldiver 1/48 "Bombing Banshees"

Revell SB2C-4 Helldiver 1/48
Marine Scout Bombing Squadron (VMSB) 224 "Bombing Banshees," Mindanao, 2 June, 1945

The Bombing Banshees were the first Marine unit to fly Helldivers in combat. On June 2, 1945 the squadron attacked Cabaguio, Mindinao during the campaign to retake the Philippines.

This USMC photo shows this aircraft, 702, 10 days after the raid on Cabaguio.

Scratch-built machine-gun belts made out of tape.