Thanks Chris, Uganda wasn't in good shape when I volunteered to make her battle ready. Most of the equipment was loose in the hull, part of the Camurati pump had been lost, there was no water channeling, armour sections were damaged or missing, and the wiring was in a tangle. The BB cannons weren't firing properly due to gas leaks. There were no barbettes and a section of superstructure (the upper bridge) larger than a cubic inch was missing, both of which made the model 'illegal'. Much of the hull was impenetrable to the drop test too. Uganda's 'legal' now and everything inside has been organized and secured. The outside looks a lot better too. It's surprising what paint and only a basic amount of detailing can do for a model. Bob
Still no response from Steve re the HMCS Uganda so I've given up sending emails and leaving phone messages. The model has to go because we don't have room to store it and it can't stay on the dining room floor any longer. It'll be under the deck in a garbage bag until Steve retrieves it. Bob
Thanks Chris. Jay ran into Steve 2 1/2 weeks ago and asked him to call me but he hasn't yet. Steve doesn't use the computer or check emails often. From past experiences I'm pretty sure the answering machine messages and verbal messages I leave with his family members don't get passed on to him. That makes him very hard to contact. Bob
Man, looking at those pictures really makes me want to have a British light cruiser. Between the Salem, Salt Lake City, Belleau Wood (CVL, but same basic battling style) and the planned IJN Chikuma (because I want an Axis ship), fitting in another allied cruiser seems...overkill. Maybe when I get rid of the Salem (I don't plan on keeping it forever) I'll replace it with the Sheffield.
I like the Town Class cruisers but there's no hull available. I bought an Ensign series book on them but despite 3 pages of camo patterns and beautiful side and top view plans there's not a single hull section drawing! There aren't any hull sections in Raven and Roberts' 'British Cruisers of WWII' either. Unfortunately there's an error in Steve's Colony Class hulls. The quarterdeck slopes down as it goes aft and the transom stern is 3/8" too low in consequence. The mold he used for the Uganda's hull was a 3-part that included a molded in deck lip about 1/2" wide all around the hull, making it very difficult to extend the aft section of the hull upward to the right height. I think Steve has a 2-part mold without the deck edge and hope the Q-deck is horizontal on that one. If not, the hull could be extended upward quite easily by gluing balsa along the outside of the aft hull at the right height and gelcoating and glassing on the additonal material. Bob
I'd consider building a Crown Colony class ship as well, as they are very cool looking cruisers too. Looks wise, I prefer them to the US Clevelands (although were I to ride one into a gun fight, I'd prefer to be on a Cleveland). The main reason why my preference would be for the Sheffield over a Colony, is the history. Sheffield was active against both the Bismarck and Scharnhorst, and also pasted the Adm Hipper in a surface action. Sheffield kind of has that been there, done that history that I like in my ships. It's one of the things I hold against my USS Salem. It's like what did it actually ever DO? I'm looking forward to seeing more British ships on the water. I'll be running my Brit BC next year as my primary, Mikey Deskin will be running his Hood, there are rumors we might have a Rodney and KGV next year, plus all the Brit ships you guys are running up there. I'm really looking forward to the Iron Duke from BC to come out, as I think that will be a really good combat ship.
I'll be running the Invincible as my primary ship at least until I get the Queen Mary completed. I no longer have the Courageous, Mikey Deskin has her now. He loves Brit battlecruisers even more then I do, and will have a fairly impressive squadron of his own with a Renown, the Courageous and a Hood. I think Phil A. wants Mikey to sell him the Courageous but I am not sure Mikey is terribly interested in parting with her. Aside from my frustrations with the ship, I needed to clear up some space here at home for the Salem which I was picking up and for the Queen Mary (Don Fisher's former Lion which will be converted to the similar, but different QM) which I was planning to pick up. While the Courageous was a looker, she was a space eater, and I had talked to Mikey about taking her on even before I ran her at NATS. I definitely never wanted to resheet her again! I did really poorly with the Courageous at NATS, but I think it was on me more then on the ship. I simply didn't have the skills to jump from my the Invincible (which is really a dream to battle with) to the Courageous, especially after I didn't take the time to maximize what could have been her strong points. What I needed to do was modify the drive some to help her acceleration and deceleration, because she started and stopped horribly. Nothing on the pond could catch me, (the Bismarck and Strasbourg didn't show up until after I was switching over the Salem) which left me forced to get aggressive, and that's where I paid the price. The Courageous is a poor ship to take on a Konig with, especially when you can't start or stop well. Once I went after someone, I couldn't start or stop well enough to get away, and I got pounded but good. Had I put in the time to tweak the drive to enhance her starting and stopping I think she'd have done a lot better. So, I've gotta put that failure on my skills as a captain, and the lack of foresight to improve her starting and stopping. For your guys' Renowns and Repulses, I highly recommend maximizing that. Mikey's Renown did far better then the Courageous did, and aside from his greater skill as a captain, I think that acceleration played a very, very big role. Having three turrets instead of two helped also! I think Courageous would have done better had there been other long, fast ships out there while I was running her, but I also feel I didn't do her justice.
Steve has called and will pick up his HMCS Uganda on the 30th or 31st. He has a CO2 tank and can test the modified cannons. The model still needs a pump outlet restrictor to reduce output to Treaty stats and will have speed testing when the lakes are clear of ice again. I think the flat sided motors Steve installed are 12V 380PHs so getting the model slowed down won't be as much of a problem on 6V. Bob
The Uganda model is still here in our dining room awaiting pick-up. No sign of the owner yet - it was to have been removed a week ago. Bob
HMCS Uganda has returned to its owner after a 5 month absence. Steve Hill dropped in last evening and was pleasantly surprised by the extent of the rebuild. Ideally the model should have a Dean's minwhip antenna but they are no longer available from Great Hobbies or any local stores. I haven't been able to find them on line either. With an antenna and a restrictor outlet for the pump the Uganda will be ready for speed trials when the lakes thaw. Bob
Bob if Steve is using his new radio he will not need a deans whip as Craig and I both have the same radio and the antenna is only about 1.5 inches long and sat inside the boat. The new digital radios are worth every penny.
Chris, Steve is using his old radio with the long aerial wire. His new radio is going into the Vanguard. As an alternative to the Dean min-whip Steve may buy one of those thin aerial tubes that you feed the wire into. There are a few types of those at Great Hobbies. Sorry to hear other interests and chores have caused you to put this hobby aside, temporarily I hope. Bob
