Greetings all,

Another good meeting today.  Thanks to everyone who was able to attend today.  Here's a recap of our meeting...

Okay, apologies.  I accidentally uploaded the video to the hard drive on my computer.  It's too large to export to other options.  

Here's a recap of the meeting today...

We followed up on blast bags on USS Missouri 1945.  The photo shows the black blast bags on the 5in mounts.  Bill confirmed that they were a rubber coated canvas and matched the blast bags on the 16in guns.  

Next we looked at what everyone is working on...

Jerry Beasley showed us the work he and his friend in Sweden, Mattias Linde, are working on for their CB-90 builds.  

In this photo Jerry shows us the work on the tread plating.

Next Bill Smallshaw followed up on his PT-9 project.  He advised the next time he makes the turret covers he'll start with a 3D printed part.  Really nice build Bill!

Bill acquired a fiberglass hull from a company in Gibraltar called MTB Hulls for a future project.  Check out their web site.  They have a variety of hulls in 1/72 and larger.  

http://www.mtbhulls.co.uk

Next Roger shared a bonus kit from his HMS Cornwall kit from Aoshima.  Included was an S Class Destroyer which he liked very much.  The kit does not include photo etch details but Richard Harden advised that he has a HMS Cornwall PE set which does include some parts for it.  

The kit includes a lot of small well detailed parts including individual depth charges.  This kit is available on eBay for a variety of prices.

Next Rob showed us his work on the pre-war Trumpeter 1/700 USS Saratoga.  There are lots of little yellow winged airplanes in Rob's future.  

I wrote a review for Zucas Studios kits on modelwarship.com.  It released this weekend.  I wrote Zucas and he shared with me the impact the review had on his web site.  I'm interested to know if this turns into sales.  At least it's a little more exposure for a great new company.  You can see almost no activity prior to the review, then it takes a big jump afterward.

Tim sent me an article about a photo etch bending tool called "The Bug" from a company called The Small Shop.  Richard confirmed this was the same one he uses.  

I showed the two I had.  The first was from Mission Models which had some nice features but was a disappointment.  The second was my favorite which is a larger version of The Bug.  I asked Richard Harden if he used one for working with photo etch and he confirmed he had this same tool.  He told us he couldn't imagine anyone working with photo etch without one.

Link to the Small Shop:  The Small Shop

The Bug: $39.99

The 5 Speed (larger version):  Currently sold out.

Tim had a follow up discussion on his 3D printer adventures.  

The Elegoo printers are available from a variety of locations including their own web site and Amazon.  Typically they offer discounts on next generation releases.  

Speaking of 3D printed parts, there is a new company called Model Navy.  I know I said "Modern Navy"... Sorry about that.  Anyway,  this is the first company I've come across that sells their 3D printed parts in high resolution, but will also sell you the file so you can print it yourself.  

Colourcoats paint is available again in the US!  If you're not familiar, Colourcoats paints are enamel based and are highly accurate colors.  They paint extremely well with brush and airbrush.  Kudos to Richard for bringing this line into the White Ensign Models part of his business.  If you weren't aware, Richard Harden, owner of Tom's Modelworks also owns White Ensign Models.  Richard has all of the Naval colors plus some aircraft colors that are used on naval subjects.b  Here is a sample of some of the colors.  Or should I say colours? 

Did you know Tamiya airbrush cleaner is almost the same formulation as their extra thin cement?  Martin shared this information with us.  Apparently they are almost identical formulation with the airbrush cleaner.  Doing some research I found that many modelers use this airbrush cleaner to cement their models.  Go figure?  

We looked at some kits and detail sets on the market.  First up are two Fletchers in 1/350 scale.  The fist is from Infini with a set for the Tamiya "round bridge" early war fletcher.  This will set you back $119 at Sprue Brothers, but perhaps less from Hong Kong.  Note the nice webbing in the railings around the deck.

But do you see what's wrong with this set?

Next is for the late war, "square bridge" Fletcher kit from Trumpeter, also in 1/350 scale.  They make two offerings for this set.  FS350079 and FS350080.  The later has the forward torpedo tubes removed and AA added.  A nice set but the anti skid is overdone.  But it does include a full set of torpedoes.  These sets will run around $80 from Hobbyeasy in Hong Kong.  Note that the nice webbing in the rails is missing from this set.

FS350080 is the fit for USS Kidd.

Another kit we looked at was the AFV Club Knox Class Frigate.  This was on sale at Sprue Brothers last weekend.  It's back up to $100 but that includes photo etch, resin parts, and a nicely done ocean base.

A long awaited kit from Cottage Industries is the CSS Virginia in 1/96 scale.  This compliments the previously released USS Monitor in the same scale.  These are museum quality resin kits.  At this scale this ship is just shy of 3 feet!  It will set you back about $650 plus shipping.  Ouch!  But it came in less than what everyone estimated.  So maybe it is a bargain.

A new segment for our meeting is "modeling subject of the month".  To kick it off I suggested modeling the US Navy's latest Arleigh Burke class destroyer, Delbert C Black DDG 119.  Master Chief Black was the first enlisted sailor to have a ship named after him not killed in combat.  

Burke Class Flight IIa destroyers are available in a variety of scales from 1/700 up to 1/96.

Finally to end the meeting I introduced a new podcast simply called "WW2 Podcast" hosted by Angus Wallace.  He has been doing this podcast since 2016.  Each one has an expert guest.  They run between 30 min and a little over an hour.  Podcasts are free.  

I listened to the author of this book on the podcast.  He was very knowledgeable and engaging.  Richard Harden advised that he read this book and highly recommended it.  

That's it for this month.  We'll see you all the first Saturday in November.