| The Floating Drydock has been around
for many years. Tom Walkowiak has been producing a wide range of plans
with the Warship Modeler in mind for years. The TFW series are plans that
Tom has redrawn himself, they are based on official Government drawings
with additional views that would be of interest to most modelers. This
set is of the USS Tennessee as she was rebuilt and later refitted.
The plans are dated 1/1945 when she sported a new superstructure, secondary
armament, and modern radar. |
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| SHEET ONE |
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click images
to enlarge
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| The plan set contains three sheets the larger ones about
8 feet long when unrolled. The first sheet shows the ship in a full hull
side elevation. Since I have yet to figure out a way to record these plans
adequately and they are too large to fit on my scanner, photographs will
have to do. The yellowish color is a result of florescent lighting and
distant photographs don't show the contrast well. Hopefully the close-ups
will give you an idea of the detail on the plans.
The lines on the plans are sharp and the details are clearly drawn. Rigging
and railing, are clearly shown. |
| SHEET TWO |
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| The second sheet includes the plan view of the main deck
and other deck levels. The various fittings are labeled giving the modeler
a good idea of what they are.
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| SHEET THREE |
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| The third sheet is a little shorter and includes the miscellaneous
views. Hull lines are included as well as several views of the superstructure
that are cut away from a straight on view to show them clearly.
Rigging details are also shown on the masts. Various gun platforms and
other details are shown from multiple sides. |
| CONCLUSIONS |
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Whether you are scratch building a 1/96 scale Tennessee or detailing
the HP 1/700 kit,
these plans will definitely allow you to go above and beyond the
typical detailing. Check the
Floating Drydock's website for an extensive line of plans, building
supplies, kits, and reference material for the ship modeler. Not all their
sets are online so make sure you get a catalog or call for items you don't
see. This is set #TFW-BB43/8 USS Tennessee 1/96 $35.00, also available
in 1/192 scale for $15.00. |
