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1/700 USS INDIANAPOLIS "...The Last Moments..."


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My dear modeller friends, I've just finished my interpretation of the last moments of the USS Indianapolis.

I bought this Tamiya waterline series kit, on an eBay's auction, a few months ago, already provided with Gold Medal photo edge parts.

I kept it on my stash for future building, but, when my company sent me on vacation in this period, I couldn't resist building.

 

My plan was to realise the USS Indianapolis last navigation's moment when she was torpedoed by the Japanese I-58 submarine.

It was the 12:14 am of July 30 1945, when she was navigating in complete radio silence on the Leyte Gulf.

I think everybody saw Nicolas Cage's movie, and so I think the story is quite known.

 

For this realization, that involved the torpedo on water, I explored a new seascape building material, the epoxy resin. A material for me absolutely unknown, and for this reason, I saw a lot of tutorials on the YouTube Channel.

 

My first attempt was using a sea blue painted wood base with a 1 cm. thick layer of light blue painted epoxy resin over.

Then when the first layer was cured, I added the torpedos on place and the second thinner layer of same light blue epoxy resin.

The result wasn't so bad, but I found the torpedo's shadow on the wood base very annoying.

Trying to solve the problem I came up with the idea of placing the seascape on a transparent base, and, for this reason, I used a glass, lightly back painted with a different tone of blues and greens, in order to simulate the Pacific Ocean water, and the same procedure with the epoxy resin as the previous attempt.

The final result it satisfies me more, and I think it is more realistic.

Anyway I don't want to bother you with unwanted explications and so, this is the result, I hope I'll like it:

 

47598779851_d81aff9763_k.jpgIMG_20190413_143222 by Franco Segato, su Flickr

40632551643_4e2818770d_k.jpgIMG_20190413_143233 by Franco Segato, su Flickr

32656315977_70095d1d7c_k.jpgIMG_20190413_143300 by Franco Segato, su Flickr

47545766432_505b84137b_k.jpgIMG_20190413_143245 by Franco Segato, su Flickr

32656315797_1e40672324_k.jpgIMG_20190413_143321 by Franco Segato, su Flickr

46683127935_fa3a2f2f84_k.jpgIMG_20190413_143426 by Franco Segato, su Flickr

32656315377_321e1815cb_k.jpgIMG_20190413_143440 by Franco Segato, su Flickr

32656315027_d58f70fd49_k.jpgIMG_20190413_143450 by Franco Segato, su Flickr

46683127425_4839ab888b_k.jpgIMG_20190413_143533 by Franco Segato, su Flickr

46683127055_5499123a50_z.jpgIMG_20190413_143557 by Franco Segato, su Flickr

32656314187_d7475ae08b_k.jpgIMG_20190413_143628 by Franco Segato, su Flickr

 

Comments and suggestions are always very welcome:

Thank you and see you soon. Happy modelling!

Franco

 

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Gidday Franco, you've done another superb model of a ship that had a tragic end. I believe she was torpedoed only a few days after delivering one of the atomic bombs to Tinian Island. What happened to her crew was ghastly.

I haven't seen the Nicholas Cage movie, I saw an earlier film with Stacy Keach as Captain McVay.

     Again, you've done a very impressive model. Regards, Jeff.

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This is fantastic. JAWS is always the film that I associate with this story, and this is a quite emotionally powerful accompaniment to that haunting tale. I'm actually stunned at the water here, my mind is having trouble comprehending even how to do this kind of thing.

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Hello Franco,

very impressive diorama. I can see that the ship is finished to perfection.

What a superb result. Regards, Orion / The Netherlands.

 

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