1/700 USNS Hayes (Loose Cannon Productions)
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by Rick Heinbaugh |
1/700 USNS Hayes (Loose Cannon Productions)
USNS Hayes was a Military Sealift Command special purpose vessel built for underwater acoustic analysis in 1971. She is presently sitting at a pier in Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, decommissioned for several years and awaiting disposal.
The kit is a 1/700 scale resin model from Loose Cannon Productions. They make a number of non-mainstream subjects. This makes the research more challenging, but the model is fun.
Hayes had a couple of different outfits, so available photos show a number of different details. My model shows her as originally built, with a large U-frame in the bows and several smaller ones around the deck edges, as per drawings in a web document from the Naval Research Laboratory about the project. I added railings, the main crane amidships and some winches around the deck gear, and replaced the masts and added the appropriate radar.
The MSC stripes on the funnels are from JAG decals. The big MSC
seal on the sides of the stacks was reduced from the image on the web to
a very, very small affair, and printed to decal paper. The signal
hoist is India Romeo, from the H.O. Publication 102 meaning “I am engaged
in submarine survey work (underwater operations). Keep clear of me
and go slow.”
