By way of introduction...
I'm a warship modeler, interested in naval history in general, and WWII naval history in particular.
Although I consider myself a Californian these days, I was born on the east coast of the US, an area that has a rich maritime and naval history. I was born at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, where my father was an instructor in deep water hard-hat salvage diving. Having grown up on and around naval bases in Maryland, Yorktown, and Norfolk Virginia, and having spent so much of my childhood on and around warships with my father, I suppose it was natural to develop an interest in naval history. I became an avid model builder from the age of 10, and I'm still building model ships to this day, 53 years later. I belong to a club of 40 crazy guys who build RC 1:144 scale WWI and WWII warships that we arm with CO2-powered guns that fire steel balls for ammo, and then battle them in Axis vs Allies fleet engagements. Our club, Western Warship Combat Club, has a website here:
http://www.westernwarshipcombat.comI'm also interested in photography (I would call myself a serious hobbiest.), and have extensive collections of digital images I've taken of various WWII museum ships in the US - and my latest, the 1/10 Yamato museum model in Kure, Japan - that I share freely with fellow modelers:
- USS Texas
- USS Alabama
- USS Laffey
- USS North Carolina
- LST 325
- Yamato 1/10 scale model
I also shot extensively when the USS Iowa was towed under the Golden Gate bridge in May of this year, outbound to Southern California to start a new life as a museum ship.
My RC models, all 1:144 RC, include:
- DKM Lützow (German "pocket battleship" - combat ready)
- le Fantasque (French "super destroyer" - combat ready)
- USS Cimarron (fleet oiler - combat ready)
- LST 325 (operating ramp, clamshell doors, RC tank that rolls down the ramp and onto the beach - combat ready)
- Elco 80' PT boat (on the ways)
- DKM Bismarck (on the ways)
- USS North Carolina (planned)
I hope to learn more about ship modeling here, to share what I know with others, and to make new friends who share my love of history.
Rob Wood
Daly City, California (just outside San Francisco)