December Ship Club Meeting

Thanks to everyone who was able to attend our meeting Saturday.  Our meeting location is in Denver and the city is back to masks.  I appreciate everyone respecting our host by wearing masks.  I know we're all ready to be over it.  I did get a big thumbs up from the store manager when he came downstairs.  

Here's the LINK to the meeting recording.  

Okay, let's get into it.  

I'm starting with a build I forgot to include in our slides.  My apologies to Gerald for this mistake.  First up is the White Ensign Models resin kit of the HMS Gorleston (ex USCGC Itasca).  

Gerald's next kit is the Flyhawk HMS Lance, L Class Destroyer.  Gerald found the tiny bits and pieces in this kit challenging.  Well done Gerald.

During the meeting we started off with a recap of our modeling night.  Attending were myself (David Waples), Roger Schafer, and David Angelo.  We had some good conversations while we were working on our respective projects.  If you would like to participate and have some questions on how to do it, let me know and I'll share some ideas with you.  The next meeting night is Tuesday, December 21st.  We'll continue to try Tuesday's for a few more months and see how it goes.  

Tool Time!  Jerry found an interesting scriber that could prove to be helpful.  The price of this scriber is $10 plus shipping.  The scriber itself is adjusted using a hex screw and Allen wrench.  Jerry has volunteered to put in a joint order for the club.  If you're out of town we can ship it to you, but check with Jerry first to make sure it makes more sense to ship direct.  

Jerry also shared with us Infini sanders.  These are some of the best sanders available for our hobby.  

Here's a LINK to a video done by Will Pattison comparing Infini to some other sanders.  

The next item Jerry shared with us is a fly fishing product.  It's micro tubing that works well in our hobby.  It's hollow and if you slide some brass wire into it you can mold it any way you want.  It comes in a number of different sizes.  

You can buy this from AVIDMAX at 7399 S Tucson Way Suite A3, Centennial, CO 80112.

David & Jerry shared progress on the Loose Canon, 1/700 USS Cimarron.  Jerry received the molds from David and will be casting hulls soon.           

Jerry also has the photo etch which he shared at the meeting...

Jerry explained that they will have a table at the IPMS Nationals in Omaha this summer and would like to have a built copy of the kit to show to people interested in this model.  

David also shared some progress pictures of his USS Housatonic oiler.  Here you can see David's handy work on the catwalk.

I provided an update on my new method of making water bases.  This is taken from Studio Blue Ocean's method During the meeting I talked through the process and materials I used.  The base is made from 2' x 2' construction foam which you can buy at Lowes which you can see at this LINK.  These small panels are very useful for our hobby.  

The material used to make the surface is called Magic-Sculpt which is a two part water based epoxy sculpting material.  This is the expensive part of this process.  16 oz cost about $25 to $30.  Watch the video to see how to use this product.  There is another similar product called Apoxie Sculpt from Aves that performs just as well.  To give some perspective, 16 oz of this material might make a base for a 1/350 destroyer, or two in 1/700 scale.  You can also buy in larger quantities that helps to reduce the cost a little.  I hope to have a completed sample by next meeting.  

On to new releases.  I was very excited to show off this new kit by Carl Musselman.  This is the USS Los Alamos AFDB-7.  This is a kit that Carl started on quite a few years ago.  Fortunately he has finally completed it and I had to have it!  The Los Alamos was a forward operating base located in Scotland for the purpose of servicing the US Submarine fleet.  Carl sells his kits on eBay and the first six he released have sold out.  He is in the process of making 20 more kits.  The kit sells for $105 (shipping included) and includes resin, photo etch, and decals.  

This kit is designed to work with the below to kits from OKB Grigorov.  The Lafayette is no longer available from the manufacturer.  The Franklin still is available.  

Carl has also made a less expensive waterline version of the kit.  This includes a Lafayette class waterline submarine.  There are still some of these available on eBay and they sell for $70 (shipping included).  

Both of these kits are great opportunities for a 1/700 scale diorama of this unique naval base.  

The TAKOM/Snowman team continues to push new ship subjects.  This one is a triple threat.  It includes the SMS Derfflinger, SMS Luetzow, a true to scale 1/700 Zeppelin Q Class (based on their 1/350 release), photo etch and turned brass parts, and if that wasn't enough, a 1/35 scale Von Hipper figure.  This has not released yet and I'm not seeing any pricing yet.  

If you thought that was off the charts, check this one out.  Pontos has released their first complete model kit.  The Yamato in 1/700 scale and includes all the bells and whistles.  Wood deck, photo etch off the charts, turned brass, decals, and 3D printed parts.  Only $150 at Freetime Hobbies.

 

An example of one of the photo etch sheets.  Everyone in the room cringed when they saw this one.

Overall look at parts with this kit.  

Maybe a little more tame... but not much.  Ostrich Hobbies goes 3D with supplemental printed parts for their 1941 HMS Aurora in 1/700 scale.  Some nice details with directors, superstructure, guns, boats, etc.  $99 at Freetime Hobbies.

A new decal manufacturer north of the border.  CanMilAir decals is a Canadian based decal printer specializing in Canadian subjects.  Here is an example of their Flower Class Corvette set.  They offer markings for 8 different boats in 1/72, 1/144, and 1/350 scales.  Sorry, no 1/700 scale available.  I ordered a 1/144 set and will share that at our next meeting.  They also do decals for aircraft and other Cadian subjects.

Sam was disappointed in the Naval History December publication as well as some other articles recently published by the Naval Institute Press.  Of special note is a sailor apparently wearing a Green Bay Packers shirt, and another sailor talking on a cell phone.  Sam did say that there are some decent articles though.

I ended with a recommended reading.  Facing The Mountain, by Daniel James Brown.  This is the story of Americans of Japanese decent who were relocated into camps during WWII, and the young men and women who enlisted in the military and fought incredibly for their country.  I learned a great deal reading this book and I highly recommend it.  

Considering there was a much anticipated swap meet at Colpar, we had an excellent turnout.  Thanks to everyone who came and participated on line.  My apologies to John Widmar.  I know we lost you which may have been due to my fat fingering the monitor we use and struggling to recover that.  It got so bad that every time I started to touch the volume on the monitor, everyone in the room cried out "noooo!!!!" sensing another catastrophe!  😱

Now the other bad news is that Zoom recording wasn't working.  I didn't get the usual notification that a recording had started and the option to start recording was missing.  Disappointing but hopefully I can capture everything that we discussed...

We started with with David sharing his work on the USS Chicopee which of course is in 1/700 scale.  David is working on the instructions now and the kit should be available soon.  Price is going to be in the $80 range.  More to come on this kit.  Nice work, David!

Jerry and David also talked about the other project they're working on and which we've been following.  The Cimmaron, AO-22.  Jerry showed one of the fueling masts that David designed and Jerry printed.  Trust me, it's even more impressive printed out.  

Next up Richard from Tom's Modelworks gave us an update on the two kits he's working on.  He decided to re-work some of the items to add some interior detail.  Richard is working with some of the best 3D designers to take their designs and modify them to fit his project.  For example Steve from Model Monkey will tell you that his designs are made to the actual prototype specs as opposed to fitting a particular kit.  There is a difference.  Richard is fine tuning them to fit the model so that the builder has a good experience.  Here is the observation tower 

We checked with Richard to find out how his supply of Colourcoats paints are holding out.  He's in good shape, although the modern USN colors are running low.  Richard is getting ready to put in another order and asked that if anyone wants something added to the inventory to let him know.  You can contact him through his web site.  REMEMBER THAT COLOURCOATS PAINTS ARE PURCHASED FROM THE WHITE ENSIGN MODELS WEB SITE.  

Next up Rob gave us an update on his experience with the Kraken upgrade set.  The only thing from the original Midship Models kit was the basic hull and mast.  Everything else is 3D printed resin upgrades.  Rob couldn't say enough good things about their products.  Be sure to visit the Kraken web site and check out what they're up to.  They are expanding rapidly and have excellent parts and upgrades for both 1/700 and 1/350 kits.  Bravo Zulu, Rob!

PS.  Notice that white creature in the upper left corner.

Next Rob talked about the next kit in that picture which is the USS Chicago from Corsair Armada.  Rob is really enjoying this one.  It's gone together well as you would expect from Mike at Corsair Armada.  Looking forward to seeing this one come together.

So that kit in the upper left is the USS Niagara from a company called Fairy Kikaku.  Rob was pretty kind with his description of this kit.  I've heard Australians describe these kits as "agricultural".  😎. 

Stay tuned for the further adventures of the USS Niagara.  Stay strong, Rob!

Next we looked at some new products.  A new 1/700 kit from Ostrich Hobbies is this 1/700 Flower Class Corvette.  In 1/700 scale we pretty much had the old White Ensign Models kits now sold by Atlantic Models, and a long out of production kit from HP Models.  This is a very nice and new resin kit with a nice photo etch set and decals included.  You can find it on eBay for about $31 through Global Toy at this link.

And then there was the great 1/700 Russian Tug caper!  Snowman Models has been threatening to release this kit for several years now.  They did a fine job with this kit in 1/350 scale, and if the 1/700 was even close it would be a great kit.  But so far nothing... until this came along.  It's the same subject for less money than the Snowman offering.  A little simpler than the Snowman offering.  So did Snowman defer the project to Youfeng?  Or did Youfeng rip it off?  And from whom?  It looks very similar to the wonderful tugs that David made up for me.  Did Youfeng get David's drawings?  How could that have happened!  😎. Who knows what's going on behind the scenes.  

Next up isn't exactly ship related, but it's creative.  This is a new kit from Iwata.  It's a sci-fi space ship in the shape of an Iwata airbrush!  It actually comes with a lighting kit and sells for about $65

Next on the agenda was a discussion about Lifecolor paints.  They have just released a new set of modern US Navy paint colors.  These are true water based acrylic paints.  They airbrush and brush paint really well and the colors have been accurate.  The only down side to this paint is that it is a little fragile.  It's very easy to scratch so it's a good idea to protect your finish with a clear coat.  

They make a number of other naval sets, but you can also order the individual paint colors.  You can find them at Michigan Toy Solder or Megahobby.  I've used these in the past with great success but lost track of them because they were hard to find.  Thanks to these online retails they are available.  Rob is using these paints and hopefully we'll get an update from him on some of his future projects.

Jerry told us about a new sander that he picked up from Dspiae.  This tool has an adjustable straight edge with fine degree markings.  Self adhesive attaches to the bar on the back which you can slide back and forth to get a precise angle on something you're sanding.  Jerry mentioned that you can put four different grits and flip the slider around to the grit you want.  That's a very good idea!  

Speaking of Dspiae.  Several of us have their precision circle cutter.  It's a great tool, but the down side has been that it was difficult to make small precision adjustments as the scale was on the inside of the frame.  They have changed the design so that the scale is on the top and much easier to see and make adjustments.  This is how this tool should have been designed all along.  Highly recommended!  This one sells for about $68.

They've also come up with another version they call a "stepless" circle cutter.  It sells for about $36.  Personally I would just go for this one.  It does exactly what you need it to do. 

I took a trip down memory lane to a product that John DuGene recommended to me.  This is the 1/4" sanding tool from Maus Werx that John talked about sometime back.  Often times we buy tools and they rarely if ever are used.  I picked these up and have used them regularly with great success.  They are a sponge sander disc that attaches to the end of the rod using self adhesive.  You can buy the individual grits as well.  Just work through the grits as you wish and you get excellent results in small places.  

The last new product we talked about is metal rigging wire.  This wire is made from tungsten.  It is very strong and has a natural sag to it when rigged between two points on the model.  This was previously produced by a company called Modelkasten.  But they vanished.  Now a company called Epic Hobby out of Japan has released the same material.  What Epic has done which is nice is list the different diameters on the back of the package and which scale they should be used for.  This helps with buying decisions which to use when.  You can attach this with CA glue, or my preferred method of UV resin.  

This give you a good idea of how the product looks on the model.  I'm going to play with this some more and demo at our next meeting.

Last topic is a scheduled build night.  The idea is that we start up a Zoom meeting at the work bench.  We can build and talk about what we're doing.  Just a time to hang out.  There will be no formal presentations.  Remember you can use Zoom on your smart phone or tablet which makes it more mobile.  I'm thinking we'll shoot for Tuesdays?  Maybe the 3rd Tuesday of the month?  I'll send a separate message and ask for your thoughts.  How does 7:00 PM Mountain Time (02:00 +1 Zulu) work?   

I think that about covers it.  See you in December!