December 2023 Model Ship Club Meeting

Thanks to everyone who was able to attend our December meeting.

Here's the LINK to the video recording of the meeting.  

Speaking of video.  The connectivity we've had lately has been the source of much frustration for me.  I can't justify spending $35 a month to get access to the other ship club's wifi connection.  Without an external to the building antenna there's no way to improve the signal.  It's strange because the video feed I get coming in is excellent, but the feed going out is choppy.  I worked with the AT&T folks to find a solution.  They made some adjustments that they think should improve the connection.  On top of that I've made an upgrade to my iPad to support my flying.  This one has built in cellular so we'll see if that improves the quality.

We kicked things off with an excellent recap from Roger Schafer on his trip with brother Gerald to Antartica on the Cruise/Research ship, Viking Polaris!  Too much information for me to share here so please look at the recorded meeting video.  Roger did an amazing job telling us about the ship and programs offered by Viking.  If you would like to learn more about this please reach out to Roger.  Great stuff, Roger!

One of the ships excursion boats.

Zodiac boats going to shore

Roger reported that they go to keep the red parkas

Ships boats in the Polaris boat deck

Submarines for some deep sea exploration.

We had some follow up from the last meeting.  I did some research on this new offering from Hellenic Model Ships.  Turns out this ship is of French design.  As you can see in the drawing below it's well fitted out.  Roger and Gerald mentioned they saw a ship that looked just like it in Argentina.  We'll look for some more information about that at the next meeting.

We also followed up on the emery sanders that John Widmar shared with us.  I found some on Amazon

for only $11.  These are different grits glued to wood sticks.  John reports that the solid base is great for sanding the bottoms of hulls, etc.  Great tip, John!

David Angelo took a break from the Victory to build up a couple of his cargo ships.  They look great in their commercial livery.  

Rob Weilacher finished up his USS Saipan, CVL-48.  The Aki kits are hard to find.  Rob reports this to be an excellent kit and it came together quickly.  

Rob's next project is the USS Indiana in 1/700 scale by Vee Hobbies.  This is the deluxe version which includes barrels and extensive photo etch.  

Rob shared a clever way Vee Hobbies helps the modeler identify where holes for weapons and fixtures need to be drilled out.  The numbers represent the different battleships, BB-57, BB-58, etc.

I came across a very interesting model that was shown at IPMS Telford.  This is a cut away model of an early Flower Class Corvette.  The modeler even cut the water away so you could see the interior below waterline.  

Jerry Beasley came across some interesting photo etch from shipyardworks.com.  This first set are 1/350  stanchions.  You would mount them to your ship and add something like a nylon thread for the rails.  

The second set are photo etch halyards with blocks, also in 1/350 scale.  They are designed to represent the double lines you would expect to see for raising and lowering flags on your ship.  

A new kit announced by 3D Wild is the USS Bogue in 1/200 scale.  The ship was instrumental in the sinking of U-575.  The kit includes a model of U-575 (Type VIIC U-Boat), as well as twelve TBM-1C Avenger and nine FM-2 Wildcats.  It's supposed to be available before the end of the year, but look for it in early 2024.

A new company (to us at least) is Modern Naval Research Team.  They are releasing a series of Imperial Chinese Navy and Imperial Arsenal Foochow ships in 1/700 scale.  No idea what these look like beyond the box art.

Ben at Black Cat Models has a new high quality and resolution 3D printer.  He's planing to release a series of small craft starting with 1/350 Harbor Defense Motor Launch (HDML).  Ben took a shot at printing this hull with the railings attached.  He didn't have a lot of success as you can see from his test shot.  He advised that the kit will be shipped with photo etch railings.  

I brought a sample of a new series of 3D printed models from SS Models in 1/2000 scale.  This is the USS Weymouth Class light cruiser.  It has two parts.  Upper hull and lower hull.  Amazingly it comes with a set of photo etch railings and ladders.  The detail is amazing and includes printed masts.  The quality is better than what you would expect in many 1/700 kits.  I'm going to finish it up and bring it to a future meeting.

Rob shared with us a 1/700 Gato submarine from SS Models.  The detail is what you would expect from 1/350 or larger.  The flood holes around the bow are open as well as the doors on the conning tower.  It can be made as full or waterline.  The hull has a slight warp at the bow but that can be easily taken care of with some hot water.  Warpage in the hulls is an issue for SS Models.  This model can be improved upon with a Gato photo etch set from Tom's Modelworks.  

AFV club is releasing some water bases for their 1/700 Perry and Knox class kits.  Also available is a beach base for their 1/350 LCT Mk.6.  These appear to be solid and not vac formed bases like we've seen in the past.  

Another new player in the market is Zimi Model.  They are releasing a 1/35  USN Quad Four Bofors.  It looks pretty good but the hoses look a little toy like.  I think changing the hoses out for something made with wire and adding some hose clamps will vastly improve the look of the model.

Trumpeter has announced the release of their 1/700 HMS York and USS Iowa.  Both kits will sell for $43.75.  The York looks fairly basic, but the Iowa seems to have more detail and fidelity.  Check the internet for more detailed photos of sprues, etc.

Books are a great motivator for model builds.  Here are three...

The first book is "The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel".  He was the inventor of the diesel engine.  He vanished while testing his engine on a U-Boat.  

The next book is "Bloody Sixteen" by Peter Fey.  This is the story of the USS Oriskany, her ships crew, and the air wing during the Vietnam War.  

Finally Tom told us about a book he read called "The Wager".  Described as a tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny, and Murder.  This is the author of "Killers of the Flower Moon".  Tom said he read the book in two nights.  

That's all for this month.  If I missed something please let me know.  I look forward to seeing you in the new year.  

November 2023 Ship Club Meeting

Greetings all,

Thanks for everyone who attended our meeting Saturday.  Here is the LINK to the video recording of the meeting.  The video quality was sketchy again during the first part of the meeting.  Somewhere around the middle it improved.  No idea what's causing this.  I may skip the use of my phone as a participant at the next meeting.

I apologize for leaving early.  I had tickets to the Air Force/Army game.  The weather was perfect.  The cadets on the field were great.  The skydiving into the stadium by the cadets was great.  The A-10 four ship flyover was amazing.  The best part though was at half time the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General C.Q. Brown, promoted Lt. Col. James H Harvey of the Tuskegee Airman to full Colonel.  Col Harvey served in WWII and Korea.  He was on the first ever William Tell competition team winning the event back in 1949.  It was caped off with a fly over of a P-47 and P-51, both of which Col. Harvey flew in his service.  So cool!  

This half time event ended up earning the "play of the game" because unfortunately the football game just sucked.  That was the worst performance I've ever seen from AF in all the games I've gone to see over the years.  Oh well.  

Okay, so here's a recap of our abbreviated meeting....

I immediately created controversy by following up on our discussion of line handling.  Specifically the term Faking a line or Flaking a line.  I think the answer is whatever the chief tells you it's called.  But here's sort of an explanation I found...

So let's see what Ben at Black Cat Models comes up with.  No doubt it will be a nice addition to a ship coming into port.

Next Sam gave us an excellent presentation on the sinking of the Bismark.  It was very interesting to learn how the ship rolled over dumping her barbets identifying the initial sinking location.  Then how she moved through the water while sinking to the initial impact point.  That followed by her slide down the avalanche underwater to her final resting point.  Really amazing story.    

We then got into our build progress.  We lost David Angelo so we didn't get an updated on HMS Victory.  We'll catch up next time.

Then John Widmar told us about his build of the Armored Cruiser, USS New York

John said this was a difficult kit to build, unlike many of his other NIKO kits.  This kit is still available at Squadron/Freetime Hobbies for $60.95

This led to a quick discussion about Armored Cruisers.  Perhaps we can persuade somebody in our group to give a more in depth talk on Armored Cruisers and their history.  

Rob then told us about his build of the Flyhawk 1/700 Prince of Wales.  Unfortunately the photo didn't appear so as promised, here is Rob's build.  Rob reports it as being a very nice kit.  Rob felt that the kit was more complicated than it needed to be.  This is what we have learned from Flyhawk.  Just need to finish up the Walrus and she's ready to sail.  

On to what's new....

Black Cat Models has released three long forecastle Flower Class Corvettes.  This is a follow on to their previous shot forecastle Corvettes recently released.  

First is the HMS/FNFL Mimosa K11.  This one is an example of the early Corvettes with the mast forward of the bridge.  

Second is the HMCS Sackville which is the sole surviving example of a Flower Class and a museum ship in Nova Scotia.

Third is the HMCS Snowberry, another late model Corvette example.  

The models are all 3D printed with only the photo etch you need (railings).  Welcome additions to the Black Cat models lineup.  I ordered a couple of these and will bring to the next meeting.  

These kits sell for $90 direct from Black Cat Models and will likely soon be available from Squadron/Freetime at a price to be determined.  

We discussed a new manufacturer, Model BDM.  They are a French company and are releasing a series of 1/400 scale French destroyers.  Apparently as destroyers go they are quite large.  Not a lot to share other than the announcement.  Stay tuned for more...

Another relatively new company, Pig Models, has a unique release of a Norwegian Skjold Class Corvette.  This is a combination of gun boat and hover craft.  Only three have been built and the Norwegian Navy is trying to come up with an alternative.  Available from hlj.com for only $36.00.  

Strangely crew figures are provided of which some appear to be holding fish?  Yep!  A later photo revealed that the crew should be fishing.  That's different!

Another new company called Neverland Hobbies is releasing a 1/144 type VII U-Boat.  The model will be molded in color so apparently you don't need to paint it?  Price to be determined.  Hmmmm.... 

Starling Models announced the release of a new kit, HMS Amethyst in 1/700 scale.  Expect this to be released around the end of this year. 

Atlantic Models is releasing updated versions of their HMS Scorpion and HMS Venus in 1/700 scale.  This is a trend we're starting to see with traditional resin kit manufacturers updating their models with 3D printed detail parts, giving new life to older subjects.  These are very reasonably priced at $40 each.  

Here's a kit from another new manufacturer, NeOmega UK.  This is a Harbour Defence Motor Launch from 1943.  This one is getting a lot of attention in the press.  It's 1/144 scale and combination of resin hull, 3d printed detail parts, and just enough photo etch.  This kit is priced at $62.00.

Dream Models, not really known for naval subjects, is releasing some Russian subjects which are 3D printed with resin hulls and photo etch for railings and ladders.  This is the Bunyan M, Project 21631.  This one is also in 1/700 scale.  Looks like it builds into a very nice model.  You can find it at Hobby Search in Japan for $71.  

Our last new kit is from the Greek manufacturer, Hellenic Ship Models.  The model is 100% 3D printed.  You can find their kits on their web site at hellenicshipmodel.gr.  This is of the Belharra FDI (Defense and Intervention Frigate).  Initial release is 1/700 scale selling for eur 60.  The kit is also available in 1/350 scale.  This is a very unique looking modern ship.  

That's all for this month.  I look forward to seeing you in December!

October Model Ship Club Meeting

Greetings all,

Thanks to everyone who was able to make our October meeting.  Here is the LINK to the recorded meeting.  

Now for a recap....

We started with a discussion of ropes err... lines and how they were laid out on decks at different times.  Roger, Gerald, and Jerry gave us some good background on when, where, and how they were laid out on deck.  We're going to have a follow up discussion on this next month.  The information has been passed to Ben at Black Cat Models who I think is interested in the information we provided.  So maybe lines are in our future!

David gave us an update on his progress with the Heller HMS Victory.  Now comes the arduous job of rigging this mighty ship!

Rob wasn't able to join us and discuss the HMS Prince of Whales Wales.  Never trust spell check!  😎

We'll get caught up on this wonderful kit from Flyhawk at the next meeting.

John Widmar discussed his latest Flyhawk kit, the HMS Ajax CL-22.  John described this as a great little kit.  

We paused to follow up on some storage containers that John really likes.  They are perfect for holding small parts.  They come with labels so you can catalog each type of part.  They also come in different sizes (32, 40, 42, 48, 56, 64).  These are actually Tic Tac mint holders!  And they all fit into a single storage container.

I showed off my new paint rack.  I have limited space to work in.  This is exactly the same as my previous rack except much deeper.  I'm able to double the capacity I had before which is cleaning up a lot of space on my desk.  It's made of solid oak.  Wood is getting very expensive!  

Next Len shared his experience with another SS Models kit.  The USS Nevada in 1/700 scale.  As you can see the 3D parts are very nice.  However they are using a cast resin hull and it looks like more than a handful to clean up with some heavy markings on the hull and an excessive casting block.  

Main turrets look pretty nice!

Very nice little Kingfishers!

The hull is cringe worthy!  Len advises that they are working on improving their hull castings.  Let's hope so!

I gave an update on my Not So Deep Resin Pour project.  Here I've added the acrylic water surface.  The white splotches are the acrylic gel in the process of gassing off.  In a few days it will all be clear.  

It's doing exactly what I wanted it to do.  If you look closely you can see the hull disappearing into the water conveying depth.  I'm going to add an additional layer of thin clear to the surface to smooth it out a little more, as well as some UV glue with some white microbaloons to convey slight white water.

Taking a look at a new kit manufacturer called Red Devil Designs.  They are doing some work with Kraken Models on some interesting 1/700 and 1/350 kit conversions and full kits.  

Here are some conversions for the Trumpeter 1/350 San Francisco kit.  

Here we have full kits of the USS Dewey DD-349 at Pearl Harbor, and the USS Aylwin DD-355 at the battle of Midway.  Look for these coming soon.  

Rob pointed out this little gem in an earlier email.  F Star Models is releasing a 1/700 Casablanca with an over the top photo etch set.  There is some amazing detail in here, but most of us agreed that much of this is fine with the original injected parts, and 3D printing would be so much more welcome.  Remember that Richard Harden from Tom's Modelworks is working with Matt from Kraken to do just that with this same subject.  

Border Models recently released a 1/35 scale Akagi deck with a B5N2 Kate to go along with it.  Takom/Snowman is releasing the same thing but in 1/72 scale.  The challenge will be to find a correct 1/72 aircraft to compliment the quality of the deck section.  Perhaps we'll see that next from Takom/Snowman

Be the first on your block to have a 1/700 scale model of the USS Gerald R Ford.  This is from a new company called Magic Factory who are getting all kinds of buzz for their 1/48 Corsairs that are now released.  While most of the industry was looking at a photo of a 1/48 Skyhawk, I saw this hiding in the back behind it.  This is a full hull kit and measure out at about 19 inches long.  Not many details known about it yet, but as we learn more we'll share it with you.

Finally Jerry brought this to my attention.  These are Russian/Soviet Union ships placards that are 3D printed.  They are in 1/350 scale from a company called Quinta Studios who is based in Russia.  They have been very successful with the best quality 3D printed cockpit panels on the market for model airplanes.  When Russia attacked Ukraine and sanctions were imposed on Russian companies, the supply of this product dried up in the west.  Quinta decided to set up a shell company in Kazakhstan to avoid sanctions and it seems to be successful as you can now buy these products again.  

Well that's it for this month.  I look forward to catching up with you all again at our build night this coming Tuesday and our next meeting in November.