by Dirk Mennigke
1/350 USS Hayler DD-997 (DML)
USS Hayler DD-997 was a late Spruance class destroyer and went into service in 1983. After only 20 years of service she was taken out of active fleet and served as a target ship. “Hayler” was sunk on November 13th 2004, 300 miles off the eastcoast and will be a divers paradise one day.
I got the idea for this model seeing some spectacular pictures of her sinking on navy.mil. Having an old Spru-can in one of my showcases it was no problem to do the model: First I ripped off everything like weapons and electronic equipment. Then I weathered my “Hayler” heavily using grey, black and brown oilwashes. Other parts were highlighted by drybrushing.
The water is done using the silicone method. This technique was also applied for the foam column that arises from the torpedo hitting in “Hayler”’s flank.
