This project is a pretty easy one. The 35mm camera came with the USCG figure. The telephoto lens was waaaaay too big for most adventure use, though. We shortened it, capped off the hole, and repainted the whole camera. Now it looks more like a civilian camera like you'd find folks carrying at Yellowstone, along the coast or in the Grand Canyon.

Here's a pic of the original camera and the shortened version. You can see how much was removed in this process. The original telephoto zoom lens is pretty long. I can't imagine any possible shipboard use this could've had - the field of vision must've been restrictively narrow, especially on the rolling deck of a ship! We couldn't find much of a use for this monster, so cutting it down made a lot of sense.

Here are a couple of views from different angles. There's no great hobbyist skill here... this is a quick "bang it out" project because the kids wanted to play with it. I probably could've done a better job on the paint, but when kids are waiting and the day is late, sometimes you go with a 90% answer just to get it into service ASAP!

Now Joe is ready for about any mission - or vacation! This camera is a bit better than the snapshot cameras, less bulky than his video camera, and has about a 135mm telephoto zoom lens - perfect for portraits of Jane or beautiful wilderness vistas. Whether on business or pleasure, now Joe has a camera to use on his travels!

LMK what you think of this project, or any other stuff you stumble across on my website!
- ATC

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