During the meeting we talked about high density foams that could be cut with a hot wire.  Tim pointed out that there is a product that is very dense (no visible air pockets or variations) called REN Shape Tooling Board, or REN Board, or RENShape Board.  I contacted some of the suppliers and was advised that this material is too dense to cut with a hot wire.  It's designed as Tim pointed out to be cut with tooling machines.  

That said it is a very interesting material and could be used to make model bases as it is very consistent and cuts easily with the right tools.  

What you want to use is High Density EPS Foam boards or blocks.  The construction foam board "project Panel" I bought from Lowes works very well and is very low cost.  There are denser materials out there and can get pretty pricy.  

Thanks to everyone who was able to attend our meeting Saturday.  Here's a link to the recording if you're interested in reviewing.

April Ship Club Meeting

We started the meeting with a quick update on IPMS Nationals in Las Vegas.  It looks like we have a few that are planning on attending.  It should be an interesting show.

David gave us an update on his tankers he's been working on.  David is focusing his efforts on the Housatonic and making good progress.  David also sent the photo etch sheet which looks great and resulted in a good discussion about how he designs and has them made.  I was surprised how many different photo etch suppliers David and Richard (Tom's & White Ensign Models) have in their arsenal.  

David also told us about the tool he uses for drilling with small bits.  The plate where the part to be drilled moves up with a high degree of control to meet the drill bit, rather than the drill coming down to the part.  David says the control is great and has a better sense of feel when drilling.  

Rob Weilacher gave a nice review of a Corsair Armada kit.  It's an AGP PT Boat Tender.  I was interested in this kit to go along with the tiny little 1/700 Flyhawk PT Boats I recently purchased.  The kit is close to release date.  Rob actually built the kit a couple of years ago.  Glad to see it's finally coming to market.

John DuGene suggested that we look at a video by Paul Budzik about applying decals to our models and then have a discussion about it.  I like the idea and we gave it a go.  Everyone had some good comments about Paul's approach.  There were some good take aways such as keeping your desk clean, using sharp knives, etc.  But I think we all agree that it was a bit over the top for most of us.  Great idea John!

Next I talked about a new tool I bought for cutting blocks of High Density EPS foam for making modeling bases.  I had been using a hot wire and a straight edge, but after watching Martin on Night Shift use this hot wire table, I knew it was a tool I wanted to have.  I'm happy to cut foam blocks for anyone wishing to make bases.  Lowes sells "Project Boards" made from this material which cost $6 for a 2' x 2' x 1" board.  However we had a good discussion about different materials with even high density that are perfect for display bases.  I'll look into that and report back to the group.

Jerry Beasley reported that he was working on a not very old Revell ship model and couldn't get a good bond.  He tried Tamiya Extra Thin and CA to no avail.  We suggested that he try Revell Contacta Professional which he ended up buying at Hobby town.  That did the trick!  If you're not familiar with this glue, it is a fairly thin glue, but thicker in viscosity than Tamiya.  It comes in this blue bottle with metal tubular applicator.  It is a slower drying product, but bonds quite well.  It's excellent for gluing ship hulls and decks together.  Or anything where you need some extra time.  While this glue is new to our market, it's been available in Europe for some time now and is very well received.  Definitely worth having in your arsenal.  

Gerald shared some of the 1/700 kits he's been working on.  Several of these are nice little additions to larger subjects.  A nice bonus often found in Aoshima kits.

Another nice add on kit, this one with some additional markings and photo etch.

One more, this one from a resin kit

Here are the two new Corvette's, along with the previous two that Gerald built and shared with us.

Next up were a couple of beauties from Roger.  This first offering is from Tamiya.

This next one is from Pit Road.  Roger built her as the USS Flowler.  This particular kit comes with a pair.  Great value!  

Next I talked about my slightly larger (1/350) Flower Class and replicating halyards with double lines coming off the blocks.  I succeeded in getting them the way I wanted.  I did this using UV glue which I'll discuss next.  They look much finer in real life than in the photo.  I used 40 denier lycra rigging line for this project.

The UV glue I used was a fly fishing kit from Solarez.  The kit provided three different UV glues.  Thin Hard, Thick Hard, and Flex.  I tried them all and the best for our purposes is the Thin Hard.  The process was quite simple but you need to steady your hand when doing this process.  

• Attach the line at the yard arm.  I put a tiny bit on the yard arm, and a tiny bit on the line itself.  I touch them together and hit it with the UV light.  In about 5 seconds the glue is fully hardened..
• I then attach the bottom line to the rail in the same fashion.
• Next I form a block at the top of the line.  It took about 3 tiny drops to form the blocks.
• Next I put a tiny amount of glue on the block and the same for the line coming off the block.  I hold the line to the block and hit it with the light.  
• Finally I attach that second line next to the first on the rail in the same fashion.

All I have to do next is paint the blocks.  Job done!

It's not cheap.  But I would recommend buying only the Thin Hard Solarez glue and one of their UV flashlights.  You can find them at a number of places including their own web site, Amazon, etc.

In this photo I glued a gaff to my practice mast with the UV glue.  I then ran some tungsten wire from the end of the gaff to the upper yard arm secured with this UV glue.  Really happy with the performance of this process.

I finished the saga of my battle with my once favorite primer, Stynylrez.  What a horrible experience this has been.  It's official now, I've formally broken up with Badger and Stynylrez.  Time to find another solution.

Martin clued us into a special Das Boot 40th Anniversary Release (it's been 40 years?  Crap! ) of the type VII U-Boat from the movie.  It comes with a special price, poster, paint, and the Contacta glue we discussed earlier.  The only problem is that you can't order this directly from Revell as we thought.  Fear not, you can order the same kit from Hannants in the UK, and if you order now you can get a 10% discount for ordering it through their backorder program.  This is a great little kit and there are several upgrade sets on the market.

We ended with a movie I came across on Amazon Prime called "Kaiser's Pirates: The Wolf".  This is an epic story about a WWI raider that the Kaiser sent out to disrupt commerce.  It's an amazing story and includes commentary by the author of the book.  Speaking of the book, you can find it for very good prices in hard cover, on Kindle, and also on Audible.  There are lots of open questions and I've already heard back from a few of you that you've bought the book and watch the movie.  Check it out.

We'll see you next time!

Dave