by Mark Brockway |
1/426 USS Pine Island AV-12 (Revell)
This is my second ship effort as a semi retired adult. Yeash did I say that? Anyway it's another old Revell kit that I built as a kid, the USS PINE ISLAND. I don't know why, but I have always liked the look of this class of ships. I only wish Revell had gone ahead and added a full hull when the changed the molds to the Norton Sound to make the Currituck. At any rate, since the Pine Island was a little late to WWII I tried to model her as she was during her Korean War tours. This way I could keep the PBM Mariner and save some work building a Martin P-5 Marlin she used during her Viet Nam tours. Not to mention the paint scheme was a lot easier as well..This was a fun build that presented me some interesting challenges to overcome. (see Build thread here: ). As for upgrades I got the 5" 38 caliber gun mounts and the Mk 37 Gun director unit from Model Monkey. The 40mm Quad and Twin Bofors Autocannons came from 3D Model parts. All of these upgrades are first rate and the results are well worth the effort.
The Martin PBM Mariner is from the kit. I wanted a more candid and realistic look to the plane on the deck than the molded in cradle gave so I added the beaching gear, machine gun barrels and props form White Ensign's 1/450 Aircraft Detail Parts.
Thanks for looking and I hope you enjoyed it. Have a great day