LPD-17 into......?

[seadude]

About a year ago, I bought the following:


But........I'm not sure what to make out of it for a future project. A few sample ideas are:

a) Leave it as an amphibious assault ship, but cut it open lengthwise going horizontally to show a cutaway of all the interior decks, well deck, etc., etc.

b) Build it as a replacement for the Navy's Blue Ridge class Command & Control ships.

c) Build it as a Ballistic Missile Defense ship.
http://intercepts.defensenews.com/2013/04/hii-shows-off-new-bmd-ship-concept-at-sea-air-space/

d) Whif it as an oceanographic exploration/research ship with extra cranes, mini submersibles in well deck, etc.

Any other ideas or suggestions?

[Logan Hartke]

I voted C, but here's a couple of other ideas:

• Dedicated USSOCOM support ship. Include a USAF CV-22 or US Army MH-47G on the back deck. Maybe paint it a darker shade of gray like the Singaporean Endurance-class ships.

• Russ-ify it. The Ivan Rogov-class never did get a "proper" replacement. The Ivan Grens will be a bit on the small side once they do come out. Call it a copy if you want, swap out as many bits on the back as you'd like. Slap some Mils or Kamovs on the helicopter pad. Give it a great, strikingly Russian paint scheme with black bits, white cheatlines, darker gray, and ugly red deck.

Cheers,

Logan

[Captain Canada]

I went D, but any of them would work for me ! The cut away one might be fun for you.

[Cobra]

You Could Turn it into a Disaster Response Ship with Helicopters,Etc. and Go Gerry Anderson with it. Dan

[kerick]

C looks good in that article. Lots of photos to work from.
BTW, the Coast Guard cutter and the USS Freedom movie poster are nice extras!

[Rick Lowe]

If you chose option a), you'd still have another half-ship to play with - I'd then go either option d) or the Disaster Relief idea.

Or you could buy enough to do all the ideas? 

Whichever you choose, I'm sure we'll like and approve of the results.

Cheers

[Mossie]

All good options.  I went for D, I like Dan's option too as disaster relief.

[seadude]

Russian idea:  Thanks, but no thanks.
Disaster relief:  I'm already doing that with an LHD hospital/humanitarian relief ship. No sense building a second.

[Rheged]

Option D is most versatile.  Research ship, capable of conversion to disaster relief or military use.   Lots of modular/containerised units for quick change.

[seadude]

C is nice, but I'm really hoping for D instead. Problem with D is that I need to find more oceanographic "equipment" so to speak such as cargo cranes, mini submersibles and/or other "odds and ends" that would be on an exploration/research ship. I've tried looking, but there's no 1/350 oceanographic research vessel model kits that I can kitbash parts from. Most ships I've seen are odd scales like 1/200, 1/150, or something else.

[zenrat]

I voted A.
I have some other ideas but they would be regarded as facetious so i'll keep them to myself.

[sandiego89]

Build whatever makes you happiest, or you may get dicouraged trying to make what you think others want to see. 

1/72 scale bombs, rocket pods and other stores can make for quite interesting things in 1/350 scale. eLINT pods are quite interesting shapes. I bet a AIM-9 sidewinder in 1/72 could look like a large towed array. A mark 82 bomb could make for a mini sub hull. The large davit cranes could be made from evergreen tubing.

Go for it - Dave

[Thorvic]

I went with E but basically similar to D but as an Antarctic/Arctic research ship.

Change lower bow to Ice Breaker style, give it a red hull, extra sensors, cranes, and do a mixed bag of helicopters, covered LCAC, snow tracks etc, in nice hi-viz shcemes. Plus can be displayed in the ice unloading kit.

[jcf]

C is nice, but I'm really hoping for D instead. Problem with D is that I need to find more oceanographic "equipment" so to speak such as cargo cranes, mini submersibles and/or other "odds and ends" that would be on an exploration/research ship. I've tried looking, but there's no 1/350 oceanographic research vessel model kits that I can kitbash parts from. Most ships I've seen are odd scales like 1/200, 1/150, or something else.

Hasegaw 1/350th Soya

http://www.hasegawausa.com/product-pages/hsgs0023.html





Released in two separate boxings so far, and there is also a PE detail set available from Hasegawa.

[Joe C-P]

I second Logan's idea of a Russian, or perhaps Chinese, version.