May Model Ship Club meeting recap

Greetings and thanks to everyone who attended our meeting today.  

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

We started the meeting introducing Chris formally to the group.  Welcome Chris!

Rob kicked it off talking about his Orange Hobby USS New Mexico in 1/700 scale.  Rob said the kit went together really well.  One issue reported was inaccurate railings.  Too much space between stanchions.  Looking at photos of the actual ship I would have to agree.  Still a very nice kit.

Rob revisited a familiar kit in the USS Wisconsin by Trumpeter in 1/700 scale.  Rob learned from the Colorado which is essentially the same kit.  Rob advised that there was quite a bit of sanding to make the pieces fit correctly.  

Next we got an update on the "three pigs" project from David Angelo.  First up is the completion of the Black Swan which David clearly has a soft spot for.  That's a good looking ship with the black hull.

The second piggy is the USS Serius which is in progress and getting closer.  

And the third piggy is the USS Capella completed!  Nice work David!

Next I shared my completed build of the Soviet B-59 Foxtrot class submarine from the Cuban Missile Crisis.  I may use this for my presentation at NATS.  The kit was very basic but cleans up nice with some added details and scratch building.  

On to another water base challenge which is to replicate a Lafayette class boomer on the surface.  All of these bullet shaped subs create the same pattern in the water.  Right after the bow penetrates the water a large void forms right behind and develops a huge amount of frothy water.  The water coming over the top of the bow is very smooth.  So how to re-create that frothy foam and smooth water?

I filled in the gap around the sub using colored acrylic gel pushed through a large syringe.  Filling the gap from the hard shell surface to the model proved more difficult than I first thought.  I tried filling it with acrylic gel thinking it would dry clear.  So far after more than a week a whitish area remains.  Also I found that the Acrylic Gel as it gasses off shrunk quite a bit.  I will likely paint this area and use thin coats of Acrylic Gloss Medium (thinner than gel) to smooth out the area.  

As for that churning froth behind the depression, I'm not going to use plan A which was supposed to be acrylic gel.  Instead I'm going to use a product called Claycrete which is a water activated "papier mache" product.  It forms very nicely and creates a hard surface which I can apply other techniques to in order to create the foamy water.  I can build up a thick amount of material and it will be dry in 24 hours.

I then experimented with mixing a mix of Liquitex Gloss Medium with Woodland Scenics Snow.  That creates the foamy look I can add over the Claycrete.  FYI, if you want you can color the Claycrete with lighter blues or other colors before adding this mix and the color will show through.  Hard to see but the foamy water is very convincing. 

Follow up on Model Ship Depot.  Turns out these guys are sought after by the state of Pennsylvania for fraud.  Basically they have no inventory.  In theory if they get the product they will ship it to you.  If not, kiss your money goodbye.  AVOID THIS COMPANY AT ALL COSTS!

Another follow up on Hobby Swap which is a service offered by Free Time Hobbies.  You can post your kits for sale here.  While David Angelo and I have not had success yet, Chris reports that he's moved product here and has had success selling some of his kits.  As a buyer if you register on the site you will receive notices when items are added for sale.  Check it out on the Free Time Hobbies site.

We checked in on the USS The Sullivans who has been in the news lately.  She is now upright after holes have been plugged and a survey by divers has been completed.  The park is planning to allow visitors on the deck by Memorial Day weekend.  How the repairs will be completed has not been determined.

This model appeared on Model Warships web site.  This is a slightly modified Loose Cannon kit.  This is a really nice example of a diorama.  It starts with an excellent model.  It tells a story as the ship recovers life boats from lost Titanic.  The base frames the model and does not take away from it in any way.  And the water is very convincing.  

We had a chuckle over the humor on the internet resulting from the sinking of the Moskva by Ukraine. 

Victor brought in his excellent 1/350 kit of the Moskva by Trumpeter with Gold Medal Models photo etch added.  It really made for a beautiful model and like an idiot I forgot to take a photo of it.  You can see it in the recording.  

Below are kit offerings of the Moskva available in both 1/700 and 1/350 scales.  

Black Cat Models next release is familiar to all of us who have gone to the Nationals in Omaha.  It is the USS Hazard which is an Admirable Class Minesweeper.  This release will be in 1/350 scale.  The rendering below shows the cast hull in green, photo etch brass, and the dark gray represents 3D printed parts.

A new kit out now from Flyhawk is a 1/700 kit of the USS Zumwalt.  The kit includes injected molding, 3D printed parts with turned brass barrels and features, along with photo etch railings and details.  This is different from the previous Dragon release which was not well done.  It will be interesting to see this one in the flesh. 

Another new release is from Wolfpack Models.  This is a 1/350 Son Won-il class submarine which is a German Type 214

Actual Son Won-il class submarine which is a German type 214 submarine.  

We had a good discussion about this submarine.  Although German design it is built by two ship yards in Korea.  Below are specifications about this boat.  

Snowman/Takom is releasing another floating dry dock.  This is WWII era USS ABSD-1 which is used for everything form Iowa class battleships to multiple Liberty ships.  CAD drawings look excellent.   This would be a great way to display your 1/700 battleship.  

An interesting release is from a company called Shelf Oddity who is known for aircraft and ship parts.  This is their first foray into designing a full kit.  This is a French destroyer and looks very nice.  It carries a hefty price tag at $145 from Free Time Hobbies.

Here's an example of the detail in this kit.  

Some new parts companies are putting out some interesting 3D parts.  Interestingly they all have the same price tag.  Check them out at HLJ.com

Another new 3D parts company is Bunker Studios.  You can find these parts at Free Time Hobbies and HLJ.com.  Note the detail of the 1/700 chain.  The guns articulate.  Most parts are printed in both 1/700 and 1/350 scales.  

Last I took a look at Stynylrez primers.  I noticed when priming a resin model recently that the finish was close to the original Stynylrez but wasn't quite as smooth.  Listening to Dr. John Miller of Model Paint Solutions I thought I would try adding some Liquitex Slow-Dri which is an acrylic retarder.  Just a few drops added caused the primer to level out smoothly.  It still takes longer to dry.  Allow 2-3 days for it to fully cure.  

That's it for this month.  Looking forward to seeing you all in June.