1/350 scale USS Solace LHD Amphibious Hospital Ship

seadude · September 10, 2016, 08:07:19 AM

I know the US Navy's MERCY class hospital ships have a small "garage" type hangar on the helipad for storage and/or maintenance of 2 copters. But whether helicopters are PERMANENTLY deployed on the MERCY ships, I do not know and have not been able to find out. And any pics I do find of helicopters landing or taking off from MERCY class ships do not show red cross markings on them.

Old Wombat · September 10, 2016, 12:03:20 PM

Given the above, I'd hazard a fairly good guess that the helo's are just on detachment from other units.

Solace, given her more specific & specialised role, would be likely have her own permanent stables of air & water craft, as well as vehicles.

I'd go with Chris' 60/40 mix.

seadude · September 10, 2016, 06:32:00 PM

Well, the aircraft went back to my friend today for more detailing. It wasn't my idea. He kinda insisted on it. He wanted to clear coat them and try some decaling work on them. So it'll be another week or two again before I get them back. In the meantime, I'll get started on painting the rotors on the sprues, as well as creating some spinning rotors from clear acrylic sheet.

I also found the following:

Quote"Chief Petty Officer Curtis Trull Jr. (left), a hospitalman with the 2515th Navy Air Ambulance Detachment, gives a tour of the detachment's helicopter to instructors and students of a MEDEVAC class for members of the Iraqi Army's 14th Division, Feb. 24, 2010, at the Contingency Operating Base Basra flight line."

Quote"Photo By Capt. Michael Lovas | A U.S. Navy SH-60 Sea Hawk air ambulance from the Ridgecrest-, Calif., based 2515th Air Ambulance Detachment flies over a Caiman Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle toward a designated landing zone at Camp Virginia, Kuwait, Jan. 11, 2012, as part of medical evacuation training with the Brainerd-, Minn., based 1st Combined Arms Battalion, 194th Armor, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry "Red Bull" Division. Soldiers were able to practice treating a patient, coordinating with a helicopter crew to request assistance and the handing off a patient to the crew for follow-on care."

Also found this:
http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=23162

nighthunter · September 10, 2016, 07:22:09 PM

My point is made!

seadude · September 11, 2016, 08:16:50 PM

Here's the "almost" completed water display piece for my hospital ship display. This is used for displaying the various landing craft and vehicles. I still have to buy and add a LCM-8 and a LARC-V to put on the left of the display. I was going to add "something" (But don't know what? ) to the left and right of the wording since there's a little bit of blank white space there. But I'm not sure. $:-\$

kerick · September 11, 2016, 08:48:51 PM

This is impressive! You've thought of everything!

nighthunter · September 11, 2016, 10:43:42 PM

Why not add the USN Seal, and the Navy's Medical Corps Seal?

Old Wombat · September 11, 2016, 10:48:02 PM

Quote from: nighthunter on September 11, 2016, 10:43:42 PM
Why not add the USN Seal, and the Navy's Medical Corps Seal?

Smart thinking, that nocturnal predator!

nighthunter · September 11, 2016, 10:58:15 PM

Glad I could be of assistance.

Captain Canada · September 12, 2016, 09:33:25 AM

That display is looking great ! Going to be a real center of attention that !

seadude · September 12, 2016, 11:25:38 AM

Quote from: nighthunter on September 11, 2016, 10:43:42 PM
Why not add the USN Seal, and the Navy's Medical Corps Seal?

Perhaps. If I can find some small enough images to put in those spaces.

seadude · September 17, 2016, 04:57:27 PM

Not exactly model related, but here's some of my reasoning for why an amphibious type assault ship could/should be used as a hospital/humanitarian ship.

DEFICIENCIES OF A MERCY CLASS HOSPITAL SHIP
(Sample List)

1. Too old. Originally built in the 1970's as oil supertankers. Converted to hospital ships in the mid 1980's. The ships are about 40-45 years old.
2. They are too slow, with a maximum speed of just over 17 knots.
3. They are not easily or quickly deployed or docked. It can take 3-5+ days to prepare the ship for deployment.
4. Their size gives them a substantial radar signature that, combined with lack of maneuverability, makes them vulnerable to attack (although this should not occur, as attacking a hospital ship is a war crime under the Hague Convention of 1907).
5. While the ships are underway or in rough seas, patients must be transported by helicopter. However, helicopter capacities are limited, as each ship has only one landing pad.
6. Other points for receiving of patients is severely lacking. Raising and lowering of ship's boats via the davits is too slow and time consuming. Port and starboard sideports are too small for boats to dock alongside and transfer patients.
7. Patient movement within the ship is limited. Built as oil tankers, the original oil storage bulkheads were retained, but have no hatches, which means that patients must be brought up to the top deck in order to be moved from a lower compartment in one part of the ship to another.
8. Can only receive up to 200 patients a day.
9. Cargo capacity/storage limited for humanitarian relief missions.
10. VERTREP (Vertical Replenishment) of a Mercy class ship must use the same small flight deck that patients are brought aboard.
11. Evacuation of ship personnel and patients in an emergency is mainly by 10-12 lifeboats, which would take too long to fill, and lower in the water. Flight deck is inadequate as only 1 helicopter can land at a time.

ADVANTAGES OF AN LHD TYPE AMPHIBIOUS HOSPITAL SHIP
(Sample List)

1. 50 ft. shorter, 2 ft. less wider, 6 ft. less draft, and 5 knots greater speed, over the existing Mercy class hospital ships.
2. 8-9 landing/takeoff spots for a wide variety of aircraft such as V-22, SH-60, CH-53, CH-46, or other helicopters.
3. Large internal hangar space for storage/maintenance of aircraft.
4. Large well deck can handle up to 3 LCAC (Landing Craft Air Cushion) vehicles or other water craft for transfer of cargo and personnel.
5. Large flight deck, plus large well deck, plus two sideport entrances, provides rapid embarkation/debarkation of personnel and cargo.
6. Large volumous upper and lower vehicle storage decks which can handle a wide variety of vehicles for humanitarian missions.
7. Berthing used for troops could be converted to handle patients.
8. Cargo holds used for ammunition and other warfighting materials could be converted for holding medical and humanitarian supplies.
9. Six cargo elevators for rapid movement of personnel and/or cargo from the flight deck to other decks and/or the well deck on the ship.
10. Even if an LHD hospital ship cannot dock at a regular port for any reason, personnel and cargo can still be transferred to/from the ship via aircraft and LCAC's. LCAC's have the ability to "land" or go ashore beaches or other land areas where other vehicles and water craft might not have access to.
11. Because of the large well deck and flight deck, an LHD ship would be able to receive twice (500+) the amount of patients per day over the amount that a Mercy class ship would (200+ per day).
12. In an emergency, ship personnel and patients can be quickly evacuated via landing craft in well deck, or by mass helicopter evac on flight deck due to 8-9 landing/takeoff spots, and also from the ship's boats and liferafts.
13. An LHD would have a warship power plant designed for commonality with other warships. Also, an LHD would have much tighter subdivision and better damage resistance than a merchant ship conversion.

seadude · October 14, 2016, 08:22:29 PM

New in-progress pics coming possibly Sunday.

Should hopefully have this project 100% completely done by next week sometime. Yay!

seadude · October 22, 2016, 03:28:37 PM

Long post. Sorry.

I took lots of pictures. Some are a bit repetitive. Sometimes the model (and certain details) looks decent with a camera flash, and sometimes it doesn't. If anybody has questions on anything, then just ask.

I'll be taking this model to a contest on Halloween weekend, then to another contest 2 weeks after that.

FINISHED!

First, a few modeling notes before the pictures:

U.S.S. SOLACE T-AH-21 "What If" LHD Hospital Ship

Kit Used: 1/350 scale Gallery Models/MRC U.S.S. WASP LHD Amphibious Assault Ship (Kit # 64001)

1. Main hull painted with Testor Model Master Acryl FS-37875 Flat White, and # 4714 Insignia Red. Flight deck painted Testor Gunship Grey.
2. All other aircraft, vehicles, ship fittings, etc. painted in a variety of Testor Model Master Acryl or Tamiya paint colors.
3. Majority of cargo, crates, and fuel oil drums from aftermarket vendors Niko Models, Black Dog, and L'Arsenal.
4. Majority of aircraft are from main ship kit. UH-1 Huey's from Trumpeter.
5. Small Red Cross decals for vehicles by GHQ Wargaming. Red Cross decals on ship hull sides from extra 1/35 scale modern armor vehicles.
6. Ship bridge windows and aircraft/vehicle windows "painted" so to speak with Sakura Pigma Micron 0.25mm ink pens.
7. Life raft canisters painted Testor Model Master Acryl # 4682 International Orange to make them more visible against a white painted ship and/or ocean background.
8. Extra flight deck tractors and forklifts from MRC Carrier Deck Equipment Accessories Set.
9. Extra ship's boats and RHIB's from spare model kits.
10. Extra cargo trucks and Humvee's from GHQ Wargaming miniatures.
11. Large and medium ship cranes are from spare kits.
12. Water effect in well deck made from acrylic gel medium.
13. Ramp from upper vehicle deck to lower vehicle deck scratchbuilt.
14. Well deck ramp side platforms are scratchbuilt.
15. Port side embarkation entrance cut open and doors are scratchbuilt.
16. Cargo elevator and flight deck tunnel ramp are both scratchbuilt.
17. Lighting of vehicle deck & well deck with Electroluminescent (EL) Wire.
18. Cutouts in flight deck and hangar bay floor made with a Dremel rotary tool. Flight deck cutout is 15 ¾" x 2". Hangar floor cutout is 8" x 1 3/8".
19. 20ft. white medical shipping containers scratchbuilt from square plastic rod.
20. Spinning aircraft rotors made from clear acrylic sheet, then sanded to give the illusion of spinning rotors.

Old Wombat · October 22, 2016, 11:22:20 PM

That is bloody awesome! Well done, mate!