Short History

USS Reuben James (FFG-57), an Oliver Hazard Perry-class guided missile frigate, is the third ship of the U.S. Navy named for Reuben James, a boatswain's mate who distinguished himself fighting the Barbary pirates.

Reuben James was born in Delaware, Ohio about 1776. He joined the Navy and served on various ships, including the frigate USS Constellation. During the Barbary Wars, the American frigate Philadelphia was captured by the Barbary pirates, when it ran aground in the city of Tripoli, on the southern shores of the Mediterranean Sea. Lieutenant Stephen Decatur, along with a group of volunteers that included Reuben James, entered the harbor of Tripoli under the cover of darkness in an attempt to burn the Philadelphia so that the pirates could not make use of her.

Skunkworks is a brand name from Lucky Models. They have released some really unique sets in the past including weapons sets, Navy deck tractors, and UAVs. This is one the first of their new helicopters, the HH-60H Rescue Hawk. The Rescue Hawk is a development of the SH-60F Seahawk designed to retrieve downed aviators behind enemy lines.

Eduard has released another set of die-cut flexible masks and this one is for the 1/32 Revell AR196A kit (No. 04688). This set includes all of the required masks for every piece of “glass”. The material used is not unlike the material that Tamiya uses for their masking tape. It has the same holding qualities and peels off easily without leaving any residue. I coat all of my “glass” with a layer of Future which also helps to stop the glue from sticking. If you don’t use anything on your “glass”, a light stick to the backside of your hand should take care of the residue, if any.