by Matt Enochs
1/350 USS Atlanta CL-51 (Yankee Modelworks)
My attempt to show the USS Atlanta CL-51 in the Guadalcanal area of operations in early November 1942. This was the Yankee Modelworks version of the old Blue Water Navy kit and the mold is really starting to show it's age. There was many details like hatches that were very soft or incomplete, any area with any kind of overhang or undercut had a cauliflower in it so there was a lot of cleanup to do. I scratchbuilt the Masts, 1.1 shell cages under #3 1.1 mount, the refueling hoses stored on the boat deck and the funnel walkways. I used the torpedo tubes from spare Dragon parts as well as the Depth charges and launchers. The 5/38's were the kits with Master's barrels and the same thing for the 1.1's with some WEM PE thrown in for good measure. The 20mm's are L'Arsenal, I really should have redid the tubs on the stern as they look too small for the guns inside but again I was working under a deadline and I didn't think about it until they were the last fittings being put on. The 40ft cutter was from Trumpeter with some old PE scraps I had laying around. All the radars and railings were provided with the kit. She is painted in Tamiya and Model Master Acrylics and weathered via dry brushing and Tamiya weathering pigments. I really enjoyed building this kit even with all of the cleanup necessary and feel it would be good for anyone with a couple of resin kits under their belt to build.
