These are pictures of a model of the U.S.S. Mattaponi AO-41, a World War Two T-2 tanker, done by my friend Mike Wood who doesn't have Internet access. The model is in 1:96 scale and was scratch-built for the ship's crew reunion a few years back. The hull is fiberglass and the rest of the model was completely scratch-built. The deck and superstructure was built from sheet plastic. Railings, piping, ladders, etc. built using Evergreen rod. Masters of the fittings, hatches, etc. were built from sheet plastic and then cast in resin. Masts and booms were done from aluminum tubing. The anti-aircraft guns consisting of 6-twin 40mm, 6-twin 20mm, 2-single 20mm were scratch-built. The twin Bofors 40mm guns consist of 88 pieces each. The 5" gun on the stern started as a commercial piece and was super-detailed. This model is nearly six feet (65-inches) long--a problem for photos.

Mat1MW.JPG (95957 bytes) Mat4MW.JPG (105312 bytes) Mat5MW.JPG (93514 bytes)
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Brian Francis for Mike Wood

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