April Model Ship Club Meeting

I'm a little late following up from the last meeting.  Jury Duty put me way behind.  First time I've been seated for a jury since my 20's.  Thanks for your patience!

We're just going to pretend the March meeting never happened.  We are out of our old home at Rockler Woodworking and into our new home at the Koelbel Library in Centennial!  Rockler was a good home for a long time but it just isn't working for us anymore.

Feedback from everyone on the new location was very positive.  It was great to see John Widmar join us again.  We filled the room!  Great stuff guys and thanks for your patience while we found these new digs.

Here's the recording from the meeting. 

 https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/IFwHi1V8XZDtJ26yhaYke5e3e-i_iWCoCWpF2uVM9F9CQKl6UPTZzWORIlwD1Tg.DSRwQyd-jPgxQuA3?startTime=1712421472000

Passcode: ?4HGc=pW

We started off with the new Challenge Coins.  Listening to one of the podcasts today they related a story about putting down a recognition poker chip from that podcast showing recognition of a model.  The builder of the model was taken back for being recognized and wondered if they really meant to leave that token of appreciation with the model.  They did and it generated a great conversation.  I think we can have a lot of fun with these.  I also think the virtual coins will generate a lot of conversation and appreciation as well.  We'll talk more about this at our next meeting.  

Rob kicked off his work with the completion of his Cimarron Class oiler from David Angelo's kit which was also produced by Jerry Beasley and Roger Stafford.  This is a really nice kit and there are more available if you're interested.

Next Victor Prall brought in his USS Atlanta Cruiser in 1/350 scale.  That camouflage pattern is difficult to execute.  Beautifully done, Victor!  Thanks so much for bringing it to the meeting.

So good to see John back at the meetings.  He treated us with some of his latest builds.  The first an old kit from Modelkrak.  Not a great kit to start with but John brought it together.  Modelkrak is no longer in business.

Next from John was the Pit Road RN Littorio Class Battleship.  You can really see the difference in the quality of the kit in John's build.  John enjoyed it more as well, I think.  Included in the slide is the history of this kit and the various releases

I finally completed my "not so deep pour resin" kit of the UB-1 class submarine, UB-10.  I took it to CoMMiESFest and won 1st place in the submarine category.  Yea, yea... there were only two entries.  But I was happy with it and looking forward to taking it to IPMS Nationals this summer.  

Some sad but interesting news.  The gentleman who did the photo etch for Loren Perry's Gold Medal Models, was also working for Brandon at Squadron.  Apparently he had a stroke and is on the mend.  Not sure when he'll be back doing this work again for Brandon.  Brandon did say he was on the mend so hopefully he will be able to return.  I'm not sure of his name but we wish him the best.  

Lots of new and interesting kits coming out.  Here's a new release from Sphyrna Models of a PLAN Amphibious Assault Ship. Complete kit with injected molded parts, 3D printed resin, and photo etch parts.  

A new kit from NIKO out of Poland is the Italian Corvette, Cicogna C15 as she appeared in 1943.  Looks like another winner from NIKO!

Maybe the most interesting new model we saw is this French reconnaissance ship from Combrig in 1/700 scale.  The bad news is that you probably won't be able to find it due to the embargoes on Russian products.  Combrig has not done what a lot of Russian companies have done and moved shipping to non-embargoes countries.  

Another interesting submarine that I found is from a company called Landships Modeling.  This is the USS Holland as she participated in trials in 1899.  These are 3D files that you buy and print yourself.  The cost of the file is only $4.00 and it's a gem.  I've printed it up and also started a conversation with the designer with some more information.  More information on this later.   

Here's an example of the instructions.  They are clear and really well done.  The file contains a mid section that can be mounted to included supports, or done without them.  

For Tool Time this month we took a look at Parafilm used to protect delicate parts.  In this case it protects the delicate upper section of the davits with tape only added where we want a clean demarkation line.  Different members expressed different experiences with Parafilm.  Basically you take a piece of it and pull it to activate the wax coating.  It then can stick to items without trying to pull up paint or damage product.  Beside the product this was a good example of how you don't have to tape everything, especially delicate parts, for the purposes of masking and protection.

Martin Sagara shared a video on modeling an underwater explosion on a U-boat and creating that scene with deep pour resin.  It was interesting how the designer sealed the model so the resin would not leak in and compromise the pour.  If you search "4THECRAFT" on YouTube you'll find this video.

We came back to new releases with a dandy from Five Star Models.  They've done very small resin subjects in the past.  But this is their first attempt at an injected molded kit.  As you would expect they have also included wood deck stickers, photo etch, turned brass, and 3D printed parts.  This looks like it will be a very nice kit.  

Here's an interesting kit from Foreart and something we haven't seen in 1/350 scale before.  A British type 42 Destroyer.  I sent you some videos recently and this ship was prominently featured in those films.  Foreart makes an excellent model and I suspect this one will be the same.

Nest we drooled over this new upgrade set from HS Models.  We've worked out a club price with Brandon at $400 for this set.  Now at first glance you might think this was expensive.  But if you were to buy all these parts separately it would be well above that price.  The kit also includes deck masking, figures, and even the helicopter.  There are even three different types of hull hooks as is the case on the actual ship.  

Here are some more photos...

More goodness coming from 3D-Wild.  They are releasing the USS Borgue, Escort Carrier CVE-9, in both 1/350 and 1/200 scales.  There is an option to build a British version as well.  This will be a complete kit, full hull, and including aircraft.  I'm interested to see how the hull sections come together, but these shots look promising.  Notice the pin method for aligning the sections.

And that's it for April.  I'm amazed that we continue to get new material every month.  It is truly the golden age of modeling!

The next meeting will be at the library again in one of the upstairs rooms, but it will be at our normal meeting time of 10:00 MDT.  More information to follow.

You all take care!

Ship Club meeting recap - February 2024

Greetings all.  Here's a recap of our monthly ship club meeting.  I'm still working through some of the technology issues with having my new iPad tablet.  I purchased a dongle specifically said to work with the Apple iPad Pro and guess what... it doesn't.  You think I would have learned from previous experience, but I didn't... Shame on me.  😒

To add insult to injury, the Zoom recording didn't happen.  Today I put up a quick video that recaps everything we talked about in the slides.  This may be helpful for those who attended as the only screen that worked because of the useless dongle, was the screen on my tablet.  Too small!  Here's the LINK to the recorded video.

So here's a recap of what we discussed this month.

The USS Texas undergoing restoration in the Houston area is about read to come out of dry dock.  There's a lot of work still going on above deck.  My understanding is that they are going to replace the teak decking.   There are some good videos on YouTube and postings on Facebook with her current situation.  I noticed that the screws are not going back on.  They sealed up the propeller shafts.  Another thing I noticed was that they were restoring the gun mounts behind the casements.  It looks like they're doing some great work.

Roger gave us a recap of the Adams County Veterans Memorial at the Riverdale Regional Park.  It was suggested that we have a club meeting out there sometime.  I think that could be a fun idea.

There are monuments to all the branches of military services.  

Here's a nice video about the memorial and some interviews with veterans of the USS Colorado.  

Here's a map of the Veterans Memorial location

We had a discussion about what's going on with Squadron.  Brandon has set up a Personal Warehouse, much like the Private Warehouse that Hobby Link Japan has run for several years.  You can read how it works in this slide.

Brandon is also hosting an hour long YouTube meeting every Wednesday night at 7:00 pm MST or 9:00 pm EST.  The first time I watched it they did a complete review of the new Magic Factory 1/700 USS Gerald R Ford.  Last Wednesday Brandon did a recap of some new kits and projects he's working on.  Much of it is ship model related.  Just look for Squadron TV on YouTube.

One last update on Squadron.  They have two "pre-order" sections now.  One is regular pre-orders which have a confirmed pricing.  Then they have future pre-orders which are kits announced by manufacturers but don't have a price established or deliver date set.

Rob Weilacher showed off his Vee Hobby 1/700 USS Indiana.  Rob reports that the kit is excellent and he found the photo etch easy to work with.  

John Widmar shared his latest creation from Triumph Models.  Who?  I swear John has a kit from every ship manufacturer ever come to market.  John reports that this kit had good detail but had difficulty with some of the parts breaking.  Very nice job, John!

I brought my little nightmare.  This is a 1/2000 scale 3D printed kit from SS Models of the HMS Weymouth Class Cruiser.  This kit is printed as two pieces.  One piece above the waterline and the other below.  The masts on the model are too short and thanks to an accident, I solder some new ones from brass and added the correct number of yard arms.  I first painted the model gray with Tamiya lacquers.  I then masked and painted below the boot also with Tamiya lacquers.  The boot was made using very thin black line decals.  This cruiser started its life in WWI.  I'm working on a couple more in this scale, one of which is an SS Models kit but with more printed pieces than this one.  

I then went on to share my adventure with 3D printing.  The jury is still out for me on whether this is a good idea or not.  But I'm deep down the rabbit hole and now ready to print some useful items.  More on that at future meetings.

Here are my first test prints.  The complex Starship prints were printed at 16 and 18 seconds.  To my eye they look identical.  There is another test print called the "Cones" which is more precise.  After printing at 16, 17, and 18 seconds I found that 17 seconds was the perfect print time.  

Time to start looking at what's new in the market.

I brought in my Flyhawk 1/700 Aegis Class Cruiser, USS Bunker Hill.  When I saw this come to market I sold the two Dragon kits I had in my collection.  This is the deluxe version.  What makes it deluxe are the beautiful 3D printed masts and weapons.  

The next Vee Hobbies kit coming to market is the 1/700 USS Houston.  Rob advises this is on his list.  

Here are some shots showing the photo etch details.  Looks like a nice little kit.

Trumpeter is releasing the HMS Naiad in 1/350 scale.  It's available from Squadron for $89.99

This kit includes an extensive set of photo etch to detail the kit properly.  

Dragon Models has re-emerged with a new team and produced the first new ship model.  This one is the HMS Nelson in 1/350 scale.  The CAD drawings look good and it appears will include a good photo etch set as well.  

Takom continues to put out new ship subjects.  This is the 1/350 Admiral Gorshkov class frigate which is currently in service.  

Starling Models has now released their 1/350 HMAS Yarra.  This includes a resin hull and 3D printed parts.  Also included in the kit are turned brass, photo etch, 3D printed parts, and Uschi lycra rigging material.  Everything you need.  

Here's an example of the quality of 3D printed parts

Also released from Starling Models is the HMS Amethyst, 1949 version.  This ship was made famous in the movie "Yangtse Incident".  This ship made a famous escape during the Chinese Civil War in 1949.

A future release from Starling Models will be the Grimsby Class Sloop, HMS Deptford in 1/350 scale.  Price and release date have not been made public yet.  

Finally we look backwards to a kit from Freedom Models who are not known for ship models.  This is a French multipurpose frigate called Aquitaine.  This is an interesting subject in that this ship doesn't have railings as part of its design.  The only exception are the safety nets around the flight deck.  It's available for only $29.32 from HLJ.com.

That's it for now.  We'll see you next time.