"Peter Hall had a bout with pleurisy which left him unable to do much
except sit and read for a few weeks, which obviously impacted his design
schedule and our production schedule." This message was posted by John
Snyder on May 13, 2003 in response to an inquiry about WEM projects. Don’t
believe it. It is patently a cover story fabricated to hide the truth. The truth
is out there! The truth is that Peter Hall was recalled to his home world for
consultations with his government about their ongoing program to mesmerize the
model building population of earth with Minutiae Madness. How else can one
explain the release of the 1:350 scale brass photo-etch fret for the Interior
Fittings and Accessories of the USS Hornet CV-8,
WEM PE 3541 for the 1:350 scale Trumpeter kit.
First WEM gave us brass parts for the interior of the 1:350 aircraft
that came with the kit. Parts like instrument panels and foot pedals in 1:350th
scale! As if we did not enough to do, WEM has expanded the scope of their
operations to include the interior of the Hornet
herself! WEM with this interior fret and all of the Hornet
frets that have preceded it, has allowed the modeler to add unprecedented detail
into a 1:350 scale kit, or for that matter, any scale kit. Clearly, it is the
design of White Ensign Models and Peter Hall to draw us into this
Lilliputian world of 1:350 pilot’s seats and interior girders. While we are
mesmerized by the incredible detail put forth in their brass frets, we will be
oblivious to their taking over our world.
Naval architects and industrial designers will love this fret. It is full of
rectangles, squares and triangles, the steel interior maze of reinforcing
girders and supports of USN carrier at the start of World War Two. Unlike other
frets from White Ensign Models there is no one item or group of items
that jump out at you on this fret. Unlike a production that relies upon the
talents of a lead actor, the Interior Fittings Fret for the USS
Hornet is more like a production that relies upon an ensemble
cast. You are struck by the reoccurring pattern of the interior support girders.
Not that there is just one pattern of interior support girder. There are
variations. There are alternate designs. Indeed if you examine the fret, you
will see that instead of being the same pattern, there are 32 distinct girder
supports in this fret with support #1 being at the bow and support #32 being at
the stern. Each girder support is designed to fit at a specific location in the
interior of the USS Hornet. Each
support girder is designed to join the backbone of a centre (center) support
beam (parts 36).
Although the support grid of the interior takes up the bulk of the fret,
there is more. The central elevator has its own parts, including bulkheads and
elevator supports. White Ensign Models has provided four large
ventilation ducts for the interior as well as a large series of ventilator
louvres.
Instructions
White Ensign Models provides seven pages of comprehensive instructions
for this brass fret. However, only three pages are devoted to the brass parts on
the fret. One page of general instructions, one page of a photo of the fret with
each part identified by number and one page of assembly locations. By far the
key item in the instructions is the panel showing the "Hangar Roof
Support Location Guide". This shows how the steel skeleton of the
interior supports is put together.
The other four pages go beyond what is provided in the fret. In some regard,
designing a photo-etched fret is like designing an actual warship. It is a
series of compromises and trade-offs. What features do you put into a fret that
will create the greatest level of detail and modeler interest that can be
produced at a price that modelers will find acceptable. WEM could have
provided interior bulkheads for the Hornet
as a second brass fret in this set but this would have significantly increased
the price and decreased the accessibility of the fret. Instead WEM
provides templates for these bulkheads so the modeler can use low cost plastic
sheet or card stock to easily fabricate these bulkheads for the interior of the Hornet.
With a small investment and the expenditure of a little time, you will have
these parts with two exceptions. Parts A4 and C4 would have been better if they
had been included on the brass fret, since they involve circular holes (weight
saving voids) in the girders. However, even these are not beyond the ability of
the average modeler.
Verdict
Amazing! Caroline and John Snyder must have a controlling interest in a fiber
optic company. When you see this interior brass fret for the USS
Hornet, you can not help but think of ways to illuminate the
interior of the model to show of the glorious detail now available for the
heretofore unexplored world of the interior of a 1:350th scale model.
Is WEM PE 3541, Interior Fittings and Accessories Brass Fret for the USS
Hornet for everyone? No, it is not. Many modelers will say, no, I’m
not going that far! No, I’m not going into that strange new world! No, I’m
not going to set foot on that unexplored planet! However, this fret will appeal
to the bold and adventuresome. It will appeal to those that what to explore the
unknown. It will appeal to those that wish to cross the boundary of the
commonplace. It will appeal to those that wish to push the envelope. With this
fret in place, your Hornet
will clearly be light years in front of the more mundane and
conventional.
White Ensign Models, whose ongoing mission is to explore strange new
worlds of microscopic detail, to boldly go where no photo-etch has gone before.
Watch the skies! Watch your radar screens! The WEM invasion is coming!
Now, where did I place my tin foil hat?
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