[selek7101]

Howdy all!

I'd like to present my first scratch-build paper model, the Austin Class LPD USS Ponce (pronounced Pon-SAY).

But for some reason, the website won't let me (it complains about the number of URLs and forbidden words). Guess I'll have to submit the image as an attachment.

I went to the official dockyard blueprints for measurements and detail- though I've deliberately kept the details light because of my fat, clumsy fingers and the limits of my bifocals.

As soon as I've finished cleaning up the pieces and writing up clear instructions, I'll be uploading her to this site and to the various Ponce and Austin class veterans groups.

With the exception of a handful of 1/700 scale resin kits and the hugely expensive wood or fiberglass desktop models this class has been entirely ignored by the model-building companies. Between that fact, the general obscurity of the class, and the comparative rarity of the paper-modelling hobby itself, it's very likely that this model is the only one of her kind in the world.

Hopefully that will change very soon!