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Need a little help identifying the ships used in "The Abyss"


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I've always been enamoured with the ships used at the end of the movie "The Abyss" and for years I've been wanting to get a model of something like them. But I'm not really the best or most knowlegeable when it comes to identifying ship types so I was hoping to get a little help. What kicked off my renewed interest is this website: http://modelshipsinthecinema.com/wp/archives/3116 It gives some great info on the ships used in the movie!

Here are some pics of the models, now I don't expect to find an exact match given that these were vintage and repurposed for use in the film and that they're likely vague representations of real ships. *Edit* You'll need to read a bit down on page to get all the pertenent information regarding the models.

Ship_12_zps3cwpci9z.jpg

Ship_6_zpsznvpjvsx.jpg

Ship_1_zpsytzunoye.jpg

Ship_4_zpsvxykdovh.jpg

Ship_11_zpsukxwwzau.jpg

Thanks for any help that you can give.

Edited by seashark
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Interesting--did not know of that site.

For other readers, the link needs to be read to get a full enough story and more photos.

32 and reverse-45 appear to be the same model, after looking at the web site.

Looks like a British King George V battleship before modifications. I don't know how accurate it was in War and Remembrance (readers: read the web link---that's where 32/45 came from) but the mods are extensive.

It's a bit of an aughh! though to look at the more detailed photos. In essence both front turrets (14" quad and dual) were replaced with one US 5"/54 of a much larger scale. So you'd have to do something like build a 1/400 KGV with 1/200 turret. Or, to make your's look less painful, do something that doesn't look so obviously out-of-scale.

It's not clear what they used for the missile launcher aft. Except for that the mods, at a quick glance, would be straightforward---literally: lots of sheet styrene.

The destroyer looks Japanese 20s/early-30s but has some Brit WW I characteristics too. Looks too small to be a Japanese late 30s or 40s DD.

Movie models usually have, what to us, are glaring errors though not necessarily lots of them (although some are totally made up by someone who doesn't know warships).

Also, they are usually not as detailed as what we do---film shots are longer so detail doesn't need to be precise or complete and finish does not need to be any smoother than the shot requires. Note the quick build times and that often the models get blown up anyway.

So, you'll probably do well and enjoy your project to find the closest kit to what you want and just make it look like the movie version as it appeared on film, but not painful to look at. I'd go with a what-if KGV had been modified into a missile ship like USS Mississippi or the US CLGs (some replacing 6" triple turrets with single 5" 38s.

1/700 is your best bet for getting a KGV class BB and a prewar Japanese DD.

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Interesting--did not know of that site.

For other readers, the link needs to be read to get a full enough story and more photos.

32 and reverse-45 appear to be the same model, after looking at the web site.

Looks like a British King George V battleship before modifications. I don't know how accurate it was in War and Remembrance (readers: read the web link---that's where 32/45 came from) but the mods are extensive.

It's a bit of an aughh! though to look at the more detailed photos. In essence both front turrets (14" quad and dual) were replaced with one US 5"/54 of a much larger scale. So you'd have to do something like build a 1/400 KGV with 1/200 turret. Or, to make your's look less painful, do something that doesn't look so obviously out-of-scale.

It's not clear what they used for the missile launcher aft. Except for that the mods, at a quick glance, would be straightforward---literally: lots of sheet styrene.

The destroyer looks Japanese 20s/early-30s but has some Brit WW I characteristics too. Looks too small to be a Japanese late 30s or 40s DD.

Movie models usually have, what to us, are glaring errors though not necessarily lots of them (although some are totally made up by someone who doesn't know warships).

Also, they are usually not as detailed as what we do---film shots are longer so detail doesn't need to be precise or complete and finish does not need to be any smoother than the shot requires. Note the quick build times and that often the models get blown up anyway.

So, you'll probably do well and enjoy your project to find the closest kit to what you want and just make it look like the movie version as it appeared on film, but not painful to look at. I'd go with a what-if KGV had been modified into a missile ship like USS Mississippi or the US CLGs (some replacing 6" triple turrets with single 5" 38s.

1/700 is your best bet for getting a KGV class BB and a prewar Japanese DD.

Thanks so much for that and thank you for fleshing out the details of my post, my brain has been so scrambled lately that half the time I don't even know what I'm thinking.

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As originally built for their original movies they look pretty good.

Meant to mention 45 also---the web site didn't provide anything clear (at a quick glance) but it sure looks like Bismark. Since KGV came from War and Remembrance 45 may be Bismark from that movie. Amazing how Robert Mitchum found all the action, even an RAF bombing mission!

BTW also meant to mention that the DD and KGV are way different scales. DD looks to be about twice bigger scale. I assume you want your's to be constant scale.

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